STE 10

Chapter 10

As dawn approached on the night of the first banquet, Tethys returned to the palace unusually late. That night, it was not simply because she had stayed late praying to Aria.

“You certainly have some nerve, leaving the palace at this hour and coming here.”

A low voice echoed through the prayer room assigned exclusively to Tethys.

“And yet, you came here too, Grand Duke.”

A faint sigh echoed through the small prayer room.

The heavy, oppressive clouds gradually cleared, and unusually bright moonlight spread through the small prayer room window, illuminating the room.

The face of the man who had been standing in the shadows became clearly visible.

At last, Tethys met the eyes of the man who had stared intently at her throughout the banquet—Eden Romaire.

“……”

It was the first time she had seen his face since they had parted when she had begun her first menstruation and was gradually growing from a mischievous girl into a young lady.

Their eyes met again after so long.

Had she ever imagined that she would reunite with Eden in a place like this, under circumstances like these?

She had been the one who summoned him here, yet Tethys spent a long while merely moving her lips without managing to say even a simple word.

“Why did you ask me to meet you here?”

He was the one who finally broke the silence.

Only then did Tethys come to her senses.

“…I need your help.”

“My help?”

The question seemed to carry an unspoken meaning.

Do you really think you are in a position to ask for my help?

Her face grew hot with embarrassment.

Nevertheless, Tethys somehow overcame her shame and nodded.

“I know how ridiculous it is. A Princess—or rather, an Empress—who betrayed everyone is seeking you out. From your perspective, it must seem absurd that I would ask you for help. Even so, I want to beg you for your assistance. I have to.”

“Is there anything I can actually help you with?”

Whether it was curiosity or perhaps stubborn pride—the desire to receive an apology for what had happened to his family after she had brought him to his knees—Tethys could not tell what his purpose was.

But despite that, he had come all the way here after receiving the message she had secretly sent him.

She desperately convinced herself that this alone meant she had already succeeded halfway, and somehow managed to calm her nervous heart.

“…If I offer the independence of the Romaire Duchy as a condition, wouldn’t that make you willing to help me, Grand Duke?”

“Anyone can make promises with words, Princess.”

You still call me Princess.

The old form of address secretly pleased her, but as soon as the Grand Duke realized his mistake, his expression hardened.

Tethys lightly bit her lip.

She could not deny that his distant attitude made her hesitate.

But right now, Eden was the only person who could truly help her.

“If I accomplish my goal, that will naturally be the result. Because I intend to kill Romain.”

“What?”

A ripple passed across the previously impassive face of the Grand Duke Romaire.

There was no obvious rejection in his constantly changing expression, which gave Tethys enough courage to continue.

“Yes. Grand Duke, I am going to kill him.”

That was the reason for living that she had barely managed to grasp after losing everything.

“So please help me. What I need is only a small amount of assistance. You won’t even have to become involved…”

“I refuse.”

The Grand Duke Romaire cut her off without hesitation.

There was no reason for him to be this resolute.

Thinking that he might have misunderstood something, Tethys hurriedly tried to stop him.

“Wait. You have nothing to lose, Grand Duke. I promise—”

“What is your purpose?”

“…Pardon?”

“Even if you kill the Emperor, those who have crossed the River Styx do not return to life. It will only mean one more person shedding blood.”

At his emotionless words, Tethys clenched her teeth.

You have never experienced watching your family die before your eyes. Of course you cannot understand this burning hatred.

But Tethys knew that the Grand Duke Romaire was not entirely wrong.

So she did not lose her reason and answered calmly.

“I know. I simply want that blood to be spilled.”

“You do not understand. You do not know how much of your own must be sacrificed to take something that belongs to someone else.”

“No. I have resolved myself to do anything.”

“Anything?”

What could someone like you possibly do?

He did not say those words aloud, but his brief question made his thoughts clear enough.

Looking into his dark eyes tinged with blue, Tethys somehow felt that he was testing the sincerity of her resolve—or perhaps her capabilities.

Strangely, she had the feeling that if she could prove her determination to him, he might help her.

Regardless of how deeply Eden Romaire hated her.

“For example, a child.”

“A child?”

“I’ll give birth to your child.”

Although she had spoken those words after much deliberation, the Grand Duke Romaire’s expression twisted into something extraordinarily fierce.

After briefly controlling his breathing, he asked in a rough voice,

“What do you mean?”

“That…”

What did his intense reaction mean?

Tethys answered, hoping that it did not mean something negative.

“The oracle is real. I can swear it on the Imperial Family.”

His ferocious expression made her want to shrink back, but Tethys forced herself not to tremble as she answered.

The oracle had actually been bestowed upon her while she was staying at the monastery in Armus.

It had felt as though God had reached out to help her when she had been cornered at the edge of a cliff with nothing she could do.

Tethys had persuaded the priest who received the oracle to announce it at Romain’s birthday celebration.

She had done so because she wanted to make use of the oracle as much as possible while everyone’s attention was focused on its contents.

“So if I give birth to your child, and that child becomes the Emperor who unifies the continent of Para… even if my plan fails, the Duchy will be guaranteed independence. The goddess does not lie.”

“Do you really speak so easily of bearing another man’s child?”

Strangely, the Grand Duke’s voice sounded as though he were gritting his teeth.

It seemed he was barely suppressing his disgust toward a woman who apparently felt no shame.

Tethys wanted to bite her lip in embarrassment, but instead she forced herself to maintain an indifferent expression.

“I’m desperate.”

“If you are desperate, does that mean you can use your own body as a bargaining chip?”

Perhaps his patience was running out from disgust, because his voice grew increasingly hoarse.

The negative emotions in his voice tightened around Tethys’s heart.

But—

“There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Tethys answered sharply, her own pride rising.

To be honest, it had not been easy for her to decide to offer her ability to bear children as a bargaining condition.

After all, Tethys had been raised as a noble Princess.

She had received strict instruction that a woman must preserve her chastity until she took a husband.

Even so, Tethys had decided to throw everything away for the sake of revenge.

Therefore, she had no reason to endure the Grand Duke’s contemptuous gaze and harsh interrogation.

“At present, this is all I possess that other people might find valuable. There’s nothing wrong with negotiating with what I have.”

Realizing that she seemed to be making excuses without even intending to, Tethys ran her tongue over her dry lips.

The Grand Duke’s eyes briefly fixed upon her lips.

But only for a moment.

“Are you going to make this offer to other men as well?”

Hearing his cold voice, Tethys finally understood why the Grand Duke had reacted so fiercely.

Eden had always been unusually particular about such matters.

Perhaps he was worried that Tethys, who had once been intimate with him, would spend nights with other men under the same conditions.

At least that was reassuring.

It meant he was not completely indifferent to her body—or, more precisely, to the child she would bear.

“I understand what you’re worried about.”

“What?”

“I’ll make sure there is no possibility of the bloodlines becoming mixed. So if that is what you are worried about…”

“Ha.”

He let out a hollow laugh before giving her a low command.

“Then prove it.”

“…What?”

Tethys widened her eyes, wondering if she had heard him correctly.

Eden looked at her with eyes filled with a tangled mixture of emotions and repeated his command in a deeply lowered voice.

“Prove it. Now.”

“Wait, here…? You mean here?”

He tilted his head to one side.

His expression seemed to say,

Why are you asking? You were acting so boldly, as though you had that much resolve.

Various thoughts and emotions filled Tethys’s mind.

It was strange.

Even though she had been prepared to give everything she had, the moment she realized that she had to prove her resolve before him in this small prayer room, her entire body stiffened with tension.

But—

“It’s my first time.”

“What?”

Because Tethys was so modestly dressed, loosening her dress was not particularly difficult.

She let the dress slip down.

Under the moonlight, her pale skin was exposed to the cold air, raising goosebumps across it.

Embarrassed to reveal skin that had never been exposed before, Tethys covered herself with both arms.

Her slender frame and the abundant fabric of her clothing had made it difficult to notice how full her figure was.

She murmured quietly,

“I mean that I can’t give you any skillful pleasure. But if I can become pregnant, then there shouldn’t be any problem…”

However, the moment she raised her head, she could no longer continue.

A fierce beast from the North was staring intently at its delicate prey with an expression she had never once seen before.