Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 119

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Frankly, he was saying that to the wrong person. I could go without sleep for several days.

Seeing Alois’s pale complexion, I felt like he needed rest more than I did.

“I’ve already rested enough.”

“…”

Alois’s gaze turned sour. If I delayed any longer, I could already see him chasing me out.

I quickly picked up a pen and looked down at the documents. They were all miscellaneous papers that didn’t really need the fourth prince’s approval.

“I’ll help.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m fine too.”

The documents were piled up like mountains. At this rate, Alois was definitely not getting any sleep tonight.

“It’s not like something will happen to me if I go without sleep for a night.”

“But…”

“Compared to back then when I worked days on end treating people…”

Even if I wasn’t as skilled as Alois, I was now the highest authority in the temple. This kind of work was nothing.

“This is really nothing.”

I checked his signature and copied the handwriting exactly. I’d done it several times before, so it wasn’t difficult.

“So just accept the help. Don’t make it look like I can’t even support my companion.”

If he kept this up, he’d collapse from overwork.

Whether he knew my concern or not, Alois erased the hesitation from his face.

He had almost no chance of winning an argument with me over something like this.

“As you wish.”

“Thank you.”

At his resigned tone, I began writing without hesitation.

These were all trivial documents, so each one didn’t take long to complete.

The problem was that there were more than a few of them in this room.

“But, Lady Emilone. I’m not your companion yet, am I?”

“Why? Because we haven’t held the ceremony?”

“Indeed. Without the official ceremony…isn’t it a stretch to call me your companion?”

At first, I had been just a slightly bit bothered when the word companion came from his mouth.

Whether it was from excitement or unease, it was a word that lingered, reminding me that it was someone I’d be spending my life with.

“No. I said I would take you as my companion. So from that moment, Alois, you became my companion.”

“Even though we haven’t held the ceremony?”

Even without the ceremony…I would still call him my companion. I wanted to.

I nodded at Alois’s question.

Even without the ceremony, he was the one I had chosen.

Of course, I would still hold the companion ceremony that would be acknowledged by the gods.

Maybe he could tell what I was thinking, because he stared at me for a long time.

Just as his gaze began to bother me, he turned his attention back to the documents.

And so, we spent a long time in silence, just organizing papers.

Though there were others helping in the office, it felt like it was just the two of us.

“Why do you want to become king?”

Just as we were finishing up, an attendant came up with new documents.

I sighed and stood up, mumbling a complaint as I approached him.

“Why the sudden question?”

“No reason. I just wondered if it might be too hard. Becoming king might mean dealing with even more than this.”

I took the papers from the attendant. The king’s attendant was standing right there, but I didn’t hold back.

At this point, there was no reason to tiptoe around it.

The stack was a bit heavy, but manageable.

Alois didn’t respond, so I set the documents on the desk and stopped the attendant.

“Wait a second. Some of these should be returned to your king.”

“P-pardon? L-Lady Saintess?”

“Tell him not to send Alois anything that happened on noble estates. If it’s something that happened in a noble’s territory, any of the other princes can handle it just fine.”

I sorted out everything with green and orange borders.

Just doing that cut down the amount significantly. So much so that I was the one surprised.

The rest of the papers dealt with diplomacy and trade groups, which was something Alois usually handled so I left that untouched.

“And tell the king this: don’t overwork my companion.”

At my final words, the attendant hurried off, and I looked at Alois with a triumphant smile and folded arms.

Alois looked at me like I was unbelievable and asked,

“Was it really okay to send them back like that?”

“It’s fine. If I can’t use my status as a Saintess for this, then when would I?”

“You really are a willful Saint.”

“Oh my. After all the time we’ve spent together, you’re only realizing that now?”

I brought the last of the documents over and set them in front of Alois.

As I spoke playfully, Alois looked down at my hand resting on the desk.

“All the time we’ve spent together… I wonder if it’s longer than I think.”

He took my wrist and lifted it to his eye level.

Kissing the back of my hand like that was routine by now, so I didn’t think much of it but this time felt different.

“From the Empire to our kingdom, the time we spent together always felt too short for me.Time with you always passes too quickly.”

It sounded like a joke.

But as always, he looked up at me with a sincerity that felt like the truth.

His expression sent a shiver down my spine.

“Let go. There are other people here, what are you doing?”

“Oh dear.”

Alois loosened his grip on my hand. It slipped out of his grasp.

“Serlin, you may leave now.”

“Pardon? But, Your Highness…?”

“You haven’t slept properly for two days. Please, go rest.”

“But Your Highness hasn’t rested properly either… How could I…”

The aide anxiously fidgeted, saying that wouldn’t do, but Alois ended up sending him away.

Considering how pale his face was, it might’ve been the right choice to let him go.

“Now it’s just you and me in this room, Lady Emilone.”

“So?”

Alois spread his hands wide. Then he reached out toward me.

His hand touched my cheek. His cold palm rested on my face. The hesitation felt almost embarrassing.

“Can I touch you now?”

“…You say that like you’ve ever cared about others’ eyes.”

“I don’t, but you do, Lady Emilone.”

He chuckled softly. Alois’s smile was rare and precious.

I had seen many of his fake smiles, but this kind of expression was different. It somehow loosened your guard.

“I don’t care.”

“That’s factually untrue.”

“If I cared about what others thought, would I have done that at the party—”

I lightly brushed away Alois’s hand, then grabbed both his cheeks.

Unlike the seated Alois, I was standing and looking down at him.

Alois tilted his head upward. When I caught that expression, his eyes met mine.

I slowly leaned forward, almost like teasing.

“I wouldn’t have done that so recklessly.”

I repeated what I had done to Alois during the kingdom’s first banquet.

My lips hovered, just a few breaths away from his.

Alois flinched, his face changing, and I took in his expression.

It was a face he only made for me. Knowing others would never see it made something clench in my chest.

“This is exactly how we were back then.”

“… No. It’s different.”

He placed his hand over my mouth.

I was more flustered by the sudden gesture than anything else, the large hand over my lips.

“You didn’t make this face back then, Lady Emilone.”

“…What—”

“You’re only showing this expression to me now.”

This expression?

His hand that had covered my lips slid slowly down to the bone of my neck.

Feeling his fingers brush along my skin, I released my hands from his face.

“What kind of expression do you mean?”

He said nothing, just gave a slight smile and wet his lips with a flick of his red tongue.

I looked at my reflection in his red eyes.

Before I could even register what kind of face I was making, Alois spoke.

“You look like you can’t take it anymore. Like you’ll devour me at any moment.”

“…”

“I thirst when I see you. And it always hurts because I can’t have you. Do you feel the same, Lady Emilone?”

He was waiting for my answer.

My mind went blank, and I scrambled to find something to say.

He was asking if I felt the same?

That I thirsted when I saw him? And that it ached because I couldn’t have him?

“Yes. I feel the same.”

It was the right answer. He was right.

Whenever I saw Alois, I resented that he wasn’t fully mine. I wanted him. I desired him. I wished that he would look only at me.

“I want you to look only at me with those eyes.”

His crimson gaze focused solely on me.

That look, like he saw nothing else, made my heart skip a beat.

It felt like we were walking a tightrope.

I exhaled slowly.

“Alois, I want to ask you something.”

“I’ll answer any question you wish, Lady Emilone.”

My throat was dry.

He was right in front of me, and yet the distance felt unbearable.

I didn’t want him to remove his hand from the back of my neck.

“Alois.”

Something clenched tight in my chest.

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words didn’t come easily.

This kind of question—

It was meaningless.

“Do you love me?”

Whether he loved me or not, we were never the type to be swayed by such words.

Just saying something like that wouldn’t change our relationship.

Even if Alois said he loved me…

“Please answer me.”

It wouldn’t change anything now.

He playfully removed his hand.

For some reason, I stared at his retreating hand with longing.

“And what about you, Lady Emilone—”

Alois lifted my chin, as if forcing me to look only at him.

“Do you love me?”

And then, he asked me the dangerous question.

 

 

 

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