Who Stole The Empress

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Sponsored by Kuroneko 💖 (2/4)

***

 Is this what it feels like to be crushed into sand? 

For the first time in his life, a feeling of helplessness overtook him. 

“It’s okay.” (Cain)

“ No, it’s not. No, Cain, Anna…!” 

“Roselyn, it’s okay.” (Cain)

How on earth do you comfort a crying woman? And what the hell do you do with a sobbing woman who is still tied up in a nightmare! 

Tamon frustrated and soothed her with countless kisses on her wet face. 

“Gillotti…!”

The name came out from between the wailing and crying, not even a bite was enough. Unlike the name that had been screamed sadly, it was a name filled with thick, dark anger.

The hands that clenched into a fist trembled white with the effort she put into it. Her nails dug into her palms. Tamon stretched out her fingers one by one.

“I’ll stay with you.” (Tamon)

The nail marks that remained deep in the open palm were clear.

‘’I will be your claw, your sword, your beast……….” (Tamon)

The claw marks that were clearly etched on the softly white palm of her hand bothered her.

He was sorry that it bothered him, and his heart throbbed with disappointment.

His heart, which had become crushed sand, fell to the bottom.

“…… don’t cry.”

“Ahhhhhh!”

“Don’t cry, Asha.”

“I’ll make everything okay.”

Oh, his sea, which he barely got his hands on, fluctuated.

Unable to stop the flowing water, Tamon was submerged in it.

Her tears that kept leaking out seemed to hold his breath.

***

“My head hurts.”

Roselyn thought she woke up from a good sleep, but her head was pounding.

Roselyn woke up in a daze in her bed and glimpsed the glowing sunlight through the curtains.

She looked sideways to see how swollen her eyes were.

“Why are my eyes ……….”

She remembered that she suffered from terrible nightmares.

They were nightmares that usually came once in a while. Most of the time, she had them when she was sleeping alone.

But last night, she didn’t sleep alone, and she didn’t have the mental or physical strength to dream.

‘But, why on earth did I have such a dream?’

When she thought about it, she remembered that her dream was a little different from usual.

“….”

Roselyn raised her skinny hand and looked at it.

At the moment when she was terribly lonely and desperate, someone held her very strong and firm.

It was the first time.

“I’m ……… with you…………”

Most of the nightmares that tormented her were of a dark blood color.

Terrible dreams where the floor was full of other people’s blood, not hers, and the heads of the people she loved rolled around. 

And then there was Gillotti and Natasha, who were looking down on Roselyn from that high place.

A figure so hateful that her teeth clenched and her fists bit into her flesh.

She crawled up to them with her bare hands and the dream was over.

Immediately after the nightmare, she clenched her fists so tightly that her palms tingled and her joints throbbed.

But last night…..

There was warmth.

Big hands clenched her fists together. A hand as hard as a rock stepped forward with her, holding her hand.

Then the precipice, which had been steep, turned into a ramp that seemed to climb.

Gillotti and Natasha, who had seemed so far away, were now close by.

The hand she had been holding became a sword, and the bright red blood that had pooled on the floor became a blue sea, lighting up her world.

The nightmare that had been dark and insidious was now brightened by the light of the blue sea.

Roselyn tossed and turned all night, fighting the nightmare.

With that strong hand holding her hand tightly.

Last night’s dream hovered over her closed eyes.

It wasn’t a nightmare anymore.

It had turned into a whole new dream and brought her out of the darkness.

Strangely enough, the warmth of the hand, which she had squeezed so tightly in the dream, felt like it was still there.

Roselyn raised her head and looked around.

“Where did he go?”

She was sleeping with Tamon last night, but when she woke up, she was alone.

This was a rare case.

She thought that perhaps the night she spent with him last night was also a dream. But the evidence on her body when she looked to check was so certain that she couldn’t doubt it. 

“Again, the marks…..”

Roselyn looked down at her red marked flesh everywhere, sighing.

There wasn’t a spot on her neck, arms, or anywhere else that didn’t have teeth marks on it.

Tamon’s favorite spot was near the chest where the word “Tamon” was engraved.

It was all red, as if it were an area marker.

She had to meet the king tomorrow, and as it was, finding a suitable Amor costume was a difficult task.

Well, the twins had already gotten used to it and have often searched for clothes that could hide the marks properly.

‘If it doesn’t work, I have to cover it with accessories.’

As she was sighing, the door to the connecting room opened and Tamon walked in, looking like he had just had a bath.

Tamon glanced at her as she sat up, the corners of his mouth lifting in a loose smile.

“You’re awake.”

His eyes glistened like rubies under the sunlight.

Roselyn tried to say something to him, but she couldn’t speak well.

Maybe it was the lukewarm headache, but last night felt like a dream.

She saw Tamon’s hand squeezing a wet towel.

‘Was it that hand that held my hand ………?’

He came close to her and murmured as he placed the towel on her forehead, which looked like it had been deliberately wetted with water.

“Crybaby.” (Tamon)

…That’s right.

Roselyn swallowed a sigh and buried her feverish face in the soaked towel.

Because of this, she couldn’t tell what expression Tamon was giving her.

****

Fortunately, and rightfully so, her nightmare didn’t last until the next day.

But perhaps because he witnessed Roselyn crying, Tamon stubbornly had to sleep with her in his arms, saying something ridiculous about Amor’s strict national law against letting crybaby sleep alone.

‘Crybaby….’

It was the first time Roselyn had heard the word in her life.

It was so ridiculous that it didn’t even make her angry.

When she said she had never heard such a word before, the man smiled like a bad boy and said,

“It sounds like I’m the only one who saw you cry like that.”

‘…… Why did you cry so much?’

Tamon stared at her with a silent smile.

The red eyes, which were rumored to have been obtained from the demon, sparkled warmly.

Those who saw those beautiful red eyes and thought of “demons” must have been living with them in their hearts.

Roselyn silently swallowed the compliment she could not utter and turned her face away.

Since yesterday, there were many trees and flower arrangements in the room that resembled the scent of the forest.

They were the result of the twins’ diligent efforts to decorate the room.

Since the room was decorated with flowers and tree branches, a clean scent like being in a forest was faintly spread. She didn’t have any special decorations in her room to begin with, but she liked this strangely.

Tamon, who had been staring at Roselyn looking at the flower decorations beside her, left the room saying, “I need to get ready to go out.”

As soon as he left, the twins and Asrell came in.

“Woo! Woo!”

Once inside the room, however, the twins’ expressions were anything but ordinary.

“The time we’ve been waiting for has arrived, Asha.”

“You said you were going to the royal palace. We will give you the power!”

“Calm down…”

 “We will do our best to decorate you to the fullest.”

“Well, since Asha’s face is already more gorgeous than most jewels, we’ll only add a little, just a little, seasoning!”

“Yes!”

“Mmm-hmm! Yes!”

Today, the twins, whose fingers were particularly strong, rushed to carry the clothes and accessories.

Asrell shook her head at the sight of them, saying she was going to do some mending, and brought out another vase with flower branches.

It was the one that had also been placed at her bedside.

It was the branches of a fragrant flowering tree with pretty, white flowers.

“What’s the name of that flower, Asrell?”

 Oh, it’s a flowering plant called Lillesh. It’s a tree that’s planted a lot when you go east of Amor.” 

“It smells nice.”

 “Yes, it’s a flower that each house has during the blooming season because it chases away nightmares.”

At Asrell’s words, Roselyn paused and looked back.

‘It’s a flower that chases away nightmares.’

The timing of the flower’s appearance was truly wonderful.

She looked at the branches of the flower for a moment, then looked at Asrell.

“He’s really great, the owner here.”

Asrell replied with a smirk.

“He may look burly, but he’s much more delicate and considerate than I thought. Others don’t know that, but who cares if they don’t know. We can keep it to ourselves. Don’t you think so?”

Asrell winked one eye and laughed.

The wrinkles around the middle-aged woman’s eyes were folded like blooming petals.

The space between those wrinkles was filled with affection.

Roselyn also smiled silently and left herself in the hands of the twins.

A languid drowsiness fell over her as they brushed her hair.

The room was full of warmth and security.