episode_0025

Christia’s drive was truly remarkable.

Just yesterday, there was chaos as they were preparing to invade the Pandora Empire, but in just one day, they were back in the Kingdom of Christia.

Of course, they left behind people to govern the Armenian region, including Highfrey.

“I have one matter to announce to all of you.”

Returning to the Kingdom of Christia didn’t take much time.

It might take a little longer for the soldiers to return completely, but those who were closest to Christia returned in no time.

Especially when Christia’s words about a small reward for the first to arrive spread, everyone rushed as if they were insane.

Naturally, since Christia was the first to arrive, no one received the reward she had prepared.

“I feel like I’ve kept you all too long at my mansion.”

The reason Christia’s subordinates lived in her mansion was to demonstrate the convenience of meetings and how powerful Christia’s influence was.

However, having conquered the Armenian Kingdom and with powerful individuals of level 9 or higher, they couldn’t stay at Christia’s mansion indefinitely. It seemed that Christia had made up her mind to divide the mansion among her subordinates this time.

“You are free to leave my mansion and live elsewhere. But don’t go too far. No matter how far you go, you should be able to reach my mansion within a day.”

“Understood!”

The reactions of Christia’s subordinates varied at her command to leave and live elsewhere.

Those who already seemed to be living extravagantly and recklessly showed signs of joy at the prospect of their guardian disappearing, while those who seemed bothered by everything, or perhaps those who admired Christia too much, showed slight resentment.

“Do we really have to leave and live elsewhere?”

“Of course, only my attendants will be allowed to stay at my mansion.”

In the end, everyone decided to move out due to Christia’s firm statement.

“As many people leave, there shouldn’t be as many servants remaining as before. If the servants agree, it’s fine to take them with us when we move to the new mansion.”

Christia was often seen going to recruit servants she had been close to in the past.

“But I didn’t expect that even those who don’t want to move the mansion would be sent away…”

And so, the grand moving began, and I asked Christia, who was leisurely sipping cocoa after dismissing all the servants.

Of course, the cocoa Christia was drinking was made by me, and I was nestled in her arms.

“Why did you have to dismiss all the servants? The ones who didn’t want to leave the mansion could have just stayed there.”

Unexpectedly, I heard a surprising response, thinking that perhaps she did it to instill independence in all the servants.

“What are you talking about? Obviously, it’s to increase the time we can spend alone together.”

She said it so casually that I thought that was the real reason.

“She must be saying that just to please me.”

“Hey, don’t lie. Are you telling me that the great Christia decided to dismiss all the servants from the mansion just because she wants to see me more?”

“…”

It was chilly.

It wasn’t just a feeling or sensation; the actual air around us felt cold.

“Christia?”

“Did you say ‘just’?”

Christia held me tightly and whispered into my ear.

“It’s cold!”

Although the magic woven into my suit provided some protection, it couldn’t shield me from an 11th-grade expert deliberately emanating cold toward me.

“Christia?”

This was serious.

Since I couldn’t see her face, I couldn’t tell if Christia was genuinely speaking like this or simply playing around as usual.

“The time I spend with you is truly, truly important to me, but it seems it’s nothing to you, just something you can express with the word ‘just.’”

Her grip tightened.

It was not so much painful, but rather an overwhelming force that was exerted upon me.

The chill in the air, accompanied by Cristia’s breath against my ear, was an added bonus.

“Ah… as if. It’s just that I feel the benefits of having my subordinates at the mansion outweigh the time spent with me.”

How do I sound right now?

Would it feel like I’m shivering simply due to the cold and fear, or would it seem like I’m making feeble excuses?

“Sometimes I feel that we often have different thoughts.”

“That’s true… I suppose it’s because we’re human. We can’t perfectly align with each other.”

Paradoxically, that’s why I love Seohyun.

While we weren’t perfectly aligned, we put in enough effort to accommodate each other, fitting quite well without much distortion.

Most of the time, Seohyun didn’t mind my actions, and likewise, I had no qualms about her behavior.

Understanding Seohyun’s feelings wasn’t a lack of concern, but rather her actions didn’t deviate greatly from my beliefs.

Likewise for her.

“We usually give way to each other…”

Cristia’s embrace grew stronger around me.

Her massive arms enveloped me completely.

It wasn’t physically painful to be held, but I felt she could easily apply pressure if I dared to escape.

“For two main reasons, this time I want you to yield to me.”

“Yes, of course…”

“First.”

Cristia interjected lightly.

“It’s been too long since I’ve been with you. Though it has increased lately. Frankly, not being able to have my way for that long is unbearable.”

“I agree.”

“Second, I am far stronger than you. Isn’t it natural for the weak to submit to the strong in the North?”

“Indeed.”

“Well, now that you’ve acknowledged that, it seems only fair that you should receive some punishment.”

Naturally, my brain momentarily stopped at Christian’s words, which seemed to mindlessly affirm her intention to punish me.

“What are you talking about?”

I barely managed to articulate those words.

“Even if you didn’t admit it, I was furious that you referred to our time together as insignificant, and since you acknowledged it, it’s only right for you to be punished.”

‘Is this gaslighting?’

I should push back a little.

“No matter what, punishment is…”

“Sikha.”

Christian’s voice turned cold.

Under the suffocating pressure, the words naturally escaping my lips faded away.

“I wish you had understood when I put it nicely.”

Though the strength of the arms holding me didn’t increase, the pressure on my body became unbelievably intense.

“I’m not joking. Our time together is truly precious to me, and daring to call it insignificant is somewhat hurtful.”

“I’m sorry… I am.”

There was no other way.

“So, you must be punished, then?”

“Yes…”

As I reluctantly answered, the tension in the atmosphere pressing against me suddenly dissipated.

I couldn’t be sure whether Christian was playing a prank on me or if I had genuinely upset her.

Perhaps she played a prank while I was genuinely upset.

But if I questioned whether Christian was playing a prank, there was a higher chance of receiving Christian’s style of punishment rather than Seohyun’s, so I kept quiet for now.

‘I wonder what punishment she’ll give me this time.’

Being afraid of Christian’s punishments was a thing of the past.

I could be certain that I would receive something similar to what I had experienced before, like pinching my cheeks or being made to wear cute pajamas, whenever I worried that something big might happen.

‘I can endure that much.’

Given the circumstances, I might end up wearing slightly maniacal clothes or having my cheeks pinched a bit roughly, but I could easily brush it off as something that happened due to my own fault.

Whether Cristia’s mood was good or bad, it was clearly my responsibility for not understanding how much Cristia wanted to see me for a long time.

“Yeah, no matter what clothes you offer, I’ll wear them!”

I had vowed to myself…

“The punishment this time will be…”

I should have realized to some extent from the moment Cristia barged in without caring about anything and headed to her room.

“It’s a charm offensive. At least satisfy me with five or more charms.”