The Villainess was Loved

Chapter Twenty: It Was Love

“Isobel, I love you. I love you…I love you.” The Crown prince, now Emperor, professed on the ground on one knee. “I will cherish you, and until death will we part.”

He was handsome then, beautiful even. Perhaps his halo of innocence added to his features.

He was her everything.

It only took four weeks to realise he was already engaged to be married to a beauty by the name Cidhi, a beautiful black haired dragonkin with gorgeous amber-gold eyes.

She confronted him about it, and he confessed, only that he wished to be rid of her.

But he was so easy with his words.

‘To be rid of her.’

With those words…one would not think him the type to spend the night weeping outside another woman’s, Cidhi’s, estate on the night before their wedding.

The night before…

While she was prepping her heart. Blushing at the prospect of being a noble that married for love, he was off weeping for another.

One would not think that the man who loved her, till death were they to part, would cripple a woman he wished to be rid of simply because she had already moved on to another man.

Who would have thought that the worst day of the Empress’s life would have been her wedding night?

No, not then, it was when she confronted Cidhi on her wishy-washy behaviour, rather than her husband, and had instead been met with the calmness of a gentle stream as she uttered words she, as the duke’s daughter and new crown princess, had never heard before.

“He loves you? You think so because he says the words often?” Cidhi smiled, “Our young Emperor is eloquent, is he not? The kind to clip wings off a butterfly in hopes of preserving it, if only for a while longer, by his side.”

Those words were supposed to be meaningless, empty taunts from a woman who was jealous that she was not powerful enough to be the Empress herself.

Yet day by day, he grew into the living proof of the words, as concubine by concubine, he forgot even to free her, that she may no longer live under his command.

“You are mine, and I am yours, Isobel. We are eternity.”

As the words clung to her ears as if freshly spoken, her majesty clung tighter to the gardener, whose taut and tanned body mirrored the Emperor’s when he was younger, when he was mad for her…or rather when he professed he was.

She thrust herself into the gardener, who towered over her naked body until her thoughts felt as though they had abandoned her.

Still, as the pleasure seeped in, so did her fatigue at defying gravity.

First of all, he was at least ten years younger than she, but more than that, she hardly performed any physical activities.

Still, she wanted to c****x together, so she did not give you even though her hips felt tested.

“Faster Soi.” She urged, and his young body complied readily to her needs as thrust by thrust, she inched closer to an earth-shattering orgasm

“MOTHER.” A loud shout followed by a series of persistent knocks sounded through the main doors that led to her quarters.

The gardener stilled; of course, he did.

He would be executed if he was caught, like so many of her frivolous lovers.

“Your majesty-,” the gardener began, however just the same, she silenced him.

“Shh…” she gyrated her womanhood faster, straining everything in her being just to keep him distracted, “Call me Isobel.”

“Isobel, I must-,”

“Finish... come”

“I cannot-,”

“Finish, or I scream.” She gave her famous ultimatum, and almost instantly, his hands gripped the base of her throat tightly.

She loved Sio. He was beautifully quick to anger.

He disliked ultimatums and games with his heart.

He was pure, genuine, both two qualities she did not care for, but he was monstrous in bed, and that outweighed everything, especially his ‘boring’ qualities, because for a few seconds, just for a little while, she believed him capable of breaking her.

So she loved provoking him.

She could hardly breathe now; her face was hot yet still; he pounded into her being so viciously that if she did have access to her lungs, she would have screamed.

One of her hands flew to the sheets while the other gripped his tightening hands on her neck as a familiar white-hot spark of her o****m inched visibly closer.

Sensing her walls tightening around him, Sio let go of her neck and gave her his large fingers to bite in order to quiet her welling moans, an act that she was more than happy to comply with.

As the tremors of her o****m washed over her, Sio pulled his now limp shaft from her.

“Sio…you must come back to me.”

He threw her a smile then walked to the window.

“Her majesty is married; I cannot do so.”

“So, you will never profess your love for me?”

“No, your majesty.”

“Boo!” her majesty teased as he opened the window, letting in the cold wind. “You will not leave me, will you?”

He never answers that question, and she never expects him to, yet still, she always asks.

Perhaps, a part of her she longed to suppress prodded itself in the form of that question, yet still, what could she do.

If one buries too much, things eventually begin to leap out.

There was another knock, this time on her bedroom door.

The instant she turned her gaze to the door, the branches of the oak tree near her window rustled, bringing her back to reality. ,

“Right….” The Empress sighed, then threw her straight pale gold hair over her shoulders.

“Mila, bath.” She ordered through the door.

A maid with strawberry blonde hair tied in a bun opened the door then rushed to prepare the Empress’s bath.

“Who is at the main door at this hour?”

“His highness, Prince Killian Norvig, your imperial majesty.”

“Oh? Tell him to wait for me; I’ll just be a few minutes in the bath.” The Empress said, tying her crimson robe around her naked body. “Also, serve some peppermint tea. It is good for indigestion, in case the Emperor was too hard on him.”

“Understood, your imperial majesty.”

*

*

*

“Mother!” Killian stood the second the Empress walked into her living space.

The Empress opened her arms wide, and as though he were still a child, he embraced her.

“How is everything?”

“Are you from having a bath?”

“Yes, how else do you expect me to stay awake at two in the morning?” she smiled at him.

“Oh?”

“So,” she guided him back to the sofa. “What is it that needs to be said but cannot wait till morning? How was dinner with your father?”

“The tea?” She turned to Mila, who nodded and left the room only for seconds later to walk in with a kettle that smelled deeply of mint.

The maid served the Empress. However, the prince refused the maid’s offer.

“No tea?”

“No, I’m from the dining hall.”

“Alright then, am I to take that as something good happened during the dinner?” she asked, crossing her legs.

“Hold on, I do not wish to ruin the surprise by blurting it haphazardly.” He began, “First of all, dinner with father was the same, same etiquettes, same meals that we always eat dring the summoning.”

“Your father has few favourites.”

“So you keep saying, anyway,” he smiled, “The big news is that the Emperor re-opened the crown prince position for all his children!”

“What?” The teacup rattled in her hand.

Finally, finally, her children have the opportunity to reclaim their natural birthrights! But more than that, the b***h, Estelle, was back to square one!

“Yes, including princesses and the illegitimates.” Her son Killian added

“What?”

“Yes,” he nodded, enthusiastically missing the point entirely.

According to Norvigian tradition, it is always the firstborn son of the emperor who can be crowned as the next Emperor, that, unfortunately, was Rheyes Kerhid Norvig Yarez, the first prince, son to Cidhi.

An abysmally strong ticking time bomb.

Fuck! She needed to get him out of the race and in support of…

The Empress gazed at her son, as well-meaning, as he was, he was not Emperor material, which only left two, Harell and Cedar Norvig.

Harell is more than qualified. Additionally, he has the backing of the Hyle and Esmeral families. The problem is Cedar.

Though Harell is qualified, Cedar is far superior to him, only she is a woman.

As her eldest daughter, she would have been married off had she not intentionally scarred her face.

The blood-crazed princess.

Who the hell would marry her with such a nickname.

Despite being the first princess, she was the only unengaged of the imperial children in the household.

“Étienne? How did the child react?”

“Poorly, he nearly got into a fight with Rheyes.”

“Hmmm…” the Empress swirled her tea.

Everything must have been because of…the girl.

“What was the name of the hero of Oakwood.” The Empress asked.

“Uhh...Arusei Alpensa.”

“Have you met her?”

“I have. She is quite thought-provoking.”

“Really? How is she around Étienne? Do you think there is something there?”

“No, actually,” he leaned in his chair, “It seems, from her actions, as though she quite despises him. Which is a first....considering he had his title going for him at the time. In the short exchange we had, she tried her very best to…what is the word…not be there? It was perplexing.”

“Hmm, indeed, it is odd. I was told by the captains she is quite sharp.” The Empress said, “Do you think she will be a good fit for your brother?”

“Harell?” Killian frowned.

“Yes.”

“We...ll I mean.” Killian pouted, “She didn’t seem to like swords or books very much. We actually met at the…school canteen… huge fan of sweets. Not a health nut at all.”

“Well, such things change with time, do they not?” she frowned.

“Sure, but….”

The Empress nearly cursed.

It grew painfully obvious Killian was interested in her the more the dialogue continued.

Still, nothing held Killian’s interest for long. He, in that regard, matched his father.

What if the oakwood hero falls for his charms then gets heartbroken?

“Do you like the girl?”

“No! mother.” He said quickly, which only added to her suspicions.

If the Oakwood hero does fall for Killian’s charm, that means she can be tied permanently to her. Whether she is happy or not, both the Emperor's favour and the people will turn to her sons.

“Hmm..when is your brother coming back from Knight camp?”

The Empress changed her line of questioning because pursuing the matter further would only strain their relationship.

The other concubines must know by now that the key lies in the girl.

The hero of oakwood…

A being so important that the Emperor stripped Étienne’s title even though he favours Estelle.

Was there something she was missing?

“In about two weeks or so, that is where his final exams are being held.”

“What about you? When are your papers?”

“Next week, but on campus.”

“Oh, by the way? What happened with Dean Grantsworth, was he caught?”

“Not yet, but the dukes and duchesses of central and west are heavily involved,” Killian answered.

“I see. What of the East?”

“I have yet to see their involvement in the matter.”

“They have a daughter, you know.”

“Yes, mother.” Killian rolled his eyes, “I should perhaps head to bed. It is very late.”