Vesperine imdiately cald herself, gently pushing aside the flustered expression that had betrayed her just monts ago.
With a asured breath and mature allure, she looked at Victor and asked, "A-Anyway... the reason you ca here... it is about the ch-suits, right?"
Victor gave a small nod, "Then tell ... what do you want in exchange for the information and... your cooperation?"
A faint smirk curved along Vesperine’s lips. She refused to let this man corner her with words alone. If anything, she would be the one taking control, draining every possible advantage from him until nothing remained.
’N-Not in a sensual way, of course,’ she thought quickly, a soft warmth rising to her cheeks despite herself. ’Wait... why am I even hesitating about that too?’
The thought tangled her further!
Still, she tilted her head slightly, her voice carrying a teasing lilt. "Well... what should I say? I an... it is not every day soone like you cos offering deals like this."
Victor did not react to her tone. His reply ca direct, "I will grant you territory within my Empire. Along with it, a noble title... and full authority to rule over it."
!!
Vesperine’s expression faltered as she stared at him, disbelief flashing openly this ti.
"I-Is that even possible?"
Unlike other empires, the Pyra Empire stood closed to the world except for the trading. Entry itself bordered on impossibility, and outsiders were rarely permitted even a glimpse inside its borders.
To grant one of them land... to let them rule it... the very idea sounded absurd.
What kind of madness was this?
Victor’s brows drew together slightly, "Are you questioning my words, Mrs Vesperine?"
The shift in his tone carried a quiet danger. It lasted only a mont, yet it was enough to make her flinch. She quickly shook her head, her twin tails swaying with the motion.
"O-Of course not. I would not dare question your words, The Great Dragon Emperor!"
She knew well enough that dragons did not speak lightly, especially when pride stood behind their words. And Victor... a ruler among them... he would not make empty promises.
At least, that was what she chose to believe.
A breath passed before she spoke again, softer this ti yet firm in her decision. "Thank you... truly. But no, I do not want land in your Empire."
"Oh?"
Vesperine gave a small shrug, her fingers lifting to gather her twin-tail hair, drawing it back with an absent, almost delicate motion.
"I am not suited for ruling. Power, responsibility... it does not appeal to . I simply want a peaceful life, sothing quiet... sothing that belongs to alone."
It was not that the offer lacked temptation.
Far from it!!
She was no saint who would turn away from power without thought. Yet the Pyra Empire burned too fiercely, filled with dragons whose pride grated against her patience. And more than that, ruling ant chains and being under control.
It would tear apart the simple future she had quietly planned for herself.
So... absolutely not.
Victor studied her for a brief mont. "Then what is it that you want?"
Vesperine turned silent... Honestly, she didn’t know what to ask. She had a mansion to call ho, 24/7 food anywhere anyti, New Fashionable Clothes and cute puppies to take care of...
What was she lacking?
Nothing... right?
Yet a shadow surfaced within her thoughts... Aether. The one who had shattered her relationship with Kaelen, who forced her to step back, to watch everything fall apart while twisting fate to push him toward other won.
The bitterness lingered, heavy and unresolved, a quiet ache beneath her calm. She wanted, more than anything, to confront him... to tear into him with every word she had held back.
And yet...
Her gaze shifted, settling once more on Victor.
This man had never once looked at her the way others did.
No hidden desire, no shallow interest. Even after learning her secrets, he had remained silent, distant, choosing not to interfere or take advantage.
And then...
’H-He said... I am a-adorable... right?’
The thought alone sent a warmth rushing to her cheeks.
Unlike that bastard Aether, who called her a bitch and spat other disgusting words without restraint, Victor stood in complete contrast.
So... there was a difference here, right?
Vesperine’s fingers curled slowly into a tight fist, ’What should I do now? Wait... Leon wanted to regain his status, right?’ The mory surfaced clearly, one of her precious puppies, determined yet broken, longing to reclaim what had been lost.
Then it struck her.
’What if I accept his proposal... and Leon could receive land within the Empire? He could rebuild everything... reclaim what was taken from him and take back his—’
Her thoughts cut off abruptly as her gaze lifted, eting Victor’s calm figure, still waiting with quiet patience for her answer.
For a fleeting second, sothing strange happened.
The image of Leon’s soft, innocent puppy face overlapped with Victor’s composed expression...
Ba-dump.
Her heart stumbled.
Vesperine’s lips twitched, barely containing the sudden spark of excitent that rushed through her...
"??"
Victor’s expression shifted, faint surprise crossing his features as her foot slid onto his lap without warning. He glanced down, then back at her, a slight frown forming.
Vesperine, her cheeks burning a deep crimson, raised a trembling finger to her lips. She forced her voice into sothing resembling haughtiness, though it wavered at the edges.
"H-How about... You massage my f-foot... The Great Dragon Emperor?"
Victor stared at her in silence, completely blank.
Despite the proud expression she tried to maintain, chaos erupted inside her mind.
’What the fuck did you just say, Bitch?!!!! That’s it! It’s over! I am going to disappear from existence... oh shit! He is glaring at !!’
The words had slipped out before she could stop them, reckless and irreversible.
She was dead.
Absolutely dead!
Asking the Great Dragon Emperor, the ruler of dragons, to massage her foot? What kind of insanity was that? If this ever got out, the entire dragon race would erupt into fury.
A cold sweat broke across her skin as the image of countless dragons surrounding her flashed vividly in her mind. Her body trembled, a sharp shiver running down her spine.
"H-Ha... ha... I was just kid—"
Her voice halted.
Because Victor had already reached for her foot.
Without a word, he slowly removed her heel.
"W-Wait... what are you doing?" Her voice rose, no longer controlled, more a startled cry than a composed question.
Victor glanced at her briefly, his expression calm, almost indifferent. "You are the one who asked to massage your foot, are you not?"
Vesperine blinked rapidly, completely thrown off. "I an... I did ask, but still... You are The Great Dragon Emperor—"
"Anyone can beco the ruler of empty land," he said quietly as he removed her other heel,
"But for the people... they only have one."
"..."
Vesperine froze, her eyes fixed on him. Sothing in his tone shifted, sothing heavy, sothing that carried weight beyond pride or authority.
A quiet sadness?
’Don’t tell ...’
Her expression softened, the teasing arrogance fading into sothing far more serious.
Her voice lowered, careful, almost gentle.
"How many... died?"
"...A lot."
Victor’s answer ca in a low murmur, his gaze resting on her foot, distant and unfocused.
"..."
He had prepared himself to deal with her through calculated ans, even considering binding her through marriage if she wanted. Yet this... this situation had never crossed his mind.
And despite everything... despite the absurdity, the humiliation, the sheer audacity of it...
He did not stop.
Because sowhere deep within, he knew one simple truth.
He deserved this.
If he had listened to Maelona... if he had only taken a different path when dealing with Vesperine... who knew how the outco might have changed.
After all, there had always been sothing unusual about her, sothing deeper beneath the surface, and she still possessed her powers. If she had stood on his side... would things have turned out better?
The flesh.
The blood.
The screams.
They echoed relentlessly in his mind. Even though he carried himself as composed before others, his thoughts were far from steady.
Sothing inside him had fractured, leaving behind nothing but a hollow, lingering emptiness.
A loser?
Indeed... A loser!
This humiliation... it was not forced upon him. It was sothing he chose to carry. A punishnt carved into his own pride, a reminder of what he had done to the unborn child... and to countless others.
A humiliation he refused to forget.
A humiliation that reminded him he was not omnipotent.
And above all... a humiliation that might, even if only slightly... ease the weight of his guilt.
Vesperine, on the other hand, quietly watched him.
Even with most of his face hidden beneath the mask, sothing about him felt... different. The way he held himself now, the subtle heaviness in his presence... it stirred sothing unfamiliar within her.
Sadness?
Why was she feeling that?
It was not as if they were close. Not as if he ant anything to her... right?
Was it because he could not protect his people?
Or... was it because she herself had beco one of the reasons so many had died?
Indeed!
Because the truth was... she had known.
An attack was coming.
Her Master had already warned her. Not the exact ti, not the precise mont... but enough for her to understand that sothing devastating would arrive.
That was the very reason she had approached Aether, the ruler of three empires, despite the personal grudge she held against him.
And in truth, if she had gone to him directly and claid that an attack would co in the future... There was no way she would have walked away alive.
So she chose a different path.
A marriage alliance.
A tool for revenge... and a ans to prepare them for what was coming.
Yet everything spiralled beyond her control.
That bastard had tried to capture her, and the mont he did, sothing inside her snapped. When she told him he would regret it... she had ant every word.
She wanted him to see it!
To witness the consequences of what he tried to do to her.
To watch people fall... to feel that sa helplessness.
But she had never imagined it would grow to this scale.
Never imagined it would beco this catastrophic.
The destruction... the deaths... the suffering... all of it far beyond anything she had intended.
And now, those images refused to fade.
The screams.
The blood.
Still fresh and vivid.
For soone who had the chance to save those innocent lives... she had done nothing. All because of a grudge that now felt so small, so aningless in the face of everything that had been lost.
That was why she had not stepped outside the mansion since that day.
Guilt wrapped around her like chains.
Pain settled deep within her chest.
And no matter how much ti passed... neither of them loosened their hold.
She did not want to face it.
She wanted to hide, to curl into a quiet corner of the world and wait, convincing herself that everything would sohow return to the way it used to be.
Vesperine let out a slow breath, ’At least... I should have spoken to this man directly. If I had known he was rational... if I had known he was this kind of person... he might have saved at least his people.’ The thought carried a dull ache, pressing against her chest.
Her gaze drifted downward.
Victor gently massaged her foot, without hesitation, without complaint.
The sa man who ruled over dragons with pride and authority now sat in silence, lowering himself without resistance, all for the sake of his people.
’He is... a real emperor...’
"I... I am sorry."
Victor’s hands paused. He looked up at her, "For what?"
’Shit! I said that out loud!’
Panic flickered across her thoughts, and she quickly tried to recover, forcing out a laugh that did not quite reach her eyes. "Haha... I-I an... I feel sorry for the people who believed they had a great Dragon Emperor... hahaha..."
Victor’s gaze lingered on her for a mont before lowering again, "Is that so..."
"..."
It stretched awkwardly between them, thick enough to make her throat tighten. Vesperine swallowed, her fingers twitching as she scratched lightly at her head. ’Ha... fuck...’
Then, abruptly, she spoke.
"Enough... I will tell you the information."
"??"
Victor was completely shocked as he looked at her.
The reaction only made her more flustered.
"W-What are you staring at?" she snapped, her voice rising as she tried to cover her embarrassnt.
"It is not like I am telling you this for free, you know. You massaged my foot... that is enough. Hmph!"
She turned her face away, cheeks flushed, lips forming a small pout as she refused to et his eyes.
Victor remained still, clearly taken aback.
For a brief mont, a thought crossed his mind, quiet yet undeniable.
It seed... he had judged her far too harshly.
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