If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 159

Now that their hearts and bodies had become intertwined, such courtship could be viewed as endearing. But when Sasha had first told him about it, Regen had been so bewildered by the tree’s blatant display of ulterior motives that he was left speechless.

 

When Regen fell silent, lost in thought, Sasha answered obediently despite looking puzzled. “It dropped a whole bunch of acorns for me. That’s all.”

 

So it really had been making a move on her. Fruit was something that could be eaten, after all. Giving food was an even more fundamental method of courtship than building a nest. In any case, it was a relief if that really was all. His worry that the tree might have revealed something darker than mere personal feelings seemed to have been unfounded.

 

Hiding a sigh, Regen spoke. “You weren’t hit by any of the acorns, were you?”

 

“Oh, come on. There’s no way Regen would hurt me.”

 

“That is true, but…”

 

Unlike Sasha, Regen could not laugh it off so lightly. The mental realm wasn’t something you could control. Although she would never know it, Regen’s mental realm had a particularly tenacious and persistent side when it came to her. At least it was fortunate that the object onto which his mental feelings had been projected was a tree. Even if the tree exercised an extreme possessiveness, there would be limits to what it could actually do to her.

 

“Regen, by any chance…”

 

When Sasha began hesitantly, Regen tensed slightly, wondering if she had noticed the improper thoughts hidden deep within him.

 

“Are you jealous of the tree?”

 

“…Yes. I am jealous.”

 

Perhaps it was better for her to misunderstand him that way.

 

Sasha looked a little pleased, but soon became serious and fell into thought. It seemed she was trying to understand the mechanism of jealousy intellectually. “Come to think of it, if your mental realm acts as though it has a personality when you don’t even know about it, I suppose it could feel like having a split personality. I understand why you’re worried, Regen.”

 

“Yes. Thank you for understanding…” Wanting to turn her attention away from the uncomfortable subject, Regen spoke. “Sasha.”

 

His arm wrapped around Sasha’s waist and pulled her snugly against him. Utterly defenseless only with him, she relaxed her entire body and leaned her back against his chest. When he caught her earlobe between his lips from behind, she tilted her head slightly and let out a small sound. “Ah.” It was a clear and pretty sound rather than a sensual one. But that alone was enough to stimulate Regen.

 

In truth, Regen had been tested from the moment they got onto the bed. For five days, he had been deprived not only of kissing but even of making eye contact with the person he wanted to touch, to feel, to hold in his arms. And before that, he had even been forced to watch her ride alone in the carriage with Dominic for half a month. So perhaps, he could ask her to give herself to him just for today.

 

“Mmm, Regen.”

 

Sasha’s shoulders shuddered at the sensation of a mark being left on the back of her neck. The adorable gesture only further stoked Regen’s impulses and desires. To feel her more fully, he tightly embraced her slender body, pressing her close against him. But it was not enough. The layers of fabric standing between them were unbearably irritating. He wanted to clear away every obstruction, imprison her within his arms, and be imprisoned between her legs in turn. To do that, he first needed the princess’s permission.

 

“Sasha, I want to stay with you a little longer.”

 

Nestled neatly in Regen’s arms, Sasha did not answer immediately. To draw out her permission, Regen became even more seductive. His large hand pressed warmth into the bare skin of her arm, while his hot lips caressed her back with exquisite tenderness.

 

There was no way Sasha could fail to understand the desperate plea conveyed through his actions. After a moment, she opened her mouth. “You know, Regen.” Her body was clearly trembling faintly with excitement, yet her voice was strangely calm. She seemed to have something to say.

 

Regen stopped his movements while keeping his lips against the back of her fair neck. What soon reached his ears was a question he had not expected.

 

“I’m just asking because I’m curious.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“What kind of relationship are we?”

 

“…”

 

What kind of relationship? Regen raised his head in puzzlement. He thought Sasha was asking something far too obvious. Yet when he reflexively tried to open his mouth, his tongue froze. Then he realized they had never properly defined their relationship in words.

 

Clearly, the relationship Regen wanted was that of lovers. But the difference in their positions as master and servant stretched the gap between them vertically. Such an unequal difference in standing was by no means desirable for lovers. And yet, could he dare call himself her lover?

 

While Regen remained silent, wondering whether he was qualified, Sasha thought about something entirely different. Sasha was the first to break the silence on the bed.

 

“Regen.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Even after the domination is undone, your preferences will remain, right?”

 

“…Preferences?”

 

Regen’s mind went blank for a moment. Preferences? Why was such a weightless word being brought up here? Still holding her against him with her back to him, he looked at the back of her head and tried to calm himself. His thoughts soon fell into place. So Sasha had believed all this time that I had embraced her because she is my type? And that my feelings for her were separate because they were controlled by domination?

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

The nature of the silence changed. The air around them grew slightly dangerous and tense.

 

“Look at me, Sasha.”

 

At Regen’s subdued voice, Sasha obediently turned around and sat facing him. Noticing that she seemed to be trying to put a little distance between them, as though gauging his mood, Regen caught her by the wrist. While her eyes widened, he deliberately drew the delicate skin on the inside of her wrist between his lips and sucked gently. He kissed the red mark he had left behind and met her gaze. Then he spoke. “I don’t do this simply because of my preferences.”

 

“Of course, I don’t think it’s only because of your preferences.”

 

“Then why would you say something like that?”

 

Sasha’s answer to Regen’s question was predictable. “Because of the domination’s influence. I don’t know how much of it is truly genuine feelings. You know too, Regen. That the feelings you have for me aren’t entirely your own…” When she finished speaking, she turned her gaze aside.

 

Regen knew she was deliberately spilling out the disappointing words first to avoid hurting herself. But it made his heart feel painfully constricted. What Sasha said was not wrong. His emotions, having been affected by the domination, were not wholly his own. He acknowledged that there was a flaw and that they were not complete. But it was painful for the princess to push him away over something that was beyond his control. Moreover, Sasha was far more uncompromising than he was when it came to matters of emotion. She would not easily change an answer once she had reached it.

 

“Then, Sasha…” The white sheet crumpled beneath Regen’s clenched hand. “If I told you that I love you right now, would you not believe me?”

 

“…!”

 

Her fleeing gaze was caught by him once more. Various emotions churned within her sky-blue eyes, swollen to their limit. Not only surprise, but also excitement and expectation could be read there. Regen did not miss any of it.

 

“I love you.”

 

“…”

 

His tone was firm.

 

“I love you.”

 

“…”

 

This time, it was pleading.

 

“Even now, you still can’t believe me?”

 

“I—” She exhaled the breath she had been holding and opened her mouth. “I want to believe you.”

 

Sasha’s answer was not the worst Regen had imagined, but neither was it the best.

 

Regen looked into her eyes as though trying to hold her there with him. Even then, his mind was spinning furiously. As long as she remained obsessed with having completely genuine feelings, he could not satisfy that demand for purity. If so, perhaps giving up on that purity was one possible solution.

 

“Sasha.” Regen’s jaw tightened. He spoke as though tearing out a piece of his own heart and offering it as the price. “Then I will ask you. What do you think our relationship is, Sasha?”

 

“…”

 

If there was a flaw, then so be it. He was willing to meet her expectations even with that flaw intact. Even if it meant enduring the miserable word ‘paramour,’ he intended to bear it. After all, this wasn’t the first time Regen had taken a step forward, prepared to lose everything in order to gain everything.

 

Sasha once again avoided his eyes. Regen’s heart already began to ache as though it had been torn apart and was bleeding, anticipating a negative answer. But what he heard next was indeed negative, just not at all what he had expected.

 

“A relationship…”

 

“…”

 

“Where I’m the only one secretly in love with Regen.”