If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 168

She had to carve the mad emperor from the throne. Her heart couldn’t be devoted to love. It had already been offered to an absolute covenant.

 

In the end, Sasha could not utter even a single syllable saying no. She looked straight at Regen. With the moment approaching when she would have to do something she desperately did not want to do, she threatened him with the strongest threat she could muster. “If you look even a little coldly at me…”

 

“Carve out my eyes.”

 

“If you say even a single word that isn’t affectionate…”

 

“Cut out my tongue.”

 

“I’ll hate you.”

 

“Then kill me instead.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

It had become impossible to tell who was threatening whom.

 

Sasha shook her head from side to side as though utterly fed up. “I absolutely won’t do that for you. I’ll keep you by my side and hate you. I’ll crush you down in every way I can, and even if you hate me, I’ll torment you so you can’t leave my side.”

 

“Yes. Please do exactly that.” Regen pressed his hot lips to Sasha’s fair forehead and withdrew.

 

Sasha and Regen then sat facing each other properly. In Sasha’s place, as she tried somehow to delay the moment even a little longer, Regen made the request. “Please look into my eyes, Sasha.”

 

“…”

 

Sasha reluctantly nodded. But it was not easy. Only after rubbing and wiping the corners of her eyes several times could she finally maintain his gaze. Patterns appeared over their irises, which reflected each other like mirrors. With the rotation, the resonance began.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

The delicate and intricate patterns gradually diminished into simpler forms. To the same extent, the mental bond that had been as tightly knotted as a knot began to come undone. Every time the rotation repeated, the air in the bedroom trembled. Waves resembling a beating heart struck the space with a regular, heavy thud.

 

“Regen.” Keeping her eyes on the scattering light, she opened her mouth. “I’ll tell you this in advance.”

 

“…”

 

“No matter what feelings Regen has, I love you.” She smiled as though she had finished putting her heart in order. Traces of tears still lingered on her face. “Even if your feelings change, I hope you’ll know that I love you very much.”

 

“…”

 

“I really love you.”

 

Regen’s lips parted, but he couldn’t force a voice from his throat. He was completely swept away by the sensation of the domination being released. The dull resonance that shook the space at regular intervals was no different from a battering ram pounding directly against his heart. He had surrendered himself defenselessly to that impact and was numb.

 

A rough current swept over their bodies from bottom to top. It was the moment when the restraint that had suppressed Regen’s soul shattered. The worlds of the two of them, which had been trembling like an earthquake, grew still, and a tranquility quiet enough to be peaceful settled in.

 

Sasha’s vision was distorted. The sense of loss, as though half of her heart had been cut away, once again covered her eyes with a thick sheen of tears. A bewildered sob continued soundlessly for a long time. Then gentle fingertips wiped away Sasha’s tears. “Regen…?” Her pitifully trembling gaze settled on him.

 

The handsome man, with his dignified, composed expression, looked no different than usual. His courteous manner was also exactly like him. He could never simply leave a lady crying right before his eyes.

 

Sasha gazed deeply into his sun-colored golden eyes. She could not read his emotions. How would he look at her with those eyes? What would he say to her with those lips? She was anxious and afraid.

 

Regen then let out a long, long exhalation, as though releasing a breath he had been holding. What filled it was unmistakably relief. That emotion, the very opposite of her sense of loss, made her heart ache with sorrow.

 

“Sasha.”

 

Even the quiet call containing her name was utterly calm.

 

Regen gently cupped Sasha’s lower jaw. Even in her grief, she could not resist. Before her eyes, the beautiful shape of the handsome man’s lips curved into a picturesque arc. The smile felt slightly different from usual. Somehow, it felt persistent and tenacious.

 

His fingers delicately traced Sasha’s lower lip. Even when they made eye contact while touching, nothing happened. The mental realm did not open, nor did her consciousness break off.

 

At last, the domination had been released. As though satisfied with the reality he had confirmed, his smile deepened.

 

It was at that moment Sasha felt her heart break. Regen spoke. “It has been proven.”

 

“…”

 

“That my love was flawless.”

 

The next moment, Sasha’s lips were swallowed by his.

 

“…!”

 

Her red, full lips were pressed down and parted defenselessly. A hot tongue slipped through the opening, stirring and licking the inside of her startled mouth. Wetness spread between their pressed lips. As he showered her with passionate kisses, Regen stared at Sasha obsessively without blinking. His golden eyes were more vivid than ever.

 

Feeling as though she were being burned by the sun, Sasha instinctively squeezed her trembling eyes shut. Regen bit lightly at her lower lip and whispered. “Open your eyes.”

 

“…”

 

“Open your eyes and look at me.”

 

“…Mmph.”

 

The instant she opened her eyelids, her mouth was sealed again without a gap. She had to open her mouth as though even her throat would be exposed, accepting him as his hand gently pressed against her cheek.

 

As though finally indulging himself in all the desire he had accumulated, Regen savored Sasha with his eyes open. She looked at him as well. The handsome man’s face, smiling as though immersed in supreme ecstasy, was dizzying.

 

When their lips finally parted after a long while, Sasha lay on the bed, panting. Regen, looking down at her with her trapped beneath his arms and body, had an unusually audacious look in his eyes. Unlike the man who had always told her to take him, he now looked as though he was on the verge of going mad with how badly he wanted to have her. And yet, paradoxically, his actions alone were exactly the same as before. He lifted Sasha’s hand and kissed each of her knuckles one by one, courting her with perfect courtesy.

 

Everything was confusing to Sasha. Her light sky-blue eyes, filled with dizzying bewilderment and a small measure of anticipation, trembled wildly. “Why…”

 

At her unspoken question of why he was acting this way even though the domination had been released, Regen laughed in a low voice from his throat.

 

“Because it was an obstruction.”

 

“An obstruction…?”

 

“Loyalty and reverence.” His hand persistently stroked Sasha’s cheek. “When I love you this much.”

 

“…”

 

“My love itself was perfect.”

 

“…”

 

“I was forced to be a virtuous knight, and so many things were constrained. Only now can I properly devote my love to you.” It was a confession that what she had thought amplified his feelings had instead suppressed them.

 

Regen was truly happy. The horrifying purity of it resembled madness, and Sasha involuntarily shuddered. Stimulated by that pitiful little movement, Regen lowered his head to the nape of her neck. He pressed his lips firmly against the delicate skin where her collarbone rose beautifully.

 

“Now, my Sasha. Tell me.”

 

“Tell, what?”

 

“What would you like me to do for you?”

 

The movement of his lips was vividly transmitted through their touching skin.

 

“Shall I go kill the mad emperor right now?”

 

“…”

 

“Ah, you said that has to be done later. Then shall I offer you the heads of the rotten branches?”

 

“…”

 

“Just say the word. I’ll offer you anything you want. Even if it is my heart, I don’t care.”

 

The strange excitement that had lifted him was evident even in his voice. The sensation of his teeth biting and sucking the tender skin above her collarbone made her desperate.

 

Suppressing a moan, Sasha raised both hands and gently pushed against Regen’s chest. “Re-Regen.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“First, first calm down. The domination was just released, so right now, Regen is not in your right mind…”

 

“I am perfectly sane.”

 

“…” Sasha closed her mouth as though she had lost her words.

 

The moment the hands that had been trying to push him away lost their strength, Regen did not miss it. He kissed her again, turning her surrender into permission. As though soothing her stiffened lips, he licked them, then stubbornly entwined their tongues until hers curled around his. He slipped one knee between Sasha’s legs, making a place for himself, and pressed the heat of his hand against her rounded shoulder. No attempt was made by him to hide how desperately he wanted to open her body.

 

A sweet moan rang from Sasha’s neck, which had tilted slightly backward. Startled by the sound she herself had made, she drew in a breath, and her soft body rose sharply, tempting him. Regen rubbed his forehead against that place before looking up at her as though worshiping her.

 

“Tell me you love me, Sasha.”

 

“…”

 

“That there is only me. That you don’t need anyone else. That I am your first and your last.”