I Want To Die One Day Before You - Chapter 209
Sarubia’s legs grew weak under Rufus’s relentless kiss. As she tried to turn her body to escape his embrace, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her firmly.
He had no room for restraint.
A dark shadow fell over her as she lay on the bed, and he leaned over her, his gaze heated as he looked down at her.
Through the strands of her disheveled ivory hair, her slender neck was visible. Clinging to his fraying self-control like a spiderweb caught in a storm, Rufus swallowed dryly.
“Turn your head.”
He was a man who pushed forward with no hesitation. Yet it was precisely that trait she found endearing.
As she turned her head, he pounced on her once more, eagerly. When her tongue slipped out slightly amidst the heat, Rufus pressed even closer against her.
She could feel his strong thigh under her skirt, which had ridden up halfway. Just a little higher, and she would feel all of him.
As the intensity grew, Sarubia let go of her thoughts. The feeling of being wanted by someone was irresistibly good.
So—
“Take me all the way, Rufus.”
Sarubia smiled slyly at him.
“Don’t hold back tonight.”
Those words were all it took.
Without a clear signal, the two of them began to pull at each other’s clothes. Their breaths mingled in heated kisses, and garments fell to the floor beside the bed.
“Rufus, on your chest…”
In that moment, as Sarubia took in Rufus’s bare body, her face froze.
He knew where her gaze was fixed. She was looking at the cursed scar Prince Tarek had left on his chest.
He remembered her reaction when she’d seen the scar before—the way her endless tears haunted his mind.
He hated it.
“It’s fine.”
Afraid she would feel heartache over it, Rufus instinctively brushed it off. In truth, his heart still ached occasionally, but he could never tell her. She couldn’t feel his pain, so if he bore it alone, everyone could be happy.
“Are you sure… it doesn’t hurt?”
“No. Not at all.”
Even if it did hurt, he would deny it. If his pain would bring her sorrow, he’d insist such pain didn’t exist.
He gently kissed her warm skin. At the same time, his hand moved downward. Realizing what he intended, Sarubia surrendered her body to him.
“It’s my first time being completely undressed in front of someone, so it’s really embarrassing.”
“You were born naked, so why act so shy now?”
“That’s completely different!”
Sarubia protested, slightly indignant.
“How is it different?”
“Because from now on, you and I… we’re going to be one—ah!”
Her words trailed off as she was swept into a wave of breaths, her ear warmed by his hot breath and a wet sound overtook her senses.
“You say the most loveable things.”
“Of course. I want to be loved by you.”
She let out a playful laugh to ease her tension.
“That was unnecessary.”
“Huh?”
“There’s no need to try.”
—Because I love every part of you, just as you are.
The low, rich timbre of his voice echoed in her ear, sending a delightful shiver through her body.
Held in his embrace, she felt everything. The exhilaration in his eyes, the subtle tremor whenever their skin touched, and finally, the gasp that escaped as he lost control. She could feel it all.
She wanted to be swept up in the waves of stimulation, to lose herself completely.
It wasn’t enough.
She wanted to crave even more.
A bit more, just a bit more…
Like a carriage without wheels, he followed his heart, enveloping her in his arms and feeling her. Just as she wanted him to, and as he wanted to.
And so, he accepted her, and she accepted him.
* * *
Crown Prince Viren was deep in thought.
“Imperial Prince Erius is planning a coup to seize the imperial throne.”
It weighed on his mind.
The words that the baron’s countryside-bred successor had spoken to him lingered in his thoughts, impossible to ignore.
He felt like a fish caught on a fishing line—no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t shake off that warning.
Rufus Inferna. What had he been thinking when he said such things to him?
Pressing his fingers to his throbbing temples, Viren glanced down at the letter on his desk.
It was an invitation announcing the wedding of his sister, Princess Sordid, to Prince Erius. Decorated with gold and silver seals, it was meant to be sent to neighboring royals and dignitaries.
The king’s intention in hastily arranging the wedding between the newly betrothed couple was clear. By celebrating a royal wedding as a national event, he hoped to restore the shaken foundation of the royal family.
Viren didn’t think his father’s decision was a bad one. In fact, he considered it the most practical and efficient solution given the current situation.
Yet, he couldn’t shake his unease.
What if… what if Rufus was right, and Prince Erius indeed committed treason in the Empire?
At present, Prince Erius had returned to the Empire to prepare for the wedding.
“I’m glad I sent one of my aides along.”
Whether it was Rufus’s words that kept echoing in his mind, Viren had sent his trusted aide to accompany Prince Erius, hoping to keep tabs on him and reconsider Rufus’s warning based on the reports. But the lingering unease would not fade easily.
