The Camellia Tattoo - Chapter 156
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⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
this book is completely translated on luna kofi (advanced chapters for the website will follow)
He found it incredibly difficult to endure being abandoned, rejected, or denied.
This was something no one else could understand—perhaps only his wife, Amber, had sensed it.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
It was for this reason that Amber understood the pain behind his twisted expression, which resembled that of a malevolent spirit.
“I’m not avoiding you…”
She simply couldn’t bear to look at him, overwhelmed by guilt and confusion.
Yet the words seemed stuck in her throat.
“Don’t lie to me, Amber. How much lower do you intend to make me feel?”
As Igmeyer watched her struggle to find words, he slumped his shoulders and murmured softly.
He wasn’t angry, nor was he shouting; he was merely muttering. The sight of him made it impossible for her to respond.
She should be saying she would leave, that he should let her go.
He needed to defeat the evil dragon and then come back to her.
“You said you didn’t leave because you hated me. You said you loved me.”
“…”
“But if you keep avoiding me…”
Igmeyer stepped closer.
Amber felt frozen in place, as if nailed to the ground.
He moved in, step by step, gradually closing the distance between them.
“You’re making me think terrible things, my love.”
“…Yes.”
“You said you wouldn’t abandon me. You said you loved me. You whispered you would stay by my side. Where has all that affection from that night gone?”
Ah, that was true.
Throughout countless nights together, Amber had said those words to Igmeyer.
With tenderness and sincerity, she told him she loved him.
She had promised never to leave him until the day she died.
Now, Igmeyer had closed the distance, embracing her looking as if he was on the verge of tears.
“Don’t say you’re leaving.”
His voice, too, was filled with emotion.
The strongest man in the North, yet in this moment, he felt the most vulnerable.
Amber loved him for that and felt pitiful all at once.
At that moment, there was nothing else she could do but hug him.
In love, there was no escaping this pull.
“…!”
And in that moment, their lips met.
A wave of emotion surged through her, transmitted via the kiss.
He could feel frustrated for having left only a single note behind, yet he remained tender and warm.
As his mouth explored the contours of her mouth, there was no hint of aggression—only a plea.
Like the ocean yearning for the sky, he sent waves of affection to her through that kiss.
I want to touch you, I want to reach you. Overwhelmed by that yearning, tears began to flow from Amber’s eyes.
Her sobs spilled out like rain.
What have I done to this wounded beast, who is growling yet cannot bite or scratch? Should I have just chosen to die together instead?
All I wanted was to save both of us…
“Ugh, huff…!”
Igmeyer drank in her cries.
In truth, it would never be enough for him. If he could, he would swallow her whole.
For that, he would do anything.
Lowering himself as if to embrace all of her, he slowly rubbed their lips together.
The slickness of their exchange was added by the tears that fell from her eyes, mixing with their shared saliva.
After a while, still holding Amber tightly, Igmeyer whispered softly.
“Liars should be punished, right?”
This man would not let her go.
He would rather die alongside her.
In any way possible… he would stay with her until the end.
Amber accepted this truth and willingly nestled against the wounded beast.
While she had said she would leave, perhaps she actually wanted to be caught.
Perhaps she had been waiting for him to do this all along.
With those thoughts in mind.
* * *
“Everyone get out. I’ll cut down anyone who tries to enter.”
Igmeyer, carrying Amber, spat this warning toward the butler.
No one was to approach the hallway where the couple’s bedroom was located.
In response to his master’s threatening aura, the butler, Huvern, calmly sent the others away.
Just in case, he had prepared simple snacks and fruits in the couple’s bedroom. He also stocked up on water and wine, as he was confident that the Grand Duke would return with his wife.
There was no way he wouldn’t find her. Unless he intentionally let her go, she would definitely return.
And when she did… they would likely shut themselves away in the bedroom for a conversation.
Even if it began with physical conversation, it would eventually lead to a genuine conversation.
Huvern believed that.
From now on, it was time for the couple to reconcile.
* * *
Amber had learned that s-x could be degrading.
Unwanted affairs had pained her, and the memories from those times clawed at her heart for a long time.
It felt more like a mere mating ritual. She had often thought that self-deprecatingly.
However, after her return, she came to understand what a true marital relationship could be.
Perhaps she learned what it felt like to be loved from head to toe.
The satisfaction brought by such intimacy was incomparable to anything else.
