The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 30
“……”
The moment her name crossed his mind, the sensation returned, undeniable and electric. How could this be happening after knowing her for only a few days?
This wasn’t right. Taking care of Evelyn was supposed to be a matter of his own principles, a gesture of goodwill. But to have his body and desires so utterly bound to her? Unthinkable! Elves were elves, and nymphs were nymphs. They were not meant to intertwine in this way.
Yet, the more he tried to rationalize it, the more his thoughts circled back to her. The way her breath had hitched when he’d leaned in, the faint flush on her cheeks, the way her fingers had trembled as she gripped the sheets—
‘This is madness.’
But even as he cursed himself, he couldn’t deny the truth. Evelyn had become an obsession, a flame he couldn’t extinguish. And now, his body was betraying him, refusing to let go of the image of her.
“Your Majesty?” Laocon’s voice broke through his reverie once more, but Cassis waved him off, his mind still churning.
This wasn’t just desire. It was something deeper, something far more dangerous. And he wasn’t sure if he had the strength to resist it.
A wave of discomfort washed over Cassis, and his brow furrowed deeply. His mind, a breeding ground for sin, kept conjuring lewd images of her—naked, smiling at him, dancing seductively. He tried to push them away, replacing them with thoughts of something sacred, something pure and solemn.
The World Tree. The sacred and noble tree that had placed him on this throne and continued to sustain his existence. He imagined its seeds, scattered in a gesture of blessing, and how Evelyn must have smiled at the sight of them…
And there she was again.
“I’m going mad. Why do I keep circling back to the same thought?”
His muttered complaint went unanswered, but Laocon, undeterred, pressed on with his usual earnestness.
“Your Majesty, please tell me what troubles you. Whatever the difficulty, I will find a way to resolve it.”
The problem is between my legs, you fool.
Cassis wasn’t one to indulge in vulgar jokes—not because he was the Guardian of the World Tree, but because he saw no need for such crassness. Besides, what if Sir Laocon, in his unwavering loyalty, dropped to his knees in front of him? A knight’s devotion was not something to be taken lightly.
Finally, he offered a reply.
“It’s nothing, Laocon. The urgent matters have been dealt with. You may return to your duties.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Being in the same space as her had become suffocating, to the point where he couldn’t even sigh freely. It hadn’t been like this before. Finally alone, Cassis steeled himself and resisted the urge to return to Evelyn.
With nothing else to occupy his time, he busied himself with paperwork that could have waited for weeks. Thanks to this, he more than made up for the day he had left the castle unattended.
‘Haah.’
It was well past sunrise by the time he finally rose from his seat. His expression was cold and rigid, as if carved from stone.
He couldn’t afford to grow too attached to Evelyn.
He wanted to save her, had resolved to do so, but becoming too intimate beyond a professional relationship would only complicate things. A clear, unyielding line needed to be drawn between them—cold and precise. He was an elf; she was a nymph. The difference wasn’t a mere stroke of luck but a vast, insurmountable distance separating their very existences.
Cassis was determined to sound the alarm, both for himself and for her.
‘Evelyn, I’ll make you realize that you are a nymph, far removed from the lives of humans. First, you must face the dire state of your tree.’
The elders had clicked their tongues in disapproval yesterday, but he had pushed forward with the truth, refusing to back down. That would serve as a starting point.
He would go see Evelyn. The moment her image flashed in his mind, his heart raced, and he stood up so abruptly that he knocked over his chair.
Crash!
Unconcerned with the aftermath, he hurried out of his study. The chair, which had never toppled since the new king’s reign began, was left lying on its side, forgotten.
***
“This place is…”
“Our sacred ground. Even as an elf living in the castle, you cannot enter this sanctuary without permission. It’s a space of great significance and solemnity, so remember that well.”
The next day, he brought her to the sacred grounds after she awoke. Evelyn was utterly captivated, her eyes darting around in wonder.
The lush green meadow, shimmering with a golden hue, was dotted with trees and flowers she had never seen before. Cassis explained that every sapling and blossom growing here was precious. If they were considered valuable to the guardians of nature, then to humans, they would be nothing short of legendary.
