In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 23

“Y-Your Highness.”

“What are you doing here?”

“That, well…”

“Did I interrupt something?”

His voice was so cold it couldn’t even be described as icy; it was filled with an intensity that made his bloodshot eyes appear as though they might explode at any moment. He looked like someone who had been betrayed by someone he trusted.

Bellona had never seen Caelus look so on edge before. Even when she had declared she would kill him, even when he had died by her blade, she hadn’t seen this kind of look in his eyes—eyes now filled with contempt as they glared at her.

Bellona’s lips moved, but no sound came out. His gaze was so fierce that her shoulders stiffened involuntarily.

“It seems I truly did interrupt something.”

His jaw clenched in anger, the muscles moving in a way that made him look even more threatening. Bellona hurriedly adjusted her disheveled clothing and stood up abruptly.

Momentarily thrown off by this unexpected turn of events, Bellona quickly regained her composure and asked in a nonchalant tone, “It seems you don’t trust me, Your Highness.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m not going to offer any excuses. If you’re going to punish me, I’ll accept it willingly. But I have something I need to finish first.”

Without giving him a chance to respond, Bellona turned toward the door, but then she stopped and made a rather unexpected request.

“Please lay the Crown Prince down on the bed. I’ll be back shortly.”

As if she didn’t need an answer, Bellona swiftly left the room, leaving Caelus staring after her in disbelief. He eventually let out a mirthless chuckle.

***

How much time had passed?

Caelus sat on the sofa, glaring at Impes, who had been carelessly tossed onto the bed. His desire to kill the man was so intense that it made his throat burn. But he couldn’t kill him so easily.

The punishment for coveting what was his would be severe. He would make sure Impes paid dearly for daring to encroach upon his territory. Yet, Caelus couldn’t take his eyes off Impes’s wrist. He wanted to make Impes feel the same pain, the same humiliation he had endured. He wanted to sever that useless wrist and make Impes feel as if his entire world had crumbled.

Caelus placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and slowly stood up. “Since that hand is far removed from wielding a sword, it will hurt less than it would for me.”

His eyes, devoid of any emotion, focused solely on Impes’s wrist as he approached. The sharp blade of his sword slowly emerged from its scabbard, the cold steel seeming to cry out in hunger for blood. He paused for a moment, preparing to draw the sword fully when suddenly, the door burst open.

Bellona walked in as if nothing had happened, and Caelus’s brow furrowed in displeasure.

With a short sigh, as if finally coming back to his senses, Caelus sheathed his sword halfway and then fully. Bellona, sensing the murderous intent in the air, looked at him with suspicion.

“What were you about to do?”

“That should be my question.”

“I was delayed because I was looking for a large sack.”

She responded brazenly and without a care, as she casually slung the sack she had been carrying over her shoulder and dropped it on the floor. The sack, which seemed to contain something heavy, fell with a thud.

Caelus glanced at the sack with skepticism, his gaze then shifting back to her with an expression that asked what she was planning.

“What on earth are you doing?”

“A gift for His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“A gift?”

The word “gift” made Caelus’s thick eyebrows twitch in displeasure. Whatever she was planning, he didn’t like the idea that it was something for Impes.

Bellona glanced at him briefly while opening the sack, her demeanor completely unbothered.

“You look like you want something from me.”

“Yes, since I’ve already been caught, I need Your Highness to be my accomplice.”

“What?”

“Even though I’m your subordinate and am clearly committing a crime, you’re still allowing it.”

Her audacity was beyond belief, and Caelus couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. “Alright, then explain. I need to know what’s going on before I decide whether to punish you or become your accomplice.”

“I’m just returning something I received.”

“Something you received…”

With nothing more to say, Bellona’s lips clamped shut as she reached into the sack and pulled out what she had prepared. Caelus’s eyes widened in shock when he saw what was inside.

“What in the world…!”

Bellona effortlessly lifted Mona out of the sack and laid her down beside the unconscious Impes on the bed. Then, as if nothing unusual had happened, she began tidying up the sack, looking at the two of them with an emotionless gaze.

“That woman…”

“She’s a traitor.”

“…What?”

“She set a trap to put me in this bed.”

Bellona’s gaze shifted from Mona to Caelus, her eyes blazing with an uncontrollable rage.

‘She’s the one who defiled my sword and caused your death.’

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you drink the tea that was in front of you?”

Caelus turned his head to look at the teacup on the sofa table. Seeing that half the tea was still there, he turned his gaze back to her.

However, he quickly realized that the tea wasn’t ordinary and his expression turned menacing.

“Give the order, and I’ll stop. If you tell me to stop now, I will.”

“Who drank this?”

Bellona remained silent for a moment before answering honestly, “His Highness the Crown Prince drank it. I fed it to him myself.”

“……!”

“If I have to make an excuse, all I can say is that the situation left me with no choice.”

Despite his growing fury, Bellona met his gaze without any sign of fear.

At that moment, Mona began to stir, letting out a ragged breath.

“Hah, hah… Water, I need water…”

Barely able to open her eyes, she reached out blindly, searching for something. Just as Bellona was about to move, Caelus picked up the teacup and placed it in Mona’s hand.

Mona, desperate, gulped down the remaining tea in one go.

Soon after, her breathing grew more labored. She clawed at her clothes as if trying to escape the burning heat that engulfed her body.

“I’m burning up… My body is on fire… Please, give me more water…”

Bellona watched calmly as Mona struggled to endure the heat. Now was the time to show them the true power of the poison they had given her.

Bellona gently held Mona’s trembling hand, soothing her as she asked, “Who ordered you to bring the medicine to Bellona Riknis?”

“Ether… Dorta…”

Bellona, like a seasoned interrogator, asked the questions she had been dying to know. “What did you mix into it?”

“Ha… Atropa Belladonna…”

“Was it Ether who gave it to you?”

“Yes…”

Mona’s confession caused a vein in Caelus’s neck to bulge in fury. In contrast, Bellona remained calm, patting Mona’s head as if she had done well. She then prepared a gift for Impes.

“Your master wants you. So take care of him with utmost devotion.”

“Yes…”

Bellona guided Mona’s hand to Impes. Like a lifeless doll, Mona obediently climbed on top of his limp body.

Having drunk the tea Caelus handed her, Mona was now completely under the influence of the poison, doing as Bellona commanded.

Bellona watched the scene with indifference before turning away without hesitation.

“Shall we go?”

“Weren’t you going to finish this?”

“I’m not shameless enough to watch someone else’s intimate affairs.”

“That’s a relief.”

With a nod, Caelus stepped forward and opened the door for her.

After Bellona walked out, Caelus, closing the door behind him, took a final look at Mona as she frantically undressed Impes.

Then, as if his task was complete, Caelus followed Bellona, his eyes fixed on her retreating figure. Suddenly, he quickened his pace and grabbed her limp hand.

Her red hair swayed through the air, softly settling on her shoulder. Noticing her body tremble slightly in response to his touch, Caelus’s brow furrowed.

He could feel her hand trembling slightly. Her pulse was racing, and he realized that her once-clear green eyes were no longer as sharp as before.

He suddenly remembered her words.

“The Crown Prince drank it. I fed it to him myself.”

“Damn it! This is driving me crazy.”

“Assign a knight to me.”

“What?”

“After putting the Crown Prince to sleep at dawn, I need to retrieve Mona.”

“Isn’t your revenge over?”

Caelus’s harsh question brought Bellona back to her senses, and she vaguely explained the final part of her plan.

“If left alone, Mona will die.”

“Are you really worried about a traitor? You could have ended up like her.”

“I might die too. I’ve just fed poison to the Crown Prince and left a maid in that room.”

“So you do fear death. I thought you had no attachment to life, the way you always act as if tomorrow doesn’t exist.”

Her indifference to his sarcasm was evident in her calm response. “I won’t die until I complete my mission as your wife, so don’t worry. I have no intention of dying before seeing the new world you will create.”

“……!”

“So, as your accomplice, cooperate with me. If you abandon me now, you might regret it in more ways than one.”

Caelus couldn’t help but laugh at her arrogance. But it was that very arrogance that made her so appealing. She was the “Goddess of the Sword” Bellona Riknis, after all.

Her body trembled slightly again.