In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 25

How much time had passed?

Suddenly, Bellona pulled away, gasping for breath. Her condition seemed to have improved somewhat, but her mind was still hazy. She panted heavily, burying her face in Caelus’s shoulder and leaning her weakened body against him.

As the intense storm that had swept through them began to subside, Caelus, too, steadied his breathing, looking down at the trembling Bellona with a pained expression.

For a moment, Caelus’s eyes flashed sharply. There was a distinct bite mark on the exposed, pale skin of her neck. There was no need to ask who had inflicted the wound; it hadn’t been there that morning.

The large veins on the back of his hand, which was wrapped around her slender waist, bulged with anger and jealousy. A surge of inexplicable fury rose within him. He wanted to return immediately and sever Impes’s head from his body.

At that moment, Bellona’s body went limp.

He quickly caught her weakening form, his face twisting with frustration as he looked at her.

“Ha, Your Highness… Please… take me to my room.”

Fortunately, it seemed the effects of the poison were gradually wearing off. However, her heavy eyelids looked as though they might close at any moment.

Having pushed her body beyond its limits with relentless training from dawn and now having ingested a poisonous herb, it was no wonder she was so drained.

Clicking his tongue in irritation, Caelus reluctantly lifted her into his arms. Even in this state, Bellona stubbornly tried to keep her eyes open, her iron will earning a grudging respect from him as he hurriedly carried her.

“Don’t fight it; just sleep. I’ll take you there.”

At his words, her stubbornly open eyelids slowly began to close.

As he slowed his pace, watching her drift into sleep with steady breaths, he came to a stop.

A strange feeling overcame him.

The woman who had always been on guard around him was now sleeping peacefully at his mere word. Did this mean she finally trusted him?

A complex mix of emotions stirred within his heart. Yet, his pale eyes remained full of dissatisfaction.

It irritated him that she was always putting herself in danger the moment he took his eyes off her. She was a woman who, despite having faced death once, still seemed to have no regard for her life.

What could have possessed her to walk into such a dangerous situation, using herself as bait without fear?

“I warned you that you belong to me. Wasn’t it enough that you let another man kiss you, that you let him bite your neck?”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. It seemed it would take a particularly tenacious snare to break her stubborn and obstinate nature.

“I will be your punishment. So stay quietly in my arms, just like this.”

Holding her tightly, he moved again, not toward Bellona’s quarters but to his own chamber.

By now, the once clear sky had turned into a crimson sunset.

***

Her eyelids fluttered open slowly as she regained consciousness. Blinking in an attempt to clear her still-blurry vision, she found herself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling.

What…?

Before she could fully grasp the situation, a warm presence registered beside her. She slowly turned her head to see what was pressing down on her body.

The first thing that caught her eye was a perfectly sculpted face. The straight nose beneath tightly closed eyelids, and the barely moving, firmly closed lips.

Is this a dream?

As she stared blankly at the man’s face, trying to make sense of the situation, a memory she would have preferred to forget suddenly resurfaced.

That intense kiss they had shared in some unknown forest.

She remembered kissing Caelus, but she had no recollection of how it started or why she had ended up sleeping here.

Could it be… did he manipulate me?

Or maybe… ha…

Whatever the reason, the realization that she had crossed a line she should never have crossed made her head throb.

If only Caelus hadn’t shown up, she would have taken Mona to her quarters and waited out the effects of the poison. But his arrival had delayed her, and she had shown weakness once again.

Frustration and irritation bubbled up inside her, but just then, long, trembling eyelashes slowly lifted. His still-sleepy golden eyes lazily met hers.

Bellona stared at him silently before breaking the awkward silence. “Why did I sleep here?”

“Because I brought you here.”

“Did I ask you to?”

“Halfway.”

Her lips twitched as if she wanted to ask more questions, but she bit down hard, staying silent.

She still wasn’t feeling well. The effects of the poison had definitely lessened, but her vision was still blurry, and her body felt hot. Being so close to him in this condition wasn’t a good idea.

She was about to turn away from the man who had given her such vague answers when—

“I told you not to look away.”

His voice, low and rough, carried a warning. Unsure whether he was serious or teasing, she obediently turned her gaze back to him.

Silence stretched between them as their eyes locked, each seemingly searching for a crack in the other’s defenses.

Once again, it was Bellona who broke the silence. “Why are you lying next to me?”

“I must have fallen asleep by accident.”

“Right next to me?”

“I can’t sleep unless it’s in my own bed.”

She couldn’t understand why he had brought her here when he could have laid her on the sofa or taken her back to her room. Suppressing the words she couldn’t bring herself to say, she winced as she felt the warmth radiating from her neck.

It wasn’t just that they were lying down together; it was the realization that she was resting on his arm. To her astonishment, she was lying completely wrapped in his arms, as if they were a pair of lovers.

For a moment, her heart pounded heavily.

The warmth of his body and the heat of his breath felt as though they were melting her entirely. It was likely the aftereffects of her exhausted state.

It would be best to leave as soon as possible.

“I… I’ll be going now.”

“Go back to sleep. There’s still some time left until dawn.”

Her memory told her it had been daytime, but his words told her it was now night. A slight frown marred her otherwise smooth forehead.

How long had I been unconscious?

Eshil must have returned by now. The plan must have gone completely off track, she thought, frustration flaring up inside her.

She still had to take care of her siblings and deal with Mona. So there was no time for this.

As she stubbornly tried to get up, Caelus tightened his hold on her.

“Let me go. I need to leave.”

“You’re not well. Just stay still. Do you even realize how hot your body is right now?”

“I’m fine—”

“How is it that you don’t listen unless I command you?”

He suddenly rose, his body looming over hers in a domineering manner, and Bellona frowned at the forceful gaze he directed at her.

“There’s a knight waiting to take the maid out. So don’t worry and just stay put. Once she is taken out, they’ll put her back in the sack and quietly return her to your quarters.”

He explained the situation in detail as if trying to reassure her, staring at her intently. He didn’t seem inclined to move until she closed her eyes.

Every time his warm breath brushed her lips, her fingertips twitched. This was dangerous. She couldn’t stop her gaze from being drawn to his red lips.

“…Alright. Please… move.”

To her surprise, her words trailed off, and her cheeks flushed as she averted her gaze. Caelus’s eyes narrowed at the unexpected display.

He was suddenly reminded of the time when she had been hallucinating. How his heart had raced at the sight of Bellona’s affectionate, shy smile, something he had never imagined seeing from her. Knowing who that smile had been meant for hadn’t stopped his foolish heart from plummeting and freezing in place.

He had never thought she was capable of such expressions, always believing her to be as cold and sharp as the blade she wielded. Yet now, this woman who had driven him to madness with her indifference was teasing him with a coy, alluring demeanor.

If she knew the shameless thoughts he had entertained while she slept, she would never have shown this side of herself in front of him. Her unguarded behavior both amused and infuriated him. Her tousled red hair, scattered messily around her, reignited the dangerous desire he had barely managed to suppress.

This was a feeling he had never experienced before. Why was it that only Bellona Riknis evoked such unfamiliar emotions in him?

He had never desired a knight, nor had he ever yearned for someone so desperately. Yet she was the first. Even though she was a traitor and had taken his life, the exhilaration he had felt when he finally captured her was beyond words.

But now, a new desire was rising within him. He didn’t just want Bellona Riknis the knight; he wanted the woman herself. Her sword, her heart, and her body—he wanted to consume her completely, from head to toe.

Caelus was overwhelmed by an impulse to dominate not just her title as Grand Duchess, but her very soul.

It seems I’ve driven myself mad, weary of your indifference.

So it’s only right that you bear the consequences of driving me to this point.

Without saying a word, he continued to stare at her intently, and Bellona eventually turned her face away.

At that moment, the turbulent emotions he had been struggling to contain erupted. His eyes darkened with uncontrollable lust as he devoured her red lips in one swift motion.