In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 84

Unlike other palaces, Empress Minelia’s palace was structured like a labyrinth.

At first glance, it seemed no different from any other, but it contained an unusual number of hidden rooms connected to each chamber.

When Caelus pushed aside a bookshelf in a study filled with dust and cobwebs, yet another hidden space appeared. After passing through several such secret areas, a staircase leading underground finally emerged. Anyone who entered carelessly would likely get trapped with no way out.

As Bellona observed the peculiar structure with interest, Caelus descended the stairs and unexpectedly provided an explanation.

“His Majesty built the palace this way out of concern for my mother’s safety, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances.

Thanks to that, my childhood was quite entertaining, but I imagine the attendants who spent all day searching for me must have suffered greatly.”

Her fingertips trembled at his mention of his childhood. As Caelus turned back with a questioning look, as if wondering what was wrong, an old story about Empress Minelia that Lycaon had told her suddenly came to mind.

She had many things she wanted to ask, but deciding it was not the right time, Bellona chose to ask a different question instead.

“Do you resent His Majesty?”

His brow furrowed slightly, as if he found the question strange.

“If it were me, I think I would have felt resentful. The man who cherished my mother so much, who treated his beloved wife as his world, remarried immediately after her death and cast me aside. I don’t think I could ever forgive that.”

He silently stared at her before forming an unreadable smile.

“A vacant empress’s seat can’t remain empty forever. The nobles would never stand for it. Being emperor doesn’t mean you can do whatever you please.”

So naive.

Being this soft was probably why he had suffered such an absurd downfall in the past.

Hearing him speak as though he had come to terms with everything, strangely, she felt even more upset on his behalf.

Annoyed at her own reaction, Bellona ended up saying something she didn’t even mean.

“That’s a relief.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s continue down.”

Caelus, still doubtful of her response, suddenly retraced his steps up the stairs and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I don’t know what you meant by that, but whatever it is, don’t expect it to be a relief for you. When I become emperor, I’ll do whatever I want. Especially when it comes to my woman.”

As expected, the perceptive man had caught on to the hidden meaning in her words. Stifling a scoff, Bellona casually dusted off his shoulder and replied nonchalantly.

“Then does that mean I can do whatever I want as well?”

“What exactly do you want to do?”

Her lips curled as she brazenly mocked the deep-rooted customs of the empire.

“If my husband takes a mistress, I will take a lover. If his attention strays to another woman, I will do the same.”

“What?”

“I think that’s a better choice than killing someone in secret, don’t you?”

Caelus was momentarily stunned, then suddenly burst into laughter. Shaking his head in disbelief, he leaned in close with a sly smile.

“If you keep tempting me like this, you’ll be in trouble. You saw how many hidden chambers this palace has.”

“I wasn’t tempting you—I was simply stating my sincerity. So if you don’t want a bloodbath in the palace because of a woman—”

“Just kill them all instead. No, wait, that won’t be necessary since I won’t let that happen. But are you actually threatening me? You stole my first time and now you’re warning me that you’ll take a lover?”

“……!”

“I didn’t expect this, but you have quite the talent for bewitching men, just like a witch.”

Despite his teasing, Bellona was truly taken aback for an entirely different reason. Caelus tilted his head in the opposite direction, as if puzzled by her reaction.

“Did you just say… f-first time?”

His eyes widened at her sudden question.

Seeing the disbelief in her slightly trembling gaze, a strange sensation stirred inside him.

Did that mean she hadn’t even realized it was his first time? Had he been so skilled that she never even suspected? Did that mean he had satisfied her completely?

But just as quickly, her expression turned cold. As her demeanor suddenly shifted, his own face hardened as well.

“We’ve delayed too long. Let’s head down.”

Pressing his lips together tightly, Caelus hesitated but ultimately stepped aside without protest. He barely swallowed the words that had almost slipped out.

He understood why she reacted that way.

She was likely troubled by the fact that she had once been Impes’s mistress.

The upright woman had confessed her feelings. Bellona Riknis had realized them herself and spoken them aloud.

She was not the type to make jokes or say unnecessary things. If she had admitted her emotions, she had done so sincerely.

She quickly masked her expression as if it were nothing, but he had no doubt that her words carried the weight of her entire heart.

A woman like her would never take her past lightly. That was why she kept telling him to leave her.

He couldn’t laugh about her past, but it wasn’t something that truly mattered either.

After all, he hadn’t chosen her in ignorance.

And this life was not the same as that time.

Most importantly, her body and heart were now completely his.

For some reason, it felt like he had been given yet another challenge to solve—perhaps the hardest one yet.

If he didn’t change that stubborn nature of hers, she would eventually leave his side.

***

The faces of the waiting knights had turned pale. Even Akon, who was well-versed in torture, had a hardened expression.

No one had ever imagined that Bellona, who always appeared composed, could possess such a brutal side.

Even though her status had changed, she was still once a common knight. While her natural talent could explain her skills, torture was not something one could easily execute without experience.

Yet she handled it as if it were second nature, displaying an almost terrifying proficiency.

Akon cast a sidelong glance at Caelus, suspicion flickering in his eyes.

It was as if Caelus had already known about this side of her, his calm demeanor unwavering. The more he observed, the more unsettling the resemblance between the two of them became.

“I’ll ask again. Who among them gave you the poison?”

The sorcerer, whose mouth was gagged, looked at her with his remaining eye before smirking again.

The knights clicked their tongues at his sheer stubbornness, resisting even under such conditions.

Despite having his limbs severed and losing an eye, the sorcerer refused to speak.

The tension between the two was so thick that even those standing nearby felt a chill run down their spines.

Suddenly, she snatched a knight’s sword.

As she drew closer to the sorcerer, his lips curled in a twisted grin as if asking whether she would finally put him out of his misery.

At that moment, Caelus, who had been sitting quietly, abruptly stood up.

“Bellona.”

Despite the concern in his voice, she only stared at the sorcerer with a persistent gaze before breaking into a serene smile.

“If you had answered when I asked nicely, I wouldn’t have had to go this far.”

Muttering something incomprehensible, Bellona suddenly pressed the sword against the sorcerer’s chest.

Just as he flinched in surprise, the blade swiftly sliced through his clothes in one stroke.

Everyone—knights and frightened noble youths alike—watched in stunned silence as the unexpected scene unfolded.

“Mmmph…!”

The sorcerer let out a muffled scream, his one visible eye wide with shock as he writhed against his restraints.

As if proving a point, Bellona didn’t stop there. With deliberate precision, she sliced through the bandages that tightly wrapped around his—or rather, her—chest.

A stunned silence filled the air.

The sorcerer, who had been glaring defiantly, turned her head away in shame.

The bindings fell away, revealing a feminine figure beneath.

For a long moment, everyone simply gawked in astonishment before hastily averting their gazes, realizing the truth.

No one had expected the so-called deranged sorcerer to be a woman. Her completely shaved head had only fueled the assumption that she was male.

Even more unsettling was how Bellona had noticed it before anyone else.

But the surprises weren’t over yet.

“Still not planning to talk? Then how about this?”

Leaning in close, Bellona whispered something softly into the sorcerer’s ear.

“You resemble her quite a lot. The mole beneath your right eye—just like your sister. If I bring her here, would that change your mind?”

“……!”

“You’d better not waste your time doubting me. Unlike the Empress, the Crown Prince is on my side. And more importantly, I always follow through on my threats.”

“Mmmph!”

Straightening her posture, Bellona’s gaze turned ice-cold as she issued a chilling warning.

“Time is running out. The moment I leave this place, someone else—just like you—will be dragged here, their limbs severed, all because of you.”

The sorcerer trembled, her bloodshot eye darting wildly.

Bellona stepped aside, her voice now devoid of emotion.

“One last chance. Point out who it was.”

The once-stubborn sorcerer slowly turned her gaze.

A heartbeat later, she locked eyes with someone.

Across the room, one of the noble youths collapsed onto the floor, his face drained of all color.

However, the one she identified was not the silver-haired man everyone had expected—it was someone else entirely.