Arabella didn’t have the luxury to taste the ripe peach in her mouth.
Trying hard not to think about the chaotic situation, she diligently chewed to produce juice. Spotting a fork and spoon next to the fruit tray, she quickly grabbed the spoon.
As she turned away from the Emperor to bring the spoon to her mouth, a large hand caught her wrist. Startled, she looked up at the Emperor with wide eyes, but he calmly said, “You didn’t use a spoon in the cave. It’s best to replicate that as closely as possible. We don’t know how the juice interacted with your hand.”
Unable to respond because of the peach juice in her mouth, Arabella’s eyes began to flit around uncertainly.
Back then, the situation was different… and it was a black panther, not the Emperor Himself. Arabella, looking at her own hand, lifted her head to find the Emperor’s enchanting face very close to hers.
Tilting his head, the Emperor looked at her lips and whispered, “You don’t have to feed me with your hand. There could be other ways. Your lips are also part of your body, so they might have the same effect. In fact, since it’s a direct transfer, it might even be more effective.”
The Emperor extended his thumb to swipe a bit of juice that had seeped out of Arabella’s lips. Bringing his finger to his lips to taste, he leaned in closer.
It wasn’t as if the peach had alcohol in it… Arabella, feeling dazed, looked up at the Emperor.
The sight of his red eyes filling her own vision caused her heart to flutter as if hundreds of butterflies were taking flight inside. Startled by the sensation, Arabella pressed her hands to her chest.
The Emperor’s warm breath spread softly over Arabella’s lips. Unknowingly, she closed her eyes and, in her fluster, swallowed the peach juice.
Finally snapping out of it, Arabella suddenly jumped up from the bed.
The Emperor spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, “Looks like we have to start over.”
“Shouldn’t we try with tears first? It wasn’t the juice… it might have been tears.”
Her large eyes looked pitifully shaky. Seeing Arabella trembling, a similar flutter stirred in the Emperor’s red eyes. Coming to his senses, he sighed inaudibly, thinking, ‘What am I doing to this innocent lady?’
His prank had gone too far. He, who never joked with peers in his childhood, was now eagerly seeking opportunities to tease her.
The Emperor clenched his fists, realizing that being with her numbed his reason and brought unfamiliar emotions. Perhaps he felt a special familiarity because she had cured him, but he had no intention of breaking down the walls he had built around himself. She was just a key to break his curse.
She was worth using, so he brought her to the palace – that’s all. Any more unkind pranks would make him no better than a street thug. The Emperor firmly resolved not to repeat his earlier behavior.
“Rubbing your eyes with onions can make you cry. Shall we try that?”
Her trembling voice reached his ears. Lifting his head, he saw Arabella, hands clasped, not knowing what to do. The Emperor responded with a gentle smile.
“You’re probably right. It doesn’t seem to be a serious injury after all. Now that I’m not in pain anymore.”
Finally feeling reassured, Arabella’s innocent face lit up with relief. She relaxed her tightly clenched hands and eased her stiff shoulders.
“Thank goodness. Then please rest comfortably.”
“Thank you for today. We leave early in the morning, so make sure to rest well.”
After Arabella left, the Emperor, with his red eyes, gazed at the door for a moment before closing his eyelids, looking up at the ceiling.
The inexplicable feelings he was experiencing now… he assured himself they would return to normal once back at the palace. No need to worry.
At the Empress Dowager’s quarters in the palace.
“Success, you say?”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes sparkled with joy as she returned to her chamber after her bath.
“Didn’t I tell you? Leave it to me and I will surely bring the Prince back to the palace,” boasted Duke Harden, wearing a sly smile as he approached the still damp Empress Dowager.
His muscular arm encircled her slender waist, pulling her into his embrace as he whispered.
“Now that the timid Baron Brad, who only cares about pleasing the Emperor, is out of the picture, if you call on me… I will serve you with complete loyalty.”
“Of course, I’ll devote everything to you until Prince Eric ascends the throne,” added Duke Harden, pressing his bearded lips against her hollowed collarbone.
In the past, she would have slapped him or pushed him away.
This man, who rose from a lowly stable boy to the commander of the third imperial guard and then to a duke due to his wartime merits, was the exact type the Empress Dowager despised – uncouth and barbaric.
However, the Empress Dowager and Prince Eric needed someone like Duke Harden, not the sophisticated, perfumed nobles of the capital.
Baron Brad, who flinched at the Emperor’s cough, was useless in such situations.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
