TMLNHMB 07

Chapter 7

Lately, perhaps due to the divine power residing in my body, I’d been experiencing more insomnia and headaches. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t fully grasp the current situation. At last, for the first time in his life, an emotionally drained Luan let his long arms rest on the armrest of the chair.

Just as Luan had been observing her, her eyes—now observing him—widened. Even without him saying a word, she picked up on his exhaustion. It was typical of her—always reacting like a sensitive flying squirrel when it came to his physical condition.

“Why? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I am. Because of you, Your Highness.”

“…You’re saying that miserable face is my fault?”

Seidyn, who had been looking at him with concern, now stuck her lips out in disbelief—or perhaps exasperation. Then, as if catching herself, she quickly composed her expression. That moment looked exactly like the young Seidyn Hereis from the past, and Luan felt his turbulent emotions settle a bit.

It was strange. People called his power “divine,” believing it would save them and the empire. Yet Luan, the one born with it, believed that very divine power only amplified his own violence. Whether it was back then or now, only Seidyn had ever been able to soothe him.

At that thought, Luan faintly smiled and interlaced his thin, firm fingers. If he didn’t restrain himself, he might just embrace her on impulse.

“Wouldn’t it be obvious? My first love doesn’t even see me as a man.”

“…!”

Seidyn clamped her mouth shut, as if resisting the urge to yell, “You again?!” Her narrowed eyes glared at him, clearly saying, ‘Keep talking nonsense and I’m leaving!’

And since she really might leave, Luan stayed quiet for a moment—before finally speaking again. He’d tried to hold back, but it didn’t work. As the princess well knew, he had a nasty temper.

“Your Highness treated me from the first day we met. But mana is fundamentally a destructive power, not one of healing. Still, you went as far as to refine your mana into a healing force using self-crafted mana stones.”

“So what?”

Still playing dumb, the princess replied with an air of “That was no big deal.” Luan wrinkled his nose and chuckled. Her act of innocence was both adorable and a little irritating. Not that he could ever truly be irritated with Seidyn Hereis. No matter what she did, to him she was always just irritatingly cute.

Regardless of the fact that divine power wielders and black mages were mortal enemies—standing on opposing ends of the magical spectrum—Luan knew one thing for certain:

What she had done wasn’t something a black mage should casually dismiss with a “So what?” Even with her minimal mana, the princess—cute and squirrel-like as she was—was still a direct descendant of the Hereis royal family and a naturally born black mage.

No ordinary black mage would have even considered researching how to absorb the destructive nature of their mana into a mana stone. But Seidyn had. For his sake. So Luan had quietly hoped… even if it wasn’t as much as he felt for her, maybe—just maybe—she felt something for him too…

“That’s why I had hope. Even if it wasn’t as deep as mine, I thought maybe you had a little interest in me…”

“Well, you thought wrong. Ever heard of camaraderie? I only cared for you out of solidarity, that’s all.”

“Then I suppose there’s only one thing left to do.”

Luan smiled faintly and approached the princess, who still clutched the medicine bottle like a lifeline. Seidyn didn’t manage to stand in time, unable to catch the right moment to get up. And just like that, Luan took advantage of her lapse and gently pulled the medicine bottle from her arms. Without even using force, it slipped from her hands. Surprised, Seidyn jerked her head up. Luan, watching her every reaction as if memorizing them, stepped back into the shadows and spoke.

“Then all I need to do is seduce the very affectionate princess.”

“Your Majesty!”

Seidyn shouted in protest, as if he had crossed the line with that joke. But without breaking eye contact, Luan casually popped open the loosened cap of the bottle.

Instead of responding to the princess scolding him, he tilted his head back and swallowed the remaining medicine, then said:

“When I was young, you once said a worm looked pitiable and treated it kindly. Now that you’ve met that worm again… I wonder how much more kindly you’ll treat it now…”

“Did you just compare yourself to a worm? That’s not funny. Keep your dignity, Your Majesty.”

As Seidyn scolded him with disbelief in her voice, Luan beamed brightly. Then, with a hazy expression, he whispered as if to seduce her—the beautiful princess who was weak to pretty things.

“Your Highness.”

“…?”

Seidyn’s eyes widened. Luan, already seated on the bed, had begun slowly unbuttoning his shirt—exposing his tight, sculpted abs.

“People say I’m handsome. Do I not look that way to you?”

He let out a soft sigh before continuing.

“That’s a shame. I’ve lived my life trying to catch one person’s eye.”

Seidyn was horrified. Not because Luan had stripped down in front of her, but at herself. That her pupils trembled and her mouth went dry over such an obvious seduction attempt—that is what shocked her.

“Ugh!”

She covered her eyes and sprang to her feet, yelling at Luan, whose body might’ve been fine, but whose temper was certainly foul.

“Your Majesty! This is completely inappropriate…!”

He was getting more and more reckless. Even if she did like him, he was the Emperor! A man like him shouldn’t just throw off his clothes like that…

“Like him?” Wait, what?! What kind of thought is that?!

Seidyn groaned internally at her own weakness for pretty faces. And meanwhile, Luan—having casually tossed off his shirt—took another gulp of the sleep aid. It had a faint, fragrant scent.

At that, Seidyn snapped back to attention. The medicine came with serious risks of addiction, and the dosage was supposed to be very strictly controlled. But he had already drunk over half of it!

“Your Majesty!”

Now wasn’t the time to be distracted. Whatever he was thinking, she had to stop him. Seidyn rushed forward to take the bottle from the half-dressed emperor in the shadows. Reaching out to grab it, Luan gently handed her the bottle and whispered:

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course I am! How can you drink that like it’s water? Who prescribed this medicine, anyway?”

Seidyn’s face was full of genuine concern as she declared she’d go confront the unknown physician herself. Luan flinched slightly at her affectionate expression. What she didn’t know was that in this room, the real danger to him wasn’t the drug—it was her. For someone starved for love, her worry and care felt like an invitation to misunderstand. Even if it wasn’t romantic love, her concern felt too much like affection for him not to cling to.

Luan hid his urge to ask, “Do you even realize who’s seducing whom?” and instead gave her a faint smile. He gently wiped the sweat off her cheek with his thumb and murmured:

“Who’s really worrying about whom here?”

“…”

Seidyn took a moment to reassess her situation. Then, as if reprimanding herself for getting too close, she stepped back and sat stiffly in the small chair again.

“Anyway, the fact that you’re disguising your sleeping meds in liquor bottles means you know the danger of divine power rampaging, right? In that case, your physician should be more careful with prescriptions. Letting a patient take the meds like that is just—”

“Everyone in the Holy Empire knows that royal bloodlines can’t handle divine power. Even a baby knows it. So giving me medicine is pretty much my doctors’ main job.”

Luan crumpled the edge of his half-unbuttoned shirt, as if annoyed by its looseness, and frowned. Watching him, Seidyn spoke with dissatisfaction.

“You really do strip easily now. Who are you trying to impress?”

She tried not to glance at his abs peeking out in the dark, frowning in frustration. She was just about to lecture him on discarding both clothes and dignity when Luan looked down at her, murmuring as if intoxicated by the princess chatting away in front of him:

“I’m just getting ready for bed. The bath’s over there, and the bed’s ready too.”

He gestured toward one side of the massive imperial bedroom, and Seidyn followed his gaze—her eyes twitching. Oh. There was a bath there.

So he didn’t undress to seduce me?

She recalled following the palace maids earlier that day into the luxurious bath attached to his room, helping dress and serve him all day in that massive bedroom.

“So the Emperor really does have a giant private bath… Must be nice.” she had thought absently.