Every breath had been plundered, every defense swept away.
17.39 W
Julian’s arm remained securely around me. With his other hand, his long fingers gently brushed a stray cur
from my ear.
“I have found an ice spring,” he said. “It can purge the last of the poison from your body.”
[Yesss! Is the water play scene finally here? Life is good!]
[This is the quality content we paid for!]
[My pants have flown away and I hope they never come back!]
In the frigid water of the ice spring, my teeth chattered. I couldn’t stop shivering.
The comments were not pleased.
[You’ve got to be kidding me. This is what we premium members get to see?]
【You’re just going to let her soak in the ice water like a pickle? And you’re just going to stand there and watch, Ice Prince? Where is your heart?]
[Elara, start acting cute! The second you do, he’ll be your willing slave!)
I scanned the comments, then cleared my trembling throat. In my most pathetic, delicate voice, I said:
“Cousin, I’m cold.”
“I’m scared to be in the spring all by myself…”
“Come in and keep me company, Cousin.”
Julian’s lips thinned into a straight line. Before he could answer, my foot “slipped,” and I plunged into the icy
water.
It was so cold. My limbs went numb as I sank deeper and deeper.
There was a splash.
Julian appeared before me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me into the warm circle of his arms. I was trembli
ng violently.
“So cold,” I whimpered.
His voice softened as he stroked my wet hair. “Hush. I’ll hold you. I’ll keep you warm.
He took my hand and pressed it against his chest. His fine silk robe, soaked through, was now practically non–existent. Beneath my fingertips, I could feel the powerful, steady beat of his heart, the hard, defined planes of his chest.
I snuggled closer into his embrace.
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Chapter 2
His voice came out as a hoarse rasp. “Elara, don’t tempt me here.”
“I am not a saint. I cannot resist you.”
On the contrary, he had an unspeakable addiction, and the woman in his arms was his only cure.
“In a few days, when you’re well again, I will go to your family and ask for your hand…”
16
The ice spring cured the poison, but it left me sick with a fever for days. I rested at the Chancellor’s residen-
ce, with Julian personally taking care of me.
After a while, even my mother grew suspicious.
“Elara, the Chancellor is an incredibly busy man. And Julian is only your distant cousin. You can’t keep clingi-
ng to him like you did when you were a child.”
I remembered when Julian first came to the capital as a teenager, to study at the most prestigious academy. He had swept every honor, placing first in every exam. Back then, before he was the Chancellor, he had lived
with my family for a time.
The first time I saw him, I thought, How can a person be so beautiful and so cold at the same time? He was like a jade statue of a bodhisattva, his eyes devoid of all emotion. It was my mother who had pushed me forward, telling me to call him “Cousin.”
And so, reluctantly, I had called him that for years.
He seemed to have some sort of secret ailment. I had stumbled upon it by accident. On the fifteenth of
every month, he would lock himself in his room and refuse all visitors.
Because of his exceptional scholarship and mastery of the gentlemanly arts, my mother had me study under
him for a while.
When she came to the Chancellor’s residence to fetch me, it was Julian who came out to smooth things over. He played the part of the detached, doting older brother perfectly.
“Elara has been very well–behaved, practicing her piano. She’s no trouble at all.”
“Once her cold is gone, I will personally escort her home.”
My mother, full of gratitude, would never have suspected the true nature of our relationship.
The day Julian brought me back home, Kaelen was there, asking for my hand in marriage.
The comments went wild.
[Old flame versus new love! A love triangle! My favorite! Get competitive for her, boys!]
【That trashy psycho only wants what he can’t have. He’s worse than a dog!)
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Chapter 2
[I bet that slap Elara gave him last time really turned him on.]
Kaelen had brought hundreds of chests of betrothal gifts. “Elara, please don’t be angry with me anymore.”
“We’ve known each other for so long, we grew up together. Please, forgive your Kaelen just this once.”
It was the first time he had ever humbled himself to ask for my forgiveness. Before I’d seen the comments, I was the one who trailed after him, terrified someone else would steal him away.
“Elara, the gifts are all here. If it’s not enough, I can add more.” He shot a sly, challenging look at Julian, who was seated beside me.
“Chancellor, I hear you are Elara’s distant cousin. This gift list represents my sincerity in marrying her. I’ll entrust it to you for your review.”
I flinched and quickly said, “I never agreed to marry you! Take the list and the gifts back.”
A pair of pale, long–fingered hands intercepted the list before I could.
“Since Lord Kaelen is so sincere about marrying my sister,” Julian said, his voice smooth as silk, “I will of course review this list carefully.” He gave Kaelen a look that was not quite a smile, his eyes dark and bottom
less.
