CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

As soon as she stepped into the balcony, cool air and warm moonlight greeted her skin.

Leila closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling out the quietness of her surroundings and exhaled. Her lids fluttered open and met with millions of stars glittering in the night sky.

Unlike the usual Earth, the sky seemed lower and she could see auroras that seem to caress the night with their flowing colors.

Leila took a sip of her wine and gazed below the balcony where she was now greeted by a beautifully created garden filled with flowers of red, white, pink, dark blue and purple. Beyond the garden was a forest large enough to hold a small hunting event.

She stared at the large white fountain in the middle of the garden—at the scene of the moonlight reflecting on the flowing water. Her brows furrowed as she tried to erase the vivid image of a pair of gray eyes staring at her. "Kailen, huh, means 'mighty warrior'. I guess it does kind of suit him."

"What's this?" a low voice suddenly spoke behind her, Leila flinched internally and closed her eyes to try calming her rapid heartbeat. "Don't tell me you fell in love with me at first sight?"

Her eyebrow twitched, as she turned and flashed the cocky intruder with a perfectly elegant smile, "Oh my, I didn't saw His Highness." She gripped her skirt and bowed, "Greetings, Prince Kailen. Please pardon my rudeness."

She lifted her head and once again met with those gray eyes. Prince Kailen was looking at her curiosly, "I've never heard of a lady with your beauty—apart from Lady Lieselotte Amaryllis. How come?"

"It's been a while since I came back from my travels, your highness. Surely my looks are nothing compared to yours."

A corner of his lips tugged upward, he gestured at the setting, "Seems like you prefer company of stars instead of people."

Leila tilted her head slightly, a small smile playing in her lips. "Well, I'm not really fond of exchanging words with strangers. Makes me feel they approach me with motives."

"Ho, what about me?"

She shrugged, "I'm afraid I'm too inexperienced." Her reddish-brown eyes met with ones in gray. "Do you have ulterior motives?"

She met his gaze, unfaltering, unwavering, fearless, as she offered a challenge. Though he had a smile on his face, Kailen slightly felt the hair on his back stood suddenly and almost caught him off guard. 'This woman—'

Leila smiled, "I'll take that silence as 'yes'. Now…" she closed her fan. "What do you want from me, Your Royal Highness?"

Kailen closed the distance. The woman was already leaning her back on the railing so it was impossible to step back or avoid his approach—unless she was planning on jumping.

However, the woman didn't moved a bit. Even as he place his hands on both sides, trapping her between them. Her eyes seemed more curious than startled—and there wasn't a hint of fear in her sweet scent.

Kailen leaned his face closer to hers. He tilted his head as he observed her properly—he even brought it closer to her neck.

'The heck is this dude doing? Is he a pervert?' Leila thought, fighting the urge to slam her fist on his nose and break it. 'Don't tell me his getting off of this?'

Kailen lifted a hand and touched the woman's soft, slender neck, and caressed it. "That's odd. You have a very interesting scent." His brows furrowed as he felt his body suddenly growing hot, and his member hardened. 'As expected, it was this woman.'

He recalled the scene where a faint sweet, alluring scent wafted past his nose when he first entered the hall. It smelled of sweet candy and roses, and had an effect similar to an aphrodisiac. Even as he exchanged words with the queen and the other nobles, his eyes secretly wandered.

Kratorians are famous for their enhanced physical strength and senses, they are second to none when it comes to hunting, and they transform into beast of all sorts.

Apart from inherent powers that only nobles possess, it was their ruthless characteristic and unsatiable thirst to draw blood, that they were known as barbarians.

However, that scent didn't last for long and eventually overwhelmed by the other's disgusting smell of perfume. Kratorians prefer normal body odor than those doused with perfume, with their enhanced senses, the effect was worse.

The scent became slightly vivid just when that fool of a prince started screaming and causing the loud ruckus. Kailen used the situation immediately to search the source and when he found it, this woman immediately noticed he was looking at her.

The moment their eyes met, the scent disappeared entirely.

As an emperor, apart from the usual delegation and papers, his officials kept bringing in demands to take an empress.

Kailen was a very selfish and cruel man and he always gets what he wants. He had many women, but all of them are the same. Greedy, easy, and boring.

He had a servant compile a list of suitable candidates along with their portraits. It is only right for him to marry the most powerful and most beautiful of them all.

And the top of his list was Lady Lieselotte of the infamous Amaryllis ducal family.

The Amaryllis household had been garnering secret attention for the mystery revolving the family. And the fact that even the Candor's king had to respect the duke was enough to attract his interest. He even sent some of his talented people to infiltrate the place to gather information and such, but none of them came back.

Not to mention almost every known guild has always chase out people who wanted to target the Amaryllis household.

However, even with his sharp memory, Kailen could not recall the face of this woman from the many lists of potential empress candidates his men gathered.

Leila fought off the urge to end the guy at this very moment. He was rude, narcisstic, and has scent fetish like a perverted dog sniffing at some female ass before screwing her.

He breathed on her neck. "If I said I want you, will you give yourself to me?"

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'…Can I smack him?' an eyebrow twitched slightly. Leila grabbed her rationality which had already booked his flight to neverland and chained it back to her body. 'Deep breaths, Leila…deep breaths.'

Leila collected her rioting thoughts and flashed the douche 'prince' with a perfect smile, "That's an unbiased thing to say. Not to be offensive but, what's in it for me?"

Kailen smirked, "You can have anything you want. Money, power—and more money and power."

"Pfft." Leila used her fan to smack his hands away from her. "Lies. You can't give me what I want."

Leila snickered at the ugly expression that contorted the 'prince's beautiful features. Kailen flashed her a menacing glare, he had never been insulted in his life--no one would even try for they have to pay the price with their life. Yet this woman dared to—

"You know I could have you killed for insulting me, right?" Leila shrugged nonchalantly which irked him even more.

"What is it that you want?"

"I told you, you can't give it to me."

"That's impossible. There's nothing I can't give."

"Hmm…if that's the case," Leila's smile turned wicked, she pointed her fan on his chest. "I want to own you."

Kailen became furious, "Do you have a death wish? Do you have any idea what you have just said?"

She laughed, "See? I told you. What I want, you can't give me. Besides, why the killing intent? Weren't you the one who asked what I want? Don't tell me you plan to kill me for such a thing? I believe Your Highness is not a shallow person."

Kailen gritted his teeth, "You—!"

"Pardon me for the sudden intrusion, Your Highness Prince Kailen." said the female attendant from behind the curtain. "Her Majesty, Queen Roselia has asked for your presence."

About damn time.

"Looks like I have taken too much of your time, Your Maje—I mean, Your Highness." She intentionally said as she held up her skirt and bowed. Leila wanted to laugh when the douche prince stiffened at the 'misspoken' title. "I would be leaving now."

She purposely showed the 'prince' her smirk and immediately walked away in calm, elegant but quick strides before his hand could grab her.

Leila gave a quick glance at the appearance of the female attendant that interrupted them and saw she was one of those the Kratorian 'prince' had brought with him when he entered the banquet hall before disappearing into the crowd.

***

"Fuck!" Kailen angrily swept everything on his table in one hand.

There were loud crashing sounds of fragile glass breaking on impact. His room was thrashed, the fabrics were torn, burned; the furniture destroyed to pieces—he had ruthlessly killed all the attendants who came in his room because of the ruckus he's making. The remaining trembled—pale, crying and sweating and reeked of urine in the corner. There was blood trickling on their forehead as they were hit with the sharp shards of the objects he threw angrily.

"That woman—!" he snarled, head furiously turned to his terrified servants who trembled on all fours in the ground. His gray eyes flashed dangerously. "I want everything on that woman. Find out who she is. If she's part of some insignificant household, take her to me and kill everyone in that house."

The servants immediately nodded and wasted no time to get out of the room. Kailen plopped on his chair and loosened his clothing, "Where's the bitch that interrupted me at the banquet?"

His most trusted hand, Rikardo, came in dragging the arm of the terrified female who begged and begged for mercy. "P-p-please, h-have mer-rcy!"

Kailen watched the pathetic woman with indifferent eyes. The sight of the woman was patheric. After a few moments, an idea formed in his mind, 'That's right, I should've vented my anger to you from the start.'

He beckoned the woman, "Strip."

The woman glanced up, her messy appearance and idiotic expression annoying him. "W-what?"

"Don't make me ask twice."

The woman immediately nodded and took off her clothes until she was completely naked, without any accessory or fabric of any kind on her body.

Kailen stood and grabbed a fistful amount of the woman hair ruthlessly and threw her on top of his bed. He unbuckled his belt and the zipper open and his large member appeared from between the fabric.

The female paled at the size, "P-please, d-don't." But Kailen ignored her, grabbed her leg to pull her closer to him and spread her legs open, revealing her core.

And without any wetness or foreplay, Kailen cruelly stabbed his large member inside her and the woman screamed in pain.

Not caring about the large amount of blood that poured from between the woman's vagina, Kailen continued to pound her insides roughly with the purpose to pleasure him to the point of breaking her.

"Gyaa…Ah…it hurts!...s-stop…yaah!"

The woman cried, screamed and whimpered. She was no match for his brute strength and could do nothing but let him ravish her.

"Gaah…ahh..hyaa..huk..ah!"

Kailen clicked his tongue in disapproval. The woman was for sure a virgin but she wasn't tight enough and her insides didn't feel good enough. He could fuck her for days and won't even cum once.

He grabbed her leg roughly and flipped her to her stomach. Kailen pulled her hips towards him, which raised her ass towards his member.

When the woman realized what he was about told do, Kailen had already impaled the tiny hole of her ass with one thrust. The woman screamed louder than the first,

"Nooo—!"

At the sight of the woman beneath him—all crying and submissive, with Kailen's predatory and sadistic nature, he grinned cruelly.

"Haa…hic…hyaa…haaa..it h-hurts! Your M-Majesty, p-pleease! Hyaaa..!"

Kailen pounded the woman's insides so roughly that the sounds slap! slap! can be heard in the hallway of the open room.

He grabbed a fistful of her hair, the color immediately caught his gaze. 'This woman had the same hair color, but hers look richer—like sweet melted dark chocolate.'

The similarity only triggered more of his primal instincts. Kailen didn't stop violating the woman all evening. If she fainted, he would only wake her up again with rougher thrusts; if she moans too loudly, he would stick his cock on her throat; and if she was thirsty, he gave her no water but his semen.

The woman's once olive skin was covered with his marks and handprints. Her wet insides irked him as the stimulation was not enough. He had pounded her mercilessly for hours and yet could only come once.

"Tsk! Useless bitch!" Kailen grabbed her naked body and threw her out in the hallway. The woman could only whimper in pain and exhaustion, the light in her eyes dulled. "This girl is of no use to me. Get her entertain my men or throw her to the animals, do whatever you want."

The nearby guards bowed, "Yes, Your Highness." and dragged the woman out of his sight.

Kailen rubbed his temples and sighed, "Rikardo."

A man stepped out of the shadows as soon as he was summoned. With a hand on his left chest, his head bowed slightly. "You called, Your Highness?"

"Did you get what I needed?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Rikardo said, handing him the document. "Unfortunately, this is all we were able to find about the noble woman you were looking for."

Kailen went through the folder bearing no more than three pages and laughed, "I wondered who she was, turns out she's the eldest daughter of that mysterious ducal couple. How come it's so few?"

"Answering Your Highness, the lady was said to have gone missing for the past two years," Rikardo replied. "As of her childhood, it was said that the eldest lady of Amaryllis household don't get out much. When she did, she had only attended her appraisal ceremony with the royal family and the nobles, her graduation ceremony though she had been taught privately, and the last time was during her Saeva ritual."

Saeva.

A form of ritual that began since the first immortals of the beginning of world. It is a month-term procedure where the newborns are thrown back into the wild with nothing but themselves to fight, cultivate, and awaken their primal instincts of preying on the weak in order to earn their place among the strong in the survival of the fittest chain.

If you survive, you are to be acknowledged as a part of the race. If you die, you failed.

That's how this world works.

Kailen held up the paper containing the well-painted portrait of the woman he met at the banquet hall. Porcelain skin, clever pair of reddish-brown eyes, painted lips—she had beauty that rivals her little sister.

Lady Lieselotte was a woman with a bearing of an angel which reminded him of pure white lilies drenched in rain. She was, by far, the best candidate as his wife.

However, he had always thought the girl was too pure, too innocent, and seemed gullible for him. Though he didn't mind marrying such a goddess, her beauty would just be one of his trophies.

With her infamous kind and warm personality, Lady Lieselotte would most likely be murdered in his power hungry nation. Kailen don't need a useless wife.

And yet—

["What I want, you can't give me."]

Leila Ravenna Amaryllis.

A woman with a majestic bearing of a blooming dark red rose. She was indifferent to his looks, riches and power. The first time she met her, every one of his alarms went blaring. She had a ferocious and ruthless fire underneath that cool and sophisticated interior.

A someone, for the first time in his life, he could not read. Could not tempt. Could not possess. And he could not help but feel she's more mysterious and complicated than her infamous family.

["I want to own you."]

Kailen's smile turned serpentine, "If she had said 'I want you.' Then my offer would have benefit the both of us, and yet—"

The scene of her greeting mistake flashed in his mind. The moment Kailen sat on the throne as emperor; he had announced a gag-order to everyone in his empire about the truth of his position. This is why international and neighboring countries and races were oblivious to his new profound title.

Kailen could not erase the look in her face, the spark in her eyes when she almost said 'Your Majesty'. Though impossible, Kailen couldn't help but feel as if that woman knew everything.

But it was just a feeling.

'Yes, I'm sure it's nothing more than a mistake.'

Kailen watched as Lady Leila's portrait burst into flames. Who would've thought the older sister is even better? A woman who dared insult him and say he could never own her in a roundabout way.

"Leila." Kailen whispered, grinning sadistically. "I'll have you pay for this insult hundred-fold."

As he watch the ashes scatter in the wind, Kailen felt a rush of excitement in his blood. His primal instincts spark to a sea of flame. He was a man who would have anything he wanted in his hands.

Something or someone, once targeted, would never leave his grasp.

Like the throne, he had a new objective—an obsession whom he vowed he would acquire at any cost.

Lady Leila of Amaryllis.

'You're mine.'