This Time, You Cannot Love Me

TW: ASSAULT

Days, weeks, months, and years passed by and the two, Lorelei and Aaron (Eros) continued to clandestinely see each other at night. It was the only time where Aaron felt happy, and during the morning, he couldn't wait for the night to come.

However, his purposeful concealment of his identity seriously bothered him. He wanted to tell her—he really did. At first, he lied because he was afraid that she would treat him differently, but now that their relationship deepened, he couldn't help but be worried about her reaction when he tells her the news.

How could he even tell her that he was the crown prince and that he is already engaged for almost two decades?

He tried to break the engagement, but the King never approved of it, accusing him of seeing another woman, and that scared him. The King was a murderous monster who took everything from him.

To him, she was the most precious. He swore to protect her even if it costed him his pathetic life, for he only lived when he was near her. He searched for her for such a long time, and now that he found her, he doesn't want to let her go.

He was lying down the bed, looking at her bare back. Her beautiful hair that was always so long was braided by him before they slept. Suddenly, a pang of sadness struck him. If he could not get out of the engagement, he'd hurt her.

He hugged her from her back. Suddenly, Lorelei moved to face him with a very sleepy face.

"Hello, love," she said, smiling at him as her eyes gradually opened. "What time is it?"

"It is three in the morning, my love," Aaron said, kissing her forehead. Every second he spent with her was like a miracle to him. He adjusted the blanket that wrapped them both and hugged her tightly, afraid to let her go. "You can sleep more."

She, however, did not sleep any more. She instead got up, now sitting on the bed, revealing her body. Aaron was shocked, blushing from ear to ear. "It's your birthday, love!" She squealed happily, hugging him, which just made Aaron more flustered.

"B-before that," Aaron said as he stood up to take her white dress that he hung nicely, and he put it on her before putting his own.

Lorelei, too, blushed, and asked Aaron to close his eyes. She opened the drawer beside her side of the bed and took out a blue knitted scarf that looked like Aaron's eyes with an embroidery on it—a white yang flower. She wrapped it on Aaron's neck and gave him a peck on the cheeks.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now!" she said, anticipation evident in her tone of voice.

Aaron felt the warmth of the scarf and it smelled exactly like her. He doesn't notice the passing of time, and he didn't know it was his birthday. But each year, Lorelei would prepare gifts for him, and for his 23rd birthday, he got a scarf he very much needed.

"It is going to be cold in the winter soon, so you need something that would make you warm. I made that specially for you, love, so please accept it!" Lorelei said.

Aaron didn't say a single word, but he kissed her, his hands exploring her back.

"Let's run away, right now," he said, lifting her out of the bed. He put on her shoe before his, and they took the cloaks they brought to sneak in the night. They started to run while their hands were intertwined. However, the moment they went out of the palace, the King, together with five knights and Eva, were there, waiting for them.

"Oh? What a surprise!" the King, now older than before, laughed manically as Eva looked so pissed. Lorelei hid behind Aaron's back because she knew how frightening Eva is whenever she got mad. "My son has been sneaking with a lowly bitch!"

"S-son?" Lorelei asked him; however, Aaron didn't answer.

"Let us go," he angrily said. "I do not want to be your heir anymore!"

The King laughed more. "Hey, did you hear what he just said?" he asked he knight beside him. "He said he wanted to leave!"

"Lorie, is this how you pay me for accepting you as my maid? A lowly slave like you dared to be with my fiancé?" Eva said, remembering how the prince who did not even give her a glance, saw the same person glaring at her like she did something so wrong.

"I told you that I do not want you."

"You never gave me a chance! I did everything to please you!"

"And I never asked you to do that! The only person I have loved and longed for is her, not you, whatever your name is," Aaron said. The face of Eva dropped, and she started crying out of frustration.

"A mere maid defeated you!" The King laughed hysterically, slapping the left shoulder of the now brokenhearted Eva. "Now, my son, what happens to your playthings?"

Aaron gulped. He feared that this day would come to haunt him as he's awake. The mere thought of Lorelei vanishing killed all the rationality he had.

"You will not touch her."

"Oh, believe me, I will because I can," the King said as he took out his sword and pointed it to his son. "I know you'd kill all these people without a bit of hesitation, but if you can kill me, I will immediately install you as King who can do what he wants. That is, if you can."

Now, Aaron has already defeated the King in their training, and he really didn't have any attachments to him. He was confident that he could kill him, and if that was the only obstacle that stands between Lorelei and himself, he was ready to take that action.

"Now, now, I am but a generous king," he took the knight's sword and gave it to his son. "I like fair competition, you see?"

Aaron turned his back from the King and looked at the scare Lorelei. "Love, I will just finish this, okay? Run and hide. I'd come find you."

He kissed her on her forehead.

"Please be safe and come back to me," she cried and left, running.

"How beautiful!" the King cried. "Hahaha it reminds me of how I loved my wife."

Aaron didn't want to hear anything more. He attacked the King as strong as possible and for the next hour, they were batting swords as the King teased him.

He didn't notice that the knights left and captured Lorelei.

"Now, now," the King said as his sword flew away. "We can't have that, can we?"

"What do you mean?"

"I cannot lose."

Suddenly, something struck his neck forcefully and swiftly. Aaron wobbled and lost his grip with the sword. He fell on his knees only to be caught by the king, who directed his gaze to where Lorelei was held by the knights, crying as she saw what unfolded.

The King and his troops went to the dungeon under the palace where he tied the heavily drugged Aaron and imprisoned Lorelei.

He inspected her from outside the bars.

"I see why he fell in love with you," the king said as Lorelei could only look at him. "Your gaze reminds me of his mother. Say, you lowly slave, do you want to save him?"

"I'd do everything."

The King laughed. He was so fascinated by her attitude that he smiled manically and without conscience.

"Then give me your life without a protest, and I would not kill him. Though to be honest, I would have approved of you if you were only noble."

Just then, Aaron started to regain his consciousness, though he was still fighting off the dizziness. "Perfect timing, Aaron. You are going to see a play. Wanna know the title? Wanna know?"

"Stop," Aaron begged as he saw Lorelei inside the Prison.

"The title is hell." The King continued as the knights entered to tie up Lorelei who did not fight back.

"Not her, please, not her."

"Yes, her. The bitch who stole my son from me." The king said as he entered the prison. He then brought up a knife and prickled it to the skin of Lorelei, enough to not wound her. "This woman doesn't even fight back just to save you!"

"Father, please!"

"No," the king said, now striking her arms with the knife as blood started pouring on the white tile. "How obedient! Look at how she doesn't even make a sound! So fascinating!"

The King continued to cut her skin up, from her neck to her chest and stomach, as well as her arms.

The King started to cut up her skirt, revealing her legs.

"Did you like her legs, Aaron? It's so pretty. I should cut it up!"

"No! Father! Stop! Stop taking everything away from me!" Aaron cried, still trying to fight the effect of the drug. However, the King did not listen and still cut her nonetheless.

"Father!" Aaron's voice cracked. He looked at the love of his life, now bloody and weak. He tried to untie the rope that bound him, and he was successful on his arms. Now, he had to figure out how to untie his legs while the five knights watched.

"Your love did this to her, Aaron. I told you to kill all of your emotions."

Now, the King was cutting up her clothes as he invited the knights inside the prison. That was the last straw for Aaron. He mustered all his strength and rage to free himself up, and the moment they all entered the prison, he stole one to the swords of the knights and he slashed the arms of the one knight who dared to almost touch the bare skin of his beloved. At that moment, the complexion of Lorelei was so pale because she lost too much blood.

Still wobbling, Aaron stood in front of her as a defense. The knights haven't recognized it yet, but on one moment, their heads flew off and suddenly, they were bathing in their own bloods. The King who was already walking away looked back and was aghast at the scene that unfolded behind him.

Before anything could register to his mind, Aaron beheaded him as slowly as possible, savoring each moment. Before he died, he threw his sharp knife to the head of Lorelei and her strawberry red hair started to be dyed with blood red.

Finally, his head flew, and the crown rolled to Aaron's feet.

Aaron looked back and he saw Lorelei's head was struck by the knife deeply. The person he loved didn't have a pulse anymore.

"M-my love, I will fix this," he said as his voice broke. He untied Lorelei. "But this time, you cannot love me. I can't promise you that I won't kill anyone you ever marry, but please do not love me in our next chance," Aaron said.

He activated the green gem necklace that hung from his neck and whispered to it.

"I must go back. You must follow my orders."

Just then, a green fairy appeared and it glowed.

Now, back to the present...….