Princess's Revenge: Slave to the Soulbound King Chapter 129

Adelaide

I surfaced from the depths of unconsciousness slowly, my eyelids heavy as lead. Bright light streamed through the curtains, forcing me to squint against the harsh glare. I tried to push myself up, but a searing pain shot through my back, drawing an involuntary sharp hiss from my lips.

"Ahh—" The agony felt like a red-hot dagger driving straight into my spine.

"Don't move!" Seraphina's voice came from nearby. She quickly set down the herbs in her hands and hurried to my bedside. "Your wounds have barely healed—you can't be so reckless."

Seraphina carefully placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, helping me lie back against the pillows. I blinked weakly, my throat feeling as dry as sand.

"How... how long was I unconscious?" My voice was so hoarse it barely sounded like my own.

Seraphina brought a cup of water, gently lifting my head to help me take small sips. "Two days. Today is the third. You lost so much blood, and the wounds were deep. Thank the Moon Goddess we found you in time."

As the cool water moistened my cracked lips, memories crashed over me like a tidal wave. The soul bonding ceremony, my identity revealed, Lina's betrayal and attack... each memory was like a small blade piercing my heart.

"Lycanthar... I need to see him." My voice was filled with longing and anxiety.

Seraphina's expression shifted subtly. She lowered her gaze to smooth the bedsheets, avoiding my searching eyes. "The King is handling important state affairs. I'll have the guards notify him that you've awakened."

"Does he... does he know I'm awake?"

"I report your condition to him every day." Seraphina answered carefully, but didn't directly address my question.

I waited from daylight until darkness, my eyes constantly turning toward the door, hoping to hear those familiar footsteps. Each time there was movement in the hallway, my heart would race involuntarily, but every time ended in disappointment.

The bright daylight gradually gave way to dusk, and finally the room was plunged into darkness, with only the firelight dancing in the hearth, like my wavering hope.

Lycanthar didn't come.

Deep in the night, I lay in bed with loneliness as my constant companion. My consciousness drifted between waking and sleep when I suddenly felt the bed dip slightly beside me. A familiar scent enveloped me—that unique mixture of pine and wildness that belonged only to Lycanthar. I wanted to open my eyes, but found myself unable to fight the heavy drowsiness, finally falling back into dreams.

When I woke the next morning, the room was empty, with only a slight indentation on the pillow beside me suggesting the previous night might not have been a hallucination.

Days passed one by one. My wounds gradually healed, but the injury in my heart only deepened. Lycanthar never appeared before me, and the guards outside my room were as strict as a prison. Besides Seraphina's scheduled visits to check my injuries, only a timid little maid would bring meals.

"Can you tell me where King Lycanthar is?" I asked the maid again and again.

The maid always kept her head down, quickly setting down the food. "I'm sorry, my lady... I cannot say." Then she would flee the room like a startled deer.

Every night, I could sense that mysterious visitor. Sometimes it was a barely audible sigh, sometimes fingertips gently brushing across my cheek, but whenever I opened my eyes, the room was always empty. This elusive presence was driving me nearly insane.

On the seventh night, I decided to stop waiting passively. My strength had recovered enough to handle this small "ambush." I lay in bed pretending to sleep, but every nerve in my body was tense, waiting for that familiar scent to approach.

Moonlight filtered through the curtain gaps into the room. Time passed minute by minute. Just when I was about to give up, nearly inaudible footsteps approached the bedside. I held my breath, feeling him lean closer to me. When I sensed a warm hand gently brush across my forehead, I suddenly opened my eyes and quickly grabbed that hand.

"I knew it was you!" I gripped tightly onto the hand that tried to pull away, my eyes flashing with complex emotions. Lycanthar stood there, moonlight outlining his sharp profile, his expression hidden in shadow.

"It's been you all along, hasn't it? Coming to see me every night, but never appearing when I'm awake." My voice trembled slightly, both accusatory and seeking confirmation.

Lycanthar remained silent, his body rigid as a statue.

"Why?" I sat up, ignoring the protest from my back wounds. "If you still care about me, why are you hiding from me like this?"

Lycanthar still had his back to me, his shoulders drawn tight.

"I know I deceived you, but that wasn't all of who I am." I explained urgently. "Yes, I'm a human princess. I originally came here with a mission. But I fell in love with you, Lycanthar—that was real. I love every part of you—your wisdom, your strength, your gentleness... I would even give up my kingdom, my family, just to be with you."

Lycanthar finally turned around. His eyes no longer held their former warmth, replaced instead by an icy wasteland. "Love?" He laughed coldly, his voice low and harsh. "Do you even know what love is, deceiver?"

The word hit me like a sharp dagger to the heart. I opened my mouth but found I couldn't breathe.

"You had countless opportunities to tell me the truth," Lycanthar continued, each word seeming to be squeezed through gritted teeth. "When I opened my heart to you, during every night we shared together, even before the soul bonding ceremony. But you chose to keep deceiving me until your lies were exposed."

"I was afraid of losing you," I said, my voice choking with tears welling in my eyes. "I was afraid that if I told you the truth, you would push me away, would hate me... just like now."

"It doesn't matter anymore." Lycanthar's voice was cold as ice. "I've decided to exile you from Silverhowl. Tomorrow night, I'll send people to escort you back to Eldoria."

I felt dizzy, as if the entire world was crumbling beneath my feet. "No... no!" I struggled to get out of bed, ignoring the pain from my wounds, walking toward Lycanthar. "I won't leave. I belong here, beside you."

Lycanthar stepped back, avoiding my outstretched hand. "I don't need a human princess—a spy—by my side."

"If you don't trust me, you can have me watched, you can restrict my movements, but please don't send me away." I pleaded, tears finally breaking free. "I just want to stay by your side, even if only as your servant, your... whatever."

Lycanthar's expression remained cold and hard, but something unreadable flickered in his eyes.

Suddenly I realized something. I wiped away my tears and looked directly into Lycanthar's eyes. "Wait... if you truly hated me, why not imprison me? Why not punish my deception? Why ensure I return safely to my homeland?" A glimmer of understanding flashed in my eyes. "You don't hate me... you're protecting me, aren't you?"