CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46: YOU ARE THE ONE.

The letter trembled faintly in Catherine’s hand, as though it carried the weight of iron chains rather than ink and parchment.

She did not look at Aiden at first. Her eyes lingered on the curve of the signature, the seal already broken, the words already etched into her chest.

The firelight in the chamber flickered against her face, highlighting the quiet despair she struggled to conceal.

Aiden’s chest swelled with a warmth he refused to show too openly. He wanted to smile—he wanted to smile so widely it split his face—but not here, not near her ladyship.

Not when her blue eyes were dimmed with grief, when her body leaned ever so slightly as if the absence of her husband’s presence had already carved a hollow in her spine.

But that bold thought returned again, whispering into his ear like a serpent: I can take advantage of this. Her sadness. Her loneliness.

His heart thumped, quickened by the forbidden thrill. She was sad because she was to be alone again. She was lonely.

’But I will not make you feel that way, my lady,’ he swore inwardly, every syllable biting into the inside of his cheek like iron nails. I promise.

His expression shifted, twisted deliberately into one more sorrowful than even Catherine’s. He clenched his jaw, furrowed his brows, and lowered his lashes until he looked as though grief itself had taken residence in him.

"...why...why is our lord leaving? Why?" His voice cracked with a false anguish that sounded too real. He let it rise in the chamber, beloud and desperate, his deceitful frustration woven so visibly that Catherine’s heart ached to see it mirrored in him.

Catherine’s lips parted, dry, before she swallowed and forced herself to stand. The chair creaked faintly under the sudden absence of her weight. She pulled the letter close to her chest, reclaiming it as though afraid his hands might take it too.

"...Now you know why I’m like this..." Her voice was soft, brittle, as though each word might shatter in her throat.

Aiden covered his lips with his hand, tilting his head in feigned thought. "Of course, my lady. Maybe... maybe if Sir Gerald, your ladyship, and everyone talked to him... if..."

"No." She cut him off quickly, the word sharp, almost a lash. "It’s an imperial decree. He has to go back. The dungeons that reign above are getting messy... so."

The fire crackled faintly in the silence that followed, its warmth reaching neither of them.

"Haaa..." she sighed, shoulders sinking beneath the weight of her duty. "I’m a good wife. I will just... manage the fief by myself again. I could at least do that for him." Her voice wavered, sadness threading through each syllable.

Aiden moved closer, only by a fraction, careful not to break the illusion of reverence. His boots barely brushed against the fur rug, soundless, like air.

"Don’t worry, my lady. We, your humble servants, have your back. At any time, with any cost necessary." His voice rang with conviction, confidence so absolute it could convince even himself.

[Personality: sad mild/ disappointment/unfulfilled]

Her lips curved faintly, weakly, but it was still a smile. "Oh Aiden... your words soothe me. I don’t know why..." She breathed slowly, as though her ribs resisted. "Yes, I still have competent people around me. Competent men like you. I think i can manage. No, I have to."

But Aiden saw it—that shadow behind her words, the small disappointed fracture she could not quite seal. His golden eyes narrowed slightly, his heart hammering at the sight of her vulnerability.

He took a step bolder than before, his voice lowering, softening until it felt like velvet wrapping around her. "Don’t worry, my lady."

The air shifted. His hand reached, cautious yet deliberate, until his fingers encircled hers. Warmth seeped into her skin, an alien heat that made her pulse quicken. His golden eyes tilted upward, meeting her blue ones with a gravity she could not resist.

For an instant, Catherine froze. His grip was firm—not forceful, not yet, but enough to remind her that he was there. Close. Closer than propriety would ever allow.

Her lips parted soundlessly as she let her gaze sink into his eyes. They glittered like molten amber, holding her still, holding her captive.

"I am here, by your side, ready to follow every order. Every order..." His voice dipped lower, heavier, until the words wrapped around her like chains. "...and—"

Her breath caught. "And...?" She asked, half-fearing, half-needing the answer.

"And I will... I will never—and I mean never—disappoint you."

It was not merely a vow. It was a strike, a brand that seared into the walls of her chest.

[Personality: mild good/unfulfilled]

Her heart trembled, but Aiden’s heart surged. He smiled inside, unseen, as though tasting the sweetness of her near surrender.

"So I hope, my lady Catherine," he said, voice laced with devotion and hunger alike, "you can trust me. Use me as you please."

Her eyes flickered. Use me. The words lingered in the air like incense—intoxicating, dangerous. They tugged at the frayed strings of her composure.

Her lips twitched, betraying her thoughts. "...like how my daughter is using you..." she whispered, almost to herself, her breath shallow as her heart kicked harder. She inhaled his scent—rich, unmistakable, one of a kind. Her nose almost brushed his shoulder.

Aiden’s ears pricked. "...what?"

"No... nothing..." She pulled her hand free, cheeks flushed with confusion. Her mind teetered dangerously close to a cliff she must not fall from. "It’s late. You must be busy." She turned, quickening toward the door as if fleeing her own heart.

Her heels clicked faintly against the stone floor, too quick, betraying haste.

Aiden’s jaw clenched. His teeth ground together, the mask of patience cracking. It was taking too long. Too long to savor. His Ember was filled but hunger clawed at him, restless, impatient.

"Wait!" he barked.

The word cracked through the air like a command, sharp and binding. Like all the charmed servents, Her feet froze. Against her own will, against her reason, she waited. She didn’t know why but she did.

Slowly, stiffly, she turned her head back toward him. Her eyes widened faintly at the roughness in his voice, stripped of the respectful silk he usually wore.

"My lady..." he said, his tone raw now, rough-edged. "Do you remember the story I told you before?"

"...Of course..." she replied, wary, her voice trembling. "It was... an interesting story. What of it?"

He stepped forward, boots pressing louder now, deliberate. His golden eyes did not gaze—they bore, piercing, devouring.

"You asked me... who was the lady? What she looked like?"

"...Yes. I remember." She retreated half a step, heart rattling against her ribs.

"I will tell you now."

Step. Step.

"...the one I love, the one woman who I wanted so bad....She has golden hair," he whispered, fingers brushing into her shining strands. His touch lingered too long, too reverent. "She has vigor, and beauty like a goddess. The most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes upon."

Her breath stuttered, uneven. ’Is he... really speaking of me?’

Her pulse raced, echoing in her ears, louder than the fire crackling, louder than his words.

Aiden’s left hand shifted from her hair and caressed her flushed cheek, bold now, unshaken. Her skin tingled beneath his palm, hot and trembling.

"And that gorgeous woman had also... Wonderful...sky blue eyes. Gemlike." His golden eyes locked onto hers, blazing with a hunger that made her chest heave uncontrollably.

"...Aiden..." Her voice broke, whispered. "You are stepping into... something dangerous."

But her tone betrayed her—no longer laced with venom as before, during the time of the night, at the balcony, but softened, laced with want.

[Personality: good happy needful lustful /unfulfilled]

He smiled, faintly, knowingly.

Her back pressed against the door, its knob digging faintly into her spine. She shivered as his hand slid past her gown, brushing lightly by her arm, her ribs, until it pressed against the door. As he gently pushed the door.

Thud!

The door shut.

"Love makes men do dangerous stuff... my lady," he breathed, every word hot against her lips.

As his face inched closer, his heartbeat quickening, his chest pressed against her more firmly. She stood still, her back now pinned against the wall.

She could feel his warmth, his face drawing nearer as she closed her eyes, her neck tilting forward, her mind numb, uncaring of what might happen next. All she wanted in that moment was him and his lips.

And Aiden obliged, closing his eyes and capturing her soft, luscious, juicy lips right then and there.

Catherine Von Leonidus, once the wife of a lord, once the pillar of a fief, now nothing but a woman trembling in another man’s arms.

Her heart beat like a war drum.

And yet, beneath the fire, a sliver of dread whispered faintly: What have I allowed?

[Catherine Von Leonidus

Status: Charmed possession Temporary possession.

Personality: happy/lustful/unfulfilled]