Chapter 3

3

I went to the study and sorted through my properties and shops.

Since these vital assets were in the hands of my own people, I could take them back whenever I pleased.

The servants I had hired were loyal to me; if I left, the entire estate would be hollowed out.

I kept busy, sending word to all the major merchants to prepare for the couple's wedding.

The estate requested the finest things, but I put everything on credit in the Commander's name.

The bill added up to five thousand gold pieces, enough to make the estate crumble.

If I did not strip them of their skin, I could not settle the debt of my own soul being gnawed by ants.

When night fell and it was time for Gideon to claim his reward, I waited until I saw his shadow pacing near my door before I slipped out.

If I were to truly be a woman, I would have to find the most noble man alive.

I decided to go to the current Sovereign.

The Sovereign had been on the throne for years without an heir, and my fertile constitution was the perfect instrument to secure his lineage.

Gideon had despised my curves, preferring the thin, weak look of typical noblewomen, so he never touched me.

But the Sovereign would be different.

Because I possessed a face that looked remarkably like his lost love.

His white moonlight had married into a neighboring land, leaving him no chance to soothe his longing. If he saw my face, sparks would certainly fly.

I slipped out under the cover of night to the magnolia tree where the Sovereign had first met his lost love.

The Sovereign had already been heavily intoxicated by people I had arranged, and the moment he saw my face, his desire flared like wildfire.

That night, we rolled together beneath the magnolia tree until the dawn light bled through.

The magnolia petals were stained with the evidence of my innocence, and seeing it, the Sovereign was overcome with excitement, pressing me down to demand more.

I endured the unrestrained passion of the Sovereign, knowing I had won.

With my fertility, I would surely conceive his heir and deliver a son.

Thinking of this, I deliberately let out a soft moan, driving the man above me even further into madness as he whispered my name, calling me by the name of his love.

I was not the frail, willow-like type, but my body was soft, and the curves of my figure made him unable to keep his hands off me.

Once my body was finally claimed by the Sovereign, the natural allure of my constitution left him addicted.

He held me close and whispered, "The tradition has always been to value thinness, but they have clearly never known a voluptuous jewel like you."

I offered him a coy smile.

This smile was one I had practiced dozens of times, perfectly mimicking his white moonlight.

The Sovereign was utterly captivated, vowing on the spot to make me his consort!