All Chapters of I Returned to Kill Monsters, and Created the Worst One: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Elara VeyneI received another dress from the queen before nightfall.It was very, very beautiful.Perhaps that was the problem.Far too beautiful for someone who, technically, still worked in the kitchens.The dark blue fabric hugged my waist before falling lightly to my feet. My shoulders were exposed, along with a considerable amount of my chest, and I still had not completely grown accustomed to how much exposed neck there was in Azhareth.I ran my fingers over mine and stopped.I remembered warm breath.Lips.A tongue sliding slowly over my skin.Fangs grazing close to my throat.Heat rushed into my face, and I pulled my hand away almost immediately.It had happened less than a day ago, and strangely enough, it was one of the few memories I had of someone touching my neck where the first sensation was not pain.There had been no metal.No collar.No fear that something would tighten until I could no longer breathe.Maybe I had liked it.A little.I shook my head, trying to deny th

Elara VeyneThe room fell silent again.Naima’s father stiffened.“Excuse me?”“I have no intention of proceeding with this marriage.”The man pushed his chair back.“Your Highness, with all due respect, our families were summoned for negotiations that continued for weeks. Delegations traveled here, preliminary commercial agreements were discussed, diplomatic commitments were made. We cannot simply ignore all of that.”“I understand.”Kian did not raise his voice.The man stopped.“And I do not blame your house for coming. The Crown made an offer, and your family responded to it.”His gaze shifted toward Rayan.“The problem is that the decision concerned my life and was practically concluded without my participation.”Rayan sat again.“Kian.”The prince remained silent.“You always knew you would have to marry one day.”“Yes.”“Then don’t act as though I did this behind your back.”Kian’s expression hardened slightly.“I’m not saying that.”“But you are treating it as an offense.”Kia

Elara VeyneEverything went silent.Kian’s hand remained firm on my waist, and the entire hall seemed to be looking at that specific point.Then came the voices.“Companion?”“A human?”“Since when?”“I thought she was only—”I closed my eyes for a second.This couldn’t be happening.Maybe, if I remained still long enough, everyone would conclude that they had heard wrong.“This is absurd.”I opened my eyes.Naima’s father was standing.His face had lost all the cordiality he had used during the negotiations.“Your Majesty, our family was called to Azhareth under very specific conditions. We discussed a union between our houses for weeks and, in front of the entire court, His Highness presents another woman as his companion?”Naima remained standing beside her parents.She no longer looked merely surprised.She was humiliated.And the way her eyes were fixed on me made it quite clear who she had decided to blame.Kian did not remove his hand from my waist.His voice remained calm.“I

Elara VeyneKian remained by the door while I looked around the room.“The agreement remains the same,” he said.I looked at him.“We’ll continue the treatment and the investigation. You’ll still have your Nythrium.”My precious mines.Relief came when I heard him mention them.“Today’s session…”I didn’t finish.“Tomorrow.”I frowned.“Tomorrow?”“You must be tired after a day like this.”I raised an eyebrow.Kian looked far more exhausted, though he would probably rather drop dead than admit it. The walk to the hall had taken its toll. His posture remained firm, but his breathing was heavier, and there was tension in his shoulders.“You too.”He didn’t deny it.“I want to keep working in the kitchen,” I said, discreetly admiring the room.Kian was clearly not pleased.“Why?”“Because staying here all day staring at walls will drive me insane. And the kitchen is a good place to hear things people don’t realize they’re saying.”He still didn’t like it, but didn’t argue.“I had everyth

Kian VareshThere were few people I allowed to touch me even before the illness became worse.Elara seemed never to have received that information.Maybe because I had never managed to make her stop.The water in the room next door stopped.My body became alert again.She stepped out of the bath. I heard the fabric brush against her skin.This time, I sat up in bed.“This is ridiculous.”I tried to focus on anything other than Elara getting dressed on the other side of the wall.My temperature rose anyway, and my body began to remember too.Her leg between mine. The pressure of her thigh causing that involuntary movement.I remembered the expression on her face when she noticed my reaction.What is that?I rubbed my eyes.For a second, I seriously considered tearing out my own memory.Maybe Elara knew some potion for that.The wolf immediately disagreed.The memory was accompanied by an even stronger wave of heat.He liked that memory.Of course that inconvenient animal liked it.Mayb