The words fell, and a heavy silence filled the tent.
The crackling of the kerosene lamp sounded harsh and grating, while the wind whistling through the canvas seams drifted like soft sighs, wandering back and forth in the cramped space.
Their breaths were distinctly audible, seemingly leaning on each other and exchanging warmth.
In truth, Gerald was deliberately maintaining a faint murderous intent and vigilance.
The reason she neither left nor put distance between them was because she needed to reclaim the Hero’s power.
Suppressing nausea and discomfort, bracing herself like a wooden stake, completely still—this was the best compromise between her rationality and emotions.
But she wasn’t sure how much longer she could endure… it was becoming unbearable.
From the looks of it, Sieg was sincere.
He harbored no suspicion toward his lover because there was no reason to, so he never noticed that the “lover” was not truly his.
It wasn’t entirely his fault. After all, their appearances were quite similar, their body feels almost the same, and Sieg’s deep love for Emilia caused him to subconsciously overlook many details and lower his guard.
The only difference was in their eyes.
Moreover, a deity was secretly lending strength behind the scenes, aiding Gerald in completing her mission and task.
Given all these factors, this current situation was both reasonable and unbearably fragile.
If Emilia saw this, she would probably collapse—in every possible sense.
The topic returned to the present, and the atmosphere remained painfully awkward.
Documents scattered on the ground by the fierce wind lay still; even the edges of the papers no longer fluttered, drenched by rain, as if holding its breath to preserve the silence.
The kerosene lamp flickered uncertainly, casting two separate shadows on the tent fabric—most likely because Gerald was reaching her limit.
She could only hold on for a minute or two at most.
No matter what, she couldn’t convince her inner self.
She had truly reached her physical limit.
Raising her delicate hand, she pushed the other person forcefully away to maintain distance.
She then adjusted her breathing in place, trying to stay calm and composed to prevent the murderous intent in her eyes from leaking out and exposing her identity.
Her identity could not be revealed if she wanted a chance to reclaim her power.
She might be clumsy but not stupid.
Besides, she had made some progress recently and naturally understood the importance of power—she couldn’t act rashly, absolutely not.
She reminded herself of this again and again.
“Sorry, it’s my problem.”
Sieg looked somewhat surprised, stumbling back a few steps, squinting his eyes.
Emilia usually liked it when things were like this.
As if recalling something, he suddenly understood and gently shook his head, realizing he might have gone too far just now.
He quickly apologized earnestly, continuing to explain.
“I was just telling you to keep it in check. At worst, you can just let me come more times in bed until you’re satisfied, okay? So don’t be angry.”
He thought she was upset about what happened just now, and indeed, he had guessed right.
But unexpectedly, his words only poured oil on the fire, causing Gerald to finally explode.
Her whole body trembled with anger—it was exactly the wrong thing to bring up.
Her small hands clenched tightly, knuckles whitening from the force.
Her breathing was deep and slow, each rise and fall of her chest like forcibly suppressing a raging fire.
Her lips were pressed into a stiff, straight line; her eyelashes lowered, hiding the cold fury swirling in her eyes.
Though she didn’t raise her gaze, the tense line of her jaw revealed restrained anger, as if she might erupt at any moment but held back for the sake of her mission.
In the silence, the lamp’s flame flickered nervously, casting half her face in shadow—like the last calm before a storm.
Finally, she spoke.
“I’m fine. Don’t overthink it. Can you give me your hand?”
At this point, she intended to reclaim her power first.
Without power, everything was empty talk.
She would endure for now.
The Dragon King must endure in silence.
“No problem. What do you want to do?”
Curious, Sieg asked while trusting and extending his hand.
He noticed that this “Emilia” was off—whether in behavior or mannerisms…
Slapping himself on the cheek, he cursed silently.
Damn it, doubting your own wife? What a hopeless fool. Are you sick or what?
“Because I need you, Sieg.”
Gerald replied coldly, showing no hint of expression.
She was too tired to smile or reveal disgust, so she settled on keeping a neutral face and leaving the rest to fate.
She grabbed his rough hand firmly and began to absorb power aggressively—no different from robbing it outright.
What robbery? She was just taking back what was rightfully hers.
“What are you… doing again, Emilia?”
Sieg looked clearly confused, his face blank.
He couldn’t help but ask, but he cooperated, the familiar scent and feeling still present.
The unimportant things kept flowing away.
He didn’t care much about the Hero’s power and was almost forgetting this whole issue.
Perhaps losing these strange things was a good thing after all…
Meanwhile, Gerald absorbed the power seriously, without time to care about Sieg’s confusion.
Her whole focus was on the task.
Blue veins bulged on her slender arms as power slowly returned, but the efficiency of contact was dropping.
She absorbed less and less Hero’s power, not even reclaiming a tenth yet.
It was almost impossible to absorb more.
The ten minutes were nearly up.
A deity quickly stepped in to warn her.
Originally, they were reluctant to speak in front of the Demon Lord, knowing one wrong move could ruin everything.
But the situation was urgent, forcing them to take this risky approach while being as cautious as possible.
They also explained the situation to the confused Gerald.
[Gerald the Hero, we will send you back soon. Find an excuse to leave this place and get out of Sieg’s sight.
Your identity must not be exposed now; if it is, it will be very detrimental to you.
We need to continue the disguise, pretending to be Emilia.
During this time, just obey Sieg. Otherwise, you won’t even have the chance to reclaim your power.]
[As for your current predicament, we have roughly understood the problem.
Gerald the Hero, you need to get even closer to Sieg.
The Hero’s power has taken root in him, making it difficult to absorb.]
Enduring this undeserved ordeal, Gerald was on the verge of collapse mentally.
Though she kept adjusting herself, she barely accepted the situation.
She held on with her only thought—Emilia was still waiting for her.
I haven’t earned her forgiveness yet, nor taken her life back.
But without power, it was all empty talk.
After all, without power, there was nothing.
She had experienced this firsthand.
“I understand.”
Finally, she responded with compromise and a promise to the deity.
Opening her mouth, she silently loosened her grip and said to Sieg in front of her.
Her tone was cold, but she forced out a concerned expression—just like how Emilia was with Sieg.
She remembered all those scenes outside the barrier, the two of them acting in front of her—damn it…
Every time she thought of it, her heart felt like it was being cut, a pain that made her not want to live.
This was why her imitation wasn’t quite right—probably a matter of mindset.
“Sorry, I had some unfinished business in the Demon Lord’s castle, so I’m leaving first.
I’ll come find you tomorrow… goodbye, take care and rest well.”
With that, she took heavy steps, not looking back, and rushed out into the rain.
“Alright, remember to bring an umbrella.”
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