The ward’s temperature turned icy in an instant.

Originally, as Muen and Liya drew closer and closer—about to go deeper—like thunder hooking fire, soul and flesh melting together, that pink, sensual atmosphere would have made the entire room grow scorching hot.

But that thunder and fire, that melting together, even that heat—was forcibly cut off.

Like an iceberg falling from the sky and being jammed into the mouth of an about-to-erupt volcano. All the emotions and desire that were about to surge now turned into the little heart in Muen’s chest, beating uneasily—already cold by half.

Hot in his arms, yet so cold he nearly shivered.

"C-Celicia?"

Muen stiffly lifted his head out of Liya’s overwhelming softness, staring blankly at the silver-white figure that had appeared in the room at some point. His body trembled, and even the hands that had been buried in soft flesh just moments ago immediately let go, hanging awkwardly with nowhere to put them.

"Y-You... why did you come back?"

"Why did I come back?"

Celicia sneered. "If I didn’t, I’d just let you get eaten clean by this little wildcat stealing bites?"

She didn’t look angry at all right now, but Muen could already clearly see a layer of frost silently forming across the ward floor.

It’s over. She’s angry.

Muen immediately shut up like a chilled quail, not daring to let that rage grow any stronger.

But unfortunately, there was still someone in this room who dared to resist the empress’s authority.

"Wh-Who... who are you calling a little wildcat?!"

Interrupted mid-cast and already annoyed, Liya sat straight up on the bed and glared, cheeks puffed, at Celicia.

Her clothes were messy and half undone. The fitted hem of her nun’s habit had been lifted high to her waist and tucked into her belt for the convenience of those shameless hands, so a bit of white lace showed through faintly. The front of her bodice had been completely loosened by Muen’s mischief, and one half of a full white curve was practically pushing out. Just like that, she stared with reddened eyes and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) furiously glared at Celicia.

The blush on her pretty face hadn’t faded yet. This posture was in no way something she should be showing to outsiders, much less something elegant—but Liya didn’t want to lose in presence. She thrust out her chest even more, making that display even more imposing.

"I’m not a little wildcat!"

"Heh. So the lofty Church Saintess is, in private, a lewd woman who only knows how to use her chest to seduce men?"

Seeing her like that, Celicia couldn’t help throwing out a mocking line, snorting coldly.

"A Church Saintess worshipped by hundreds of millions, and yet you’re doing this. Do you deserve the believers who adore you?"

"It... it has nothing to do with you. I’ll guide the believers properly!"

Liya refused to back down and snapped back.

"And I’m not some lew—lewd woman! But you’re the one peeping on people doing this—you’re shameless! You’re the lewd woman!"

"He’s my fiancé. I’ll look however I want."

Celicia’s lips curved. She deliberately swept her gaze up and down Liya’s current state, smiling without smiling. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"As for you, Your Highness Liya... what identity are you using to run here and do this?"

"I..."

At the side, Muen hurriedly shut his eyes and curled up on the bed, playing dead.

It wasn’t that he was cowardly, and it wasn’t that he was dodging responsibility. It was that he knew: at a time like this, any statement that even slightly leaned toward one side would absolutely escalate the conflict.

So, from his rich experience of surviving love battlefields, the best move right now was: don’t hear, don’t speak, don’t know.

That’s right. He was doing all this for peace, harmony, and everyone getting along.

All for the beauty of the world...

"I..."

Fortunately, Liya didn’t act like ordinary women who loved to fight over jealousy—she didn’t go interrogate her lover about what she “was” at a time like this. Instead, after thinking seriously, she stared into Celicia’s eyes and answered without retreating at all.

"I... right now, because of my identity, I can only be with Muen in secret. But after I step down, it’s not like I won’t have the chance to stand at Muen’s side openly! That’s right—after I step down, just like my Saintess teacher!"

"Oh? Step down? At his side?"

After hearing that, Celicia suddenly revealed an extremely terrifying smile.

"Looks like you, just like the other little wildcat, have ambitions that aren’t small at all."

"This isn’t ambition. It’s only natural."

Liya, rare for her to take the upper hand in an argument, huffed smugly.

"Also, what right do you have to monopolize Muen? Just because of that pale slip of an engagement contract?"

"And I heard from Ariel that at the beginning, you hated this engagement contract, didn’t you? Then why didn’t you just tear it up? Why keep it until now?"

"Is that so? Ariel told you that?"

Celicia’s smile grew even more terrifying.

"But so what? Whether I tear it up or not is my business. You can say I regretted it. But... as long as that engagement contract still exists, Muen Campbell—whether in principle or in law—is my indisputable fiancé, and my future husband who cannot be changed."

"Mmph... b-but..."

"There is no ‘but.’"

Cold surged around Celicia as she stepped closer, raising a hand.

"Looks like I need to teach you, this little wildcat, a lesson."

A terrifying majesty descended in an instant. The air in the entire room seemed to congeal, making it hard to breathe.

Liya gritted her teeth. Holy, pure light bloomed around her as well.

"I-I won’t be afraid of you! We’ll see who teaches who!"

"Wait!"

At this critical moment, Muen finally chose to stand up like a real man and shouted,

"Stop fighting! If you keep fighting like this, then you’ll—"

"Shut up!!"

"...Okay."

Under two simultaneous scoldings filled with the authority of those in high positions, Muen wisely returned to being an ostrich again.

Even if he’d almost beaten the chosen heroine Ariel earlier—even if the chosen hero himself came—this still wouldn’t be a match for the empire’s empress and the Church’s saintess.

He wasn’t cowardly.

He was doing it for world peace.

So no one could stop the two from clashing head-on. Cold and holy light collided, and Muen could practically already picture the academy infirmary being flattened into the ground.

But... unexpectedly...

"W-What?!"

With a cry of alarm, Liya suddenly fell off the bed. The surging holy light collapsed at terrifying speed. Immediately after, a deep radiance flashed and became solid shackles, binding Liya tightly.

The victor had been decided in the blink of an eye.

"Heh. Church Saintess."

In Celicia’s palm, a dreadful mark of authority flowed as she sneered.

"Even with the blessing of the Life Goddess Aimier, don’t forget where you are. If you were in the Church, I might be wary of you by three parts. But this is the empire. What makes you think you can fight me?"

"Ugh... you’ve already mastered Imperial Authority to this extent...?"

Liya looked full of regret. "I was careless."

"A little thief-cat is still a little thief-cat. Even if I hand you a chance, you still can’t accomplish anything big."

Celicia looked down from above, unhurriedly examining Liya’s miserable state, rubbing her chin as she thought.

"I said I’d give you a punishment so you’d remember... what should I punish you with?"

"Y-You... what do you want to do?"

Liya scooted backward, fierce on the outside but weak underneath.

"I-I’m the Church’s Saintess. You can’t do anything to me!"

"True... the Church Saintess is a troublesome identity."

Celicia gave a cold laugh, her gaze sweeping toward Muen, and then her brow lifted.

"If it weren’t for a certain playboy flirting with women whose identities are all this thorny, I would’ve chopped you all up and fed you to dogs a long time ago."

Then Celicia’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh. I just had a good idea."

"W-What... what?"

"You said it yourself earlier."

Celicia leaned close to Liya and hooked a finger under her chin.

"Peeping at people doing that kind of thing makes you a lewd woman."

"Y-You..."

Liya’s fragile body trembled. "Don’t tell me you want to—"

"Heh heh. Perfect."

Celicia’s smile was cold. "Let a little wildcat like you—who only knows how to steal bites—recognize the essence of what you are, and rein yourself in properly. So you don’t do shameless things again in the future."

"Wait, you can’t—mmph mmph mmph!"

Liya tried to speak, but Celicia didn’t give her the chance. She yanked off Liya’s own white lace and stuffed it straight into her mouth.

"Mmph mmph mmph...!"

The pitiful Liya, with all her cultivation sealed, could only writhe like a helpless girl about to be defiled—weakly and futilely twisting her body and shaking her head. It did nothing, only adding more spice for her enemy.

"Watch closely."

Celicia straightened. The icy gaze that had just frozen the room now melted completely into warm spring water—and as her eyes shifted, a different kind of excited color flashed through.

Step by step, she walked toward Muen on the bed.

"C-Cia?"

Muen cracked one eye open. Out of the corner of his vision, he glanced at Liya twisting tearfully in the corner, swallowed, and said,

"Th-This... isn’t really okay, is it?"

"Call me Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty... this kind of punishment, isn’t it a bit too—"

"Shut up."

Her Majesty ordered without mercy.

"Just lie down properly."

"..."

Muen could only lie down properly. Imperial Authority still filled the entire room, and Muen knew his little body was still not enough to contend with Her Majesty.

Besides... there was also a strange little anticipation inside him...

Celicia continued forward, then moved both hands behind her back and lightly lifted at her skirt.

She was only in casual clothes right now, far less complicated than formal dress, so with that light lift, the skirt slid down accordingly.

She stepped out of it. A noble purple shimmered against skin like fine jade, making it hard for Muen to keep his eyes open.

Then two long legs crossed as she lifted them, and that purple beneath dropped away as well.

With a creak from the bed protesting under the weight, Celicia pressed down onto Muen.

Muen looked up. In the distance of just a few steps, Her Majesty’s eyes had already filled with lust—she must have found this kind of brazen “stealing the man in front of her” intensely stimulating.

Of course, Liya—the one being stolen from right in front of her—could only let out muffled, resentful sounds, helpless.

Celicia’s fingers lightly swept over Muen. Muen’s fire hadn’t even died down from earlier—now, with this teasing, his breathing turned much rougher.

Her Majesty’s jade hand grasped lower, and she curled her lips into a sneer.

"Heh. That little wildcat warmed you up pretty well for me."

"Haha..."

"Don’t grin like an idiot. I’ll settle your debt with you later."

Celicia tipped up her chin. A true empress looked down from above at her subject like this once more. That proud, swaying aloofness like an icy snow lotus made the blood rush hotter.

"As for this time, I’ll let you have it."

On top of Muen, she bent her long, straight legs, braced herself, found the right position, and lifted her waist slightly.

Like she was demonstrating victory—or declaring ownership—Celicia halted at that step, then turned her head and glanced toward the Saintess in the corner with the posture of a victor.

Liya’s face was full of grief and fury yet utterly helpless. With only herself, she still couldn’t break free of the restraint of Imperial Authority, and could only watch.

She felt indescribably stifled. Even though time had passed and her identity was completely different from before, she had once again become the spectator.

This scene really was... extremely familiar.

And yet, she couldn’t look away. Like admiring a perfect painting, she stared fixedly at their movements, as if she craved that doing so might let the fire inside her calm down a little.

"Heh, little slut."

Celicia cursed under her breath, then couldn’t endure the burning heat flowing through her own body either. After taking a deep breath, she let her waist sink.

"Oh."

With two soft moans of pleasure sounding at the same time, Her Majesty felt as though she’d risen into the clouds again, her body turning light and drifting.

Was it because that lewd Saintess was watching? Why did it feel this good?

A different thought flashed through her, but Celicia didn’t dwell on it. She simply sank into it even more.

Her body rose and fell like a small boat on emerald waves. Yet she still had to maintain the empress’s dignity. Beneath her, Muen cooperated extremely well—having long since grasped certain weak points of Her Majesty—slowly, steadily making waves that sent her even closer to bliss.

Just like that, Celicia piloted this Ark of Life, riding from the green waves up into the sky, even above the clouds.

But just as she was about to reach the highest point—fully immersed, mind slipping for a moment...

In this room covered by Imperial Authority, a trace of darkness suddenly surged, subtle and silent.

Authority... was pried open by a crack.

"Oh my, looks like I made it just in time."

A bell-like, devilish giggle covered even Her Majesty’s sweet moan. Celicia immediately opened her beautiful eyes at the wrongness—but before she could act, two slender arms had already wrapped around her waist.

Another woman’s softness pressed against her from behind, and a sinister cold breath kept blowing into her ear.

"They say, Your Majesty... this is what you call the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, right? Teehee..."