IBWCD 30

Chapter 30

His consciousness sank into the murky waters beyond his reach.

Aether, the evil god who smelled his blood, tore off his right arm and began to tempt him with a rampage that threatened to tear him apart.

‘You want to taste more blood, he said, I’ll quench your thirst, let’s tear you apart in sight.’

He was momentarily weak. He made it back to the mansion with a strange feeling of malaise, but he didn’t dare to enter her bedroom.

Kalian wondered if he could withstand Aether’s thirst.

Aether chuckled at the thought and spoke lewdly.

[Okay, I’ll help you out this time. Tonight, I’ll help you violate as many women as you want, huh?]

It sounded crazy.

Kalian rolled his eyes and shrugged off Aether’s words.

He turned and headed straight for the glass greenhouse.

It was a mild side effect, he thought, and he’d be fine if he could just stay overnight in a restraint that would keep his raging magic in check.

Who would have expected he would find Evelyn there, but despite her panic, she was not bold in her steps toward him.

[Why be shy when there’s a woman who’ll run for her life if she sees you? Come on, tear off that piece of cloth and climb on top of her slender body. Come on!]

Shut up.

He gritted his teeth and stood at Evelyn’s feet, feigning nonchalance.

“What are you doing hiding like a frightened rabbit?”

He was in such a dangerous state that he would burst at the slightest provocation, and he had to get her out of there.

But the moment he saw her lips curl up into a smile as she claimed to have gotten lost while out for a walk, his mind went blank.

His mouth went dry, and the sight of her red tongue on her lower lip sent a rush of heat through him.

The evil Aether did not miss this opportunity.

[Imagine how pretty it would be to have your cock on those little lips. The erotic feel of her red tongue, the maddening pressure, the ecstatically wet eyes, the suppressed moans… And then you’d touch her breasts and twist them, and she’d cry out for you in the prettiest voice in the world].

His breath caught in his throat. He might as well rip out his eardrums and hear nothing.

Clenching his fists until his bones crackled, he let out a throat-scratching groan, then pulled his cloak off to cover her flesh.

If nothing else, to calm himself.

Even as he did so, Aether licked his lips like a beast about to be devoured.

[The look of pleasure on her face is so beautiful it drives you mad, and you’re so full that you think you could live in one body for the rest of your life and never have enough, and you’re thrusting beneath her like an animal. What do you think?]

His head was about to explode with disgust.

Even as he did so, he felt a sinking feeling of self-doubt in his lower body. It was disillusioning.

Kalian’s first priority was to get this filthy, filthy voice out of his head, but it wasn’t just his mind.

“I’ve told you before, overhealing is poison to your own body.”

He fought down his animalistic instincts and tried his best to turn the woman back to him, who was begging him to help her.

But the woman was pinned to the ground and wouldn’t budge.

“If I can help the Grand Duke,” she said, ”I’m willing to suffer… any pain.”

And then, finally, when she was face-to-face with a pair of green eyes so desperate they seemed to be sincere.

[See, you said you could handle it. Go ahead, unleash your monstrous desires on her body and breathe wildly, intoxicating her with pleasure so satisfying it will make your eyes roll back in your head. Come on!]

The nerve cord that had been wavering precariously, threatening to snap, snapped with a snap.

Kalian gripped the slender woman’s shoulders, his hands clammy with sweat.

“All right, then, take it.”

His mouth went dry. As soon as he saw her, his head, which had cleared for a moment, clouded again with a raging fever.

He could no longer recognize the voice that had so lustfully aroused him.

Only the woman’s sweet face cut through the redness of his vision, as if to erase the harshness of the voice.

Eventually, animalistic moans and grinding sounds filled the void left by the demon’s voice.

* * *

“Ha…”

With a ragged breath, he unbuttoned his shirt and swiveled his chair to the window.

A calm voice mingled with the friction of the leather seat against his bulk.

It was Evelyn, who had just finished meditating, talking to the maids who had come to her.

‘What are they talking about so intently?’

At first, he just stared at them, wondering what they were saying.

But then his eyes were drawn to her lips, which were constantly moving, and the crimson tongue that darted between them.

Her life was always boring and free.

What it was that intrigued him so much, Kalian couldn’t fathom.

But before he could tear his gaze away, his mind wandered to her slender form.

The white skin that lit up the dark room, the sweet voice and scent that rose with every touch, the light sweat and coolness of her body against his.

Kalian felt helpless, like a drowning man who sinks deeper and deeper the harder he struggles.

“…….”

His gaze lowered.

He stared in disbelief at the curve of her thigh in her pants, pulled taut by the heat of the moment.

He couldn’t believe he was getting hard at the sight of a woman with no skin on her back, carrying on a casual conversation.

“You’re a fucking lunatic.”

A strange sense of self-doubt washed over him like a wave.

He could have sworn he’d never lusted after a woman in this way before.

But if the carnal lust in him was driven by the anticipation of her healing powers, that might explain the feeling.

If it was the anticipation of the miraculous life she would bring to a body so tainted, the warmth that would thaw a frozen heart.

Kalian blew out a short breath.

‘Yes, it was an instinctive reaction to calm the rage. Not from the heart.’

There are knights who will go to great lengths to monopolize a healer with whom their magic is compatible.

So perhaps this reaction was perfectly normal.

Skillfully suppressing his emotions, Kalian turned in his chair again and lowered his eyes to the papers.

Now was the time to focus on the situation at hand.

* * *

Ten minutes or so passed.

Kalian was still deep in thought.

His elbows rested on the desk, his chin was set, and his eyes were unfocused as he stared at the papers.

The papers were still on the first page.

‘What’s wrong with him? He’s not worried about going to the temple again…’

Benjamin’s eyes darted to the corner of his office as he watched the unusually preoccupied man with concern.

There was a thick layer of blood on the slanted scabbard of his sword.

And it had rained like a ton of bricks yesterday.

Blood that wouldn’t wash off in a downpour was not normal.

‘So, there must have been trouble on the way home.’

The Empress had sent assassins without warning.

She was not above shoving a naked woman into her bedchamber to keep the Grand Duke in check.

She wants a princess from another country at her disposal, to serve as the Grand Duke’s companion, so that she can use her power over Johansen.

She was a truly greedy woman who had no flesh and blood or friends to gain what she wanted.

If he, his aide, is shaking in his boots, how must he feel?

A sigh escaped Benjamin’s lips as if out of habit, as he empathized with the Grand Duke.

“So, as expected, you have an assassin on your hands. I thought you were going to keep him off your tail for a while, but have you handled it well?”

Kalian nodded lightly.

“I was bored on the way here, so I thought I’d try to make a few sums.”

“Why don’t you just nip it in the bud?”

“That’s a terrible thing to say.”

“That’s a terrible thing to say about a man who’s so busy with his political affairs. I hope you’re not bored.”

Kalian laughed lightly.

“I’ve sent you other entertainment to keep you occupied, so I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.”

He tapped the newspaper on his desk with his fingertip.

<Shock! The Guardian of Cardassian, rumors of a secret affair are confirmed. Who is he?!>

An article about the grand duke’s sound marriage and a scathing criticism of the crown prince’s debauchery were published side by side, as if to compare them.

This was the Grand Duke’s way of thanking the Empress for her consideration in sending assassins to keep him on his toes.

By leaking his own marriage article, he hoped to expose the crown prince’s atrocities once again, even as he was barely out of the woods.

Benjamin frowned at the Empress’s face, the one not covered by her eye patch.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’d rather have the Grand Duke succeed to the throne than a crown prince who spreads syphilis…”