IBWCD 39

Chapter 39

All his life, he had been upright and given clear answers as King of the North, and he felt cowardly for trying to hide behind ambiguity.

But he had no choice but to give this answer. He doesn’t even know what he wants.

‘But why do I feel this way…’

It was then.

“Doesn’t the Grand Duke want to wash?”

Like a rabbit that has found the Spring, she turned her head from washing her face with her tiny hands.

Her voice was plaintive, but to his ears it sounded as seductive as the whisper of a serpent offering the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

“Your clothes, your hair, you’re all black, so there’s probably blood everywhere, or you could just stay with me.”

Kalian washed his face with great embarrassment, then ran a hand through his hair.

Then he turned his attention back to Evelyn.

Her clear green eyes stared back at him. Something about them frightened him.

“I’m actually a little afraid of water like this…”

“I didn’t realize you were afraid of water.”

“I drowned once when I was younger.”

Feeling sorry for her, he moved closer, kicked off his shoes, sat down next to her, and dipped his feet into the lake.

Then he took her wrist and touched the scar.

Then he saw her face, normally white, turn pale as if submerged in ice water.

Trauma.

He recalled the burn marks that stained her smooth inner thighs.

“I’ve wondered before, why can’t you heal your own wounds?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know why either.”

“Try it now.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened at the suggestion. Still, she placed her other hand on her scarred wrist and let the healing energy flow.

After a few moments, she held out her unresponsive wrist.

He smirked, the corners of his mouth twisting.

“A nasty power indeed.”

“I think so, too.”

Evelyn wrinkled the bridge of her nose in reply, then locked eyes with him and smiled reflexively.

It was a beautiful smile.

Sometimes, when their eyes met, she would look at him and smile, very sweetly and gently.

It wasn’t just a smile; there was a warmth in her eyes as she looked at him, like she was seeing the most lovely thing in the world.

‘Love? Does she love me?’

No, she was naturally affectionate, which meant that those eyes, so full of virtue and goodness, contained more than just herself.

Wasn’t she the one who insisted that there would never be any feelings between them?

She’s the one who was thinking of leaving before we were even married.

His heart suddenly stiffens. Kalian stifled a sigh as he glared at her, an involuntary smile on his face.

“But why don’t you ask me to punish them?”

“Who?”

“The ones who tormented you.”

He had always wondered.

But he never asked, thinking it might be like the scar on her thigh, something she didn’t want others to see.

Evelyn raised her head to the sky at his words.

The stars in the sky seemed to pour into her pupils.

“If I asked you to punish them… what difference would it make?”

Kalian’s stomach churned for a moment at the simple question.

Perhaps she was too weak.

Too afraid to ask for what he wanted.

After a moment of thought, Kalian rubbed the corner of his mouth and nodded.

“It wouldn’t have made a difference, but it would have made you feel better. At least she wouldn’t have walked out of the temple with all her limbs intact.”

“What?”

“She had her tongue tied with a gnome spell. She didn’t even bat an eyelid at the Inquisitor’s torture to see how brainwashed she was. I make it a point to get rid of useless aftereffects, so why keep her alive?”

“Well, not really, but…”

Kalian stared at her as she fumbled with her voice.

“Not like this.”

She fluttered her eyelashes at his statement of fact, which was neither a threat nor a threat of actual harm.

“Surely, you don’t wish for their peace out of some paltry benevolence.”

“Of course not!”

“Yes, it is.”

Satisfied with her answer, he leaned in, as if drawn to her full, red lips.

She tried to say no, but he was faster. By the time she realized it, their lips were locked in a deep kiss.

Evelyn pulled back as if she had something to say, but she couldn’t resist him as he grabbed her by the nape of the neck and dug in roughly.

His tongue darted in and out, wetting every inch of her mouth.

With each lick, her parched lips became wet.

It had been a long time since her heart had raced.

His tongue boldly pushed her lips open and explored her mouth, as if there was something in it that yearned for more than healing.

All the while, his stomach clenched tightly, and his muscles popped with a grunt as he fought to steady his rapid breathing.

What was making him so impatient and anxious, Kalian couldn’t tell.

All he could do now was soak in the presence before him as it poured down like a rain shower.

Tongue tangled with tongue, breath tangled.

Their interlocking lips were wet with sweet saliva, and the area filled with the sound of a cool waterfall echoed with a grinding friction.

Out of breath, she pushed off his shoulder and gasped.

“Ha, wait.”

Kalian slowly removed his lips from hers. Uncontrolled desire flickered darkly above his eyes.

He wondered why.

It was just another touch, but it felt unusually nerve-wracking.

Her breath between her lips, her hot body heat, her hesitant touch, her fingers caressing him.

Even the eyes that look back at him seem to shine more brightly today.

Whether she knew how he felt or not, Evelyn’s lips trembled and she avoided his gaze.

“It’s not a wash, it’s a-“

But her words were unfinished. For his lips were upon hers once more, hungrily.

Then he wrapped his arms around her stiffened waist and pulled her to face him, burying his lips in her long, white neck.

Evelyn’s slender shoulders shuddered as she gritted her teeth against his lower body.

“At least the water won’t scare you anymore, because now you’ll see it and think of something else.”

His tongue slipped back into her mouth before he could finish. Evelyn gasped and returned his kiss.

“Ha, ha…”

Once again, the two intertwined mounds of red flesh clawed at each other, sucking, tugging, and roughly grinding.

The slurping sound of saliva assaulted his ears in an obscene manner. The thoughts that had been floating through his head were long gone.

Lips pressed together, Kalian picked her up and walked away.

The water splashed over the calm lake like a tidal wave.

Stepping out into the lake, he unfolded his cloak and laid her down on it.

Evelyn looked at him in disbelief.

“Now, wait a minute, but this is still…”

“Did you think it was going to end with a kiss?”

“It’s…”

He would have thought so, too. This was a lakefront with views in every direction. But he couldn’t afford to let that happen.

Seeing the hesitation in her wavering eyes, Kalian cupped her cheek soothingly.

“Don’t worry. No one will come.”

“That doesn’t… change the fact that it’s outdoors.”

A blush rose to her neck.

The sight of her crimson tongue peeking out from between slightly parted lips clouded his reason.

He sucked in a sharp intake of breath, diligently teasing her waist.

“You’re blushing way too much for being shy.”

Truth be told, he didn’t want to remind himself that he was doing this with her outdoors.

When he’s in the mood to be naughty, ironically, his body tends to heat up.

Hadn’t he been cursing the demons that drove him to such despicable acts just days ago?

Kalian couldn’t believe he was doing this to himself.

“Did something happen to…?”

She asked worriedly.

The man who had been urging her to leave in the carriage had rushed to her side, and she was terrified that he had been injured.

“Yes, something very strange happened.”

It’s hard to put into words.

“I almost didn’t find you.”

He ducked his head and buried his lips in his tunic.

“But, um, you found me a little while ago.”

‘I’m not going to put up with this.’

“That was a demonic trick.”

He smirked and began to tease her a little more aggressively.

“Is that… ugh, what’s the problem?”

Evelyn pushed off the floor on her tiptoes and bit her lower lip, feeling like a cornered mouse.

“Problem?”

Gritting his teeth until the muscles in his jaw tightened, Kalian didn’t answer, instead hissing and tugging at the ring on her finger.

Pars-

He casually unleashed his power, crushing the ring in his grasp to powder.

“Th-that!”

Her eyes widened in horror.

But he was unfazed, quickly carving a locating spell over her clenched wrist.

<διωγμός>

She didn’t understand why she was so relieved to see the shadows digging into her white flesh, but she’d been the one who’d given him the leash in the first place.

“I need you by my side at all times to keep the rampage under control, and if I don’t sense any signs of a healer, I’ll be in trouble.”

Which meant that once she stepped into his territory, she couldn’t just disappear.

“But what about the ring…”