Chapter 1
Thank you for the ko-fi Lea and Winzie
When she woke up from the nightmarish dream, her face was drenched in sweat. Anxious, labored breaths escaped from her lips in succession. Vivian wiped the sweat that had gathered on her forehead with the back of her hand, and swallowed hard.
“What was that? That dream.”
Images of the leaves withering lingered in her mind. It wasn’t even a particularly disturbing scene, but it felt like a terrible nightmare to her, leaving her mentally dazed.
With a blank expression, her hands, which she spread out in front of her, were also covered in cold sweat, like her forehead. But that wasn’t what concerned Vivian.
“Why am I feeling so… weak today?”
Unseen but always keenly aware of the flow of the spiritual energy coursing through her body, today, for some reason, it felt like something was suppressing it, making it erratic. Instead of smoothly flowing like liquid, it felt jagged and prickly. It was an overly sensitive reaction for what was supposed to be a dream.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the energy that had been bouncing around recklessly returned to normal as time passed. Her heart, which had been pounding like crazy, also gradually calmed down.
However, her unease couldn’t be completely dispelled. This was a symptom she had never experienced since awakening as a spiritualist.
“Why is this happening?”
Though her mind wasn’t at ease, Vivian reluctantly got up, given that some time had passed.
At that moment, a memory passed through her mind. The sound of a creaking bed, a dimly lit, silent room stained by darkness, and…
“Ah!”
Vivian suddenly realized what she and Roger had done last night and her face turned as red as an apple.
“What on earth…”
She remembered the passionate intimacy they had shared last night. And she also recalled, with a mix of embarrassment and shock, that she had taken the initiative, even crossing the line first.
“I must be insane.”
Despite all the trials and tribulations in her relationship with Roger, today she felt like she couldn’t handle it.
Trembling from the memories that involuntarily flooded back, Vivian couldn’t bring herself to leave her bedroom. She decided to ask Hamel to bring her meal to her room. Of course, before making the request, she thoroughly washed away the discomfort that had accumulated in her body the previous night.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“But why is your face so red?”
Worried words prompted Vivian’s heart to race. Even though Hamel had no way of knowing, she couldn’t help but feel afraid that she might have somehow discovered their escapade.
“It’s a bit warm.”
Although Vivian brushed off her concern, Hamel couldn’t help but notice her discomfort. Still, she kindly complied with her request to bring the meal to her room and left.
Vivian, now alone, began to eat her meal. Hamel had thoughtfully opened the windows to make her dining experience more comfortable. In gratitude, Vivian tried to eat the food that she wasn’t really in the mood for.
“Oh my, Sir Knight.”
She was trying to finish it as best as she could, but when Hamel’s welcoming voice reached her ears, Vivian’s heart raced again. Roger had suddenly appeared in front of her, and she had no idea why he was here.
Although Vivian was trying to avoid looking at him, Roger, sitting on a chair beside the bed, smiled as if he hadn’t noticed her discomfort.
“What happened this morning?”
Vivian couldn’t even make eye contact with him as she mumbled. The sound of the fork she held in her hand hitting the plate echoed through the quiet room, filling the space with sharp, scraping sounds.
“It’s a bit warm.”
Her response was vague, but Vivian’s face blushed deeper in embarrassment. She had nothing else to say.
“By the way, I have something to show you.”
He added nonchalantly.
Vivian, wondering if he had come all the way here to criticize her, was relieved to hear that he had other business.
Roger handed her a folded letter. Vivian quickly unfolded it, realizing it was sealed with the Imperial crest. Only the Emperor could use this seal.
Understanding that it was a response from the Emperor, Vivian straightened up.
“A mage not affiliated with the Association…?”
She quickly skimmed through the contents. Apparently, in order to investigate whether the rifts and dark magic were related, they couldn’t afford to wait for the Association’s request, so they commissioned a private mage.
Ascertaining whether the mage was part of the Association or not wasn’t crucial in this case, as the priority was to determine if there was a connection to dark magic and curses.
Vivian, while reading the letter, couldn’t help but think about the implications of the mage’s arrival. Roger had a knowing look on his face, as if he had foreseen that they would have to investigate dark magic eventually.
“It’s a private mage, so it shouldn’t take too long for them to arrive.”
Vivian organized her thoughts and nodded.
“That’s a good idea. We need to find out if there’s dark magic involved.”
He brushed her fingertips as she returned the letter to him. Even with a slight touch, last night came to mind involuntarily. The scene where his tongue lewdly messed up her insides.
Her heart, which was like a calm wave, was crashing like a wave at the strange recollection. Roger, who received the letter, noticed Vivian, who was avoiding his gaze. He smiled mischievously.
“Did you like it yesterday?”
Vivian dropped the fork she was holding. A sharp squeaking sound rang out against her plate and filled the room.
“I liked it.”
He reached out and touched the tip of her long hair. Roger had a habit of touching Vivian’s hair like this once in a while. He probably didn’t even realize he was doing it himself. It was an unconscious and reckless act.
“So much that I want to do it again.”
The low-pitched voice overflowed with humor. It was a voice that made those who heard it choke up and swallow their saliva.
From light to dark, she didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do again because he didn’t hesitate to perform yesterday’s actions. But even so, she could see that his words now had a subtle seductive side.
* * *
Vivian feared that maybe what she had done last night would change their relationship in the future.
And her concerns were never in vain.
“Wait..!”
Her body was shoved backwards and she almost smashed the back of her head against the wall, but before that, his large palms nimbly wrapped around the back of her head. This saved her from banging her head and giving her a headache.
But there was no relief for her. As much as her head was unharmed, her front became even more critical. Roger’s tongue pierced the inside of her lips with relentless force.
The sound of lightly sucking. The sound of his tongue whipping her mucous membranes. And the sound of each other’s saliva tangling echoed through the quiet room.
“Please, wait.”
Her pleas were to no avail. Roger swallowed her lips without hesitation, like a man blinded by sēxual desire. Vivian’s moan gradually became softer, perhaps because of his reckless yet delicate ability to set fire to her. The bliss that consumed her was sweet.
These days, the two were busy mixing their tongues whenever they made eye contact, alone.
It wasn’t like this from the beginning. Just a few days ago, she thought she was going to keep an eye on it, and she thought she’d be hesitant. But perhaps it was because of the dense action, her hesitation gradually faded like a mist. In particular, Roger has now reached the point of setting fire to her wherever he saw her.
In less than a week, they shared kisses in empty hallways, parlors, dark bedrooms, everywhere.
Oddly enough, he never went farther than a kiss. But because of that, Vivian was able to focus on kissing him with peace of mind as time went on. To be honest, she liked kissing him, who was so thirsty for her.
“Ugh, ha.”
As he turned his head, their lips met even more intensely. Her eyes twitched as his tongue scraped the top of her mouth.
The thick skinship, which she had not expected until, made her mind dizzy and her heart pound. Every time he kissed her so deeply, it felt like she was a precious person to him. She never imagined that she would be able to do what she had always dreamed of doing in real life.
But beyond her heart pounding, there was an indescribable confusion.
This kind of behavior was common among lovers. But Vivian and Roger were not like that.
Vivian sometimes turned away from him, and Roger was jealous of other men, but they had never been honest with each other about their feelings. Although she heard his inner thoughts in the garden, the conversation was too ambiguous to express any emotion. So she didn’t know what his feelings were, what kind of relationship he wanted to be with her.
She couldn’t be sure about each other’s feelings, but she could be sure that her body was to his taste. It has been more than 3 years since she met him in her dream. So Roger was well aware of her habit of quivering her eyelids when he tickled the roof of her mouth.
Even today, her tongue, which had been soft until he assaulted her mouth to the fullest, came out. Vivian rubbed her saliva-drenched lips with the back of her hand. Her excitement was palpable, and her eyes were uncovered. Roger rubbed her face gently, caressing the corners of her eyes.
“… If we are here, we might be found out.”
“By who?”
Even though she understood that they should leave now, she pretended not to know.
Vivian replied quietly, rubbing her lips.
“Whether it’s me or you… Won’t they find one of us?”
Laughing at her lackluster answer, he bit her hand with a regretful action. And her lips again. This time it was a very different, light kiss from before.
He whispered, pressing their foreheads together.
“This makes me feel like a child doing something bad.”
A kiss that was done only in the middle of nowhere to escape the eyes of others. Vivian tried to calm her thumping heart, expressing sympathy inside her.