Chapter 88
Philome, caught by the snake, racked her brain to figure out how not to be completely devoured. And so, what Philome chose was…
Crunch.
With the sensation of biting into something, a fishy smell filled her mouth.
Philome was surprised to see Kaien continue the kiss, unfazed even though she had bitten his lip.
It was only after satisfying his desire just a little that Kaien finally pulled away.
“Haah, ha…”
Philome gasped for breath, panting heavily.
Before she knew it, she was completely lying on the sofa.
Her chest rose and fell dramatically, but all she felt was confusion.
“Your Grace, are you not in pain?”
As Kaien tidied her disheveled hair, he replied, “Ah,” and then rubbed his lips.
“It’s a bit stinging now. I guess I didn’t notice the pain earlier because it was so thrilling. I thought it was just the thrill of kissing you.”
“You’re bleeding a lot!”
Philome was startled to see more droplets of blood than she expected on Kaien’s lips, which were moist. She raised her upper body in alarm.
However, she stopped, propped up on her elbows, due to Kaien’s restraint.
“Why? I have a handkerchief, so just use that to wipe it.”
“Not that.”
Kaien weakly grasped Philome’s chin.
Then he licked her lips, which were stained with his blood.
“Just until it dries.”
He locked eyes with Philome.
“Hmm?”
It was clearly a situation where permission was being sought, yet Philome felt as if she had only one choice.
‘I must really be enchanted.’
As she reflected on this thought, Philome closed her eyes.
At the same time, her lips were crushed again by Kaien’s tongue. She had to remain caught in the snake’s embrace for a while longer.
Tap.
Philome, having closed the door behind her, placed the back of her hand against her cheek.
It still felt warm, so she let out a light breath and squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again.
Just a few minutes ago, thinking about what had happened on the sofa beyond this door made her face flush once more.
‘I didn’t wait for this.’
It had been four days since she first found herself in such a situation, starting from when she waited for Kaien in his office.
Philome had waited on the office sofa, sleeping until Kaien arrived for his early morning shift, and he would always kiss her as soon as he got there. He seemed intent on staying glued to her lips without sleeping, so she had to work hard to either put him to sleep or keep him busy with work.
If she hadn’t, she was sure she would have been trapped by Kaien for hours.
As she passed through the corridor, Philome brushed the cloak that Kaien had tightly tied around her.
Then, she suddenly stopped in front of a large window.
It was just beginning to dawn.
Three days had passed since the three monsters appeared and Harnen was injured. They had sent out reconnaissance teams, but they had yet to find the other monster, and Theodore and Kaien had taken turns keeping watch every night until dawn.
In the meantime, Harnen, who had a quick recovery, had healed completely and had been living normally since yesterday.
Philome decided to check on his condition and headed toward Harnen’s room.
She knocked on the door, but no words came from the other side. Not finding it odd, Philome opened the door immediately.
As expected, Harnen was buried under a pile of papers, engrossed in something.
“Harnen.”
“Ah, boss? When did you arrive?”
“I just got here. Are you still looking at that?”
Harnen had lost consciousness for a day due to excessive bleeding. When he woke up, he asked Theodore to allow him to access the “Records of the Monsters” even though he could barely get out of bed.
Theodore agreed to let him read the book after his recovery, but with conditions.
And it seemed that encouragement was enough for Harnen, as he got out of bed just a day later.
Having met the conditions to access the book, he had been poring over the records of the monsters since yesterday.
“Yeah. There’s still a lot to read. There aren’t any special records for the 200 years after the monster fell asleep, but there’s still a considerable amount.”
“Are you reading it backward?”
Harnen was reading the records of the monsters not from the beginning but from the end.
“I thought it would be easier this way.”
“But Theodore and the Duke have already read all the records. If they’re not saying anything, doesn’t that mean there’s nothing related to spirits in the records?”
Harnen had requested access to the records because he believed there was a connection between spirits and monsters.
His claim was that the reason the monster suddenly awoke was because of the spirit he had summoned.
“Boss, did you know spirits have only been given names for a few hundred years? It’s likely that they’re referred to by other terms in this record.”
“…I’ll help you look for it.”
At his words, Philome sat down beside him and began reading through the records.
Several hours passed like this.
Then, the sound of a horn echoed.
Philome immediately jumped up and opened the window. A cold wind rushed in, but her gaze was fixed solely on the castle walls.
The local residents were arming themselves and moving urgently.
“It looks like a monster has appeared, Harnen.”
Harnen hurriedly turned his gaze away from the book and spoke.
“I need to hurry and look for more. You go see Liazell. I’ll handle the rest on my own. I should be able to read through it thoroughly in a few days.”
Last night, Liazell had mentioned she would go to the greenhouse today, so Philome quickly left the castle.
“Liazell!”
Liazell was standing in front of the greenhouse.
“Philome!”
“Were you not surprised? Let’s go inside quickly.”
“I was waiting for Bear and Emma to arrive.”
Liazell had been standing quietly in front of the greenhouse, thinking that if she moved, she might miss them.
Liazell grabbed Philome’s hand.
Philome intended to enter the castle first to help anyone who was injured.
But just as Philome and Liazell hurried along, someone blocked their path.
“Philome, Liazell.”
“Duke?”
It was Kaien, who Philome thought would head toward the castle walls as soon as he heard the horn.
“A monster has appeared, hasn’t it? Why are you here?”
“There was a monster, but…”
Kaien trailed off.
As Philome wondered about his unusual demeanor, Kaien narrowed his eyes.
“The Saint has arrived.”
“Really? She came around the expected time, then?”
Philome felt relieved by the good news.
However, seeing Kaien’s troubled expression made her suspect something was off about the temple.
At that moment, the sound of the horn echoed again, and the castle gates began to open.
Theodore and Natasha, who had come down from the castle walls, stood beside the three. Soon after, a group of people dressed in pure white robes entered the castle.
Leading them, a figure on horseback dismounted and removed their robe.
“Winston?”
Kaien recognized the person instantly and murmured softly.
Winston approached them.
“Lord Theodore, Lady Natasha, Duke Wintbell.”
Theodore stared at Winston and spoke.
“…Your Highness, how did you come to be here?”
“Please do not address me as Your Highness, as I am not here in that capacity, Lord Theodore.”
Kaien asked.
“…What is going on?”
“I have been assigned the duty of safely escorting the Saint to the North. As I mentioned, since I am not here as the Third Prince, you may call me Sir Winston.”
Philome grasped Kaien’s hand.
As she held his fist tightly enough to turn it white, Kaien instinctively relaxed his grip. Philome intertwined her fingers with his through the gaps.
Winston’s gaze shifted to their joined hands.
“…I was surprised not to receive any word.”
Since Winston had repeatedly stated he was here as a knight and not as the Third Prince, Kaien opened his mouth.
“I apologize for not being able to contact you sooner; it was a matter that was decided suddenly.”
Natasha asked, trying to clarify the situation.
“I see. Where is the Saint?”
“Oh, the Saint is…”
Winston turned his head to gaze at the most ornate carriage.
The carriage door was just opening. The Saint, escorted by the paladins, stepped out of the carriage wearing a pure white veil.
As the saint approached, Philome felt an inexplicable discomfort and anxiety. Staring beyond the veil, where her features were faintly visible, cold sweat began to form in her palms.
Noticing this, Kaien tightened his grip on her hand.
“Saint, let’s greet her.”
The Saint, standing next to Winston, lifted her veil.
“…!”
At that moment, faced with a remarkably familiar face, Philome could only be astonished.
It was Nadia.
NEET_Caos
Ela claramente não é a Santa real, isso obviamente é uma emboscada da dupla de vilões.
Obrigada pela tradução.