Episode 31
I flinched and looked up at him.
“You were watching from the beginning?”
“I didn’t watch because I wanted to. It just caught my eye.”
He had been watching me since I approached the lake. That meant Antonio knew from the start that I had sent the birds to attack the crown prince’s group.
“So I kept denying it to someone who already knew everything.”
“When the person involved is trying to hide it, what’s the point of dragging it out into the open?”
I felt strangely deflated. In the end, I had no choice but to admit it was my doing.
“…The birds do tend to listen to me well. I guess that might be my ability.”
“No one else can do that. The power you survived from the fever as a child probably lingered and turned into a unique ability.”
Now I understood why I had manifested a power even without being infused with magical energy.
Antonio had said it before—surviving the fever that signaled the awakening of magical power was a miracle.
Back when I was suffering from that unknown illness as a child, it hurt so much I wanted to let go of myself…
But now, I’m glad I kept going.
If I had given up on myself, I would have never discovered this potential.
Like the owl of the Holy Temple that never knew it could fly.
Snore. Snore. From inside the room I had left, snoring started up again.
Antonio glanced once at the door, then shook his head.
“Come sleep in my room.”
“Huh?”
“We’ll be riding all day again tomorrow. I don’t want to see you dozing off and falling off your horse.”
“D-Don’t you snore?”
“I usually don’t.”
“Isn’t your bed small…?”
“Take this chance to receive some magic.”
Antonio’s proposal was blunt. He stared at my lips. Even in the dim light, his gaze pierced me clearly.
I swallowed without meaning to.
“Only if you want to. If not, forget it.”
“N-No, I—I want to get stronger, fast.”
That was something I’d been hesitating to say. With battle approaching, I needed to gain any power I could.
“…So that’s a yes?”
Instead of answering, I rose on tiptoe and pressed my lips firmly to his.
With a soft chok, my heels touched back down.
Cautiously, I looked up at him. Even in the dark, his golden eyes locked onto me, as if ready to devour me.
Inside those eyes burned something as fierce as the sun.
Before I could read his reaction, he grabbed the back of my head and completely devoured my lips.
Startled, I almost screamed. But every sound I tried to make was swallowed right into his mouth.
Through hot breaths, something wet and soft pushed inside. As it stirred within me, my vision dimmed.
At the same time, my body was lifted into the air. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck, still locked in the kiss.
Still kissing me, he opened the door and carried me inside.
The room was dark, but it felt dazzling bright before my eyes. Even though they were closed.
It must have been the energy flowing through where our bodies met.
Before I knew it, my back met a soft bed. Antonio had laid me down.
His tongue explored every corner of my mouth, tangling with mine. Each time our flesh rubbed together, a strange sense of fullness sent me floating.
It felt like he was breathing a kind of life into me—one I didn’t know existed.
But I was running out of breath.
I tapped his firm shoulder gently, and he finally pulled away.
“…You’re good at this, even while sober.”
He whispered lazily, brushing my cheek.
“J-Just let me rest a bit—”
“You can breathe through your nose, can’t you?”
He pressed his forehead to mine.
“Mmph.”
My lips were swallowed again.
Like a predator, he pinned me beneath his arms and devoured my mouth.
Sticky sounds echoed through the quiet room filled with damp, warm air.
Just as I was growing tired, he gently nibbled on my upper lip, licking it softly, before plunging deep again with sudden intensity.
My mind melted drop by drop, like candle wax. At this rate, my reason would burn away, leaving only instinct.
At some point, his hand slid from my shoulder down to my waist. His large palm skimmed over my ribcage, making my nerves spike like needles.
“Hnnn…”
An incoherent sound escaped my lips.
Our mouths mingled messily, and saliva—whose I couldn’t tell—slid down my throat. It was dizzying, like standing on a blade. My senses were sharp, and a dull heat spread through my lower belly.
It felt like something was filling a place that had been empty for so long.
Antonio paused, lifted his lips from mine, and buried his face in my shoulder.
Our bare chests pressed together, the weight of him spreading over me comfortingly.
And then—something firm pressed against my thigh.
Was it a hot water bottle in his pocket?
Just as I looked down, his lips touched under my ear. The warmth against the sensitive skin made my back arch.
“Want me more.”
“…Hah.”
“Holding me must be purely your choice.”
He whispered hotly against my ear.
I took a deep breath and shut my eyes tight. The magic he released seeped into my veins, spreading throughout my body.
“You know what?”
A thick finger slipped into my mouth.
“Mucous membranes aren’t just in your mouth.”
He gently pressed the soft inside of my lip as he spoke.
“…”
I instantly understood what he meant. I looked up at him, face flushing, wondering if I’d misunderstood.
But his eyes still burned with unquenched passion. The heat of his gaze nearly stole my breath.
“Not yet, I see.”
He stroked the downy hairs on the back of my neck. A lazy, languid feeling followed. In his arms, I slowly drifted off, like under a spell.
***
Not once during the journey to Cassia did we have to sleep out in the open. The quartermaster had booked lodgings all along the route.
It made me realize how efficiently the Scorpio Knights operated.
But riding every day left my rear sore beyond belief. Even with high-quality leather saddles.
“Lady Josephine, would you like to try this?”
Kallen suddenly held out something heart-shaped and cushiony.
“What is it?”
“Put it inside your pants. It protects your bottom—makes it hurt less.”
“…Shouldn’t you be using it?”
“I have mine too. This one’s a spare, don’t worry.”
She added that she was grateful I endured her snoring all night.
But truthfully, her snoring never really bothered me. I was barely in her room at night.
Each night, I went to Antonio, shared fiery kisses, and fell asleep in his arms. By morning, I would wake up again in Kallen’s room. He must have carried me back.
“Your lips look a bit puffy today.”
“Huh?”
“Dinner must’ve had some spicy seasoning, right?”
Kallen had misinterpreted it in her own way. I let her keep thinking that.
On the seventh day, we arrived at Cassia.
I had expected the acting lord’s daughter, Lady Theodora, to come greet us.
But just after we passed through the gates and entered the city, someone else appeared before us—a royal knight with one arm wrapped tightly in bandages.
“Your Highness.”
“Are you badly hurt?”
“I’m fine, but the situation isn’t. Hippogriffs have attacked several parts of the commercial district… We need your help evacuating civilians.”
“Understood.”
There was no time to unpack.
Antonio gathered us and assigned missions.
“From now on, establish a perimeter around the commercial district.”
Attack and defense squads were formed first. Kallen joined the attackers. Likely because she had strong combat skills in addition to healing.
“Use sword energy as trained—aim for aerial targets only. Especially Dracoses that use fire: don’t ever shoot toward the ground. I’ll take responsibility for property damage, but we must prevent any civilian casualties.”
Antonio’s command was met with sharp, unified replies.
Lastly, he called my name. He handed me a whistle and gave me a task.
“The forest where the hippogriffs nest lies northwest from here. Call Mateo and order him to scout. Then assist Bartol in evacuating civilians.”
“Will there be a safe place for them to go?”
“There should be a shelter behind the commercial district. Gather as many people there as possible.”
He handed me a map.
