The Saint's Jealous Heart
I leaned in and pressed a kiss to the Doctor’s forehead as she sat there, eyes heavy with exhaustion and hair slick with grease. She recoiled in shock, stumbling backward.
“Y-You…! My face is covered in oil right now…”
“Why does that matter between us?”
“Still…”
“Go home and rest. You’ve done well.”
The Doctor nodded weakly. “I’ll shower at home. It’ll be better that way.”
“Do that. I’ll drive you.”
“No. I brought two cars. One needs to stay at the house. Should I prepare a meal?”
“It’s fine. Just focus on resting. I’ll take care of myself.”
“…Okay. See you later.”
After saying goodbye, the Doctor left the lab and drove off immediately.
The incident involving three monsters and two Beast Slayers was quietly resolved. The brief information the Doctor had passed to the World Coalition about Silvia and Adele spread across the world—specifically, the part about heroes from another planet. Various space research institutions worldwide grew excited and begged the Coalition and headquarters for more details, but it ended as nothing more than a minor commotion.
I stretched in the now-empty lab. Lonely. I needed to see Adele soon and recharge. After a quick cleanup, I headed straight for her house.
But…
“Adele isn’t here?”
“Yeah. She’s not.”
Only Silvia was at the Uijeongbu house. She gave me a meaningful smile as I rushed over and continued.
“Adele probably went to church. Last night, some people were handing out wet wipes near the house, and the church name was printed on them. Adele got curious and said she wanted to check it out.”
“Is that so…?”
She’d shown interest in cathedrals before, so it seemed her curiosity had been piqued again. Adele’s ears certainly perked up easily. I clicked my tongue in disappointment.
“Nothing I can do about it…”
“You came without even contacting her?”
“Yes. I just dropped by.”
“I see… How long do services usually last?”
“Usually around an hour. It might run longer if the younger crowd stays for some social gathering.”
“Really? Then she’ll be back soon. It’s been about an hour and a half. Come in and wait.”
“Thank you.”
Once inside, I bowed my head as Silvia poured me a drink.
“I’ll enjoy it.”
“You’ll probably get bored waiting. Want to watch a movie with me?”
“Sounds good to me. Aren’t you going to work out today?”
“I’m taking the day off.”
“Got it.”
I moved to the sofa and gulped down the drink. Silvia let out a small laugh at my casual behavior, then sat beside me and grabbed the remote. The movie she chose was a well-received romance. Honestly, it surprised me. I’d expected her to pick something with blood and gore, not something this sweet.
When I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression, she tilted her head.
“What?”
“You like this kind of movie too?”
“I watch it because I want to. And why wouldn’t I be allowed to like it?”
“No reason. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. Let’s just watch.”
Her straightforward personality was appealing. I settled into a comfortable position and looked at the screen. It was a typical romance—full of misunderstandings that resolved quickly, followed by passionate love. The ending would almost certainly involve a kiss or marriage. Boring for me, but Silvia was completely absorbed. She didn’t even blink as she took in every scene of the protagonists. It was quite beautiful.
“Did that guy just tell her to get lost?”
Out of nowhere, Silvia commented on the movie. I answered.
“Seems so.”
“What a jerk… What did he mean by that?”
“I think it’s because the woman saw his weakness. The male lead can’t move his pinky finger properly because of an accident when he was young. She happened to hear him practicing and making mistakes, so he probably lashed out thinking she’d laugh at him.”
“Is that it? I don’t really get it. She likes him, doesn’t she? If anything, she’d be moved by his effort, not mock him.”
“They needed proper communication, but they didn’t have it. So they each assumed whatever they wanted.”
“Ah…”
Silvia let out a small sound of understanding and nodded slowly.
“Do you have any secrets you want to hide?”
One that would be catastrophic if discovered.
“Of course I do.”
“What kind?”
Did she really expect me to say, Yes, I’m the Demon King Tyrat you and Adele have been desperately searching for?
“A secret is a secret for a reason.”
At my calm rebuttal, Silvia smirked.
“How disappointing. Still, it’s nice that you’re different from people who lie and say they have no secrets.”
Nice? Don’t tempt me. When I gave her an ambiguous look, she smiled brightly and turned back to the TV.
“I don’t get that woman either. Why does she keep spying on the guy? If she likes him, she should just chase after him openly.”
“That’s how teenage crushes are. If you ever fall for someone, Silvia, you might act the same way.”
“Do I look like that kind of person?”
“People who seem least likely to are often the ones who do.”
“You’re funny. I would never do something like that.”
We’ll see about that later.
We continued our lively discussion while watching the movie. Silvia seemed to enjoy talking with me and kept chatting without pause, while I matched her pace well. About forty minutes into the film, the door lock clicked and Adele walked in.
“Sis! I’m—”
She stopped mid-sentence when she saw me on the sofa, pressing her lips together. After a moment of hesitation, she approached.
“When did you get here?”
I answered in a quiet voice, barely moving my lips. “About forty minutes ago. Have a seat, Adele.”
“Okay…”
She walked over with an exaggerated display of propriety, then hesitated when she realized there was no space between Silvia and me. Why try to sit in the middle when she could just sit next to me? As I was about to make room for her, she suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me up.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m hungry. Let’s go eat together.”
She’s jealous. A good sign.
I agreed and turned to Silvia. “Would you like to join us, Silvia?”
The moment I finished speaking, a sharp sensation pricked my back. Adele was pinching me in silent protest. Don’t do that.
“I’m good. You two go have fun.”
Would’ve been interesting if she came along… Pity. After saying goodbye to Silvia, I took Adele’s hand—now thoroughly sulky—and led her outside.
Adele remained silent and fuming until we got into the car. The moment she sat in the passenger seat, she snapped at me.
“Why did you ask Sis to eat with us?”
“You like Silvia a lot, don’t you? I thought you’d be happy if she came along…”
“You didn’t have any other shameless thoughts, did you?”
“Shameless thoughts…?”
“The sofa was plenty big, so why were you sitting so close to her?”
“I wasn’t sitting that close. It’s a misunderstanding.”
My calm tone seemed to irritate her further. Adele huffed and crossed her arms. When I lightly poked her arm, she made an exaggerated gesture as if shaking off a bug, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
After quickly composing myself, I cleared my throat. “How was church?”
“I don’t know.”
“Not good?”
“I said I don’t know!”
“Could you at least look at me?”
“You don’t get to see my face today. This is your punishment.”
“Why am I being punished?”
Adele shot me an incredulous glare. She really won’t let me see her face?
“Because you did something wrong!”
“Was asking Silvia to eat with us the mistake? Why would that be…”
“Why did you come here today?”
“To see you, Adele.”
“Then why make that suggestion to Sis? You said you came to see me!”
“Ah…”
As I scratched the back of my head and feigned ignorance, Adele let out several dry laughs.
“I always think this, but you really have no sense at all! How can you not understand my feelings? I understand yours perfectly!”
It’s actually the opposite…
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re so frustrating!”
“Are you jealous right now?”
“Jealous? I’m just pointing out how clueless you are—”
She stopped mid-sentence and pressed her lips shut. I had undone my seatbelt and leaned in close—close enough that our noses nearly touched. In a gentle voice, I spoke to her as she tried to avoid my gaze.
“You could’ve explained it calmly like before, and I would’ve understood. But you kept scolding me, so I felt hurt and got defiant.”
“D-Defiant!? Are you trying to argue with me right now?”
“I have no intention of arguing. I don’t want to waste precious time fighting. Why would I argue with you, Adele?”
Her cheeks began to flush at my confession. When I leaned in even closer, her eyelids trembled briefly before closing. I placed a hand on the passenger seat’s backrest and pressed my lips against hers. Then I extended my tongue and lightly licked across her lips.
“…. Hng…!”
Startled, her shoulders shot up and then dropped. Her eyes remained closed. When I carefully placed a hand on her waist, she snapped her eyes open and pulled back. She must have remembered what happened at the office earlier. I slowly withdrew my hand and started to return to the driver’s seat, but Adele grabbed my wrist and looked at me with moist eyes. It was as if she was saying she was okay now.
I cheered inwardly. Emotion was winning over reason at the moment, but even so, this was significant progress. The hug in the park yesterday must have worked well. I gave her a soft smile to reassure her, then gently pressed my hand against her waist again with very little force.
“Haaah…!”
Vmmmm…
A faint resonance accompanied Adele’s cute exclamation. The Device was working hard. Adele quickly pulled her arms behind her back, as if afraid the charging sound would be heard. She didn’t realize that doing so only made it more obvious.
I needed to charge her at least five to ten percent today. Then I’d send out monsters to drain it again and plant impatience in her heart. With that plan in mind, I looked at Adele with a deep gaze and spoke.
“My posture’s uncomfortable. Could you lean forward a little?”
“…..”
The bold attitude from earlier had completely vanished. Adele obediently followed my words. She even grabbed the front of my blazer with her left hand. Unable to hold back any longer at her shy action, I lunged forward and kissed her. This time, without testing the waters, I pushed my tongue in the moment our lips met, while sliding the hand on her waist up to her armpit.
“Hup…!”
Adele flinched. At the same time, the Device’s resonance grew stronger. Her resistance to physical contact was steadily melting away. I had also managed to plant a small seed of distance between her and Silvia today. With half-lidded eyes, I watched Adele’s flushed face as she accepted my tongue, then closed my eyes again.
Adele was falling smoothly into the quagmire I had prepared. Since both her feet were already submerged, escaping wouldn’t be easy. No—I would make sure she wouldn’t even think of escaping.