Chapter 71: King of Slaves - 8
Chapter 71: King of Slaves - 8
Dawn broke.
Jiha opened his eyes and sat up.
Leticia lay beside him, only her face peeking out from under the blanket, staring straight at him.
"......."
He'd dozed off without meaning to.
Leticia wasn't about to try anything rash, but he still couldn't afford to let his guard down.
While Jiha was busy reproaching himself, Leticia hesitated, then finally spoke.
"Um... could you get me some clothes?"
"What?"
"......I don't have anything to wear."
Jiha's blade had slashed her outfit to ribbons last night, leaving her with nothing.
"Underwear too......"
"......."
Her bra had been sliced clean off as well.
Leticia made the request, despite her embarrassment.
"I did listen to you. So......"
"Wait."
Jiha got up from the bed at once.
"Eek......"
They'd been sharing a single blanket, and it suddenly slipped askew.
Startled, Leticia yanked the blanket over to her side, covering herself up in a hurry.
The golden-haired elf, face stricken with shock, stared at Jiha's back, his hips, his ass, his thighs.
Jiha's body was athletic—a physique sculpted by training to survive.
"......."
Sitting on the bed, Leticia's gaze darted over his naked form, her face flushing.
She'd seen him during the night too, but she'd been too dazed back then.
Seeing him like this in the morning was a completely different sensation.
Jiha didn't leave the room, though.
Still stark naked, he walked over to a cabinet, pulled out some clothing, and came right back.
"Stick your leg out."
"Huh?"
Leticia's eyes widened when she saw the panties and bra in his hand.
Why would something like that be in a man's room?
Her gaze, having been on his hand, strayed downward and caught sight of his manhood.
The morning erection was standing at full attention. Leticia jerked her head away in alarm.
"I said stick your leg out."
"Ah, wh-why do you even have those?"
Flustered, she turned her head away and poked only her right foot out from under the blanket.
Seeing that swollen, engorged thing first thing in the morning was terrifying—it made her head spin.
Jiha slipped the panties over her right foot. "Now the left one."
"......Uh, yeah."
Leticia obeyed, cautiously poking out her left foot.
Then, as if dressing a small child, Jiha slid his hands under the blanket and pulled the panties up smoothly.
"......."
He was being surprisingly considerate.
Leticia had never imagined he'd have underwear ready.
Even less so that he'd slip his hands under the blanket to dress her, taking her modesty into account.
The same male who'd been so rough and ferocious last night was now acting almost devoted.
"......."
Looking at Jiha, her heart began to pound—in a way that felt distinct from fear.
As Leticia fumbled nervously, Jiha picked up the bra.
"Now your hand."
"Uh, yeah."
Like an obedient puppy, she extended her right hand just as he instructed.
Jiha proceeded to put the bra on her, step by step.
When he reached behind her and fastened the hook, Leticia finally realized something.
"......."
The fit of the panties and the bra.
They were a perfect match for her body.
It was only natural—Jiha had made Lijin look into it and prepare everything in advance—but to Leticia, who knew nothing of those circumstances, it came as a shock.
"......Ah,"
"What? Too tight?"
Jiha looked at her.
He was still naked, on all fours on the bed, close enough that their noses almost touched.
Leticia did her best to avert her eyes from his body as she spoke.
"N-no. They fit just......"
A sudden shiver ran through her.
Jiha grinned. "What, are you calling me a pervert?"
"......."
That would almost be better.
What truly horrified Leticia was the realization that Jiha had orchestrated the whole situation.
The plan: wiping out the elves would force Leticia to come, and then he'd coax and appease her, turning her into his woman.
'Ah, s-so that's why he deliberately cut off my clothes and bra......'
That was the reason he'd sliced through them with his blade last night.
So he could have new underwear ready to put on her in the morning.
He even had Leticia's exact measurements.
And hadn't he figured out right away that Leticia had caught on to all of this?
"......."
Is he some kind of monster?
In the end, Leticia had been dancing in the palm of Jiha's hand the entire time.
If Jiha had felt like it, he could have violated and killed her at any moment.
How could anyone stand against a man who controlled a situation so thoroughly?
"......."
Now that she understood the whole picture, Leticia trembled.
Jiha spoke gently.
"Cold?"
"......Wh-what are you going to do with me?"
"I'm going to take good care of you."
He reached out and touched her chin.
Like prey sensing a predator's fangs, Leticia squeezed her eyes shut and curled up.
But Jiha only playfully rubbed and tickled her chin.
"......You're not going to kill me?"
"I'd like it if you behaved and listened well."
Jiha kept rubbing her chin with a smile, and Leticia, still trembling, began to settle.
This monstrous man had said he had no intention of harming her.
If she listened, she would be safe.
"......."
As Jiha kept tickling her chin, Leticia's eyes darted around, and then she flinched.
Unconsciously, she had glanced at his crotch again.
That obscene, swollen spike of flesh was still there—terrifying to look at.
"Let's see if it suits you."
"......Huh?"
Jiha pulled down the blanket she was clutching around her body.
She flinched but, understanding his intent, relaxed her grip.
Her rounded shoulders and the bra covering her beautifully curved breasts came into view.
The white fabric with subtle blue accents suited her well.
"......."
When Jiha openly stared at her breasts, Leticia tensed up all over again.
He'd already seen her completely naked, but this felt different.
It was like being a new model scrutinized by a top designer.
Swoosh.
The blanket slid the rest of the way down.
Her narrow waist and pale thighs were exposed, along with the panties that matched the bra.
"......Ngh."
Overcome by a sudden surge of embarrassment, Leticia covered her chest with her arms and pressed her thighs tightly together.
She was frightened, worried about what the man would say.
Jiha silently watched the golden-haired elf blushing in nothing but her underwear, then spoke quietly.
"You're beautiful."
"......Uh, yeah."
The anxious Leticia finally let the tension drain out of her.
A wave of relief crashed over her.
As her tension melted away, some indescribable feeling blossomed inside her chest.
In an instant, it spread all the way to her fingertips, and even though she was sitting on the bed, she felt light and buoyant.
She was happy.
'......Huh. Ah.'
The man had said she looked good in the underwear, and that made her happy.
When was the last time anything had made her happy?
Her fellow elves had been making a mess of things, her so-called fiancé had done nothing but cause trouble, and Leticia was stuck being pushed around by everyone, stuck doing damage control.
Someone who praised her.
Ironically, the only one was Jiha.
"Hmm."
The man tilted his head slightly and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
The moment his lips touched her skin, a strange sense of safety and happiness enveloped her.
This terrifying beast would never hurt her.
No, he would treat her well—if she behaved and listened to him.
"Ah, ngh......"
His lips traced from her forehead to her brows, then down to her cheek.
Leticia's tension dissolved, replaced by a cozy feeling, and every time Jiha's lips touched her, she shivered faintly.
Smack. Smack. Mwah. Smack.
"Ngh, mm."
When Jiha's lips moved from her cheek to her long ear, Leticia squirmed at the ticklish sensation and let out a sweet moan.
As if thawing her frozen body, the man handled Leticia with a slow and gentle touch.
As if he was afraid even to use his hands, he only touched her face and ears with his lips, and the tickling made her heart flutter.
A completely different attitude from last night.
'I was......'
Because Leticia was acting submissively now, unlike yesterday, Jiha was treating her differently.
This man was truly fearsome, but in contrast, he was gentle with his women.
So to be safe, she had to become his woman......
"......."
The thought surfaced abruptly in her head.
As soon as she realized what she was thinking, Leticia's face flushed a deep, mortified red.
Smack.
But Jiha, perhaps misinterpreting the sign, pressed a kiss near the corner of her mouth.
Not a full kiss, just a suggestion of his lips.
"Ngh, mm."
Flustered and aching, Leticia moaned, and Jiha's lips traveled down over her chin and to the nape of her neck.
She shook her head slightly and grasped his arm.
"......Kiss me."
"......."
"......On the lips. Please."
Realizing that Jiha was deliberately taking his time so she wouldn't be frightened, Leticia had blurted it out.
On a whim, thinking that if she used a more respectful tone, Jiha would understand.
Jiha smiled and brushed her bangs aside.
Instead of acting immediately, he grinned mischievously and looked her straight in the eye.
"......."
A male's satisfied gaze.
Seeing him enjoy her docile behavior made Leticia feel flustered all over again.
His fingertips caught her chin again, tickling it.
"......Hurry up."
Leticia, growing more embarrassed as time dragged on, whined impatiently—primly, at that.
Jiha bowed his head and kissed Leticia on the lips.
At last, a kiss......
Smack.
But it ended in a flash, like a peck you'd give a child.
"......."
Leticia, who had been about to close her eyes, stared in bewilderment, but Jiha just smiled and kissed her again.
Smack.
Another achingly short kiss.
Realizing he was still teasing her, Leticia pouted and glared at him.
She'd listened so obediently, even made a request, and this was what she got?
Smack.
Jiha gave her another brief kiss.
Leticia was just about to get genuinely angry when Jiha, this time, didn't pull back. He just looked at her steadily.
Their noses were practically touching, and the man's eyes were fixed on her.
"......Mm."
The meaning was clear: if she wanted it, she should do it herself.
Flustered, Leticia tilted her head ever so slightly.
A noble High Elf like her, initiating a kiss with a lowly Common, a human male?
A few days ago, it was something she couldn't even have dreamed of.
Now, it had become a matter of great importance.
Slowly.
Leticia pressed her lips against his with excruciating slowness, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as her hands fumbled and groped.
Jiha lowered his hand and clasped hers.
"Haa......"
Relieved, the woman's lips parted, and a sweet sigh escaped her.
As if she still didn't know how to kiss and breathe at the same time, her lips couldn't hold out for long and pulled back a little.
"......Mm."
But like a baby bird begging its mother for food, Leticia kissed Jiha again.
She'd hesitated quite a bit at first, but this time she was somewhat bolder.
"Mm, haa......"
The golden-haired elf who had kissed him first trembled faintly.
Jiha said nothing, letting Leticia do as she pleased while he toyed with her hand in his.
As if responding through her hand, Leticia squeezed back before relaxing, and her fingers rubbed and tickled the back of his hand.
"Hangh. Ah......"
Leticia's kiss was clumsy and awkward.
But her breathing grew ragged, and her body shivered with excitement.
The thighs she had been keeping tightly pressed together gently parted.
Swoosh.
The man's hand stroked down her cheek as she devoted herself to the kiss, and she trembled.
"Ngh, mm."
Then, as if in answer, she quickly grabbed his hand and pressed it against her cheek.
Urging him to caress her face more.
Jiha's tongue licked at Leticia's lips.
"Ah."
Leticia, who had only been pressing her lips together in a basic kiss, reacted with surprise at the touch of his tongue.
But she didn't flee. She just looked at the man shyly......
"......Ngh, mm."
...and then poked her own tongue out a little, slipping it into Jiha's mouth.
A tongue and lips that came seeking his first.
Satisfied, Jiha rubbed her back in slow, smooth motions, his eyes narrowing.
The golden-haired elf, wearing nothing but her underwear, was afraid and yet clinging to him and demanding like this.
Now, dressing her or undressing her was entirely up to him.