Chapter 186: The Holy Empire
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 186: The Holy Empire
Crack, crack.
As the firewood in the fireplace split, the faltering flames flared up again. It resembled the final burst of energy a person has just before death.
The logs, which had been mere embers since early evening, were already too burnt to sustain a flame.
Normally, a servant would have silently entered to add more wood, but there were no trustworthy servants in a ducal castle that had been enemy territory until recently.
In other words, the task fell to me, the master of the room.
But I hadn't even noticed the firewood had burned out. I was too busy pressing my skin against a woman's body hotter than the flames of the fireplace.
“Piole…?”
I stopped mid-thrust, pinning Piole to the bed as she lay on her stomach.
Piole, who had been flinching and letting out faint moans with every sticky, heated slap of our flesh, was no longer responding.
Thrust.
I slightly adjusted my angle and prodded her sensitive insides, but there was still no reaction.
Carefully, I turned her over onto her back. Only then did I hear her faint breathing. She had drifted off to dreamland.
I clicked my tongue and pulled out. My cock twitched, as if still unsatisfied.
I was disappointed too, but there was no fun in fucking a woman who didn't respond. So I decided to call it a night and cover her with the blanket.
‘There’s plenty of time.’
Just then, her defenseless, sensual body seemed to hold my hand captive.
Her breasts, by far the largest among my women, sagged slightly, unable to support their own weight. Flushed with a heat rash, they looked incredibly lewd.
And what about her smooth, firm abs and thick, strong thighs? A woman as well-trained as her was a rarity in this era.
It wasn't just for show, either. She was the only one with the stamina to satisfy me on her own.
Though, after my stamina increased during the northern continent expedition, that was no longer the case.
That was why Piole, who had boasted that I wouldn't get any sleep tonight, was the first to collapse.
“From now on, it’ll have to be two or more, no matter what.”
It wouldn't be a problem, since they all had experience doing it together at least once.
Licking my lips, I scanned Piole's sensual body and took out the holy water I'd brought from the northern continent. Piole's vulva was red and swollen.
Her cunt, which seemed unable to close, gurgled and spewed a milky white fluid every time my hand touched it. She had come so much it seemed endless.
At the sight of her defenseless state, my still-unsatisfied member flared up again.
Smooch.
I kissed her forehead with a touch of regret, and the corners of Piole's lips curled up. I chuckled, pulled the blanket up to her neck, and got up.
Only then did I realize how cold the room was and what a mess it had become from our all-night affair.
“We were in quite a hurry.”
The clothes strewn carelessly from the door to the bed were proof of our urgency.
And what about the stains of vaginal fluid on the blankets, the sheets, and the carpet? The memory of our frenzied night made my cock hard again.
“Tsk. I should air the room out first.”
The air in the room was thick with a sticky, lewd scent. It was enough to make my head spin.
First, I added more wood to the fireplace so Piole wouldn't get cold, then opened the wooden window.
A clear light poured in as if it had been waiting, pushing back the darkness in the room. At the edge of my vision, the sun was peeking over the mountain ridge.
Soon after, the damp, crisp air unique to the dawn followed the sunlight, purifying the atmosphere in the room. My head cleared instantly.
“But… what are you doing there?”
With a look of disbelief, I glanced down at the hand gripping the windowsill and its owner.
Jin was dangling from a single rope, a charcoal-blackened dagger clenched in her teeth. Her ashen skin was pale, a sign of how long she'd been hanging there.
“Th— Ah!”
The dagger Jin was holding in her mouth fell. Her eyes trembled as she watched it drop.
“Get in here first.”
“No, that’s…!”
When my hand touched her arm, Jin reflexively tried to swat it away. But in her frozen state, a mere flinch was all the resistance she could manage.
“Your body is as cold as ice.”
Then, when I pulled her into a tight hug, her body froze like ice. It was no wonder—I was still naked and hard.
Moreover, Jin was wearing a tight-fitting night suit for infiltration.
In other words, she couldn't help but clearly feel the movements of my cock pressing against her lower abdomen, as if it had found its home.
“Ah, uh…”
Jin's eyes trembled as she took it all in. To think she'd come in the middle of the night with a dagger, only to be rendered helpless by a cock.
A playful urge stirred in me.
“I didn’t know you had a hobby of peeping…”
“…I have no such hobby, my lord.”
Coming to her senses, Jin lifted her head. Unexpectedly, she didn't try to pull away from the cock pressing against her lower abdomen.
Her face was impassive, as if this were nothing to her.
But I knew it was an act. Her body was more honest. A blush was spreading across her face, which had been deathly pale just moments before.
“Then the reason you came looking for me in the middle of the night must be… you missed the arms of your first man?”
“F-First man?!”
The act didn't last long. Jin flared up at once, pushing against my chest. I, in turn, wrapped my arms around her, trapping her completely.
“I was your first customer, and I was the one who stole your first kiss, wasn't I?”
“We did not have relations, my lord…!”
“Aha. So that’s why you came? To finish what we started? After all, you did provoke me, trying to get me to ravish you, didn't you? I see you’ve evolved since then. In a much more devious direction.”
Jin trembled with rage. But only for a moment. She quickly regained her composure and looked up at me.
“…You remember everything, my lord?”
“Yes.”
“Even the deal we made?”
“I told you before I left for the northern continent. The promise we made will be kept. But… it seems that wasn't enough to earn your trust. Judging by how you interfered with my affairs and acted on your own.”
I was quite angry when Jin intercepted the secret letter. That didn't change even after the noble faction was fractured, which I suspected was her doing.
The important thing was that Jin had not only hidden the limits of her abilities but had also acted on her own without consulting me.
The outcome was good this time, but there's no guarantee it will be the same next time. My hand, which was wrapped around her back, moved up to grip the nape of her neck.
Jin would know of my superhuman strength, so she must have realized that if I squeezed just a little, her neck would snap.
And yet, Jin looked up at me without a trace of fear. With her back to the window, her bluish eyes shone even brighter.
“A great deal of time has passed, my lord. Many things have changed since we made our deal.”
“So you didn’t trust me.”
“It is human nature to feel one way when borrowing money and another when paying it back. And the man I made a deal with is no longer the scoundrel of a minor knightly family, but the ruler of two continents.”
I chuckled and swept Jin up in my arms, princess-style. She let out a small scream.
“That’s a long way of saying you see me as a scumbag who changes his tune depending on the situation.”
“…I was merely saying all humans are like that, my lord.”
“But I’m not an ordinary human.”
“You have grown even more arrogant, my lord.”
“Because I’ve earned the right.”
Jin couldn't deny it and pouted. I chuckled and stole a kiss. It had been a while since I'd felt the touch of her cute, plump lips.
“Mmph…”
It wasn't her first time, yet Jin pushed against my chest. That only made me devour her lips more roughly.
I licked her tightly sealed lips, then gently bit and pulled. The moment they parted, my tongue darted inside like lightning.
The moment our tongues met, we began to explore each other's mouths fiercely, as if by mutual consent.
Jin had already closed her eyes gently, letting out faint breaths. In the meantime, I moved us to the chair in front of the fireplace.
When our lips parted for a moment, Jin's face was flushed, and her eyes were slightly glazed over.
“Will you truly keep your promise, my lord? Even though the price was merely to play along with an act?”
But deep within her eyes, a sharp light still gleamed. If I went back on my word, would she aim for my throat? I truly couldn't let my guard down until the very end.
“If you promise not to act on your own.”
“Ah…!”
Jin clutched her nose. My finger had just flicked past the tip of it. She glared up at me.
“You don’t even know the exact target of my revenge, my lord…!”
In the game, the backstory of the named character Jin wasn't very significant.
It was basically that she was betrayed by her half-brother and got her revenge with the help of the Eastern Continent's witch in exchange for cooperating with Eleanor.
But I could deduce some things.
“The faction of the one trying to kill you can’t be that large. You’ve been settled on the western continent for quite some time, yet you haven’t faced any significant threats. Considering you had no choice but to cross the sea, at most, we’re talking about a grand lord.”
The fact that the witch of the Eastern Continent so easily helped with her revenge also supported this assumption.
“…!”
Seeing Jin's eyes widen, I knew I was right. She spoke a beat later.
“He is the lord who rules the Kanjasar region, my lord.”
“The western region of the Eastern Continent. In terms of territory size, it’s on par with Dresden, isn’t it? I’ve heard rumors that he has a poor relationship with the Brothers of Faith, who have a base on the western coast of the Eastern Continent.”
“…You are well-informed.”
“I did some studying to keep my promise to you.”
Jin looked at me with disbelief.
But I had been sincere from the moment I promised to help her. Of course, it wasn't without another motive. To be precise, that motive was the real reason.
‘To rule another continent, you need a local collaborator. I learned that on the northern continent.’
The people of the northern continent were wary of foreign powers. If Duke Signir hadn't helped, it would have taken a long time to establish control, even with the Pope on my side.
The Eastern Continent would surely be even more difficult. Their entire religion is different.
That's why I needed the help of Jin, the daughter of a rather prestigious family. With her as a figurehead, I could dilute the impression of being a foreign power.
The problem is, I suspect the Star Witch has already recruited the Eastern Continent's witch…
‘In the game, those two witches were particularly close.’
At the witches' assembly, the Star Witch remained an observer, but even she had two witches she was especially close to.
One of them was Aenya. To be precise, the Star Witch was the one who unilaterally pursued her.
In the beginning, Aenya welcomed this favor, but from a certain point on, her relationship with the Star Witch grew cold.
The reason was never revealed.
In any case, the only person the Star Witch was truly close to was the witch of the Eastern Continent.
And if the Eastern Continent's witch really has been recruited, I would undoubtedly face a level of resistance far greater than I anticipated.
It made sense, as the title given to the witch of the Eastern Continent was the Immortal Witch.
A mastermind who ruled the Eastern Continent from the shadows, using a lifespan of unknown origin. That was the true identity of the Immortal Witch.
‘Conversely, if I can get the Immortal Witch on my side, I might be able to uncover the Star Witch’s identity.’
I thought of it positively. The expedition to the Eastern Continent hinged on my promise to Jin, getting the Eastern Continent's witch on my side, and uncovering the Star Witch's identity.
Even without my promise to Jin, there were more than enough reasons to attempt an expedition to the Eastern Continent.
Having organized my thoughts, I gave her a sly smile.
“I’m a little hurt. To think you have so little faith in the man who will soon be your husband…”
“Who said anything about a husband… Nngh, wait! What are you doing! Why are you… my clothes…!”
She grabbed my hand. I had just taken hold of her clothes and was about to strip them off.
The corners of my mouth curled up.
“Since you don’t believe me, I’m just trying to give you some assurance. What kind of husband would ignore the words of the wife carrying his child?”
If there was one thing Jin said that was right, it was that people's choices change with their circumstances.
The reason I hadn't taken her before was that I lacked the power to handle the consequences. But now, things had changed to the point where I could handle anything she did.
The time had come to pluck the long-ripened fruit.
“A child…?”
Jin asked back with a dazed expression. It seemed she had never once imagined herself as a mother. I didn't miss the opening.
Rrrrip!
To give her no chance to resist, I suddenly ripped off the night suit that covered her entire body.
“N-Not here—”
Jin covered her now-naked body and glanced toward the bed. Despite the commotion, Piole was still fast asleep.
“So you’re fine with it somewhere else?”
My lips twitched. After all, hadn't Jin shown interest in me from our very first meeting?
“No, that’s not…”
Realizing the implication of her words too late, Jin ducked her head and avoided my gaze. I lifted her chin, kissed her, and then whispered in her ear.
“I was also planning to take care of business with you alone, somewhere with a nice atmosphere. But you were the one who acted out of line, weren't you? A ruler's rewards and punishments must be clear and just. Since you committed a wrong, I have no choice but to give you a punishment instead of the planned reward.”
In truth, that was just an excuse.
Contrary to its reputation for having a promiscuous sexual culture, the Eastern Continent was actually quite strict. A man spending the night with two women was unthinkable.
For me, who could no longer be satisfied with just one woman, this was an unacceptable culture. That's why I needed to pave the way properly from the very beginning.