The One Who Would Save Me Even at the Cost of Their Life #5
Emil’s hand slid down from Cately’s nape, deftly loosening the laces of her bodice.
There was no real need to undress her, yet he did it anyway.
And Cately found herself thrilling at the act.
Every time she felt her clothing slip away beneath his fingers, the sensation of becoming utterly, exclusively his washed over her.
Emil never hurried.
Rather than driving into her with his usual rough urgency and wrenching cries from her throat, he gazed into her eyes, shared her breath, and listened to the rhythm of her racing heart as he slowly, deliberately filled the aching heat inside her.
With one hand he continued to loosen the ties while the other gently cradled her chin, drawing her into a slow kiss.
Instead of tangling tongues at once, he brushed his lips against hers, coaxing them apart before sliding his tongue inside with tender, stroking care.
It felt like the first night shared between two lovers.
Her garments slid completely free, gliding down her shoulders. Her bare breasts spilled into view.
“……Hng.”
Though she had shown them to him many times, though his mouth had claimed them again and again, a flush of embarrassment still burned across her skin.
When she instinctively moved to cover herself, Emil smiled and caught her wrists.
“Do not hide yourself, my lady. Why conceal something so exquisitely beautiful?”
“But……”
Cately had expected him to reach for her breasts at once, yet he did not.
Instead, his gaze traveled over her naked form as he drew her closer, rolling his hips in a measured rhythm.
That unhurried movement set her aflame.
A chill draft slipped through the narrow gap in the window, brushing across her bare shoulders. Her body shivered, a delicious chill racing down her spine.
Her inner walls trembled in the same way, clenching tightly around him.
Cately savored the sensation.
In the cool air, the warmth of their bodies stood out in sharp relief, and she could feel every inch of him buried inside her with exquisite clarity.
Only then did Emil reach out again.
Yet instead of cupping her breast, his fingers drifted to her cheek in a feather-light caress.
“Mmm……”
There was something strangely different about Emil today.
Before the act he would usually tease her with every vulgar jest imaginable, yet once inside her he became this gentle, almost reverent lover. The contrast was enough to drive her mind into pleasant chaos.
“You seem different today.”
“In what way, my lady?”
“I don’t know… You’re usually a little more… rough. Not that I didn’t enjoy that side of you, but……”
“Even I have days like this. Does it displease you?”
Cately shook her head.
“I love it. I love you, Emil.”
As expected, Emil offered no reply to those words.
Cately knew he disliked the word “love.”
Even so, she spoke it often, simply because she adored the word itself.
In its place, Emil traced her lower lip with a fingertip, gazing deep into her eyes.
Those golden eyes spoke of love to her.
……Ah.
It was a sweet lie.
At least in this moment, it was Emil’s kindness—his way of telling her to believe in that gaze and lose herself in pleasure.
He rarely returned the words, but right now… she could believe he loved her and drown in the ecstasy of that shared illusion.
“……”
Cately closed her eyes and surrendered to it.
Emil’s fingers threaded through her hair like a comb, then drifted down to tease the sensitive skin of her nape.
When his touch brushed the delicate bone at the center of her throat, a bolt of arousal shot straight down her spine.
“Aah… Emil.”
She could feel her insides writhing greedily around him, swallowing him deeper.
The faint crease between his brows confirmed it, and the knowledge only heightened her excitement.
“My lady.”
His hand flowed downward like water along her collarbone until it reached her breast—yet his fingertips merely grazed the stiff peak.
“Ah……”
A soft, disappointed sigh escaped her before she could stop it.
But Emil’s hand continued lower, cupping the soft underside of her breast, and then his tongue found her nipple.
“Hngh— aah…!”
Cately’s cry finally broke free, hot and unrestrained.
As though in answer, Emil began to move.
The tongue that had been licking turned to sucking; then the light scrape of teeth sent sharp, electric pleasure racing through her.
“Ah, Emil! Emil, Emil…!”
To think she was panting like this, completely naked, body surrendered to a priest.
Yet the fear of being overheard no longer troubled her.
“Emil, come for me. Swallow me whole. Hngh— make me yours…! Ah, ah, ah!”
Even if this was a poisoned chalice, how could it taste so sweet? Sweet on the lips, sweet on the tongue.
“My lady… Cately. You feel so good.”
Emil whispered her name against her ear.
His thrusts grew erratic, rougher, faster. The heat inside her burned hotter still.
“Fill me, Emil. Give it to me… I want to carry your seed… aah!”
Emil crushed her against him in a fierce embrace.
His arms tightened as a deep, satisfying heat flooded her completely.
“Haaah……”
She knew she should dress now,
but she wanted to cling to him just a little longer.
So she wound her arms around his neck, breathing hard, and whispered once more.
“Emil… I love you.”
“I love you too, my lady.”
Emil answered without hesitation,
and Cately believed him.
It was rather cruel to Cately, who craved love without end, but Emil had far too many pressing matters to waste time pondering such things.
Just today, he had met nearly thirty women inside Iredain Castle and taken twenty-eight of them to bed.
One of them was the very maid who had once given him her virginity.
“Priest… I love you.”
“I love you too, Bella. I mean it.”
Though he moved through them as though completing a checklist, Emil poured even more passion into each encounter than usual.
“……Liar. Don’t lie to me. You couldn’t even remember my name before.”
That’s because you were no longer useful then. But now I need you a little.
“I was far too drunk that night. I probably would have called a tree a pebble. In any case, it’s all the wine’s fault.”
“Liar. You lying priest……”
“It’s the truth… Will even you refuse to believe me?”
The seduction had been difficult at first.
Everyone had thought him dangerous and kept their distance.
But Emil had turned that very wariness to his advantage.
“Bella, I no longer know who I can rely on. I was only performing my duties as a priest… How did I become entangled in all this?”
With a voice heavy with sorrow,
eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Even the maids who had once treated him coldly now wept and embraced him.
“Ah, please don’t cry. Our poor priest. What are we to do… It’s all right. I’m here for you.”
Because everyone else had turned their backs on Emil, she alone could be the one he depended on.
He had planted exactly that thought in their minds.
It awakened their maternal instincts, and they all competed to comfort the wounded priest with the warmth of their bodies.
Emil was certain that at least twenty of the twenty-eight had fallen in love with him.
He had devoted every expression, every gesture, every glance and movement to enchanting them completely.
As a result, he had gained the power to manipulate nearly everything that occurred within Iredain Castle.
I’ll finish all preparations before the joust begins. As expected, this suits me far better than crossing swords or weaving complicated schemes. It’s also far more reliable.
Emil understood all too well how easily women fell in love—and how sharply they perceived cold reality once that love faded. He knew precisely how to use both truths.
They are troublesome creatures who, while enchanted, will give a man their body and heart, only to sell that same love cheaply the moment they awaken. Therefore, it must be used.
If he wished, would it not even be possible to have Alon Ricgard assassinated?
A woman in love could certainly be made to do such a thing.
It was an option he truly ought to consider, yet…
He preferred the safest possible path.
Emil arranged his priorities in his mind.
1. First, ensure Leni reaches the capital Myrdin safely.
2. Next is Emil’s life.
3. Next is Emil’s safety.
4. Next is Emil’s advancement.
The fourth would resolve itself naturally once the first condition was met, so there was no need to worry. However…
…No. That’s wrong.
Emil shook his head.
What a foolish thought. Shouldn’t his own life be first, not second?
For the sake of wealth and glory, losing an arm or two might not matter much, and safety could be set aside for now, but… life itself was another matter entirely.
Even if, in the extreme, Leni were to die… No—even if she suffered every unspeakable horror and perished cursing the world, would that be more important than my own life?
The answer had always been no.
In his previous life and in this one.
Therefore it had to remain no now as well……
“Ah, damn it all.”
Emil stopped thinking.
Thought had to remain efficient.
The more useless thoughts multiplied, the less room remained for truly important ones.
“What’s wrong, Priest?”
Bella asked, still holding him in her arms.
Emil buried his face against her chest.
“……It’s nothing. My head is simply too full. So full it feels like it might burst.”
“Ah, you poor priest… Come here.”
Bella bared one breast and guided it toward his lips.
Emil took it into his mouth without hesitation.
“Mmm… That’s good. Ah, right there— haa, ah…!”
Bella moaned even as she stroked his hair, soothing him.
“It’s all right, Priest. Everything will be all right. Just rest in my arms… Everything is fine.”