The Death of the Foolish Sheep (5)
The Death of the Foolish Sheep (5)
#40
Oh.
What on earth—
"Why are you blushing so much? You want this."
My mouth fell open, but no words came out. How had it even come to this?
"I confirmed your desires while you were asleep. It was clear I wouldn't be able to end the contract unless I resolved them. I'm not sure when it'll end either, but if we gradually work through your desires, the contract's power will weaken and my mana will slowly return."
"Anyway, haven't you ever kissed Elysia? Why are you so stiff."
"Uh—"
From her blonde hair came a faint scent, reminiscent of dandelions blooming among the blades of grass in the garden outside the window. The warmth of her small body in my arms pressed against my chest, and it felt as though the heat was rising all the way to my throat.
"I'm not really doing this because I want to. In the first place, someone with a countess's title having any kind of physical contact with a man is entirely out of the question."
"Then why..."
"You had quite the shameless desires. How dare you harbor such vulgar lust toward me."
"What? I have never once thought of you that way, Estelle."
"Liar."
The girl refused to yield an inch as she cut him off coldly.
"When you clearly want me this much."
I could feel the warmth of her small fingers through the fabric of my trousers, over the swollen thing pressing against it. My breath caught. Even though I wanted to make an excuse, I couldn't think of a single thing to say.
"But I can't give you everything. Mages who are to inherit a title must remain chaste. So I can't accommodate all of your urges."
"Then... what should I do?"
"Do whatever you want. Until we've relieved enough of your desires to satisfy the contract."
"Is that really alright?"
"As long as you don't cross the final line, it doesn't matter."
Having said that curtly, Estelle added in a low voice, as if steadying herself.
"This whole situation is my blunder to begin with, so as the Countess of Arcanum, I'll take responsibility and endure it."
After those words, the large bedroom became strangely quiet.
From outside the window, there was only the faint sound of the mansion's garden rustling in the wind. The moment my breathing grew louder than the soft friction of the blades of grass brushing against each other,
I looked down at Estelle, nestled snugly in my arms.
She was close.
So very close.
A distance where, if I leaned down just a little more, our lips would touch once again.
Her eyes, half-hidden beneath her golden lashes, were gazing up at me steadily, but the girl's body was minutely tense, not as composed as her surface suggested.
The moment I realized that, it was me who found it even harder to breathe.
"Are you truly alright with this?"
My voice was far more hoarse than I had expected.
Estelle didn't answer immediately. Instead, she closed her eyes once, then slowly opened them and looked up into mine. Like a woman steeling herself once more to accept her wedding night through to the end.
"There's no way I wouldn't be."
She spoke as if it were nothing. But a very brief silence followed.
"I have to be."
That one sentence, rather, sounded like bravado. The honor of a countess, the duty of a mage, and the responsibility for her own blunder. The girl must be holding herself together with all of that right now.
Without thinking, I tightened my arms around her.
The way things were going, I felt like I really might do as she said—do whatever I wanted. But at that moment, strangely, the first thing that surged up wasn't desire, but hesitation.
The woman in my arms wasn't merely a golden-haired girl who was provoking me. While trying desperately not to let her expression crumble, deep inside, she was unmistakably a human being who was tense.
"Do-yun?"
Estelle's eyebrows twitched slightly. She seemed puzzled that I hadn't readily moved.
I slowly steadied my breathing.
"Even so, you don't need to take responsibility like this."
"Are you saying you want to back out now?"
"That's not it."
When the immediate answer shot out, Estelle's gaze sharpened for just a moment.
"Then what."
I couldn't answer right away. It wasn't that I had no desire. On the contrary, it was so clear I hated to admit it. Her scent, her body heat, every one of her expressions as she tried not to fall apart before my eyes—all of it stoked my urge to conquer.
But even so, whether I could really push forward in this situation just because I believed her one word—that, too, was another matter.
In the end, the words I managed were ridiculously honest.
"...How can I act like nothing's wrong, when you are this tense, Estelle?"
For a moment, Estelle's expression came to a subtle halt.
She couldn't deny it right away.
Instead, she lowered her gaze just a little, then looked back up at me. In her eyes, flustered confusion, displeasure, and some indescribable waver passed all at once.
"Are you saying I'm tense?"
"Aren't you?"
"...How ridiculous."
She said that, but her voice had become lower than before.
"In this situation, the one who should be more flustered is you, Do-yun."
"That's right. I'm flustered enough myself."
"And yet you're still worried about me?"
There was a hint of sarcasm in the question, but strangely, it wasn't sharp.
I watched her for a moment, then answered carefully.
"Rather than worried... I want to confirm. Whether you truly came this far of your own will. You said it was urgent, but couldn't the contract actually be undone slowly?"
Estelle was silent for a while. Her golden hair streamed down over her shoulders, and her long lashes half-veiled her eyes. As always, her face was perfectly in control, but for now, that silence made her seem all the more honest.
"Responsibility, duty, the cleanup of my blunder—that's all true."
Estelle spoke quietly.
"But that alone wouldn't have brought me this far into a strange man's arms."
I held my breath.
She closed her lips slightly, like someone who had just realized what she'd said. And she immediately tried to compose her expression, but it was too late. That single, brief waver was more than enough to tell me those words hadn't been mere calculation.
"...So don't get the wrong idea."
Estelle barely managed to add.
"I'm not doing this because I think of you as someone truly special."
The denial was strangely weak.
Only then, very slowly, did I put a little space between us in my arms.
It was a gap to let her pull away whenever she wanted.
Estelle quickly noticed the change.
"What are you doing?"
"You said I should just keep to the final line."
"Yes."
"Then from now on, I'll do it my way."
Estelle's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean, your way?"
I didn't answer right away. Instead, I carefully brushed the stray hair from her forehead to the side. The moment my fingers grazed her skin, her shoulders gave the slightest quiver.
And then I finally spoke.
"At the very least, I won't be rough with you until you're truly comfortable."
At those words, Estelle couldn't answer for a long time.
It was as if the one who always had the upper hand had lost her words for the first time. I could see the tips of her ears gradually reddening. But in the end, she didn't avert her gaze. Instead, she faced me even more directly, and barely parted her lips.
"...You really are a strange person."
Chu...♥
The silence that had lingered between their lips for a while.
Eventually faltered, directionless, and then was at last carried away by the same current.
#41
Hahp... Slurp—♥
A scarlet tongue intertwined, and the sticky saliva stretched between their chins before breaking.
"Is this kissing?"
"Yes. Probably."
"Probably? Why 'probably'?"
"Because this is also my first time kissing someone."
"You hadn't done it with Elysia?"
"No. With that person, we only conducted experiments pertaining to my male organ. But I've been curious since a moment ago—how do you know about it, Estelle?"
"Wh-... about what?"
"What you just mentioned. The physical relationship between me and Elysia."
"Th-that's..."
As I pulled the small girl into my arms, the texture of her shirt felt damp, as if soaked with sweat. I felt like slipping my hands beneath the robe she wore and stripping everything off.
At that moment—
Something like a pink flash flickered before my eyes, and I felt the impulse I'd experienced that morning before losing my reason to the contract surge once more.
I had definitely seen pink somewhere... but thinking about it now was probably a luxury.
How could I violate the woman in front of me?
First, concentrate solely on that goal.
Since it wouldn't be as easy as my fantasies, it was better to strip away all of this girl's psychological garments first.
"Weren't we going to be a little more honest with each other? I decided to trust you, Estelle."
"I—I wasn't trying to spy on you. I'm sorry. I just had something to say that night and went to your room, and that's how I found out."
"Liar."
Eek!
I buried my face into the nape of her neck and spoke.
"The door to my room must have been definitely closed. How did you know what was happening inside?"
"That's—"
"Everything I'm saying is to put you at ease. Answer honestly."
The words slipped out beside her ear, which had turned red like a blazing sunset.
"I just... I was curious, so I had no choice but to use a clairvoyance spell."
"Specifically, how?"
"I made a contract with my unique magic between the particles in the air and my eyeball... and peered inside the room."
"Why?"
"Because I was curious about what was happening inside..."
"And what was happening?"
"Elysia was... putting Do-yun's male organ in her mouth and—"
"Cock."
"She was sucking on his cock."
"You could have gone back after you confirmed it."
"Yes..."
"Then why did you stay in front of the door? Ah, come to think of it, when I opened the door, you were definitely sitting down."
"..."
"You weren't watching the whole time, were you?"
With her face on the verge of bursting into flames, the girl began to apologize.
"I'm sorry! I really didn't mean to. I really just looked out of curiosity. It's true. Ever since I was young, I'd wondered what exactly the relationship between a man and a woman that I saw in the forbidden library was. Please forgive me."
"So you're apologizing for violating my privacy regarding my physical relationship?"
"Yes... I'm really sorry."
"Speaking of which, I don't think I've properly heard your apology for dragging me here without permission, either."
"..."
"You do feel sorry, right?"
"Yes..."
"How do mages usually apologize?"
"Normally... you go to the central tribunal of Arcanum, or, if it's a personal dispute, you grant the other person a wish."
"You still haven't granted me the one wish you promised. So, with that one wish you mentioned last time and the two new apologies you've made now, that makes three wishes in total, doesn't it?"
"That's just petty..."
"I'm joking. Instead, let's settle it with you granting me one big wish right now."
"So what's the wish."
"I'll tell you once you take off everything you're wearing. You'll take it off for me, won't you?"