The Soviet Anti-Communist Witch
Warm morning sunlight spilled across the penthouse suite, pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Pavel had woken first.
“…Ah.”
Before him lay Delis, curled asleep in the vast bed. Her jet-black hair spilled wildly across the sheets, and she breathed softly, lost in the world.
Pavel reached out and carefully smoothed her hair.
He tugged free a few strands that had slipped into her mouth, then tucked the rest behind her ears so it wouldn’t tangle. The gentle motion made him want to keep doing it forever.
At the same time, memories from the night before surfaced—unbidden, flooding his chest with a rush he couldn’t stop. He blamed himself, of course. But if he had to point a finger, it was only at the woman still fast asleep before him.
Unlike the one blanket he had draped over himself, she had slept completely naked. The moment she stirred, the sight that greeted his eyes had been rather… explosive.
Delis, lost in sleep, had turned toward him, body twisting as if searching for him even in her dreams. A contented little hum escaped her.
Pavel thought, for one brief moment, that he wished this instant could stretch into eternity.
“Pavel…?”
Whether she had felt his fingers in a dream or in reality, Delis slowly opened her eyes.
“You’re awake.”
“Ah… yes. Good morning, Pavel.”
She buried herself against him, the way people do with a lover who has just become dear. This time it wasn’t habit—it was pure, deliberate choice.
Pavel Nikolayevich Choy and Delis Blumpelt stared at each other in a silence that felt strangely intimate. It wasn’t awkward. If anything, it was more intimate than ever.
The only problem was that the events leading up to this silence had been far too sudden.
They had lain together on the bed, naked, wrapped in each other, passing the silence back and forth like a game no one could win.
“Um… Delis…?”
“…Yes.”
“I want you to know, just in case—none of this was accidental. I was swept away by the moment. Everything was done with my own will.”
Because she had crossed that line, Delis welcomed the confession. The fear that she had done something she shouldn’t have vanished in an instant.
“Thank goodness. I kept wondering if I was the only one feeling this way.”
“There’s no chance of that. You can’t throw away something this important on the spur of the moment.”
Well… the world is full of people who waste their most important first times on trivial things.
So perhaps it was only right that she felt grateful. They had both given their very firsts with careful thought, and she treasured that so deeply.
Delis drew Pavel a little closer, adding a little more strength until her breasts pressed softly against his chest.
“Speaking of which… how much longer do we have?”
“Return to duty? About two hours left. We’ll have to start getting ready soon.”
“Two hours…”
Delis felt a pang of disappointment. No matter how embarrassed she was, there simply wasn’t enough time to repeat the bliss they had shared last night.
*It had been incredible…*
This was the first time she had ever felt anything like this. The deep, heavy fullness pressing between her legs was something a woman could never truly understand from words alone.
Tongues intertwined, hands stroking her hair or teasing her breasts, all while their bodies moved together in steady or quick rhythms.
And when it finally ended, the explosive release had left a clear, unmistakable trace even through the condom.
The psychological part had been just as strong. Her favorite man—using her for his own pleasure.
And the deepest kind of pleasure—something only the two of them could ever share.
As long as her heavy responsibilities as a syndicate leader hadn’t been weighing on her, she might have become addicted.
Or perhaps she already was.
Knowing only two hours remained of her vacation, she had to cling to the thread of reason with all her might.
Delis ran her fingers through her memories one by one, then stopped herself. She wouldn’t count how many times they had made love last night.
Even if full intimacy had been impossible because of the time, at least they still had a little left to share in smaller ways.
Delis caught Pavel’s empty hand and guided it to her breast.
“…Delis?”
“I don’t want to act like this from the morning either… but if I just let you go now, I won’t be able to bear it.”
One new advantage she had gained after last night: Pavel no longer refused her as quickly as before.
Whether he had finally decided to follow his own desires or had simply stopped caring after the line was crossed—either way, Delis considered it a great blessing.
From the moment she had first taken him to heart until the day her body claimed him, their relationship had felt one-sided.
Now at last they were both craving each other. This was the greatest harvest of all.
Delis pulled Pavel’s hand deeper into her body, squeezing hard enough that her breasts pressed and shifted.
“And Pavel, you still haven’t used any regeneration magic yet.”
She pointed to the marks on her neck and shoulders and giggled. All traces from last night.
“You can’t face Her Highness like this, can you? You can’t, and I can’t either.”
She leaned in closer, their eyes meeting, lips almost touching. Their breath had already been exchanged.
“So until you heal me completely, I’m not letting you go.”
***
I sat at the coffee table, sipping slowly, and watched the two of them on the sofa across from me.
Last night, and possibly even this morning, only the two of them knew exactly what had happened. I, at least, had no idea.
“I have no intention of saying anything about it. If I had to comment on what happened during vacation, I’d sound like a proper superior.”
The Northern Covenant Syndicate had the personality of both a corporation and a state.
In that sense, I was a kind of “highest authority,” so technically I could interfere in my subordinates’ private lives.
After all, wasn’t the concept of “owner of the soul” exactly that?
I had vowed to devote not just my body but my soul to the subordinates who owed me their lives, and therefore to serve me with their souls as well. Did that not make me the owner of souls?
But I had refrained from using that right.
If the owner of souls squeezed their subordinates too tightly, it would only cause problems.
Still, I had to speak. I didn’t want my plans ruined by some trivial prank.
“However, pregnancy is difficult. The important period is coming, and I can’t grant maternity leave.”
As I had already said several times, Pavel and Delis were both subordinates I needed to use heavily.
I respected their opinions completely, of course, but as the owner of souls I still needed to summon them at the right time and in the right place with their abilities used appropriately.
Therefore, it was only natural that I wouldn’t be pleased with any plan that temporarily reduced their capabilities.
If the plan had involved burning Moscow to the ground, I wouldn’t have cared.
Delis, after listening to my calm warning, answered.
“Of course, Yerina-nim. Pavel and I are fully aware of that. Please do not worry.”
“As expected? Of course you’ll handle it between yourselves, but I asked just in case. Don’t keep it all to yourself.”
“No. That would be a reasonable concern.”
The awkward atmosphere was gone by now.
Honesty had always been the best.
I cleared my throat twice and continued.
“Hmm, I hear Ham Cheon-ho is arriving in Hong Kong. As usual, Pavel will accompany me, and Delis, I want you to handle real-time support from the rear.”
“Leave it to me. I will repay your trust with outstanding results.”
A good mindset. We were returning to normal.
If Pavel guarded me closely in the field and Delis gathered real-time information with help from other departments, even a competent mage wouldn’t stand a chance.
And Ham Cheon-ho—the man who was completely my puppet—was my biggest weakness.
I had expected very little from the two of them—
“But who sent you here? Who do you work for? No— what kind of person are you? Just answer anything. At least your worthless life will be extended a little longer.”
—my expectation turned out to be spectacularly wrong.
“…I am from the North Korean Workers’ Party’s External Information Investigation Department! My duty is to monitor the core enterprises of South Korean economy and, if necessary, to eliminate them!”
In the Hong Kong governor’s residence, where Ham Cheon-ho—the representative of Cheonma Sangsa and my puppet—was scheduled to meet, one of his aides had suddenly turned traitor and attempted to assassinate the governor and Ham Cheon-ho simultaneously.
“Ham Cheon-ho, what the hell is this guy? You knew about this!”
“Ah… n-no…! It’s not like that at all, Yerina-nim! I… I didn’t know anything! It’s true…!”
Just hours ago I had still believed myself the highest authority. What kind of curse had befallen me?
The ambush had, of course, failed. It was impossible for me and Pavel, eyes wide open, to miss such a thing.
I was a little dazed by the assassination attempt of this North Korean communist who called himself “the Party.”
Not only that—his method had been so utterly pathetic. It should have been a carefully prepared assassination plan.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Clearly, some unknown conspiracy was still at work.