Chapter 187: The Border
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 187: The Border
What could a woman possibly be thinking, visiting a man's room so late at night?
Especially when she's wearing a slip dress that's practically pajamas, with only a thin cardigan thrown over it?
‘...Is this it?’
The thought crossed my mind as I looked at Amelia sitting on the sofa, but I quickly shook my head.
In four days, we'd arrive in Pendria, the capital of the Orsia Grand Duchy.
After that, all Amelia had to do was rally the nobles loyal to the Grand Ducal family and drive out the rebels.
There was no reason for her to offer herself as payment like before.
“So, can you tell me why you're here?”
“...”
I called out to Amelia from the opposite sofa, but she wouldn't meet my eyes, her lips just quivering.
Snap! I snapped my fingers loudly.
Only then did Amelia startle and look up.
“You'll hurt your lips if you keep doing that.”
“Ah...”
Her hunched shoulders and bright red earlobes kept catching my eye.
The way she kept stealing glances at me made me nervous too.
I wondered what she was trying to say that required such a long pause.
“...You know that method I mentioned earlier today? I actually need your help with it, Hyun-woo.”
“My help?”
Amelia nodded with difficulty.
“I'm sorry, but I'm a complete novice when it comes to magic tools or artifacts, so I don't think I can be of much help. You'd be better off asking Iris...”
“N-No!”
Before I could finish, Amelia shot up from her seat. She looked incredibly tense.
Her eyes, looking at me, trembled like leaves in the wind.
“Only you can do this, Hyun-woo!”
“...?”
Something only I can do?
Honestly, the only thing I had over Iris was firepower. She couldn't be planning to smash the artifact, could she?
“What can I do to help?”
I couldn't even begin to guess what she was going to ask of me.
“...ss.”
“What?”
Her voice was too quiet; I couldn't hear her.
“A k-kiss!!”
“...?”
In that moment, Thought Acceleration activated on its own.
What in the world did I just hear?
“...I thought I heard you say 'kiss.' Did I hear that correctly?”
In response to my question for confirmation, Amelia slowly nodded.
She bowed her head so low her forehead nearly touched her knees, and beads of sweat dripped from her hair.
“I'm sorry, but I already have two wives...”
“I-It's not like that!” Amelia cried out, waving her hands frantically.
The way she insisted, as if telling me not to misunderstand, made me feel like I'd been rejected before I even confessed.
“It's just to temporarily make your magic wavelength similar to mine to trick Arca.”
“...And that's possible with a kiss?”
That was a new one on me.
To begin with, everyone's magic wavelength is different. For a mage, it's like a fingerprint.
It's absurd to think a mere kiss could change a magic wavelength, let alone trick an artifact.
Besides, a subordinate artifact would have its own ego. There's no way it would be fooled just because a wavelength changed a little.
“It's an ability passed down to only a very few direct descendants who carry the blood of Orsia. It allows one to overwrite the magic wavelength of a target who has ingested their bodily fluids with their own.”
“The magic wavelength... you say?”
I'd never heard of such an ability, but I had heard of hereditary powers back on Earth.
However, they were extremely rare, and the power weakened as the bloodline thinned, so now you could only find rare cases in places like Europe.
“Is there any advantage to changing the magic wavelength?”
As I said before, a magic wavelength is like a mage's fingerprint.
It might be useful for committing crimes, but other than that, I couldn't see much of a merit.
“From what I've heard, a sense of intimacy forms between people with similar magic wavelengths. It might not seem like much, but my father said it was thanks to this ability that our family, which was once a mere barony, attained the status of a Grand Ducal family and eventually gained independence.”
Fostering intimacy... that certainly wasn't a bad ability for a leader of a nation or a family.
But it didn't seem to be an absolute power, either.
The fact that the nobles rebelled as soon as the king they'd sworn loyalty to fell revealed the ability's flaws.
“But if the ability is activated by bodily fluids, is a kiss really necessary?”
Blood is a bodily fluid, after all.
“Well... my ability is still weak, so unlike my father, blood isn't enough... Besides, contact between mucous membranes is a condition that maximizes the ability's effect...”
Amelia's voice grew as faint as a crawling ant. Fidgeting with her fingers whenever she was nervous seemed to be a habit of hers.
After a moment's thought, I finally moved to sit beside her.
Amelia flinched as I approached.
“Are you sure you'll be alright kissing someone like me, Your Grace?”
For a noble lady in this world, chastity is important.
Discovering on the wedding night that one's partner isn't a virgin could even be grounds for annulling the marriage.
“...A kiss should be fine. Besides, you saved me, Hyun-woo.”
Her voice no longer trembled, nor did she stutter. I took the back of her hand, enveloping it with mine.
“Ngh...!”
It was soft and warm.
I blatantly caressed her small, slender fingers, gauging her reaction.
Her face turned red as a ripe persimmon, but she didn't pull her hand away.
“Pardon me.”
I gently caressed Amelia's cheek and held her chin.
From up close, I studied her face intently.
Her slightly parted lips had the gentle sheen of soft petals, and her grayish-blue hair was like silk.
Above all, her eyes, busy avoiding my gaze, were still as deep and beautiful as the sea.
Amelia squeezed her eyes shut.
Soon, our lips met.
“Hnngh...?!”
She must have been incredibly nervous, because her body was as stiff as a board. I gently placed a hand on her waist.
“Could you try to relax your body slowly?”
We weren't going to have sex, but it would be difficult if she stayed like this for the whole kiss.
Even if Amelia was just a normal person on the verge of becoming a mage, she could easily end up with sore muscles if she wasn't careful.
I gently stroked her waist as I laid her down on the sofa.
With my other hand, I caressed her cheek and continued the kiss. Even though it was just on the lips, this was pretty nice in its own way.
But we couldn't stay like this forever.
“Kyaa?!”
I tickled her waist, and Amelia let out a small scream. I took that chance to slip my tongue between her parted lips.
“Hup?!”
Amelia seemed surprised by the unexpected touch of my tongue.
I gently loosened her tongue, which was as stiff as the rest of her body, and continued the kiss more deeply.
Completely inexperienced in this area, Amelia could only keep her eyes shut and clumsily respond to my movements.
“Smooch, slurp... haah, hup...”
As we shared saliva and body heat, I continued the kiss as gently as possible. Her tension slowly eased, and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around me.
Seeing her drink my saliva like a baby bird craving food, I had to mentally sing the national anthem to keep myself in check.
‘This is driving me crazy...’
If I had my way, I would've grabbed those huge breasts and taken her virginity right then and there.
The very fact that she chose such an absurd method like kissing was proof that Amelia had some feelings for me.
But I couldn't break my contract with Sylvia at this point.
A kiss could be explained away somehow, but sex would be an undeniable breach of contract.
‘...Just her breasts should be fine, right?’
Unable to hold back any longer, I carefully placed my hand on Amelia's breast.
“Heup?!”
Startled by the sudden touch, Amelia's body jolted. But she didn't reject it.
Sensing that this was permission, I immediately slipped my hand inside her dress and kneaded her breast.
The soft feeling in my hand was unbelievably stimulating.
We kissed like that for a long while, my hand on her breast.
“Jjuup, jjub... puhaa...!”
As if she'd forgotten how to breathe through her nose, Amelia gasped for air the moment our lips parted.
Her eyes, when I glanced at them, were dazed. She touched her own lips, as if replaying what had just happened.
Amelia didn't react even when I brushed her sweat-soaked bangs from her forehead.
But as I tried to get up...
Pak!
She urgently grabbed my collar, stopping me.
Looking at me with a sorrowful gaze, her lips quivering several times, Amelia struggled to speak.
“I-It's still not enough...”
In the end, until the kiss was over, I had to recite not only the national anthem but also every Buddhist scripture I vaguely knew.
*
“W-Well then, I'll be taking my leave!”
As soon as the kiss ended, Amelia hurriedly straightened her clothes and bolted out the door.
I stared blankly at her retreating back as she ran off as if escaping, then collapsed onto the sofa.
It felt like a typhoon had just swept through.
“Haa... I almost lost control.”
I had to take deep breaths for a while to collect myself before I could calm my head.
I almost pounced on Amelia right there.
It's not like she's a succubus or anything.
It was something I learned after getting the dating app, but for a man, the scent of a beautiful woman is no different from an aphrodisiac.
‘...An aphrodisiac?’
I shot up.
Only then did I remember that the saliva Amelia had ingested contained not only an aphrodisiac but also pheromones.
“I completely forgot...”
Of course, it wouldn't cause any physical problems, but her body must be in a terrible state because of the aphrodisiac.
‘...This is bad.’
I felt sorry for Amelia, but there was nothing I could do even if I went to her.
If Sylvia found out I'd broken the contract, we'd be mortal enemies for the rest of our lives.
The only saving grace was that the aphrodisiac's effect wasn't very long. Plus, she'd ingested saliva, not semen, so it would probably last two hours at most.
For now, all I could do was hope Amelia could endure it.
Knock, knock.
But the knock that came immediately after made my body tense up involuntarily.
I wondered if Amelia couldn't take it anymore and had come back, but thankfully, that wasn't the case.
“Iris?”
The presence beyond the door was too familiar to mistake.
Creeak. Iris peeked her head through the slightly open door.
“You found me. I was trying to surprise you.”
“Should I have pretended not to notice?”
Iris was wearing a thin slip dress, just like Amelia. For a moment, she was so beautiful it took my breath away.
Satisfied with my reaction, Iris immediately threw herself into my arms. The way she buried her head in the crook of my neck and rubbed her cheek against mine was like a cat head-butting me.
“What are you doing?”
“I'm overwriting it.”
“?”
“It seems you had a good time.”
Iris gave me a meaningful smile.
“You knew?”
“Yes, Lady Amelia even consulted me about it.”
“Consulted you? About what?”
“She said she needed to kiss you because of her ability, and she asked if that was okay with me.”
I was a little surprised by that.
Honestly, I thought Iris had put her up to it, but to think Amelia initiated the kiss herself.
I didn't know she had that side to her.
‘Should I call that bold...?’
Just as an incredulous laugh escaped me, I suddenly felt a strange sensation in my crotch.
I glanced down to see Iris fiddling with my dick over my clothes.
“We have to leave tomorrow morning. Can you handle it?”
“You can just carry me, Hyun-woo.”
In contrast to the sensual touch stroking my dick, the smile on Iris's lips was incredibly bright and innocent.
The thought that I had corrupted this pure queen naturally made me hard.
“You don't have to be so formal.”
She used to be less formal, but at some point, Iris started adding an honorific every time she said my name.
I think it was right after we escaped the underground cavern.
“Then should I call you 'darling'? Or perhaps 'honey'?”
The moment she said 'honey,' her smile overflowed with mischief.
“...You knew?”
“Huhu, who knows?”
Playing innocent, Iris slowly lowered the shoulder strap of her dress. The moment I saw that bountiful maternity, any questions I had vanished.
I had simply learned one more fact that would make Sylvia flip out if she ever found out.
“Aahng♡”
And so, I spent the night entwined with Iris.