Succubus's Heart (1)

"Ah, ah, ah, good morning...?"

It was the morning of my third day hospitalized in the Academy Church.

Quite a while before breakfast time, Kim Isabel pushed open the door and stepped into the hospital room.

"Yeah. Did you sleep well, Isabel?"

"Ah, ah, yesterday... I-I-I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. It's natural to be confused right after a buff wears off. Besides, I'm the one who suggested we try it, fully understanding that it might happen."

"Th-that's true, but... La-last night..."

"Yeah?"

"I... I accidentally couldn't do your evening t-treatment..."

So she remembered. I'd been half worried she might just pretend it never happened.

"Oh, oh, today I'd like to do it before breakfast as well... Th-that way it'll be four times..."

"Doesn't bother me. You're the expert when it comes to handling holy power, Isabel, so I have no intention of second-guessing whatever you decide."

"...Y-yes..."

...Her face is impossible to read, so I can't tell what emotional state she's in right now.

Would she secretly blush at how readily I accepted the changed treatment schedule without a hint of suspicion? Or was she recalling how she'd suddenly bolted in fear yesterday, comparing that version of herself to the me standing before her now?

Either way, both would work in my favor in the long run, so there was no need to obsess over the details.

"Let's start with your treatment, then. And if you're comfortable with it, why don't we continue your androphobia treatment from last night?"

"Y-yes... Th-then I'll begin the treatment, so p-please hold still..."

"Sure. I'll close my eyes and stay quiet like usual, so call me when it's done."

To prevent Kim Isabel from feeling pressure even under my gaze while in her androphobic state, I quietly shut my eyes and waited for her holy power to flow into me.

-Tap, tap.

"...Hah."

-Tap, tap.

"...Whew."

Still, her footsteps seemed a little quicker today than yesterday.

Lowering her guard once with Suggestion: Succubus's Heart was clearly paying off. The suggestion had worn off, yes, but where I was concerned, her androphobia had visibly eased.

-Swish.

"Hh... mmph..."

Kim Isabel placed both hands on my chest, letting out one more tension-filled breath.

She had come to treat me, entirely alone, without any of the other priestesses.

That alone told me her trust in me had climbed considerably. Sending her off last night without doing anything while she was under the suggestion had been the right call.

Confirming that my method of approach was correct, I smiled to myself.

"I-I'm f-finished... Hah... haa..."

"Thank you, Isabel."

"Yes......"

"Then, starting now, I'd like to continue the androphobia treatment we did yesterday. Is that all right?"

"Y-yes... P-please... please do..."

Her voice carried not simple fear or trembling, but something tangled with a strange anticipation.

It was more than enough to guess that Kim Isabel was beginning to *want* my 'treatment.'

"Let's do just one minute today, then release it. All right?"

"Y-yes..."

"I'll turn my head away and close my eyes like yesterday, so once you're ready, just bring your head to my hand."

"Y-ye-es..."

Even so, pressing her own crown into a man's hand was apparently still a hurdle—Kim Isabel hesitated for quite a long while.

I waited patiently for about a minute in silence, and then, at some point, I felt the soft, cloth-covered crown of her head come to rest against my palm.

"Hh... hh... huuuh..."

"Nn... hnn..."

Kim Isabel, who had been exhaling breath after tense breath, relaxed all at once the moment the buff—no, the suggestion, took hold.

The amount of mana I channeled in was also a little less than last night's session. Which meant the resistance she felt toward accepting my suggestion had diminished by that much.

At this consumption rate, I could probably use it three or four more times today. She still had three more visits to make for my treatment, so that would be more than enough.

"Did the buff take hold properly?"

"Yes. It did. Your buffs really are remarkably effective, Mr. Lee Seonho. I can feel my heart settling the moment it lands."

"Good to hear. How about you? I mean—how do I feel?"

"I think you're a trustworthy man, Mr. Lee Seonho. I felt it during the practical exam too—you never hesitate to put yourself at a disadvantage or in danger if it's for someone else's sake."

"...What I asked was whether you're still scared of being around a man."

"...I'm sorry."

"No, no. There's nothing to apologize for. And either way, I appreciate the compliment."

Truthfully, I had asked it vaguely on purpose. I figured if I got lucky, I might catch a glimpse of what was really on Kim Isabel's mind.

And judging by her answer, the image of me as a 'fairly dependable ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠man' had already taken root in her head.

With any other woman, this would be the point where I'd start easing into physical contact—but with Kim Isabel, rushing things was absolutely off the table.

It wasn't as if I lacked time while hospitalized anyway. If I stayed one more day and was discharged the day after tomorrow around noon, I'd have roughly six or seven more chances to apply the suggestion.

The ideal outcome... was making her want to come see me of her own accord, in order to receive my 'suggestion.'

Just like with Cha Eunju the shut-in, my goal was to create a pretext for luring Kim Isabel—who rarely left the church—outside. Progressing any further than this within the church walls was unnecessary.

"Right now, I don't feel any fear or dread toward you as a man. Just like before, Mr. Lee Seonho feels reassuring, and like someone I need. That hasn't changed either."

"If we keep training your mind to recognize, little by little, that men aren't something to fear like this, you'll grow accustomed to it bit by bit even after the buff wears off."

"...Thank you always for being considerate, Mr. Lee Seonho. For understanding my androphobia, and for helping me treat it like this."

"I'm doing this because I want to, so don't mention it. Besides, treating you like this means I get to talk with you comfortably—it's hardly a loss for me either."

I made a light remark suggesting that talking with her was a pleasure for me too. After a brief silence, she answered carefully.

If only I could read her expression, I'd know whether she was flustered or merely awkward. That veil is honestly a real nuisance.

Of course, carelessly asking her to remove it would only thicken the wariness I'd worked so hard to thin, so it was best to leave the subject alone as much as possible. Part of why Kim Isabel felt favorably toward me right now was precisely that I was helping 'a woman whose face I'd never seen.'

'Honestly, face or no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠face, with a body like that no man could help but be interested.'

No matter how thoroughly her priestess habit wrapped her up, the curves that betrayed it kept drifting into my line of sight.

Staring with lecherous eyes would only deepen her guard, of course, so all I allowed myself were brief, surveying glances that swept over her.

"A minute's passed, so let's wrap this up. You remember how to release it?"

"...Um, Mr. Lee Seonho."

"If there's something you want to say, why not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say it after the buff is released? Whatever you say in your current state might not be your true, unfiltered feelings."

"...Yes. You may be right."

I never forgot to weave in little gestures that built trust, either—so that she would keep seeing me as the one person who could control 'herself when she lost her self-restraint.'

Naturally, once the suggestion lifted, she might forget what she meant to say and run off like yesterday. But even weighing that risk, building Kim Isabel's trust mattered more.

-Swish.

"All done, Isabel."

"Hh... h-hah... hnn... haa..."

The instant the suggestion ended, Kim Isabel pulled herself away from me in a fluster, her voice thick with welling sobs.

This was a sight I'd have no choice but to keep witnessing for a while yet. She'd been chatting with a man as if it were nothing while under the suggestion, so the confusion when it lifted was bound to hit hard.

Still, she was far better off than yesterday, when she'd scrambled over herself and fled—so I'd take comfort in that.

"Hoo... hah... huuuh..."

"You okay?"

"...Y-ye-es. I-I-I think... I c-c-can manage... a little better... than yesterday..."

Perhaps thanks to the two 'treatments' spanning yesterday and today, Kim Isabel didn't bolt the moment the suggestion lifted.

Watching her grow accustomed to me little by little, I could tell the groundwork phase of her conditioning was proceeding smoothly.

"Hah... hah... haa, haa..."

"Don't push yourself—go rest. Your treatment's finished anyway."

"U-um... u-u-um, um..."

"Yeah?"

"Ten... n-no, wait, five minutes..."

"You'd like to try extending it to five minutes at the next treatment?"

"......"

-Nod, nod.

"All right. Let's do that, then."

"Y-yes... Th-thank you..."

-Click.

Judging from her reaction, that was apparently what she'd been trying to say before the suggestion wore off.

It was a little disappointing that fear had cut the time in half the moment she reverted to normal, but having watched her clearly convey her wishes to me right after the suggestion lifted, that was enough.

The five minutes that had shrunk to half—I'd just call it the price paid for earning her trust.

For breakfast, I ate the meal Kim Isabel had brought me, and a short while after I finished, she slipped into the hospital room alone once more.

Kim Isabel had come both to treat me and to be treated herself, so I brought up what we'd discussed earlier right away.

"It's t-treatment time, Mr... Mr. Lee Seonho..."

"Right. You'll be receiving the androphobia training along with it this time too, yes?"

"Y-yes... P-please..."

Through our earlier exchange, I had succeeded in making her own treatment feel like a natural part of the routine every time she entered my hospital room.

From now on, it would be that much harder for her to slip away whenever I moved to apply a suggestion. Not that the desperate girl had ever shown any real inclination to refuse the 'buff' I offered in the first place.

"What should we do about the time? Five minutes, like we said?"

"......Yes."

Her wariness was thinning, unmistakably. At this point, it was about time to move on to the next stage.

It would have been a waste, after all, to keep using an actual Suggestion like Succubus's Heart for nothing more than androphobia treatment.

What I needed now was to draw Kim Isabel into closer proximity ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with me—a man—through light physical contact. Letting things drag on with this tantalizing tiptoeing around forever was getting a bit old.

"Hey, Isabel."

"Y-yes...?!"

"Now that we've stretched the time to five minutes, how about we try having the treatment done while you're under the buff this time?"

"Wh-while... wh-while I'm under the buff...?"

For starters, why not have her become aware of me as a man—rather than me making the first move.