The First Night - 1
So in short, I've possessed second-playthrough Ian.
There had been a few suspicious signs. The way my emotions surged whenever Isabel was involved. The way I had gone out of my way to save her. The will Ian left behind inside me must have been thrashing about, desperate to love her.
Possession life isn't easy.
Through the diary, I had also pieced together, more or less, why Ian had fallen in love with Isabel in the first place.
Kindred spirits, I suppose.
Ian, who had lost everything to a cursed fate, and Isabel, treated as a burden even by her own family because of Rose's Punishment — the two of them shared more than a few similarities. Perhaps from the moment they began living alone together, Ian's heart had already been pointed solely at Isabel. Enough to forget even the wife who had betrayed him.
What a hell of a pure-love story, honestly.
At first, the residual emotions Ian had left behind were unwelcome. The love I felt for Isabel had seemed like a feeling planted by someone else. But I no longer cared much about that. I was Ian now, after all. I had decided to treat it as one and the same.
Of course, me taking other women into my arms was a different matter entirely. Just as h had said — I was a wicked creature. Though Isabel's permission would have to come first.
The fact that it was written in Korean must mean h intervened, too.
The mysterious entity known as h. And H Company, the studio that produced the Ejaculation series. They were almost certainly the same person. And that person had been narrowed down to one candidate.
Helia, Goddess of the Sun.
Her name started with H as well — the most likely suspect by far.
More precisely, an alias shared by the three sister goddesses.
Unlike the Church of the Sun God, which regarded Helia as the one true deity, Helia had twin sisters: Luna, Goddess of the Moon, and Eos, Goddess of the Dawn.
Identical triplets… so treating the three goddesses as a single being wouldn't be entirely wrong, would it?
The three goddesses were said to create life, grant rest to the dead, and reveal the passage of time through the break of dawn. Those three goddesses had descended in person to resolve the curse of the evil god that bound Ian. The claim that Ian had originally been destined to become a hero was probably not empty talk.
The curse of an evil god… but at this point, shouldn't Ian's past be flooding back?
In a typical web novel, this would be the moment the original host's backstory came rushing in. Yet Ian's soul had left me with nothing beyond his love for Isabel. A pure-love story in every sense of the word — and then some.
"Even the puzzles I've been handed against my will — I'll have to solve them one by one."
Thinking back on it now, one thing still astonished me. The cabin I had assumed was a hidden piece for Wendy, the regressor hero, had actually been prepared for me.
Maybe the other hidden pieces were arranged for me as well.
Reina's hidden piece, Helia's Love Fluid, and Sumire's hidden piece, the Giant Weed — just those two alone were things Ian desperately needed. For their original owners, Reina and Sumire, they were nice to have but hardly essential.
Helia must have crafted separate opportunities for Ian to grow.
Considering that Ian's own hidden piece was nothing more than an invisibility skill, the blatant handouts were likely being checked by "that existence."
For the sake of my growth going forward, I'll have to monopolize the other hidden pieces too.
Before that, though, the first order of business was bringing Entiel Village under my control. Otherwise, Entiel Village would…
"Ian, are you all right?"
I had been silent for some time, and Isabel was looking at me with worried eyes.
Haah. I still can't get used to this.
With Rose's Punishment cured, Isabel's appearance was nothing short of goddess-tier. The graceful curve of her eyes, her high bridge of a nose, her soft lips flushed a vivid coral pink — not a single flaw anywhere. A beauty so complete it defied description. Simply meeting her gaze set my heart hammering like mad.
Maybe this, too, is leftover from Ian's residual will?
I was freshly reminded of how formidable the power of love could be.
"I was just lost in thought for a moment."
"If something's troubling you, please tell me too. I… we're husband and wife, after all."
Isabel fidgeted with her fingers as she forced the words out. She was thoroughly embarrassed — and it was ridiculously endearing.
"I heard that married couples weather hardship together. It's late, but I'll do my best to support you as your wife."
"Isabel, too much zeal can become a poison. Rose's Punishment was only just cured — for now, I'll simply accept the sentiment."
"No. I'm perfectly healthy. Look."
Bounce, bounce.
Isabel hopped in place over and over, determined to prove how healthy she was. Her chest bounced so dramatically that managing where to look became a genuine ordeal.
"Even jumping like this, I'm not out of breath at all."
"Most people wouldn't be winded from that little."
"I-Is that so?"
Even without her demonstration, I already knew she was healthy. The Angel's Shelter works like a pseudo-elixir. Isabel must feel as if she's been reborn.
Still, the reason I tried to rein in her enthusiasm was simple concern. For a woman who had spent her entire life confined to a bed, the world still held far too many dangers.
"Isabel, there's no rush. You can learn at your own pace. There's no need to push yourself."
"Nngh… but I want to support you right now."
"Why are you so determined?"
"Because I want to love you too."
"?!"
Isabel looked up at me with glistening eyes.
"I know. I know I'm useless. I'll only be a burden. But I still want to love you. I want to love you as much as you've loved me. I can't just keep receiving."
Her heartfelt confession left me staring at her face for a long moment. Then I cupped her chin and spoke what was in my heart.
"Don't ever call yourself useless. Just being at my side is more than enough strength for me."
Isabel's gaze grew deep and yearning — a look full of longing. Reading her heart, my body moved before my thoughts could catch up.
Chup.
And so, for the first time, we kissed as husband and wife.
Isabel as she was now might as well have been a newborn. A woman who had spent her life watching the world from a bed had no resistance to stimulation whatsoever. For someone like her, a kiss with the husband she loved was a detonation of pure sensation.
I'm happy♥ I'm happy♥ I'm happy♥ I'm happy♥ I'm happy♥
A simple press of lips was enough to fill Isabel's mind with a haze of pink — enough that she could think of nothing but the man she loved.
I want more. I want to know more of him.
Wanting to learn every corner of her husband, Isabel instinctively sought out his mouth.
Wha—?!
Startled by the tongue that slipped into his mouth, Ian nearly pulled back. But he quickly recovered his composure and slowly gave her what she wanted.
Churrrp.
Isabel's technique was thoroughly clumsy. She had no idea where to move, no idea how to make a kiss feel good. She simply craved it the way a pure-hearted girl would.
"Haa… Ian♥"
"Isabel."
Ian broke the kiss at the sound of her honeyed voice.
"This time, I'll lead."
"Huh…?"
Before Isabel could even recover from the first kiss, Ian delivered something far more intense. His tongue pushed into her mouth and toyed with hers — testing the waters at first, then thoroughly ravaging it. Gradually their kiss deepened, saliva passing between them in a dense, lingering exchange.
That first deep kiss sent Isabel plunging into pure bliss.
So this is a kiss. So this is the happiness love brings.
What captivated her most was the sense of communion with Ian — as if his love and hers were melting into one.
If a kiss feels like this… what would sex feel like?
Isabel turned another burning look on Ian. The relentless stimulation felt as though it might short-circuit her brain, but to Isabel right now that was a trivial concern. What mattered was sharing love with him.
"Ian… take me. Make me your woman."
"Isabel!"
Her invitation shattered Ian's reason on the spot. He laid her carefully onto the bed, then slowly began undressing her.
"Wow…"
And there was Isabel's bare body. Her skin was as white as a blank canvas; the curves of her figure were like a sculptor's masterpiece. As Ian stood stunned by that unreal beauty, Isabel covered her face with both hands in sheer embarrassment.
"D-Don't stare so much."
"I'm sorry. You're so beautiful I forgot myself."
"No… if you want to look, look as much as you like."
Isabel opened her arms toward him.
"My body and my heart… both belong to you."