Chapter 223
Chapter 223
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 223
Chapter Title: Erased, Yet Not Gone (1)
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"...What?"
Oh-jin stared at Isabella, dumbfounded.
Isabella, dressed in a maid outfit, gave a seductive smile. The hand that had been caressing Oh-jin's cheek slowly moved down to his neck.
"I told you I was very scared when we were separated, didn't I, Mr. Oh-jin?"
"You... did."
"I never want to feel that scared again, Mr. Oh-jin."
*Although, now you're the one scaring me, Ms. Isabella.*
"Because if I leave you alone, you might just wander off somewhere again."
"...Is that why you tied me up?"
"Yes!"
Isabella beamed, her expression seeming to ask, 'Didn't I do well?'
A cold sweat trickled down Oh-jin's back.
'What's with this girl?'
Why has she suddenly become like this?
She'd shown slightly unsettling signs before, but it seemed this incident caused her suppressed emotions to explode.
"First, would you like to eat?"
"No, before that, could you untie me?"
"Today, I made a nutritious abalone porridge~♬"
Strange.
We're not communicating.
"Here, say 'ahhh,' Mr. Oh-jin."
Isabella brought over the bowl of porridge and held a spoonful to Oh-jin's lips.
He slightly parted his lips and took in the steaming porridge.
The rich aroma of sesame oil and the tender texture of abalone filled his mouth.
Watching Oh-jin obediently eat the porridge, Isabella flashed a seductive, smiling gaze.
"Oh, you spilled a little."
The awkward position had caused some of the porridge to dribble down the side of his mouth.
"I'll get it."
Just as Oh-jin reached for a tissue.
"Stay still."
Oh-jin's arm froze mid-air.
Having used her 'Command' to stop his movement, Isabella took a tissue and wiped the porridge from his chin.
"Good boy, good boy. So obedient, aren't you?"
She licked her lips as she watched Oh-jin, frozen stiff in the middle of reaching for the tissue.
With a gentle touch, she caressed Oh-jin's cheek and set the porridge bowl aside.
"I-Isabella."
"Do you have any idea how much I've regretted it since that day?"
Leaning slowly over Oh-jin, who was lying on the bed, Isabella carefully embraced him.
Something with a full weight pressed softly against his chest.
"Every day, every hour, every minute, every second, I've regretted it without rest."
Isabella rested her head on Oh-jin's shoulder, her soft hand stroking the stigma engraved on his left chest.
"...Regretted what?"
"The regret that... if only I had made you my slave, unable to defy my commands, then none of this would have happened."
"......"
*Nunna.*
*Where are you, Nunna!*
*Get over here, quick!*
"You think so too, don't you, Mr. Oh-jin?"
Isabella, still stroking the stigma, pressed her body even closer to his with a seductive smile.
She was on top of him like a blanket.
The duvet of the VIP hospital bed was made of the finest material and boasted a soft touch, but compared to the sensation currently covering his body, it was no better than dry non-woven fabric.
"Answer me."
The way she gently bit his earlobe and whispered her command made her feel less like a maid and more like a queen, haughtily crossing her legs on a throne and ruling over all.
'The Leech Queen.'
He had thought it was just a title the Black Star Organization's Executors casually used for each other.
But the way she was now, she was every bit a 'Queen,' just as the title suggested.
"Please... make me Lady Isabella's slave."
Following the command that echoed in his head, his mouth moved against his will.
Having forced the words she wanted out of Oh-jin, Isabella burst into a delighted giggle.
"So you think so too?"
The polite woman who had addressed him with honorifics was nowhere to be found.
Isabella gazed deeply at Oh-jin with eyes glistening a blood-red.
She slowly tilted her head and sensuously licked his neck.
Oh-jin shivered as a ticklish pleasure spread from his neck.
"Don't be nervous... just relax."
Isabella caressed Oh-jin's cheek with a gentle hand and sank her fangs into his neck.
A thrilling pleasure shot down his spine.
Along with the sensation of his blood being drawn, he could feel Isabella's magic seeping into his body.
'This is crazy.'
Was he really going to become Isabella's permanent slave, a living blood dispenser?
Just as Oh-jin was panicking at this unexpected turn of events.
"Heehee, just kidding."
Isabella pulled away from Oh-jin with a mischievous smile.
She opened a potion and carefully applied it to the wound on his neck.
"Were you very surprised, Mr. Oh-jin?"
"...How could I not be surprised in that situation?"
"Oh my, as if I would really make you my slave."
Isabella smiled brightly as she touched the instantly healed wound.
"At least, for 'now'."
"...You mean you might later?"
"Well, now? I suppose that will depend on how you behave, Mr. Oh-jin."
In other words.
Was this a warning that if he acted on his own one more time, she would really make him her slave?
'That's one hell of a warning.'
He recalled Isabella's eyes, glistening with a deep, crimson light.
As she said, next time it wouldn't end with a simple warning.
"Alright. I won't do it again."
Well, if the same situation were to happen again, he would probably make the same choice.
Still, for now, reassuring her was the priority.
"...Promise?"
Isabella poked Oh-jin's cheek and let out a cute huff.
Oh-jin nodded and pointed to the red chains binding his wrists and ankles.
"I promise, so please untie me first."
"Just a moment."
Isabella reached out to undo the chains.
But only for a moment.
With her hand on the red chains, she suddenly stopped.
"Isabella?"
"......"
Isabella stood with her hand on the chains, lost in thought.
After a moment of contemplation, she swallowed dryly and turned her head to Oh-jin.
"By the way, Mr. Oh-jin, you kissed me back then, didn't you?"
"Huh?"
Isabella continued with a prim expression.
"That was my first kiss."
"...That was."
Oh-jin looked troubled, at a loss for words.
Whatever the reason, it was true that he had stolen her lips without any consent.
"Do you know how important chastity is as an asset to a member of the Colagrande family?"
"It's not like we're some noble family from the Joseon dynasty."
Besides, weren't they a bit old to be talking about chastity over a kiss, like they were in elementary school?
"Ahem! Anyway! Since you stole my lips, you'll have to take responsibility."
Isabella's cheeks flushed slightly, as if she knew how ridiculous her own words sounded.
Watching her cute pouting, Oh-jin let out a chuckle.
"What kind of responsibility?"
"W-Well..."
Isabella's voice trailed off as she anxiously darted her eyes around.
The way she fidgeted, touching her fingertips together, was a far cry from the queen who had just tried to make him her slave with a seductive smile.
"...more."
"Huh?"
"P-Please do it one more time."
Isabella mumbled in a barely audible voice.
Her utterly lovely appearance made a laugh escape Oh-jin's lips.
"Hey! D-Don't laugh!"
Isabella's cheeks turned as red as an apple as she playfully tapped Oh-jin's chest.
"E-Even if you say no, I'll do it by force!"
She huffed excitedly and moved closer to the chained Oh-jin.
"Hah."
A breath laced with moisture.
Isabella squeezed her eyes shut and slowly leaned her face toward Oh-jin's lips.
Just as their lips were about to touch.
*Slam!*
The hospital room door flew open violently, revealing Ha-eun.
"F-Finally found you!"
Ha-eun was panting, as if she had searched the entire hospital.
"What the hell do you think you're doing to Oh-jinnie, you bitch?!"
"Tch."
Isabella clicked her tongue as she looked at Ha-eun, who had burst through the door.
"Tch? Did you just say 'tch'?"
"My, calm down, sis. As if I would do something so undignified."
Isabella shrugged with a sly expression.
Ha-eun stomped over, looked at the blood-red chains binding Oh-jin's limbs, and pressed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.
"Hah. You're really something else."
Ha-eun walked up to Oh-jin and lightly flicked his head.
"This is all~ your karma, you punk."
"Ahem."
Oh-jin avoided Ha-eun's gaze, having nothing to say.
"Untie him. Now."
"Yes, sis."
Isabella reluctantly released the blood-red chains binding Oh-jin's arms and legs.
As the chains restraining him disappeared, Oh-jin let out a groan and stretched his stiff body.
"How are you feeling?"
"Good enough to be dropped in a Demon Realm and come out alive."
"Bullshit."
Ha-eun chuckled and flicked Oh-jin's forehead with her finger.
"You want to see this big sister's heart burn to a crisp again?"
Ha-eun climbed onto the bed from the opposite side of Isabella and pulled Oh-jin into an embrace.
Tightly, as if she would never let him go again.
"I thought I'd never see you again, you jerk."
"...Sorry."
He gently patted the shoulder of Ha-eun, who was sobbing with her face buried in his shoulder.
Sniffling, Ha-eun pulled at the hospital gown Oh-jin was wearing.
"*Sniffle!*"
"Hey now."
*What is she doing to this hospital gown?*
"Well, anyway, you're okay, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then..."
A slight smile appeared on Ha-eun's lips as she glanced toward Isabella.
"My dear little sister, could you give us a moment?"
"Ngh."
Isabella's body flinched.
Her expression showed she had a good idea of what was about to happen between them.
"N-No."
"No?"
Ha-eun, looking triumphant, hugged Oh-jin tighter and continued.
"You know who Oh-jinnie belongs to, right?"
"......"
"Surely you don't intend to interrupt a couple's private time?"
"Grr."
Isabella bit her lip and trembled with frustration.
She knew.
She knew that Oh-jin was Ha-eun's lover.
That she still had a long way to go before she could wedge herself between them.
"...You just wait, sis."
"That sounds like something a third-rate villain would say while running away."
"Sh-Shut up!"
Isabella shouted, then stormed out of the room.
*Slam!*
The door closed violently behind her.
"That Isabella kid is cuter the more I see her."
Ha-eun giggled, recalling Isabella's frustrated stomping.
She nudged Oh-jin's side with her elbow and continued.
"Still, you can't forget that this big sister comes first, right, Oh-jinnie?"
"......"
"Oh-jinnie? Is something wrong?"
Oh-jin stared at Ha-eun with a blank expression.
As if he were wandering through a terrible nightmare.
He mumbled in a trembling voice.
"...A couple?"
Since when.
Since when were he and Ha-eun a couple?