A Kiss She Couldn't Resist
"Still, though."
"Hm?"
Jincheon had returned after thoroughly quenching his wives' frustrations — so thoroughly that none of them could even sit up straight. Kunlo, busy assembling some mechanical device, turned toward him with a note of worry in his voice.
"Will Young Master Kaisent be safe until this is finished?"
"Oh, for crying out loud. You really do worry about the most useless crap."
"Of course I do. Among all of Master's children, Young Master Kaisent is the most fragile."
Kunlo was not blood kin, yet to Jincheon's children he was as reliable as any older brother. From the day they were born he had watched over them, protected them — not one of them would ever think of him as an outsider. And if anyone ever did, the siblings would take turns knocking some sense into them.
"He's also the one who inherited my blood the strongest. And that kid's a mutant, basically. I didn't even touch him, and his talent already outstrips mine."
"Talent and the power to fight are two different domains."
"True. But if the dimension he got sucked into has women in it, there won't be a problem."
"Pardon? Why is that?"
This was news to Kunlo. He stopped working and looked at Jincheon.
"When Ha-yeon's Dragon Lord blood mixed with mine, the kid's ki turned into a walking pheromone bomb. Just breathing is enough to make people like him. Especially women — the effect hits them harder."
"…Now that you mention it…"
Kaisent had always been disproportionately popular with women. Outsiders, blood sisters, younger siblings — it made no difference. Even Jin Lesili Idrien, the family's eldest daughter and Jincheon's heir — a woman who commanded respect and fear from everyone — had once declared she would raise Kaisent herself for the rest of her life.
"And if Kaisent feels sexual desire toward someone, the effect gets even stronger. He doesn't need cheap tricks like I do. Just thinking about it is enough to get the other person worked up and make them throw themselves at him. An ability I only unlocked after reaching the peak of the Ascension Stage, and he runs it like a default passive. If that isn't a mutation, what is?"
"That powerful… Wait. Then if Young Master Kaisent ever started seeing Lady Idrien as a woman instead of a sister…?"
"Then we're screwed. That's why the kid is the strongest male who could ever threaten me."
If Jincheon was saying it that seriously, it was no ordinary problem.
And yet—
"Heh heh heh. For all we know, he might already have learned what a woman tastes like. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens once he does."
"Young Master Kaisent, knowing women… Honestly, I can't even picture it."
"Yeah, fair. The kid's always been a coward."
To the two of them, Kaisent was so timid he couldn't even approach a woman. And Jincheon had even given him gloves that could throw up an energy wall for running or holding out — which had only made the boy's cowardly streak worse.
Sssssss—
"Kruk?"
"What the hell?"
A pitch-black fog rolled in so thick that nothing could be seen an inch ahead. A pack of hobgoblins that had slipped into human territory to raid a village froze, glancing around in confusion.
Shhk! Thud!
"Ghk!"
"Gah!"
"What is it?! What's going on?!"
"Get out of the fog!"
Screams rose from inside the mist. Following the order to escape at all costs, the hobgoblins scattered in every direction.
Crunch! Thunk!
"Grhk!"
"Enemy!"
"Where?! Where is it?!"
"Guaaaagh!"
Something in the darkness tore into them. All they could do was flail blindly through the black — and soon the entire pack was wiped out.
A moment later the fog cleared, revealing green-skinned zombies standing motionless around the fallen hobgoblins. Both sides had been butchered, but there was a difference between the butchery of the living and the butchery of the dead.
⟨ Undead Summon ⟩
Confirming the wipe, Kaisent summoned more undead and folded the hobgoblin pack into his forces. What had begun as three goblin zombies had grown into a mixed throng of roughly twenty — orcs and hobgoblins among them.
Incredible…! This is basically a one-man army!
Lillian, who had followed after Kaisent, could not hide her astonishment. Before she could even give an order, he had already spotted the enemy, drawn up a plan, and executed it entirely on his own. She had never imagined that the boy who seemed so earnest yet so fragile — not merely soft-hearted but genuinely timid — could perform like this.
Dang Seol-yeong, was it? I think I understand why she told him to hide his talent.
If he had shown this kind of prowess the moment he started learning under her, even the mercenaries — people who took in all sorts — would have openly shunned or envied him. By concealing his skill and talent, he had won their goodwill as a clumsy but hardworking kid who simply wanted to learn.
And thanks to that, I've figured out a way to take revenge on the Saryeong Kingdom.
The Saryeong Kingdom overwhelmed humanity in supply and mobility alike through its undead soldiers. Humans were faster than zombies in a sprint, true — but zombies needed no sleep and never tired, so over the long haul their mobility was superior.
If they're using undead troops, we just answer with undead troops of our own.
Fight undead with undead. It sounded almost too simple — but until now, black magic had been viewed through such a jaundiced lens that the idea itself had been unthinkable.
"Vol— Lillian. Let's move."
"Ah — right."
Having turned the hobgoblins into undead and cleared the area, Kaisent gestured. Lillian fell in behind him, and for the first time the boy's back — which had always looked so small and narrow — seemed broad. As solid and reliable as Fredrick's back had been when he saved her…
Wait. That's going too far.
Comparing him to Fredrick? Really?
"Ugh…!"
Trying to shake off the comparison, Lillian put too much force into standing — and the wound in her side tore open with a groan.
"Lillian!"
Startled by the sudden cry, Kaisent rushed over and braced her around the waist.
"Hnn?!"
"Are you all right?"
The instant Kaisent's arm wrapped her waist, Lillian felt a pleasant jolt shoot through her and another sound slipped out unbidden. The throbbing of a sword cut and that sweet electric shiver hit her at the same time — so the noise that escaped was neither pure pain nor pure pleasure, but something strange in between.
That was a weird sound. Is she that badly hurt?
What is this? Why does only the place his arm is touching feel so strangely tingly?
"Hang on just a little longer. I'll find somewhere we can rest. First, we need to get away from here."
"I… I'm… fine… hnn…"
"Your face is bright red. The wound must be giving you a fever."
Stronger than he looked, Kaisent took the greatsword from her hands and had a nearby orc zombie carry it. Supporting her the way one would a wounded comrade, he gently guided her forward.
This is bad.
He had only meant to help because her cry worried him — and now, belatedly, his mind was catching up.
What is this fabric? Why is it so soft?
The high-leg cloth under his hand felt smoother and more pleasant than even the finest fur.
Please don't let her hair blow this way…!
Whenever the wind sent Lillian's hair drifting toward him, a sweet scent filled his head and made him dizzy. This world had soap and shampoo, nothing particularly better than what his original world offered — so what was this fragrance?
Hold it. Hold it. You have to hold it. Hold it. Hold it together!
Having already learned the taste of a woman while living with Dang Seol-yeong, Kaisent desperately forced down the part of himself that was trying to rise. Determined not to act on desire toward the woman who had saved his life, he put as much distance as he could between them and the battlefield.
"I-I'll go look for a place to rest."
"You don't have to—"
"Just wait a little!"
Settling her behind a low hill, Kaisent took off without listening. He needed to get away from her and calm himself — otherwise even he didn't know what he might do.
Cute.
Of course Lillian had noticed his reaction. She let out a soft snort of laughter. Watching the pure, unguarded side of a boy who had been forced to grow up far too early filled her with a warm fondness.
Is it really all right to use a sweet kid like that as a tool for revenge?
The innocent face he had just shown made her plan — raising an undead army through him to strike back at the Saryeong Kingdom — feel suddenly, uncomfortably selfish.
Maybe the idea of using undead was rotten from the start…
As a princess she had loathed black magic. Now her first thought was how to weaponize it for revenge. Comparing the girl she had been to the woman she was now, she gave a self-mocking smile and sank into thought.
No matter how she turned it over, revenge was something she could never abandon. That day, the vampires of the Saryeong Kingdom had slaughtered the royal guards and attendants who had been like family — her brothers and sisters, her parents. How could she ever forgive them?
At first she had wanted both revenge and the restoration of the royal house. Growing older had taught her just how hard restoring a dynasty truly was.
I should at least say something.
Years of grinding as a mercenary captain had taught her that speaking up and failing felt freer than bottling everything up in silence.
She had just reached that resolve when Kaisent returned.
"I found a cave. It's secluded — no green-skin scent at all."
"All right. Let's move. What's that?"
"Herbs I found on the way. The dried leaves are supposedly used as ingredients for the lowest-grade potions, so I grabbed some."
Explaining the herbs poking from the pouch at his waist, Kaisent approached Lillian where she sat resting.
"Shall I help you up?"
"Thanks."
Deciding to accept the kindness of a boy who fretted over her in so many small ways, Lillian took his hand and stood. Leading the zombies, the two of them made for the cave he had found.
"Here."
A downward slope with a sheer, cut-away cliff face on the left. Tilting one's head toward that face revealed a precarious ledge barely wide enough for a single person, and a small cave you had to duck to enter. Looking up from below the cut rock might give them away — but the dense trees and undergrowth screened the spot with almost perfect precision.
"What about the zombies, though…?"
"Dig. In you go."
She had been wondering how he meant to store them. Kaisent used earth-digging magic to hollow out a deep pit and buried the corpses. A day or two would be fine.
Inside, the cave opened into a space large enough for four grown men to lie down. Having come this far, Lillian decided to rest until her wound improved even a little. She let the tension drain from her body and leaned back against the wall. Just in case, she charged mana into a magic item she had once used for secret trysts with Fredrick and tossed it out — a sound-dampening barrier unfurled around them.
"Haa…"
Letting go of her strength, she realized how exhausted she truly was. Guarding their surroundings without rest while wounded had drained both body and mind far more than she had noticed.
As a precaution, Kaisent switched the gloves his father had sent him into wall mode, sealing part of the entrance so that neither sound nor scent could escape. Finally, worried that dampness might worsen her wound, he sustained a tiny fireball to serve as a campfire.
"Just a moment. I'll dry the leaves now."
With the fireball's heat drying the herbs, Lillian found herself resting more comfortably than she had expected.
"You're supposed to dry them in sunlight, but we don't have that luxury, so I improvised. Take them with some water."
Accepting the crackling-dry leaves, Lillian decided to trust his goodwill. In the worst case, once you reached the rank of Expert, ordinary toxins barely mattered.
"Hm? Nngh?!"
The moment she swallowed the leaves, a sudden itch wrenched a sound from her throat.
"L-Lillian?"
"The… the wound… it itches…! Ugh…!"
Basic common sense said never to scratch a wound, so she clenched her teeth and endured. A few seconds later the itch stopped. Sensing something odd, she touched the injury.
"…It doesn't hurt…?"
The sword cut no longer hurt. No — it still hurt, but the agony of a split-open side had dwindled to something more like a deep scratch that might bleed.
Unwrapping the bandage, she found the gaping wound in her side closed down to a small cut. At this rate, even fairly vigorous movement would be fine.
"How… how is this…?"
"Uh… the book definitely didn't list this kind of effect…?"
Both of them were baffled.
What neither of them knew was that while Kaisent dried the leaves with the fireball's heat, a fragment of his own energy — carried in the spell — had seeped into them. A half-dragon who had inherited the blood of the strongest human and the strongest Dragon Lord. An internal cultivation method forged from every scrap of knowledge and experience his father had poured into his children. That ki, channeled through magic, had massively amplified the herb's healing power.
"Looks like a mutant strain — or something similar with even better effects."
"We should keep whatever's left, just in case."
"Agreed."
Ignorant of the real cause, the two of them treated the herbs as a rare find and handled them with care.
"A wound like this should be fully healed within half a day. Thank you, Kaisent."
"It's nothing. You got hurt protecting me."
The wound recovering faster than expected kindled hope in both of them, and the atmosphere brightened.
But that brightness soon thickened into a sticky heat.
"Haa… haa…"
What is this…? My body… is so hot…
This was not the fever of injury. She had felt this heat before — the warmth that rose when she kissed Fredrick. The rapture she felt when Fredrick demanded her body.
"Lillian?"
"Gulp…"
Kaisent was approaching her without the slightest guard. A beautiful boy so androgynous he could almost be mistaken for a girl. Adorable eyes that made liking him inevitable, and skin so white it looked soft enough to melt under a touch. She thought she finally understood why Kenneth's dying wish had been to touch him just once.
He looks so fragile, yet he's so reliable…
Timid and soft — but once he set a goal, he kept pushing forward even through tears of pain. That stubborn core was there too.
"Lillian? Lillian. Are you all right?"
Right in front of her, a small pink mouth kept producing that pleasant voice.
He looks delicious…
Lust was short-circuiting her mind. Lillian's reason frayed; her thoughts shrank until she was barely using the surface of her brain.
"Lillian. Snap out of it. Lil— mmph?!"
"Haum."
In the end, unable to master the desire boiling up inside her, Lillian claimed the mouth that looked so sweet — and kissed Kaisent.