Chapter 104
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 104
Rubena's love consultation incident had happened a few days ago.
In the meantime, Versia had been lurking along the paths Rubena frequented, spying on how Satern and Rubena were getting along while chuckling to herself.
I understood her feelings.
Certainly, the scenes they'd peeked at were quite peculiar.
"Oh, the weather's a bit hot today!"
"Yes, Saintess."
"...That's it? Even though I'm dressed so thinly?"
"Shall I cool the surroundings with prayer?"
"Eek! Die! Just die!"
Rubena was fanning her collar unnecessarily in more provocative attire than usual. It was autumn now. If you looked closely, her legs were trembling, yet she was still exposing herself to seduce Satern.
Satern saw that and made oblivious remarks without batting an eye.
Eventually, Rubena exploded. She pounded on Satern's armor with her slender hands like ferns, then groaned in pain as her eyes welled up with tears.
That looked really pitiful.
Asher chuckled dryly.
Versia whispered her vulgar joke about it.
"See that? I told you she'd try to seduce him with her body."
"...Maybe I said something wrong."
"Why feel guilty? It was her choice. Watch closely. It'll only take a moment for her to fall. They say bald guys have strong libidos, right? She'll definitely end up under him all night, moaning 'master...'."
"...Enough."
Asher shot her a glare. Versia shrugged, and Asher thought this couldn't go on.
He grabbed Versia, who was peeking out for more, and dragged her back to the garden.
He glared at her sternly.
There was only one reason.
"Are you going to keep this up?"
"What?"
"Your words!"
"Words on words mean two horses?"
Versia grinned.
Her thick-skinned antics made the back of Asher's neck tense up.
Never mind where she'd learned such a terrible pun.
Vulgar talk. That was the problem.
It had been a week since they'd returned.
The number of times he'd told her to stop was now too many to count.
If it were just a matter of manners, he wouldn't say anything.
But this involved a serious issue, and Versia was being too careless.
"It's not just anythingit's the Curse of Carnal Craving! How can you not consider that sexual things can lead to horrific results? For your sake more than mine, you must refrain! Stop the vulgar talk!"
"If hearing dirty talk makes it worse, hasn't the curse already spread to your brain?"
"I'm the one enduring it!"
"Enduring it means you got turned on, right?"
"Huh?"
Asher was so flabbergasted he retorted.
Versia giggled.
Even as his insides boiled, she said,
"It's fine."
"...Pardon?"
"As long as you're in that body, I can be like this and it'll be okay."
It was a strangely confident statement.
Had she learned more about the curse?
Asher held back his retort to hear what came next.
They faced each other, and Versia reached out to stroke Asher's hair.
It felt good to have someone touch his hair. His mind relaxed without him realizing.
At that moment, Versia spoke in a sincerely earnest tone.
"Everyone has sexual desire. It getting stronger doesn't cause problems. The curse's mechanism isn't mainly about promiscuous sex life."
Asher furrowed his brow. It was hard to understand.
"Have you learned something?"
"I've realized a few things while using that body."
Versia stroked Asher's forehead.
The skinship made him a little embarrassed. Her fingertips trailed from his forehead to his cheek, jaw.
Asher's ears turned red as he averted his eyes from hers.
Her voice continued.
"You've got it backwards. The Curse of Carnal Craving isn't craving sexit's craving something else. You only start craving sex indiscriminately the moment you can't obtain what you truly desire."
"What you truly desire..."
No answer came.
Versia just gave a cryptic smile when he glanced at her.
"Saintess?"
"Someone like you won't break. You might get a bit lewder, though."
One thing was certain.
She knew something.
That's why she could place such near-absolute trust in him.
He wanted to hear more details, but she clearly had no intention of sharing.
She just said things like that.
"You're a pure person, Knight. That's why I'm at ease. And the lewd pattern's growth has stopped, right?"
As she said, the lewd pattern showed no sign of growing further from the base of his wingbones.
It was good, but strange.
"To go beyond that, you'd need something other than sex. Something you wouldn't even think of, Knight."
Right then, Versia's finger tickled his nape.
"Eek...!"
"This state is ideal. In hindsight, what the Parent God did is saving us all. Get what I mean?"
Tap. Her index finger drummed his collarbone.
Asher's back stiffened.
Laughter crept into Versia's voice.
"Get more used to that body. It's okay to get lewd, so feel free to tell me anytime."
Her words and actions were truly baffling.
Asher bristled and said,
"...I won't get lewd. And don't let your hand go lower."
"Sucking's okay?"
"Would it be?"
"Tch."
Versia pulled her hand away. His body felt hot.
Heat surged fiercely, and even her small gestures and breaths made his senses focus intensely all over.
That was it.
"Well, I'll head back then. See you tomorrow."
She was annoyingly cheeky to the end.
Watching Versia wave and leave, Asher unwittingly thought,
'If you're just leaving, don't tease me...'.
He jolted. Realizing what he'd thought, Asher shuddered.
His face flushed redder. His eyes shook like there was an earthquake.
"Argh!"
He tore at his hair, yelling shrilly.
He wanted to erase the image he'd just imagined from his mind.
* * *
That day, after meeting Sera Wizdia, Versia had been pondering the Curse of Carnal Craving nonstop.
The thoughts only crystallized after returning to Asher's body and regaining clear thinking.
'Sex isn't the problem.'
It's fine. Acts like sucking, biting, thrusting, being thrust intothey were merely secondary to the curse's growth.
What mattered was the emotion within those acts.
'Love. More precisely, possessiveness.'
The Curse of Carnal Craving amplifies the negative emotions that drive that love.
Eventually, those negative emotions fill the love completely.
In the end, it twists the human mind to commit extreme acts justified by those emotions.
What if she'd stayed in that body and completed the curse?
Versia admitted she was the type whose possessiveness played a huge role in love.
Amplified to the extreme, the end would have been Asher's death.
She could clearly picture crippling his body or mind forever just to keep him from leaving even for a moment, carrying him around all day.
In that sense, Versia thought Sera Wizdia resembled her.
She could understand her end.
-You'll kill and devour. The moment will be thrilling. But afterward, only emptiness remains. You'll go mad seeking something to fill that void. But you know best: love can't be replaced. You'll writhe endlessly.
Sera Wizdia had committed cannibalism. Probably devouring the man she loved.
That's how the curse worked.
That's why Versia felt no guilt teasing Asher sexually.
'He's pure.'
The Asher she knew didn't harbor enough negative emotions to grow the curse further.
On the contrary, his love was filled with fresh dreams.
Even if it worsened, it'd at most make him clingier.
From the moment she realized that, Versia couldn't hold back showing her emotions.
'Sorry to you, Knight.'
As long as Asher was in that body, she could advance their relationship without much risk.
Afterward, catching the witch at the curse's source would solve it.
Of course, direct confession was an option, but it wasn't her taste.
She wanted him to cling to her. This damp, sticky possessiveness was her innate growth, unrelated to the curse, and hard to endure.
Versia lay in bed and smiled brightly.
'How far will you hold out?'
She wanted to dye him slowly. Wanted his mind filled with her name.
Wanted that pure, clean heart to be hers alone.
Then this feeling would be purified.
Late at night, Versia fell asleep lost in such thoughts.