Chapter 84
Chapter 84
Saint, You’re So Vulgar! – Chapter 84
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Versia surveyed Baern's royal palace, peering this way and that.
It was her first time in this unfamiliar place, yet it didn't feel entirely alien.
The reason? Well, perhaps memories of the past were surfacing.
A space where royalty dwelled and everyone else existed solely to serve their lives felt utterly familiar to Versia.
The atmosphere in Astarion's royal palace, where she had been born and raised, wasn't all that different from this one.
The silver lining was that she didn't need to panic.
Versia accepted their ministrations with practiced ease.
The maids found her demeanor puzzling, yet oddly reassuring.
They did try to make conversation.
Were they truly a pair of loving siblings, or was he merely troubled by his sister's one-sided obsession?
If it was the latter, they had a radical solution.
They could help.
It was brazen flirtation.
She couldn't help snickering at their utterly transparent words and actions.
Taking it as a positive sign, some maids even began exposing bits of skin.
Ambitious climbers hoping to snag a man and rise seemed to lurk in every palace.
"I'm a bit busy right now."
That put a halt to their antics.
To be chosen for attending palace guests meant they were sharp.
Swallowing their regret, they finished her preparations at a speed incomparable to before.
Versia checked the mirror.
Asherwith his sky-blue lockswas clad in a light brown banquet gown.
Golden ornaments adorned it everywhere, and thanks to the desert climate, the fabric was thin.
The muscular lines stood out prominently. Normally, only refined features showed, but up close like this, there was a distinctly masculine edge.
This must be one perk of the body swap.
She could ogle the man she loved without a shred of guilt.
Of course, Asher himself would deem even that blasphemous and keep his eyes squeezed shut during dressing.
Thinking of him inexplicably cheered her up.
She was curious what she'd look like fully attiredand what expression Asher, piloting that body, would wear.
As soon as the dressing was done, Versia headed straight to Asher's room.
She came face-to-face with him and halted abruptly.
"You... came."
It was absolutely not on purpose.
Her eyes devouring him from head to toe.
"Don't look at me like that. Really..."
Asher's skin was flushed red.
He couldn't raise his head, staring at the floor.
His hands were clasped over his navel, the pose desperately pitiable.
A sheer thin outer layer, and beneath it an opaque inner dress sized like a miniskirt.
She recalled some tidbit she'd picked up once: the subtly veiled glimpse tantalizes more than full exposure.
It was spot on.
The hair braided to one side highlighted the neckline.
Below it, collarbone and cleavage showed through the translucent silk. The mini dress revealed the curves of thigh and calf.
The softly blurred body lines flowed perfectly, drawing the gaze up and down.
Versia stroked her chin.
"You get it."
"Ow!"
"No, seriouslywhat goes through a designer's head to create something like this?"
"Please don't say that!"
Asher flinched hard. Versia's eyes flew wide open.
"They dug a hole in your belly button?"
"Hic?!"
In a huff, his hand that had strayed flew back to cover his navel.
Seeing him glare, red as a ripe persimmon and quivering, the words slipped out.
"Would it be rude to want to see your shame-stricken face flush with pleasure?"
"It would! The worst rudeness imaginable!"
Maybe time to stop teasing.
Versia chuckled and approached Asher.
She slipped an arm around his waist and said,
"It suits you."
"...It's not suiting me."
"Exactly. My body pulls off even this outfit. Guess all that hard running around in it paid off, Sir Knight."
Stroking down his lower back, she felt the muscle lines.
The clingy fabric accentuated shoulder blades and spinal erectorsand it looked damn good.
Asher twitched at every touch.
His blush deepened as he looked away.
This was surely the reason.
Feeling lust for one's own body was absurd, but these actions made Asher-in-Versia feel like a stranger.
Captivated by him as a person, possessiveness stirred, blooming into greedy desire for the flesh.
Did he know how this yearning was becoming harder to suppress?
"S-Saintess..."
Asher whispered softly.
He twisted his body, gazing up at Versia with damp eyes.
The distance shrank, and in a quavering voice, Asher murmured,
"P-please stop. Down there..."
"...Ah."
Versia withdrew her hand.
Unwittingly, she'd been stroking his lower back.
Only then did Asher release the tension in his body.
But he wasn't fully put together.
His face was a mask of misery.
His breathing remained ragged.
Legs pressed tight, torso hunched.
He turned his head, excusing himself.
"N-now, that's really dangerous."
He bit his lip.
His voice crept out next.
"...It's getting hard to shake off."
Pondering his words, Versia felt heat bloom in her chest.
It surged from within, igniting a flash of impulse.
The yin gate's over therehow strange.
Realizing her prior thought was perilous, she apologized at once.
"Sorry."
"Yes, be careful..."
"Unwittingly caressing..."
"Agh! Enough!"
Asher recoiled in horror, face scrunching.
It came off more petulant than anything.
"Kidding. Just easing the mood."
"Don't!"
"Got it."
At Asher's firm tone, Versia nodded obediently.
The little fiasco wrapped up there.
* * *
Asher's words to Versia weren't a joke.
When she drew close and set her hand on his waist moments ago, he couldn't shove her off right away.
He'd unwittingly leaned into the feel of her stroking his lower back.
Had the increasingly sensitive yin gate hit some threshold?
Its response unfolded in a whole new way.
Asher grasped the true terror of the Craving Curse.
...I leaned in of my own volition.
His mind felt gnawed at.
He'd wished for his own corruption in that instantwhat scared him wasn't the thought itself.
It was the feeling it evoked.
"......"
...He was thrilled. Honestly, such pleasure was a lifetime first.
Unwittingly, he'd wished that touch would stray further, just a bit more to other spots.
Chilling, right?
In that moment, it felt perfectly natural.
He even thought it was the very point of being alive.
This curse made one crave their own humanity's collapse.
Without superhuman willpower, anyone else would've shattered right there.
His breathing hadn't steadied yet.
His lower belly tickled faintly, burning hot.
Asher gulped down cold water to shake off the heat.
Not enoughhe even did a quick meditation.
Only then did he ease up a bit.
He kneaded his brow.
Phew...
Contact needed even more caution going forward.
Avoid touching others entirely, except when unavoidable.
As he fussed to pull himself together, Versiawatching it allfinally wore a properly sorry look.
Had she not taken it seriously before?
He narrowed his eyes; she looked away.
"...You went too far."
"Sorry."
"Got anything to say?"
"Can't I joke?"
"No."
"Then nope."
Infuriating beyond words.
Still, the scolding ended there.
"Let's go. To the banquet hall."
Duty called.
Normally, they'd link arms or hold handsto fit the mercenary Tia persona, and to draw eyes away from Asher standing solo.
But contact was off-limits now.
So Asher found a workaround.
"...Well, it won't stray too far from the goal."
Asher clutched Versia's collar tight.
He'd stick with her like this.
That was how they entered the banquet hall.
Mission accomplishedbut the shame doubled.
"There's Tia from the finals, the incest girl!"
"Clutching her brother's clothes! Obsessed like that even here...!"
"Heard? Something the incestuous Tia said at the drinking bash."
"What?"
"That her brother's the husband Mom gave her."
"Gasp...! How could anyone think that...!"
Baseless gossip spread through the hall.
Eyes drawn for surebut suicidal urges rose just as much.
"Kids! Come here!"
Halia cackled.
Asher resented her deeply.
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