Messenger Rose (1) - Don't Push Yourself Too Hard
"Hmm, it's certainly soft and elastic skin. At this level, it would be a good match even with Rose-yang."
The office in Deluna Lord's castle.
Sherin, lying on the floor with her lower garments pulled down to her thighs.
Balthazar, squatting next to her and admiring her smooth skin.
—Rose, frowning and looking down at him from behind.
"......Lord-nim."
"Ahem, ahem. That's right. Was it called the Mark of Obedience? Excuse me for a moment, Sherin-yang."
Balthazar, who coughed a couple of times,
stretched out his hand over the hideous black tattoo located near Sherin's pubic bone.
Is he going to say something useless again and grope around?
—Unlike Rose's anxiety.
[ Vwoooom- ]
With a low vibrating sound, blue mana created from his fingertips seeped into Sherin's Mark—
"...!!... Haaah!!"
With a sharp scream, Sherin's body convulsed,
"Sherin!"
Just as Rose was about to reach out her arm to grab her twitching hand—
"Hmm. It's over."
"...??"
The convulsions stopped.
Everyone's gaze turned to Sherin's abdomen.
That unpleasant Mark, which had been wriggling as if alive until just a moment ago, was no longer there.
What was visible, as Balthazar had said,
was only smooth, elastic, pure white skin.
"Uh... this easily...?"
"No matter how grandly they talk about curses or Marks, in the end, it's just magic using mana. This Balthazar, indeed, is the best on the continent when it comes to curse magic—even that Lucian has to concede a point. Hmph hmph."
"Haa... ah..."
Sherin, as if she couldn't believe it,
raised her body and looked at her lower abdomen.
And then, she reached out her hand and traced the now smooth skin,
(For some reason, Balthazar's hand was also still tracing that area.)
Thick teardrops fell without her realizing it.
[ Plop- ]
"There, there. Now that the worries that bound Sherin-yang are gone, live comfortably in Deluna. If you need anything, you can tell me anytime. Day or night, that is. Uhuhuhu."
"......"
Rose's eyes narrowed at his frivolous tone, which made the praise she was about to give disappear, "Wow, you're truly amazing, Lord-nim—"
Sherin tidied her clothes, prostrated herself on the floor, and bowed her head deeply.
"Thank you, Lord-nim. This favor... I will never forget it for the rest of my life."
Although it was due to coercion.
The Lord, who saved her without any compensation, instead of punishing her, who had tried to harm his life.
Sherin was not one to be unaware of such generosity, so as she was deeply moved in her heart,
Risolde's low voice cut in.
"The Mark has been erased, but isn't the most important hostage still in Helius?"
"......"
Instantly, the air grew heavy.
Sherin's younger sibling, Ailan, imprisoned in Lord Helius's castle.
In reality, they weren't even imprisoned and were a free person,
and nominally, they were merely working as a Guardian's assistant—
their existence was clearly a double-edged shackle that choked Sherin.
Because she didn't know what terrible harm would befall Ailan if they found out about her betrayal,
Sherin, who even had the Mark of Obedience engraved, had intended to at least spare her sibling from hardship by simply giving up her life.
But if one of the two shackles was now released—
Sherin slowly raised her head with a resolute expression.
"If you give me a chance, I will return to Helius and bring my sibling back."
"Is that possible?"
Risolde, who retorted sharply.
"That Guardian who made the aphrodisiac and engraved the curse will be right there. There will also be many Knights who can handle aura like Theodore. Is it possible to deceive them, or defeat them all, and bring your sibling back?"
"......I will try. Now that the curse is lifted, I want to save my sibling even if I have to sacrifice my life. Therefore, I want to work without hesitation for Lord-nim, who bestowed this favor upon me."
"Well. If you just go back to Helius, what guarantee is there that you won't side with them again?"
"Risolde!"
Rose, who shouted with a surprised expression—
Risolde, pretending not to see her, looking down at Sherin—
Balthazar, who had been looking at her, nodded his head.
"Hmm, Risolde is right about this. Regardless of whether I trust Sherin-yang or not, it seems unrealistic. If you just stay quietly in Deluna like this, they might assume you died during a mission and leave your sibling alone, wouldn't they?"
Sherin bowed her head silently, but she couldn't simply accept Balthazar's words.
If she stayed quiet, what if news of Sherin somehow reached Helius?
No, they wouldn't just leave her sibling alone comfortably, now that they were no longer useful as Sherin's shackle—
All sorts of negative thoughts floated in her mind.
But just as Balthazar and Risolde had said,
there was no way to safely rescue her sibling by deceiving the eyes of countless enemies.
Sherin, just bowing her head and trembling with her two tightly clenched fists.
Sherin's expression—
Risolde, who thought it meant she would accept Balthazar's suggestion and quietly stay here,
turned her gaze to Rose, who had been standing silently in one corner.
"Rose. What are you thinking so deeply about?"
"Ah...."
Rose, startled, raised her head,
and parted her lips as if hesitating for a moment,
then, as if she had made up her mind, she carefully opened her mouth towards Balthazar.
"Lord-nim. By any chance... can you also undo a curse engraved by another Lord, just like you erased Sherin's Mark?"
"Huh? A curse from another Lord?"
"A while ago... Cassian changed my body. Several times more sensitive than ordinary women... lewdly... you know."
Instantly, gazes gathered.
Rose, bowing her head and flushing.
"Lucian did purify that magic to some extent, but he said he couldn't completely remove it. He did weaken its effect a bit, but... somehow... it might just be my imagination, but lately, the effect seems to be gradually getting stronger again..."
"Hmm. If the effect gets stronger..."
"......Should I say I'm getting more and more lewd?......"
Rose's voice, speaking while twisting her body, gradually faded to the point where her last words were almost inaudible.
But Balthazar, who heard that confession which she had barely mustered the courage to say—
"Hahahaha! No, getting lewd? Isn't that a very good thing? For an attractive woman like Rose-yang, such a symptom is a blessing, not a curse! Ah, if only I hadn't made that promise with that Lucian not to touch her...!"
"Lord-nim!!"
Rose, shouting indignantly,
Risolde, watching with a meaningful expression.
"Indeed... so that was why."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"After I went to interrogate Sherin yesterday, the time dragged on too long, so I went to look for her, just in case.
But from beyond the door, I heard a very... deep moaning sound, so I thought I shouldn't disturb, and just came back, but..."
"!!"
Rose and Sherin, with faces flushed bright red as if about to burst.
Balthazar, seeing the reactions of the two women, just had a joyful expression.
"Khahahaha! Rose-yang, excellent! As expected, a beautiful woman's lewdness was a blessing, not a curse!"
"No! That's just... I'm serious right now, Lord-nim! I just don't want it to be too excessive, I just want to be as lewd as ordinary women!"
"..."
"......"
".........."
Just how lewd is "as lewd as ordinary women," exactly—
The three people trying to calculate (?) in their own way.
"Anyway! Lord-nim, you said you were even better than Lucian when it comes to undoing magic engraved with mana, didn't you? You can undo mine too, right??"
At Rose's earnest gaze, Balthazar stopped smiling and stroked his beard.
That gaze, slightly avoiding eye contact,
was as if saying, 'I just boasted once in Lucian's absence—'
it seemed to say.
Rose, who sincerely wanted to be only as lewd as ordinary women, approached him and knelt.
"Please. There's no Mark like Sherin's on my body. He just put his hand on my lower abdomen and instantly made my body like this."
"Hmm... Alright, then, let's see..."
Instead of his confident demeanor from earlier.
Balthazar, with a carefully subdued voice, placed his hand on Rose's stomach—
[ Vwoooom- ]
Blue mana spread through Rose's body, but—
"......"
After a short period of time.
Even without Balthazar saying anything, she could tell.
Rose couldn't feel any change at all.
"As expected... is it impossible?"
"Hmm... Cassian is a fellow who is very skilled at manipulating people's bodies and souls as he pleases... As it's magic that even Lucian can't resolve... Hmph hmph..."
Didn't you say earlier that you were the best on the continent when it came to curse magic, to the extent that even Lucian had to concede a point—
she didn't bother to say those words.
Although Balthazar was frivolous and lecherous,
she knew he wasn't someone who would treat such matters as a joke without doing his best.
'Right, the feeling that Cassian's magic had gotten stronger might just be my imagination. Maybe I just naturally became a bit more sensitive...'
Although disappointed, Rose tried to stand up positively somehow.
Balthazar, wanting to comfort her.
"Don't be too disappointed. If lust accumulates, just like yesterday, find a compatible partner and release it refreshingly, isn't that right! It's one of humanity's three great desires, there's nothing to be ashamed of!"
"..........Thank you."
He did his best, right...?
Rose doubted Balthazar's sincerity.
"Um..."
Sherin, who had been silently watching the scene, carefully opened her mouth.
"The Guardian of Helius, who engraved the Mark on me and gave that terrible aphrodisiac to Theodore..."
"...Huh??"
"If they can create a drug that makes Lust run wild by disturbing mana... conversely, couldn't they also create something that suppresses Lust?"
"...!!"
Rose's eyes widened,
and Balthazar also nodded his head.
"Certainly. It's a given that one who makes poison also knows how to make an antidote. I don't know if it's right to use such a thing to reduce lewdness, though."
Ignoring Balthazar's somehow regretful voice,
Rose fell into thought for a moment.
Her own desire to be only as lewd as ordinary women (...), and Sherin's sibling, who was semi-forcibly held in Helius.
The solution was surprisingly simple.
"Then I, along with Sherin, will go to Helius and return."
"...Rose, that's..."
Risolde, calling out to her with a surprised expression.
Before the rest of Risolde's words, 'It's dangerous—' could come out, Rose opened her mouth.
"I'll deliver the letter you're sending to Lord Helius. I'll also rescue Sherin's sibling, and meet that Guardian once."
"It's dangerous. They are the ones who even tried to harm Lord-nim, who is a Lord."
"I won't confront them directly. I'll have someone deliver the letter from an appropriate place, and I'll try to find a way to quietly extract Sherin's sibling as much as possible. As for that Guardian fellow, I'll only approach them when I judge the situation to be safe."
Her bright voice, as if there was nothing to worry about at all.
With her saying all that, Risolde had no further reason to dissuade her.
Moreover, Balthazar had also nodded at Rose's words.
"Well... considering the Mark engraved on Sherin-yang or the level of aphrodisiac that fellow made, that Guardian fellow doesn't seem all that dangerous."
At that moment, a sudden question arose.
"But Lord Helius hates those who handle mana, doesn't he? Then why does he specifically keep a Guardian by his side and use them?"
Although it was a question directed at Sherin,
Balthazar snorted as if it was a trivial question.
"Hating something and keeping it by your side to use are completely different matters. Even if you hate stepping in poop, it's the same principle as spreading manure on a field for farming. Rose-yang might not know this, but there are also crazy bastards who tame and use Magical Beasts out of necessity."
"Then what about that Guardian? To a human who hates them, why do they specifically cooperate?"
"Well."
Over his smiling face, Balthazar's gaze became cold and sinking.
"The more the Lord kills off other Lords or Guardians, the higher their own rarity and value become. It's shallow greed, reducing rivals and trying to monopolize power."
Humanity's endless selfishness and greed.
Why that power of the Guardian was given,
completely forgetting how it should be used—
truly a pathetic story, just as Balthazar had said.
Rose, feeling bitter, clenched her fists tightly.
"Anyway, I've decided. I'll go with Sherin and return."
At Rose's firm resolve, Balthazar also nodded.
Risolde also let out a short sigh, as if she couldn't help it, then alternately looked at Rose and Sherin with a strange expression.
"If the two of you go on that long journey alone...."
".....?? Risolde, what are you trying to say...?"
"No. It's just... before you even arrive in Helius, I was wondering if the two of you might get too exhausted from expending too much energy. As Lord-nim said, it's important to moderately release lust, but if you overdo it..."
"Risolde!!!"
Rose, screaming loudly and turning away.
Indeed, I shouldn't have talked about Cassian's magic or my lewd body—
she regretted.
< Illustration: Risolde's Worry - Don't Overdo It >
