Chapter 534: The Cardinal's Worries
Chapter 534: The Cardinal's Worries
“Hah… Hhngh… Haaah…”
Matilda was breathing raggedly, lost in unconsciousness.
I studied her body—or more precisely, the mark of the curse that spread across the left half of her body like a black scar from a lightning strike.
It’s shrunk an incredible amount.
Usually, after a session that left Matilda unconscious like this, the curse would recede by about five to ten centimeters. But today, it looked like it had shrunk by nearly twenty.
I already knew that the more pleasure I felt, the more effective the curse removal was, and this time had certainly felt far better than any other.
But it seemed Matilda had felt just as incredible as I had, because she’d lost consciousness much earlier than usual.
Even so, I never imagined the difference would be this drastic.
The curse, which had initially reached her wrists and ankles, had receded dramatically. The marks on her arm now only came up to her elbow, and on her leg, they stopped around the middle of her calf.
At this rate, couldn't she wear short-sleeved shirts with long sleeves or long skirts without any issue?
Maybe it would be nice to buy her one later.
Matilda tended to bundle herself up completely to hide the marks of her curse.
Her cardinal robes, which covered her entire body, were one thing, but she even dressed that way in the comfort of her own home.
Anyway, if the efficiency has improved this much, couldn't we break the curse completely if we did this every day for about two weeks?
No, probably not. The curse on her arms and legs receded quickly because they have a relatively small surface area, but the marks on her torso are spread wide.
The area around her lower abdomen, which I suspected was the center of the curse, was a complex web of black lines, like a dark spiderweb had been spun there.
Well, no need to be impatient. Now that I’ve performed the Apostle Appointment, there’s no rush to break the curse.
Aren't I concerned about the men who are still suffering from impotence?
What do you take me for, some kind of saint? Well, I guess I am a Saint, but not the holy kind. The sexual kind. I feel like that double meaning has been coming up a lot lately, but at my core, I’m the sexual kind.
With those silly thoughts running through my head, I pulled the blanket over Matilda’s sleeping form and gave her lips another light kiss.
“Mmm… my love…”
She must have been thinking of me even in her dreams, as a pleasant smile graced her lips.
Hey, it’s fine if I’m in your dreams, but… are you in that lovey-dovey pink mode even in your sleep?
For it to affect her even in her dreams… just how powerful is this curse?
Slightly dumbfounded, I gently stroked Matilda’s hair and left the room.
Alright, then. Now for…
My talk with Matilda had taken an unexpected turn, leading all the way to an Apostle Appointment, which delayed me a bit. However, since she passed out so quickly, the time I left her room wasn't much later than I had originally anticipated this morning.
It was exactly lunchtime. Everyone would probably be eating by now.
No one came to call me for the meal, but Vanessa has the day off today.
Besides, when Matilda and I are in a room together for a long time, it’s pretty obvious what we’re doing. My girls were probably being considerate by not coming to get me.
This morning, I even told Leia and Silvia not to go swimming to lay the groundwork, but with the timing working out this perfectly, I guess I didn't need to.
With that thought, I headed to the dining hall.
“Just as I thought, all three of you are here. Miss Maid, could you prepare a place for me as well?”
“Y-Yes, sir! Right away!”
Since Vanessa wasn't here, I spoke to a nearby maid, but she was, as always, awkward when dealing with me.
We’ve seen each other for quite a while now, haven’t we? It kind of hurts when every single one of them reacts like that.
Then again, for all the time we’ve spent seeing each other, I can’t remember a single one of the maids’ names either.
I can’t help it. Vanessa was always the one assigned to me.
“Hmm. You’ve arrived.”
As I approached the table, Diana, who had been chewing, neatly swallowed her food, wiped her mouth with a napkin in a well-mannered fashion, and then spoke to me.
Her voice was a little stiff, so it seemed she had a good idea of what I’d been doing.
She might have gotten used to the fact that I sleep with other women, but it seemed she was still a bit awkward when facing me right after I’d been intimate with someone else.
“You sure took your time today.”
Of course, our Hero here doesn’t care about such things and always throws a fastball.
That didn’t mean Sara wasn’t flustered, though.
In fact, her face was the reddest of the three.
It was obvious she was trying to act cool to hide her arousal.
Well, that makes sense. It’s only natural for her to be the most excited one here. In terms of her… proclivities.
“Well, something unexpected happened.”
“Unexpected… you say? Don’t tell me something happened with Cardinal Matilda’s curse…?”
At my words, Leia’s eyes went wide with surprise.
I guess that’s the first thing people would think of when I say something unexpected happened after visiting Matilda’s room.
But still, no one’s asking why Matilda isn’t with me.
Is it just an established fact in your minds that she’s passed out?
Well, I guess it’s my fault for always going until she’s completely knocked out.
“No, it’s not that… I’ll tell you in a little bit.”
There are other ears here, after all.
I gave that answer to a tilting-her-head Leia and looked around the table.
“By the way, where’s Silvia? I don’t see her.”
Right. As some of you might have guessed from me mentioning “three of them” just now, Silvia was nowhere to be seen.
I even carefully checked the corner seats, wondering if she was eating there even when I wasn't around.
“Silvia-ssi… I believe she said she was going to the palace…”
“The palace? What for?”
Normally, I’d just assume she had business with the princess, but she was just there a little while ago.
It was hard to imagine she’d have more business with the princess so soon.
“You idiot. What do you think? She went to see her family and let them know how she’s doing.”
Sara answered my question as if telling me I should be more considerate of such things.
Okay, it’s definitely my fault for not thinking of that.
“Didn’t she contact them while I was with the princess when we were at the palace before?”
“It’s not that she didn’t, she couldn’t. You need the princess’s permission to use communication magic, right? She was probably planning to ask for permission when she first greeted her, but then all that stuff happened last time.”
“Ah, I see. If that’s the case, she could have just told me after I came out.”
“She probably didn’t want to make you waste time because of her. That’s just how Silvia is. You need to be more considerate, Guwon. Though maybe I’m not one to talk, since I wasn’t paying attention then either.”
“No, that’s something I should have been mindful of. Besides, you were out of it at the time.”
I shook my head at Sara’s slightly self-deprecating tone.
In the beginning at the palace, she was dazed by Felicia’s scent, and after that, she was too busy playing along with Felicia’s constant teasing.
But I see. So Silvia isn’t here today.
Well, from Silvia’s perspective, it would be hard to see me as long as I was in Matilda’s room anyway, so she probably aimed for this timing on purpose.
The timing is really off.
The reason I told them not to go swimming this morning was because I was planning to play with Silvia after I was done with Matilda… ahem. I was going to hold a special training session to help her get used to me.
And even though it couldn’t be helped in that situation, I gave the Apostle Appointment to Matilda before Silvia, who was by my side first. I really wanted to make some progress with her today.
But I can’t exactly go and interrupt her when she’s gone to contact her family.
If I’d known this would happen, I shouldn’t have just told them not to swim this morning. I should have just told her outright to keep her afternoon free because we were going to play together.
I didn’t say anything because I thought Silvia would have a cute reaction if I surprised her.
“Did you have some business with Silvia-ssi?”
I shook my head at Leia, who was tilting her head and asking, and decided that since things had turned out this way, I might as well reveal my relationship with Matilda.
“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, could you all spare some time after you finish eating? There’s something I need to tell you.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
The moment I said that, the three of them fell silent and stared intently at me.
What’s this? What’s with that look? Did you all plan this?
“I seem to recall you gathering us in this manner just a short while ago. Is it just my imagination?”
I-I see. It seems all three of them have guessed what I’m about to say.
I guess it makes sense. I did talk about Rachel in a similar way not too long ago, and if I bring this up right after coming from Matilda’s room, of course they’d figure out what I’m going to talk about.
“I-It’s just your imagination, isn’t it? Hahaha…”
I tried to play it off, but the intensity of their gazes didn’t weaken.
And those gazes followed me all the way until we finished our meal and gathered in my room.
“Well then, why don’t you have a go at it? This ‘something’ you have to say.”
Diana stood tall in the middle of the room with her arms crossed, her small body radiating a strange sense of pressure as she tried to look imposing.
To be honest, I had been thinking this would be a little easier.
I knew from various circumstances that they were already prepared to accept Matilda.
But it seemed that being mentally prepared and hearing it directly from me were two different things.
Can’t be helped. Since it’s come to this, I suppose I’ll use my ultimate move.
I was actually planning to give it to them at a moment with a better atmosphere, but I never thought I’d end up using this card like this.
“I have something for you.”
As I spoke, I took the necklaces out of my inventory.
“W-Woah!”
First, I reached around Diana, who was right in front of me, as if to hug her, and fastened the necklace around her neck.
Startled by the unexpected ambush, Diana let out a strange noise and her body went rigid.
“Hnngh!”
“Ahh…”
After putting necklaces on Sara and Leia in turn, I took a step back and looked at the jewelry hanging from their necks.
The gems, matched to each of their hair colors, were shining brilliantly.
“G-Guwon-ssi…? What is this…?”
“Ah, yeah. I remembered Leia seemed envious before. I put a spell on them so they glow when you’re within a hundred meters of me. And for Sara and Diana, too. It’s inconvenient to carry around a dagger or a magic stone, right? And with a necklace, you can hide it under your clothes in the dungeon to conceal the light… Woah!”
“Guwon-ssi!”
Before I could even finish my sentence, Leia threw herself into my arms with a look of pure joy.
Yes, yes. I’m glad you seem happy.
“When did you… Don’t tell me, was it then?”
Sara, seeming to have an idea, stared at me with wide eyes.
She must remember me going to the accessory shop during my date with Rachel.
It must have been a powerful memory for her. And it happened just a little while ago.
“Well… yeah.”
“You idiot. You can’t do that. It’s proper manners to focus on your partner during a date.”
Even as she said that, Sara’s eyes narrowed into a happy smile.
“My… my love… Forgive me. I have misunderstood. Did you call us here to give us this?”
Hearing Diana call me ‘my love,’ she must have been incredibly moved.
Don’t do that, Diana. Don’t look so touched. You’re making my conscience ache. It’s not a misunderstanding. I really did call you here to talk about Matilda.
“O-Of course! And as a bonus, I was also going to tell you that I performed the Apostle Appointment on Matilda…”
“I KNEW IT WAS ABOUT THAT!”
Diana clenched her two small fists, rushed at me, and began to playfully pummel my side.
Even as she did, the sight of her trying her best not to look at Leia’s chest, which was pressed against mine, was quite pitiful.