Chapter 101
Chapter 101
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Myoran's Night (3)
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Even the northern reaches of the Empire had welcomed early summer.
As the weather warmed, birds took wing even at night, and insects chirped away merrily.
But tonight was unusually quiet.
As if everything had hidden away, fleeing from some chill-bringing presence.
"……."
Left alone in Myoran's room, I narrowed my eyes.
Perched on the windowsill, I stared out into the void.
Toward someone unseen.
"The soul of the Heavenly Jade, is it?"
At first, he made no reply.
As if hoping I hadn't noticed him.
But I had already recovered more than half of my prime strength.
I could easily sense the aura of someone wielding immense power like the Heavenly Jade.
"Did Myoran tell you to stand watch until she got back?"
A brilliant full moon hung in the pitch-black night sky.
Its glow lit my face, my eyes gleaming green.
By then, the Heavenly Jade realized I was no mere noble scion.
That I had grown to the level of a sect leader, at least.
The soul's voice carried an uncharacteristic weight.
He had grown stronger too, it seemed.
In answer to his question, I ran my hand along the windowsill.
The building's barrier bore clear signs of someone tearing through it.
"With the prisoners growing so fast, what good would I be if I fell behind?"
With the eyes of an assassin more at home in darkness than light, I glared at the soul.
"Myoran's aura feels faint. It's an intense chill, like winter's returned."
"You're nearby, then? Where'd you take the girl?"
The Heavenly Jade's soul within held back its answer.
Invisible though he was, it felt like he was staring somewhere.
I followed his gaze intently out the window.
Toward the prison's rear yard, where an overwhelming cold emanated.
"……!"
A black silhouette lay collapsed in Grand Elder's tomato patch.
I leaped down at once and rushed to her.
"Myoran? What happened?"
She who always exuded a fierce, unyielding aura.
Yet tonight, she looked utterly fragile.
"Did you destroy a city or something? What trick did you use to manipulate the girl!"
I bellowed into the empty air.
My eyes sharp with utmost wariness over any continental catastrophe.
Surprisingly, the soul didn't react strongly.
Instead, he paused in thought before replying in a somewhat relaxed tone.
He recalled the experiences he'd shared with Myoran so far.
Then, as if admitting this dreary prison was a decent haven after all, he let out a deep sigh.
"No idea what you mean, but don't fill her head with nonsense from now on. She's only just turned nineteen."
"Achieve true mastery?"
Had she regained all the power for the 'Eternal Night' from that third ending?
I couldn't allow that. My expression grew grave.
'What in this life is driving her toward corruption?'
The Heavenly Jade had expended much power too.
As I reached Myoran's side, he quietly vanished.
Allowing me to focus on her, collapsed in the vegetable patch.
"Myoran, can you recognize me?"
I tried to support her slowly.
But with all strength drained from her body, even slinging her arm over my shoulder was difficult.
"……Cold."
Her faint murmur showed she was all but unconscious.
Looking closer, her clothes were torn.
A deep gash in her side.
Red blood dripped steadily from it.
'She staunched it somehow, but it reopened on the way back.'
She needed proper treatment and bandaging.
No hospital nearby, so I'd handle it.
"Pardon the intrusion."
I pulled her into a firm embrace.
Arms around her slender waist, gripping her full thighs.
She was heavy, certainly.
But not burdensome like before.
With my vastly increased strength, I lifted her effortlessly.
Holding her close, I leaped straight to my private quarters' window.
Scolding her escape could wait.
The northern nights remained cold even in early summer.
Birds fell silent against the chill, insects holding their breath.
Tonight was especially so.
As if a cold-summoning presence had arrived.
"……."
A woman in black cheongsam.
Her waist torn, she walked on impassively.
Toward the distant prison at the foot of the eternal snow mountains.
Red blood trickled down her legs.
Yet the Sword Sage of the East showed no sign of pain.
Her mind was filled only with anxious desire to claim one man.
"Cold."
She'd thought she could have him anytime.
Every man whose eyes met hers had always fallen easily.
But he was different.
Instead, countless women vied for his attention.
Most of higher station than her.
The Princess was akin to an Emperor in the Eastern Continent.
The Saintess held sway like a Demonic Cult Leader.
The Vice Warden was as close as a family steward.
All bore glittering titles, while she had... just this young body.
So she strove harder.
To become overwhelmingly stronger, forging her own uniqueness.
"It's the day the Warden returns. I have to be in my cell."
In the past, she'd trained vaguely to honor her father and junior sisters.
But after their massacre, life held no purpose.
She merely gazed blankly at the full moon.
A place no one could reach.
Where no one lusted after her body or power—she longed to vanish there.
That yearning had brought her to this western land as refuge.
Yet even here, beasts coveting her never ceased.
Perhaps even colder and lonelier than the moon's far side.
Her homeland in the East offered covert aid thanks to her father's fame.
But not here.
Hunters chasing the Eastern Alliance's massive bounty.
Western nobles lost in lewd fantasies of Eastern women.
Nothing but such creatures.
With nowhere to rely, no one to trust, she was crumbling.
Like a cornered rat biting the cat, hatred for the world nearly erupted.
Then...
The first to reach out to her appeared.
The man who'd offered to seal his own hands.
"……."
Finally reaching the prison yard, Myoran let out a wry smile.
She'd seen that man who dared approach her as a mere pervert.
"Gotta get back soon..."
Thinking of him eased her tension.
Her taut mind fogged, unleashing pent-up fatigue all at once.
Thus, Myoran collapsed before the sanctuary of the only one kind to her.
"Before the Warden returns..."
Having absorbed nearly all the Heavenly Jade's power.
She'd unleashed it fully for the first time today.
Wiping out four Walter Group branches and nearly 500 mercenaries.
In the process, Myoran gained even stronger yin energy.
But overusing it would consume her.
To prevent mental collapse, she slipped into sleep.
As she surrendered to the frigid ground in a daze.
Myoran suddenly shuddered, goosebumps rising.
A sudden touch.
Thick, large hands—unmistakably a man's.
"……!!"
Memories of lecherous ex-wardens and sinister men flooded her.
Trauma surging, she nearly slashed the hands away.
But her tensed body melted away.
"Pardon the intrusion."
The enveloping hands were gentle, belying their size.
"Heavy bleeding. Need to staunch it first."
Her body, now curvier from overwhelming yin, worried her—would her weight burden him?
But she wasn't the only one stronger.
The man lifted her lightly, cradling her frontally.
In his reliable strength, she unwittingly wrapped her arms around his broad back.
"Myoran, coming around?"
"……Cold."
In truth, his touch had cleared her mind.
Yet she feigned sleep, silent.
The reasons were simple.
First, fear he'd scold her escape.
Second, his touch now...
Reminded her achingly of her father, who used to hold her till sleep came.
A warmth long forgotten.
Desperately needed by her, who radiated bitter cold.
"Got you to my quarters, but..."
Private quarters.
Those words narrowed Myoran's eyes faintly.
Confirming she'd been laid on the Warden's makeshift bed.
"Starting with staunching."
At "staunching," she closed her eyes again.
Bit her lip, trying to hide her heartbeat.
But.
Her ever-cold heart raced wildly.
Those burly hands that embraced her.
Now sought to lift her thin cheongsam hem.
Even from a trusted man, it triggered horrific trauma.
Her body curled in terror rising from deep within.
Twitching limbs ready to thrash—even against the Warden, she might explode.
As the pent-up chill threatened to burst.
"Myoran, I won't ask why you went out."
Her icy eyes returned to green.
"But remember this."
Someone whispered words she'd longed to hear.
Words evoking her father's warmth.
"You're very important to me."
Even as her soft skin bared secretly, she didn't notice.
What mattered now...
"If anyone threatens you, I'll protect you. So don't suffer alone."
Was her first sincere confession as a woman.
"I'm always ready to help you."
Her pale skin flushed red, filled with chill no more.
Unbelievable heat for the moon's yin maiden.
His touch on her side grew sticky.
Her peach-like scent deepened, filling his room.
"Haa..."
"Bear the pain a bit. Since it reopened, the bandages need to be tighter."
He boldly lifted the cheongsam to her swelling curves.
Smooth, alluring abdomen and ripe underbreasts brushed the air.
Yet she felt no shame.
Hand over mouth, she hid her excited breaths.
"Feels like I'm talking to myself."
The man chuckled wryly.
Then.
He fetched a large shirt from his closet.
"……!!"
His burly hand slipped inside her thin cheongsam.
But she no longer froze like ice.
Having heard his sincerity.
Her body melted like snow, warm and yielding.
Breaths ragged, heart pounding madly.
As the cheongsam finally slipped off.
Her yin-filled body was ready to be tamed by him.
But.
"Better put this on for now."
Unexpectedly, he didn't ravage her roughly.
Instead, he gently dressed her in his shirt.
As if embracing her warmly from behind.
"……."
A shirt vast and comfortable as his broad back.
Clasped in fabric full of his scent, Myoran was laid back on the bed.
Then, she couldn't mask her expression.
Expectations shattered, yet wrapped in protective warmth.
Conflicting emotions churned.
Her pounding heart cooled long ago.
Disappointment at not being taken—she bit her lip.
"……."
How much time passed.
She opened her eyes in the quiet private quarters.
That instant.
Myoran faced the sleeping face of one man, inches away.
Lying together on the same bed.
"Idiot."
His handsome face slept innocently, without lust.
Infuriating, yet she quietly admired it.
'Would he only realize if I devoured him outright?'
Her eyes flashed like a giant cat yokai.
But she sighed, shelving the thought.
Preferring a more romantic first ecstasy.
"……."
As she quelled her excitement silently.
Myoran noticed her body recovering far faster than before.
'What...? He did more than just staunch?'
She glanced at her voluptuous form visible through the loose shirt.
That moment.
The cooled heat surged fiercely again.
"His power, surely..."
She realized his mana flowed within her.
He'd shared his strength for quick recovery.
"Mingling in my body now?"
Face burning hotter, she clamped her lips.
Her eyes opened femininely, unwittingly.
Imparting one's inner energy to another.
A act reserved for family—or closer.
"So you do see me that way."
Long anxious Myoran was certain of victory.
As if receiving marital vows.
"That's agreement."
"You've accepted being with me."
A new dawn approached.
The Warden couldn't imagine the ending drawing near.
Rumors spread: sweet rewards for those who served him.
That bizarre rumor began to circulate.