Episode 9
“Jarer…….”
The moment I, terrified, instinctively tried to call his name, he let out a beast-like, fierce breath and greedily swallowed my lips.
It was a frantic kiss, so hurried that our teeth clashed and my lips felt like they might tear.
As saliva spread, the metallic taste of blood swirled on the tip of my tongue. But I was gasping, unable to even register the pain.
“ughhh, mm…!”
His thick tongue rubbed against the space between my lips and clenched teeth. When they wouldn’t open fully, he pressed under my jaw, forcing them apart.
His tongue slipped through the small gap and proceeded to ravage my entire mouth.
He licked over my stiffened tongue and began tangling his wet flesh with mine in a sticky mess. I couldn’t gather my senses under the increasingly intense kiss.
Saliva pooled in my mouth and gulped down my throat in swallows; each time my throat constricted, the sharp tip of his tongue plunged deep, making me feel the tightness.
“Ubp, uueuk, euk, Jare…, d! Ah……!”
With the sensation of my breath being choked off, I frowned deeply and tried to shake my head, but Jared clung to me desperately, like a man in a drought encountering life-giving rain.
Jared seemed intent on sucking out even my very breath.
The sound of him seizing my lower lip with his teeth and sucking on it chuu chuu spread starkly through the dim space. The surprisingly loud sound made me dizzy.
Frantically, I pushed my tongue out, sliding it between his lips. His mouth, which had been fixed on my lower lip, opened, and the sucking sounds ceased.
But I could do nothing about the thick, sticky sounds of our flesh tangling.
“Haa, ha…”
The more he touched me, the more my body began to heat up.
This was truly troublesome. Even if I tried to grit my teeth and bear it, it felt like I was being forcibly pulled along.
Sensations dormant for three years began to stir at the familiar stimulation. As if they had met their master.
I could feel heat from his lower body, pressed tightly against mine.
“Jared… stop.”
I whispered desperately, just loud enough for him to hear.
But, having lost his reason, he wouldn’t listen and instead pushed his thumb into my mouth. He pulled at the corner of my mouth and pressed firmly on the soft inside of my cheek, even prodding with his tongue.
Saliva dribbled out from the overstuffed corner of my mouth.
While an excitement I couldn’t possibly ignore surged, I grew tense at the thought of Arpina witnessing this state.
Jared, as if still thirsty no matter how much he touched, grew more frantic, rough and wild in his desperation. He sank his teeth into the corner of my mouth and my cheek at the same time.
“Ah, it hu…rts. It hurts, Jared.”
When I spoke as if sobbing, Jared let out a long, rough breath. He retracted his embedded teeth and, pursing his lips, began to softly kiss various places on my face.
I took advantage of his momentary calm to tightly wrap my arms around his neck. I let my hands slide down, stroking his trembling back.
“It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere.”
It was something I often said to calm him down.
It wasn’t intentional, but the words just escaped. As if my words were a lie, Jared’s body began to relax.
His eyelids drooped as if about to close, and then his head fell heavily onto my shoulder.
“Ugh.”
The unconscious boulder of a man crushed me beneath him.
“Young Master, how are you feeling? Can you move?”
The next day, the stabilized Jared regained consciousness. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he drained a glass of water and held his throbbing head.
Hiding among the gathered crowd, I secretly stole glances at Jared. His lips were busted. Everyone seemed to think Arpina had performed the mucous purification.
“How long was I out?”
“You were asleep for a full day. It’s fortunate that Lady Audrianna acted so quickly.”
“Arpina did?”
He furrowed his brow and looked up, searching for Arpina. She, who happened to be in his bedroom, approached.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“You ignored me when I was begging and pleading. Purifying me when I’m out of my mind is cheating.”
“You were in a very critical state. I’m just glad my efforts paid off.”
“Since you’re putting in the effort. Why not try a little more? My head still hurts.”
Arpina gave a weak laugh and lightly placed her hands over his large one.
“You must be fine if you’re joking.”
Jared, who had glanced down at his hand, let out a soft chuckle.
“I guess I have to be like this to win the Princess’s heart. Maybe going on a rampage occasionally isn’t so bad.”
The curtains I had drawn during the night were now wide open.
It seemed it had rained a little last night, as the scent of wet grass wafted in through the windows.
The sky after the rain clouds had cleared was unusually bright and clear. Light, imbued with the scenery, seeped into the bedroom, illuminating Jared and Arpina.
Even the gazes watching them were warm. It was as if they were looking at a perfectly matched pair, their eyes seeming to believe that a couple who would soon set the Empire abuzz had been born.
I hid behind the long shadows of the people, then picked up my heavy travel bag.
I should leave quickly while everyone is distracted.
I hoped no one would notice my presence in this mansion.
Just as I was quietly stepping back, Jared’s head moved. His eyes found me precisely through the crowd and stared.
Gasp. I turned my back immediately, like a fugitive.
Our eyes had met, but only for an instant, less than a second.
“What?! The carriage left?!”
The strap of my bag slipped powerlessly from my shoulder.
“It left early this morning, taking all the purifiers. Didn’t you hear?”
“Even though Arpina is still here?”
“Lady Audrianna probably has her own carriage. Or perhaps the Young Master will take her himself.”
The steward shrugged his shoulders as if to say ‘worrying about everything’. He left me standing there, stunned, and began sweeping the floor with a long broom.
‘That’s right… I’m only 4th rank, so I wasn’t even on the call list…’
The Castion Ducal residence was in the middle of a vast plain. The extensive natural gardens themselves were the private property of the ducal family.
It was land where one couldn’t just come and go, like the gates of a territory, so I couldn’t even call a hired carriage. To get to a place where I could hire a carriage, I needed to take another carriage to get there.
This is a disaster.
“How long would it take to walk to the nearest market from here?”
“If you follow this road straight, it’ll take about four hours.”
“Ah. Four hours.”
The scorching sun beating down made me feel like my whole body would melt. Having to walk for four hours in this weather…
Any other time, I might have gritted my teeth and mustered a ‘let’s do this’ spirit, but today was really not the day.
Having purified all night, I had no strength, and it was a miracle I was even standing. On top of that, I was on an empty stomach.
I wished it were all a dream, but when I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them, nothing had changed.
“I think I’ll collapse on the way.”
Hoo, even my exhaled breath felt heavy.
Just then, the sound of hooves was heard, and a carriage stopped in front of me. It bore the imprint of the Audrianna family.
“Luiche? What are you still doing here?”
“Arpina…”
I gripped my bag strap with both hands and looked at her with a pleading gaze.
“Don’t tell me you missed the carriage?”
“Yes. I was with you next to Duke Castion the whole time, so I didn’t hear they had left.”
“Oh dear, Luiche.”
Arpina furrowed her brows as if feeling sorry for me.
“But what to do… My carriage is also too full of luggage, I can’t take anyone else.”
Arpina shifted slightly to the side so I could see inside. It was truly piled high with boxes, likely gifts from the Castion Ducal family.
“And I can’t have a lady sit next to the coachman either. Sorry about this.”
“No, I can sit…”
“Here, have this. Then, call a carriage and come back carefully, Luiche.”
Arpina reached her white arm out the window and dropped a single gold coin. It was more than enough to call a hired carriage.
I reflexively caught the gold coin with both hands. Arpina’s carriage rolled away, disappearing into the distance before I could even try to stop it.
I stared blankly after it.
“The problem isn’t the money right now…”
I let out deep sigh after sigh. She probably wouldn’t understand the circumstance of a noble lady not being able to call a hired carriage.
One way or another, there was only one answer left. Just as I was wiping my dry face with my hand and adjusting my bag—
Thud. Someone grabbed my bag from behind.
Startled, I turned around—.
‘…No way.’
I had run into the person I least wanted to see, yet again.
