Chapter 13. Qualification to Kiss
“I tried to endure without using mana no matter what…”
It didn’t go as planned. Demon already knew there was no other way but to release his mana. In order to drive out the one who had taken control of Elise’s mind.
Her long, shining hair, held beneath his arm, was scattered across the bed in all directions, while her upper body rose and fell steadily. Her finely drawn eyebrows, straight nose, and sweet-scented red lips—all exactly as he knew them. Her slender waist that could be held in one hand, and her neatly extended long limbs—all unchanged. Only her black eyes were different.
But soon, she might begin to struggle. He would have to use a considerable amount of his mana, but that didn’t matter now. If possible, he didn’t want Elise to be hurt. However, there was no other way to expel the dark magic.
“When she regains consciousness… her body will be in ruins.”
Even so, in the end, Demon had to release his powerful mana. He could no longer stand by and watch the one using Elise’s body tear open the front of her clothing beneath his hand.
“Gaaah! S-stop!”
Watching the dark mage scream through her mouth was painful and unbearable. Even though he knew that it wasn’t Elise who was suffering, he wished he could take her pain instead. Calling Elise inwardly, begging her to hold on, there was nothing he could do but release his mana.
At that moment—
“De…mon…”
Her eye color returned to normal. Driven to extreme pain, the dark mage controlling Elise used her as a shield in a final act of desperation.
“Ki…kiss…”
The moment he saw her eyes, he nearly let go of her hands and pulled her into an embrace to kiss her. The one who pleaded not for rescue, but for a kiss—that was the real Elise. Realizing this, Demon’s blood ran cold. He had to immediately expel such a cruel and cunning being from Elise’s body. Capturing the intruder could come afterward.
“Kyahhhhhhh!”
With the final release of mana, the entity within Elise was finally expelled, and she collapsed, her body falling limp beneath Demon. Instantly, Demon pulled her tightly into his arms.
“De…mon…”
With a fading voice, Elise, her eyes closed, was searching for him.
“It… hurts…”
“…Elise-nim…”
Demon stood beside her, looking at her with agonized eyes. His gaze was filled with worry for Elise, affection, longing, and guilt all mixed together. The past two days had felt like the longest time in his life.
It had been two days since the dark mage was expelled from Elise’s body. During that time, Elise had been unconscious, as if dead. Demon could now truly understand how cruel those two days had been. He came to respect all those who had experienced the pain of losing someone.
The moment she collapsed two days ago, Demon had called doctors and healers to ease her suffering. Her entire body had been torn and covered in wounds from the overwhelming flow of mana. Her beautiful face—known as the most lovely in the empire—along with her shoulders, arms, and legs, were marked with countless cuts as if slashed by a blade. Even her soft, red lips were cracked and torn.
Physical treatment had its limits. Greater healing power was needed. In fact, when Demon realized that the curse on Elise was dark magic, he had already sought help in advance. Anticipating that he would have to release his mana to expel the dark mage, he had requested the empire’s greatest priest to come to the grand ducal estate.
Priests who served the gods possessed divine healing power. The problem was time. The Holy Nation, where the followers of the gods resided, was very far from the grand ducal estate. They had to buy time until the priest arrived so that Elise could endure.
As before, a kiss might provide a weak healing effect. But—
“Do I even have the right… to kiss her?”
That thought tormented him endlessly.
When he last released his mana, Elise’s eyes had returned as well. That meant her consciousness had been present there alongside the dark mage. So she must have witnessed and endured all that pain and situation. And yet, Demon had attacked.
“Do I truly have the right to embrace and kiss her… after causing her such unbearable pain?”
While he was lost in anguish, all necessary measures were completed, and the doctors, healers, and attendants left the guest room. At that moment—
“Please… kiss me… Demon.”
Once again, her desperate words were heard. She continued speaking without even opening her eyes.
“I… will allow it.”
Even within the pain he had forced upon her, she was reaching out to him.
“So that… I can escape… even a little… from this pain.”
Kiss me.
At those words, Demon couldn’t hold back and pressed his lips onto hers.
“Ugh…”
Her body was in such pain that it could barely accept his kiss, and a faint groan escaped her lips. Startled, Demon quickly pulled away. Then, more gently, he covered her lips again with his own.
Even as he softly brushed over her wounded lips, her body flinched at the sting. He continued kissing the sharp wounds on her face—beside her closed eyes, across her pale, soft cheeks, over her rounded forehead, down to her chin.
Smack, soft kiss, gentle press.
With his eyes open, he carefully gauged her pain through her expression, kissing her as gently and attentively as possible. The faint sounds of his lips meeting her injured skin filled the room.
Elise, at once in pain and in a strange, hazy sensation that dulled her mind, slowly began to feel a subtle ease in her expression. Though her body was only freed from a portion of the pain, sleep began to overwhelm her again.
Hearing her calmer breathing, Demon realized she had fallen asleep.
“Elise…”
She did not respond.
Demon couldn’t even bring himself to apologize. Asking for her forgiveness was beyond his reach. Now, whatever he did, he feared it might cause her even the slightest harm.
At that moment, a knock sounded.
“The priest has arrived.”
Demon stopped kissing her wounds and quickly opened the guest room door.
“Welcome, Mikael!”
At the door stood a tall, handsome man with light brown hair, wearing a white priest’s robe. With glasses on, he looked intellectual, yet pure and honest like a true priest.
Overjoyed, Demon immediately embraced his childhood friend.
“Thank you for coming such a long way.”
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Let’s save the reunion for later. Come quickly.”
Demon led Mikael to Elise’s side. On the bed lay a woman as beautiful as a goddess descended from the heavens, yet covered in wounds as though she had endured a war. Her shallow, labored breathing and pale complexion made it clear she was on the brink of life.
“She’s in critical condition. I’ll begin healing first.”
Mikael could now understand why his friend had been so desperate. The woman before him was someone deeply precious to Demon, yet she appeared to be on the verge of death.
He focused his hands toward her, and a bright light poured from his palms. The wounds on Elise’s body began to disappear one by one as if by magic.
“…Ah…”
A warm, comforting sensation spread through her body, and the pain that had stiffened Elise’s body began to loosen.
“…Who… is it?”
Demon? Is it you?
Even while hovering between life and death, Elise found herself searching only for Demon. She was surprised at herself for longing for him so deeply.
While lying motionless with her eyes closed, she kept thinking about his vivid red eyes, his warm embrace and voice, his broad chest and strong arms. She felt that if she could just touch him, she would be saved from this unbearable pain.
If she could move, she would have clung tightly to him and buried herself in his arms.
Even in the moment when the dark mage controlled her body and mind, Elise had been able to see and feel everything. She knew how worried and guilty Demon was—and how much he desired her.
‘It felt… like he wanted me.’
Could it be… that he felt the same?
Even as she hovered on the edge of death for two days, what she most wanted was to confirm Demon’s feelings. Even if she died, she wanted to ask him. Though their time together had been short, she wanted to ask whether he liked her.
And she wanted to tell him—
That she… liked him that much.
And ask him—
If it would be okay… even if she wasn’t Elise.
Roan had not been in his right mind for the past two days. If not for Psyche, he would have gone to the grand ducal estate countless times.
Fortunately, Elise was still alive. Most of the curse within her body had been expelled by Demon. Once the remaining cost of the curse was dealt with, she could be completely freed.
But—
‘Her life is in danger…’
Her body had been unable to withstand the mana and had been severely damaged in the process. The latest report stated that the empire’s greatest priest had been summoned to save her.
‘If, by any chance—no, that must not happen. But if Elise were to lose her life…’
“I will kill him.”
If he lost her, he would use all his power to destroy Demon. The one who took her from his arms, personally drove her into suffering, and ultimately led her to death—he could never forgive such a person.
Roan had spent two days consumed by madness, experiencing the greatest rage and despair of his life. He couldn’t sleep at night, broke things, and demanded food repeatedly. Because of him, the palace had been in chaos, and Psyche had been staying by his side constantly.
“Haah…”
Psyche rubbed her aching head.
“Have there been any reports from the grand ducal estate yet?”
She asked a maid nearby.
Roan’s continued stability depended entirely on news of Elise’s recovery.
“I’ve learned something while speaking with the Empress…”
Psyche recalled one of Roan’s most difficult questions from the past two days.
“How do you know all of this, Empress?”
At that moment, Roan’s blue eyes had seemed like a deep abyss filled with madness.
“…Your Majesty.”
“I have spent my entire life being educated, trained, and striving to become Empress.”
“…And?”
“During that time, I constantly sought answers about what I could do for the empire and for Your Majesty.”
“And?”
“I found those answers through reading.”
“…So you’re saying everything you know and your ability to respond wisely comes from books?”
“That is correct. I have read nearly all the books in the imperial library.”
That was true—but also not entirely. Psyche had lied because it was necessary at that moment.
“Ha! You mock me. You simply cannot tell me the truth.”
For a moment, Psyche flinched. The emperor she both loved and feared sometimes had an uncanny intuition.
Still—
“One thing I’ve realized through our recent conversations…”
Roan continued,
“…is that your feelings toward me are warm.”
For once, he had said something correct.
“So please do not harm my Elise.”
…Well, that was more like it.
Psyche sighed internally, realizing once again that she still had a long way to go.
