Chapter 113
That day, Lichesia was playing in a flower field deep within a secluded forest.
Under the pouring, bright sunlight, she was lazily spending her time rolling around on the flowers.
Until an intruder suddenly appeared in the peaceful flower field.
Hailon’s state as he appeared, dripping blood, was utterly wretched.
It was enough to dye the small wildflowers that bloomed in clusters a vivid red with blood.
At first, she thought it was someone else’s blood.
He wasn’t the type to get beaten up somewhere and come back like this.
But no.
It was all Hailon’s blood.
“You… what, what’s wrong? Why are you hurt like this?”
She asked in surprise, and then something caught her eye.
A bracelet she hadn’t seen before was fastened around his wrist.
A pure white bracelet overflowing with sacred energy.
She knew it the moment she saw it.
It was a holy relic from the Hilderd Holy Empire.
Sensing her gaze, Hailon extended his wrist to make it clearly visible.
The bracelet shone unusually white against his blood-smeared wrist.
“…I want to die.”
Hailon whispered faintly.
“But now I can’t even die as I please.”
A body offered to the gods.
A contract of ownership sealed with a holy relic.
Hailon’s flesh was no longer his own.
Because it belonged to the Holy Empire, he couldn’t take his own life.
That’s why Hailon had come to Lichesia.
“You’re the only one who can kill me…”
He staggered, and midway through his words, his body swayed violently.
Startled, she caught Hailon as he collapsed.
Hailon leaned his entire body against Lichesia.
He was breathing heavily.
It seemed he had reached his limit from losing so much blood.
What on earth had happened?
Hailon had always been indifferent in everything.
He acted as if he had no emotions, so there was no way he’d want to die just because his body was bound to the Holy Empire.
For someone like Hailon to say he wanted to die, what kind of event could it be?
She couldn’t even imagine it.
As she tried to guess what had happened, anger suddenly surged within her.
She had thought she was the only one who could torment Hailon.
She had believed he would chase after her forever.
But now, after getting into some strange mess somewhere, he was pathetically asking her to kill him, and that made her furious.
She absolutely hated the idea of him giving up even on pursuing her and trying to die.
She wasn’t sure exactly why…
But it seemed she disliked the fact that something more important than her had appeared in Hailon’s life.
Her grip tightened on him.
As she clutched his uniform until it wrinkled, Hailon trembled lightly.
Then, he slowly reached out his hand.
His slender, convulsing hand hesitated before embracing Lichesia in return.
The moment they fully held each other.
Hailon suddenly squeezed with all his might.
He held her so tightly that it was hard to breathe.
He rubbed his face against the nape of her neck.
His clinging gestures were desperate and pitiful…
And infinitely weak.
He meekly entrusted everything to her.
Right now, she could kill him just as Hailon wanted.
Held in the arms of the man who had offered his life to her, Lichesia thought.
But she didn’t want to kill him.
“No.”
She cupped Hailon’s cheeks with both hands.
His blue eyes, darkened and shadowed, trembled finely.
She wanted to stir up the rippling surface.
She wanted to make waves crash and tsunamis rise.
Looking into his eyes, she whispered.
“You saved me when I asked you to kill me, too.”
Hailon had arbitrarily extended the life of the young Lichesia, who no longer wanted to live.
So, Lichesia intended to act arbitrarily as well.
She pushed him away.
Hailon, covered in wounds, couldn’t withstand the force and staggered, collapsing onto the flower field.
Petals fluttered up softly.
Amid the gently spread wildflowers, mismatched thorny vines slithered out stealthily.
The thorny vines firmly restrained Hailon’s body.
She smiled in satisfaction as she looked down at Hailon, bound tightly by the thorns and flowers.
Then, she climbed atop his body.
“…!”
Hailon contorted his face.
He struggled belatedly, but subduing the weakened Hailon was all too easy.
Lichesia smiled brightly and tore at his clothes.
It felt refreshing to rip open the uniform that he always buttoned up tightly to the collar, covering his entire body.
Beyond the wide-open fabric, his straight collarbone and chest were revealed.
“Lichesia!”
Hailon shouted her name in a cracked voice.
The cry mixed with anger and bewilderment sounded quite pleasing.
Since he kept resisting, she tightened the thorny vines, and he became docile, letting out a pained groan.
Lichesia giggled as she slid her fingers over his clean skin.
Where should she engrave it?
It would be good to leave it somewhere not easily visible to others, but where Hailon could see it every day.
After pondering the spot for a moment, she pressed firmly above his collarbone.
“I’m going to leave a mark here.”
Hailon’s eyes widened.
Ignoring that, she slowly slid her finger.
A red line was drawn along the languid movement.
A floral pattern bloomed beneath her finger.
It was the mark a seductress leaves on her prey.
The body she was pinning down trembled finely.
“Urgh…!”
A suppressed groan escaped through his tightly clenched teeth.
Normally, she would leave the mark with a light touch, without the person even noticing.
But this time was different.
Lichesia poured her power in with care, making sure he felt sufficient pain.
More painful than any wounds or agony someone else might have inflicted on Hailon, so that it would never be forgotten from his memory…
Hailon suffered so much that veins bulged in his neck.
Yet, she didn’t stop engraving the mark, and in the end, she left the seductress’s pattern on the chaste holy knight’s body.
She lightly brushed the eerily blooming red floral pattern with her fingertip.
“You’re my prey, Hailon.”
The sight of Hailon, his face flushed red as he panted for breath, was delightful.
His eyes were filled solely with her.
Unable to think of death, they burned fiercely blue with emotions directed only at Lichesia.
The anger aimed solely at her was truly satisfying.
The seductress looked down at the holy knight and arrogantly commanded.
“So don’t die carelessly.”
After engraving the prey’s mark on Hailon and commanding him not to die.
Their relationship changed a little.
He had been obsessive before, but after the mark was engraved, he chased after the seductress like a truly madman.
When she heard the news that he, having received the holy relic, had risen to the position of inquisitor, she thought he would erase her mark now.
But Hailon had kept the mark intact until now.
He had preserved the link between him and Lichesia completely.
‘Somehow, it’s embarrassing.’
Was it because she had recalled such an old memory?
Chesha couldn’t bring herself to push away Hailon, who was holding her.
She felt strangely concerned.
But if they stayed like this, her heart would pound so hard it might burst.
After hesitating, she placed her hand on his forearm and gently turned to look back.
Only then did Hailon slowly lift his face from where it was buried in the nape of her neck.
“…”
His direct gaze was tinged with heat.
His blue eyes met Chesha’s steadily, then slowly drifted downward.
He stared intently at Chesha’s lips.
Chesha’s cheeks flushed red.
It was because the memory of their kiss in the illusion came to mind.
Her mouth felt dry, and unconsciously, she licked her upper lip slightly with her tongue.
At that, Hailon furrowed his brow a little.
For some reason, he let out a small sigh.
The exhaled breath tickled.
Just as Hailon slowly tilted his head toward Chesha.
“We’ll search the surroundings first.”
“Yes, then we’ll join the search as well.”
The sound of the holy knights heading outside was heard.
The heavy thud of the door closing shattered the tense air between the two.
Chesha immediately pushed Hailon away and summoned her axe to cut the chains around her ankles.
Clang, the chains shattered into pieces, but Hailon didn’t seem to care much.
In truth, Chesha was at a disadvantage in many ways.
This was the heart of the Holy Empire.
With sacred power dwelling everywhere, it was overwhelmingly advantageous for Hailon.
But unlike Chesha, who was preparing to fight, Hailon just stood still.
He examined Chesha with unfamiliar eyes and suddenly said.
“…The crown would suit you well.”
The elaborate dress certainly matched the fairy queen’s crown as if it were made for it.
Embarrassed by the compliment, Chesha fiddled with her hem and asked.
“Why did you hide me? I thought you’d drag me straight to the inquisition room.”
“Because I can’t trust the Holy Empire.”
Hailon scanned Chesha calmly and then said coldly.
“Don’t tell me you were captured…”
“No.”
With her seductress pride, how could she look like she’d been caught by a holy knight? She almost snapped in irritation but held back.
“The reason I came here is.”
Chesha opened her mouth confidently but faltered.
“So, the reason I came is…”
She had nothing to say.
No matter what she said, the situation was strange.
But the blue eyes staring directly at her wouldn’t back down until they heard an answer.
Trapped in that persistent gaze, Chesha broke out in a cold sweat.
Then, without realizing it, she blurted out something odd.
“I came to see you.”
