Chapter 85
There had been a few times before when she had kissed Hailon.
Each time, it had been an act driven by a mischievous urge to torment him.
Most often, she had tied up the resisting Hailon and pressed her lips against his.
Whenever he was kissed, he would glare at her with eyes blazing like blue flames, filled with rage.
The sight of those icy eyes transforming into flames as they fixed on Cheshire was something she never tired of, no matter how many times she saw it.
It was fun, so she kissed him occasionally.
Not often, just every now and then.
But now, she couldn’t understand why she had kissed him.
It had truly been an unconscious action.
She had briefly thought that he seemed a bit angry and wanted to soothe him.
And before she knew it, she was already standing on her tiptoes, their lips touching.
“…!”
She felt the soft, tender touch of his delicate skin against hers.
Hailon’s eyes widened.
She could see every detail: the black pupils embedded in his irises expanding vividly.
His blue eyes, which had been clouded with murky emotions, shook wildly in disarray.
With a smack, an embarrassing sound escaped as their lips parted.
Yet their faces didn’t separate easily.
Neither Hailon nor Cheshire moved away, staring at each other from a distance where they could feel each other’s breath.
It was a sweetly heated breath.
Cheshire felt embarrassed a moment too late.
This was the first time they had kissed in such an atmosphere.
She hastily pulled her head back and said,
“Ah, I just…”
The words didn’t continue to the end.
He roughly yanked his arms, bound by chains.
Her body was pulled forward, enveloped in his broad embrace.
A large hand firmly gripped her waist.
Along with the fierce strength, their lips met once more.
In that instant, she forgot everything.
Cheshire used her free hand to pull Hailon’s nape toward her.
The kiss continued for quite a long time.
Or perhaps it felt very short.
His firm teeth gently bit her lower lip.
As if he, too, intended to leave a mark.
The stinging sensation snapped her faded consciousness back to life.
Cheshire pushed him away.
“…….”
The flowers of the illusory realm spread an overwhelmingly suffocating fragrance.
The broken music box, which had always played only distorted tunes, strangely began to perform a smooth melody.
The toy soldiers that had been marching noisily and the chess pieces floating aimlessly all aligned quietly on the floor.
The doll with its stuffing spilling out became pristine, and the cake that had been smashed on the floor, oozing an unpleasant red liquid, transformed into a pretty three-tiered cake, sparkling.
The chaotic illusory realm grew quiet.
The only things leisurely stirring through the peaceful illusory realm were butterflies scattering light.
Cheshire bit her slightly swollen lips and looked at Hailon.
His eyes, once white and pure, giving off only a cool impression, were now flushed red.
His cheeks were tinged with color.
His lips, like hers, were red and swollen.
It was an appearance unbecoming of a holy knight’s chaste uniform.
And his blue eyes…
“Put me first, Lichesia.”
They were no longer calm.
The lake that had always been serene turned into a stormy sea, surging with turmoil.
Emotions as vast as a tidal wave that could swallow everything whipped around fiercely.
The Chains of Condemnation bound around his forearms trembled finely in response to their master’s emotions.
But Cheshire couldn’t tell if it was the chains trembling.
Or if it was her own.
“You must place me first in all the emotions you feel.”
The demand to put him first was bold.
As if asserting a right that was rightfully his.
“Even if you’ve kissed countless others, hold me as the most special.”
His hand roughly tore at the collar of his uniform.
With a snap, a silver button flew off somewhere.
The skin hidden beneath the white uniform was revealed.
The mark of the temptress was visible on the body sworn to be offered to God.
The mark was glowing bright red.
As if recognizing its master’s owner, it flared up with a red, seductive light.
Displaying the mark left by the temptress for all to see, Hailon whispered,
“No matter what bastards you’ve marked, hold me as the most important.”
The illusory realm, once filled with broken things, became whole.
Yet strangely, the once noble inquisitor had instead become broken.
In the temptress’s illusory realm, beyond the reach of God’s gaze, Hailon revealed his impure darkness.
It was a sticky, dark emotion that even startled Cheshire, who was called a temptress.
“You have to take responsibility for breaking me…”
In that moment, the chains wrapped around her forearm tightened.
They squeezed firmly until she felt a faint pain, and all the while, Hailon never took his eyes off Cheshire.
“I won’t let you end our relationship on a whim.”
She had no intention of ending the relationship at all…
It seemed like misunderstandings were piling up more and more.
But Cheshire didn’t bother telling him the truth.
That was something she needed to say once she escaped this baby’s body.
If she clumsily revealed the facts now, it would only make the situation more complicated.
Instead, she whispered quietly.
“The mark of the prey… No one else has engraved it on me like you did.”
That was the truth.
Engraving each pain into the nerves like that, taking such a long time and care to draw the pattern…
For Cheshire, Hailon was the first and the last.
Before Hailon could react to her words, she summoned the axe again with her unbound hand.
Then she swung the axe and cut the chains.
She severed the Chains of Condemnation that had restrained his arms and leaped back.
The flower that had been holding Itar in its mouth retched and spat him out.
The unconscious Itar plopped down onto the chessboard.
Cheshire lightly stepped onto the pile of flowers and said,
“Throw that bastard in as a heretic, and don’t let him out of the interrogation room until his mental reeducation is complete.”
Her business here was done.
Lingering any longer would only disadvantage Cheshire, who had much to hide.
Cheshire raised the axe high.
She intended to shatter the illusory realm.
“Lichesia!”
The Chains of Condemnation lunged toward Cheshire to capture her.
Cheshire gave Hailon a bright smile.
And immediately swung the axe.
The illusory realm collapsed.
It was the end of a dreamlike illusion.
“Uwaah!”
Cheshire thudded her bottom onto the floor.
“Ouch…”
It hurt properly; her bottom was tingling.
She rubbed it gently with her hand as she stood up.
Then she approached the window.
She dragged a chair over, placed it by the window, and climbed onto the windowsill.
She could see the strange combination of holy knights and mercenaries gathered in front of the mansion.
Armed men suddenly swarming a quiet, upscale residential street.
They really stood out too much.
The holy knights and mercenaries were murmuring among themselves.
Not long after, flower petals and butterflies scattered, and Hailon and Itar appeared in the air.
Cheshire giggled at the pathetic sight of Itar thudding onto the street.
The holy knights rushed toward Hailon.
They must have been shocked that he had suddenly been dragged into the temptress’s illusory realm.
Hailon calmly gave them instructions.
Itar and the mercenaries he had hired were all bound by the holy knights.
Some tried to resist, but it was futile.
With Itar unconscious, they were captured even more easily.
As she watched, snickering, Hailon turned his head.
“…….”
Their gazes met precisely.
Even from afar, it was clear they were looking at each other.
Just as Cheshire, laden with guilt, tried to subtly pull back.
A pure white chain extended with a clatter.
“Eek!”
Cheshire was wrapped in the chain and flew through the air.
And landed in Hailon’s arms.
‘Eek, that startled me!’
Her heart pounded wildly.
Hailon, holding the baby on the verge of fainting from shock, murmured softly,
“You’re easy to catch.”
“…….”
It seemed like, since he couldn’t catch Lichesia with the chains in the illusory realm, he was trying it on Cheshire instead.
It was at that moment, as she stared at him with an incredulous expression.
The mansion’s door opened.
“Hey, mister. Stop bothering our baby.”
Karha, emerging from inside as if it were his own home, said slantingly.
“Come in and have a cup of tea?”
