Episode 69: The House On The Plateau Where Time Stood Still (2)
Was it because she lost Fen and felt depressed? The gravestones she was facing seemed too cold.
Muriel brushed off the snow piled on the gravestones with her hand and wrapped the blanket she had around her shoulders on it.
It was a pointless gesture since the snow kept falling, but her body moved on its own accord.
As she turned around to get another blanket, she found Kaiton staring at her with a frightening expression.
“That…!”
Muriel took a step back without realizing it, intimidated by Kaiton’s terrifying approach. Then, before she could male an excuse even though she hadn’t done anything wrong, he sealed her lips shut. With his own lips!
“Kaiton!”
As Muriel pushed him away with a scream, Kaiton grabbed her waist again and forcefully pressed his lips against hers.
Huh…
Muriel seemed to melt when the hot lips, radiating heat, moved and rubbed as if they were going to devour her lips.She wasn’t saying it was because she liked it, but really, it literally felt like it. As the warmth of someone else’s body temperature touched her frozen body, she felt herself just melting away. In fact, her legs were already weak and she should have slumped to the ground, but she was being held up by Kaiton’s grip on her waist.
Snap.
Sharp teeth bit into her lips.
Just a moment ago, he rushed forward as if to devour her, gnawing, sucking, and licking her lips in a frenzy. But this time, he bit down with all his might, as if he was going to really chew up Muriel’s lips.
The metallic smell of blood.
Muriel opened her eyes, exhaling a white breath. His cold, piercing eyes were staring at her. Muriel couldn’t understand what his eyes were saying. She could see things overflowing inside him that could no longer be contained, but she couldn’t tell if it was affection or a desire for destruction.
Perhaps Kaiton felt the same way. He tenaciously kept his teeth on her lips as if he would tear them apart, but he didn’t release his arms that tightly held her waist.
Oh, my…
The heat carried out by the long breath continued to fill without a moment’s respite.
Even on a cold day with a snowstorm blowing, only intense heat poured between the two. The white and stark stillness filled her field of vision, so Muriel averted her gaze. The flickering white breath strangely stimulated her imagination. Suddenly, she knew what kind of expression she was making even if her lips were being ripped off. She kept her eyes tightly shut.
“Why… haah.. haah… What is it…? Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“Don’t mess with my heart as you please.”
Flash.
Blink. Blink.
“What… did you say?”
“I’m just returning the favor. You should try it too.”
Ha…!
He kissed her for such a ridiculous reason?
Muriel scoffed in disbelief and was about to say something, but Kaiton, already over with the conversation, traced his finger over the wounds he had created on purpose. While it was his own doing, he seemed unsatisfied with the blemish and swept her lips as if to smooth them out.
“Think about it all night. What this means.”
Then, before she could retort with anything, he kissed her again. Unlike the previous rushed approach, this time, he was gentle and cautious. Muriel couldn’t push him away because his gesture of carefully dipping his lips over her wound felt like an apology.
Even though he knew it didn’t hurt at all…
The kiss quickly deepened again.
As if the freezing cold of the plateau would not let the two people get closer by squeezing in between them, Kaiton tightly embraced Muriel’s body between hot breaths.
To think the person who always had a cold and distant expression was now kissing her like this. Kaiton’s unexpected movements kept fueling Muriel’s passion. Just the sensation of his lips and tongue, which made her feel the warmth of human flesh and blood, brushing against her sensitive skin, was enough to drive her crazy, but he didn’t keep his hands still either.
Muriel always thought Kaiton’ straight and long fingers were beautiful.
Although the joints were thick and the nails were neat, she secretly thought there was something strangely provocative about them, perhaps due to the pale skin tone. When those fingers tangled in her hair, Muriel wanted to scream. Her scalp tingled, and all the nerves over her body seemed to be tense; she became hypersensitive to everything.
Muriel became more and more absorbed in the kiss. She tiptoed and raised her head, leaning completely against Kaiton. Then, as if he’d been provoked, Kaiton’s kisses became more urgent and intense. Muriel was so overwhelmed by Kaiton’s kiss that she was gradually pushed back until the wall touched her back.
“Ah…!”
Kaiton lifted Muriel’s thigh and wrapped her leg around his waist. Their bodies pressed even closer, and their eye levels aligned.
Haah… Haah… Haah…
Finally, the teasing flesh of his lips that had been building up stimulation lifted off her, but Muriel still trembled at her waist.
It was because his black eyes, revealing desire, were slowly scanning her body.
She was tense. Her mouth quickly dried up, and her skin felt cold.
Every time his gaze touched her, her breath hitched, and a ticklish sensation spread across her skin.
Actually, it felt like he was touching her body with invisible hands.
The hot breaths of the two people filled the silence.
Her heart was pounding.
Perhaps due to the lingering heat that enveloped her body, the gaze that touched her cheek felt refreshingly cool.
Kaiton’s hand moved slowly.
Her body, which had relaxed, tensed up again as his body temperature slowly and lazily caressed her leg.
“Huah…!”
As he brushed past her knee and swept up her thigh, her trembling breath leaked out.
Kaiton was watching with his eyes wide open… How embarrassing…
Startled, she quickly covered her mouth, and Kaiton gently removed Muriel’s hand, pressing his forehead against hers.
“Shh…”
“…T-That, stop!”
“Are you nervous? What did you think I was going to do?”
“Now… enough! It’s become messy enough.”
Muriel squirmed and quickly fled as soon as Kaiton’s hand let go.
Her head was spinning.
She tried to erase it from her mind, but she couldn’t because of the vivid touches left all over her body. Kaiton’s movements, which had captivated Muriel, continued to replay in her mind, and tormented her.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Fenrir appeared in front of Muriel when night fell.
When Muriel saw his sleek, snowy fur, she ran up to him and hugged him tightly.
But something was different. Fenrir always had a cool body temperature, as if hugging a fluffy snowman. But now, he felt hot, as if she was hugging a burning ember.
“This is cheap.”
“…”
“If you’re going to do this, try crying like Fen.”
“…”
“Kaiton.”
It was obvious to Muriel that this white creature, who appeared as Fenrir in front of the fireplace, was Kaiton.
“You’re not teasing… What is this about?”
“…”
She knew it wasn’t malicious. She also knew that it was either an awkward attempt to see her face or a clumsy attempt to comfort her. Still, her words came out twisted, perhaps because she had momentarily believed that Fenrir had truly returned, only to be disappointed.
“Do you not think that I would be happy thinking the real Fenrir had come, only to be disappointed?”
I knew it wasn’t malicious. I also knew that the intention was either embarrassing to see the face or a clumsy attempt to comfort. Still, I thought the real pen was back for a moment, but maybe because I was disappointed, the words came out crookedly.
“Don’t you think you’ll be disappointed if you like a pen?”
“…”
“Are you actually doing this to stir up my guilt?”
The eyes of the white fur bundle were starting to waver. Maybe it was because she knew it was Kaiton, but his expression was the same as a person. It was even more expressive than the real Kaiton. He seemed flustered and nervous, as if he’d made a mistake, and seemed to be thinking about when to transform again.
“Why would you kiss me if you can’t even look at my face?”
“…”
“You’re despicable. Cowardly. You’re so stupid.”
“…”
The bundle of fur folded its ears and tucked its tail as if ready to whimper.
Was he doing that on purpose too? Trying to appear cute to divert attention…?
If that was the case, it was amusing. To imagine Kaiton whimpering with his ears folded, it was a sight beyond belief.
“Ugh, you idiot…”
Muriel sighed and stroked his fur still. The touch was really the same as Fen. It was only slightly warmer in body temperature.
“Just be Fen for today, then.”
“…”
“Since you’re really Fen today, remember everything that happens today as something that happened only with Fen. Got it? Don’t bring it up later. Understand?”
“…”
Muriel tightly embraced the white furball who was looking at her calmly just like Fen.
“Sorry, Fen.”
“…”
“I was so scared because I thought I wouldn’t see you again…”
“…”
“Don’t go anywhere now. You have to stay by my side. All right?”
Muriel fell asleep in Fen’s embrace. The soft and warm fur bundle stayed by Muriel’s side even when she woke up. It didn’t playfully dig into her embrace like before, but it quietly offered its face to Muriel’s touch. So Muriel decided to pretend not to notice a little more. She missed the white, fluffy furball.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Muriel rode on Fen’s back to the town in the plateau where black wizards were gathered.
Although it was still snowing, the blizzard wasn’t as severe as the day before when she couldn’t see anything.
“Hello. I’d like to meet the leader here!”
As soon as Muriel spotted a woman walking briskly, wearing a thin robe, she quickly jumped off Fen’s back and ran towards her. Seeing her thin attire in this weather, it was evident that she knew how to use magic. She also had three books in her hands.
The person Muriel encountered was Debbie Calliger, a skilled young wizard who was 20 years old, recognized as a talent even within the plateau. She usually locked herself in her room, engrossed in her research, rarely coming outside. But this time, she had come out because she had won a bet against her colleague and was collecting her winnings.
“Oh, a clueless newcomer, huh? The leader of the plateau? It’s every man for himself out here.”
Debbie murmured cheekily, unaware of what a terrible encounter she’d had due to coincidence.
“Is there no wizard group here? If possible, I would like to meet many people at once.”
“You… you’re hiding your face with magic. It’s a bit suspicious, isn’t it? You’re not from the kingdom, are you?”
She recognized the disguise magic Kaiton had cast!
Muriel’s eyes sparkled like a hyena that had found its prey. She sweetly spoke in a softer voice.
“You look young, but your skills seem quite impressive.”
Debbie was young in age, but his face was young too. He had a small, round head and a cute, elf-like appearance. Perhaps due to his lack of physical activity, he had a bit of a belly, but it was only adorable, and his limbs were still slender.
“Huh? It’s not just impressive, even this is possible!”
Debbie, who enjoyed showing off her skills and went crazy over bets, took off the robe she was wearing and laid it on the ground. She took out a piece of paper and started drawing a magic circle. With getting snow in her eyes, she grumbled about how her precious books would get all wet whenever she drew outdoors.
“Disenchantment spell.”
Considering how hastily she drew it outside, the magic circle was pretty neat.
Muriel nodded in approval.
Muriel, once again confirming the impressive skills she coveted, looked at Fen standing beside her. It was still the same.
“You…! You’re Muriel Storm!”
Muriel, who was worried Debbie might have failed, smiled smugly when she got up and pointed a finger at her. But when Debbie got angry, she quickly changed her expression and smiled again.
“Ahaha… I guess the rumour has spread all the way to the highlands? Nice to meet you.”
“Why are you here? Get the hell out. How will you take responsibility if Sharan brings the knights here because of you?!”
“Well, that can be resolved if you cast the disguise magic on me again. Is that possible?”
At this point, Debbie Calliger made the second mistake of her life. The first was coming out of her house on the same day Muriel happened to come to the plateau, and the second was proving her competence to Muriel with her own hands. Unaware of the future where she would work tirelessly as Muriel’s diligent worker due to these two fatal mistakes, Debbie quickly drew a magic circle, sweating profusely, and threw it on the notorious wanted woman.
Once again, her skill was neat and quick.
“Alright, done? Get out of here!”
“You’re very skilled. Very impressive.”
Debbie belatedly felt a pang of regret as he saw Muriel’s overly fresh smile, but it was already too late.
“Would you like to work with me?”
Hottest chapter omg??? Kaiton really wtf shskdslfbw WHAT WHAT
