“But… ugh!”

Another forced penetration followed. The large, rigid object with its blunt head parted the folds of her womb and slid in to its limit. Though not fully inserted, it was deep enough to begin a back-and-forth motion.

“Hnng, t-too, ungh! Hnngh… ng.”

“High Priest Shahan? W-what’s that sound? High Priest! I know you’re in there!”

BANG BANG!

Increasingly violent knocking pounded against the wooden door.

Shahan thoroughly ignored the commotion outside, continuing to kiss the anxious JeJe while slowly moving his hips.

“Sha, ah, haang, you should, go, hnng, ah, aah!”

Each time unnecessary words escaped JeJe’s lips, the force applied to her hips intensified. She curled her toes tightly, trying to suppress her emerging moans.

“High Priest. It’s important. You absolutely must come out right now! It’s about the Second High Priest…”

“Elpida, go back first.”

Shahan muttered coldly through gritted teeth.

The young apprentice priestess outside the door fell silent, seemingly in response to his voice. But it was brief—Elpida knocked on the door again, her voice more urgent this time.

“I’m truly sorry for disturbing your personal time, High Priest. But this is extremely urgent. You absolutely must know about this!”

“Hah… Fine, speak from there. Tell me what’s so important that it warrants interrupting my time.”

“I need to deliver documents to you. I won’t leave until you open the door—I’ll wait.”

Shahan roughly pulled his p*nis from JeJe’s body. Glancing down to examine her expression, he found JeJe obediently meeting his gaze.

“Wait.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t think about doing anything foolish.”

JeJe smiled faintly.

Barely separating himself from her body, Shahan hastily dressed and headed toward the door. His irritated, crumpled expression suggested he might strangle whoever stood before him.

Meanwhile, Elpida, finally facing Shahan beyond the door, was so surprised she could hardly continue speaking. Through the crack of the opened door wafted stuffy heat along with various sweet and fishy scents.

The High Priest’s body, wrapped in a thin robe, was completely drenched in sweat, and his fair, elegant nakedness exuded a lewd smell. Though this wasn’t the first time Elpida had seen Shahan’s body, she couldn’t help feeling flustered. After all, though infrequent now, she had once received his seed daily.

She couldn’t possibly mistake this familiar heat and scent of flesh. Moreover, Shahan, who had never once shown a disheveled appearance even during intercourse, now had his clothes, face, and hair completely in disarray. The irregular rise and fall of his chest seemed almost unfamiliar.

“H-High Priest.”

“I’m busy. State your business.”

Elpida, accustomed only to Shahan’s refined manner of speech, opened her mouth blankly in bewilderment once again.

“What about that person?”

“You mean the Second High Priest.”

Elpida unconsciously rolled her eyes slightly to peek at the situation inside the room. If the High Priest she adored was this disheveled, he must have engaged in incredibly intense lovemaking… but with whom? Which woman?

The bed made of white birch was concealed by a translucent red curtain. She thought she could see a small silhouette beyond it. The snow-white feet stretched out on the bed sheets were as small as her own.

Without clear evidence, Elpida arbitrarily concluded that the woman must be around her own age.

“The Second High Priest has been released due to insufficient evidence. He’s threatened to sue you in return. I thought you might need to prepare before the priest council begins in five days… I apologize if I’ve been disrespectful.”

“I understand. What else?”

“Pardon?”

“Is that all your urgent business?”

“Ah, yes…”

“…So you interrupted my time to babble about some old man I couldn’t care less about. Is that it?”

“J-JeJe?”

At that moment, something pale caught Elpida’s shifting gaze. A tiny hand silently pulled back the red curtain.

The n*ked girl stealthily walked to the clothes strewn across the floor and began picking them up to dress herself.

Elpida frowned and faced Shahan again.

‘So I’m interrupting because of you? Who does that pale girl think she is?’

She felt inexplicably displeased. With a dismissive snort, she deliberately dragged out her words, hoping to keep Shahan detained longer so their passion might cool.

“Anyway, High Priest, you can’t just sit idle like this. You might have to stand before the elder tribunal immediately.”

“I’ll handle it myself. Stop making noise and leave.”

“This time, there’s significant opposition from the Second High Priest’s faction…”

“Elpida.”

Like spitting out something filthy, Shahan pronounced each syllable of the girl’s name with contempt. Elpida flinched, trembling at the chill that swept through her body. She immediately bowed her head deeply in apology.

“I’m sorry! High Priest, I’m so—”

WHOOSH!

At that moment, something white and round slipped nimbly through the door crack. The recoil slammed the door shut, striking Shahan squarely in the face.

Elpida, who was trying to dodge the flying object, was thrown to the floor without even having time to scream.

“W-what!”

Elpida looked around with a panic-stricken face. The empty bedroom and the fluttering curtain were the first things to enter her view.

Creeeeak…

The door that had struck Shahan’s face creaked with an eerie sound. Heavy silence descended between them, making it difficult to breathe. Time seemed to stop in that space alone.

“H-High Priest.”

Cold sweat broke out on Elpida’s forehead. Despite being directly hit by the heavy wooden door, Shahan showed no change in expression. He resembled a white plaster statue on the verge of shattering.

Trembling violently, Elpida gazed up endlessly at the High Priest, whose beautiful face had frozen in place.

Twitch. Shahan’s smoothly extended eyebrows crumpled helplessly.

“…JeJe.”

A voice scraped from somewhere terribly deep reverberated threateningly through the empty room.

“Did the girl who was with you escape, High Priest?”

Elpida, still unable to take her eyes off Shahan, awkwardly rose from her spot. Has my interference succeeded? she wondered with what might seem like innocent curiosity as she observed his reaction.

“Yes, she’s gone. She’s completely gone.”

“Oh, I see. Did I interrupt?”

“Perhaps. Maybe you did.”

Elpida hurriedly lifted her clothes and sniffed her own body. This should be good enough… The High Priest always takes me to bed without giving me time to wash.

It was just turning to early evening.

“That impertinent girl seems to have run away without knowing her place. What should we do?”

“Without knowing her place, you say.”

Silver eyes emitting a cold radiance pierced down at Elpida. She was still looking down, arranging her hair and clothes.

“It’s been quite a while since I received your love, High Priest. May I serve you today instead of that wench?”

It wasn’t something one should dare say before the High Priest, but Elpida was different. She believed herself to be somewhat special to Shahan.

The High Priest stared intently at Elpida, who was shyly lowering her eyelids. His eyes were as quiet and dark as the deep sea.

“Go ahead.”

A voice like an empty shell flowed from Shahan’s lips.

Elpida threw the documents she was holding onto the floor and immediately undressed with practiced movements, shedding her clothes like a molting skin. Then, fearing she might lose her master, she hurriedly entered the room after him.