“Ah, mmph…!”

Princess Kesera tossed and turned several times beside me. With my tear-stained face toward her, I lay prone on the edge of the bed with my legs hanging off, shaking as Bel moved against me.

His firm abdomen and pubic hair repeatedly tangled and separated between my b*ttocks, wet with fluids. Vivi, Vivian. Hypnotic whispers.

After several more minutes of relentless thrusting, warm liquid flowed from my swollen, reddened opening.

While I had cl*maxed five times, Bel had just finished his second release. Yet the size of his member filling me remained impressively intact even immediately after ej*culation.

‘How on earth…’

When I squeezed the p*nis clinging to me like an animal, he trembled slightly. Bel thrust his hips several more times to empty every last drop of s*men into my womb before lifting my waist.

He made me lie face down like a dog on the bed, then overlapped his body on my back and embraced my swaying br*asts. The deep thrusting resumed, making audible slapping sounds until my strength finally gave out. Trembling with both deadly pleasure and fear, I bit down on the pillowcase.

Ah, sob. Despite lacking the strength to scream, I struggled desperately to raise my knees.

“Hm, ah, ah, mm…”

Even Lucifer with his monstrous stamina would take breaks after ej*culating twice. Though I couldn’t compare him to Bel since he used fifteen reproductive organs at once when climaxing, he was certainly overwhelming in his own way. But Bel was too much in a different sense…

I had always thought s*x with him was ecstatically good because our bodies matched perfectly. It wasn’t simply that he was well-endowed with good technique—there existed a transcendence beyond that.

What species could Bel possibly be? He certainly wasn’t a pure-blooded human. How many races come to mind when thinking of extraordinary s*xual prowess?

The first species that came to mind was ‘them,’ but I dismissed the possibility. Those who speak the demon tongue and reign in the Demon Realm beyond the boundaries of Arcana, at the world’s end. Demons, who were reportedly defeated in the hundred-year war against celestial beings and banished beyond the boundary, were naturally rare creatures.

I had heard rumors that some fallen commanders from the highest ranks disguised themselves as humans to seduce women… but nobody had actually seen one. Bel couldn’t possibly be one of them, could he?

Yet why did I feel such foreboding?

“Mmph…!”

At that moment, a tingling sensation between my b*ttocks jolted me fully awake.

“Ah, wait, hng, uh, wait…”

Hot fingers gently teased my exposed anus.

“Ha, don’t.”

[Hmm?]

“It’s dirty, mmph, don’t… You jerk, ah, mm…”

Bel spread my reddened b*ttocks, which bore his handprints, and licked the pinkish, wrinkled hole with his tongue. A ticklish yet chilling pleasure numbed my mind as it traveled up my spine.

[You’re still untouched here?]

My raised b*ttocks trembled uncontrollably. When his hot breath scattered across them, my waist twisted spasmodically. Bel pressed his lips against my pale, protruding bottom while slowly rubbing my saliva-moistened anus with his thumb. When his thumb entered halfway, he dripped more saliva onto it.

“Ah, hmm…”

I swallowed my breath, conscious of Princess Kesera stirring beside us. My consciousness was so hazy that I neither fully comprehended what was happening to me nor felt any desire to resist.

“…Momo?”

That’s when Princess Kesera raised her bleary eyes.

“Momo, why are you here?”

“Ah, hng! Hmm, ah…!”

My vision suddenly went dark. The fingers teasing my rear disappeared without a trace, and as the Princess’s body, unconscious again, fell heavily onto the blanket, I felt myself being lifted. A large hand caressed my face as I breathed rapidly in panic.

[Vivian, I’ll come again tomorrow.]

Bel wiped my tear-stained face and lifted me into his arms. The surroundings were completely dark without even a thread of light. I trembled helplessly in his firm embrace, trying not to fall asleep. However, resisting drowsiness in a room filled with sleep-inducing fragrance was as difficult as going a week without carrot cake.

[Remember what I said? That I kept thinking about you even after returning to Helcamber.]

“Mmm…”

[Sleep well.]

Just like that night, whenever I was intimate with Bel, my entire body felt drenched in aphrodisiac. I felt gentle hands embracing my trembling body, wet with sweat and fluids, dressing me carefully. Bel slowly stroked the animal ears that had silently appeared beside my human ones and sighed with an indecipherable meaning.

[I dismissed it as my imagination, but it seems certain you have mixed blood—both from ‘that race’ that isn’t human and from beastkin.]

* * *

“Mmm.”

When I drowsily opened my eyes, I found myself lying face down on a cot, fully dressed. Ah, he’s gone again. Like a midnight dream, Bel had vanished without a trace. Damn it—a curse escaped my lips before I hastily covered my mouth with both hands.

In my twenty years of life, the harshest words I’d ever used were “you meanie,” “darn it!” “bastard,” “fall into a tiger’s dung hole and die,” or “may the rabbit god’s curse something-something.” Massaging my head, heavy with sleep, I peeked into the bedroom to see Princess Kesera still sound asleep.

He’s thorough while pretending otherwise. The window frame Bel had climbed over was slightly open. The thin curtains danced in the morning breeze flowing through the gap.

“Already ten o’clock…”

It was surprising that no one had come to wake the Princess even though it was nearly ten in the morning. Perhaps the ministers knew Princess Kesera had been intoxicated last night and were tactfully waiting, but still.

The traces of my night with Bel had vanished so completely that I wondered if I had dreamed it all. If my lower regions didn’t sting with every movement, I might have seriously reconsidered. Waddling out of the bedroom, I scanned today’s to-do list with my eyes.

The head chamberlain must have left it last night. When I spend nights by the Princess’s side, I’m assigned tasks from after lunch. Hmm, I frowned deeply as I buried my nose in the paper and scrutinized its contents.

“The temple again?”

No, this time it wasn’t a simple errand but forced labor. I’d heard they were short-handed for several days, and it seems they decided to deploy me to the temple since I appeared less busy than other servants. The culprit was undoubtedly the head chamberlain.

Even Princess Kesera would have no reason to keep me, so she wouldn’t stop it. I didn’t particularly mind, and I could meet Narcissus while working at the temple, so it wasn’t a bad proposition. Even High Priest Shahan seemed relatively calm lately with his contemptuous glares.

I wasn’t sure if I’d heard correctly while half-asleep, but Bel would likely visit again. Just wait until we meet again—I’ll shake him by the neck and demand to know what shameless acts he committed against me yesterday!

I walked down the corridor in a gloomy mood. With time to spare before lunch, I planned to visit the imperial library. Though a mere servant couldn’t officially access imperial books, it was easy to peek while pretending to clean.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful since it wasn’t my assigned area. I strolled through the library very naturally, pretending to be on an errand, and stopped at my desired section.

<Forbidden Book: The Primordial Land Beyond the Boundary. Subtitle: Holy Spirits and Evil Spirits>

How amusing that they would place something labeled “forbidden” in such a visible location. I huddled in a corner of the library bookshelf where no sunlight reached and opened the table of contents.

Tracing my finger down the page, I finally found what I was looking for: <Legions of the Demon Realm: First-Rank Demons and Legion Commanders>.

<Angels and demons who fought the Hundred-Year War for the primordial territory…> and so on. I already knew how the demons were defeated and banished to the human realm. Also that most of them had vanished without a trace after more than five thousand years.

I followed the names of demons governing the seven deadly sins mentioned in the scripture, then paused upon discovering certain names: Beelzebub, Belphegor, Belial.

Of course, most pure-blooded demons had been exterminated in the mortal world, and people currently using those names were hybrids of demons and other species—humans, for instance—and Bel was likely the same.

Though I couldn’t be certain he had ancient demon blood, considering the characteristics of demons that imperial citizens learned since elementary academy, it was entirely possible.

Their most powerful weapon was hypnosis—seduction—as they fed on human life force and thrived on sin.

These celestial beings and demons possessed such chillingly beautiful appearances and voices that one could fall completely under their spell within seconds, with the latter being considerably worse. There’s a reason people talk about demon blood, breath, life force, and bodily fluids—they all contain substances with effects identical to kamora.

A demon is still a demon, even if mixed-blood. I glanced sideways at the demon depicted in the illustration with fear-filled eyes. They typically don’t settle with one target but advocate free love, indiscriminately desiring the blood of all women. Especially women who have just completed their coming-of-age ceremony.

However, the book mentioned there was a particular race they were especially, terribly obsessed with. In fact, these [unknown races] were frequently violated by demons and sometimes bore their children.

Hmm, so which race is it? Unfortunately, the most crucial information was missing. The only useful information was that they were a race connecting the realm beyond the boundary with the mortal world and possessed unique reproductive abilities.

I returned the book to its place and headed toward the temple before it got too late.

* * *

“I’m glad the work finished earlier than expected.”

After applying white clay to the altar, decorating it with flowers and tree branches, hanging sacred ropes, attaching wish leaves, and finally carrying all the fruits and grains for the priests, I sprawled out in the grass below the altar. I frowned at the darkening sky with beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

“I thought I’d be suffering until late at night. I absolutely hate carrying loads while holding lanterns.”

Just to clarify, I was speaking to Narcissus sitting beside me.

It had been quite a while since Narcissus and I had spent leisurely time alone together after the coming-of-age ceremony. Humming contentedly while savoring the peaceful atmosphere, I noticed him gazing at me with eyes reddened by the sunset glow.

“Narcissus.”

“Yes.”

Somehow his eyes looked so sorrowful that I stopped humming. It felt like I was the only one at peace, the only one happy.

His voice, carried by the wind, sounded just as empty as his eyes. I scrambled to my feet and sat down in front of him.

“I… don’t have a home either, like you.”

Ah, perhaps I struck too painful a truth from the start. I glanced cautiously at Narcissus, but fortunately, his expression remained unchanged from before.

“I know you can’t be happy here.”

“…”

Silence. I hesitated, wondering if I was needlessly reopening his wounds, but the water was already spilled. Not knowing how to comfort someone properly, I tried to lighten his melancholy in a different way.

“I’ve been saving money bit by bit. When I save enough to buy a small house with a garden in the countryside, I’ll ask Princess Kesera if she can grant me freedom. If you want, you could live next door. Since you don’t receive wages, you could even live with me until you save enough money. I’ll specially permit it if you promise not to do anything bad.”

“Together?”

I nodded slightly. Of course, the fact that Narcissus wasn’t a bad person had already been proven on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony. That’s why I could suddenly make such an offer.

“Yes, I don’t have a family. I was abandoned in front of the imperial palace from birth, so I don’t even know who my parents are. Abandoning a newborn—I was resentful at first, but I’m in the process of rationalizing that my parents must have had unavoidable circumstances.”

Narcissus, staring at me silently, was breathtakingly beautiful as always, like he had just stepped out of a myth.