“A promise is a promise. If you help me, I’ll do everything I can to clear your people’s name and ask the Goddess why you are cursed.”

Calles’s smile tilted slightly, taking on a hint of crookedness.

“But what if you change your mind halfway through?”

A flicker of tension rose on Tilda’s brow.

“If you can’t trust me before we even begin, how do you expect us to accomplish anything together?”

“People’s hearts are unpredictable.”

“I don’t go back on my word lightly.”

In truth, Calles knew better than anyone that she wasn’t the type to break a promise.

Anyone else might have lost their mind and raged blindly for revenge, but not her.

She had spent days thinking it over, time and again.

Because she had made her decision rationally, she wouldn’t abandon it easily.

Still, Calles wanted something more certain.

He wanted to define their relationship more firmly.

He wanted it to be so tightly bound that there would be no escape, so tangled that separation would be impossible.

He wanted to be so certain that, even if Windsor Nokilla spent days begging, she wouldn’t waver at all.

“Do you want to swear on a candlestick or something?”

“Is an oath not enough?”

‘What on earth was he trying to say?’

A faint crease formed between her brows as she looked at Calles.

“A blood pact, at the very least. That way, neither of us can betray the other.”

‘A blood pact?’

Calles slowly circled around Tilda, as if stalking prey.

“If you agree to a blood pact, I can use my ability to place a protective spell on you. Then you won’t ever have to worry about losing your sight to poison again.”

“…”

“If someone tries to harm you, I’ll sense it, even from afar.”

His voice was calm and almost languid, as if he had all the time in the world.

“And with that alone, your position would become far more advantageous.”

Tilda couldn’t deny it.

Aklaire was the kind of woman who would hire an assassin.

That was why, upon returning to the Papal Palace, her first priority had been to hire bodyguards in her capacity as the official successor.

But if this monster of a man were to protect her instead, it would be one less thing to worry about.

“Is that all you want, a blood pact?”

“Just the pact. That’s all it takes to solidify our trust.”

It was an offer that left little room for hesitation.

In any case, unless Calles betrayed her first, she would have to remain loyal to him until the end.

They already knew too many of each other’s secrets.

“All right.”

As soon as she agreed, Calles slowly stopped right in front of her.

“How do we perform the pact?”

“I need to engrave my power deep inside your body.”

“…”

Even without hearing the full details, she disliked the sound of it.

“Don’t tell me it involves another kiss?”

“That wouldn’t be nearly enough.”

Tilda instinctively stepped back, murmuring, “Surely not…”, but Calles was faster.

He caught her wrist and gently rubbed her palm with his thumb in a subtle, deliberate motion.

“The only sure way is to become one with you.”

Tilda’s face flushed red instantly.

“Truly, you’re no different from a barbarian, given your shamelessness.”

“Should I have called it “making love” instead? Women seem to prefer that phrase.”

“How ridiculous. No one refers to a primitive act devoid of love in such terms.”

At Tilda’s retort, Calles raised an eyebrow mischievously.

“There may not have been love, but there was certainly pleasure.”

“…”

“You’re not going to deny it, are you? I clearly remember how you moaned.”

The explicit words made her cheeks burn uncontrollably.

As her face turned red like a ripe apple, Calles swallowed discreetly; his throat moved as if he were parched.

“I’ll make sure you enjoy it again today.”

There was something about his smooth, teasing tone that made Tilda uneasy.

She feared that she would respond to his shameless touch again.

Now that she understood that his gentle hands and sweet words were merely tools to ensnare a woman, she knew that if she gave in, she would have no excuses left.

“It’s just a ritual for the blood pact,” she muttered, as if to remind herself.

“As you wish.”

With a faint smile, Calles pulled Tilda into his arms and held her wrist.

Then, as though biting into a ripe piece of fruit, he sank his teeth into the side of her neck.

Tilda’s body tensed the moment something warm and soft brushed against her unexpectedly. Calles licked and gently bit her throbbing neck, as though savouring a rare delicacy. He moved his mouth from the nape of her neck to her earlobe and whispered:

“How was it with your ex-husband?”

“……”

“Were you this stiff with him too?”

Tilda couldn’t understand why Calles suddenly brought up Windsor. It was unpleasant, but she assumed it was just another ploy to fluster and tease her.

When she remained silent, Calles paused briefly.

“You’re fueling my imagination.”

His voice dropped low, almost serious.

Then, without warning, he ripped off her clothes and threw them carelessly onto the floor. Before she could protest at his roughness, he picked her up and threw her onto the bed.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“……”

“Tonight, I’ll make you pant—and cry.”

Tilda glared at him as she pulled the blanket up to cover her bare br*ast.

“You really are a shameless pervert with no consideration for others!”

“Is that a new nickname for me?”

Calles replied with a smirk, tossing his shirt aside. His sculpted upper body muscles tensed in the shadows, as if brimming with restrained energy.

Seeing how his trousers were straining with *rousal, Tilda tried to steady her rapidly beating heart.

“There’s no need to be nervous.”

In contrast, Calles wore the grin of a predator toying with his prey just before the final pounce.

He ran his fingers through her flowing silver hair and pulled her in for a kiss.

“I’ll give our saint a taste of paradise — something she’s never known before.”

His teasing tone sent a flush of heat rising to Tilda’s cheeks.

She glared at him defiantly, as though trying to deny her reaction, just as their lips met.

He gently licked and sucked her lower lip before slowly slipping the tip of his tongue past her parted lips.

Until then, her mouth had been sealed like a fortress, but it opened the moment he cupped her br*ast.

“Ah—”

Calles didn’t miss the opportunity. He deepened the kiss, brushing the roof of her mouth with his tongue before wrapping it around hers and drawing it in with a slow, hungry pull.

What a messy kiss!

Tilda’s arms instinctively tried to push him away — he was doing things with his tongue that she had never experienced before. But his firm grip easily overpowered her.

She wanted to frown at his increasingly forceful behaviour, but when he tightened his grip, she flinched and looked up at him. Their eyes met — his gaze focused solely on her — but that was all.

His touch grew bolder; his hands squeezed her br*ast with increasing pressure. When he pinched and twisted the sensitive tip, Tilda gasped and let out a warm breath that Calles immediately swallowed as he kissed her, devouring her completely.

Even when she tried to shift away, his hands only became more assertive, kneading her br*asts and stimulating her with the clear intention of overpowering her.

‘How can he do this…?!’

Tilda had never felt such overwhelming shame in relation to physical intimacy before. In that moment, her only desire was to escape.

Yet, despite her thoughts, her body reacted differently. The bolder Calles became, the more heat gathered in her belly and the more aware she became of her w*tness below.

She didn’t understand herself.

When Calles finally pulled away from the kiss and lifted his head, Tilda’s eyes were wet with emotion.

“Stop… I don’t like this.”

Calles tilted his head slightly.

“You’re quite particular, aren’t you?”

He gently ran his long fingers through Tilda’s damp hair.

“I didn’t expect our saintess to be so flustered.”

“I’m not flustered. It’s just that this behaviour is clearly inappropriate.”

Before she could finish, Calles ran the tip of his tongue along her neck.

“Do you still think this is inappropriate?”

“This has nothing to do with the oath.”

Her voice shaking slightly, but firm. Calles chuckled at her stubbornness, watching her tremble beneath his touch. As his warm breath swept over the back of her neck, tiny goosebumps bloomed across her skin.

“But what should I do, when the inappropriate part is only just beginning?”

The moment she caught a flicker of danger in his narrowed gaze, she felt uneasy. She barely had time to react before he leaned down and sank his teeth into the sensitive flesh of her br*ast.

“Calles!”

Startled by the heat of his breath against her bare skin. He devoured her br*ast with desperate hunger, like a starving man savouring the sweetness of ripe fruit.

Cupping the soft mound with both hands, he bit and sucked until her n*pple stood *rect from stimulation. When he flicked the sore peak with his tongue, a wave of sensation surged through her, nearly making her scream.

A powerful wave of sensation washed over Tilda, dispelling the lingering strangeness she had felt until that moment.

“Ha—!”

Without realising it, she grabbed a handful of Calles’s silvery hair. The silky strands slipped between her fingers, trembling like falling threads.