Now You’re Obsessed - ✿ dusk blossoms ✿

“Ugh… more drinks, more…”

“Someone sing a song…”

It was a time when the night at the inn was deepening.

Most were passed out drunk, and few people remained sober.

“Mm…”

Ariel, who was dozing off, opened her eyes at the gentle touch that nudged her. A firm hand was holding her shoulder, gently shaking her.

“Ariel.”

“Lionel…?”

Ariel, opening her eyes, smiled and leaned toward him. Lionel smiled at her but then, with a slightly hardened face, slowly lifted her by the waist. Ariel, caught off guard, swayed and leaned against him.

“Huh? Lionel?”

“I think you need to sober up.”

“Sober up?”

“The atmosphere feels unusual.”

His slightly lowered voice brought her back to her senses. The air, which had become a bit colder, gave Ariel goosebumps on her arms.

‘Huh?’

A feeling of déjà vu ran down her spine. This feeling was similar to…

‘My first time with Lionel…’

During the first monster attack when she and Lionel had first been intimate.

Though she had quickly forgotten the sensation while doing various things with Lionel, the damp and chilly air had been present then too. If Lionel hadn’t been with her, she would have been tormented by the creepy sensation.

‘This…’

Could it be?

She remembered that people had mentioned this place used to have frequent monster appearances. In the Holy Kingdom, they were taught to be cautious as places where monsters had appeared could have another outbreak later.

‘Could there really be monsters?’

She suddenly became very alert. But unlike her awakening mind, her heavy body didn’t move as she wanted, swaying here and there. It seemed the alcohol she drank earlier was still affecting her. Feeling the headache, Ariel shook her head quietly.

“Ugh…”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m still a bit drunk…”

Ariel tried hard to balance herself. Lionel gently held her chin and whispered,

“I told you earlier. Use your holy power, Ariel.”

“Holy power?”

“You can use it to expel toxins from your body. That includes alcohol.”

Even after hearing that, Ariel, who had almost no holy power, had never properly used it. While she struggled to use her holy power,

“Lionel, I can’t. I just need some water… mmph!”

Suddenly, hot lips invaded hers, stirring up the inside of Ariel’s mouth. Ariel clung to Lionel, holding his shoulders with both hands.

“Mm, mmph! Mm!”

The hot, entwined tongue slowly swept through her tender mouth. The tongue, leisurely tasting her mucous membrane, soon sharpened and poked at her uvula.

“Mm!”

Ariel’s back gradually arched. Lionel, who had been exploring her teeth and binding her tongue, sucked her lips as if to consume her breath. When Ariel hit his shoulder in a daze, Lionel slightly withdrew his tongue and whispered while their lips were still touching.

“I helped amplify your holy power a bit.”

“Is… that so?”

“How do you feel, Ariel?”

She couldn’t gather her thoughts even after hearing his question. If earlier it was due to drunkenness, now it was because Lionel’s deep kiss had left her dazed.

Lionel, noticing this, lightly pecked her lips and gently slipped his hand between her br*easts. His fingers soon reached her solar plexus.

“Ah, Lionel!”

“Feel it, Ariel. Here…”

Warmth spread along with Lionel’s touch. Ariel, blushing madly, realized the warmth was similar to the holy power Lionel used to heal her.

“Ah.”

A small exclamation escaped her lips. As the warmth spread through her body, she indeed felt her holy power increase slightly.

“It’s only temporary, but it should help.”

“Wasn’t your holy power sealed?”

A small doubt arose. Lionel, despite taking the vow of prohibition, skillfully drew out her holy power. He also seemed much less drunk than others. While Ariel wondered, Lionel embraced her and answered.

“Even so, I know how to enhance it.”

“Ah.”

“Though my holy power is sealed from being used externally, it still flows somewhere within me.”

To prove his point, silver light flickered in Lionel’s lilac eyes. Ariel quickly realized it was the color of Lionel’s holy power.

“I just can’t use it as a weapon.”

“I see.”

“I can’t heal myself or others with it. I can only keep it within me.”

“Ah.”

Answering, Ariel pressed her now-warm cheeks. The sensation of their hot kiss lingered.

‘Too hot.’

Though her drunkenness had mostly cleared, leaving her just tipsy, she became overly conscious of Lionel’s body, his fingers still between her br*easts. Fortunately, everyone around them was passed out drunk.

‘Huh?’

Looking at the passed-out people, another thought came to her.

‘Weren’t there sober people here too?’

She remembered that some people were still sober, like the innkeeper…

“Lionel, what about the innkeeper?”

“I sensed something odd and sent them away.”

“Ah!”

Hearing that, she felt the goosebumps crawling up her body again.

‘Right. It’s an emergency now.’

Why did she need to use holy power in the first place? Because there might be monsters.

‘But really?’

As Ariel looked around in confusion,

— Ho, ho, holy knight!

— Where is the holy knight!

Voices began to echo from outside the hall where people were passed out. The voices were distant. As Ariel tried to respond, Lionel gently covered her mouth with his hand.

‘Lionel?’

While Ariel looked around, Lionel, who gently lifted her, opened the hall door slightly and peeked outside. Then, with a quick gesture, he extinguished the last candle lighting the hall and led Ariel outside.

“Lionel…”

“Shh.”

Soon, Lionel used a poker and wooden sticks lying around to firmly lock the hall door from outside. Then he took out something from his waist and sprinkled it. Ariel immediately recognized the clear liquid.

“Did you bring holy water?”

“This is the last of it.”

Certainly, only a few drops came out of the large bottle. The amount was far less than usual. As Ariel wondered, Lionel spoke.

“I used it all while massaging you.”

“…What?”

“I brought it for that purpose, so it wasn’t wasted.”

So, the hot water and the water used for her massage were all holy water. Ariel was surprised that he had used such expensive holy water, which even noble families bought sparingly, as her bath and massage water.

From upstairs, the voices were heard again.

— Ho, holy knight!

— They said there’s a holy knight here!

— Hahaha!

Listening quietly, Lionel distanced himself from the voices and looked around. In the dark, only the light from the torches outside the inn was visible. A strange tension filled the air.

“This way.”

While holding Ariel, Lionel entered a small door in the corner of the corridor. Moving almost silently, they entered a storage room near the hall they had just left. Meanwhile, the voices grew closer.

— Fi, find, find them.

— Whe, where, where are they?

Ariel, hearing the voices right outside the door, followed Lionel inside.

The storage room for drinks and food ingredients was cramped, with only a closet and barrels to hide behind.

In the slightly musty-smelling storage room, their bodies were pressed together. The space was so tight that they kept stumbling. Ariel barely kept her balance and spoke.

“Lionel, why are we hiding? People are looking for us…”

“They’re not people, Ariel.”

“What?”

“Shh.”

Lionel, with swift and precise movements, opened the closet installed on one wall. He stepped inside with Ariel. The small closet quickly filled with the two of them.

“With no holy water… I’ll borrow yours for a moment.”

“What?”

Lionel reached for her solar plexus again as he spoke. With his fingers pressing between her soft br*easts, Ariel felt her amplified holy power slowly draining away.

“Pater noster, qui es in caelis…”

Placing his hand on the closed closet door, Lionel murmured quietly.

Ariel realized that Lionel was using her holy power to cast holy magic since he couldn’t use his own.

‘Even someone bound by the vow of prohibition can do this.’

It was possible because Lionel had exceptional skill in manipulating holy power despite his oath. Most holy knights couldn’t do it.

While Ariel marveled, the prayer continued for a while.