Chapter 10

‘So cool…’

His skin, everywhere it touched hers, was cool. The heat that wouldn’t go away eased as soon as she touched him.

Irien instinctively clung to him. Her dress slipped, exposing her chest, but she didn’t notice.

Even if she did, she wouldn’t have cared.

“…Camellia.”

“It’s hot… Please, do something…”

“I’ll help you, so calm down.”

Usher held her, drawing up his magic.

Blue magic surged in his body, and Irien clung desperately. She didn’t know why, but the more she pressed against him, the more the cool energy soaked into her.

“If you’re feeling better, listen to me.”

No man could resist a half-bare woman clinging to him.

Usher ignored his own rising urge, wiping her neck and shoulders with the wet towel.

“You’re suffering from the magic tool’s side effects. It’s hard to explain, but I can help.”

“Mm…”

“But for that, I need to touch you.”

His hand, after setting down the towel, stroked her neck. Platinum hair slipped through his fingers.

Glancing at the black wig on the floor, Usher gripped her nape and met her gaze.

“Your secret will be exposed.”

At his warning, Irien flinched. The cool magic flowing through his hand cleared her heat-fogged mind.

‘It’s not a dream…?’

She realized her makeup was almost gone, and her real hair color was revealed.

Normally, she would run away. But… she didn’t want to.

“Irien, I was asking if you’re okay.”

“Is it alright not to tell the Princess the truth?”

…Why did their voices come to mind now?

Irien smiled faintly and reached out. Her hand touched his face. Though her vision was still blurry, she could picture his face clearly by touch.

Thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, sculpted nose, tightly closed lips.

And… the desert in his eyes she didn’t know.

She whispered,

“I’m not okay…”

“…Yeah, I guess…”

“Letting you go like that…”

Usher’s words stopped. Transparent tears welled in her pale blue eyes, tinged with heat.

“I regretted it.”

“…”

“I was afraid I’d never see you again… Ugh!”

She couldn’t finish. Her lips were swallowed by his rough kiss.

“Hah, mm…!”

Her nape was firmly held. Hot breath and saliva mingled between their tightly pressed lips. The fierce kiss brought back memories of their first kiss.

Irien realized anew.

He was right in front of her. Not a dream, but reality.

The tears in her eyes rolled down her cheeks. Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it.

Her body, ravaged by fever, responded honestly to the person she’d longed to see.

Irien opened her tightly shut eyes.

She met his gaze head-on, the eyes that had never once closed since the beginning. Those eyes, colored like a desert she did not know, glowed with a fierce heat.

She realized again.

This was not a dream, and he still wanted her.

Knowing this, Irien’s already feverish body grew even hotter.

“Haa…!”

“Hoo…”

Only when she was almost out of breath did Usher release her.

He glared at her, breathing heavily in his arms, as if he could devour her at any moment.

The real her, hidden beneath layers of glamorous makeup, was the complete opposite. Her face framed by platinum-blonde hair was pale and delicate. Her shoulder, exposed above the fallen dress, was slender and lovely, and her neck was so thin that his hand could easily encircle it.

She looked so fragile, it was hard to believe she was the same woman who had danced so seductively and intensely on stage like a peacock.

Suppressing the rising urge within himself, Usher wetted his dry lips.

“Choose the better option.”

He wanted to hold this woman who endlessly provoked him right now. But she was not in her right state.

No matter how sincere, if she didn’t want it, nothing would remain afterward. So he held back, again and again.

“It’ll take time, but there’s the gentle way—”

Irien shivered. His thick fingers traced down her spine, pressing just above her hips.

“Or the short and rough way.”

Something large and hard pressed against her lower abdomen.

Usher spoke simply, but Irien could easily imagine the consequences of her choice.

Her fingers, gripping his shoulder, trembled slightly. Usher read the vague fear in that trembling.

‘She was startled even by a kiss.’

He knew. She didn’t know men.

He couldn’t deny the primal thrill this fact brought him. But Usher didn’t want to treat her roughly, swept up by desire.

“I like you, too…”

He wanted to protect the feelings she managed to confess, even if only in a dream.

He wanted to remain, now and always, as the person she liked.

And that feeling reached Irien as well.

“Gently…”

As Usher nodded, her hand, still tracing his face, pressed with more intent. Then, a butterfly-like kiss landed, and Usher’s eyes widened.

Her heated, red lips moistened his dry, desert-like lips. As she pulled away, she added softly,

“And roughly…”

“…!”

Irien exhaled, her eyes growing hazy as her rationality melted. She didn’t know men, as he thought. But…

“Mark me. With you.”

She could drive a man mad.

She didn’t reject his urgent kiss. In fact, she had no time to resist.

“Hnn, mm…!”

From the deep kiss that instantly tangled their tongues, a sweet and cool sensation washed over her.

Irien swallowed everything he gave her, as if she’d been thirsty for ages.

Gulp, not just swallowing but sucking eagerly. Usher’s eyes lost all restraint.

Rip!

Her dress, held under his hand, tore along with her undergarments. The fabric was tough, but to him, it was like paper.

The torn dress fell aside, exposing her moist, white skin. As Usher devoured her lips, his hand grasped the most tempting part.

“Ah…!”

Her untouched, white br*ast was crushed under his palm. The inviting softness made Usher growl low, and Irien let out a thin moan.

Wherever his lips and hands touched, a strange energy flooded in, seemingly cooling her fever and running wild through her body. Her body, now a battlefield, trembled with every sharp sensation.

“Ah, wait… hnn…”

He gave her no chance to speak. Irien was helplessly pushed back by his strength.

Thud.

Her golden hair scattered wildly over the white sheets. When his lips briefly parted, Irien barely caught her breath.

But it was futile; she had to gasp again.

“Ah…!”

Her br*ast, roughly kneaded, was sucked into a hot, moist mouth. Irien looked down in shock.

His silver hair spilled over her chest, and his unruly lips latched onto her right br*ast.

Sensing her gaze, he looked up. At the same time, he licked the peak of her br*ast. Irien cried out and clung to his head.

Her sensitive reaction made his eyes curve slightly, and soon her other br*ast was caught between his lips.

“Hnn, ah, hmm…”

Irien’s back arched repeatedly. The tongue that had explored her mouth now targeted her small, tender ar*ola, licking and sucking, even nibbling gently.

Meanwhile, his other hand caressed her other br*ast, not neglecting it.

With simultaneous stimulation from hand and tongue, Irien gasped and twisted her waist. The more she was stimulated, the more sensitive she became, wanting even more.

‘This is strange. This…’

Though she’d never lain with a man, she never thought herself ignorant of intimacy. But now Irien realized she knew nothing.

She hadn’t imagined the marking of a man could be so electric, chilling, and desperate.

Caught in this overwhelming shock, Irien’s eyes widened.

“Hnn…!”

A thick hand slipped under her skirt at her waist. The knuckles moved toward their destination, and her legs tensed reflexively.