Chapter 68
It was because of the stone that man called Bezel had thrown, which caused ripples through his once calm heart.
‘He said they were enjoying themselves not just during the day but at night too.’
Upon hearing those words, memories of the nights he had spent with Eden seven years ago naturally came to mind. Eden was especially susceptible to pleasure. Eden had been Johan’s first woman and first experience, and even when he touched her with clumsy hands, she would quickly come undone and sink into his arms.
And now another man was coveting her. Kissing her, embracing her soft skin, and then into that tight, wet inside.
“Haa.”
Johan forcibly stopped his thoughts that were about to run wild again. He had no idea what the hell he was doing. What a sight, to coldly dump her seven years ago simply because she was cursed, only to have lingering feelings the moment she got a new man.
No, if he was being honest, the lingering feelings had been there all along, even before that.
Eden was his first love. As people often said, a man’s first love holds a special meaning. There was a reason they said it stayed in your heart until the day you died.
On top of that, he hadn’t broken up with Eden because his feelings had cooled. Because of his childhood trauma, he had panicked at the thought of people pointing fingers at him for dating a cursed woman and ended the relationship out of fear. Being a Holy Knight made him even more afraid of rumors spreading that he was impious.
‘Eden doesn’t seem to understand, but when nobles are in a relationship, caring about reputation is just as natural as looking at someone’s qualifications.’
Johan forced his eyes shut to clear his head. He tried to catch up on sleep he had missed, but with his mind this busy, it wasn’t easy. He drifted in and out of fitful sleep as the train headed toward the capital.
“Johan?”
A familiar voice pulled him out of his light slumber and back to reality.
“Nicholas?”
He lifted his heavy eyelids and looked up to see his fellow recruit from the same class standing there with a bright smile. Nicholas placed his sword and luggage on the overhead shelf and sat down next to him.
“Wow, it’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“I could say the same to you. Even though we joined at the same time, it’s hard to catch a glimpse of you. I heard you were on assignment out west. Is that done?”
“That job finished a while ago. You know Eden, right? The White-Haired Witch. Thanks to that Hunter’s help, it was over without us having to lift a finger. Then yesterday there was a report in this area, so….”
Maybe he was just that happy to see an old classmate after so long. Nicholas chattered away about everything that had happened with an excited look on his face.
But Johan couldn’t focus on a single word he said after that. It was because he had just heard the name of the very person who had kept him up all night.
“Hold on, Nicholas. Did you just say Eden?”
“Yeah. Just like the rumors, her skills are amazing and she’s incredibly good-looking too.”
There was no need to ask in detail what they had worked on together. Nicholas explained the entire thing with an animated expression as if reliving the memory. They had been dispatched after receiving a report about demon worshippers appearing, and Eden had sent the High Priest flying with a single kick and successfully rescued the sacrifices who had nearly died.
“And she’s got such a kind heart too.”
“…Kind heart?”
Johan could acknowledge Eden’s skills and looks, but this was one claim he found hard to agree with.
No matter how much he liked her, Eden was not someone he could call kind. If he had to be specific, she had a sense of justice and righteousness, but she was rough in her actions and full of mischief, so sometimes she truly did seem like the witch her nickname suggested.
“She took in a victim who had lost his memory. It’s not easy to let a complete stranger into your home, you know. Now that’s what I’d call a true act of kindness.”
“…She let him into her home?”
It was no coincidence that Bezel’s face flashed through his mind in that instant.
“Was this victim a man, by any chance?”
“Yeah, he was a man. But don’t you go get any funny ideas. That’s disrespectful to the Hunter.”
Nicholas gave him a sidelong glare, seeing Johan’s darkening expression.
Disrespectful, my a*s. Those two already had something going on. Johan’s brow furrowed sharply as he recalled Bezel curling his fingers into a circle and bringing them to his lips.
“That victim. Do you happen to know what he did for a living?”
“I told you, he lost his memory. We did interrogate him, but he couldn’t remember anything beyond his name.”
Nicholas answered casually, then his eyes suddenly widened as if something had just occurred to him.
“Ah, right. He had divine power. I mean, Miss Eden. She has that famous curse, right?”
Nicholas made a gesture as if raising his right hand.
“When that man kissed it, the curse simply faded away, just like that. It really shocked me, I tell you.”
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.