I’m a Hostage Princess, But My Confinement Is Way Too Cozy - Chapter 24

Volumes 1 & 2 of HPCWTC are available uncensored on ko-fi! ※ This work contains depictions of coercive relationships, explicit language, and other graphic content. Reader discretion is advised.

“And please, do not speak of the details of this Ritual of Purification to anyone. Who knows what punishment the wrathful Erios might inflict upon you, Princess.”

The corrupt priest clicked his crimson tongue. His face, a mask of flawless purity that betrayed no hint of his black heart, drew close. I reflexively pushed him away. It was because I had already suffered too much at his hands today.

“My, you must be so overjoyed you cannot speak, even with the gag removed.”

“P-Please… stop this…”

“Princess, a lack of honesty is also a sin.”

“You’re… mad…”

With a tongue trembling uncontrollably, I barely managed to force out the words I wanted to say. But calling a madman ‘mad’ was merely stating a fact, not even an insult.

The corner of his mouth twisted in satisfaction. His sinister eyes hid their true nature prettily beneath his fair eyelids as they closed.

He pressed his lips against my fluttering eyelashes and whispered gently.

“You honor me too much, Princess.”

“……”

“Tomorrow, please cry for me even more beautifully.”

“Mmm, hngg…”

A stunningly beautiful lunatic.

That was my first impression upon meeting Ruasil.

***

“Your Eminence, has the influence of Kinamun been suppressed?”

In response to the elders’ question, Ruasil tilted his head and shook it slowly. His shoulders, laden with worry, slumped. Seeing his uncharacteristically dejected demeanor, the elders let out deep sighs.

“Oh dear, this is a serious matter. What do you intend to do now?”

“It seems I must visit Drémoor Castle daily to perform the Ritual of Purification until the Erios Festival in five days. For the time being, I have no choice but to keep busy, even if it means cutting back on sleep.”

Persuaded by the High Priest’s pitiable expression, the elders nodded as if entranced. While the High Priest’s word was already law within the temple, this had become even more true since Ruasil’s ascension. His god-like beauty was more than enough to inspire unwavering loyalty and obedience.

“You are bearing a heavy burden. Erios will surely be with you, Lord Ruasil.”

“May the blessing of Erios be upon you.”

After dealing with the troublesome elders, Ruasil headed to his prayer chamber.

Like a stone thrown into a still lake, a turbulent wave of agitation rippled in his eyes. It was because of the traces of a man left on Sylvia’s body. The vivid memory of bite marks flickering in his mind made his teeth grind together.

The children of God who serve Erios leave no marks even when sharing their bodies. This was partly to maintain the image of pure priests and priestesses, but they also shunned it all the more because marking territory like beasts by biting flesh was the way of the Kinamun faithful.

Ruasil wanted to leave his mark on Sylvia’s body, even if it meant deceiving his god. But another man’s insignia was already densely packed on her white skin. His pride wouldn’t allow him to add marks that would barely be noticeable.

‘Which bastard was it?’

Since leaving Drémoor Castle, Ruasil had only one thing on his mind. Which bastard had slept with the Princess of Roang? The thought that another man had violated that ecstatic body before him made flames surge in his chest.

Until now, he had felt no emotion toward the humans he had mingled with. To him, s****l intercourse was no different from excretion. Physical coupling was merely a means to manage his lust, so the partner wasn’t important. He could barely remember most of their faces. Looking back, he had never once desired someone enough to hold them, let alone kiss them.

While s*x was considered excretion, kissing was believed to be a union of souls by the priests of the Erios doctrine. Therefore, even as they mingled bodies, the act of kissing was strictly taboo. The reason was that it could foster feelings of possessiveness and exclusivity toward the other.

Ruasil believed that human, sticky emotions like possessiveness or jealousy didn’t suit him. The same went for viscous longing.

‘O, my God…’

Ruasil pressed his tingling forehead and let out a heated sigh. His eyes met those of the Erios statue hanging in the center of the prayer chamber. It was as if he had woken from a dream, returning to his senses. To think he was losing his composure and falling into depravity over a mere woman. Though in the moment he thought he wouldn’t regret it, a belated sense of guilt washed over him. It was even more chilling to think that Erios had been watching every detail of his fall from grace.

‘Merciful Erios, please forgive this foolish and wicked servant.’

He didn’t believe Erios bestowed any great grace upon humans, yet he remained devout. Apart from his tendency to interpret doctrine arbitrarily and serve the god in a self-serving, deceitful manner, he had never abandoned his belief that Erios was the god who governed all things.

Ruasil knelt before the statue of Erios, raising his straightly outstretched hands above his head. His prayer posture was so elegant and perfect it could have been used as a textbook example. The content of his prayer, however, was another matter.

‘O Erios, please permit this depravity only until I drive the wicked power of Kinamun from this land. I shall offer Kinamun’s head and return before you once more.’