The Red Witch - Chapter 10 🔞

TN: "Rayne" -> "Laine"

On the continent of Bretnach, an eclipse comes once a year. The timing varies each year, but it typically falls on a full moon sometime between the end of summer and the approach of winter.

The eclipse always begins on the night of the fullest moon. On a night when the perfectly round moon rises, one might find themselves marveling at how bright and radiant it is.

Then a tiny crack forms somewhere in the corner of the sky.

It’s as if it’s jealous of the moon’s perfection.

That tiny crack, no larger than a fingernail, quickly spreads, and in the end, the moon is swallowed whole.

“Ah…!”

Kiara, who had been lying face down and shaking, buried her face in the bed. Their lovemaking, which had begun before the eclipse, continued long after darkness had swallowed them whole. At her back, she heard Ael’s hushed voice.

“…Lift your a** up.”

“Hnk, it’s hard…”

Perhaps it was because of the constant moans she had let out, or because she hadn’t had a single sip of water since earlier, her breath ragged and labored, but her throat felt dry, as though she were chewing on sand.

At some point, she could no longer produce even a proper moan, yet regardless, Ael relentlessly pushed her further.

It felt as though he was growing impatient, as if one of them would disappear with the break of dawn.

Kiara hoped that was the case.

‘When, exactly, will the sun — no, at least the moon — come out…?’

With a tearful expression, Kiara gazed toward the window. Ael was never her husband to begin with. He had appeared suddenly, entangled in the curse, and it seemed certain that he would disappear once their first night together was over. When dawn came, Ael would leave, and Kiara could finally sleep.

As he said, once her curse was lifted, it would mean he had fulfilled his “responsibility as one born of Grandilgale.”

The problem was, she had no idea when the day would break.

‘Oh, no, I just wish he’d leave…’

With her cheek pressed against the scattered sheets, Kiara exhaled heavily. It didn’t matter which of them disappeared. If only she could escape, or if she could just vanish, or even fade away somehow.

But she still didn’t know whether the curse had been lifted or not, so for now, she just quietly followed whatever Ael did.

She only desperately wished for the day to break.

But outside, it was still deep into the night. In fact, the moon hadn’t risen yet. The eclipse was still ongoing.

Kiara, lying numbly on the bed, heard Raelin’s words faintly, as if they were echoing in her dreams.

‘The wedding will be held on the night of the lunar eclipse. It will be a rare, long eclipse that only happens once in a few years.’

The long eclipse could last the entire night, or in rare cases, even stretch for days.

Maybe that’s why it was the first night that the room didn’t have a single wisp of dusk for such a long time. Gradually, her sense of time began to fade, and she couldn’t tell whether hours had passed, or maybe days.

“I—I can’t… take anymore…”

Kiara whimpered, and Ael sighed in annoyance.

“Stop with the dramatics.”

“…I-I’m not being dramatic! Is this normal? Is this how it’s supposed to be?”

Ael furrowed his brow at her petulant questioning. The truth was, he didn’t know either. This was his first time being with a woman, after all.

‘But still, isn’t this normal?’

Ael shook his head. Having spent half his life among rough men on the battlefield, he had picked up a lot along the way. He’d often shared campfires with ruffians, and when gathered around a fire on a cold night, vulgar conversations would inevitably follow.

There were stories of men passing out twelve times in a single night, making women cry ten times, and spraying seed fifteen times.

Women who shared a bed with those kinds of men were lucky to still be alive, or so the stories went. Of course, some exaggeration was involved. Still, tall tales considered, Ael figured that he was an average lover compared to their claims.

‘…But it doesn’t seem like an act.’

Ael, who had glanced at Kiara collapsed on the bed, let out a sigh.

Even he thought he had pushed her a bit too hard. No, to be honest, he wondered if he had been half-mad.

‘It’s because it’s dark, it’s because it’s dark.’

Ael muttered to himself as an excuse.

Once the moon was gone, the world was engulfed in darkness. The candles scattered around the room allowed them to make out each other’s outlines, but even those were nearly burnt out as he explored Kiara’s body.

As they went out, even the moans she’d been letting out so beautifully had disappeared.

‘So the only way to know if you’re still next to me is to touch, stroke, suck, and lick.’

Ael smirked. Even he had to admit that it made for a poor excuse. Ah, I almost left one out. His cxck sliding in and out of her womb was also important to check if she was still there.

Now that he thought about it, he realized he was still hard even after several climaxes.

Of course, he hadn’t come fifteen yet… no, wait.

Ael furrowed his brow for a moment, then started counting on his fingers before letting out a sigh.

…He supposed he shouldn’t have criticized his men’s stories too much.

“Haa… you’re the same.”

Feeling unexpectedly guilty, Ael muttered in a frustrated voice.

Indeed, Kiara was the same. She kept saying it was too much, yet the more he prodded, the more she flinched and tightened her grip on him. Almost as if she was trying to hold on to him.

At first, he had only thought to solve whether it was a curse or a superstition. But after tasting that soft flesh, he had no idea how many hours had passed or even if it had been days.

At this point, he could understand why men go mad over women.