Chapter 50
‘…Mmh.’
Kiara, her mouth sealed shut, kept swallowing down breathy whimpers that never made it out. Her entire body began to lose strength, the tension that had gripped her shoulders ever since she’d impulsively kissed Ael slowly melting away.
Noticing the shift, Ael moved the hand that had been cradling her head to her back, pulling her in even closer.
‘Hah.’
The force of it made Kiara instinctively part her lips to breathe, and Ael wasted no time. He pushed deeper, much deeper, taking full advantage of the opening.
In the end, Kiara found herself completely overtaken. Not just her body, but even her mouth had been wholly claimed by him. She couldn’t move, couldn’t retreat, couldn’t even think.
Only then, as if satisfied, Ael’s lips curled into a faint smile. Leisurely, he began to explore her mouth even more thoroughly — his hot, soft tongue sweeping across every surface, then stiffening to press and prod, then again tracing teasingly along the edges.
By the time Kiara’s breathing had turned ragged and uneven, Ael finally pulled back. He spoke softly.
“…Who were you trying to shield?”
Kiara stared at him, forgetting even to breathe. Ael looked down at her, gave a quiet chuckle, as if he wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“When someone suddenly does something that’s completely out of character… they’re usually hiding something. And considering someone out there’s been knocking on the door this whole time…”
Only then did Kiara manage to pull herself together, stammering as she scrambled for an excuse even if it was far too late.
“W-well… the servant from earlier, maybe they forgot something and came ba—”
“For a forgotten item, it was a strangely deliberate rhythm.”
Ael smiled faintly, then gently tapped Kiara’s back with the hand still resting there. Thump. Tap-tap. Thump. The rhythm matched the one that had been knocking at the door earlier. As the realization hit her, Kiara’s face drained of color.
Only then did Ael finally let her go, his expression softening with something like pity.
“No need to explain. It’s probably Raelin.”
“R-Raelin? Why would she come? You literally threatened to cut her head off. She’d be too scared to come anywhere near here!”
Kiara fired back instantly, as if the very idea were absurd. But Ael didn’t even flinch. He just shrugged, utterly unfazed by her outburst.
“She’s your head lady-in-waiting, right? Why would someone like that personally tend to you?”
“T-that’s just…”
Caught off guard, Kiara stammered. Ael continued smoothly, pressing the point.
“You said her full name was Raelin Verhenan, right? The House of Verhenan has served Altnebra’s royal family for generations. Loyal beyond question. If she’s attending you, she’s probably doing it out of allegiance to the Crown.”
He tilted his head toward her, as if to ask what she made of that.
But Kiara just blinked at him, unable to respond. Despite how much she’d come to rely on Raelin, she hadn’t actually known what family she was from.
As if reading her mind, Ael nodded and added quietly:
“Someone like that… do you really think she’d run away from her duties out of fear? …Honestly, it’s a bit of a waste.”
“A waste?”
He clicked his tongue with a look of genuine regret.
Watching him, Kiara felt a strange unease tighten in her chest. Cautiously, she asked:
“A-A waste, you say…?”
“Because she’s about to die, wasting that fierce loyalty on someone like King Blaine.”
D-die?
The unfamiliar weight of the word stunned Kiara into silence.
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