Chapter 53
Kiara frowned at the predicament. No sooner had she thought the curse was lifted than she was faced with this situation. Ael seemed equally flustered. After a brief moment of thought, he sighed and added:
“I don’t want her staying too long even if she does come into the room.”
“…Understood.”
“Then let’s end this conversation here. Raelin seems to have already left anyway.”
Ael, wearing a mischievous expression, pointed toward the door with his thumb. Though his playful attitude was unmistakable, Kiara found herself concerned about him.
For Ael, it must have taken a great deal of resolve. No matter how warm and kind Raelin was, he couldn’t truly know. Yet he had agreed to Kiara’s request, which if she was to exaggerate a little, was like entrusting his life.
‘…Having a soulmate really is an inconvenient thing…’
He had said they could sever the soulmate bond, hadn’t he?
Cutting off this awkward relationship would probably be the easiest way for both him and herself to find peace.
Kiara let out a small sigh and glanced sideways at Ael. He had said he was looking for a solution, but who knew when that would be. Could she just stand by doing nothing? Was there anything she could do…?
Lost in thought, Kiara suddenly seemed to realize something and called out to him.
“Ael.”
“Hm?”
“…Doesn’t it hurt?”
Her eyes caught sight again of the bruises on Ael’s body. Although he didn’t show much pain, the bruises were growing darker with time.
Still shirtless, he smiled while stroking the bruised area.
“I’m fine.”
“…Are you sure no bones are broken?”
Her suspicious gaze made him poke at a bruise and shake his head casually as if it were nothing serious.
“Nope. If anything, it feels a bit better.”
Every time he touched the bruise, Kiara frowned as if she herself were in pain. But unlike her, Ael only slightly furrowed his brow and remained calm.
“The color has changed so much though…?”
“Interesting. Maybe it’s because you’re by my side.”
The bruise had now turned completely dark red, yet Ael just smiled as if it were nothing. As Kiara looked at him in wonder, his earlier words flashed through her mind.
“We heal little by little through contact.”
Kiss.
She muttered silently and absentmindedly opened her palm.
“Then… that bruise too…”
Glancing back and forth between the faint scar on her palm and Ael’s torso, she clenched her fist again, seeming to make up her mind, and approached him.
“Ael.”
“What?”
Ael, who was just about to put his tunic back on, stopped at the sound of her voice and asked. But instead of answering, Kiara crawled on her knees all the way to the front of the bed and looked up at him.
“What?”
He asked again and again, but Kiara just looked up at him without saying a word — her expression resolute, as if she had made up her mind. Yet it seemed as if she was suddenly unable to speak. She kept swallowing dryly.
Ael looked at her kindly and gently asked:
“…If you have another favor to ask, you can just say so…”
He didn’t finish his sentence and suddenly gasped in surprise.
Kiara moved between Ael’s legs and, with one hand, grabbed the tie at his waist, while the other hand rested between his legs.
Had she lost her balance?
For a moment, Ael’s mind wandered to some absurd thought, but then his thoughts shifted.
Her hand, sweeping lightly over his lower body, trembled faintly. There was no room for misunderstanding — this was a clear and deliberate gesture.
Raising an eyebrow, Ael asked in a low voice:
“What… are you doing?”
“My… the wound…”
Kiara’s voice trembled softly as she answered his question. Her face was deeply flushed as she stammered shyly:
“You said… that if we… have relations… it heals faster…”
Her ears were red too, and she stuttered through her words, but Ael’s lips curled into a subtle smile. He had somehow understood.
So that was it.
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