The Lady Of The Red Moon (14)

Kaiston spread his cloak over the dais and laid Liris upon it.

He scanned her naked body with a burning gaze as she looked up at him with tear-bright amber eyes, panting.

The points of her perky breasts stood firm with lingering arousal, and between her slightly parted legs, a cloudy gleam of mixed juices—her own and his—trickled down and glistened.

As if he had no intention of stopping after a single time, he began to remove his clothes.

He unfastened the buttons of his uniform slowly, without haste, his eyes never leaving her for an instant.

Liris felt her body, which had just reached its peak, heat up again.

His mere gaze sent electric shivers through her whole body.

It should have been him who was to be tamed, not her. It should have been Kaiston Crunel who would helplessly fall into her web, but it was not.

Liris was confused as to why she felt so anxious and consumed.

She had anticipated she might fail in seduction.

She had considered the possibility that, inexperienced in such relations, she might not satisfy him with her body and that things could go wrong.

But this felt different.

She had not expected her heart to be so unsteady.

The beast that was supposed to be tamed was so alluring that the heart she must not let waver was instead crumbling.

“Liris.”

The low, soft baritone of his voice shook her soul.

The naked man above her was, in himself, a perfect warrior’s body, a war-god’s flesh.

Though they made love on the innermost altar of the sacred temple—the place the god’s gaze would first fall—neither of them considered the act sacrilegious.

Light poured down from the ceiling and covered their bodies like the blessing of a god.

“Master…”

His body cast a shadow over her face.

Her eyes, tightly shut against the glare, opened once more.

“Liris, look at me.”

Having filled the emptiness inside her completely, he remained still and looked down at her.

“See exactly what you are doing now. See clearly to whom you are granting your body.”

The moment she opened her mouth to answer, he ambushed her lips with his.

He tasted her lips sweetly, soothing her tongue with gentle strokes.

He softly caressed her body, which went limp under his kiss, and lifted her legs to wrap them around his waist.

He slowly stimulated her inside, letting her grow accustomed to his movements.

He was exceedingly careful so the sensitized body would not tip over too fast.

But despite his care, a sharp pleasure spread through her entire body.

Her mind swam at the way he would almost withdraw to the entrance and then slowly scrape along her inner walls, plunging toward her cervix.

Even as she tightened and sucked as if to coax him, he would not give in.

Noticing her breathing grow rougher, Kaiston drew his lips away.

Liris looked up at him with eyes blurred by pleasure.

“Master… hng, stop now…”

He placed his hand over her left breast.

“It beats fast.”

His gaze, which had been on her breast, returned to her eyes.

“Liris.”

His hand gently brushed her cheek.

“Now it really cannot be undone. You have accepted me before the god you love.”

“Master…”

Had he brought her here with that intention from the start? He stared into her bewildered eyes and lifted one corner of his mouth slightly.

He had no intention of letting her drift into other thoughts.

“Focus. If you don’t want to get hurt.”

His expression changed.

True to his warning, he began to move more roughly and violently than before.

The sensations that had reached a high under the previous gentle thrusts were fearfully stirred.

“Ha—ng, yes, ah…”

Exactly as he intended, Liris could think of nothing.

Her vision and mind went white, and she couldn’t tell whether her eyes were open or closed.

The silent temple was filled with their cries, but there was no time to feel ashamed.

She realized that excess pleasure could become painful.

“Ah, Master…”

Though he had mostly treated her gently and she had forgotten, he was at the pinnacle of the Red Moon, where only the strong survived.

The moment that untamed, feral wildness showed itself, it was clear who would be the one to be devoured.

He placed her legs, loosened by the rough motion, over his shoulders.

“Ugh, hng…”

Tears streamed down without stopping.

Though he was piercing her body so roughly, his hand that wiped her tears was extraordinarily gentle.

Her head tilted back as he plunged deeper.

“Hah, Master… no more…”

It felt as if she had been submerged and could not breathe.

The pleasure filling her whole body up to her hairline brought with it a fear that it would utterly destroy her.

“Aaaah…”

And in the next moment, as the world was dyed white and the tidal wave of climax overwhelmed her, Liris lost consciousness.

He stayed by Liris’s side until she woke.

Though she had fainted, it was like sleep, and after about two hours, she naturally opened her eyes.

Liris blinked dazedly at the enchanting violet eyes fixed on her and the soft hand stroking her hair.

“Did I trouble you that badly?”

Liris pouted her small lips at her master who, having rendered her unconscious, showed no sign of apology and only spoke so casually.

“I almost died.”

“I will repent.”

Repent? He was still looking at her with eyes that seemed about to devour her at any moment.

Fortunately, perhaps thinking he should not linger any longer, he rose to his feet.

While she slept he had already dressed in his uniform.

He gently picked up her groaning form and placed her carefully in the fountain beside the dais.

Then, caring nothing that his own clothes were getting wet, he washed her body himself.

Kaiston had long known that the water in the fountain was warm.

He didn’t know how deep below the bubbling spring originated, but it was clear its source lay somewhere deep in the frost-bound earth, warmed by geothermal heat.

“Why on earth is something like this here?”

“It was likely meant for performing baptisms.”

He asked back in puzzlement at her words.

“Baptism? What’s that?”

“A ritual to wash away all sins by the mercy of the god. Is this your first time hearing of it?”

Kaiston nodded.

In his old kingdom there was no religion with such a ritual.

No, temples themselves did not exist there in the first place, strangely enough.

“If they are washed in this water, can anyone become clean?”

‘If I become clean, will you love me?’ was what he meant to ask, but he lowered his eyes and hid his absurd inner thought.

“Do you really think it would be that easy?”

At her answer, Kaiston couldn’t help but let out a small snort-laugh.

‘Yes. Of course not. It would never be that simple.’

“Then what are the conditions?”

“You must eat only garlic and onions for a hundred days.”

He, silent for a moment at her words, asked again.

“…Really?”

That might be worth trying.

But Liris chuckled and waved her hand.

“I’m joking, Master.”

“……”

Watching Kaiston look at her steadily, Liris cleared her throat.

If she said one more foolish thing, she’d be devoured again.

“Clerics of at least bishop rank can perform baptisms.”

Liris herself could perform one, but she did not add that, not knowing his purpose in asking.

“Is that so?”

There was a temple in Sinal, but he could not tell whether its head was a bishop or similar.

Kaiston thought he would have to visit Sinal soon at the start of the year and kept his mouth shut.

When he finished washing her and took her out, the sun had already begun to set.

They decided to visit the cemetery behind the temple another time, and Kaiston called Aaron.

The golden eyes of the white tiger, which had seemed frightening earlier, now seemed to regard her with a gentle light, and she even felt pleased.

Wanting to show her the Red Moon’s sunset, Kaiston propped her up at an angle.

Liris, leaning comfortably against his chest, watched the Red Moon being dyed orange.

Flocks of cloudlike shapes dotted the distant sky, racing toward the sun that sank toward the plain’s horizon.

Liris was entranced by the generous ruler of the day, who dazzled without the need for tinted lenses.

The sound of his heartbeat in her ear and his strong arms around her, his warmth verging on heat and his crisp scent—Liris thought she would never forget this moment.

She had never lived a carefree moment, but now she smiled happily, indulging like a young girl.

It had almost been a month since Liris came to the Red Moon.

The fortress needed no special preparations for winter, but the fortress’s orders of knights rotated duties to aid nearby villages with winter preparations.

Since quite a few knights had started families in the villages, Kaiston had long ago ordered this arrangement, and during this period it was permitted for knights who had families to swap shifts among themselves.

Thanks to this, the fortress’s mood was livelier than usual.

The knights who had spent time with their families made a fuss, boasting about their wives and children.

Normally they might have been concerned about the Commander, who was often alone, but since he had a woman beside him, there was no hesitation.

From their perspective, Liris was truly a welcome presence.

Not only did she fill the Commander’s side, but she healed knights who returned with minor injuries using sacred power.

Additionally, when she occasionally accompanied Kaiston to the villages, she healed the ill whom healing potions could not cure.

Despite her absurd attire, the knights said she must be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Otherwise their Commander would not have been so strict in guarding her.

Kaiston wrapped her up like a snowman as if to show not a single hair.

“Aaron, how do I look?”

Sitting idly beside her as she looked into the full-length mirror was Aaron, Kaiston’s familiar shrunk to the size of a cat.

He had been assigned as the most reliable guard to protect her in the fortress where danger could strike at any time.

At her question, Aaron merely stretched out a yawn.