Chapter 2

"However, everyone!"

Below, Arthur suddenly sheathed his sword, his expression grave beyond measure. "The most dangerous thing isn't actually that witch, but the top-tier assassin lurking by her side—that cold-blooded, brutal, absolutely loyal hound!"

Hearing this righteous warning, Leon by the campfire blinked his dark golden eyes in bewilderment.

This "cold-blooded hound" who had lost all his memories was now docilely tilting his face up, even murmuring in repetition: "By her side... loyal dog..."

Ha. Indeed loyal. Not only wouldn't he bite, but now he'd even follow along with others insulting himself.

Deep in the night, the verbose rallying finally ended.

Outside the tent, the heavy clank of the night patrol knights' armor mixed with the wind. Inside the tent, the air was so still under magical constraint that you could hear a leaf drop.

Leon was pinned firmly against the rough wooden frame of the camp bed by an invisible force, his hands forced high above his head.

His violently heaving chest stretched the coarse linen shirt taut, the collar torn wide open from his earlier struggles.

I pressed close to him while concealed, leisurely admiring his flustered state.

"Who... are you really?" he asked me again in his mind, his voice trembling like a cornered young beast.

"Take a guess?" I sent my voice lazily into his consciousness. "Maybe I'm exactly what those fools outside are guarding against—a wicked sprite that feeds on human essence in the dead of night, little one."

I manipulated a thread of cool magic power, sliding it down from his Adam's apple. When that magical current passed over the bite marks I had once left on his collarbone, he shuddered violently.

"What... what is this?" he stammered, his gaze dropping in terror.

"Oh? You don't know?" I feigned surprise. "Those are marks of your past sins. Evidence of how you came crawling to an evil witch, willingly letting her bite you just to please her."

"Impossible!" Leon immediately protested, his eyes rimming red with agitation. "I... I would never do such a thing! The captain taught us to maintain purity of body and soul..."

"Purity?" I nearly laughed out loud. "Where exactly on your entire body is there even a trace of purity?"

I deliberately manipulated the magic, pressing hard against sensitive edges.

"Mmm..."

Leon let out a heavily suppressed groan, his upright body instantly tensing like stone, those dark golden eyes clouding over with mist held back by sheer willpower.

After losing his memory, he had become excessively shy. In his struggles, his arm accidentally brushed against my invisible form, and he instinctively tried to pull back.

"S-sorry..." he whispered in panic, apologizing even though he couldn't see what lurked in the empty air before him.

"Why apologize?" I leaned close to his ear, whispering breathily, "You used to love touching me like this."

"You're lying!" he snapped, turning his face away in shame and anger.

Just as the taut tension reached its peak, heavy boot steps suddenly echoed outside the tent. The footsteps stopped abruptly at the tent entrance.

"Leon, are you asleep?"

It was Arthur. That booming, robust voice eternally filled with righteousness sounded particularly jarring in the silent night.

Leon's body jerked rigid, his pupils dilating suddenly. He instinctively opened his mouth to respond, but I moved first, covering his burning lips firmly with an invisible hand.

"Shh—"

I commanded coldly in his mind. "If you make a sound now, that golden-haired fool will lift the tent flap and come in. Guess what he'll think when he sees you disheveled, flushed, and trembling at thin air? Will he still consider you a faithful servant of the Light?"

The fear in Leon's eyes deepened. He shook his head desperately, his long lashes trembling violently, full of pleading.

"Answer him. But keep your voice natural." I slowly released my hand, though my fingertips still lingered teasingly on his lips.

"I'm... I'm about to sleep, Captain." Leon took a deep breath, fighting to make his voice sound steady and calm.

"Oh, sorry to disturb you, lad." Arthur remained oblivious outside the tent. "I just came to check on your safety. It's not peaceful near Sighing Swamp—there might be sprites about tonight. If you're afraid, you can call upon the Light at any time."

Hearing the word "sprites," Leon's body shook uncontrollably.

Because at that very moment, my invisible hand had slipped beneath the hem of his rough shirt.

The instant the cool magic touched his warm skin, his firm, well-defined abs contracted sharply, breaking out in fine tremors.

"Leon? Your voice sounds strange. Are you ill?" Arthur's damned sense of duty was clearly kicking in—the sound of leather armor shifting and a hand gripping a sword hilt came from outside.

"No! Nothing's wrong!" Leon answered urgently, his voice shooting up and nearly cracking.

He bit down hard on his lower lip, forcibly swallowing back all sound. Though his hands were forced above his head, his muscular legs twisted restlessly, trying to escape my brazen exploration.

"Are you really alright? I should come in and check." Arthur persisted stubbornly, his rough hand already grasping the tent flap.

"Don't!" Leon almost cried out.

The air outside the tent fell dead silent for a second.

"Uh... I mean, I've undressed and am washing myself—it's really not convenient to see you!" Leon frantically grasped at clumsy excuses, fine beads of sweat appearing on his pale forehead.

"Ah, I understand completely. A young man's modesty." Arthur had clearly imagined something, chuckling good-naturedly before finally turning away. "God watch over you—get some rest."

Listening to the boot steps gradually fade into the muddy ground, Leon's body, taut to its limits, suddenly went limp. He collapsed onto the camp bed, gasping for breath in great gulps.

"You... you nearly ruined me just then." His eyes reddened at the corners as he glared accusingly at the void.

"Wasn't that amusing?" I let out a contemptuous chuckle, completely releasing the magic binding his hands.

Leon immediately collapsed back onto the camp bed. He wrapped his arms tightly around himself, as if only this way could he find a shred of security in this malevolent confined space.

"You demon... what exactly do you want from me?" He looked up, his eyes filled with hurt and confusion.

"What do I want?" I moved in front of him, looking down from above. "I want you... to remember exactly how this feels."

I slowly bent down, leaning closer to him.

Even while invisible, he could clearly sense that fleeting, scorching warmth.

I passed over his line of sight and placed an extremely light kiss on his forehead—one that carried undeniable possessiveness.

Leon was completely stunned.

He stared blankly, lifting his hand with trembling fingers to touch where I had kissed him. In those dark golden eyes, wariness and fear crumbled instantly under absolute shame.

Maliciously, I didn't pull away, instead staying close to his ear, listening to the completely out-of-control, thunderous beating in his chest.

"Look at that—so easily flustered."

I left a pleased chuckle in his mind.

"You say one thing, but your body tells a different story than when you were an assassin."

He sucked in a sharp breath, his blood seeming to boil instantly, radiating fierce heat.

To escape this all-pervasive humiliation, he buried his head low in near-desperation, trying to hide himself in darkness.

But that vivid crimson had already burned its way down from his cheeks.

Even his ear tips, hidden in his brown hair, burned scarlet.