240 Twenty-three-nine words: 'I'll be able to be a shi...




"How about it, Caria. Can you have my back?

 Kalia's lips moved in a small motion as she received these very embarrassing and difficult to say words. The expression on her face is a thin smile, as if she's surveying me.

"Yes, sir. If that's what you want, then I'm your shield from now on, Rougis.

 I'm sure you're not the only one who has a problem with this.

 The cruelty and danger that had filled her eyes earlier seemed to have somehow disappeared, but what can I say? This time, on the contrary, I felt that my eyes were filled with a really lecherous heat, a color that I used to see so often in the past.

 I had a bad feeling. I had a very, very bad feeling. Her small lips fluttered again before her eyes. I blinked my eyelids lightly.

"And that's not all you're going to say, is it, Lugis? Did you think you could roll me with your tongue?

 The moment those words hit my ears. The moment those words struck my ears, I felt a definite strength in Kalia's fingers that were wrapped around my cheek. It was as if she was about to grip my face.

 No way, man. Something close to a cold sweat licked down my spine as I felt the definite touch of death confronting me. I heard a sound as if every nerve in my body was suddenly tightened.

"Listen, Lugis. Don't lump me in with the rest of the girls. I'm not so naive as to be fooled by a single word you say.

 I'm not so naive as to be fooled by a single word from you," Kalia said as she held me down in my chair. As soon as I heard those words, I felt a twitch in my cheeks.

 Well, it seems that I had not only overstepped Kalia's bounds, but had even misread her heart. It seems that Kalia has been harboring a deep emotion for me, an obsession. It is now more densely stored than when I felt it in the walled city of Garou Amalia, and it is even showing a thick blackness.

 I wonder if the Caria I had seen in my past travels had ever shown anything like this.

 Her teeth are twisted, they don't bite together, and they make a funny sound. What's going on, I ask myself.

 Fear should be the right thing to feel for Kalia's ferociousness. It seems like it could swallow you up and even crush you.

 Yet, it seems that my chest is not like that. Rather, the feelings that seem to flood out of my chest are... Something quite the opposite.

"...... Then what should I do. What do you want, my shield? Let's hear about that.

 And with that, Kalia smiles, her lips rippling. Beautiful lines were drawn on her cheeks.

 If she was just smiling at me like she is now, I would think it was rather beautiful. But behind that expression is a cruel and lecherous will, which is why this woman is so terrifying.

 Perhaps what Kalia is looking for is a contract with her words inscribed on it, or something that will remain in a definite form. It seems that I've lost a lot of trust from Kalia. It's so sad.

 Well, that's good enough for me. I'll just run my pen across a piece of parchment and be done with it. As long as it satisfies Kalia.

 With that thought in mind, he shrugged his shoulders and gave a small smile, just like Kalia.

 Something came into my mouth. Something thin and soft, forcing my lips and teeth apart and penetrating the back of my throat.

 My vision flickered. I felt something flowing back down my throat.

 What? What's happening? My body tries to shake against the stimulus, but I can't move with Kalia holding me down.

 I let out a sob as quickly as I could, but managed to open my eyes and look in front of me. I saw what had been pushed into my mouth.

 Kalia's white fingers. She was teasing my tongue and throat with her fingers, with a hint of torment in her eyes. The smell and taste of iron covered my mouth. It's the unmistakable taste of blood.

"Drink, Lugis. "Drink it, Rougis. "Bloodletting is an old covenant, but a simple one. If you're going to keep your word, there's no problem.

 Is it just my imagination that I'm being forced to drink blood down my throat right now?

 Blood dripped from the wound on Kalia's palm and was forced into my mouth and down my throat. The taste of iron spread unpleasantly over my tongue.

 Blood mating. I believe it was a ritual used in ancient times between the families of the upper class.

 When kingship was still fragile and all upper class people were snakes and poison. Finding a trustworthy person at such a time was like finding a small boat in the middle of the ocean, or a single leaf in the forest.

 However, even in such a situation, there are times when you have to join hands with someone and put your back to them. In such cases, the upper class and noblemen used a contractual ritual called blood mating.

 Nobles, as they are called, value pride and blood above all else. Their commitment is probably unimaginable to me, a commoner. They have gone to great lengths to ensure that there is no confusion in their blood, and they have sought the purity of their veins to the point of insanity.

 It is precisely because they valued their pride and blood above all else that they were able to form the bond known as the bloodline bond. Those who make a contract with each other offer blood to the other, and then pass it down their own throats. By doing so, they have become blood allies, even close relatives.



 To be honest, I don't know how useful the pact was, but it was certainly a ritual that was carefully handled even among the nobility. There are many nobles who still keep close ties with each other simply because they were once blood brothers.

 But of course, when the ritual was actually performed, it was not like forcing one's hand into the other's mouth, but rather dropping a drop of blood into each other's wine or something like that.

 After all, this woman, Kalia, must be out of her depth by one, two, or even ten.

 Satisfied with the sound of my repeated slurping, she slipped her fingers out of my mouth and whispered in my ear, "Don't move. I closed my eyelids and leaned back in my chair, letting out a quiet gasp, as if my resistance meant nothing. Somehow, I could imagine what he would do next.

 As I imagined, the next moment I felt a slight pain in my cheek. The sharp, numbing sensation that comes when a blade tears through flesh. The blood licked slowly down my cheek.

 Now there was a strange, indescribable feeling on my cheek. Teeth, biting.

 I don't know how to describe it. Warm, yes, and ticklish, too. But the strange feeling and Kalia's breath against my ear made me spit in my throat.

"All right, Lugis. You put your back to me, you said, and I took your word for it. This is a contract between master and servant.

 Kalia whispers in my ear. The blood dripping down my cheek was quickly licked up by Kalia's tongue. The sound of her voice and the feel of her whispering made my spine tingle.

If you ever break your contract and disappear somewhere alone, as you have done in the past, I will find you and make sure you never go out alone again, even if it is to the ends of the earth.

 A few moments later, Kalia's breath gently left her cheeks. The weight was gone from her body, and she felt as if her limbs were finally free. The blood that had been dripping from her cheek was now holding her in place.

 When I opened my eyelids, I saw that Kalia was staring at me up close and personal. But her expression is much softer than it was when she entered the tent.

 Her small lips open in front of me.

"Lugis. I am your shield, never let go. If you let go, you will devour your master.

 Kalia said, jokingly. Her silver, almost absorbing eyes looked at me happily. She lets out a small exhale and opens her mouth.

 I'm not sure what to make of it, but I think it's a good idea.

I hope you'll be careful not to get separated from her, Kalia.

 I said this with a deliberate smile on my face to match Kalia's.