Kidnapped Princess C45

Chapter 45

‘Ah, did I make him bleed?’

A bitter sting throbbed at my neck. This was no cute hickey. It was savage—like an animal who, unable to suppress its desire, sank its teeth in to rip flesh.

“Luminas… the words you said a moment ago…”

Yet above all, the thing I could not forget was what mattered more: the unwavering tone in which she had said I had thrown her away.

“A… I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

Her voice, brushing against my ear, sounded dazed.

Really?

I wanted to ask. But she seemed bewitched, unaware even of what she was saying. It was remarkable she had even held out this long.

Was that just a slip of the tongue?

Had I ever cast Luminas aside? If someone were to ask, I could swear on my life that I never had. Therefore, it was most reasonable to focus on the fact that the words must have come out wrong.

“Your Majesty, I’m so sorry… How could I… hurt you…? Blood…”

Perhaps the shock of realizing she had injured me was too great; her tongue soon touched my neck. Startled, I pushed at her head, but she did not budge.

“W-wait! Luminas!”

Luminas gave me no time to think. As though her frenzy had not ended, she continued harassing my neck to the bitter end. Earlier she bit me; now she was licking and worrying at me without pause.

I told her to leave, and yet I stayed myself…

It was only my neck. It would heal quickly anyway.

While apologizing over and over, she kept licking, occasionally biting again without realizing it—like a puppy who had just learned to nip, she gnawed incessantly. It was more ticklish than painful, but my neck was left tattered all the same.

What had flipped her switch? There must have been some shift inside her mind to prompt such a change in behavior…

Seeing no sign of her stopping, I simply surrendered my body and let her do as she pleased. Several minutes later, Luminas finally regained her senses and lifted her head. My neck was in a pathetic state, like a ragged mop.

“…! Why did it get worse?”

Her tone was distinctly different from moments before. Earlier she’d had the languid air of a predator; now she sounded like the Luminas I knew—flustered, glancing around helplessly.

“It’s fine. It’ll heal soon. Do you feel better?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, Your Majesty… If I stay like this, I think I’ll feel even better.”

“Mm… but wouldn’t it get worse?”

Last time this happened, she suddenly bit my neck. The Luminas who had tried to escape me—who had told me to run from her—now refused to let go.

Luminas pressed her lips to my neck again and rubbed her cheek against it. As my breath grew slightly rough, she watched me anxiously. Judging that staying pressed against me would only agitate her further, I thought it best to keep a little distance.

“Luminas, shall we separate now?”

But instead, her arms tightened around me with even greater strength. Truly, a woman’s heart was like reeds in the wind.

“I’m sorry, but I really need you to let go now. The problem isn’t you anymore—it’s me…”

With Luminas constantly clinging to me, I was reaching my limit too.

Red-faced, gasping out a confession with feverish breath—Luminas continued to cling, making advances endlessly. There was simply no way to endure such a situation with a rational mind.

Who in their right mind wouldn’t react to someone biting and licking their neck like that?

I let out a long sigh. I bit my lip hard, trying to stifle any sound, yet more than once a helpless moan nearly escaped me. And Luminas—no matter how one looked—was beautiful enough to topple kingdoms.

Wouldn’t it be strange NOT to react?!

Suppressing another sigh, I mentally hummed the national anthem to distract myself.

Where are they?! Why are they taking so long?!

I had not expected it to take this long. Then suddenly, something prodded insistently against me from below. An ornament on her dress? Yet it felt… strange.

Cold sweat trickled down my spine as I worried she might notice my own rising reaction. But the situation turned out to be the opposite, leaving me bewildered.

Besides, Luminas shouldn’t have anything like that.

“Uh… Luminas. Something is poking me…”

Luminas stared up at me blankly—then, as if realizing something horrifying, jolted upright. The same Luminas who refused to move despite being told to now leaped away to the edge of the bed. I startled; she did too.

Just then, Elvin appeared. The one I had been desperately waiting for—not Elvin himself, but the demon he was bringing.

“Your Majesty, I have brought him.”

“Finally. Which—”

I doubted my own eyes. Of course I assumed the intruder in my bedchamber would be a succubus. Nearly every demon who dared sneak into my private chambers was female.

Sometimes it was a male body, but that was rare enough to be considered rainfall in drought. Thus I had naturally concluded it would be a succubus. But the demon Elvin dragged in was an incubus.

The biggest difference between a succubus and an incubus was their sex. In other words, an incubus was a male body. The demon collapsed before me was unmistakably male.

“An incubus cast the charm on Luminas.”

A greater fury welled from deep within my gut. The implication carried by the difference between female and male was enormous. And Luminas was a woman. The fact that a male incubus, of all beings, cast a charm on her stoked my anger and suspicion.

“Did you target Luminas on purpose?”

Perhaps he had been aiming for her from the start, not me.

Even though I had appointed her as my future bride, there were demons who cast lust-filled gazes her way as they passed.

Luminas was human, but beautiful, and she had grown into a strong woman. And she was the only human in the Demon Realm. Whether from curiosity or something else, many had shown interest.

My hand clenched tight. I stood before the fallen demon. Meeting my wrath-filled gaze, he trembled.

“I… th-that…”

The incubus shook in terror. Our eyes met, and I understood why Nyx’s holy power hadn’t worked.

“Of all things, a bearer of the Devil’s Eye^1…”

There were many forms of the Devil’s Eye. His merely strengthened his charm magic—but for a human like Luminas, it was lethal. And now things would undoubtedly get complicated.

“M-my lord… I… guh…!”

I had no interest in his excuses. I seized his throat instantly.

“Why did you cast charm on Luminas? Planning to force yourself on her?”

“N-no! I was aiming for you, Your Majesty—!”

“Me?”

He nodded frantically. So his target had been me, not Luminas. Rage flared, this time directed inward. Why had I left them alone, allowing Luminas to suffer like this?

“Then why charm Luminas? Speak clearly, unless you wish to test my patience.”

“She—she got in the way, so I just wanted to toy with her a little…”

Such disgustingly demon-like thinking. But the real issue was acting without considering the aftermath. Normally, the caster could release their own charm…

“Release it. Remove the charm you cast.”

The incubus cowered, fiddling with his fingers, unable to meet my eyes.

“Th-the charm was through my Devil’s Eye, so… it cannot be undone. I honestly didn’t expect her to still be like this. Usually anyone would just… succumb to desire by now.”

“That is what you dare call an explanation? You strip someone of reason and expect me to stand by while she throws herself at anyone?!”

My roar made him flinch, unable to raise his head. Yet he still had dared to charm Luminas.

“So you’re saying you have no way to fix this?”

He nodded.

A blue vein pulsed at my forehead.

Even now, Luminas suffered, forcing a smile to keep from worrying me. Her body burning, sweat pouring down—she could not possibly be fine.

“I see. Then you’re useless. Just die. Surely you anticipated this much risk?”

“P-please have mercy…!”

It had been a while since I had made an example of someone, but now did not seem a bad time. The others had grown complacent—this would be a proper warning.

“If you want to live, return Luminas to normal. But you can’t, can you?”

Thank goodness I had already ordered Nyx to make an antidote, no questions asked.

“Th-then His Majesty can undo it.”

“…What?”

I felt as if I’d heard utter nonsense.

“Since she is your bride, Your Majesty should be able to dispel it… Have you not consummated the union?”

My foot nearly slipped. Flushing, I shouted:

“Of course not!”

Everyone knew the method of dispelling charm. Even Nyx had hinted at it. But that had never been an option to begin with.

Truly—Lilith’s underlings had no shame at all.

“I-I’m really sorry! I only meant to tease her a little! I had no other intentions! Besides, she looked—well—frustrated… A-and also, there was something strange. I peeked briefly into her dreams and she was a m-ma—urk!”

With a sharp whoosh, a pillow slammed into the incubus’s face and sank into him. The faint glow meant Luminas had thrown it imbued with holy power. Elvin clapped delightedly to the side.

Turning back, I saw Luminas panting harshly.

“Your Majesty, kill him.”