The Guide Played Her Role as a Stand-in a Little Too Well - Chapter 42
Hedonia said, his lowered tone sultry as he pointed to his lips.
“……Have you lost your mind over kissing?”
Hedonia frowned deeply at my words.
“The term perfectionist would be more fitting for you. How far do you think the guiding inside will go?”
“……To be honest, I haven’t really thought about it.”
But the moment he spoke, my mind went blank.
‘Guiding doesn’t end with just hugging, does it?’
The more intimate the skinship, the more exponentially effective the guiding becomes.
For now, it might only involve handholding or hugging…..
‘But it could go further.’
Shaelock, like me, prefers the opposite sex, so I shouldn’t worry.
Similarly, I shouldn’t have to worry about Esban, who is practically a statue to me. But Pheon seemed capable of going beyond just kissing.
“Do you understand now?”
Even as Hedonia spoke, I couldn’t deny it.
“So practice with me first.”
“…..'”
“Do it with me.”
He grasped my hand and brought it to his chin.
My heart pounded fiercely again as he leaned in closer, holding my captured chin.
“The very first thing.”
Why did those brief words sound so desperate?
Why did his unwavering gaze convey a resolve so different from mere obsession or jealousy?
Was it because of the location?
Was it the atmosphere, the situation being so unlike usual?
A wave of unfamiliar, alien emotions washed over me.
‘I’ll have to do it anyway.’
Something to experience while guiding.
I wasn’t conservative enough to feel averse to kissing or intimacy.
‘Right, I don’t really need to avoid this.’
If I’m going to do it, it’s not a bad idea to start by crossing that line with Hedonia.
‘I think I can do it now.’
Perhaps from envisioning this moment for days, trying to adapt, confidence welled up within me.
Swallowing hard, I pulled Hedonia’s chin toward me.
I didn’t grasp it forcefully, yet he yielded helplessly into my pull.
Our lips met.
Only when our lips touched did I realize what I had done.
‘Oh my…’
As my eyes widened in surprise, Hedonia’s hand cast a shadow over my eyelids.
Hedonia, his eyes narrowed like mine, blinked.
Soon, his hand lowered my eyelids.
As if telling me to close my eyes.
As my vision went dark, the sensation on my lips became more vivid.
‘……It happened.’
A courage I couldn’t pinpoint the source of slowly revealed itself.
‘Then I should do this properly.’
Just pressing lips wouldn’t make sense when guiding, right?
I parted my lips slightly and stuck out my tongue.
Like knocking on a door.
Hedonia’s lips didn’t open.
‘Was that to be expected?’
Perhaps he had anticipated only a simple kiss.
Just as I was regretting going too far, his tongue pushed into my mouth.
The contact was as natural as water flowing.
The flesh that initially grazed my teeth entwined with my tongue. Exchanging what was undoubtedly not my own saliva, it grew increasingly difficult to breathe.
Before I knew it, the heat consuming me, the prolonged, dominating kiss, threatened to engulf me entirely.
“Huh……”
Even though I initiated it, why did I feel drained, my mind hazy?
Our tongues briefly parted.
Only then did I regain my senses and open my eyes.
“……”
His intense gaze mirrored the start of our first kiss.
Hedonia’s fingers wiped the saliva, not his own, from around my lips.
A tender gesture, utterly unlike his usual words and actions.
In contrast to my ragged breathing, he seemed perfectly composed.
Where did his usual stamina comparable to mine go? Or was his vigor for such activities stored separately?
Hedonia murmured while trailing his thumb along my lower lip.
“You’re out of it. It doesn’t seem like guiding needs to go that deep.”
The heat that had consumed my body suddenly cooled.
Strangely, a sense of disappointment washed over me the moment he defined the boundaries of our intimacy.
Yet his words weren’t wrong.
Right, this was merely a part of the skinship required for guiding.
“Pressing lips together…you don’t need to use your tongue.”
Though he spoke in uncharacteristic fragments, the point was about guiding.
‘Right, Hedonia’s actions hold no ulterior motives.’
There are times when dealing with Hedonia that I don’t feel like myself.
Moments like now, when I’m swept away by a sudden flood of overwhelming emotions.
At times like these, I become recklessly bold.
‘I should just enjoy it.’
Keeping connections light, savoring the skinship, is the way to go.
Finally, my mind settled into calm.
Yet I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of vexation for some reason.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I smiled wryly.