The Red Witch - Chapter 24
He didn’t stop at just silencing her. His lips parted against hers with deliberate slowness, and his tongue— uninvited and unhesitating — slipped past hers and claimed her mouth without apology.
Ael thoroughly traced Kiara’s teeth with his tongue, then moved to brush against hers — almost as if coaxing her with an urgency that bordered on desperation. It was strangely tender, and something about the moment made Kiara instinctively respond, shyly offering her own tongue.
But then, his demeanor shifted.
Just as Kiara timidly reached toward him, Ael caught her tongue with unexpected intensity.
‘Hmph.’
Startled, her mind conjured an image of a hawk snatching a rabbit, quick and decisive. It really did feel like a hunt. His tongue wrapped around hers, firm and possessive, drawing her in deeper. Even as he kissed her, his movements were unrelenting, sweeping across her mouth in a way that left her breathless. It was her mouth, but she felt more like the guest than the owner.
Before she realized it, her entire mouth felt flushed with heat. Her body went slack. A strange warmth pooled in her lower belly — a sensation she wasn’t entirely used to.
“Mmm…”
Because of their height difference, her head tilted back uncomfortably, and her breath came in short gasps. Her legs trembled beneath her.
Just as she began to wobble, Ael’s arms tightened, steadying her.
“Ah…”
The hardness of his armor pressed roughly against her frail body. Her already labored breathing became more ragged. Kiara groaned between her parted lips, but instead of releasing her, Ael lifted her off the ground. Kiara’s lips were still on his. Without her feet on the ground, Kiara could do nothing but press against him.
Soon, there was not even an inch of space between their lips anymore, and yet Ael continued to pull her toward him.
More, more. Give me all of you.
He didn’t even know what he truly wanted, but something about him kept reaching for Kiara, an unspoken need lingering in the air.
‘What… what on earth is happening…?’
No matter how much she thought about it, Kiara had nothing to offer. When her thoughts reached this point, a sudden fear of Ael’s unknown desires gripped her.
What does he want, what is he expecting from me?
Kiara started to strike his chest and shoulders with her clenched fists. She hit him so hard that her injured hand throbbed, but Ael, who had always been careful with her wounds until now, didn’t care this time.
In truth, he didn’t really know what he wanted either. He just had the thought that he wanted to fill her completely with himself.
In this small mouth, in her head, in her body, he wanted to fill her up and stir her. And in the end, he wanted to leave only himself behind. Just like when she was sobbing beneath him, begging with eyes clouded, pleading for him to fill her up.
He wanted to make her unable to think of anything else.
‘…Then, what should I do to make that happen…?’
Ael began to think.
Even in the heat of the moment, desperately exploring Kiara’s mouth, his mind was still working. Finally, Kiara’s image appeared before his eyes, meekly dragged to the chapel. The sight of her, trembling in fear with a blindfold and a gag, appeared in his mind.
‘Yes. That will work.’
He would lock her inside this tower. Prevent anyone, like that Raelin or whoever, from coming in and make her eat only what he gave her, see only what he showed her. Then, those eyes would be filled with only him, and that mouth would prettily chirp beneath him.
In the end, her ears, her eyes, her mouth — everything would depend solely on him.
It was a thrilling thought. A satisfied Ael’s tongue grabbed Kiara’s tongue, rolling together with it.
‘Aeliel Grandilgale, get a grip. This isn’t the time for this.’
The faint reason that remained in his mind urgently whispered, but he was already half out of his senses. It must be an enchantment spell. Before he went completely mad, he needed to lock up this witch.
No, it’s only natural, wasn’t it?
‘The Grandilgales of the past have always treated the Red Witch this way.’
They locked them up, chained them, cut their ankles, blinded them, cut their tongues, and occasionally even severed their limbs completely.
Only the Grandilgales, those who were immune to the witch’s blood, could do such things.
No matter how powerful their magic was, the Red Witch could not harm a Grandilgale. Therefore, only the Grandilgale could break the curse on the Red Witches or lock them away. Their immense power was more useful when confined rather than freed. Otherwise, someone would come to steal it.
Just look at this. Isn’t the sound of her struggling almost tempting?
As if intending to bind her entire tongue, Ael greedily sucked Kiara’s tongue into his mouth.
Who… who dares say they can steal you from me?
‘…Damn, it’s definitely an enchantment spell.’
The witch’s enchantment spell was trying to bind him as a soulmate — trying to make sure he kept her by his side.
Otherwise, how could this absurd bond even be possible?
Could it happen without the priest marrying them? Doesn’t that mean the priest could annul their bond? Damn it, I shouldn’t have killed the priest.
No, maybe it was for the best.
Now, no one else can be her soulmate. This witch was his, forever.
