The Sub Male Lead is Burning with Jealousy - Chapter 7 Part 7
‘…There’s some divine power mixed in with the magic, but since it seems to be of the blessing type, I don’t need to explain that.’
Even Emilio himself couldn’t recognize this power. There was a high-ranking priest skilled with magical artifacts in the adjacent conference room, but Emilio doubted he would understand the exact effects either.
“But the priest checked this magical artifact too, right? What did they say?”
“They said it was blessed by the Goddess of Earth. Other than the fact that it’s a relic with strong divine power, they couldn’t determine anything else.”
‘The Goddess of Earth?’
Erenta. Also revered as the Goddess of Fertility, she was known as the Goddess of Lust, Passion, and Love when depicted with a mask. Emilio made a subtle expression at the fitting connection between the magic on the ring and the goddess’s domain.
“Why? Do you suspect something?” Rahil asked.
Emilio shook his head. He had examined the magic formula of the ring but hadn’t fully understood it.
“You’re the one who should explain this to Her Majesty the Empress.”
“What?”
“You wouldn’t want me to be the one to explain this to Her Majesty, would you?”
It wasn’t a subject one could comfortably bring up with another’s wife. If anyone had to explain it, it would be less awkward for Rahil to do it.
“Anyway, I’ll go back to the tower and try to undo the spell. I made copies of both earlier, so I won’t need to bother you two again.”
“What about the Empress? It’s only five hours until midnight.”
“Well….”
Emilio looked away, scratching his cheek awkwardly.
“Y-You two need to figure that out yourselves. I don’t know!”
“Hey!”
However, Emilio quickly ran toward the window and opened it. In an instant, he transformed into a hawk and flew out of the building. Rahil clicked his tongue at the sight. If it had been an enemy, he would have simply cut them down with his sword, but it was Emilio, so he couldn’t do that.
‘If only I could just….’
He couldn’t just cut him down. The thought of explaining this to Anais made him feel dizzy.
Though it wasn’t Rahil’s doing, his friend Emilio’s actions put him in a difficult position. Anais wasn’t visibly angry, but Rahil couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye.
‘I’ve already committed so many sins.’
Now, there was one more added to the list. However, he couldn’t let midnight arrive without any explanation, so he dispatched the Imperial mage and high priest to handle the situation and escorted Anais back to the Empress’s Palace. She seemed somewhat resigned.
Given Emilio’s attitude when analyzing the magical artifact, Rahil had anticipated his reaction to some extent. While Anais only showed emotional responses when confronted with equally emotional issues.
Inside the carriage returning to the Empress’s Palace, Rahil revealed what he’d heard from Emilio. Anais wasn’t particularly surprised by the part about the ring doubling her sensitivity. To be precise, she looked as if she couldn’t quite grasp what that would feel like.
However, she was taken aback by the revelation that it would cause s*xual ar*usal for thirty minutes at midnight.
“So, the ring is essentially a tool to encourage intimacy?”
“Well, uh… dragons weren’t creatures that mated frequently. It seems like a tool to address that.”
Emilio had mentioned that it would take five years to fully unravel the magical formula. Anais recalled the nights she spent with Rahil.
‘It would be faster to satisfy the conditions stated in the message from the ring.’
If her sensitivity were twice as high as usual, it would be easy to feel aroused. Moreover, if it only heightened sensitivity during interactions with Rahil and not in her everyday life, it wouldn’t be a problem. She just needed to avoid physical contact with him.
‘But thirty minutes every night… Can I handle it? Physically, I mean.’
Rahil would certainly be fine, but she was worried about herself. Besides, she wasn’t sure if Rahil would want to do that every night.
“I’ll try to endure it, but if it gets really tough, I’ll ask for your help.”
Since the root cause was Rahil’s friend Emilio, if it became too bothersome, she wouldn’t let it slide. Still, seeing Rahil as another victim, Anais said this. Rahil blushed deeply and responded.
“I, I’m fine with it… you don’t have to hold back. If you want to use me… um… I’m, I’m ready anytime…”
Anais felt relieved by Rahil’s hesitant reply. Although the situation was embarrassing and awkward, Rahil’s willingness to go along made her think they could get through it.
“Still… we don’t know what might happen because of the artifact’s effects. Until we can remove this ring, I think it would be best if you keep the contraceptive ring on.”
“OKAY!”
Rahil, who was inadvertently overjoyed, blushed deeply and lowered his head. He looked at Anais with a worried expression, concerned that she might take his words the wrong way.
Fortunately, Anais just gave him a gentle smile.
Seeing Rahil’s expression soften with that single smile, Anais thought again.
‘This is dangerous. He’s looking cute again.’
It was unsettling to find such a large, dark-haired man appearing so adorable.
* * *
To be honest, Anais was still unsure about the specific nature of the spell she was under. She knew the theoretical implications from the explanation, but she couldn’t grasp the specifics.
‘So basically, I’ll want to be with Rahil?’
And for thirty minutes, at that. Plus, I would now feel twice as sensitive to Rahil’s touch. Really….
‘Sure, I did feel something when we were doing it… but I’m not sure what exactly “twice as much” means in concrete terms.’
Even though she was under a spell, Anais’s body felt normal. The fabric of her clothes didn’t bother her, and she didn’t feel feverish or itchy. Perhaps it was because it wasn’t midnight yet, as the text from the magic artifact had warned.
Therefore, Anais remained calm and wasn’t angry. Her composed reaction while listening to Rahil’s explanation stemmed from this.
She believed she understood what it meant to desire something physically, but in truth, she wasn’t certain about the nature of that longing.
