Chapter 32

Story 19. The Line between the Light and the Shadow (2)

Chapter 32

No matter how hard I tried to remember, the Goddess’ warrior never once told me directly that I couldn’t continue my physical relationship with Iztal Eriez. The only warning he gave me was to forget about my feelings for Prince Camille. Besides, I was following this order.

It seemed that Eriez was also never told to stop his activities with me. My friend was a very loyal soldier, so there was no way he would disobey the warrior.

Recently, I learned a lot from Prince Camille. How to make ink from scratch… What happens when the glue is too thin… How glue is used to make our weapons… Blah blah blah…

“Ahh… Eri… ah… S-slow down… a little… Mmmmh…”

“It’s fine. Everything is going well, so don’t worry about it. I’m almost in, so stop tensing up. Spread yourself a little wider, so I can get in deeper… Ahh…”

My good friend lately started insisting on having me on my knees against a bed and taking me from behind. I wasn’t sure how long it would be until he became tired of this position, but at least, I was getting used to taking him into my body. I have been feeling better about it. I could tell my body was reshaping itself to the shape of Eriez’s shaft.

“Mmmhh…. Ahhh… Eri…”

“Gosh, you sound so sexy.”

It was getting shockingly more natural for him to enter me. As he penetrated me deeply, I felt a little discomfort, so I twisted my body a little. I had to admit that Eriez was right. He treated my body with care, and he has never hurt me. Well, my knees sometimes got scraped from his vigorous movement, or my lips would bleed after having me bite it too hard from pleasure, but… As a swordsman, I couldn’t complain about these minor injuries.

He was entirely inside me now, and the thickness I felt was… strange yet pleasurable.

“Ahh… Mhhhh… Arrr…”

“Aaaa… Juya… you… you are too… loud…”

“Mmmhh… kk…”

Eriez stuck two of his fingers inside of my mouth, and instantly, I began to lick and suck on them. I was burning up, and I didn’t think I could take any more of this, but this was only the beginning. Eriez rhythmically began to move back and forth against me. Only our breathy moans filled the room, and, although it wasn’t painful, I still couldn’t understand why someone would find this act pleasurable. It was okay, but I wouldn’t call it pleasurable.

Eriez grabbed my hair and pulled it hard, but I let him do whatever he wished. He helped and accepted me when I was going through a hardship, so this was my turn. I was only happy to let him use me and my body.

“Ahh… Mmmhh…”

“Ahh… Juya… Juya… you are so beautiful… ahh…. This is so amazing… It feels so good…”

Well, not for me, but it wasn’t bad. After a few more minutes, Eriez shuddered and collapsed on my back. He must have felt a little guilty because he was the only one who enjoyed this, so he began to stammer, “… Ahhh… Umm… D-do you want me to touch you? I mean… you are a little hard… right? Or… do you want me to suck you? You like that, right? I’m good at it too…”

“I’m fine.”

I didn’t come to him to get satisfaction for myself. I refused him coldly and left his bed. My muscular friend laid on the bed weakly and didn’t even turn towards me as I got dressed and left the room.

This went on for days… One, two, three… and so on.

Why couldn’t I just say it? What was I doing? Why?

Things felt tense and uncertain, not just with Eriez but among all of The Innocent Ones too. I still had so many questions, and one night, I realized that perhaps the answers didn’t have to come from just one person.

***

“…?”

After leaving Eriez’s room, I washed with cold water and returned to my room. It was very late, and when I entered my place, I suddenly smelled a familiar scent. It was an unexpected guest standing in my room. He said to me sarcastically, “You must be having busy days playing around with Prince Camille. It’s the middle of the night, and you are just returning to your place now, my brother?”

Distinctively husky voice and slim body… He was leaning against the wall in the corner, and, although I could only see his shadow, I knew immediately who it was. He walked towards me slowly, and I asked, “I-Iztal Manar… What are you doing here?”

“Why do you look so surprised? You look like you were caught doing something bad… I came here to talk.”

I calmed down a little because when he lit the lantern, I realized he was alone. Of course, I also noticed that there was a human head on a metal platter beside the lamp…

I know it sounds strange, but the presence of the human head made me feel even more relieved. This meant that Manar didn’t come here to question me about my relationship with Eriez. I haven’t done anything wrong other than… you know what… so I felt confident that I could take on whatever Manar planned on throwing at me.

“Manar, if you came here to talk, then why did you bring that to my room?”

The head looked very fresh, much newer than the ones I saw in the main living quarters. It seemed like this man was probably beheaded yesterday or today because the blood looked still red and liquid.

“Hmm… why did I bring this here? Juya, you are talking like you didn’t kill this man.”

“Of course, I didn’t kill him. Why are you talking like I killed him?”

“Are you sure? Look at the head and tell me. Do you really not know who this is?”

I knew he was only trying to get information, any information, out of me. It was clear he had no idea, so I smirked and replied, “I did hear that the messengers from the capital were found murdered, but I never really paid attention to the messengers’ faces, so I have no idea who this head belongs to.”

It sounded like this was one of the messengers, but I wasn’t interested. It was the messenger’s duty to deliver communications. It was a dangerous job, but no one forced anyone into taking this position. Besides, based on what I heard, not all of the messengers were killed.

A messenger arrived Minurd every five days, sometimes more if there were substantial and time-sensitive messages. Based on my understanding, three to four bodies were found so far in the woods, although they weren’t sure exactly how many because the bodies were ripped and mutilated severely.

“If you really don’t know, then I guess I will explain. I got an order from the Goddess’ warrior recently to investigate this situation. We have known about the murders for a few days now, and my other brothers have been roaming the woods to find all the body parts… It has been tough to accomplish this… Exploring the thick woods is an arduous task.”

“If anyone could, it would be you, Manar.”

I meant what I said. It was true that as a child, I admired and respected Manar for his intelligence and strategies. I worked hard to become like him, but now, the boy I revered was no more. Somehow, he lost the sacred qualities of The Innocent Ones, and he was becoming weak. His beautiful face was also gone due to a severe burn from an accident.

Now, I could see that fire and sharpness was back in his eyes again.

“True. I can, and I almost thought I did.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“What the murderer did was incredible, and he left no evidence. All the letters the messengers were carrying were destroyed, some ripped into pieces, and others soaked in blood and unreadable. However, I did find out one thing, and that is this murderer has no intention of stopping. He is still continuing to kill, so we thought that the best way to find him would be to find him in his act.”

“…”

“But… we have been unsuccessful so far, and I am afraid we may have lost him forever.”

When I listened quietly, Manar took out a folded paper from his pocket. He put it down on the table, and as soon as I saw the seal, I knew what it was.

“… one of the letters survived? You were able to retrieve it?”