The Obsession of a Fallen Paladin

9. The Mask of the Perfect Holy Knight (3)

“……!”

It didn’t end there. Her hand quickly removed his glove.

He recoiled too late, the glove already in her possession.

A ring set with a violet gemstone on his fist glinted ominously like the eye of a beast.

Veins on the back of his hand, already red and swollen, throbbed uncontrollably, triggered by the demonic lust.

Leon’s face turned pale.

But Kasha’s sudden actions didn’t stop there. Her cold hand reached for his cheek.

Her white hand slid over his rough skin, weathered by rigorous training. She stroked his cheek as if soothing a frightened child.

Leon swallowed his breath in distress.

Ignoring him, she moved her hand down his hot cheek and along his sharp jawline.

A sound like a groan escaped his lips. She observed him quietly.

As her hand was about to reach the strong line of his neck, Leon slapped it away coldly.

“What are you doing?”

“…….”

“Is this mockery instead of pity?”

His tone was icy and filled with contempt.

Yet none of his sharp words reached Kasha.

Kasha looked down at her wrist, which he had slapped away, and gently rubbed it.

Though he had used only a light force, her soft and fragile skin quickly turned red and swollen.

Leon’s eyes, watching this, also turned dangerously red.

Breathing heavily, he turned his back on her. As he started to leave the balcony, Kasha finally spoke.

“You are in agony, aren’t you?”

“…….”

He stopped but did not turn around.

Kasha continued slowly.

“Your eyes must be burning with intense heat… Your entire body stimulated to the point of delirium… Your senses of smell, sight, and hearing must be painfully heightened.”

“……!”

Leon’s shoulders stiffened as if struck by lightning. Seeing his rigid back, Kasha continued.

“And a certain part of your body must be beyond your control right now.”

“You…”

His voice was like a growl.

Leon turned slowly to face her.

Kasha was both surprised and pleased.

The noble, upright, and polite knight was gone.

His eyes now blazed with fury.

The muscles in his jaw stood out from clenching his teeth, and his body seemed to swell with anger.

This was a more familiar sight for Kasha.

“What are you?”

“Kasha Ruschino.”

“What do you know?”

The polite tone was gone. Only a beast, cornered and ready to strike, remained.

It wasn’t a mere illusion that his eyes appeared red.

Before her regression, she had seen his eyes turn red when he was aroused.

A sign of his heightened state.

Kasha slowly turned her body away, avoiding eye contact.

Provoking him further would be disadvantageous now.

She had provoked him enough; now was the time to soothe him, to lure him with a tempting bait.

“Did you really think no one would notice?”

As she spoke, she felt a sudden heat around her neck.

Leon had grabbed her throat.

The searing heat from his grip felt as if it would leave a permanent mark.

He turned her to face him with his hand still on her throat.

His eyes, burning with an inhuman heat, glared at her. His voice, hoarse with rage, questioned her.

“Do you know why I am like this?”

His voice was filled with anguish.

He had been suffering for months without knowing the cause or cure for this hideous and filthy torment.

Kasha, barely able to speak through her constricted throat, managed to say,

“…A curse… cough.”

A curse?

He paused, taken aback by her unexpected answer.

“A curse means there’s a caster? Someone did this to me on purpose?”

Blink. Blink.

Unable to nod due to his grip, Kasha blinked twice.

Understanding her answer, his anger reached its peak.

“Who is it? Who sent you? The one who did this to me?”

His hand grew hotter. The purple gem on his ring shone dangerously. Kasha felt her breathing becoming more labored.

He did not bother to hide his intent to kill.

But he did not crush her throat either.

He knew well that he could snap her slender neck with a mere squeeze of his hand, yet he held back, his hand blazing as he gripped her firmly.

Kasha closed her eyes.

Maybe one day.

After retrieving all the magic stones scattered across the world, and after Simon and the unknown conspirators paid the price. Then, perhaps, she could confess everything to him.

But not now.

“I don’t know who cast the curse… cough. cough.”

Her voice came out haltingly, constricted by his grip.

Yet he didn’t seem inclined to loosen his hold.

“Stop playing games. You’d better speak properly if you want to live.”

“Let go… cough. cough. First…”

Hearing her gasping for breath, he finally began to release his fingers slowly.

Even so, his face contorted, as if struggling to suppress his desire or pain.

Despite his anger-driven actions, he had felt her skin, her warmth, her pulsating veins, while choking her.

For someone who had been practicing strict abstinence since the curse began, it was excessive stimulation.

“Ha, ha, urgh.”

He suddenly gasped for breath.

It was as if he was battling to hold on to his sanity, trying not to succumb to his desire.

Perhaps desire was winning.

Just before completely releasing his fingers, he traced her protruding collarbone with a trance-like touch.

Kasha shivered, swallowing her breath.

Leon, half-dazed, continued to run his fingers down her neck, as if confirming each vertebra exposed by the low neckline of her dress.

His hand was halted by Kasha’s coughing.

Cough. Cough.

The shock of being choked and the sudden stimulus made her cough violently.

Cough. Cough. Cough.

As her coughing didn’t stop, the red in his eyes gradually faded back to normal.

With a slightly dazed expression, he approached her as if to support her.

But Kasha stepped back.

Thud.

Seeing her clear refusal, he stopped immediately.

At the same time, his face twisted as he realized what he had done.

Despite struggling to stop coughing, Kasha thought.

‘I’m not avoiding you. I’m worried you’ll get more excited if you touch me.’

But the coughing wouldn’t stop, prolonging their standoff.

At that moment, the curtains covering the balcony swayed.

“Kasha. Is everything alright?”

Kasha was startled.

‘I forgot about Daryl.’

He must have been standing guard outside the curtain and heard her coughing.

Kasha raised her voice to stop him.

“It’s nothing! Cough.”

“Are you sure? I’m coming in.”

“No.”

As the curtain began to open, Leon’s cold and firm refusal stopped it.

“Lord Ruschino. Do not come in.”

“What’s that supposed to mean…? Listen here, Sir Leon.”

Before their confrontation could escalate, Kasha quickly intervened.

“Brother. I’m fine. I’ll be out soon… just a moment. Cough.”

“What exactly are you two doing in there…?”

Daryl’s voice grew louder.

“You have one minute. Then I’m coming in.”

Despite Leon’s high status, Daryl seemed unwilling to barge in outright.

Or perhaps the common notion of balconies being used for lovers’ trysts held him back.

Glaring at the curtain, Leon ground his teeth and whispered in Kasha’s ear.

“Now, speak.”

The heat of his breath scorched her earlobe.

Kasha blinked a few times in the heat before speaking slowly.

“Three magic stones. In ancient times, mages… made them through contracts with demons.”

“Demons?”

Despite his excitement, he seemed to grasp the importance of her words.

“Yes. The owner of a magic stone can use a demon’s power… but it comes with a powerful curse. You are under one of the three stones’ curses… the Curse of Onor.”

“The Curse of Onor? But I don’t possess any magic stones.”

“You don’t have it… cough. Someone else does. You have only the curse.”

His face, furrowed in thought, gradually hardened.

The fiery glow in his eyes dimmed, but it only signified greater rage.

His voice dropped lower, chillingly.

“So, you mean to say… the one who possesses the magic stone uses its power while directing the curse solely at me?”

Exactly.

“…I can help you.”

Leon looked down at Kasha with a cold, hardened expression.

“You can help me?”

“Yes. Come find me… There must be an intermediary directing the curse to you… If we find it,”

“How can I trust you?”

He scoffed coldly.

“That’s…”

“Let me summarize. You know I’m cursed. You know the curse is caused by a magic stone called Onor. You even know how to cure it.”

“……”

“But just one thing. You don’t know who cast the curse.”

“……”

“Actually, the most logical assumption seems to be this.”

“……”

“That the caster of this curse is you, Kasha.”

His handsome lips twisted into a sneer.