Angelina froze, her eyes wide in shock. She was so startled that Edwin half-expected her eyes to pop out of her head. Without thinking, he reached out to touch her.
Suddenly, like a fish out of water, Angelina flailed and darted to the far end of the sofa. Her quick escape reminded Edwin of a squirrel sensing danger.
He chuckled briefly, but the absence of her lips on his brought an immediate sense of loss.
Feeling oddly unsatisfied, he touched his lips absentmindedly, his gaze drifting back to hers, now hidden behind her hands.
‘I haven’t even tasted them yet.’
As he imagined how her lips might taste, he found himself licking his own. Seeing that, Angelina shrank even further into the sofa’s corner, clearly unnerved.
Grinning, Edwin slowly moved closer to her.
She pressed herself against the sofa, realising there was nowhere left to run, and looked up at him with teary eyes.
Her fearful expression and the way her hand trembled as she covered her lips only heightened Edwin’s excitement.
With her violet eyes quivering like a candle in the wind, Edwin gently grasped her wrist and pulled her hand away from her mouth.
Angelina tried to resist, but his strength far exceeded hers.
With tears welling in her eyes, she muttered softly, “It was my first time. Really, my first…”
Edwin was taken aback by the unexpected words.
“I’ve kept it safe all this time…” she mumbled gloomily before suddenly glaring at him with an intensity he hadn’t seen before.
Her eyes were filled with a mixture of frustration and resentment, and Edwin’s expression instantly hardened.
If anyone else had looked at him that way, he would have killed them on the spot.
But Angelina’s gaze sent a thrill through him, even causing his heart to race.
He wasn’t used to seeing her look so fierce.
Having grown accustomed to her fear or timid glances, this powerful expression felt new and exhilarating.
“You’re awful! It was my first kiss!”
Angelina finally burst out, her voice quivering with frustration as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Edwin stared at her in stunned silence, trying to process her outburst.
When the meaning of her words finally sank in, a slow smile crept across his face.
“Your first kiss, huh?”
He leaned in close, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Angelina, realising what she had just admitted, froze, her anxiety growing.
“We share each other’s firsts now, don’t we?” Edwin whispered, his voice thick with excitement.
Angelina glanced up at him, her eyes filled with dread.
“I’m going to lose my mind,” he muttered.
Edwin had experienced rage so intense it felt like it would burn his mind, but… this euphoria that threatened to melt his brain was new.
Even when fighting monsters, he had never lost control of his heartbeat like this.
Now, he felt like he was floating, his mind hazy with excitement.
The urge to run wildly through the streets or scream at the top of his lungs was almost overwhelming. He even felt a desire to smash everything in sight.
Overcome by the intense sensation, Edwin pulled Angelina into a tight embrace.
As he buried his face in her soft neck and inhaled her sweet scent, his heart pounded even harder.
In the past, her scent would have calmed him down, but now it only seemed to fuel his excitement.
“This isn’t good.”
Edwin felt like he was on the verge of losing control, even to the point of unleashing his madness, so he scooped Angelina up and stood.
‘I need to run.’
His steps quickened as he carried her toward the hotel’s exit.
Meanwhile, Angelina lay silent in his arms, her face pale.
*
The day after Edwin and Angelina left, new visitors arrived in Keitan.
“Welcome. It must have been a long journey,” said Count Solen, the lord of Keitan and vassal of the Duke of Shavini, as he bowed politely.
The visitors were all dressed in white priest robes.
“We travelled comfortably using the warp gate. I apologize for not arriving sooner,” said the young man leading the priests.
With hair as blue as the clear sky, warm golden eyes, and a gentle demeanour, the man radiated a calming presence.
“Not at all, Archbishop. We are grateful that you came so quickly, especially given the short notice.”
“There was a tragic incident, so of course we had to come. Have the bodies been collected?”
“We are still in the process. The condition of the remains makes it difficult to identify them,” Count Solen explained.
“Please take us to where the bodies are. We’d like to offer prayers for their souls,” the archbishop replied.
“I will guide you,” Count Solen said, leading them to a grey building near the shore.
Inside, there were countless bodies covered in white cloth.