HPV 102

Marriage is a human custom. Banwes didn’t fully grasp what it means.

Still, judging by his dazed expression, it seemed the weight of it hit him right away.

“One of the things I’ve always wanted is to be someone’s husband someday. And I want that someone to be you.”

Maybe it was the lingering effect of spending the last few days tangled together in each other’s warmth—but Banwes’s expression was strikingly honest, like all his feelings had surfaced.

His mouth fell open in surprise, then he quickly shut it, jaw jutting as if forcing himself to keep it closed.

Before he could say something strange again, I stepped in first and silenced him.

“This isn’t just me getting swept up in the moment and speaking on impulse. I want to bind you to me.”

You know what? Right now, I’m so happy I could die.

“I want to do so many things with you. Even if there’s no reason to—just because I want to.”

My face was probably a mess from crying so much. I wasn’t sure if this was the right time to confess.

But then I remembered the sweetness in his gaze when he looked at me, and I thought maybe it was okay. I cupped his cheek in my hand.

“Let’s live together.”

When I was alone in the temple for a few days, the high priest visited me often. He left piles of books. I didn’t read them.

Even in those moments when I believed I was free, I wanted to be with Banwes. Reading to him, teaching him letters.

He told me things too.

Now he could learn anything he wanted, and even if he didn’t, his body was comfortable and he was free from threat—he needed nothing more.

But still, he couldn’t do anything without me.

The only thing he did was imagine what I might be doing, wherever I was, apart from him.

All my wandering and his searching had led us here, to the people we are today. And now, I was almost certain.

“You want to be bound to me too, don’t you?”

A deep wave of emotion, close to awe, spread through his eyes.

The look of someone just realizing what they truly wanted—it was even sweeter than I’d imagined.

The man who had once been a monster surrendered to me.

“If I didn’t have feelings for you, I would’ve let you go without worry when the demon disappeared and I returned to the capital.”

One by one, the emotions he had hidden away and tried to deny, he now laid bare before me.

Still lying down, he reached one arm out beneath my head, making a pillow for me, and laid the other gently across my shoulders.

Wrapping his arm around my neck, he bowed his head and pressed his forehead to my shoulder.

“Of course you couldn’t have known… I never said anything.”

I should’ve said something sooner. There were so many moments I wanted to. But back then, I didn’t even know I could… he whispered.

I too had been trapped in my own thoughts, never saying anything to Banwes.

And so, we had spent so long with our backs to each other, each believing the other was facing a different direction, fumbling in uncertainty.

“I always wanted to hold you, to kiss you. But you—are you really okay having a man as dark and beastlike as me?”

“I’m darker inside than you are…”

Banwes lifted his head with a look that said No way.

He’d occasionally let out a rare snort of laughter, but I had never seen him smile this widely before. He looked like a fool…

But the real fool was me. I was smiling while crying.

Banwes pressed his forehead against my cheek, then leaned his own against mine. He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and gently pulled me close.

Freed from all hesitation, eyes glowing red beneath the thrill of it all and some other emotion, he left behind a memory I would never forget.

“Because you live on this earth, I live too. From now on, your life is mine, and my life is yours.”

He declared it solemnly, sending ripples through my heart—and then, when I didn’t react, he got a little flustered and looked away with an awkward smile.

I leaned in and rubbed my nose against his. It tickled and made me giddy, and I burst into laughter.

Surprised by the sound, he opened his eyes wide, and as if he wanted to hear more, he gently pressed his sharp nose against mine and softly captured my lips.

***

The high priest had been told by Banwes not to knock when checking in on Riarun.

He said knocking might wake him from rest.

So instead, the high priest had to sense what was happening inside and enter accordingly.

Even without sight, he could still hear.

If he heard the two talking, he wouldn’t go in—he’d turn right around.

If he heard crying, he wouldn’t go near the room at all.

It was quiet this time, so he opened the door.

Naturally, he couldn’t see what the scene inside looked like. But he could hear it.

“…Nn… mm…”

The high priest, usually unshakable, blushed for the first time.

Disgusted, he swore he would never step foot in there again.

Let whoever knew Riarun’s condition take care of him themselves.

***

Smooch, smack—the sound of kisses echoed clumsily.

Even though there was no room left between them, the man pulled Riarun closer with growing urgency. His tongue parted Riarun’s lips and slipped inside.

He made wet noises as if parched, savoring the taste. His thick tongue filled Riarun’s mouth before sweeping through every corner.

Riarun trembled and stiffened, but a shiver ran down his spine and lower belly. He returned the kiss once, then flushed from the sticky sounds echoing between them.

He had been so shameless with his tongue when transferring the demon—rubbing and prodding without a care. But now, he didn’t know what to do with himself.

It was their true first kiss.

Panting, Riarun finally pulled back, lips red and swollen. The man chased after them, capturing them gently once more.

“This doesn’t feel any different from when transferring the demon.”

The strange sensation of speaking while their lips still touched made Riarun’s heart flutter. Banwes couldn’t hold back and slowly licked Riarun’s lips.

“Then I guess we’ve been really kissing all along. And doing… the rest, too.”

Heat rushed to Riarun’s already pale cheeks. His lower belly felt warm, and a wave of dizziness overcame him.

His body hadn’t recovered enough for this.

“It’s a little different.”

The man, trailing Riarun’s lip with his tongue, gulped audibly and lowered his gaze with eyes glowing red.

“…It’s better.”

His low, hoarse voice was unbearably seductive.

Riarun glanced down—he couldn’t ignore the visible swelling at the front of Banwes’s clothes. The dizziness was gone in an instant.

Ah.

A dull ache pulsed in his lower belly, and soon discomfort followed at his core.

It was confusing… but he also wanted more. Everything he had been suppressing had built up, turning into intense yearning and sensation.

“I’ve wanted this so much…”

Banwes stared with parted lips, face flushed and breath uneven. His arousal was visible, and the air itself felt heavy and sticky, as though clinging to the skin. Riarun gave in first.

“Mm…”

He squirmed, shifting forward to press his body against the man’s chest, trying to rub against him despite lacking the strength. His hips moved hesitantly.

Banwes’s head spun.

If he let this continue, he might do something he’d regret. The heat was rising—he could lose control.

No.

Riarun was still too weak to even walk. Just because he didn’t understand his condition and kept seeking more didn’t mean Banwes could give in.

He had to stop. But the words wouldn’t come out. Sweat beaded on his skin, and the heat bubbling inside turned into ragged breaths.

Riarun, after struggling for a moment, reached down—not to himself, but to Banwes. He seemed to want to touch him.

“Don’t.”

Banwes spoke quickly, and Riarun flinched.

The tingling in his fingertips vanished, and he glanced up to gauge Banwes’s reaction. Before he could misunderstand, Banwes added,

“It’s too much… for your hands.”

Pushed to the side, it now formed a long, thick bulge across his thigh. Banwes shut his eyes, wishing he could just detach the thing from himself.

Maybe if he created some space between them on the bed, Riarun would settle down.

But when he looked down at Riarun’s center, it was already swollen. Dampness had soaked through, forming a dark spot shaped like the tip. The scent rising from him was heady and tempting, making Banwes’s nape tense with restraint.

He thought back—it was he who started the kiss, who had said something stupid that stirred everything up. Riarun had been deceived by a dangerous man.

So the one responsible had no choice but to take responsibility.

“I’ll take care of it…”

Having convinced himself with logic, Banwes lost the last bit of his composure. He reached out and undid Riarun’s pants.

At this point, if Riarun suddenly changed his mind, Banwes might actually die from frustration.