HPV 108

Extra 2-4

Before Banwes’s tongue could enter my mouth, I quickly clenched my lips together and barely blocked him.

And then, I quietly listened until the poor, frightened servant child had slipped out of the study.

As expected, Banwes can’t get along with people. He avoids them all.

But I think he’s slightly better with children.

Children are pure, after all. And they don’t carry prejudice.

Those who are about ten years younger than me, or only just being born now, didn’t witness the Demon King Subjugation War. They were born into this peaceful era, a new generation that doesn’t know the horrors of the orc race.

So maybe they’d be able to accept Banwes, too.

The servants still don’t really know he’s a beastkin hybrid. They just think he’s an imposing knight…

Maybe I should establish an academy someday?

Today, yet another dream sprouted by Banwes’s side.

“Ahh…”

At some point, his hand had slipped inside my clothes and was teasing my nipple in a way that sent a shiver down my spine. I slapped a hand over my mouth, suddenly yanked back into reality.

Maybe he could tell I was distracted, Banwes’s red eyes tracked me obsessively, sparking a dangerous tension.

His other hand stroked along my ribs, then slid behind my back. His fingers glided down my spine, raising goosebumps as they went.

And I’d been thinking about something so serious, too… But that only lasted a moment. Soon enough, I kissed him back with just as much heat, lips wet and clinging like a man desperate for more.

Our lips and arms tangled more and more obscenely. Banwes leaned over me, shoulders pressing close as his tongue slithered against the shell of my ear. The hand that had been touching my back had now crept into my pants. Both of his arms were inside my clothes now, shifting and bulging, lewd in a way I could hardly process.

As I half-lifted myself from the seat, his thick torso slid neatly between my spread thighs. His abs, pressed against the curve of my ass, pulsed like they held a second heartbeat, veins standing out.

He kneaded one side of my butt. My nipple, still being rolled and lightly pinched, made the inside of my clothes, my throat, even the breaths I let out all sticky and damp.

Entangled like I was in a slick vine, I finally managed to flail a limb or two and push him away.

“Don’t. I said no…”

Just a few hours ago, he had poured climax after climax into me until dawn. And now he was riled up again, acting like none of it had happened. I didn’t stand a chance. Not in the study, where servants came and went, in the middle of the sunny day.

“Don’t tempt me. Not during the day. I’m not falling for it.”

His red eyes, still heavy with unmet desire, looked pitiful, but I didn’t fall for it.

He clicked his tongue, disappointed, and his anger veered off in an entirely different direction.

“Should I just kill them all.”

“I told you if you said that again, I wouldn’t let it slide.”

Banwes shut his mouth. But clearly unwilling to back down entirely, he sat where I had been and pulled me into his lap.

We had planned to take a carriage to the neighboring estate for a walk today, but we skipped it. I had… endured a lot last night. Slept in until ridiculously late.

I could walk slowly and carefully indoors, without putting pressure on my lower body, but I didn’t trust myself to stay composed even just sitting in a carriage.

Banwes had insisted he’d carry me the whole walk, but being paraded around in the arms of the man who had ruined me was where I drew the line. That was the last of my dignity.

I chatted quietly with the gardener in the garden. There had been a minor issue in the vegetable patch we cultivated ourselves.

“The leaves are a bit wilted. No signs of pests, though.”

“Would the Baron like to take a look? The plants always seem to perk up when you touch them.”

“That can’t be right.”

I deflected the gardener’s flattery and turned my head.

It’s important not to disturb the laws of nature by using a spirit’s power too freely. Instead of that, store-bought nutrient supplements would do just fine for the crops.

{If you die, I’ll return to nature. Until your life ends, I am yours.}

The spirit who saved my life returned to me without warning in my happiest moment, and stayed.

After the cult leader died and peace was restored, the spirit returned to its true nature. Since that day, it hasn’t spoken to me.

I thought we might talk. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I’d hoped, maybe, that this could be like having a parent, something I’d lost far too young.

But Tilly had been right. For the spirit, it was better to let its sense of self fade and merge with nature.

And… this is a secret from Banwes…

When we make love, the spirit sometimes stirs faintly with joy. Because if I’m happy, it’s happy too.

But I wonder, can other people see what I am when I’m with the spirit?

When the Rohin Order collapsed, the regular followers, once ordinary citizens, were devastated. Some lost faith and left, but others, after meeting me, the last one remaining, started coming to see me regularly.

One even came holding their newborn baby and showed them to me.

That’s where I should have cut it off. But I’d never seen a baby up close before, and it captivated me.

Without thinking, I let the baby grip my finger, laid a hand on its chest.

People saw that, and started coming more, and more often. Even if I told them I wasn’t the cult leader, they’d just nod and say they knew. But they still returned.

—What should I do?

It was then I realized that Banwes wasn’t just a possessive lover who tried to drive everyone away. He was also a thoughtful partner.

—You can’t bring yourself to send them away… because you feel indebted to them, don’t you?

—Indebted to what?

—To the people betrayed by the cult. You think you’re the same as them, don’t you?

After Banwes said that, it clicked. What I felt for them was empathy, and guilt.

The Rohin cult is gone. We no longer collect offerings. No one speaks the name “Rohin” aloud.

But I still open the mansion to commoner visitors on a set day each month. I listen to their stories. I hold their hands. Not just for them, but for me.

And very discreetly, when someone among them is ill, I give them a faint touch of the spirit’s power to help them recover slowly.

I spent the afternoon with Banwes in the garden.

We’d cultivated a space full of flowers that looked like eternal spring. Banwes and I sat side by side, looking at the two blooms planted in the best spot. Mine was red. His was yellow. Both had just formed buds.

We started raising them like a competition. We made a bet on whose flower would bloom first. So far, it was neck and neck.

Though he finds delicate plants awkward, Banwes harbored a faint sense of accomplishment. He lightly touched the green stem with a finger scarred by burns and wounds.

“It sprouted a bud… even though I’m the one raising it.”

He murmured it like he couldn’t believe it.

In truth, Banwes had overwatered his flower and nearly rotted the roots, so I secretly used the spirit’s power to help it recover. I know it goes against all that talk about rules, but… let’s pretend I don’t remember.

“I thought all I knew was how to kill life…”

As he mumbled, I pressed myself against his back like I was clinging to him. I rested my chin atop his head. He raised a hand to touch my cheek.

I placed my hand over his, laced our fingers together, and showed him.

“See? These hands are just human hands.”

These are the hands that gently stroke me, that part me without hurting me…

The sound of his breath through his nose was deep and calm. I could hear his comfort. Then he pressed his nose to my hand and breathed in deeply.

“Thanks to you… I’ve become someone who can nurture life.”

Someone who can protect. Someone who might someday create, too.

Before I knew it, my fingers had slipped into his mouth. He licked between them with his tongue. My body shivered and I finally pulled my lower half away from his back. A thread of saliva, not yet swallowed, dripped onto the soil.

It was embarrassingly indecent, but there were no servants in the garden. Even the gardener had been sent away.

He was strong, but he had never lived as a strong man. His whole life, he’d been hunted, treated as prey.

That’s why he couldn’t tolerate having servants around his living space. Even the smallest sound would make his eyes flash. He’d stare until they left.

The emotions I felt in his arms were tension. Anxiety.

The servants have no idea. They think they’re the ones afraid of him, but the truth works both ways.

But seriously… did he really send them all away just for this…?

While I’d let my guard down for a moment, my front had been completely unbuttoned. He was about to bury his face in my chest. I scrambled to stop him, at the very least, I had to make it through the day without being confined to bed again.