CHAPTER 44: CARESS

"Are you alright?"

As soon as Myris left, Losiya immediately embraced Julian tightly and carefully ’checked on’ him all over.

Blocking her restless hand creeping around his waist, Julian shook his head and gently nudged his head back against Losiya.

When his head pressed against her chest, a ripple stirred through the twin peaks. Losiya’s face flushed pink.

Running her fingers through Julian’s silky soft hair, Losiya continued,

"She seems to have a... different kind of feeling for you."

She had already softened her words—what she really meant was that Myris had a thing for him.

"That’s impossible..." Julian felt Losiya was overthinking it.

Someone like Myris—with her status and strength aside—even just her personality made it hard for Julian to believe she could have that kind of feeling for him.

"How would you know? You just trust her that easily?" Losiya looked displeased.

"Of course I don’t trust her..." Julian explained gently.

Only then did Losiya let out a soft huff and stop pressing the issue. In truth, she herself felt a bit of lingering fear—if she hadn’t suddenly thought of checking the rear garden, who knew what that so-called Saintess might have said—or even done—to Julian while seizing the opportunity.

"How did she even find him?"

That was the real reason for her suspicion. How had Myris, just wandering about, *happened* to find Julian resting in the rear garden?

What a joke. If not for the other party’s identity, Losiya would’ve already classified her as some shady third-rate stalker.

"It was her doing," Julian chuckled, pointing to the cat, who was pawing at some flowers nearby in the grass.

Losiya suddenly realized, then stepped forward, lifted the cat by the scruff, and held her in the air.

"What a little traitor—you led someone else right to my corner, huh?"

Jealousy laced her voice, making Julian quickly reach out and snatch the cat back from her, worried she might accidentally hurt the cat in a moment of irritation.

"Alright, alright, nothing even happened in the end, right?" Julian comforted her gently.

But Losiya wasn’t as carefree as Julian. That woman hadn’t even left the house yet, and already she was luring butterflies and stirring trouble. What would happen next?

Julian couldn’t help but recall how Myris had used the cat as an excuse to approach, and her unfinished sentence...

"In any case, she’s dangerous. You’re not allowed to talk to her from now on," Losiya said imperiously.

"Okay, I got it." Julian replied with a coaxing tone.

Without them realizing it, the relationship between the two had grown more and more intimate. All the caution from before had long since disappeared.

Losiya narrowed her eyes, then suddenly pushed Julian back into the flowers.

"You’ve rested long enough. Let me see if you’ve recovered yet."

Julian stared wide-eyed as she gently stroked his face, smiling.

Before he could protest, he found himself cut off—no room for resistance. All he could do was surrender as his consciousness softened again.

Thankfully, Losiya wasn’t entirely reckless. She didn’t actually drag Julian into some wild midday scene right there in nature—she merely kissed him several times.

After a while, Julian lay in the grass, breathing heavily, while Losiya rested atop him, burying her face in his neck.

"Last night... the way we did things... is it okay?" Julian suddenly remembered a very basic concern and couldn’t help but ask.

It wasn’t that he resisted what had happened—just that if something occurred without any preparation, it wouldn’t be good for either of them.

"Did you forget my extraordinary talent?" Losiya murmured against his neck.

Julian suddenly understood. No wonder she had been so bold last night. It turned out she wasn’t worried at all—any residual effects could just be absorbed with her internal magic.

"What? You don’t want kids?" Losiya asked bluntly.

"That’s not it..."

Julian didn’t quite know how to explain. After all, he was only sixteen. By the capital’s standards, he was still a kid. Just thinking about that kind of thing happening already made him feel incredibly dazed.

"Even if you did want to, there’s no way I’d agree right now," Losiya said suddenly.

"We’re still so young—what’s the rush? Even my mom hasn’t pressured me, why are *you* in a hurry?"

She huffed softly and nibbled on Julian’s ear.

"Right... what she said earlier—you’re not taking it to heart, are you?" Losiya suddenly lifted her head, staring at him.

In her memory, Julian had stayed silent with his head down the whole time. Now that she thought about it, it really was kind of suspicious.

"I was just stalling Myris," Julian replied in a small voice.

"Hmm?"

"I talked with her for a bit and realized she’s... rather arrogant."

"Not just arrogant," Losiya scoffed.

"If she’s not interested in something, she won’t even look at it. But if she is interested..." Julian’s voice trailed off.

"Hmph, of course I know she’s interested in you," Losiya said, licking his earlobe.

Julian, whose expression had just calmed, began blushing again. He knew this was Losiya’s ’revenge,’ but he didn’t resist. He let her lick his ear, his breathing uneven.

"When she’s serious, she acts very sincere and trustworthy. At the time, I was alone. I accidentally offended her, and after that she started getting handsy. So whatever she said later, I just lowered my head and pretended I didn’t hear. Better to endure it than fully piss her off."

Listening to Julian’s soft voice, Losiya’s posture became increasingly bold. She muttered, "I’ll find a chance to deal with her later."

Julian was startled and quickly tried to stop her.

"Don’t make trouble."

"What do you mean ’make trouble’!?" Losiya looked even more annoyed.

"Don’t be fooled by her high-and-mighty act. In terms of talent, she might be better than me, but that doesn’t mean she can beat me."

"So you *do* want to fight her?" Julian cursed under his breath.

Losiya snorted.

"Every year, the Church of Holy Light hosts a grand ceremony across the continent. Every country sends a delegation. It’s a diplomatic gathering, and I’ll naturally find a way to settle accounts with her. You think she can dodge me?"

Julian listened, unsure whether Losiya was being overly petty.

Of course, he didn’t dare say that aloud—he was still under her, after all.

But as soon as she finished speaking, Losiya dragged him into yet another bout of shameless and slow-paced activity. Her touch was deliberate, teasing, leaving him no room to resist even if he had wanted to.

That entire morning, Julian drifted through a hazy daze, his thoughts blurred between exhaustion and reluctant pleasure. Every lingering caress pulled him deeper into submission, his protests lost in the warmth of her embrace.

By noon, the two of them walked out of the rear garden side by side.

Julian had clearly distanced himself from Losiya, pulling up the collar of his shirt to the very top button—determined not to expose even a sliver of skin.

Losiya scratched her head, equal parts awkward and defensive,

"The marks shouldn’t show up so easily... They’ll fade quickly, right? Julian, are you sure your constitution is okay?"

Julian finally couldn’t take it anymore. He quickened his pace and left her behind without a word.