Chapter 172

Chapter 170 – Behemoth – 7

Kaiquilia was sitting on her bed in her room, taking a break. Up until this point, she looked just like any other day.

Except for the slight thrill in her face, and the fact that she was trembling slightly.

The reason for Kaiquilia’s state was simple. By now, Knight Commander Iris would have arrived with the decree to Delta.

The arrival of the decree meant that Delta would be reading it, and reading it meant that the events Kaiquilia had been imagining were about to become reality.

She imagined Delta holding the letter and reading through it. Just that simple act caused a strange and exhilarating sensation to rise within her lower abdomen. Her hands pressed against the bed, gripping tightly.

The dizzying sensation spread throughout her body, causing Kaiquilia’s shoulders to twitch. It felt as if everything was fading to white before her eyes.

“……”

With a face that was more akin to that of a female animal than a woman, a mix of ecstasy and arrogance, Kaiquilia let out a heated breath. Warm air escaped her mouth, mixed with a sigh.

She knew it was an utterly lewd act. Such thoughts swirled through her slightly dazed mind.

Kaiquilia was definitely not a naive woman. So, she was well aware that what she was feeling was indeed pleasure.

The fact that the Empress of the Aiternum Empire was trembling with mental pleasure just from recalling her own actions was something she could hardly even imagine.

For example, the thought of gently caressing her soaked underwear, the sticky honey on her fingers while holding a pen. Or, performing the sealing process of the letter between her thighs to prevent it from unraveling.

Each and every one of these acts would be things that would surely earn her scorn if someone were to catch her.

Initially, her inability to contain her excitement upon hearing that Delta kept his promise when he parted with her led her to act this way, but soon enough, the relationship of cause and effect had completely flipped.

“Cough……”

Realizing what she had done caused her body to tremble again. The already damp underwear absorbed even more sticky liquid.

Just from such actions, the unmistakable evidence of female pleasure surged forth once more. Even without directly touching herself.

Kaiquilia recognized that what she was doing was utterly ridiculous. But she couldn’t stop her thoughts.

Having discovered the pleasure that came from her own feelings of betrayal while engaging in an act that must not be discovered, there was no way she could stop now. Kaiquilia knew this better than anyone.

Ever since assuming the title of Empress, after personally killing her own kin, her world had been devoid of color and flavor. Yet now, light and color were appearing once more.

Just as a traveler crossing a desert cannot escape an oasis, Kaiquilia could not return to that desolate world.

“…… So, this is how it’s going to be again.”

Kaiquilia slowly, very slowly brought her right hand between her legs. She gently curved her middle finger, brushing against the high-quality black silk underwear.

Sticky and transparent liquid faintly coated her fingertip. Just a light touch was enough to understand what was happening inside.

Wiping her fingers on the bed, she closed her eyes. Then she imagined her scent wafting into that man’s nostrils.

ㅡshiver!

Kaiquilia’s body quivered once more. The top-grade black silk reached its maximum capacity, expelling the sticky, viscous liquid onto the bed.

ㅡI heard the news. They say the demon known as Behemoth was defeated.

Things started off fairly normal. It seemed like this letter wouldn’t just be a single line telling me to go to the Holy Kingdom again. I continued reading.

ㅡI will commend you for your achievement. A reward will be given soon.

‘……?’

After reading it all, I thought, ‘What is this?’

I wondered if I had missed something, so I carefully scanned through it again, but no matter how many times I reviewed it, those four sentences were all that was there. It was a moment when the size of the letterhead lost its significance.

As expected, Kaiquilia was still herself.

‘At least it’s not complicated to read this time… huh?’

Suddenly, a faint scent brushed against my nose. I stopped moving. It shouldn’t be a scent that belongs here, so I thought maybe I was mistaken.

However, it was too faint to be sure and too clear to ignore. I subtly glanced at Iris and cautiously created a breeze in front of my nose.

A soft peach fragrance wafted through the air.

‘……’

Though I wanted to dismiss it as just some random fruit scent, the memory of the first time I smelled this scent was too vivid.

It was the scent I had noticed while buried between Kaiquilia’s smooth thighs, marveling at her damp black lingerie.

With such a shocking experience, it was only natural that the smell of peach would trigger those memories. Who would have imagined that Kaiquilia would act in such a way towards me?

I was trying hard to maintain my composure when I decided to speak.

“Iris, did you happen to smell any fruit scent while bringing the decree?”

“Fruit scent? Which fruit are you talking about?”

“Um… I mean… something like peach.”

“Peach? I’m not sure. Why do you ask all of a sudden?”

Iris tilted her head, seeming genuinely unaware.

“…… It’s nothing. Just a slip of the tongue.”

I quietly rolled up the decree. I decided it was just that I had mis-smelled something. Yeah, I must have been so hungry for fruit that I imagined the scent of a peach.

Surely, a letter sent by the Empress wouldn’t smell like fruit. She wouldn’t have rubbed the letter against her lower body or anything. That was simply an absurd delusion.

“This time, it was also lacking in content. Iris, do you remember? Before we went to the Holy Kingdom, the Empress sent us a letter.”

I shifted the topic. I didn’t want to dwell on such subjects any longer.

“I remember. It just said to go to the Holy Kingdom.”

The moment Iris finished that, she nodded knowingly.

“So it seems this is similar.”

“Exactly. She praised me for catching the demon and said a reward would be given.”

Iris nodded, saying it was a decree from the Empress. I looked at the rolled-up decree with a somewhat uneasy expression before stuffing it into my inner pocket.

I ignored the sweet scent brushing against my nose.

“Do we have anything else to do afterwards, Delta?”

At Iris’s question, I shook my head slightly.

“We do have some things, but they’re all things that can be postponed. Why?”

“The Empress has given another order. I wanted to ask if you could assist.”

“If it’s something I can do, of course I will help. What do you need help with?”

“The Empress instructed me to confirm the corpse of the demon.”

“…… The demon’s corpse?”

“Yes. She wants to know more precisely what the demon known as Behemoth looks like. Of course, this is if the corpse remains and is safe. If the corpse has already been purified or if viewing the dead demon is too dangerous, she instructed to come back.”

“Um… well, the corpse is still there for now. But whether it’s dangerous to look at, I’m not sure. As far as I know, it should be fine?”

Though demons taint the surroundings just by living, I hadn’t heard that viewing a corpse would harm anyone.

If it came down to it, I could always ask the battle nuns.

“In that case, I’ll need your help. Can you manage that?”

“I’ll just go and ask. I’m not sure myself.”

“Got it.”

Iris quietly followed behind me. The two of us chatted about trivial matters as we headed towards the building where the corpse of Behemoth was kept.

Despite having thoroughly purified the surroundings, the building was located quite far away, as the demon’s corpse couldn’t be kept close to the city.

“There it is. The white building.”

I pointed at the white building surrounded by a holy barrier. It was all white, as if it had been plucked from the Holy Kingdom. There were about ten battle nuns guarding the area.

The reason they had gone through such lengths to build a storage facility for the corpse was to investigate the nature of the power I had used. The research hadn’t been completed yet, and they hadn’t demolished it.

Stella and Selene had mentioned they could purify the corpse anytime I wanted, but I was also curious about the nature of that power, so I let them continue their studies.

“Welcome, distinguished guest. How may we assist you?”

As we approached the building, the battle nuns all bowed in unison to greet us. Thankfully, they no longer knelt before the ground as they had when I first arrived here.

It used to be that way, but I was quite surprised when I stopped them.

“Is it possible to see the corpse of Behemoth?”

“The corpse of Behemoth…? You mean?”

“Yes. Oh, and just to check, is there anything weird that happens when seeing a demon’s corpse?”

“No, nothing unusual has ever occurred… But who is that beside you?”

“This is a knight who came from the Imperial Palace to deliver the news to me. The Empress instructed me to directly check the demon’s corpse. She was curious about what it looks like.”

“If it is the Empress of the Empire, who has the Holy Sword… Yes. Understood. Please enter.”

The battle nun willingly allowed us to enter. In hindsight, all of this conversation was based on the premise that I could enter. They never asked why we were going in.

As part of the holy barrier was lifted, Iris and I entered. Upon opening the door, we saw an interior carved like a temple.

The corpse of Behemoth was placed between statues symbolizing the sun and the moon. Its face was covered with a thick veil. The bloated, pig-like body was still intact.

While I frowned at the sight, Iris cautiously walked up to the corpse and began to lift the veil. As the white cloth was unveiled, the creature’s face was revealed.

Its horridly ugly face remained the same. It had a head resembling a goat, with fangs poking out from its half-opened lips, and its vertical pupils were glaring straight ahead.

Iris closely observed the creature’s corpse. Unlike me, she didn’t flinch or show any signs of discomfort. Her gaze was meticulous, as if trying to detail every single aspect.

“…Ugh?!”

Suddenly, the moment she looked at its face, she let out a faint scream and stepped back. I was so surprised that I hurriedly covered the veil again.

Iris stumbled back, her head bowed as she took shallow breaths.

“Are you okay, Iris? What’s wrong?”

“……”

No response came back.

Iris was trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself, clutching her upper arms tightly. She looked utterly strange.

Feeling that something was off, I placed my hand on Iris’s shoulder to support her.

“Iri—”

“Yah?!

Her violent reaction startled me even more than I had expected. I pulled my hand back in confusion. Silence enveloped us.

What was that sound? Did I mishear something?

“……”

While my head was in disarray, Iris, panting while hugging herself, slowly raised her head to look at me.

“Iris, you look like…”

Iris was staring at me with dazed eyes, her mouth slightly agape, and her cheeks flushed bright red.