Kain hadn't intended to go inside.
However, his senses told him that Murrue had fallen and seemed unable to get back up. That meant it hadn't been a minor fall.
He twisted the handle and forced the door open.
In truth, he hadn't broken the lock. The door apparently hadn't been locked in the first place.
As soon as it opened, his gaze settled on a mature woman with slightly wavy, dark-brown hair.
Murrue was lying on the floor, clearly trying to stand. Whatever was wrong with her body, however, seemed to force her to remain stretched out to ease the discomfort.
Kain quickly analyzed her condition. It looked similar to a muscle cramp.
She had probably strained herself trying to regain her balance when she slipped, pulling one of her abdominal muscles in the process.
One of her arms also appeared weak, almost as though it had gone numb.
Less than three feet away, a thermos was still wobbling slightly on the floor. Some of its contents were leaking from the partially obstructed opening.
The same substance had spilled onto Murrue's body—and a trace of it still clung to the tip of the exposed, sensitive part that had produced it.
The moment she saw him enter, she tried to cover herself. Unfortunately, her half-raised body immediately began falling heavily toward the floor again.
One of her arms was numb and couldn't support her, while she had been using her other hand to push herself up. The instant she pulled that hand away, there was naturally nothing left to hold her upright.
Before she could fall or strike the back of her head against the cold floor, Kain caught her and helped her sit up.
"I-It's not what you think. I just slipped, and when I tried to catch myself with my hand…"
Murrue stammered through her explanation while trying to cover the exposed side of her chest.
When she saw the calm look in his eyes, however, she gave up.
She had been about to claim that she had accidentally caught the clasp and caused herself to spill out of her clothing.
But Kain wasn't an idiot. One glance was enough to tell that she had been extracting it fresh.
"Are you hurt?"
"No. My abdomen is cramping a little, and this arm is slightly numb. That's all. They're already recovering."
Murrue lowered her head as she answered. Every so often, she glanced up at him, only to hurriedly avert her gaze again.
At that moment, she looked more like a shy, inexperienced girl than the mature and composed captain of the Archangel.
After all, Kain had caught her in the act. He knew she had been extracting it right then and there. In a sense, she had just suffered social death.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
"I'm really fine."
Once she gave him that firm answer, Kain stepped back and turned to leave the room.
Remaining there would only make her more embarrassed. It would be better to give her some privacy and time to recover from the awkward situation.
However, just as he was about to step through the doorway, Murrue's body suddenly moved before her mind had even issued the command.
"Hmm?"
Kain stopped because the woman behind him had abruptly wrapped her arms around him.
"Ah! S-Sorry, I… I…"
Murrue's thoughts descended into even greater chaos.
What had come over her? Why had she suddenly embraced him? This was far too intimate.
How was she supposed to explain herself now?
Then she suddenly bit her lip and hugged him again, pressing the front of her body tightly against his back.
"Do you really like the substance my body produces that much?"
Her voice trembled slightly, yet it also carried a note of anticipation.
At the same time, her heartbeat accelerated to the fastest rate she had ever experienced.
Even the life-threatening dangers she had faced in the past had never made her heart race this violently.
It beat so powerfully that the pressure seemed to squeeze out another small amount of the substance Kain wanted.
"Yes."
That answer made Murrue's heart race even faster, while another emotion swelled within her.
After a moment, she thought of something else and decided to ask a follow-up question.
"What if someone else provided it?"
She wanted to use that question to narrow down the answer she truly sought.
"Are you asking whether I simply like the substance itself, or whether I care more about the person producing it?"
Murrue's body stiffened slightly at his counterquestion.
She meant the latter.
If his answer was the latter, it would mean that the man she was holding felt something for her beyond ordinary friendship.
That was the answer she wanted.
But would he actually give it?
"Any normal person would naturally care about who was providing it. The more beautiful the woman, the more eagerly someone would want to receive it from her."
The pounding in Murrue's chest intensified again.
No, her heart rate had probably already reached its limit. What increased this time was the sheer force of every beat.
"Then…"
Just as she prepared to say something that threatened to burn out her brain entirely, Kain interrupted her.
"Captain Murrue, there's something I need to make clear. Beautiful things naturally attract people and make them desirable, but being attracted to something beautiful isn't the same as loving it. There's a difference. That's simply the kind of person I am. There's a saying that beauty is justice. In other words, if you were ugly, I wouldn't have looked forward to this at all, nor would I have wanted what was inside the thermos."
His words plunged Murrue into silence.
The arms around him gradually loosened.
After a long moment, she quietly asked, "Do you think I'm ugly?"
The hold that had begun to loosen tightened again instead.
"If I thought you were ugly, I wouldn't have tasted it in the first place."
"Honestly, can't you be a little more romantic? Do you have to be so painfully realistic?"
It wasn't as though he lacked emotional intelligence. He had clearly recognized what her reaction meant.
Yet instead of sweet-talking her and making her heart flutter, he had said something blunt enough to make most women dislike him immediately.
He was far too direct. He didn't even attempt to hide the fact that he felt desire rather than love, making him seem completely insensitive all over again.
"Sorry. I'm simply that realistic."
"Realistic? Isn't this actually just the way you speak so you won't have to feel guilty?"
Murrue's voice remained soft and faintly resentful as she continued.
"If someone learns what you're really like, accepts you anyway, and even permits you to do something worse, then you can misbehave with a clear conscience. Isn't that right?"
"Yes."
Kain readily admitted it.
To people who didn't know him well, he seemed quiet, distant, and somewhat cold. In truth, he was far more shameless and secretly perverted than his appearance suggested.
After receiving his answer, Murrue finally released him. The body pressed tightly against his back also pulled away.
It seemed she had made her decision.
However, her hands didn't completely leave his body.
Instead, she took one of his hands and guided it toward something.
There could be no mistake. It was the area that produced the substance he wanted.
"Then take it yourself."
The words emerged in a shy, trembling voice, spoken only after she had gathered every ounce of courage she possessed.
But what exactly did she mean by taking it himself?
Was he supposed to use his hand?
Or could he drink directly from the source?
(End of Chapter)
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