Chapter 13: The Devotee's Reckless Gambit
The exhaustion crashed through me the instant the final word left my lips, as if the entire performance of wide-eyed purity had wrung every last drop of strength from my bones. My stomach twisted in knots, my thoughts frayed and raw. Pretending to be that untouched, that unaware, had left my insides churning. I never wanted to endure that kind of act again.
Still, I kept my voice even as I laid everything out for her. "So that's how it all went, Your Holiness. From the moment I pressed my hand against the knight's abdomen out of nothing but envy for her build, all the way to the second I refused the date."
I walked her through every detail with careful, steady words. As I spoke I watched her face change in real time, color rising and draining from her cheeks, her golden eyes narrowing then softening with each new piece of the story. There was something oddly satisfying in seeing the Pope of the Holy See of Akadonia react like that, her usual calm cracking just enough for me to notice.
"Is every word of that truly accurate?" she asked, doubt still threading through her tone.
"Yes. Every single part of it is true."
She made a low, thoughtful sound in the back of her throat, her eyes narrowing further. "Hmm…"
She hadn't let go of her suspicion yet. I could see it in the faint tension along her shoulders, the way she studied me like she was still weighing every syllable.
"It really is true," I insisted, keeping my expression open and sincere.
"Really?"
"Really."
"Swear it before the gods?"
"I swear it before the gods!" I answered, extending my pinky finger in a solemn little hook, the gesture meant to seal my purity beyond any question.
Only then did the tension ease from her features. She looked satisfied at last, her face settling back into its familiar serenity. "Heh heh… Very good, Lirian."
A quiet, self-conscious laugh slipped out of me before I could catch it, the sound warm in my throat even as my limbs still felt heavy from the effort of the whole explanation.
She pulled me into her arms then, holding me so close that I could feel the steady rhythm of her breath against my skin. Our faces were inches apart, close enough that the smallest shift would have brought our lips together.
"You would never betray me," she murmured, the words soft but carrying that familiar undercurrent of absolute certainty. "Would you, Lirian?"
Another soft chuckle escaped me, this one edged with a faint unease as I shifted inside her embrace. "Of course not…"
"That's right, isn't it, Lirian?"
"Yes… of course."
No matter how many times I turned the thought over, her mood today felt off balance. The intensity of her fixation on my purity, the way any hint of other women or romantic possibilities seemed to unsettle her so deeply—it was heavier than I had expected. Whether it came from some form of overprotectiveness or something more complicated, the weight of how she thought about me pressed on my chest in ways that left me both warmed and uneasy.
"But… Your Holiness," I ventured, letting my voice carry a note of innocent curiosity.
"Yes… Lirian…♥"
Just like that her smile bloomed again, wide and gentle, as if the earlier strain had never existed. The ease of the switch left me a little resentful.
"What exactly is sex?"
The question sliced straight through the air between us. Take that. After the performance I had just given, this was only fair.
I kept my face open and guileless, head tilted slightly. "You know… when a man's part goes inside a woman's… and then what happens after that?"
"Ah… ah… th-that is…" Her words stumbled, her composure fracturing right in front of me.
"Could I look up books about sex in the archives?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
"Please tell me, Your Holiness…"
"Just a moment, Lirian. Let me organize my thoughts…"
Seeing her so thoroughly rattled brought a quiet wave of satisfaction. It felt good.
Would she keep protecting my innocence, or would she finally tell me the truth? The anticipation hummed low inside my chest.
"Let's use the more refined term 'intimacy' instead of 'sex'…" she suggested, clearly trying to regain control.
"Wow! Intimacy!"
"Well, intimacy is… something sublime that people who truly love each other share… a sacred kind of ritual…"
"Oh! I think I understand!"
"T-tell me what you think."
A sly little smile tugged at my mouth. Let's see.
"A sticky, dense, profane act of exploring each other's bodies in the most unholy way!"
"L-Lirian! You mustn't use such crude language…!"
"Huh? But that's exactly what you said to me, Your Holiness…"
"…Yes… that is correct…"
It was the truth. She had thrown those very words at me during one of her earlier outbursts. Let her sit with that for a moment.
"Anyway, since you haven't went through Ascension Rite yet, Lirian… we will stop here…"
"Hmm~ But there's something strange about that, Your Holiness."
"Y-yes?"
Who said we could end the conversation so neatly? I wasn't finished.
"You said it's something people who love each other do, but that feels odd to me."
"Wh-what seems to be the problem…?"
"I love you, Your Holiness. So… do you love me?"
"…Pardon?"
The question struck her visibly. Her lips parted and closed without sound, her face openly flustered.
"Do you love me, Your Holiness?"
"Th-that… ah… y-yes, of course I love you…"
"Wow! I'm so glad!"
I gave her my brightest, most innocent smile and pressed myself deeper into her arms, letting my body melt against hers in that calculated moment of trust.
The second I did, I braced myself inside. Get ready, Vespera. This is everything I have.
"I want to do that sticky, dense, profane sex with you, Your Holiness…♥"
I loaded every ounce of feeling into the words, letting the crude phrase land heavy between us.
She couldn't possibly have expected to hear something like that from me.
I was certain her expression right now would be priceless.
"Heh heh… Your Holiness?"
I leaned my upper body forward a little, shaping my posture into the picture of a guileless boy looking up at her.
I studied her face.
"Heh heh…♥"
Wait.
Her reaction felt milder than I had imagined.
Her body trembled faintly, but her expression stayed largely unchanged.
"Heh heh… I was only joking…"
I scratched the back of my head, the words rushing out fast to correct course. Her calm response had sucked all the momentum out of my prank in a single breath.
"Lirian…♥"
"Yes…"
"It seems you require some 'education'…♥"
Her eyes flashed with a sharp, dangerous light as she cupped my face between both hands, fingers firm against my cheeks.
This was a pattern I knew too well. My cheeks were about to get the usual treatment again.
A shy, apologetic laugh rose from my throat, my face warming under her palms. "Heh heh… Sorry about that…"
Then everything happened too fast for my mind to follow.
My vision blurred in a sudden flicker.
What—?
Her lips crashed against mine, and her tongue pushed inside without hesitation, coiling around my own with insistent, serpentine strength. The wet heat of her mouth claimed every inch, pulling me into a deep, devouring rhythm that left my head spinning.
My shoulders tightened, toes curling hard as a full-body shudder tore through me. The slick pressure, the way she explored and dominated, made my thoughts scatter.
She drew back just long enough to catch a breath, her face refreshed and pleased. "Hah…♥ This is because you tempted me first…"
"Wh-what… this feels… mmph!"
Her face descended again, and my sight blurred once more as the kiss resumed with even greater hunger.
Hold on.
Why was I even positioned like this?
My legs dangled loosely between her hips, the sudden sensation of being held up catching me completely off guard. In a reflexive panic I clamped my thighs around her waist, locking them tight to steady myself against the disorienting lift.
The movement forced my tongue forward, and when she pulled back slightly a thin, glistening strand of saliva stretched between our mouths.
"Hah…♥ Surely… Lirian…"
My chest heaved, ragged breaths tearing out of me. "Hah… hah…"
"This is… the leg lock of love…♥"
"Hah… y-yes…?"
Her beautiful face drew near again before I could finish speaking.
The kisses came faster now, each one wetter and more consuming, her tongue moving like something alive and possessive, relentless in the way it claimed every corner of my mouth.
I tried to pull my tongue back deeper into my throat to escape her grasp, but she refused to allow it.
A firm yank on my hair jerked my head back, her brow furrowed in clear displeasure at my resistance.
She tapped the inner walls of my mouth with her tongue, applying silent, insistent pressure until I had no choice but to yield and let her draw me back into the rhythm.
A raw groan vibrated deep in my throat as pleasure slammed through me, my mind threatening to float away entirely.
My cock stiffened and swelled rapidly, throbbing hard against her body with embarrassing speed.
She broke the kiss with a satisfied exhale. "Hah…♥ Since you've gotten hard as well… this counts as mutual consent…♥"
"Your Holiness… please, have mercy…"
Her eyes had gone completely wild, pupils blown wide with dark hunger.
If this continued I would lose my mind completely.
I loosened the lock of my legs and twisted my head to the side, breaking the seal of our mouths. It was the strongest refusal I could manage right now.
A sharp smack landed hard on my ass, the sting blooming hot across my skin.
"Hngh" I yelped, the sound sharp and startled.
Unhappy with my defiance, she gripped my buttocks firmly and yanked me flush against her, eliminating every last inch of space. Her body made the message unmistakable: she would allow no distance at all.
A weak, overwhelmed sound escaped me. "Your Holiness… I was wrong…"
"No, not at all…♥ Lirian is a very naughty boy…♥"
Something wiggled between the cleft of my ass, her finger circling the tight ring of my hole in slow, coaxing spirals. It teased the muscles there, gentle yet insistent, as if ready to push inside at any moment.
A full-body shiver raced over me, goosebumps rising everywhere as my face drained of color. This was too far.
A low, distressed groan left my lips.
"Lirian…♥"
I couldn't hold it back any longer. "Waaaah!!!"
In the middle of the terrifying situation I broke down like a child, sobbing openly with ugly, heaving cries. If she went any further I would run away crying, refuse every meal, and never look at her again. Please stop here, Vespera. We can pretend today never happened. Please…
"Heh heh♥ Will you behave and listen well now?"
Through my tears I nodded frantically. "Hic… yes… I'll listen well…"
"Good♥ Then…"
The hand that had been patting my back suddenly shifted position. She moved me with surprising strength, pressing my face firmly into the soft, warm valley between her breasts until I was buried deep in her cleavage.
Just when I thought the ordeal might be ending, the situation took an entirely unexpected turn.
"Open your mouth, Lirian."
"…Eh?"
Her commanding tone left me blinking in confusion. Was I dreaming? It was unmistakably her.
I could only stare at her in stunned silence.
"…Heh heh…♥ Or do I need to poke your little back hole to make that mouth of yours open?"
She licked her middle finger slowly, coating it thoroughly with saliva, the action deliberate and heavy with threat.
The chilling warning cut my crying short in an instant, fear freezing the tears where they stood.