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I regretted expressing my feelings to her so late.

The fact that I had stated so firmly that I hated her nagged at my conscience.

Thinking it over, it seemed like that wasn’t my only feeling.

I wasn’t sure about my feelings either, but it definitely wasn’t just hatred.

However, Vivian continued to act as if she didn’t care afterwards.

“Hurry up, Kylo. It’s time for lunch!”

“…”

She treated me just like any other day.

I felt so awkward, as it seemed my feelings had no impact on her life whatsoever.

…Was I just that insignificant to her?

Sometimes I wondered.

Could we really call ourselves close friends?

Or were we just entangled due to circumstances and obligations?

I didn’t have an answer.

Life went on.

I accepted the role of a Witch Hunter, but nothing significantly changed.

The only thing that had changed was the way people looked at me.

There was a slight hint of fear in the eyes of the maids when they glanced at me.

As if they thought I would force them to be witches.

Sometimes, I’d hear someone passionately explaining how much they hated witches as a way to prove their innocence, and at other times, someone would come up to me, pleading that they weren’t witches and asking to be left alone.

At first, Vivian had been a little uneasy about me being a watcher, but seeing me avoided at the castle made her start to chuckle.

“This is what you asked for, Kylo?”

She even teased me, making it all the more frustrating.

Time flowed on like that.

I trained, trained boy soldiers, had meals with Vivian, stayed by her side… slept, bathed, and spent my time.

Sometimes, I even executed sentences.

Rapists, murderers, thieves, witches…

I received executed orders stamped by Vivian and wielded my two-handed sword.

The sensation of heads rolling was increasingly becoming a familiar feeling.

With every execution, my name began to solidify as a terrifying entity.

Dragon Slayer. Witch Hunter. Firstborn of the Allen Family. Executioner. Boy Soldier Squad Leader. Enemy of Vivian. Guardian of Vivian.

These titles, combined with my growing physique, made even the knights avoid my gaze.

Especially Todd, Baelor’s subordinate, who began avoiding me.

When I first became an Executioner at the age of 15, he would mock and laugh at me… but by the time I turned 16, he wouldn’t even meet my eyes.

It wasn’t only Todd, though.

The maids, knights, and vassals… they all showed signs of avoiding me.

The atmosphere which used to develop slowly had now become outright blatant.

Vivian seemed to take delight in my predicament.

“It’s always been like this… but now, truly no one likes you!”

That sarcasm didn’t even bother me that much.

Because there was one truth I could confirm from her gaze.

The assurance that I gave her a sense of security.

As the people she was wary of started to fear me… she seemed to feel comfortable by my side.

They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

But I couldn’t deny that Vivian also bore some responsibility for this growing fear.

Her habit of getting close to the boy soldiers and constantly throwing sharp questions at the vassals was creating tension in the Castle of Rondore.

Everyone could feel that a significant change was approaching.

Like the calm before a storm, we were merely in a peaceful moment.

And it was an open secret that Vivian and I had formed an unofficial alliance, so I thought that those who were mentally burdened by her might fear me as well.

Perhaps that’s why my feelings towards Vivian, who walked through this anxious atmosphere with me, began to grow.

I called this feeling camaraderie.

Vivian probably felt a similar emotion towards me.

And just like that, I had been a Witch Hunter for a bit over half a year.

We continued to grow up.

****

“Haa… haa…!”

Vivian, who was soon to turn 16, exhaled hot breaths and tried to push her arm with all her might.

But her arms felt sluggish and powerless, like she was in water.

Her desperate will to push away the approaching presence crumbled, replaced with embarrassment and tension constricting her chest.

“C-can’t you stop?”

Vivian pleaded in a trembling voice.

“I can’t.”

Kylo’s voice was deep and low. His voice had been deepening lately.

His unwavering voice carried a strong conviction.

Vivian didn’t know how, but she could feel that Kylo was thirsty for her.

Vivian’s slender hands touched his chest.

The blazing warmth felt so real to Vivian.

Being a Northerner who lived in a cold region, he had a high body temperature.

For some reason, Kylo was even shirtless.

“Why… why are you undressing… oh… put something on!!”

“You used to touch me first. Why are you suddenly making a fuss?”

He kept closing the distance between them.

Vivian pushed him away with all her might, but he kept advancing.

“Ugh!”

Vivian’s arms finally gave in to his advance.

As the distance closed, Kylo’s strong arm wrapped around her waist.

The intense pressure brought a sense of déjà vu.

“Hah…!”

Vivian gasped, taking a hurried breath as if her breath had been squeezed out of her.

In the past, the scent of his blanket had revealed his rich body odor, but now it came rushing back even stronger.

The familiar yet dense aroma emptied Vivian’s mind.

Before she realized it, Vivian found herself lying on the bed.

Her breaths were coming fast as if they were caught in her throat, and her gaze turned upwards.

Kylo was looking down at her, having laid her down.

Her heart raced like it would explode.

She couldn’t meet his dark eyes at all, and she had no strength to push him away.

Overwhelmed completely, Vivian could only freeze in place.

“K-Kylo… why are you…?”

She stammered, not even realizing she was doing so.

Contrary to what she had learned, her voice came out submissive, like begging for mercy.

In an unusual situation, her attitude shifted as well.

The self-doubt brought an even greater sense of helplessness.

Fear and strange excitement, along with the feeling that this was absolutely wrong… ignited her senses further.

Before she knew it, her top had come off.

“D-don’t look!”

The moment she regained her senses, Vivian quickly covered her chest, but Kylo didn’t even flinch.

“…”

– Thud.

Instead, he grabbed her wrists, trying to reveal her concealed chest.

Vivian, feeling mortified, shook her head with her eyes closed.

“I said… don’t!”

But even with her eyes shut, she could see his face clearly.

“Relax.”

He spoke as if commanding her.

Vivian felt her body stiffening in response to his command.

Confusion filled her mind persistently.

She knew she needed to resist.

But… she just kept hesitating.

“I said relax, Vivian.”

He commanded again.

“…”

Gradually, the tension in her body started to ebb.

– Swoosh.

Like a well-behaved puppy, she began to comply with his wishes.

She didn’t want to submit, but at the same time, she didn’t mind the submission.

She began to yield to impulses she couldn’t even understand herself.

Vivian tightly shut her eyes and revealed her left breast to Kylo.

The rush of embarrassment and overwhelming shame made her want to hide, yet, at the same time, strange curiosity surged from within.

Would he think it was pretty, or would he think it was ugly?

Lady Linne had told her that her breasts were beautiful in shape.

Kylo’s opposite hand approached that breast.

It was a breast that had gotten fuller recently.

Vivian gasped, feeling suffocated yet anxious.

In no time, his hand touched her breast—

“Hah!”

Vivian gasped, springing up from the bed as she exhaled sharply.

“Hah…! Hah…!”

Her breaths were rapid, and her eyes darted around aimlessly.

Kylo had vanished like a mirage.

Vivian found herself in her pajamas once again.

A gentle moonlight streamed in through the curtains, and the fresh, pleasant air filled the room.

Vivian blinked, trying to grasp the situation for a long while.

“…Hah.”

As she regained her senses, Vivian let out a blank chuckle in disbelief.

“Did I just have a dirty dream?”

“…”

Lady Linne had mentioned that something like this could happen.

It was a natural process and an inevitable desire felt while growing up.

But Vivian never thought something like this would happen to her.

She had never considered herself to have such a strong libido, nor had she cared about it.

…But her dream said otherwise. It was her body telling her that she was growing up.

But that Kylo…

Kyle Allen appearing in such a dirty dream.

She cupped her cheeks, sinking into an unstoppable embarrassment and confusion.

If she had to pick one person she should never have such a relationship with, it would be Kylo Allen.

The son of the man who killed her parents and siblings.

She must never share a bed with him, even if it meant death.

What would her family, looking down on her from heaven, think of her?

Yet, she had dreamed it.

“Am I crazy?”

She muttered to herself.

And in all this chaos, what confused Vivian the most was… the fact that her heart was still racing.

The once-aroused excitement lingered, refusing to fade easily.

With feelings of disgust over the dream she had just had… and the curiosity of what might have happened if it had gone just a bit further, both emotions seized her simultaneously.

As she pondered over that curiosity, she banged her head.

No matter how hard she hit herself, her sensitive body couldn’t calm down.

Furthermore, one thought began to shake her.

This can be dismissed as just a dream.

…But what if the same thing happened in reality?

Would she still have been able to resist his actions just like she was thinking rationally now?

She was beginning to faintly grasp what the sickening thrill of that perverted situation was.

“…It’s a nightmare… a nightmare…”

Vivian muttered as if brainwashing herself.

Yet she was aware.

She often had nightmares, and she understood how her body reacted to them.

Whenever she had a nightmare, she’d wake up drenched in cold sweat, her whole body turning cold, almost like ice.

But right now, it was the opposite.

So intensely hot, she felt like she was burning like a lump of coal.

 

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