Free Web NovelThe moment Keith’s bare torso was exposed, Ian instinctively tensed.
The muscles hidden beneath his clothes were packed tight, dense enough to look like weapons themselves.
Ian knew from experience that they weren’t merely for show. He had once been pinned beneath that body, and the sheer weight and strength behind it had been overwhelming. He also vividly remembered Keith’s absurd grip strength—something he had experienced firsthand in circumstances he would rather erase from memory. Keith had even strangled him once.
Ian felt like holding a grudge over it now would be petty, but the memory still lingered unpleasantly.
Still, looking back on it, meeting Keith back then had ultimately worked in Ian’s favor. Thanks to that first encounter, manipulating him later had been ridiculously easy.
So in the end, maybe things had worked out.
“...Not like I died.”
“What should I do now?” Keith asked.
Even in the dim light, his bare skin caught the fading glow of dusk.
Ian wished Keith would learn to read the atmosphere already.
Whenever things reached this stage, wasn’t it obvious what came next? Couldn’t he just take the initiative for once?
“Sit on the bed.”
“Yes.”
The sun had nearly disappeared beyond the horizon.
Only traces of orange remained at the edges of the sky, and the room was slowly surrendering to darkness. The fading light barely illuminated the space anymore. Calling it evening already felt inaccurate—it was practically night.
Shadows pooled thickly around them.
Keith’s expression remained as solemn and earnest as ever, like that of an innocent young man completely untouched by worldly desire. With the darkness softening his features, only his deep blue eyes stood out clearly.
For some reason, this felt far more embarrassing than what had happened outdoors in broad daylight.
Strange.
Shouldn’t it have been easier when he couldn’t even see the other person properly?
“Close your eyes.”
Keith obediently shut them.
“Like this?”
For a brief moment, Ian thought Keith had smiled faintly.
But it had to be his imagination. Keith’s expression looked as composed and neutral as always.
“Yeah. Stay still.”
Keith nodded quietly.
Ian stepped closer, only to realize positioning himself comfortably was awkward.
Standing over Keith would have been simplest, but Ian hated the idea of looming above someone seated.
And sitting between Keith’s legs somehow felt even worse.
The closeness alone made him strangely uneasy.
In the end, Ian settled beside him instead. Reaching up boldly, he cupped Keith’s cheek and turned his face toward him.
With his eyes closed like this, Keith suddenly looked his actual age.
Gone was the rigid, almost mechanical stoicism that usually made him seem less human than holy construct. In its place remained only an absurdly innocent-looking young man.
And in truth, Keith really was innocent.
After entering the Vatican, he had sworn a vow of chastity and spent his entire life in devotion to God.
...At least until recently.
For some reason, Ian suddenly felt like «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» he was doing something wrong to a naïve knight who knew nothing about this sort of thing.
He didn’t understand why guilt kept creeping in.
Wasn’t this purification entirely for Keith’s sake?
Sure, Ian’s ultimate goal was still to raise Keith into a weapon powerful enough to throw at the Demon Lord someday, but—
Before his conscience could continue accusing him of grooming someone for slaughter, Ian leaned forward and pressed his lips against Keith’s.
Smack.
“....”
Their lips met only briefly.
Ian’s awkward posture made balancing difficult, and he pulled away almost immediately.
Why is he so tall?
That was Ian’s first thought.
He’d assumed sitting beside Keith would make things easier, but he had completely underestimated the difference in their heights. Until now, Keith had always lowered himself instinctively whenever they got close, which had hidden the disparity somewhat.
There was absolutely no way Ian was going to say, “Lower your head because you’re too tall.”
Determined not to lose to something so stupid, Ian leaned in again and captured Keith’s lips once more.
At first, the kiss went smoothly enough.
But then—
Why isn’t he opening his mouth?
Ian tried everything Keith had done before.
He licked softly at his lips, sucked gently, nipped lightly with his teeth, even slipped his tongue between them in imitation of what Keith had once done to him.
For the first time, Ian realized kissing could actually feel good.
Until now, he’d always been too overwhelmed by the situation itself to notice.
The sensation of playing with something soft using his mouth sent an odd tingling warmth curling deep inside him.
He wanted more.
At this point, shouldn’t the other person naturally part their lips?
But Keith stubbornly kept his mouth closed.
Didn’t he feel it too? That strange tingling in his chest? The breathless tightness creeping inward?
Or...
Was Ian simply bad at this?
No way.
Ian immediately rejected the thought.
There was absolutely no chance he was worse at kissing than someone who probably thought babies were delivered by storks after marriage.
They had exactly the same amount of experience.
If anything, Keith definitely knew less than he did.
“Open your mouth.”
“Yes, Lord Ian.”
Keith answered softly, almost in a whisper. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
This time, Ian saw it clearly.
Keith smiled.
The brief curve of his lips sent heat crashing straight into Ian’s chest.
What’s wrong with him?
Only then did Ian realize Keith’s eyes were open.
Apparently he had opened them while Ian was distracted kissing him.
His half-lidded blue eyes gleamed in the darkness beneath long lashes. The corners crinkled faintly, the skin beneath them lifting with subtle amusement.
Keith simply looked at him like that.
“....”
For some reason, Ian suddenly couldn’t meet his gaze anymore.
Instead, he closed his own eyes and focused entirely on exploring Keith’s mouth.
The sensation was strange.
Even though his tongue was moving, it somehow felt like someone was scooping soft ice cream straight out of the center of his chest.
Warm. Tingling. Ticklish.
Every sensation gathered in one place.
Completely absorbed, Ian gradually found himself half-straddling Keith’s lap without even noticing.
Keith’s hand slid slowly along Ian’s back.
His fingers traced carefully over the ridges of Ian’s spine, deliberate and unhurried.
The touch felt strangely good.
...Wait.
This feels good?
Ian’s eyes snapped open.
Outside, the last traces of sunlight had vanished entirely. Darkness filled the room.
His heartbeat thundered loudly in his chest.
What the hell am I doing?
Ian immediately pulled away.
But before he could retreat fully, Keith’s hand rose to cup his cheek. Fingers brushed softly across his skin before slipping behind his head and gently drawing him back closer.
“Just a little longer... Lord Ian.”
“Wait. Hold on.”
Ian hurriedly opened his status window.
[Curse Progression: 61%]
“...What?”
No change.
“Keith.”
“Yes?”
“It didn’t work.”
“....”
Silence lingered briefly in the darkness before Keith spoke quietly.
“I see... What a shame.”
Does he actually mean that?
Ian couldn’t read his expression anymore in the dark.
Keith leaned back against the bed with an unusual looseness to his posture. For someone normally so disciplined, he looked almost languid.
Still, Ian wasn’t exactly in a position to criticize him.
He hadn’t been particularly focused on the so-called purification experiment either.
At some point, hadn’t this stopped being an experiment entirely?
Weren’t they just... making out?
Ian firmly decided not to think about it.
When things became too complicated, pretending they didn’t exist was sometimes the healthiest option available.
It was one of the few life lessons he trusted completely.
Instead, Ian forced himself back into problem-solving mode.
If he wanted to survive this game, he needed to identify the exact conditions required to purify Keith’s corruption. The curse progression had already climbed dangerously high without him noticing.
Thank god he caught it now.
If they’d entered the Desert Tower like this, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
“So apparently making you strip doesn’t help.”
Ian folded his arms thoughtfully.
“Why does it always have to be me getting undressed?”
Returning fully to analytical mode, he posed the question seriously.
Keith answered just as seriously.
“Because you’re more pleasant to look at.”
“...What?”
Was he serious?
Ian stared at him blankly.
Keith elaborated awkwardly.
“I simply meant... wouldn’t there naturally be appearances more pleasing in God’s eyes...?”
Even he seemed aware of how absurd that sounded by the end.
“So now God judges people by looks too? Besides, by that logic, you’re the attractive one here.”
“You think my body looks good?”
Keith sounded genuinely surprised.
Ian, caught off guard by the sincerity in his voice, stumbled slightly over his answer.
“Well... objectively speaking, yeah.”
“...Would you like to touch it?”
“...What?”
Ian genuinely could not follow how the conversation had somehow ended up here.
And yet Keith continued watching him steadily through the darkness.
Meanwhile, Ian realized his own hand still rested on Keith’s thigh from earlier.
He hadn’t moved it once.
Even through the fabric, heat radiated from the dense muscle beneath his palm. Keith’s thighs felt solid and powerful, strength obvious even through layers of clothing. Above them, his bare torso remained faintly visible in the darkness, sculpted like marble beneath the dim light.
The room was silent.
Dark.
Without consciously deciding to, Ian slowly lifted his hand and placed it against Keith’s abdomen.
Ah.
Soft and firm at the same time.
Two completely contradictory sensations somehow existing together beneath his fingertips.
The moment Ian touched him, the hard muscle beneath his hand tightened instantly, as though Keith instinctively expected him to do something more.
Ian’s fingers brushed slowly over the ridges of his abs.
Keith had stopped breathing.
Spreading his hand fully against the taut skin, Ian pressed gently against the solid muscle underneath.
