At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 246

“Then do me first….” 

“Really?”

“Well, we’re married anyway, so it’s fine, right?”

It was as if he was saying that as long as a couple agreed, anything was allowed.

He was perfectly at ease with more intimate acts, but when it came to something as simple as touching his ear, he turned oddly conservative.

“But I can’t move one of my arms right now.”

“I’ll hold it here for you. Just use the needle to pierce it.”

“…Hmm.”

This actually felt more intimidating. 

Jiwoo knew that their ears were especially sensitive, nerves densely concentrated there. Even the earlobe wouldn’t be easy to pierce on a whim.

When Jiwoo hesitated, Kaman opened a vial and sterilized the pin before handing it over.

“Here. Hurry…”

This time, Kaman almost seemed like he was rushing her, maybe even trying to snatch away the opportunity Skiass had intended for himself. Despite his decision, tension was obvious in Kaman’s stiff shoulders.

As Jiwoo weighed the pin in her hand, she decided to relax him first. She gently stroked his earlobe.

“Uht…!”

Kaman jolted, but didn’t pull away or resist. Soon enough, he relaxed under her touch, quietly accepting it.

“Ah, huht.”

Jiwoo’s fingers traced his earlobe, then along the curve of his ear, all the way to the very tip. At first, he flinched at every touch, but gradually his tension eased, and he let out a shaky sigh.

“Ha… uung…”

Kaman squeezed his eyes shut, licking his lips, and there was no way to pretend this wasn’t se*ual. 

With his red flushed and his eyes tightly closed, Jiwoo took her chance and quickly pierced his ear.

Pop. There was a crisp sound as the earlobe was pierced.

Jiwoo’s tension also released.

“It’s, it’s done. hah…”

Kaman immediately pulled her into a tight hug.

“El, you can’t just give in to everything we ask for, you know.”

In that brief moment, Kaman’s body was radiating heat.

“You can throw a tantrum if you want to.”

“…Um. That’s not what I meant.”

Kaman nuzzled his forehead into the crook of Jiwoo’s neck, almost clinging like a child. When he spoke again, his voice had dropped a little, becoming softer.

“Earlier, you said we could leave a mark on your body if we wanted.”

“Huh?”

“You did. This too, right?”

He was talking about the comment she’d made earlier, if any of them wanted to leave some mark, she would allow it. 

Judging by how he kept bringing up ‘leaving a mark’, it seemed like that was really what he wanted—to have some proof of himself on her. 

And he didn’t hesitate to say that if he whined, she would indulge him.

‘Is this something he really wants that badly?’

Marks, like tattoos, or even ear piercings.

If Kaman was the one to do it, she had no doubt he’d make it beautiful. Even something as delicate as piercing her ear, he’d handle with care. And if Akarna’s powers didn’t reject it, if it worked, she’d actually be happy.

But Kaman’s next words were unexpected.

“You shouldn’t say things like that so carelessly.”

Jiwoo’s reply, that she’d let them do whatever they wanted, got stuck in her throat.

“Promise me. Promise you won’t agree to things like that so easily from now on.”

She knew he’d make some request if she let him, but this wasn’t what she’d anticipated. Even asking to pierce his own ear was unexpected, and now, when she’d said it was fine to leave a mark on her, he told her not to say that so lightly.

“El, you still don’t understand the children of Ellandos. If you give in once, we’ll never know where to draw the line. So…”

“Kaman, really, it’s fine. It’s because it’s you.”

“Me.”

Kaman, who had been pressing his forehead to her neck, suddenly lifted his head. Maybe it was the moonlight, but his pupils looked narrowed and sharp.

“I told you no, didn’t I.”

Before Jiwoo could even process those words, Kaman crashed his lips onto hers.

“Uht…!”

It was a kiss that bordered on biting and rough.

Startled, Jiwoo instinctively pulled her head back. She was honestly surprised. 

But as she tried to retreat, Kaman grabbed her face, even pinning down her free arm, the one not inside the tree. With Jiwoo now fully within his grasp, Kaman kissed her roughly with his ragged breaths.

“Uhp, uhng…!”

The collision was so hasty their teeth nearly clashed, and instead of a gentle kiss, her lower lip was caught and bitten. 

Even with this almost devouring kiss, Jiwoo felt no pain. 

Was it because Skiass was currently taking away all the sensations of pain and roughness? Or was it because she was so completely open to Kaman, just like she’d been when she let him pierce her ear?

Any anxiety or tension that should have been in the moment seemed to melt away, replaced by nothing but pleasure. 

It was just a kiss, yet Jiwoo’s whole body relaxed, her mind turning hazy. Kaman’s lips moved from her mouth to her cheek, then down her jaw to clamp onto her neck.

He even bared his teeth, biting gently at the tender skin, sucking so hard that it made an audible sound.

“Uht! Aaht.”

Jiwoo groaned as his fangs grazed a sensitive spot. She felt his teeth, the pressure of them biting into her skin. The touch, the sound in the air, should have been almost painful but was replaced by pure ecstasy. 

Even the pain, which was usually part of the pleasure, had turned into a sharper kind of delight. Her lips parted and her body trembled at the dizzying sensation that hit her two or three times as strong as usual.

“Huht, uht! Ah!”

Every time Kaman bit and sucked at her neck, her shoulder, her collarbone, a new wave of pleasure rippled through her. His lips traced lower and lower along her body, and when they were blocked by her clothes, he simply tore them open with his mouth.

Riiip.

The plain dress she wore, which barely had any decoration to begin with, was shredded in a single motion of his teeth. 

It was the kind of wildness you’d never expect from someone with such gentle looks. 

Especially since Kaman wasn’t usually this rough.