My Husband Was Clearly a Paladin
Chapter 45
Chapter 45
Irene had no idea what was happening or how things had come to this.
The only thing she remembered clearly was the fact that she had unwittingly nodded at his request.
In the next moment, her body tipped backward.
Startled by the sensation of falling, she hurriedly wrapped her arms around his neck, and she thought she might have heard a low chuckle.
Contrary to Irene’s fears, however, her body was lowered onto the carpet with extreme care.
It was likely thanks to his hand firmly cradling the back of her head to ensure she didn’t hit the floor.
Then, Michael moved over her.
Of course, rather than “covering” her, it would be more accurate to say he “caged” her. Even among knights, Michael possessed an exceptional physique.
His tall frame and body were perfectly clad in muscles tempered by extreme combat; his was not a weight Irene could ever hope to handle.
By all rights, his weight should have felt unbearable.
‘…It’s not heavy?’
Despite his urgency, he trapped Irene’s body between his legs and supported himself with one arm to ensure he didn’t crush her.
Even if he was out of his mind from demonic energy poisoning, he hadn’t lost his senses enough to disregard his pair’s well-being.
He swiftly lowered his upper body, bringing his face close to hers.
Before Irene could say a word, something soft touched her lips.
“…\!”
There was no way she didn’t know what it was.
The moment they touched, his tongue pushed frantically into Irene’s mouth.
“Mmph…\!”
Surprised by the sudden kiss, Irene shook her head. At her resistance, Michael lifted his face. He then took her cheeks in both hands.
With her face held in his large hands, she could no longer avoid him. Irene’s body went rigid with tension and fear.
In all her life, she had never had a proper kiss.
The only memory she had was from her past life, during the week she spent with him, when he had desperately pressed his lips against hers and she had struggled to endure it.
It had been closer to a violent struggle for breath to survive than a kiss.
Because he had clung to her so frantically back then, her lips had often ended up swollen and blistered, and the corners of her mouth were frequently torn.
That was the kind of kiss Irene remembered.
And now, Michael was trying to do it again.
‘Th-this is a purifier’s duty.’
Irene thought that to herself, trying to accept it as calmly as possible, but at the memory of those harsh and difficult times, her body couldn’t help but stiffen.
To make matters worse, the sound of her teeth chattering leaked through her slightly parted lips.
Unbeknownst to her, Irene’s body was reacting to the terror of her past life.
Perhaps he heard the sound, for he stopped just as he was about to kiss her again.
Still expecting him to approach once more, Irene didn’t relax her tension and instead curled inward.
However, even after a long while, he did not press his lips to hers again.
Instead, the thumb of the hand holding her cheek slowly caressed her skin.
His touch was ticklish and gentle, as if trying to soothe her, and the tension that had made Irene’s body ache with rigidity finally began to melt away.
Before she knew it, her trembling stopped. Now, surely, he would kiss her.
But Michael still showed no sign of moving.
Yet his gaze, looking down at her, felt vivid even though her eyes were closed.
Why was he just staring without coming closer?
Eventually, weary of the wait, she opened her eyes. She found those still-deep-crimson eyes staring back at her.
Gulp. She swallowed hard at a tension different from before.
“A-are you feeling better? The demonic energy still seems to be there…”
How on earth was he maintaining his reason?
It certainly wasn’t just because he was a Holy Knight. If it were, he should have been this calm in her past life too.
But back then, he had simply burrowed into Irene like a madman. He had kissed her everywhere as if he were about to devour her right then and there.
Thus, she expected him to act the same way now, yet the Michael before her eyes remained composed.
“Do I… look okay to you?”
At Irene’s question, he gave a reply that sounded somewhat hollow.
He let out a bitter smile and answered softly.
“I suppose I’ve grown used to it since it’s been like this for so long.”
For a long time. It was a statement she couldn’t understand at all.
Michael’s condition had clearly been fine until now.
If there had been any sign of him being contaminated by demonic energy to the point where his eyes turned this red, there was no way Irene or anyone else wouldn’t have noticed.
Even earlier today at the auction house, hadn’t he been perfectly fine?
Therefore, this change could have only lasted a few hours at most, yet his answer carried a weariness as if he had lived enveloped in demonic energy for an immeasurable amount of time.
“Irene.”
Michael called her name softly.
Even though it was a name she heard dozens or hundreds of times a day from others, hearing it from Michael’s mouth felt strangely different in its weight and resonance.
“If you do not wish for it, I will not do any more.”
Even as he said that, his hand was continuously stroking her face.
At the movement of his hand, which seemed to be trying to feel even a little more warmth, she found herself leaning her face comfortably into his palm before she realized it.
Because she had once received the demonic energy he released, Irene knew well how agonizing it was to be poisoned by it.
She had felt a pain like every single vessel beneath her skin was burning, and a deep thirst she didn’t know how to quench.
Right now, Michael must be harboring an immense amount of demonic energy, incomparable to what she had taken in.
So naturally, the pain must be beyond imagination as well, yet he was saying he wouldn’t do it if she didn’t want to.
After a moment of hesitation, Irene slowly reached out. She took his cheeks in her hands as he had done to her and slowly caressed them.
“I… I’m okay.”
If it had been not long ago, she never would have answered that she was okay.
On the day she returned to this fortress where she had nothing but terrible memories, Irene had made a vow.
That she would never get involved with Michael again.
That she would remain a bottom-rank purifier and he a respected Holy Knight, each walking their original paths that should never have crossed.
But in this fortress where everything remained the same, his behavior was the first thing to change.
Even so, Irene hadn’t given up.
She believed that although he sought a purifier out of urgency at first, he would eventually distance himself from her as before, since he was someone who never needed her anyway.
But contrary to her thoughts, Michael continued to seek Irene out and ask for purification.
As she encountered him more often, talked to him more often, and held his hand more often…
Irene realized that the fear inside her was growing.
The fear was not just one thing.
One was the fear that she might meet the same death as in her past life.
And the other fear was…
‘Being drawn to this person again.’
In her past life, Irene had considered Michael her savior even though he kept his distance.
Regardless of his reasons, it was thanks to him maintaining their pair that she wasn’t dragged away by the Count, and she could dream of freedom while saving money bit by bit.
Even when he didn’t seek her, Irene’s eyes followed him.
She didn’t know how many times she had stolen glances at him as he conversed peacefully with others.
And when their eyes met, seeing him immediately look away and avoid her would make the depths of her heart ache.
It wasn’t just because she was being hated by the Holy Knight everyone praised.
She had liked him.
Even if he kept her at a distance, she liked the man who had saved her.
If the terror of death made her afraid, her feelings for Michael made her feel miserable.
That was why she had vowed not to experience that fear or misery again in this life…
Feeling the demonic energy still seething within him, Irene spoke again as if to confirm what she had just said.
“I’m okay. So… receive purification from me.”
With those words, she pulled Michael’s face closer to hers.
The knight’s body, as steadfast and solid as a mountain, was drawn down by her hand with surprising ease.
Chu.
A light kiss, no more than the peck of a bird, touched his lips.
Michael’s face took on a dazed expression.
But that was only for a moment.
Having received permission, he wore a look of supreme satisfaction and began to burrow in, seeking the place where he would find his peace.
