Dietrich called out to Celiya.

“Hey.”

Celiya did not respond. In her battered state, it was a miracle she had endured using her ability for half a day.

Though her body should have collapsed long ago, she had persevered through sheer willpower, but it was her limit. Celiya’s unconscious head tilted to the side.

“……”

Dietrich supported Celiya’s falling head with one hand. As he did so, blood stained his hand.

His gaze turned to the blood pooled on the floor. From the dried blood, he could tell considerable time had passed since Celiya had coughed up blood.

Dietrich felt his insides boiling with anger. He had even given her his uniform just in case, but he never imagined someone would try to harm Celiya despite seeing it.

And that it was his own direct subordinate knight.

Dietrich thought he could understand why Celiya disliked those who claimed to love her.

With mixed feelings, he carefully laid Celiya on the floor. Dietrich placed his hand on the bridge of her nose.

Fortunately, she had only lost consciousness, but was still breathing.

Just then, he heard a rustling sound behind him.

In the time he had laid Celiya down, the knight was clearly trying to sneak away.

“It would be best to stay put.”

Dietrich spoke without turning his head. At his superior’s low voice, the knight froze in place.

Dietrich rose and approached the knight leaning against the wall. His gaze fell from his subordinate’s pale face to his lower body.

“I see you’ve put your pants back on.”

At his superior’s mockery, the knight squeezed his eyes shut and stammered an excuse.

“…Your Excellency, you are misunderstanding the situation.”

Dietrich gave no reply. He felt it wasn’t worth responding to.

On the other hand, the knight thought he might be able to escape this situation without a response. He believed his superior would trust the words of someone who had served him for 4 years over that beautiful criminal.

He gulped as he looked at Dietrich.

“Your Excellency. I apologize for disobeying orders, but I came to check on the prisoner’s condition. It would be troublesome if such an important figure bit their tongue in jail.”

“……”

“But as soon as I entered the cell, that woman seduced me first. I refused, but…”

“You refused, but.”

The knight gestured to the lying Celiya and slandered her.

“She suddenly pulled down my pants…”

There was no need to hear more. Muttering that he should at least hide the lust still evident in his eyes, Dietrich struck the back of the knight’s head with his scabbard. The knight’s body crumpled lifelessly to the floor.

Her head felt like it was spinning. With the sensation of her insides twisting, Celiya gasped and cried out in pain.

“It… hurts…”

It hurt. It felt like she would die at any moment from the pain.

She must have overused her ability. If the god was going to let her use this power, couldn’t it at least not shorten her lifespan? Why was the god inflicting such pain on her?

Whether from the pain in her body or not, she couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality.

Just then, she felt someone quietly looking down at her. Celiya tried to open her eyes, but she didn’t even have the strength for that.

Celiya reached out her hand. But as soon as she extended it, her hand fell limply.

The sensation of her body slowly rotting crept up from her toes.

“Sa… save me…”

Celiya barely managed to utter those words. Now that she was facing death, had she become afraid of dying?

Celiya twisted her lips in self-mockery.

She wished anyone would end this pain. If they were just going to watch her suffer, she wished they would just go away.

Sorrow washed over her like a wave. Her pitiful state, lying like a wax doll unable to do anything, was beyond wretched.

The words “go away” rose to the tip of her tongue. But gasping in pain, all Celiya could do was slightly move her lips.

Just then, something touched her parted lips. Realizing it was a stranger’s breath, Celiya instinctively tried to turn her head.

“It’s medicine.”

Even in her hazy consciousness, she heard that voice clearly. It was a man’s voice, devoid of any self-interest. He seemed irritated, as if she was a nuisance to him.

“I’ll only give it for free this once.”

His attitude was as if he was bestowing a great favor on a dying person. It was certainly a familiar voice, but in her confused state she couldn’t place whose it was.

Medicine or whatever, it didn’t matter. As long as it ended this pain.

Celiya weakly nodded. Immediately, saliva flowed between her lips. The other person was surprisingly gentle, unlike how he had found her bothersome just moments ago.

He generously passed his saliva through their connected lips.

The moment she swallowed his saliva, Celiya felt the terrible pain gripping her slowly fade away.

The man’s saliva was excessively sweet. Even an oasis in the desert couldn’t compare.

But as if his only purpose was truly to give her this delicious “medicine”, he tried to pull away without lingering.

Celiya reached out to the man trying to move away. Her hand caught his face.

Celiya pulled his face towards her and said:

“More…”

She devoured his lips in one go. She felt him momentarily flustered, but he obediently opened his mouth and let her do as she pleased.

Celiya’s breath swept over the inside of his mouth and palate. She swallowed as if intending to suck up all of his saliva.

There was no shame. As if desperate to taste more of the medicine that erased the terrible pain, Celiya stirred and stirred inside his mouth.

The other person simply remained still.

He did nothing and let her steal his saliva until Celiya had received every last drop, until she finally pulled away gasping for air.

Though he thought she had detached herself from exhaustion, their lips overlapped once more. When he opened his mouth, Celiya eagerly explored inside as if she had been waiting. Though the pain weighing down her body had completely disappeared, his saliva was so sweet she couldn’t help but taste it once more.

After a long while of drinking in his honey-sweet saliva, Celiya finally pulled away.

“…It’s sweet.”

Celiya gasped out those words. Her lips glistened, wet with the man’s saliva.

In place of the vanished pain, she even felt a satisfied fullness.

But wasn’t she terminally ill? There was no way the pain could melt away like snow.

No matter how she thought about it, this couldn’t be reality.

But it was the first time she’d had such a pleasant dream. Afraid the gloomy reality would descend upon her when she opened her eyes, Celiya fell asleep right then.

With a satisfied smile on her lips.

In fact, Dietrich’s healing power was not limited to just his bodily fluids.

However, his ability did not work on the same sex and only worked on women. He discovered this when he desperately embraced his dead mother.

His ability was truly remarkable, as visible scratches and scars could be healed just by embracing.

Of course, a person whose breath had already stopped did not come back to life.

Dietrich narrowed his eyes as he looked at Celiya sleeping in the bed.

His act of giving Celiya his saliva with healing power stemmed purely from a sense of responsibility.

It was clear that if he had not been away for so long attending the emperor’s funeral, Celiya would not have suffered such a terrible ordeal.

Moreover, the one who tried to harm her was a knight he had personally instructed not to let anyone into the prison. It was a miscalculation to think there would be no issues this time, since the knight had a wife and children and had followed orders without complaint for 4 years.

Though the military power of the imperial palace was his, it was impossible to perfectly control everyone.

The imperial knights were not only numerous, but many were inherently stubborn.

Most of the knights were of noble birth. Even if he subdued them with ability, he could not kill the jealousy and envy in their hearts.

Even knights who swore to devote their lives in loyalty to him had been bribed by the crown prince to try to kill him before.

But failing to control this was also his responsibility. Thinking he could have prevented an incident he failed to stop, the hand that clutched his collar covered in blood weighed on his mind.

So he had taken Celiya out of the prison and brought her to his quarters. Though it was still within the imperial palace, he judged it would be much safer than the underground prison.

Dietrich removed his uniform that Celiya had been wearing and wiped away the blood on her mouth and the dust clinging to her hair with a damp cloth.

There was blood on her chest and thighs as well, but Dietrich did not wipe those areas. Instead, he covered her with a blanket.

Just then, Celiya exhaled a faint breath and cried out in pain.

−It… hurts…

For a moment, he thought she had regained consciousness. But Dietrich immediately realized Celiya was still unconscious.

Furrowing her brow and gasping for breath as if about to die, she was clearly in bad condition at a glance.

One of her hands reached out towards Dietrich as if seeking help. But that hand fell limply before reaching him.

−Sa… save me…

It was a feeble voice, as if being squeezed out. At that plaintive voice, Dietrich could not take his eyes off her.

It was hard to believe the woman who had joked and grinned at him in prison was the same as the woman before him now.

Seeing Celiya twist her lips as if mocking herself, Dietrich lowered his head towards her.

As she had said, her life belonged to him. He had no intention of letting her die, so he tried to alleviate the immediate pain threatening her life.

But Celiya turned her head, refusing the medicine he offered.

That irritated him. Just when he tried to give her medicine, she refused.

After he said a few words, Celiya quieted down.

He lowered his head again and passed his saliva to her. Very carefully, through their connected lips.

He had intended to give just enough to get her through the immediate crisis.

−More…

As if drawn by that desperate voice, Dietrich opened his mouth. Until her breath invaded him at will, until she had completely devoured him.