Sea Monster Stew Chapter 16

Hildert gazed quietly at the teardrops falling onto Biche’s tightly pressed lips. Her tears dripped one by one onto his bare chest.

“Are you having a nightmare? …You cried all the time while you were awake too. It seems you’re always in a nightmare, whether your eyes are open or closed.”

Hildert leisurely admired her white, naked body, then slipped two fingers between her slightly parted lips. 

 

After tapping her dainty teeth a couple of times, she bit down hard on his fingers like a furious cat.

Biche mumbled around his fingers, then scrunched her nose. 

 

Even with her eyes tightly shut, it was obvious what she was thinking. He could almost guess what she would try next.

Seeing her jaw tensing and relaxing hesitantly, it was clear she was looking for an opportunity to bite off the fingers invading her mouth.

“Huh…”

 

Hildert let Biche clamp her jaw down on his fingers. 

 

Hearing his laugh, she hesitated for a moment before hardening her resolve and biting down hard.

But her teeth were too small and weak to sever his two fingers. 

 

Hildert stared down at Biche with a calm expression, like someone whose finger had been bitten by a kitten. 

 

The fingers lodged between her dainty teeth didn’t even tickle, let alone hurt.

“Finished?”

“……”

“…Amusing.”

Hildert wiggled the finger between Biche’s teeth, rubbing her tongue. 

 

The strength slowly drained from her jaw and lips, which had been trembling with resistance.

He moved his finger back and forth, toying freely with her wet tongue. 

 

He quite liked the sensation of the soft tongue with its tiny bumps.

She, who had only cried in his arms, had finally taken initiative. 

 

He was very satisfied to see Biche stop crying and attack him fiercely.

She looked much more alive and vibrant than when she was just writhing in pain and crying, which was a pleasing sight. 

 

It was better for her to aggressively express her emotions like this than to slowly destroy herself.

“But even my tolerance for cuteness has its limits. It would be best not to cross that line.”

Hildert slowly withdrew the finger that had been playing with her tongue. Biche gagged and bowed her head deeply.

“Ugh…”

“This deviation ends here. I can hear voices calling for me from upstairs.”

Beyond the marble ceiling dotted with droplets of water, the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard. 

 

Booming shouts, and even the faint screams of familiars, seemed to drift down.

‘…What are they doing in my room, Kisa?’

Hildert, realizing who was causing the commotion in his room, let out a low sigh.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Does it hurt? How much does it hurt? Does it hurt a lot?”

Biche shot a glare at the familiars loitering around the bed. 

 

A black cat walked upright over and swept aside the bed curtains.

“Lord Hildert ordered us to nurse you. What can I help you with?”

‘Nurse? More like surveillance.’ 

 

Biche swallowed her sarcastic retort and curled up in a corner of the bed. Hildert’s massive bed, now cold, felt like her own tomb.

“…Get away.”

Biche burst into tears and hurled a cushion at the familiar. 

 

The brand on her back burned with pain, making it difficult to lie flat. Everything felt miserable and irritating.

“Get out! I don’t even want to look at you!”

“Hmph! I offer to help and this is the thanks I get, you fool!”

“Get out!”

The cats, deftly dodging the cushions she threw, scurried out of the room with shrieks. 

 

Biche stared at the slammed-shut door before crawling back under the covers.

Her back stung so badly it throbbed. 

 

She reached a hand back, her fingertips touching the skin now uneven from the brand. Just acknowledging its existence made her eyes burn again.

“Hildert, you bastard…”

Why had she ever relied on such a man, pinned any hope on him? He himself had treated her with contempt, as a lowly half-breed.

Five years ago, when Biche had no one to turn to, Hildert was the only adult who could protect her.

 

So, she had no choice but to naturally open her heart to him, and without realizing it, she came to trust and follow him.

Was that why? His betrayal and mockery cut all the deeper.

‘How… how could he treat me like this?’

As she gasped for air, squeezing her eyes shut, she faintly heard the sound of a door opening.

Maybe it was the window opening. She thought of the grey-haired man who used to sneak in through the window every night.

No. A foolish thought. 

 

It wasn’t the middle of the night, but early afternoon. 

 

Unless he was insane, he wouldn’t climb the castle walls in broad daylight.

So, the sound was most likely Hildert, the room’s owner, opening the door. Sure enough, heavy footsteps approached the bed.

Biche peeked through a slight gap in the bed curtains. In the sliver of bright light, a large, dark shadow flickered.

Back so soon… Biche swallowed dryly and buried her face in the pillow, shutting out the world in the resulting darkness. 

 

The faint sound of the curtains being drawn aside reached her.

It seemed Hildert had climbed onto the bed; one corner dipped under his weight. 

 

Biche, rubbing her red, swollen eyelids, cautiously lifted her head.

 

The bed was engulfed in pitch blackness. 

 

He seemed to have blocked even the gaps in the curtains completely. 

 

A slow, deliberate breath sounded from behind her.

A heavy weight settled on the mattress behind her, and soon a hot breath spilled over her bare shoulder.

Soft hair tickled her naked skin. 

 

Biche flinched and turned her head sharply at the unfamiliar sensation of lips tracing the nape of her neck.

The other person, not missing that brief moment, swallowed her lips in an instant. 

 

A hot tongue forced its way between her lips, entwining with hers, mixing their saliva. 

 

The strong grip on her jaw and the rough hands both belonged to a man, but not the Hildert who had brutally pressed her down.

His hair wasn’t long like this man’s, and he hadn’t kissed her. 

 

The very man who branded her, admired her naked body, and thoroughly shamed her—he hadn’t coveted her body, nor had he stolen her lips.

As Biche struggled to even breathe, startled by the sudden kiss, the unidentified man soothingly stroked her cheek. 

 

The pace at which his tongue entwined with hers and exchanged saliva became more leisurely.

She gulped down the saliva flowing freely into her mouth and then snapped her eyes wide open, having kept them tightly shut. 

 

Only utter, ink-black darkness surrounded her; she couldn’t even see the man in front of her.

“Mmm…”

Only after a moan escaped her throat did the tongue exploring the tender flesh inside her mouth retreat. 

 

She reached a hand towards the man, who was gently nibbling her lower lip.

Smooth cheeks met her touch. 

 

If it were Hildert, her wrist would have been caught before she even raised her hand.

“Heh…”

“Who…?”

The moment Biche heard the low chuckle, she slowly started to withdraw her hand. 

 

But a large hand caught her wrist. Hot breath and lips simultaneously pressed against the inside of her wrist.

His lips moved down her arm, further and further, until his breath reached her exposed collarbone. 

 

The man, deliberately blowing hot air to tickle her neck, finally spoke.

“Don’t worry about catching a cold. Thanks to those precious fruits someone gave me as a reward, I’m all better now.”

“…You?”

It was the grey-haired man’s voice. 

 

Before Biche could sit up, he pressed his lips against her delicate skin once more. 

 

His firm knee slid between her parted thighs.

“To be honest, I wanted to taste this sweetness more than those fruits…”

Her lips, about to cry out, were swallowed by his again. 

 

The man, lying sideways, trapped her in his embrace and pressed his body against hers.

This is truly insane! Not only did he sneak into the Vice-Captain’s bedroom, but now he’s climbed onto the bed?

Biche shook her head, trying to push his heavy body off. 

 

But the movement of his tongue ravaging her mouth made her arms tremble, preventing her from mustering any real strength.

As she struggled to fend him off, the throbbing pain in her back flared up again. She grabbed his clothes and let out a soft moan.

“Mmm…”

“Don’t worry.”

The man whispered softly, barely separating his lips. 

 

He licked her lips with his hot tongue while skillfully supporting the back of her head.

“Vice-Captain Hildert won’t be back for a few days, and I took care of all the watchers on my way here.”

The man whispered languidly, caressing her face. 

 

His hot breath reached her lips, and she could even feel the slight tremor of his lips.

Biche blinked, her mind half-dazed. 

 

In the darkness, the man’s outline gradually became clearer. She saw his head tilt slightly. 

 

Long, soft hair cascaded down onto her face.

 

He sucked voraciously on her lips as if biting into a sweet fruit, then nibbled carefully. 

 

If she tried to pull back even a little, the hand cradling her head would move down to gently massage her nape. 

 

His hardened masculinity prodded at her sensitized skin.

“I kept thinking. The whole time you weren’t coming out of this room, I was thinking about it. About how you must be trembling so pitifully under your master…”

He moved his lips along her jawline, then whispered against her neck, leaving a trail of hot breath. 

 

After covering her completely for a long while, the man finally pulled his body away.

Biche stared at him with blurred eyes. 

 

Amber pupils flashed like lightning in the dark. She twisted her head away, avoiding his penetrating gaze.

“It hurts… Get off. Don’t do this.”

“It hurts? Where, your lips?”

He wasn’t wrong. 

 

He had bitten and sucked on them so much she could barely feel her lips.

 

She even tasted a faint metallic tang where his teeth had scraped her. 

 

She thought that if Hildert had kissed her too, her lips might truly be torn to shreds by now.