Volume 1, Chapter 47 – Boundaries, Blurred

“Anyway, I’ll think of a way to make sure people remember Claire’s existence. In exchange, Claire can’t intentionally use curses as a means to achieve her goals. How about that?”

While Claire was still deep in thought, Fia had already finished saying what she wanted to say and was now looking up at Claire for confirmation.

Claire’s true desire was to resolve the curse, but circumstances didn’t allow it. Now, with Fia pushing things along, Claire had no reason to refuse.

Fia was absolutely certain of her judgment.

Unfortunately, the timing was terrible.

“Send a few people to check over here!”

“Captain, how could there possibly be anyone in there? I’d bet this alley hasn’t seen a soul in half a year. Look at these spiderwebs and the wooden planks piled up inside—they’re practically rotting.”

“The elf princess is a stray dog now. Who knows if she might be hiding in there? You lot, go in. I’ll take the others to the slums. Let’s move!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Tch. Too dirty to go by himself, so he just orders us around.”

Amidst the sound of annoyed clicks and planks being shoved aside, the light in the alley grew noticeably brighter. Fia didn’t need to ask to know these were church people—and they were close. Too close to run without being spotted.

What a pain.

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They had almost made it out of the alley.

Even though Claire was right beside her—if she hid behind Claire and let her use the curse to scare them off, these paladins wouldn’t dare dig deeper. But she had just made a promise with Claire not to let her deliberately exploit the curse. How could she turn around and pretend it never happened?

Making Claire use the curse would only hurt her in the end.

That left only one option.

Her heart sank as Fia steeled herself.

If possible, Fia didn’t want to hurt anyone. But if someone insisted on causing trouble, she wouldn’t hesitate to give them a headache.

A faint ripple of magic pulsed through the air, and with it, the temperature around them rose slightly.

However—

Just before the paladins stepped into view, as Fia was about to unleash a fireball, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder from the side and forcefully turned her around. Instinctively, Fia tried to wrench free and counter, but the voice in her ear made her realize the person holding her was none other than Claire.

“Shh. Don’t dirty your hands. Once you cross that line, there’s no going back. Let’s try a gentler method.”

With Claire holding her shoulders from the front, Fia was forced against the wall. Since the elf princess was a full head shorter than Claire, all Fia could see in her field of vision was Claire’s well-developed chest—her face was completely out of sight. The two were practically pressed together.

A faint herbal fragrance instantly filled Fia’s nostrils, accompanied by a wave of warmth. Under normal circumstances, Fia wouldn’t have dared to move a muscle, but right now, she had no time to dwell on such details.

At this point, what gentle method could there possibly be?!

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Before Fia could voice her question, Claire answered with action.

First, the sensation of silk brushed against Fia’s legs beneath her dress—Claire lifted her knee, pressing it between Fia’s thighs. Then, her right hand slid over Fia’s chest through the fabric. Finally, just as the paladins pushed aside the obstructing planks, Claire’s lips sealed over Fia’s, stifling the gasp rising in her throat.

“Mmph—!!”

Thud.

The planks were shoved aside by the approaching paladins, who were immediately greeted with the sight of Claire pinning Fia’s wrists above her head with one hand while the other groped her chest, passionately kissing her.

“Tch.”

With looks of distaste, the paladins politely averted their gazes.

Claire pulled back slightly, breathless, but kept Fia’s wrists pinned as she fished a pouch of coins from her pocket and tossed it to the paladins.

“Sorry, we’re in the middle of something. Mind moving along?”

“Tch. The elf princess didn’t come through here, did she?”

“No.”

“Next time, pick a more private spot. Let’s go.”

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Without bothering to inspect Fia—who was still pinned beneath Claire, her face turned away—the paladins brushed past them and quickly disappeared down the alley.

Once they were gone, Claire finally released Fia, her expression apologetic.

“Sorry, are you okay?”

“Ah… I… wah—”

Fia’s words dissolved into incoherence, her eyes unfocused. For the first time, she felt as if her brain had short-circuited.

◇

After that, Fia and Claire encountered no further trouble with the guards. By the time they returned to the clinic, dusk had already fallen.

Fia had no recollection of what happened along the way—her memory felt like a chunk had been carved out, impossible to retrieve no matter how hard she tried. She didn’t even remember eating dinner. By the time she regained her senses, she was lying in bed, the night sky outside studded with stars, the streets silent save for the chirping of crickets and croaking of frogs—the unmistakable sounds of summer.

“Ah…”

Her mind involuntarily replayed Claire’s kiss.

Though it hadn’t been a deep, lovers’ kiss—just a performance—for Fia, it was undoubtedly her first. Even hours later, she could still feel the lingering warmth of Claire’s lips, the faint herbal fragrance clinging to her like a persistent ghost, refusing to fade.

It left her restless.

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That was the “curse” the fairy named Claire had left upon her.

Curse wasn’t quite the right word—blessing would be more fitting.

Fia raised her right hand, palm facing the ceiling. Her eyes seemed to be fixed on her hand, but her gaze was unfocused.

She didn’t know if the elf princess had ever kissed anyone before, but for her—whether past or present—this was definitely her first kiss.

And it had been stolen from her.

Normally, she should have felt disgust, anger, even resentment. But try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to hate it. On the contrary, all that remained was anticipation and a heart pounding so fiercely she couldn’t sleep.

This was nothing like the familial warmth Anastasia gave her.

That afternoon, her mind had been too much of a mess to process the difference. But now, she had finally brushed against the boundary of that “difference.”

Perhaps from the very first moment she saw Claire in the garden that night, she had already regarded her as something special. That was why she hadn’t pushed Claire away earlier. Maybe, deep down, she had even longed for this kind of relationship—why else would she have come straight to Claire after the mansion was destroyed?

And why else would she feel such fury whenever Claire used her curse, unwilling to let her harm herself? The answer was already clear.

—Claire wasn’t just anyone to her. Somewhere in her heart, she had always been drawn to Claire.

Translator Note

oho~