Astreia glared fiercely at the Prince before her, her chest heaving violently from her ragged breathing.
Those emerald eyes, which had just faded from a strange purple, were now veiled with a moving shimmer of moisture.
In them, shame, indignation, resentment, and a trace of… desire she hadn’t even noticed herself were intertwined.
She gripped Wendy’s open lapels with one hand, her knuckles turning white from the force.
This action — it was both a threat and a plea for him to stay.
She did not push the Prince away.
Nor did she pull him closer.
They remained at a stalemate, her final pride maintaining her crumbling dignity as a Witch.
Wendy admired this display of false bravado, the smile at the corners of his mouth deepening.
He seemed completely oblivious to the warning in her eyes.
Instead, he leaned his face in a few inches closer, until their noses were almost touching.
Their warm breaths mingled, and the sweet fragrance in the air became even more scorching.
“So, do you want it?”
The Prince’s voice was very low, carrying a playful rasp.
“Or not?”
This utterly humiliating question was like a fuse that instantly ignited Astreia’s frayed nerves.
“You… how dare you!”
She rebuked him, but her voice trembled noticeably due to a lack of oxygen, carrying no deterrent force whatsoever.
“Very well,” Wendy nodded obediently.
Then, the hand he had been using to rub Astreia’s lower abdomen actually let go.
That patch of scorching skin was suddenly freed from restraint, greeted by waves of empty coldness.
Astreia’s body stiffened subconsciously.
Wendy took everything in, laughing inwardly.
At the same time, he slowly withdrew his other hand, making a move to back away from her.
“Since Your Highness does not desire Purification, then as your Guardian, I naturally cannot force you.”
He acted with perfect courtesy, as if the wicked man who had just spoken so flippantly and acted so boldly wasn’t him at all.
“Let this Curse… remain inside your body, then.”
After saying that, Wendy truly began to move his body backward.
Seeing the Prince about to leave her side and escape the ambiguous trap she had personally laid out, a strange sense of emptiness instantly seized Astreia’s heart.
‘No!’
‘I can’t let him leave!’
This thought was like a wild vine, instantly overrunning Astreia’s chaotic mind.
Driven almost by instinct, her hand gripping Wendy’s lapel suddenly tightened.
That negligible strength successfully brought the Prince to a halt.
Wendy looked down at the hand gripping him tightly, then looked up into Astreia’s eyes, which were filled with panic and helplessness.
“Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?”
He blinked, feigning confusion.
Astreia’s lips quivered, but she couldn’t say a single word.
‘I…’
What could she say?
‘I want more’?
‘Don’t go’?
No, she was the Northern Lioness of the Valoran Kingdom, a proud Witch.
It was impossible for her to say such shameless words!
Seeing the Princess Royal’s expression — wanting to speak but not daring to, her eyes reddening with anxiety — Wendy finally stopped teasing her.
He leaned back down, his warm palm pressing against her flat, smooth abdomen once more.
The familiar scorching sensation made Astreia shudder, and her tense body softened instantly.
“Your Highness, your body is much more honest than your mouth.”
Wendy leaned into the yielding Witch’s ear, whispering in a breathy tone only the two of them could hear.
“Look, as soon as I left, your heartbeat quickened. This is the Curse urging me. It’s telling me that it really ‘likes’ my Purification.”
This shameless distortion of the truth made Astreia feel as if she would die of shame and indignation.
She opened her mouth to argue, but the Prince placed a finger gently against her lips.
“Shh.”
Wendy’s gaze became deep.
“Since your body desires it so much, then as your Guardian, I must satisfy your needs. This is my… duty.”
Before he finished speaking, the finger he held against Astreia’s lips suddenly slid down.
His fingertip brushed across her soft red lips, glided over her delicate jaw, and finally came to a stop on her beautiful neck, which was swallowing repeatedly due to nervousness.
“However…”
Wendy’s voice paused.
His fingertip drew small circles on the artery at the side of the Witch’s neck.
“To ensure the effectiveness of the Purification, you may need to cooperate more actively in the next part of the process. Are you willing? My noble Master.”
This question was even more malicious than the previous “want it or not.”
It placed the power of choice squarely back in Astreia’s hands.
To agree would mean completely abandoning her dignity and admitting her downfall.
To refuse meant that this torturous little demon might truly leave.
Astreia’s breathing was completely erratic.
She felt like a traveler about to die of thirst in a desert, and Wendy was the only source of water before her eyes.
Reason told her the water was poisoned, but her physical instinct was screaming wildly, urging her to throw herself at it regardless of the cost.
The Witch bit her red lip hard, her eyes shimmering with a mix of emerald and vibrant purple, yet she stubbornly refused to speak.
Wendy did not rush her, either.
He simply waited with a smile.
Meanwhile, his fingers continued to stroke the side of her neck with varying pressure.
Every touch made Astreia’s body tremble slightly.
Time passed, second by second.
The air in the room seemed to turn into thick honey, enveloping them both.
Finally, under the repeated tug-of-war between extreme shame and desire, Astreia’s tense defense line completely collapsed.
She slowly, very slowly, closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling like butterfly wings.
Then, from deep within her throat, she squeezed out a voice softer than a mosquito’s hum.
“…Yes.”
Although it was only one syllable, it seemed to exhaust all her strength.
Hearing the long-awaited answer, a triumphant curve appeared at the corner of Wendy’s mouth.
“Since you have agreed, then…”
Wendy’s other hand moved back to the beautiful lines wrapped in black silk, feeling the incredible elasticity and heat through the thin fabric.
“To better remove the Curse, there is no need to wear these obstructive clothes.”
As he spoke, he used his fingertip to gently hook the edge of her skirt.
“Your Highness, will you do it yourself, or… shall I help you?”
Astreia’s entire body stiffened.
She opened her eyes and stared at Wendy in disbelief.
This bastard… he actually made such an outrageous demand!
But when she met the Prince’s smiling yet undeniable gaze, all the protests in her heart turned into a wave of powerless trembling.
Tears of shame finally slid uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.
Trembling, Astreia, who was struggling within her Witch State, raised her hand.
It wasn’t to push Wendy away, but rather to reach for the hem of her school uniform skirt.
“I… I’ll do it myself.”
Her heavy, tearful voice sounded like the most beautiful bugle call, announcing the Witch’s total surrender to her desire.
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