Four Hearts for the Wise - Chapter 7

A mere half-day—so much had happened to Kalia that it felt like an eternity compressed into a single moment.

She had lashed out in anger at the people who had raised her, something she’d never done before. Overwhelmed by her emotions, she had sought solace in an isolated corner, where she fell asleep. When she woke, her village was in flames, and she was captured by the holy knights of the Sacred Nation.

She thought she would die then and there.

But by some strange twist of fate—or mistake—she wasn’t executed. Instead, she survived, though her survival seemed to come at a terrible cost to those knights.

She had been terrified of the encroaching darkness, haunted by the sensation of life slipping away from her. Driven by desperation, she had begged for life.

And in the end, Kalia lived.

She escaped the suffocating stench of death that had enveloped her village. Her bleeding, broken body was healed, albeit by unnatural means. What happened after that wasn’t something she could explain.

Blood had been licked away, her body moved elsewhere, pain followed, then receded. Yet the series of events was far from ordinary.

Even so, up until that point, she had somehow held on to the frayed threads of her sanity.

Now, as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks, Kalia cried openly. Her body trembled uncontrollably, not from pain but from the sheer strangeness of what she was experiencing.

She felt… wrong. Her body didn’t feel like her own. It didn’t hurt, not exactly, but the sensations coursing through her were unbearable in a way she couldn’t describe. It was as if something inside her was burning, boiling over.

As she shuddered, she felt a soft surface press against her back. It took her a long moment to register what it was—a bed.

The dark-haired man who had been carrying her lowered her carefully onto the mattress. But the moment he tried to step back, Kalia’s arms shot out, clinging desperately to his neck.

“What the—”

His startled voice was rough, confusion laced through his tone.

They had moved indoors—that much was clear from the dim light and the faint warmth of the air. Despite her foggy state, Kalia’s teary eyes focused on his face. For the first time, she could see him clearly.

She didn’t know why she clung to him so fiercely. All she knew was that she couldn’t let go. Perhaps it was because her body still felt strange and unstable.

His face was sharp, almost unnervingly so. Piercing eyes with a wolfish slant, jet-black hair that seemed to blend into the shadows of the room, a strong jawline, and a nose like a sculptor’s finest work. He was, by any measure, a stunningly handsome man.

“Hic… Ah… hic…”

Her tears blurred her vision again, and she sobbed pitifully as she held on tighter. The man frowned, his sharp features twisting with irritation and discomfort. Despite his expression, he didn’t push her away. Instead, he hesitated, eventually reaching out to pat her awkwardly on the back.

Behind him, the others exchanged glances, clearly unsure of how to handle the situation.

“Hey, do something! Why is she acting like this?”

“She won’t last like this. She’ll die.”

“What the hell did they give her? What kind of insane drug…?”

“They intended to kill her anyway, didn’t they?”

The low voices reverberated in her head, their deep tones resonating like ripples through her body. Kalia felt a strange sensation spread through her at the sound, as if gentle waves were lapping against her from the inside.

Breathing was difficult. Each breath felt heavy, accompanied by an unfamiliar heat that only deepened her discomfort. Even as she sobbed, strange, involuntary sounds escaped her throat—soft, weak, and unsettling to her own ears.

Tears continued to fall. She didn’t understand why any of this was happening. She didn’t understand what they had done to her or why. The word “death” echoed repeatedly in their conversations, driving home the inevitability of what was meant to happen to her.

She had narrowly avoided death, but the situation she found herself in now wasn’t much better. The events unfolded too quickly for her to process or resist.

Her sobs came harder.

The helplessness of being unable to move, forced to cling to someone she didn’t even know, weighed on her heavily. Despair clawed at her from every corner of her mind.

“Alone? How? How could I do anything alone?”

Kalia wasn’t someone who had ever been particularly independent. She had been too scared to leave her home, even though she had often felt unhappy in her life there. What she had instead was a series of regrets, a growing pile of frustration over her own incompetence and inability to take control of her life.

“Haaa… ngh… hic…”

Still, those dark thoughts seemed secondary to the physical sensations overwhelming her now. The tears she shed were more a result of her body’s confusion and discomfort than her mind’s turmoil.

The man she clung to shifted slightly, and Kalia’s forehead brushed against his throat. She felt him swallow hard, his Adam’s apple moving against her skin. His breaths had grown heavier, though she wasn’t sure when it had started.

In the silence of the room, the only sounds were the quiet sobs escaping her lips and the slightly roughened breathing of the man holding her.

The atmosphere was thick with an unspoken tension that neither of them could escape.

While Kalia whimpered, they exchanged glances and nodded at one another. Soon, they began murmuring quietly amongst themselves. Their voices were disturbingly low and smooth, but not a single word reached Kalia’s ears.

Before long, Kalia felt a heavy weight pressing down on the bed. Though it was just a faint vibration, every hair on her body stood on end. That chilling sensation only intensified when someone else’s hand came to rest on her trembling shoulders or legs.

“Haahk…!”
“My, so sensitive.”
“…Hey, do you think this is okay?”

The man with black hair asked. Kalia shook her head. It wasn’t okay. It felt like she was going to die.

“No… No…”

The words she managed to choke out through her sobs were nothing more than complaints about her condition, which even she couldn’t fully understand. She wanted to plead for them to just knock her unconscious.

“It hurts, it hurts so much… Ugh…”

“Come on, listen…”

Their face was so close, their noses nearly touching. Kalia had to stifle another moan as rough breaths brushed against her cheek. She felt it elsewhere too—on her side, her shoulder, her legs. Hands and faint, dizzying breaths landed in more than just one or two places.

Right now, she was surrounded by these four people.

“…I’ll help you.”

The white-haired man whispered close to her ear.

“But…”

The blue-haired man hesitated for a moment, while the red-haired man wordlessly pressed his lips against her shoulder.

It felt strange, identifying people by their hair color since they hadn’t even exchanged names yet.

“You… okay, haah… with this?”

Slowly, so slowly, multiple breaths brushed across her skin. It was agonizingly nerve-wracking.

She didn’t understand what they were asking. Kalia simply nodded without thinking.

What did it matter? They seemed like they might be able to resolve this strange situation somehow. She didn’t know why they were asking or what they were truly asking about. She just wanted to get away from it all.

“Mm… yeah…”

She struggled to answer. The black eyes gazed at her intently, as if asking again. Kalia met his gaze directly. His jet-black eyes seemed as though they could absorb all light, and within them, she saw a sharp glimmer of desire, shining alone.

Half-lidded eyes. Slightly parted lips. As if entranced, Kalia nodded again.

That was enough.

“Hah…!”

There wasn’t even time to be surprised. Something soft invaded her parted lips. Hot, rough breaths brushed against her lips, licking away the saliva that had spilled from Kalia’s mouth. Her lips, already damp from frequent moans, were licked over and over again.

“Mm…”
“Ha…”

For a moment, their lips parted, releasing shallow breaths, only to meet again. The sweet intruder freely moved in and out of her defenselessly open mouth. A shiver ran down her spine. She was startled by the roughness of the breath, but the softness of the sensation made Kalia’s eyes glaze over.

“Mm… mm.”

As if responding to her moans, a firm hand caressed Kalia’s cheek. Fingers brushed against her ear, slid along the back of her neck, and tangled in her hair.

A sigh. A low exhale. Two large hands pushed back her disheveled blue hair. In the next moment, Kalia’s head tilted, and the kiss deepened further.

She couldn’t understand why this was happening so suddenly. If she were in her usual state, she would have refused and pulled away. But now, Kalia felt as if a long-standing thirst was being quenched. The more their lips locked and tongues intertwined, the more that feeling grew.

“Ah… hah…”

She was out of breath. She tried turning her head or pushing away the pressing flesh entwined with her, but every attempt to take in air was thwarted by the greedy tongue ravaging her mouth.

Kalia shivered unconsciously. Her body was already flushed, and the intense kiss sent tingling sensations radiating from her lower abdomen to her entire body. The hands caressing her ear and the nape of her neck grew increasingly persistent with their touch.

“Mmh…”

He briefly withdrew his tongue, and a low, pleasant sound escaped from their joined lips. Holding her face, he half-closed his eyes, almost entranced, and kissed her softly like a bird. Barely catching his breath, he dove back in, tangling his tongue with Kalia’s in a wet, fervent motion.

If it were just one person, it might have been easier to endure. But at the same time, someone else’s lips brushed against her shoulder and knee.

At some point, all four of them had drawn near, pressing tightly against her. Hands rested on her waist, pulling her closer, kissing her all over, and leaving her body trembling with need.

“Haa… ah…”

The hand that had been stroking her knee slowly moved up her thigh, spreading her legs. Just as Kalia turned her head to see what was happening, her lips were captured again—this time by someone else.

Her chin was grasped, and her head was turned in the opposite direction. What greeted her then were golden eyes, gleaming even in the dark, and striking white hair. His gentle eyes curved into a sly smile.

After the kiss, he gently took Kalia’s lower lip between his teeth and murmured with a soft sigh, “Ah… this is nice…”

As if it were the most natural thing, his lips pressed against hers again, and his tongue slipped in between them.

“Haa… mmph…”

There was no time to recover from the series of kisses, as a new sensation overwhelmed her from below. Delicate fingers traced along her skin, sending her head spinning.

The moment something warm touched her thigh, Kalia jolted. She needed to pull herself together.

“Ah! W-wait, what is… ugh…”

“Relax. Come on… it’s getting dangerous now.”

Her posture felt far too unnatural. The ache between her legs was becoming unbearable. She wanted to close them, to twist and squirm, but the man with icy-colored hair held them open.

Caught up in the kisses, Kalia hadn’t realized until now that someone was supporting her from behind. But it didn’t stop there. He pushed her hair aside, pressing his lips to the pale nape of her neck. Meanwhile, another leaned in, licking away the saliva trailing from her lips and jaw.

Four men were entangled with Kalia. Hands gripping her waist, another holding her wrist—she couldn’t even tell who was doing what anymore. How many hands were touching her body right now?

Did she even need to know? What did it matter who was doing what? All four of them were focused on caressing her body.

Panting under their hands and lips, Kalia barely managed to speak.

“W-who… haah…”

“Later. There’s no time.”

It was a belated question, and she didn’t even receive an immediate answer.

While Kalia gasped for breath, he proceeded with what he had said was urgent. He moved his face between her parted legs. And then—

“Kyaaahhh!”

The moment something hot made contact, Kalia arched her back and screamed. The sensation was overwhelming, far too intense. Tears streamed down her face in an instant as her body trembled uncontrollably.

“Easy now, calm down. You’ll be fine.”

“Hah… ahh… ngh… it hurts, it hurts so much…”

“It’s not pain. You’re fine now. Well, it seems words won’t do the trick here.”

“Sniff… haaah… ahhh…!”

He let out a sigh. His blue hair, messy and disheveled, brushed against her thigh. Compared to his calm and steady voice, his movements felt rougher, more intense. Every time he spoke, his breath tickled deep inside—a warm, tingling sensation.

“Come on now, relax.”

“No… it hurts… ugh…”

“Haa… It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt. I’ll save you.”

“Ah… ahhh…”

As if to soothe her streaming tears, someone else licked them away. Others caressed her shoulders or cheeks, trying to calm her trembling body.

It was unbearable. Was this what it felt like to be stretched to the breaking point, ready to burst? At the touch just moments ago, her body had convulsed violently. For an instant, it felt as though some inexplicable thirst had been slightly quenched.

But it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough, yet she didn’t know what she wanted. Unable to articulate her needs, Kalia simply sobbed harder.

Her heart felt like it would explode. Something hot and wet continued to overflow from her eyes. The pounding of her heartbeat throbbed in her neck, almost choking her. She felt nauseated, as though she might vomit. If this didn’t resolve soon, she felt like she truly might die.