Haymand’s Blood - Episode 6

Caught off guard, Kairas reflexively stepped back, his pride stinging at his own reaction. He felt humiliated—wasn’t this akin to retreating with his tail between his legs?

Angry, he grabbed Serenity’s wrist again, this time yanking her forcefully toward him. Spinning her around, he pressed her back against the wall and pinned her wrists to keep her from escaping again.

Trapping her between his arms, satisfaction flickered in Kairas’s icy silver eyes. Lowering his head, he growled threateningly into her ear.

“This is my palace. I am its master. Who said you could do as you please?”

He intended to issue a stern warning: stop causing trouble, stop acting without permission. But when he blinked, the situation had already changed.

“Child, I like this position much better than the last,” Serenity purred.

Kairas stared down at her in disbelief. Just moments ago, he had her cornered, but now the roles were reversed.

Though her petite stature barely reached his shoulder, she had managed to restrain him. His wrists were now pinned to the wall, held by her deceptively slender hands in a grip as unyielding as shackles.

‘Am I dreaming?’

Dazed by the impossibility of it all, he finally snapped out of it when the coolness of the wall seeped into his back. He tried to pull free, but her grip didn’t budge, as if his wrists were locked in place.

The sudden collapse of his pride overwhelmed him with a wave of humiliation. He, the emperor of a great empire, was being toyed with by a girl whose identity was entirely unknown.

“…Step aside immediately.”
A low voice, forced through clenched teeth, escaped his lips. His deep, silvery eyes, already darkened, glinted with a menace that went beyond anger.

“Oh dear… are you very upset? Then I suppose I’ll need to help you calm down a bit.”

“What nonsense…!”

Kairas’s body froze before he could retort or demand she move aside. The restraints on his wrists were undone, and in the next moment, the sweet scent of her body pressed close to his. Soft lips landed gently on his neck.

“….”

Kairas ground his teeth again, but this time it wasn’t out of anger. It was to resist the sensations triggered by the sensual movements of her lips on his neck.

Ignoring the growing heat in his body, he urgently tried to push her away. But he couldn’t. Her hand slid down over the ridges of his hardened abdomen, reaching lower and gently wrapping around his aroused manhood.

“Will you stay still for a moment, my child? Then you’ll feel better.”

“No need, go away… … ugh… … !”

Kairas’s hands, which had been holding her arms to push her away, gained strength and hot breath flowed out between his lips. Her hands were skilfully tracing his manhood.

It was strange. His reason was screaming at him to immediately push the arrogant woman away, but his body was eagerly welcoming her lips and touch.

‘Why… … ?’

Kairas felt a surge of confusion. He wasn’t someone with extensive experience with women, but he wasn’t lacking in it either. When he ascended to the throne, nobles eagerly sent their carefully raised daughters to his harem. Ostensibly, it was to swear loyalty to him, but he knew their true motives lay elsewhere.

Their aim was to catch his eye and have their daughters crowned empress, or to bear his child—the heir to the empire.

Understanding their schemes all too well, Kairas had no reason to view the concubines favorably. When a year passed without him ever visiting the harem, complaints began to surface not only among the concubines but also among the nobles.

At first, he ignored them, but as the buzzing complaints grew more persistent, they began to annoy him like a swarm of bees. While he had no interest in holding a woman he felt nothing for, as he had told Lloyd, he was still a man. On occasion, lust would stir within him.

During such times, he would visit the harem. It seemed like a convenient solution—silencing the nobles’ complaints while satisfying his desires. A win-win, or so he thought.

However, after embracing the concubines a few times, he stopped going altogether. It wasn’t because there was anything wrong with the concubines themselves. Rather, he realized that holding women he barely knew, just for the fleeting pleasure of release, simply didn’t suit his preferences.

That had been two years ago.

‘Could it be because it’s been so long since I’ve touched a woman… hngh…’

Her lips trailed down from his neck, moving over the fabric of his shirt to explore his collarbone. The sensation of her moist tongue pressing against the thin material sent a shiver down Kairas’s spine, and he clenched his teeth in frustration. The strength in his hands, which had been gripping her arms to push her away, was gradually fading, betraying his will.

Her teasing became deeper and more intense. The muffled, wet sounds and the man’s suppressed groans echoed intermittently in the quiet corridor. Succumbing to the pleasure, Kairas’s body moved instinctively, his hips lifting involuntarily. At some point, his vision flickered white, overwhelmed by the escalating sensations.

Unable to hold back, a strained moan escaped his lips as he climaxed, releasing the tension he had been desperately trying to contain.

“Hmm~~ Truly, you’re quite the healthy one, aren’t you?”

Kairas, who had been leaning against Serenity’s shoulder, breathing heavily, lifted his head at her words. And then he froze.

The thick, sticky liquid—the remnants of his released desire—was trailing down her long, slender fingers, over her palm, and along her arm. What stunned him even more was how the substance seemed to disappear, as if it were being absorbed directly into her skin.

“How about now, child? Are you feeling a bit better?”

Her hand, which touched his face, was unbelievably soft and moist. It was impossible to believe this was the same hand that had just received his desire. It felt as though it had been freshly washed and anointed with fragrant oils.

“….”

As the lingering pleasure faded, shame came rushing in like a tidal wave. To think that he, the emperor of a great empire, had been toyed with like an inexperienced boy, climaxing at a woman’s hand—in the hallway of the imperial palace, no less. If such a thing were to become known, he would never be able to hold his head high again.

“…Move aside!”

Kairas shoved Serenity away roughly in his frustration, causing her to step back easily, a languid smile gracing her lips.

“Oh my, it seems you didn’t enjoy it much. Did you perhaps wish for me to use my mouth instead of my hands?”

“…What?!”

He was too dumbfounded to respond. Yet when his gaze fell on her soft, rosy lips, his imagination betrayed him. He could suddenly picture those plump lips parting wide to take him in, her mischievous red eyes gazing up at him as she worked him.

“Dammit…”

He cursed silently. Ever since Serenity appeared, his body had been acting like an unruly beast in heat, ignoring his commands. Even after releasing himself to her touch just moments ago, the mere thought of her was enough to stir him once again.

Feeling his pride crumble further, Kairas desperately tried to focus on the dullest, most boring passages from the dreariest books he could remember to calm himself. There was no way he would allow himself to be played with any longer.

Fortunately, his efforts worked, and his excitement quickly subsided. He let out a sigh of relief, only for Serenity’s voice to pierce the air.

“Child, do you remember that there’s only one day left? If you don’t come to me tonight, by tomorrow morning, the training grounds will be drenched in blood. You care deeply for your knights—surely, you wouldn’t want to lose them. Think it over carefully.”

Her words were soft yet chilling, an unmistakable warning. She was openly threatening to massacre his knights if he didn’t comply with her demands.

Kairas’s striking features twisted in anger as he stared at her in shock.

“…What? Who gave you the right to—!”

Infuriated, Kairas reached out to grab her, but before his hand could touch her, a sly smile spread across her lips, and she disappeared in an instant. Only her voice lingered in the air.

“Such a difficult child. Once you’ve calmed down, come find me. See you tonight.”

“…Ha!”

The hallway fell silent once more, leaving only Kairas, seething with unspent rage.

Thud.

A goblet hit the table with a harsh clatter.

“That damn woman,” he muttered under his breath, wiping the traces of wine from his lips with the back of his hand.

Watching him, Lloyd clicked his tongue and poured another glass.

“What’s got you so riled up this time? Didn’t you say she’s the key to the conquest war? If that’s the case, just give her what she wants and use her for the war, like your ancestors did.”

“Shut up. If you say another word, I’ll throw this goblet at your face.”

Snapping at Lloyd, who spoke so casually about the matter, Kairas downed his drink in one go.

He knew Lloyd was right—if he gave her what she wanted, everything would progress smoothly. Yet the thought grated on his pride more than he could bear.

Slamming his empty glass down onto the table with a loud clink, Kairas glared into the distance as Lloyd shook his head in exasperation.

“You’re unbelievable. You’ve got all this fortune, and you’re whining like a fool. Isn’t that right, Hayard? If it were you, you’d jump at the chance, wouldn’t you?”

Turning to Hayard, Lloyd suddenly froze, realizing his mistake. Hayard’s face and body were still covered in bruises, like a canvas painted with autumn leaves. No man would be eager to embrace a woman who had left him in such a battered state.

“…I’ll pass, for now. She gave me quite the beating,” Hayard replied, his handsome face creasing slightly as he raised his drink to his lips. Just thinking about that day sent chills down his spine, beads of sweat forming at the memory. How she wielded that heavy greatsword with such precision, delivering blows that hurt like hell without actually breaking bones, was beyond him. He had no desire to endure that again.

“And you, Asil? Do you understand why Kairas is so upset?”

When Hayard’s response wasn’t as satisfying as Lloyd hoped, he turned to Asild instead, only to stop mid-sentence with a sigh.

“Never mind. Asking you is pointless. I’d just be wasting my breath.”

Among them, Asild was even less interested in women than Kairas. At least Kairas had visited the harem a few times, but Asild had never even been seen close to a woman, let alone holding one. Expecting an answer from him was futile.

However, as Lloyd’s antics continued, Asild, who had been quietly drinking, shifted his gaze to Kairas. It was rare for him to engage in such discussions, but his lips parted slowly, as if breaking a long silence.

“…If it were me, I think I’d hold her as she wishes.”

“See? That’s what I was saying! Just hold her like she wants, and—wait, what? What did you just say, Asild? Hey, did you two hear him?”

Lloyd, shocked by Asild’s unexpected response, turned to Kairas and Hayard, wide-eyed. But before either could answer, a chilling presence filled the air as a glass flew through the space where Lloyd’s head had been moments ago.

“Argh!”

Lloyd jerked his head to the side just in time, narrowly avoiding the glass, which crashed to the floor with a dull thud against the carpet. Though the sound was muffled, the dangerous aura emanating from Kairas made it clear how displeased he was. Lloyd wisely clamped his mouth shut.

“Endlessly running your mouth, aren’t you?”

Kairas’s lips twisted into a bitter smirk, and his strikingly handsome face was lit with a sharp, almost predatory glint in his silver eyes. If he’d had a sword in his hand, Lloyd was certain it would have been swinging in his direction already.

“That bastard’s ruined my mood. You two enjoy the rest of the drinks yourselves.”

Glaring at Lloyd, Kairas rose from his seat. Watching him, Hayard, who had remained quiet until now, spoke in a calm tone.