NOVEL NEXT chapter 48
48 – The Wizard of the Sleeping Cinema (3)
* * *
There’s one thing taboo for a succubus.
And that’s true love.
A hindrance, considered unnecessary for a species that feeds on male essence and is destined for promiscuity.
Common sense dictates that a lower-ranked succubus can’t survive without mating with multiple men to feed.
If she does have a man in her heart, she’ll inevitably waste away and starve.
However,
‘That’s why love is considered such a light emotion among us succubi.’
It was different for Bellamora.
Born a hybrid of a high-ranking vampire and a succubus, she could live without feeding on male essence.
‘Parents who tried to protect their child in a raging fire, men sacrificing their lives for just a lover….’
Bellamora watched Astal above him, swirling her wine as she reminisced about the past, before she was granted this territory by the Demon King. Back when she used to kill humans, absorbing their life force instead of essence.
What is it about love that would make people risk their lives, throw themselves into the flames to protect or save someone? Bellamora couldn’t help but be deeply curious.
Her parents had treated her as a mere consequence of a night’s pleasure and abandoned her. Thus, she had no idea what love was, or what it felt like.
‘…Just what is love that makes people act like that.’
How could a feeling that simultaneously tightened the chest, pierced the heart like a knife, and felt like possessing everything in the world possibly coexist?
“So, I want to make you a man who loves me. Astal Kaisaros.”
Bellamora smiled softly, looking at the young-faced Astal. A wizard of a hero party, filled with hatred and animosity towards demons and devils.
How delightful it would be to make him blindly love her, transforming him into an obedient pet.
Since true love, she knew, meant forgiving even the people of rival houses, even enemies.
“Isn’t it better than spending a lifetime burning with vengeance against demons? This is the pure love (純愛) I’ve learned from others, after all.”
Bellamora laughed, looking through Astal’s memories. It was an exciting story, no matter how many times she replayed it.
The plot of becoming a hero to avenge dead parents was common, but still a pretty classic cliche.
“…So, until your mind is completely broken, you’ll suffer in this movie.”
Bellamora narrowed her eyes, watching Astar attempt to fight Durahan, another of the Four Heavenly Kings.
What kind of madness possessed him, to challenge Durahan, the undefeated knight, with only the power of a mid-level mage?
He surely knew that even she, who wasn’t specialized in combat, couldn’t inflict a proper wound.
“You possess such a noble soul. It’s like a clear, beautiful piece of glass crafted by a master artisan.”
Bellamora’s mouth watered as she gazed into Astar’s blue eyes. Even after she’d thrust him back into his wretched past, his gaze still held hope.
“Ah, I want to possess that gaze completely…”
Bellamora’s voice was laced with a sweet tremor as she watched Astar’s eyes. She was breathing out short, slightly lewd, and excited gasps.
She’d seen the exact opposite of that in the past.
When Astar first saw Bellamora, one of the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings, his eyes were filled with scorn and disgust.
A gaze filled with murderous intent, a desire to kill. It was the very first time Bellamora had ever received such a look from a man.
Usually, those who approached her, the pinnacle of dream demons, the Succubus Queen, were completely consumed by lust, unable to control themselves.
But Astar Kaisaeros was nothing like that. His desire for revenge had overcome his s*xual urges.
“Haa, I got a little worked up there.”
Bellamora shivered slightly, letting out a hot breath. She wanted to tear through Astar’s memories right then and there, turning him into a mindless fool.
“…But these variations just aren’t my style. You’ll eventually end up begging me to be your lover.”
But, wouldn’t that be boring?
Bellamora imagined how he would crumble, unable to resist, all while preserving those precious memories. A bitter smile played on her lips as she moved her hand.
*Swish-*
Bellamora lightly swept her hand to the left, as if rewinding time, and Astar was once again bowing his head, begging the demons to kill him, just like in the original timeline.
“A film must progress according to the director’s vision. After all, I hold the megaphone here.”
Bellamora could manipulate those who were trapped in her illusions as she pleased. The reason she’d tested the waters last time was because she’d noticed a peculiar tension between Victoria, the Saintess, and Astar.
She’d thought that if he were to truly fall for Victoria, her chance at experiencing true love would be lost.
“…Being a Succubus Queen is actually really useful for this.”
Bellamora had always felt disgusted by the fact that she was a succubus. She saw them as creatures who simply pretended to love others in order to consume their cheap vitality.
That’s why she wore layers of clothes, avoided exposing her skin as much as possible, and never touched a man’s essence.
As a high-ranking queen, not just a lower dream demon, she was capable of escaping the limitations of being born a succubus.
She wanted to meet a man who truly loved her, unlike any other succubus.
“You of all people should understand me, shouldn’t you? I was abandoned by my parents, so I went through a lot of hardships to survive alone.”
Bellamora’s attraction to Astar was a cruel fate. She knew of his past, and it only made her more twistedly obsessed with him.
She was a woman on the opposite end of the spectrum from Victoria, the Flower Saintess.
The saint, living a terminal life, outwardly showed a venomous side to the man she adored, while the incubus, who lived an eternal life, only pretended to be affectionate toward her target.
One exposed bare skin by altering clothes to gain attention, while another dug up and exploited the other’s painful past for the same purpose.
Because that was the love they had learned.
“To completely shatter you, then recreate you as a pristine, snow-white being untouched by anyone. That is the form of true love, in my opinion…!”
Bellamora was feeling ecstatic, as if she could fly away. She’d also managed to isolate the saint who always got in her way.
She would have ensnared Victoria in a dream too, under normal circumstances, but she didn’t want to waste a single moment of this precious time.
And that negligence, that mad obsession,
“Huh…? That face….”
became the catalyst that finally dragged Victoria Everheart into the dream Bellamora had woven.
“A milk-saint who only knows how to jiggle her vulgar clumps of fat…, you’ve waltzed into my dream, not caring about your life, have you?”
Seeing the face of Victoria, the person she hated most in the world, Bellamora bit her nails, showing her hostility.
How on earth did she get into this dream?
Victoria, who ceases to be a saint if she loses her virginity, couldn’t have had intercourse with Astar, so…
“…You kissed him? I haven’t even done that, you’re such a slutty cow, you know a lot about incubi.”
Realizing that Victoria had used a different method to bring their mucous membranes into contact, Bellamora scowled, expressing her anger.
* * *
Frankly, Victoria’s kiss was incredibly lewd.
A deep kiss that felt like it was swallowing me whole, with a tongue that seemed clumsy, but was relentlessly playing with my palate and the tip of my tongue, as if searching for my weaknesses.
Victoria’s lips and tongue were moist and soft.
“…Do you even know what you just did?!”
I raised my voice at Victoria. Like a thief who’s caught red-handed, I was ashamed and embarrassed at even thinking that.
Even though we were just fake lovers in a contract, being someone who has even kissed, my head was already throbbing, trying to figure out what kind of excuses I was going to make to my colleagues later.
“Huh? Isn’t a beautiful princess’s kiss a given to awaken a sleeping prince? It’s something that even appears in fairy tales…”
“…It’s the opposite!”
“Hehe, the fact that your cheeks are all flushed is quite cute. Was the stimulation too intense for you after all? Or maybe…”
Victoria covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled, looking at me. Judging from her own ears turning red, she seemed to be hiding something embarrassing as well.
“Were you expecting me to say that I enjoyed it, even though it was my first time?”
– If it wasn’t for Bellamora’s dream, I would want to spend the rest of my life making smacking sounds with my tongue while kissing you, saying, ‘I love you.’
Victoria’s inner thoughts were filled with a lustful kissing sound, yearning for more of our lips to be locked together.
“…What the hell are you babbling?!”
I jumped, yelling as I heard Victoria speak in that strange tone. Anyone who saw us might mistake us for lovers who’d just shared a heated moment.
“Heh, just kidding. I thought if I didn’t shock you like that, you wouldn’t turn back into an adult.”
“Ah, right.”
Hearing Victoria’s words, I lowered my head to look at the floor and saw my original height had returned.
A brief shift back to my real form, a realization of the gap with reality.
“I did have the urge to tease the shrunken Astar… but thinking about it, the situation isn’t exactly fitting.”
– To bury Astar’s face in my chest, to grab his arms and dangle him in the air, to cover his cheeks with kisses… he was so adorable…
Victoria sighed deeply, as if regretting it, then shook her head, closing her eyes tightly as she looked at me.
*Tap, tap.*
As if noticing her worries, the sound of heels clicking came, and a familiar face started to appear.
“…Oh my, did you forget you’re still in my dreamscape?”
“Bellamora…!!”
Endless dreams.
One of the four Demon Generals.
Succubus Queen Bellamora Lyktis.
“Astar looks so much more lovely and erotic when he’s completely broken. Don’t you think his thoughts might change if he relives his parents’ death hundreds, thousands of times?”
Bellamora gave me a cold sneer, glaring at Victoria as if to kill her, uttering these horrifying words.
“Just say you’ll become my lover! Then, I’ll cover your soiled lips again with kisses full of love. That’s the true love I believe in…!”
Bellamora was shouting ‘love’ with her mouth, but her actions held the mindset of a demon who wouldn’t hesitate to kill or wound anyone.