That’s Not What Kissing Means! - Chapter 99

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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That’s not what kissing means!
Episode 99

Theo gently captured Evelyn’s lips with his own.
But the tenderness was fleeting.
His yearning for Evelyn and the overwhelming surge of emotion poured entirely into the kiss.
Evelyn couldn’t think of anything in the face of the dizzying sensation that followed.
Theo was no different. He was utterly intoxicated by the sweetness given to me.
Only when Evelyn pushed him away, gasping for breath, did I realize that considerable time had passed.
“…I’m going to my room.”
“Why.”
Theo spoke with a deeply reluctant expression.
“I won’t come any closer. I’ll just talk….”
“You said that before, and the time before that too!”
Evelyn cried out and rose from her seat.
There was fault in her own inability to refuse Theo’s lips.
Enchanted by him, she had ultimately accepted his kiss.
But it was clear this would never end at this rate.
Evelyn fanned herself to cool down her flushed cheeks.
In the meantime, Theo clung to her once more.
“We have so much to discuss. The Envoy will soon ask about the prophecy.”
He certainly knew how to talk.
Evelyn regarded him warily and sat back down in her chair.
“I’m planning to use Calimedes. The Envoy’s ultimate goal is the immortality ritual, after all.”
“You’re thinking of changing the content to dismantle the Envoy’s plan?”
Evelyn nodded.
“I’ll speak of a prophecy that Calimedes will soon appear. The Envoy won’t miss this opportunity and will accelerate his plans.”
“His carefully constructed plans will be abbreviated or altered.”
“I need to drive the Envoy to the cliff’s edge. With fewer options to choose from at the precipice, he won’t have time to look around.”
“Including the Emperor, that is.”
Then Evelyn showed a worried expression.
“But will the Envoy believe what we say?”
By now, wouldn’t he be filled with suspicion?
At those words, Theo shrugged.
“We’ll make him believe. The next fire will be at Ashford Estate, you said?”
A desolate smile played across his lips.
“Let’s have Calimedes appear in that prophecy. It will be easy enough to convince them.”
The Grand Cleric and those who committed atrocities alongside him—a considerable number would come to Ashford Estate.
Theo intended to bring them all down at once.

* * *

As Evelyn had been absorbed in planning for quite some time, her voice grew increasingly weary.
Between losing sleep and facing nothing but overwhelming crises, it was only natural.
“Would you mind if I rested my eyes for a moment?”
Theo suggested she lie down on his bed, but Evelyn shook her head.
“Once the prayer service ends, the Clerics will return to their lodgings. If Sophia finds out I went into the men’s quarters, she’ll raise hell.”
Watching Evelyn yawn, he smiled.
“I’ll take you.”
After opening the door and confirming no one was nearby, Theo led her out.
Only after safely escorting her to her room did he return to his own quarters.
A single sleepless night could not exhaust Theo’s stamina.
His eyes gleamed sharply as he watched her leave.
Returning to his room, he sat at the table. What he withdrew from his pocket was the recording artifact Evelyn had given him.
The method of activation was the same as the voice recording device.
As he infused mana into it, the magical artifact began to project the images it contained.
He burned the ledger related to the first “miracle” into his memory.
Seeing the list of names—powerful figures recognizable by reputation alone—he wore a contemptuous smile.
Leaders from various nations, merely entranced by illusions, bowing to the Grand Cleric.
He planned to send the source and mixing ratios of the hallucinogenic herb materials to Julian.
Everyone connected to the Grand Cleric had to be uprooted entirely.
The next image displayed concerned the immortality ritual.
Evelyn had recorded the contents with meticulous detail.
Theo, who had been observing quietly, focused on one particular section.
The intricately interwoven pattern was the ritual circle Evelyn had mentioned.
Theo withdrew paper and transcribed it.
The image contained supplementary notes about the ritual circle.

[The more deeply it is carved, the more powerful its effect will be.]
[It must be placed close beside the sacrifice.]

What method could etch it so permanently?
Melting iron, embroidering thread?
Even so, it would be difficult to openly reveal the ritual circle.
‘Is the sacrifice a person?’
Piecing together everything so far, it seemed a human had been sacrificed….
Moreover, the ritual circle was said to be placed near the sacrifice.
‘It would be someone close at hand, or an intimate confidant.’
In that instant, lightning struck through Theo’s mind.
Something that satisfied all of this suddenly came to him.
What he retrieved was his Father’s amulet.
He had heard that Lionel’s relentless pleas had led to it being adorned on the dark sword.
Theo examined the amulet carefully atop the table.
Looking closely, it was formed of two thin layers of leather sewn together.
Like a notebook that could not be opened.
Theo’s fingers traced slowly across the golden thread engraved upon the amulet.
“When crimson fruit bears, at last shall one walk eternity.”
He recited the golden ancient words once more.
He examined the leather connected by dense stitching.
Crack—
Then with fierce force, his fingers found the seam and tore it open.
The connecting thread snapped and broke, revealing what lay within the amulet.
“….”
Theo’s eyes blazed with terrible clarity.
The ritual circle he had seen in the vision was carved there.
It was the moment Lionel’s true purpose was laid bare.
His entire body turned cold. Veins stood out starkly across the back of the hand gripping the amulet.
His own Father had been the sacrifice.

* * *

As expected, the Envoy summoned them after the prayer service concluded.
He had sensed through divine power that Yulia’s Stone had awakened.
The Envoy who greeted Theo and Evelyn in his office appeared exhausted.
Was it the fatigue from the lengthy prayer service…?
Evelyn settled onto the sofa, studying him carefully.
But she had heard that divine power maintained youth and vitality.
Someone of the Envoy’s station shouldn’t have reason to tire….
Then, her eyes met Theo’s.
He gave a subtle nod, sharing her suspicion.
Something had gone wrong with the Envoy’s divine power.
Though she had anticipated this, it seemed to be unraveling faster than expected.
The Holy Kingdom’s recent obsession with other nations’ Sacred Artifacts must have stemmed from the Envoy after all.
The Envoy forced a smile, concealing his fatigue.
“You departed the chapel rather hastily. Understandable, truly. Even from a distance, I could sense the Goddess’s power.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
The atmosphere had grown more suffocating than before.
Though all spoke in gentle tones, caution gleamed in their eyes.
“So…what did Goddess Yulia say to you?”
The Envoy directed the question toward Evelyn. She produced the answer she had prepared.
“The Goddess said, ‘The ground of the Northern Region shall split asunder, and the crimson calamity buried thus far shall emerge.'”
Excitement flickered across the Envoy’s face before vanishing.
He seemed to be deliberating whether to believe it.
It surely referred to Calimedes’s appearance.
But the ritual to summon the God of Death had not yet begun.
Moreover, Evelyn, who clearly already knew of the immortality ritual, could not be trusted either.
“…So the darkness spoken of before will manifest in the Northern Region.”
After prolonged deliberation, the Envoy finally spoke.
“I must inform His Imperial Majesty. We shall dispatch Holy Knights and Clerics to assist.”
He was openly stating that he would send his own people.
Now that Theo and Evelyn had discovered his misdeeds, he had changed his approach.
Duke Ashford in particular would be wary of the Envoy and Lionel.
He abandoned his plan to draw them in gradually and instead focused on the immortality ritual.
Before that, Yulia’s Stone….
Then, Theo asked gently.
“Will His Majesty permit it?”
He was asking whether the Emperor would heed the Envoy’s words even after hearing of the ritual’s nature.
“Of course. I have done my utmost for His Majesty all this time. Above all, it is His Imperial Majesty who recognizes my efforts.”
The Envoy harbored no doubt about the Emperor. He seemed certain the Emperor would naturally obey him.
Theo and Evelyn, carefully observing the Envoy’s reaction, soon concluded their conversation.
As they left the office and headed toward the garden, Theo surveyed their surroundings.
After confirming no one was around, he whispered to Evelyn.
“It’s time we left the Holy Kingdom.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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