Seoripul Village

Roderick opened his mouth first, as if trying to hide his awkwardness.

“By the way, where are you from? How did you end up in a black market like that?”

Serina had no intention of hiding that she was from a noble family.

However, she didn’t want to reveal the specific fact that she was from the Artiel Family.

Roderick seemed to read her silence and quietly added,

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to right now. You can tell me whenever you want.”

His voice was filled with consideration.

Serina, in turn, asked Roderick,

“What happened to your family? Is it just you and your younger sister?”

A faint shadow crossed Roderick’s face.

“My mother passed away shortly after giving birth to my sister. My father… he went beyond the Boundary to hunt Monsters and was killed.”

Serina’s eyes widened.

Similarly, Serina’s parents had also crossed the Boundary and never returned.

“My parents also… went beyond the Boundary and didn’t come back. What’s there?”

Roderick looked at Serina’s face and nodded.

He continued calmly.

“Some say there are countless Monsters there, and others say there’s an evil witch. Those are just rumors, though. No one knows for sure.”

Serina was just staring at Roderick as he spoke without much thought.

It was then.

Roderick suddenly looked at her face and chuckled.

“Even your dazed expression is pretty.”

Roderick suddenly moved closer to her.

“What, what nonsense…”

There was a hint of panic in Serina’s voice.

She tried to turn her head, but Roderick lightly grabbed her chin and turned her back to him.

“What!?”

Serina resisted, straining her neck.

At that moment, Roderick’s body moved forward, and he grabbed Serina’s waist, which was submerged in the water.

The slippery feeling in the water and the touch of his large hand on her waist gave her a strange feeling.

▷ Trait [Pleasure Lv.2] is activated.

Current Pleasure Meter: 30 percent.

Roderick stared straight into her eyes and asked,

“Do you dislike me that much?”

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

Serina tried to back away.

Roderick grabbed Serina’s waist with both hands as she retreated.

And he pulled her toward him.

Because they were in the water, Serina’s body lightly stuck to Roderick’s.

Roderick’s breath rushed over her.

A very hot breath.

Roderick’s gaze slowly moved from Serina’s face to her chest.

Serina felt strangely aroused all over her body.

“Hey, hey, keep your eyes open.”

She pushed Roderick’s chest, but of course, he didn’t budge.

He slowly opened his mouth and bit Serina’s breast.

“Ugh…!”

Serina desperately tried to hold back the moan that came out involuntarily.

‘This, what is this? It’s strange… different from before.’

Current Pleasure Meter: 80 percent.

‘Dangerous, dangerous.’

The level of the Trait has increased.

▷ Trait Lv.3: Pleasure

The energy of Pleasure flows from your body.

You can sense the emotions of Pleasure around you.

Roderick seemed to have already lost his mind.

He began to lick Serina’s nipple like a dog.

Serina’s struggling body twitched at some point.

Roderick wanted to see Serina’s expression.

He could see saliva flowing from the corner of Serina’s mouth.

One of her eyes was squinting as if it was cramping.

Serina, who was making an incredibly lewd expression, barely opened her mouth.

“I told you it was dangerous!”

A fist tinged with purple Aura flew towards Roderick.

“Damn it…”

Roderick rubbed the dark bruise on one of his eyes.

“I didn’t think I’d lose my mind that much. But to use Aura and hit me…”

Serina ignored Roderick’s complaints and swept her still-wet hair back.

The situation just now provided her with an important clue.

She thought that the level of Pleasure could cloud human judgment or even dominate reason.

The problem was how to use this power.

If Pleasure wasn’t quickly converted into Mana like it was a moment ago, she would have no choice but to deal with it after being taken advantage of.

In the end, the key was whether or not she could maintain this Pleasure.

Serina leaned against one wall of Roderick’s study.

“Ella.”

The study door opened, and Ella entered.

There was a subtle smile on her face.

Roderick turned his head and glanced at Ella, but she pretended not to see him and fixed her gaze on Serina.

“Is there anything you need, Lady Serina?”

Serina approached Ella and whispered in a very small voice.

“Do you happen to have more… string panties?”

The smile on Ella’s face deepened.

She thought Serina was looking for string panties to do something more intense.

Ella, who had glanced at Roderick’s bruised eye, smiled with conviction inside.

“Don’t worry, Lady Serina. I have plenty prepared.”

Ella replied, whispering as well.

She seemed to wink slightly as she passed Roderick.

Roderick cleared his throat as he watched Ella’s retreating figure.

Serina sat down in the chair in front of Roderick without paying attention.

“Ahem.”

Roderick cleared his throat again and rummaged through the bookshelves in the study.

After groping for a while, his hand grabbed an old, thick book.

“Found it.”

Faint patterns were engraved on the old leather cover.

Roderick opened the book and found a specific page.

It contained a story about beyond the Boundary.

Roderick’s gaze stopped at one passage.

“It says the Flame Demon is beyond the Boundary.”

Roderick immediately searched other books for information about the Flame Demon.

But nothing came up.

He shook his head.

“I don’t know whether to believe this or not, but since no more evidence is coming out, there’s a high probability that it’s not true. A demon, really.”

Serina shook her head and thought differently.

“The fact that there’s not much evidence might be because no one has returned from there, right?”

“So, what… what do you want to do? You’re not thinking of going beyond the Boundary, are you?”

“I’m not going to take revenge or anything. I just… want to check it out. If it’s dangerous, I can just quietly come back.”

Serina continued, seeing Roderick’s reluctant expression.

“You’re a busy man, so you don’t have to help. I can go alone.”

Before dawn, Serina packed a simple bag and left the castle gate.

A cold wind blew through the pressed-down robe.

“Huh? What?”

Roderick was already waiting for her at the entrance of the castle.

“I can’t stand not knowing what I’m curious about.”

Roderick added, rubbing the bruise on one of his eyes.

“Besides, you don’t have any money, do you? Anyway, patrolling the territory as the lord of Haigrant is one of my jobs. Perfect timing.”

Roderick walked ahead and said,

“First, before going to the Boundary, the goal is to go to Frostleaf Village, which is the northernmost. We might be able to get information there.”

Serina snorted as if it wasn’t worth replying to.

“Tsk, whatever.”

After several days of travel, the two finally arrived at Frostleaf Village.

A grim atmosphere hung over the entrance to the village.

Around the crude wooden fence, vigilantes protecting the village from Monsters stood with spears.

Roderick stopped Serina, who was about to approach them.

“If I reveal that I’m the lord, it’ll be unnecessarily chaotic. It’s better for you to introduce yourself as a noble from Haigrant, and I’ll pretend to be your servant.”

Serina thought that made sense.

She first approached the vigilante and briefly revealed her identity.

She deliberately made her voice thicker.

They glanced at her suspiciously before reluctantly opening the way.

An old tavern was visible in the middle of the village.

The two naturally moved towards it.

Inside the tavern, villagers and vigilantes were chatting loudly while eating and drinking.

After ordering simple food and drinks, Serina and Roderick sat in a corner.

“Doesn’t it seem like defending the village is getting harder these days?”

“Yeah, the ‘Sasquatch’ guys were wandering around the village again today.”

“Shouldn’t we inform the lord about this situation? At this rate, the village will collapse!”

“Hmph, we’ve protected it with our own hands so far, so what’s with the talk of support now! There’s nothing to expect!”

At that moment, a person who seemed drunk rudely interrupted.

“It’s because of that witch! That witch is controlling the Sasquatches!”

The people around him buzzed at those words.

“He’s talking nonsense again, old man! Where’s the witch?”

“What did he see to say that every time…”

The villagers tried to ignore the man’s words, but Serina and Roderick were different.

They listened to the word ‘witch’.

After most of the villagers left the tavern, Roderick approached the old man, who was huddled in a corner like a vagrant, drinking.

“Old man, I’d like to ask you something.”

The old man looked up at Roderick with blurry eyes.

Serina stood behind Roderick, watching the old man’s reaction.

“What is the witch you were talking about earlier?”

A faint madness flashed in the old man’s eyes.

He trembled and whispered,

“Witch… witch…. In the place where the blizzard blows… the witch lives. That witch is calling the Monsters… soon this place… soon this place will collapse!”

Serina asked the terrified old man,

“What does she look like? That witch…”

The old man stared straight at Serina.

The old man’s eyes widened.

He trembled and pointed at Serina’s face.

“W-witch! It’s a witch!”

The old man screamed and jumped up from his seat, running out of the tavern.

Serina and Roderick could only look at each other with bewildered expressions.