Translator Note

So, warning this chapter is again a bit lewd… it’s Sugar and Riley being Sugar and Riley… and all that that entails…

Chapter 127: Choker (2)

Rҽａｄ& ;o&n; ​Ka&t;R​ê&a;ｄing​Сａfe

It was something Sugar had experienced before. Something she had experienced a lot.

Still, it wasn’t something she was used to.

“Ah… wait…! Be gentle…!”

Suck, slurp. The wet sound echoed through the forest. Every time it did, red marks bloomed on Sugar’s pale skin.

The sensation of something soft and hot touching her, followed by the feeling of her skin being sucked. The slight sting as tiny blood vessels burst, and yet, a strange ticklish feeling crept in.

It was a sensation that traveled from the nerves at the back of her neck all the way to her toes.

“Mmm… Riley… Riley…”

Sugar gently stroked the man who had buried his face in her neck.

Softly, tenderly. She ran her fingers through his hair, enjoying the texture as it slipped between her fingers.

In contrast, the man was rough and passionate, biting and sucking at her neck. But even that, she could accept.

After all, she had been through it before. If she had endured it once, she could endure it again, she thought.

Perhaps she even found some satisfaction in the sight of the man passionately clinging to her.

As if responding to her feelings, Riley licked and sucked at her neck, calling her name in a sweet, affectionate voice. Hearing his low, heated murmurs, the woman’s lower body trembled.

His rough breath tickled her neck. Both of them were breathing heavily, their surroundings growing warm. Riley’s breath flowed toward Sugar, and Sugar’s breath flowed toward Riley.

Riley, still pressing his lips to her, undid Sugar’s ribbon tie. Then, naturally, he began to undo the buttons.

One button at her neck.

One near her collarbone.

And one near her chest.

If he just parted her clothes a little here, her bra would be visible.

“Ah…”

As Sugar let out a small moan, Riley pulled his face away and silently looked into her eyes. A brief exchange of glances.

Sugar soon closed her eyes. Her cheeks were bright red, and her eyelashes fluttered.

With her silent permission, he continued what he had started. The white canvas of her skin became a mess under the touch of a man.

“Riley… you pervert…”

“You’re the one who sneaks into people’s rooms and steals their shirts, you thief. What did you do with them?”

“I wore them… smelled them… and slept…”

“Just slept?”

“…What kind of question is that?”

“Who knows.”

-Suck. Slurp.

“…You’re really… such a pervert… Mmm, ah… you’re so lewd.”

Riley silently scoffed.

“And the design of this choker… what even is this? Pervert. How did you end up like this…?”

Maybe it’s a problem with early education. Growing up with a girl who had such an unusual sense of lewdness, it’s no wonder.

“But… because it’s you, I’ll accept it. I really hate this kind of thing… I really do… but because it’s you, I’ll accept it…”

“How kind of you.”

‘It’s because of you that I’m like this. So you should accept it.’

Riley hid his true thoughts and expressed his gratitude.

“Ah, ahh…”

As his lips touched her chest, more heated moans escaped her. Riley had thought this before, but her body was so sensitive. No matter where he touched, she reacted.

He didn’t fully open her blouse yet. It seemed he wasn’t ready to go that far. Sugar would be startled, so he had to take it slow.

In the meantime, he worked hard to leave marks, afraid that another man might claim her. From an outsider’s perspective, it might seem unnecessary, but with the way they were obsessed with each other, it was inevitable.

As he subtly rubbed her lower abdomen, he felt her squirm, her waist twitching as she let out soft protests. Her thighs clenched and trembled. The sweet scent she emitted seemed to grow stronger.

“Haa…”

At that moment, Riley pulled his face away and looked down at his handiwork.

Sugar’s chest rose and fell with her heated breaths. The bra that was barely visible, the red marks scattered across her collarbone and neck—it looked like flower petals had been strewn across her skin.

Moving up to her face. Her eyes, flushed with a pink hue, looked dazed.

It’s driving me crazy.

Riley grabbed his head, which was throbbing slightly from blood manipulation. It was a task that required intense concentration and precise control.

During his childhood he had been bewildered when his teacher told him that every man should learn this technique. But he had readily mastered it, considering scenarios like excessive bleeding or oxygen deprivation. He never thought he’d use it for something like this.

‘I should send him a gift later.’

After finishing his inspection, Riley fastened the choker back on Sugar. He buttoned up her blouse and tied her ribbon tie.

Satisfied with his neatly wrapped package, he looked down at Sugar with contentment.

Sugar frowned and avoided his gaze. But with her red cheeks, she looked more like she was pouting than actually angry.

.

.

.

“You’ll wear it all day. Even when you wash or sleep. I paid attention to ventilation and texture, so it should be comfortable to wear. It’s elastic enough that you can slip your fingers in to wash.”

“…Can I not take this off myself?”

“The only person who can take it off is me.”

‘Look at this guy. I thought it wasn’t just an ordinary accessory, but its lewd nature is already showing.’

Sugar glared at Riley, but she could feel her heart pounding. A feeling of something swelling up inside her.

As she silently bowed her head, Riley, thinking she was sulking, gently stroked her hair.

“Good girl. Such a good girl. Always remember our promise.”

“Ugh…”

If anything happens, always look for Riley first. A promise made through the choker.

Sugar returned to her room with mixed emotions. She stood in front of the mirror.

There were faint marks visible above where the choker didn’t fully cover, but it seemed fine.

The lower part was hidden by the blouse collar, so it was okay.

So, even though it looked like she was just wearing an ordinary accessory now. Inside it…

Gulp-

She untied the ribbon tie, let down the suspenders, took off her pants, and undid the buttons of her blouse one by one. The sound of her clothes slipping off felt unusually vivid today.

“Ahh…”

And then, a sigh escaped her at the sight before her.

The choker around her neck. The vivid marks trailing down from it. He had expanded the range compared to what he had done at the inn before. It wasn’t like they were playing some territorial game.

“What is this…”

As she traced her fingers over her skin while looking in the mirror, the memory of his breath and touch from earlier sent a shiver down her spine.

She had to live like this from now on.

Every day, Riley would check the marks, and whenever they faded, he would mark her again.

“Haah… Huh…”

As she struggled to catch her breath, a question arose.

Until when? How long would she have to live with Riley’s marks on her?

He hadn’t given her a deadline. He had just said, “from now on.”

From now on? How long is “from now on”? Until the end of first year? Second year? Until graduation? Forever?

Until you get tired of me?

Sugar gasped for air. A mage’s life is long. There are those who maintain their youth even past a hundred years old.

“Haah… Haah… Riley…”

Her wildly beating heart was impossible to explain. What should she do about this trembling?

As she traced the marks, Riley’s greedy gaze from earlier resurfaced in her mind.

‘To me… to this extent…’

-I wish you’d like me as much as I like you…

The wish she had made last night flashed through her mind.

As she recalled what Riley had done today, she couldn’t help but feel anticipation. Especially the choker; a product of Riley’s obsessive affection for her.

As she touched the accessory around her neck, it felt heavy. The presence of the one who had given it to her was palpable.

A special relationship.

A bond only the two of them share.

A connection no one else can interfere with.

For Sugar, it was a feeling that filled her up in a way she couldn’t quite put into words.

On the other hand, the anxiety that had already begun to creep in was bittersweet.

She knew Riley cherished her. She knew that, but human hearts aren’t eternal. Even though she knew, she couldn’t help but worry.

Fundamentally, she respected Riley’s will and freedom. Because they were friends, even if he were to leave, she had decided to let him go without a fuss. Whether she could actually do that was another matter, but she had made up her mind.

But if he did something like this, even if he bound her like this.

‘What am I supposed to do…’

We’re childhood friends who mean so much to each other.

Childhood friends.

Friends.

…Friends?

Her emotions were a tangled mess, and she couldn’t make sense of them.

As she stared at the mirror with her complicated feelings, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

Yesterday’s spoils. She took out the shirt that had now become her pajamas and put it on. It felt awkward to stay in just her underwear, and she just wanted to try it on.

“Uwaah…”

An even deeper sigh escaped her.

The choker visible through the loose collar. The kiss marks below it.

It looked as if she had just put on the shirt of a man she had spent the night with–

‘Ah, ah, no! What am I thinking about Riley for…’

Of course, the shirt, the choker, and the marks all came from one person. From the man who was obsessed with her and whom she was obsessed with.

But still, they weren’t in that kind of relationship, and they hadn’t done anything like that.

Yet, the reflection in the mirror was undoubtedly something that would make others imagine such things.

The more she thought about it, the more joy and excitement fled, leaving only shame in their place. Just looking at the mirror was enough to make her feel this way.

‘Even so, to go as far as my chest… and in broad daylight, no less… biting and sucking at a woman’s bare skin…’

Thinking about it again, even couples don’t do this. If her heart had been racing wildly from the excitement earlier, what followed was a moment of clarity.

As she admired her disheveled appearance and calmly reflected on what had happened, she felt both resentful and deeply ashamed.

It was lewd, perverse, and sinister.

But what could she do? She was the one who had allowed it. She was the one who had gotten swept up in the moment and cried out.

Sugar furrowed her brows, her eyelids fluttering as she tried to maintain her composure, but there was no way to hide the truth.

There was one surefire way to deal with it.

‘This is Riley’s fault… Riley made me rely on him too much. That’s why I accepted him, why I let him do this. So it’s Riley’s fault… Riley’s the bad one…’

There’s no easier escape than blaming someone else. Sugar muttered her flimsy excuses as she stared at the mirror, entranced for a long time.

Her face was full of resentment.