Seongguk – Temptation

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“M-Me, liking Jade?”

“Yeah.”

“…Why do you think so?”

‘As expected, she’s not planning to admit it right away.’

Anticipating her reaction, Jade slowly explained what he had felt to Veronica.

“Well, first of all, who would follow someone they don’t even like, sticking to them like glue?”

“That’s just because I was worried about Jade…”

“And you occasionally made slips of the tongue in front of me.”

“M-Misstatements? Maybe you just misheard?”

Veronica’s voice, giving a clumsy answer, was trembling slightly.

“Originally, men tend to imagine all sorts of things even if a woman just picks up something they dropped. Of course, usually, they know it’s a ridiculous delusion. So, I didn’t think much of it at first either.”

But Veronica stuck close to him for half the day and even subtly tried to make skinship when using Divine Power.

From Jade’s perspective, this made him certain.

That Veronica had feelings for him.

“If you wanted to try the push-and-pull thing from books… I’d say it’s a failure. I only felt you pulling. You didn’t directly say you liked me, but you only did things to gain my favor, so what’s the point?”

“…Hing.”

Eventually, Veronica lowered her head with a cute sound.

That was as good as admitting Jade’s words.

‘Even so, I didn’t think it was possible… I can’t believe it.’

Veronica and Jade had only met a few days ago.

Although feelings between a man and a woman can sprout quickly, there hadn’t even been time for that.

It’s not like Jade had saved Veronica’s life or anything, creating a fateful opportunity.

It’s not like Jade likes Veronica, but the opposite, Veronica likes Jade.

As a man, it’s something to welcome with open arms, but…

Since he doesn’t know the reason why she likes him, he just feels uneasy and frustrated.

Jade tried to soothe the gloomy-looking Veronica, trying to coax an answer from her.

“Veronica. I’m not trying to criticize you at all. Who would dislike or be displeased by someone as beautiful as you liking them?”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I’m just purely curious. I have no idea why you would like me.”

Whether his efforts paid off, Veronica began to explain with a resigned expression.

“I don’t really know exactly why I started liking Jade.”

“You… don’t know?”

“I just liked Jade from the moment I saw him. In books, they call it love at first sight.”

“Y-You saw me?”

To fall in love at first sight with my face.

It was the first time Jade had ever experienced something like that in his life.

But that first experience happened to be with the Saintess.

Is this even something that can happen statistically?

“Isn’t there a fateful attraction between The Hero and the Saintess? That’s what the books say.”

“D-Did you only read the parts you liked in the books?”

Jade was genuinely curious about the titles of the books Veronica had read.

“Of course, it wasn’t just because of that. The more I spent time with Jade, the more I grew fond of him. The way you train with all your might, or the way you move forward without collapsing even when facing difficult things, was really cool.”

“That’s thanks to you helping me. I’m not as great a person as you think. I have the Hero’s Power, but I’m just a fool who hasn’t accomplished anything.”

“No. In my opinion, Jade is a great person. Enough for me to fall for.”

Veronica slowly began to approach Jade.

“But there was a problem. Jade already had someone he loved. So, I was giving up… but one day, an incident happened. It’s rude to say it like this, but it was an opportunity for me.”

That’s right.

Jade had grown distant from Lena because of that incident, to the point of breaking up.

‘It’s like a coincidence someone planned.’

In any case, a golden opportunity had come to Veronica.

“So, you started approaching me from then on?”

“It was half because I liked Jade, and half because I wanted to comfort The Hero as a colleague. But I tried not to make it too obvious in my own way…”

Veronica ran a hand over her face and sighed deeply.

“Haa… I guess books aren’t always right. I’m sure I did everything according to the romance novels…”

“Theory and practice are different. It’s one of the lessons I realize every time.”

“Ugh… To be caught so foolishly.”

-Thud.

Before she knew it, Veronica was stuck right next to Jade.

“Jade.”

“…Yeah.”

Jade and Veronica’s eyes met.

-Gulp.

Jade swallowed unconsciously.

“Do you… dislike me?”

“….”

Instead of answering right away, Jade closed his eyes.

He still had hope.

The hope that he could go back to the way things were with Lena.

‘Lena said that even if everything was a lie… love was the only truth.’

That’s why he was planning to visit Lena again the day after the inauguration ceremony.

He thought that his transformation into a true Hero would help change her mind even a little.

But suddenly, another person who liked Jade had appeared.

“Veronica. Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

And that person was Veronica, who would be working with him as a colleague and the Saintess.

It would be a lie to say that Jade had no feelings for Veronica.

Appearance aside, people tend to feel much greater gratitude and fondness for someone who reaches out to them in the worst of situations.

‘If I choose Veronica here…’

Would that be betraying Lena?

But Jade was actually the victim.

Lena had deceived him about everything and even stabbed him with a sword.

It seemed that no one would say that it was wrong for Jade, who had been betrayed, to give up on Lena.

After a long period of contemplation, Jade’s mouth opened.

“I’m sorry.”

“Th, then…”

“I can’t completely give up on Lena yet. I still believe there’s room for change in Lena. I can’t forget my feelings and memories of Lena overnight.”

“…I understand. Jade and Lena loved each other so much.”

“So, I can’t accept your feelings.”

Jade had rejected Veronica’s confession.

Whether the shock was great, Veronica began to sob.

“Hic…”

“But.”

Jade carefully reached out his right hand and placed it on the back of Veronica’s hand.

“I hope you’ll continue to stay by my side.”

“Th, then…?”

“As ‘colleagues’ for now.”

“Ah…”

A deep wound was etched in Jade’s heart.

That’s why it was difficult for him to whisper love to someone else and develop into a romantic relationship right away.

But it was okay to not make a hasty decision and take things one step at a time, getting to know each other little by little.

It was right to truly think about ‘love’ only after they could understand each other enough.

‘By then, my wounds will have healed to some extent.’

Jade wanted to give Veronica at least a glimmer of hope.

“Veronica, let’s take it one step at a time for now.”

Jade knew how contradictory what he had just said was.

He was rejecting her confession but asking her to be with him.

It was the same as using Veronica as a replacement for Lena.

“But I’ll promise you one thing in return. If Lena doesn’t change her mind… then I’ll reconsider our relationship.”

“Does that mean Jade has at least a little bit of feelings for me?”

“It would be a lie to say I don’t. But that’s—”

“That’s enough for me.”

“Really… are you okay with that?”

Jade predicted that it would be awkward to even face each other for the next few days.

But Veronica’s attitude was unexpected.

“I’m not going to give up here. I’m going to get Jade’s heart for sure.”

Veronica’s eyes were burning with motivation.

‘I wonder if she understood what I said properly…?’

Jade suddenly began to worry about the future.

**

Jade lightly knocked on the door in front of him twice.

-Knock. Knock.

“Annie, are you there?”

A moment of silence flowed.

As if no one was inside, there was no response.

But Jade didn’t give up and knocked on the door again.

-Knock. Knock. Knock.

“I know you’re inside. I can feel your mana.”

Even if she hid her voice or presence, she couldn’t hide her mana from Jade, who possessed the Hero’s Power.

“Can I talk to you for a bit? There’s something important I want to say.”

Only then did a rustling sound begin to be heard from inside,

-Slam.

The door opened.

“J-Jade. Long time no see. What’s up?”

Annie greeted him with a subtle smile.

“I was just wondering if you were doing well. It feels like I haven’t seen your face for a few days.”

Recently, Annie had been avoiding him.

She didn’t come to find Jade, and it was difficult to even see her face.

“It’s not like I was trying to avoid you. I just needed some time alone, so I kept staying in my room.”

“Then there’s nothing wrong, right? I was worried for nothing.”

“I’m just eating, sleeping, and studying magic. I’m just repeating this endlessly. You don’t have to worry.”

‘That’s a relief. She seems more okay than I thought.’

Jade was relieved by Annie’s energetic appearance.

He had been worried that she might be living like a shut-in due to stress and depression.

He had Veronica by his side, but Annie was completely alone.

“Is that all you needed?”

“Um…”

Jade carefully examined Annie.

Eyes shaking anxiously. A gaze directed at the floor. Even fidgeting hands.

Annie was clearly hiding something.

It was likely that what she was hiding was the reason she was avoiding him.

But Jade didn’t bother to dig into it.

‘If it’s important, she’ll tell me even if it’s late.’

There was no point in forcibly digging out a secret that a friend didn’t want to tell.

“W-What are you looking at so intently?”

Annie was restless at Jade’s gaze, which was scrutinizing her.

“Just happy to see you.”

“Anyone would think we haven’t seen each other for months. You said you had something important to say earlier. What is it?”

“Veronica confessed to me.”

“Wh, what?!”

Jade had hesitated quite a bit about whether to tell Annie this.

‘Annie is watching me waver.’

He was worried that her reaction might not be good.

Even so, the reason Jade had come to find Annie was that he thought it would be good for her to know in advance as well.

“So, what happened? Did you reject her?”

“For now. But I decided to have time to get to know each other better.”

“…So, you didn’t completely reject her?”

Annie began to pull at her hair.

She seemed quite shocked by the events between Jade and Veronica.

“You don’t mean your feelings for Lena have faded?”

“That’s not it. However… I’m not sure if these feelings will last forever. Even if I seem like a fool, please understand. But wasn’t this something you expected to some extent?”

“Th, that’s true… but it’s a bit sudden.”

‘Could it be that she didn’t know?’

Jade had assumed that Annie, who was quick-witted, already knew that Veronica liked him.

But judging from Annie’s reaction now, his prediction seemed to be wrong.

“Please don’t misunderstand. We’re definitely not in that kind of relationship yet.”

“Forget… especially… at a time like this… big trouble…”

Annie began to mutter something to herself.

‘Was the shock that great?’

Jade was worried about her.

“Are you okay?”

“Jade, make a good choice later and don’t regret it.”

“What?”

-Thud.

“Uh…”

Jade could only stare blankly at the closed door for a moment before returning to his room.

**

-Chuu… Eup…

“Ugh…”

‘It’s warm.’

Jade slowly opened his eyes at the warmth rising from below.

“It’s already morning.”

Jade remembered falling asleep as soon as he lay down on the bed yesterday.

He must have been tired from all the things that had happened.

At that moment, the first sound Jade heard when he woke up was.

-Chulup! Jjuueup….

A lewd sound like someone was sucking on something.

‘What is this…?’

At the same time, something was gently caressing and tightening his precious area.

It wasn’t the first time Jade had experienced something like this.

‘This is… Fellatio.’

He was receiving Fellatio from the morning.

“L-Lena? What are you doing from the morning…”

Jade reached out his hand towards the blanket with a bewildered heart,

‘…Wait a minute.’

He stopped.

‘There’s no way Lena would be here…?’

Lena is in prison.

That meant it was impossible for her to be in Jade’s room right now.

Jade felt goosebumps all over his body in an instant.

Then who on earth is inside this blanket that’s bulging out in front of him…

Jade slowly pulled back the blanket with a trembling hand.

-Swish.

“Ueup….”

There was black hair and black eyes looking up at him.

“V-Veronica?!”

Veronica had Jade’s thing in her mouth.