* * *

“I might just be dreaming right now.”

“What are you talking about…? Can gods even dream?”

The innocent question, delivered in a slightly sulky tone, was utterly endearing.

Erdian looked at Seo Woohyun’s lips and slowly leaned in closer.

“Of course. Even gods can dream, just like humans. And we make plenty of mistakes, too.”

“…”

“So, I was wondering… may I kiss you?”

Seo Woohyun gave a small nod.

The brief touch and retreat of their lips brought a tickling sensation, but it wasn’t enough to ease the pain caused by his divine power being depleted.

If he was going to do it, he might as well do it properly.

A fleeting kiss like this felt more like a tease.

“Don’t play games like this…”

Seo Woohyun’s dissatisfied gaze, his eyes raised high in discontent, made Erdian lower his head again.

As his beautiful face drew nearer, Seo Woohyun instinctively inhaled.

Then, a soft voice filled his mind.

[Seo Woohyun-ah, you’re supposed to close your eyes before a kiss.]

The fingers gently cradling his cheek felt burning hot, like he’d been scorched.

Slowly closing his eyes, Seo Woohyun wrapped his arms around Erdian’s back. T

he moment their lips met again, a careful tongue explored his mouth, unfamiliar yet tender.

“Mm…”

Seo Woohyun couldn’t help but let out small, unbidden moans, the heat in his body rising with embarrassment.

‘I don’t want to make a sound… but it’s so hard to hold back.’

Erdian called it a kiss, but it was also a way of transferring divine power.

Seo Woohyun could feel his body healing—his nausea, muscle aches, and the discomfort in his stomach—all of it fading away.

“Mm…”

Even after the transfer was complete, Erdian showed no signs of pulling away.

Seo Woohyun didn’t mind. If anything, he welcomed the excuse to remain in Erdian’s arms a little longer.

---

On the day Seo Woohyun decided to step outside after being cooped up in his room for a while, he resolved to find a potential romantic partner—someone who, if not as striking as Erdian, would at least be a feast for the eyes and have a strong, athletic physique.

Before heading off on a mission to Patalion Island, he’d wandered the marketplace under the pretext of errands, observing people carefully.

It had all been in vain.

Deep down, Seo Woohyun realized:

‘There’s no one as beautiful and well-built as Erdian.’

Even if someone dared approach him, knowing his status as the Temple’s saint, how many of them would truly love and respect him for who he was, beyond his position?

The higher his status as the saint, the slimmer his chances of meeting someone who genuinely cared for Seo Woohyun as a person.

‘Not to mention how jealous Erdian can get.’

The way Erdian had pettily envied and guarded against even Habios, a distant descendant of an old friend and barely more than a fledgling crush, made it clear.

Even if someone did develop feelings for Seo Woohyun, there was no guarantee that Erdian wouldn’t intervene.

‘Honestly, with Erdian around… there’s never been another option for me.’

---

When Seo Woohyun cracked his eyes open, the headache that had clouded his thoughts subsiding, Erdian finally drew back, his lips parting from Seo Woohyun’s.

“I told you not to open your eyes.”

“…And yet you had your eyes open.”

“Well, I wanted to look at your face a little longer.”

“Why? Does my face remind you of Ciel?”

Seo Woohyun couldn’t suppress his sulking tone.

He knew it wasn’t the right moment to bring this up, but the words escaped him before he could stop them.

“Your face and Ciel’s do resemble each other a lot, but…”

Erdian’s smooth fingers lightly brushed Seo Woohyun’s flushed lips.

“There are many differences between you and Ciel.”

“…How are we different?”

Erdian’s fingers, damp from the heat of Seo Woohyun’s cheek, slowly moved, pausing to trace a small mark below Seo Woohyun’s eye.

“Well, for starters, Ciel didn’t have this beauty mark. And his hair was a deeper shade.”

“Is that all?”

Erdian’s lips brushed lightly against Seo Woohyun’s reddened cheek before his hand slid lower.

As he touched Seo Woohyun’s thinly-clad lower body, Seo Woohyun flinched, his entire body reacting.

“That boy… never reacted like this just from a simple kiss.”

“Wait…”

“He certainly didn’t… get this wet.”

The warmth of Erdian’s hand against him was unbearable.

Realizing the state of his body, Seo Woohyun squirmed, his face burning with embarrassment.

“This is just—!”

When his voice rose unexpectedly, Erdian leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

“Shh, Seo Woohyun-ah. What if the people outside hear?”

Of course, that couldn’t happen.

Seo Woohyun clamped his mouth shut and panted quietly, shaking his head.

Erdian pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

“There’s a good boy.”

“…-Lord Erdian.”

“Hmm?”

“Could you… move your hand?”

“My hand?”

Erdian mischievously applied pressure, causing Seo Woohyun to arch his back.

Only after Seo Woohyun shot him a sharp glare, his lips tightly pressed to suppress a moan, did Erdian finally relent, murmuring an apology.

“Sorry. I behaved like a scoundrel.”

“…I didn’t think of you that way.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Erdian’s golden eyes, framed by thick lashes, were almost hypnotic.

As Seo Woohyun lay sideways on the bed, gazing at him with a dreamy expression, Erdian gently brushed aside his bangs and whispered.

“I’ll do my best to win you over, as much as you let me.”

To think a god would declare such a thing so earnestly—what a strange turn life had taken.

Seo Woohyun couldn’t help but laugh.

“Really now… Who asks for permission to seduce someone?”

“There’s one right here.”

Erdian took Seo Woohyun’s hand and kissed the back of it, his expression soft.

His handsome face and perfect body were his strongest assets, and he intended to make full use of them.

Watching Seo Woohyun’s flushed cheeks, Erdian smirked.

‘Good thing Seo Woohyun is weak to pretty faces.’

---

As Seo Woohyun clumsily got up to change his clothes, Erdian sat back, a bright laugh escaping him as he watched Seo Woohyun leave the room.

The sight of his tousled hair and slightly hunched shoulders lingered in Erdian’s mind long after he was gone.

In the early morning, Seo Woohyun woke up, his hair tousled, feeling a familiar sensation at his fingertips.

“Huh?”

Out of habit, he reached out to stroke it, and the gentle weight and warmth leaning into him confirmed it—it was none other than Malrang, in the flesh.

He had just mentioned wanting to see Malrang yesterday.

Considering the child’s home was near the distant Duchy of Soznian, requiring a long carriage ride to reach, he thought it would take much longer for them to reunite.

“Kurrr…”

The familiar loud breathing, always present when the child was tired, and the tiny horn, no bigger than a fingernail, sprouting from the center of his round head were unmistakable.

“It’s Malrang…”

Seo Woohyun gently stroked the head of the child, curled up on the blanket, snoring softly.

As he gazed fondly at the sleeping Malrang, a clicking sound of disapproval came from nearby.

In the tightly guarded Saint’s chamber, a place where no one could enter without the Saint’s permission—let alone while he was asleep—there was only one being in the world who could move freely.

“By size alone, I’m clearly the bigger one, but I see you don’t even spare me a glance.”

Seo Woohyun’s head snapped around.

‘When did you lie down next to me? I didn’t even notice your presence. But… since you’re not human, is the word “presence” even appropriate?’

Still drowsy and muddled, Seo Woohyun mumbled sleepily, half questioning.

“…Who are you?”

Even though the question lacked coherence, Eridian didn’t seem fazed.

Instead, he lowered his eyes slightly, an amused smile tugging at his lips as he muttered softly.

“Who else? The stunningly handsome deity passionately courting you, of course.”

“Wow…”

So this is what he meant by actively trying to seduce me?

Seo Woohyun couldn’t even close his mouth, struck speechless in awe.

* * *