Anyway, if he had received such intense guiding, the overload value should have been near zero.
“Your Majesty, if you don’t mind, how much time has passed since I collapsed?”
“I don’t know for sure since I lost consciousness and just woke up, but at least two days have passed.”
Two days?
Then the overload value really should have been near zero.
Having worked at the Ability Management Bureau for three years, I had seen the databases of countless hunters and guides, not only domestically but also internationally, but I had never heard of a case like this.
‘This won’t do.’
Since it had come to this, I had to check it properly.
I stretched both my arms out toward the Emperor, signaling for him to lift me up.
Though he looked baffled, Leonel carefully hugged me and leaned me against the cave wall.
“Please come closer.”
I wanted to move myself if I could, but my whole body hurt as if I’d been beaten by a boxer, so it was hard to even move a finger.
The Emperor looked dumbfounded but willingly lowered his head toward me.
I wrapped my arms around the back of the Emperor’s neck and pulled him down to kiss him.
Since I confirmed the temporary guide status was still active, the guiding clearly should have been working.
“Mm, mph…”
While playfully biting the Emperor’s lower lip, I tangled my tongue with Leonel’s.
A scab on my lip must have fallen off, because I could taste blood mixed with saliva.
I thought Leonel would pull away immediately, but strangely, he was just receiving my kiss.
I teased him by brushing against the mucosa inside his mouth, then pulled my lips away with a soft pop sound.
“Hmm, the guiding should be having an eff—”
In an instant, my perspective changed.
I was lying flat on the floor as before, and I was now making eye contact with the Emperor, who was looking down at me while bracing himself on the ground. It was the same beautiful golden eyes as always.
“You can’t really tell if you’re that shallow.”
Leonel wiped my blood-stained lips with his index finger.
With a tsk-ing sound, he stuck out his tongue and licked the wound on my lips.
I scrunched my face at the stinging sensation of moisture suddenly touching the wound.
Seeing me furrow my brow, Leonel pressed down on my forehead with two fingers.
“Are you dissatisfied? That I suddenly kissed you?”
“How could I be dissatisfied with medical treatment? I’m used to it.”
I retorted slightly because I felt like I’d been played.
No, even if the kiss I did was for guiding, why lick my lips?
He isn’t the one doing the guiding.
“…Used to it, huh.”
But my answer seemed to trigger something in the Emperor.
It must be my imagination that his beautifully shining golden eyes turned slightly dangerous, right? It has to be my imagination.
And the conclusion was, it wasn’t my imagination.
While I was lying quietly, assessing the situation, a large hand slipped between my legs and gripped my thigh.
I was startled and pulled my body back instinctively.
Because of that, my burnt back scraped against the floor, and tremendous pain struck my lower back.
“Ugh!!”
“Stay still.”
Along with his voice, Leonel’s head moved between my legs.
As his hot breath hit my sensitive area, my waist jerked from the ticklish sensation.
I mean, this is a natural physiological reaction.
But contrary to my expectation that something more would happen, Leonel spoke to me.
“Are you okay?”
“With what…?”
The skinship disguised as guiding?
Of course I’m okay.
I didn’t have any ulterior motives; it was strictly for treatment.
I blinked my eyes at Leonel as if I couldn’t understand him.
Seeing me like that, Leonel curled his lips crookedly.
His large hand seemed to head toward the inside of my thigh, and he smoothly stroked the sensitive, twitching opening.
“Hah…!”
A moan slipped out at the sudden stimulation, and I hurriedly clamped my mouth shut.
‘Oh, please.’
Would it hurt to give a warning for something like this?
A moan doesn’t help with the guiding at all.
It just makes me feel unnecessarily embarrassed.
“I’m asking if it’s okay to rub my ‘thing’ against you until fluid flows out of this opening.”
“No, why on earth… do you have to say that out loud?”
There was a clear intention to tease in his words.
He must have expected me to turn red and tell him not to say such things, but I’m sorry.
I’ve checked guiding hundreds of times; I’m not at the seniority level where I’d be shy over one dirty remark.
However, the fact that I wasn’t just observing someone else’s guiding but actually had to mix my body with this person brought a wave of embarrassment, so I slightly closed my legs.
The Emperor must have noticed that, as he let out a faint laugh.
I deliberately answered firmly.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and rub your ‘thing’ against the hole.”
“You’ve become strangely sharp. I am not such a shameless person that I would demand an act from a patient. Check it once, to see if my condition has improved.”
You were the one who broke my waist so badly that it hasn’t recovered in two days.
I don’t think my muscle aches will even recover by the time we return to the Imperial Palace.
I grumbled and quickly activated my skill.
I had done this much guiding, so there should be progress, obviously.
If there was no progress, I felt my pride, built over three years of guiding checks, would suffer a serious blow.
Name: Leonel de Valquia
Fatigue: 25/100
Overload: 60/100 (Rank S)
Matchmaking: Ian (Rank S) – Temporary Guiding in progress
Overall Evaluation: Simple guiding is needed!
But the status window showed a completely different result than expected.
‘Huh? 60?’
It was the same value as what I checked earlier.
Does it not get any better than this even if I continue guiding here?
“The condition… is the same. Guiding is no longer effective.”
“So it is as I thought.”
Thinking he had an inkling, the Emperor began to ponder deeply.
Since I had never seen a case like this where I lived, I tried to guess that it was likely related to the awakening ability unique to this other world.
“It is a well-known fact, but the powerful magic of the Valquia Imperial Family is inherited through the bloodline. The thicker the royal blood, the stronger the ability. To that end, my ancestors, including previous generations, frequently engaged in incestuous marriages.”
I suddenly learned a shocking secret of this world.
An S-rank awakening ability passed down through genetic traits.
This was also a phenomenon not found in my original world.
“It wouldn’t have been a problem if only the innate ability was powerful, but the problem was that as incestuous marriages were repeated, the side effects of the powerful ability also worsened.”
“Does that mean, then, even in your daily life when you don’t use your ability…”
“That’s right. A mild headache is a daily occurrence, and as a certain cycle approaches, reason fades away and only impulses dominate the mind.”
‘The Madness.’
It had to be the madness that appears in the novel ‘The Rose Grows in the Emperor’s Cage’.
