The colded raindrops, snow was kept falling quietly, preparing for tomorrow white cold world.
At the center of the garden, only the light of the candle existed as light source.
The small fire burning the candle Illuminating the face of a man, who gazing at a woman beside him in nervousness, while the woman herself smiling in eerie, wide smile.
"Fufufu~ oh my~ my~..."
Her voice was melodic.
Akin to the song of angles.
Beautiful; suited the owner much.
However.
Why her face looked so scary right now?
Loryarc gulped, felt goosebump ran all over his body.
"You shouldn't asked a Lady 'who are you' when you already received the answer, Mister Lapizburn~."
"!!"
Dangerous.
This woman, Lady Scarlet, was dangerous!
Loryarc immediately take some distance from her after he know that she realized his real identity.
"FUFUFUFUFUFUFU~."
Lady Scarlet kept giggling, while Loryarc could only gritting his teeth in wariness.
At that very moment.
[Kiss attempt failed.]
The previous transparent panel showed up again.
[Target turned into a predator.]
[Warning!]
[Escape immediately recommended!]
Step, and step.
Loryarc slowly stepping back from Lady Scarlet, who still giggling to herself, while looking at him.
But suddenly.
"Where do you intended to run away, Mister~?"
He felt a grab on his right shoulder from his back.
"Don't you desiring my lips~?"
When Loryarc looked back at his front, Lady Scarlet already nowhere to be found, somehow moved to his back without he even realized it.
So fast! How?
Loryarc burst out a bucket of cold sweat.
Fuck off, fantasy world! This is a bit too much, man!
At this moment, Loryarc already losing all of his fighting spirit to get at least a kiss from this woman he met for the first time.
"Ufufufu~ you're such an interesting man, Mister~."
At the otherhand, the other party seemed to be enjoying herself.
Loryarc can feel her touch when she slowly, slowly feel his body with her fingers from behind.
He can't speak and move.
His instinct shouted at him.
Don't turned around.
If you don't want to die.
So, Loryarc do nothing, even if she hugged him from behind.
"Ufufu~ When I see you, I thought about killing you right away after talked a bit... But you had some strange thought in your mind that normally wouldn't appear when someone trapped in a situation like this."
Lady Scarlet started to talking.
While continue to touching his body from behind.
Her slender... Black long-nailed fingers touched his chin, lifted it up.
He could feel her breath from his behind.
Her heavy breath.
"You desired a kiss. That's unexpected. I was dumbfounded you know, Mister~? A man wanting a kiss from me, ufufufufu~ what an interesting outcome, I thought. But..."
Right after she uttered that, her tone turned a bit cold.
"... You scared of me, hmm~? How rude~."
Her fingers stopped touching his face and moved a bit beneath his face.
Toward his neck, and grabbed it, slowly tightening it.
"Khh!?"
Loryarc shuddered.
I died again!? What the fuck!
But for some reason, she stopped to tightening her grip.
"... Hm~?"
Her tone slightly heated up.
Loryarc could feel that she placed her lips near his right ear when he feeling her breath caressing his skin.
Then, after some time.
"Ufufufu~."
She giggled once more, soundedly amused.
She stopped grabbing his neck and hugged him instead.
She then placing something soft and moist to the back right of his neck.
"So, you want a kiss~? I'll gave you, then~ ufufufu~."
"Ack!"
Loryarc gritted his teeth, felt a tingling pain from his right shoulder, like something biting him.
Well, in this case, maybe that's true.
And not only that, he felt like something inside him also getting sucked out of his body from where she bite him.
Loryarc's conciousness began to fading off.
As strength left his body and forcing him to closed his eyes, the last image he sees before darkness engulfed his vision was several transparent panel.
[You received a 'kiss' on the neck.]
[Evaluation: 60 points.]
[Great job!]
[You get Skill: Crawling Blood(D).]
[WARNING!!]
[The individual who kiss you send some unindentified substance.]
[Press {Yes} to received and {No} to reject.]
[You successfully gained your first skill!]
[You have gained the access to open the Status menu.]
———
[System: Kiss for more.]
[Loryarc Lapizburn.]
[Physique: Low-low.]
[Magic: Low-low.]
[Luck: Low-extreme.]
[System skill: Blessing of Kisses.]
[Personal passive skill: Crawling Blood (D).]
[Personal active skill: ...]
[Title: The Good-for-nothing Bastard; The Lapizburn Count's only son; The son in law of Hallmeavan Family.]
———
***
"Young lady!"
A maid suddenly approaching Glamoria when she was talking to the daughter of Count Grassjaleck.
Glamoria waited after the maid bowed at her and the other nobles near her before asked the maid.
"What the matter make you so restless?"
The wiped her sweating forehead, catching more air, before said.
"The y-young master... Young master Lapizburn was... Ran outside the palace!"
"My Fiancee!?"
Glamoria immediately turned around to looking toward the podium at the center of the hall.
Only the wheel chair remained, while the owner was nowhere to be found.
She immediately urged the maid to explained the situation further detailed.
"What's happened?"
"A-ah, yes... Actually..."
The maid began to explaining how Loryarc suddenly stood up from his wheel chair and looking around for a while before running away from the hall, ran all over the palace, to the outside, perhaps toward the garden.
Glamoria pissed off after heard her.
"Why don't anyone reported it to me ealier? No, why there's no one stopped him in the first place!?"
The intimidating golden aura raise from her body, scaring the other nobles and servants nearby.
"Y-young lady seemed to be very busy, so no one dare to disturb you... And, as for the young master... H-he was young lady's fiancee, stopping him all of a sudden was a bit..."
Everywhere was the same.
When the matter was including nobles and their master, servants was always in disadvantage position.
You did wrong, you died.
You did unnecessary things, even if it helped them, you died as well.
So, if not ordered, don't do anything.
With that mentality only was the servants could survived.
Especially here, in the Scarlet Palace.
Galmoria raised in the enviroment where everything and everyone was on her control and reach.
For her, servant existences was akin to a vas placed all over the palace, not important, not relevant.
An error, and you lose your job, punished, or worst, died.
"Tch!"
Glamoria clicked her tongue after she see through the maid's mind.
So, instead of complaining, she quickly gave her order.
"Quickly search for him and bring him back!"
"Y-Yes, young lady!"
The maid immediately rushing out off the hall to convert her order to other servants and guards to began to search for that fool fiancee of her.
Glamoria echaled, calming herself down.
She don't want to ruin the party atmosphere only because the disappearance of one man.
The golden aura of her subsided after she calmed once more.
"But it's unexpected. He gained his vitality again after reduced to that state, you said?"
Pinching her own chin, she pondered for a while, before putting her smile back to her beautiful face.
And... continueing the party.
As if nothing happened.