Chapter 228: One Alice (3)

“Would it be okay... if I kissed you...?”

The words sounded as though they might break, yet were spoken clearly.

The girl felt heat about to burst from within her.

‘W-What do I do... I really, really said it...’

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Her fierce heartbeat filled her chest.

Her chest tightened painfully.

The world truly was in turmoil.

The girl felt as though her consciousness were swaying every which way.

Even so, she didn't want to retreat from this feverish moment.

‘I don't want to be a coward anymore...’

Only about a foot separated them.

Below her, the boy was looking up at her.

‘B-But... isn't this too, too close...?’

His faint scent made her dizzy.

Still, Alice didn't shrink back.

She didn't avoid his gaze, scramble away, or sink into herself.

She merely sat beside Viktor, meeting those black eyes.

Their crossing gazes were intense enough to carve out a whole passage from a lifetime.

“......”

“......”

A brief silence, yet one that felt eternal, passed between them.

Alice pulled herself together.

They were alone in the room at night.

The only sounds in her ears were their breathing.

The boy lay sprawled on the bed, while the girl leaned over him as though half climbing on top of him.

Beneath the thin blanket, the warmth of their bodies passed through their limbs.

That lukewarm closeness let countless thoughts bloom and fade.

‘Mr. Viktor...’

You looked up at me without a word.

A little surprised. As though you hadn't expected this.

Her chest tightened further for no reason.

‘Was it too sudden...?’

What were you thinking right now?

We were this close, close enough to touch at any moment, and my heart felt like it would burst... Were you the same? Were you shaken, even a little? Excited and embarrassed, wishing this moment would hurry and pass? At the same time, were you wishing it could last forever?

‘Even if not, I...’

She tightly grasped her wavering resolve.

She recalled what the princess had told her several days ago.

-What are you so afraid of? Just do whatever you want.

-It isn't as though Viktor would push you away or suddenly say he hates you.

Words that had given her hesitant back a push.

Words that had asked after her true feelings with casual kindness.

The girl took a quiet breath.

Forgetting her agitation, she thought about the feelings lodged deep in her heart.

‘...I want to reach you.’

She wanted to reach him too.

She wanted to touch him, to feel him, to confirm the shape and texture of the love she loved. She wanted to love him even more through that. Her life was shabby, small, and miserable, with not a single thing properly put together, but she wanted to reach the person who had tended that life. Just as he had given her love, she wanted to give love to him too.

‘Maybe I'm nothing at all, but...’

She wasn't someone with any particular charm.

She wasn't noble like the princess, nor did she have Ranne's cheerful energy. She wasn't mature like Javert, didn't have Caitlin's entertaining wit, and wasn't beautiful like Rin. Among those dazzling companions, she alone was a jagged stone. Like a weed sticking out of a garden full of colorful flowers. And yet, she desired his affection.

‘No.’

She didn't want to give up.

She had lived while letting so many things slip away, but she hoped this time would be different.

She had endured those gutter-like years, and he was nearly the only light in her life.

For the first time in her life, the girl wanted to be greedy for someone.

“Mr. Viktor.”

“Miss Alice.”

“Please don't reject me.”

“......”

“I want to kiss you.”

Alice forced out the words again, clearly.

The boy smiled as he looked at her.

“If that's what Miss Alice wants.”

His smile was as affectionate as always.

Yet it was strangely different as well.

The cheek without the burn seemed faintly red.

Perhaps that meant the boy was just as excited as she was.

Alice steadied her pounding breath.

As the world spun around her, Viktor looked up at Alice and asked,

“...But are you really okay with someone like me?”

There was a strange tension in that question.

His black eyes trembled too.

Only then did Alice realize it.

The boy was gripping his sleeve tightly as well.

‘Ah.’

You were anxious, just like me.

This moment was so precarious, so thrilling, that you felt as though you might fall apart.

“It's okay because it's you, Mr. Viktor. I've never felt this way about anyone else.”

“That's... wonderful to hear. Really.”

The boy's smile became clearer.

The blush on his cheeks deepened until it was unmistakable.

Alice felt her reason gradually melting away.

Unaware of that, Viktor gave a smiling glance to the eyes staring down at him.

“...Mr. Viktor.”

“Yes?”

Smooch.

Alice finally lost her reason.

Her lips came down upon his.

Smack, smooch.

Their lips overlapped fiercely.

The boy was flustered by her forwardness.

Of course, Alice didn't seem to have any intention of stopping regardless.

“Mmph, mm... Miss Ali, smack, ce! Wait, this is so sudden...”

“Please stay still. Haa.”

Smack, smack, smack.

Several quick pecks touched and separated.

Then the girl's tongue pushed between the boy's lips.

Blocked by his front teeth, her tongue could go no further.

But Alice didn't even realize that.

She only repeated her clumsy kisses, craving his warmth and affection.

“Mmph, smooch... Miss Alice...”

“Haa, haa...”

Only after Viktor parted his teeth could the girl's tongue meet the boy's.

Alice's mind, already overloaded, couldn't think of anything else.

Based on her scant knowledge, she only earnestly tangled her tongue with his.

Though he was being thoroughly overwhelmed, Viktor only held Alice tightly in case she fell from the bed.

“Javert was right... smack, it's all because Mr. Viktor is, I-I mean, bad...”

How could anyone in the world not fall in love when he was this kind, this warm?

Alice pressed her lips to his again.

Her mouth and tongue were hot, and as their saliva mixed, her mind floated away.

She felt as though she would melt like this.

Unexplained tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I love you. I love you, Mr. Viktor...”

Bliss.

The scent of some flower settled over the bridge of her nose.

“Wait, Miss Alice... You look like you're going to fall...”

Even while being devoured, the boy worried about her in a moment like this.

Alice tightly seized the hand trying to push her shoulder away.

Before long, a pure white dream bloomed from her fingertips.

“Please don't run away.”

“Miss Alice? First, please calm down...”

“No.”

The dream unraveled like a skein of thread, then took the form of ropes.

The ropes wriggled like snakes, binding the boy's arms and legs.

And so Viktor was tied tightly to the bed.

Alice adjusted herself and climbed fully on top of him.

“Because today, it's my turn.”

“Alice... smooch, mm.”

The girl's switch had already flipped.

Alice seemed to have no intention of letting the boy go or listening to what he had to say.

“Mr. Viktor definitely said it was okay too... So this, this is all something I have permission for...”

Without giving him a chance to object, her lips spoke and met his again and again.

A crown even floated above Alice's head.

Her ability had manifested unconsciously.

The girl tightened the ropes and let out a breath full of desire.

“So... just for today, please indulge me...”

Joy and possessiveness, tears, love, longing. Emotions blended together in those words, blooming into one flower.

She hadn't expected an answer, but the boy opened his mouth and answered anyway.

His words were blurred by their joined lips as they whispered into her ear.

“...It doesn't have to be only today.”

“......”

“I'll always be on Miss Alice's side.”

“......”

Viktor smiled even with his face red from lack of air.

It was the moment the girl's last thread of reason snapped.

“It's all... Mr. Viktor's fault.”

“M-Miss Alice...?”

And so,

the girl kissed the boy all night long.

* * *

Meanwhile, Viktor didn't know.

While he was spending a time filled with kisses with Alice,

“Uh, uhh...”

there was someone watching them.

“L-L-Liss...? What is this...?”

A dream that watched another person.

One Dream, Another Form.

Someone who shared the same power as Alice, and could therefore use the same ability.

The red eyes of the girl lying in the infirmary bed trembled.

“Huh? Um, ueh...?”

Unknown.

Her face bright red, she was staring at the shared view through Alice.