Chapter 188: Vacation in Rome (4)

Kwon Oh-Jin’s face stiffened as he held the bottle of oil that Isabella handed him.

No way this is happening.

Isabella lay suggestively on the sunbed with her bikini undone. Her skin was as pale as a snowfield, and her back smoothly curved down to her hips. Even lying face down, her pressed chest spilled out to the sides and flaunted an overwhelming allure.

“You... want me to apply the oil?”

Me? Personally?

“

Hehe

. Yes.”

His thoughts came to a screeching halt. He swallowed dryly as his throat suddenly felt parched. Just the thought of rubbing that mesmerizing back with his oil-covered hands was out of this world.

What is this? Some outdated rom-com manga trope?

He used to laugh at the male leads who blushed and panicked in situations like this, but now he understood how they felt.

Touching the bare back of a woman as absurdly attractive as Isabella wasn’t just bold. It was a test of pure willpower.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Ha-Eun.

He turned to look at Ha-Eun, still laughing and playing joyfully with Riarc and Vega, completely unaware of what was happening. For her sake, he knew he couldn’t go through with this.

But if I refuse and Isabella suddenly snaps...

Even he couldn’t predict Isabella’s unpredictable mental state.

Sure, she acted gentle and sweet now. However, she was the Leech Queen and the Black Star Society’s third-ranked executor.

All the Black Star Society executors he had met so far were a little twisted. Expecting her to be the exception would be a mistake. In other words, she could go off without warning at any time and anywhere. If she did, only Vega manifesting could stop her.

Goddammit.

Kwon Oh-Jin swallowed hard, filled with inner conflict as he stared down at that pale back.

“Mr. Oh-Jin?”

“

Ah

, yeah. Okay.”

“

Hehe

. Please make sure to get every spot, alright?”

Lying on her stomach, Isabella smiled sweetly and gently kicked her legs like she was splashing in water. With every movement, he could see her desirable butt jiggle.

This is just insane.

He shut his eyes tightly and squeezed out a generous amount of oil into his palms.

Squish.

His oiled hands left streaks on her snowy white back.

A soft, breathy moan faintly echoed, “

Haah...

”

Kwon Oh-Jin bit his lip, mechanically rubbing the oil across Isabella’s back. The silky-smooth sensation under his palms felt dangerously addictive like he was on drugs. He had to finish before it completely ate away at his sanity.

“Mr. Oh-Jin... a little slower, please.”

Isabella turned her head slightly and told him to take his time, but he felt like his mind would genuinely break if he slowed down now. He subtly activated his mana and sped up.

“

Haaah...

! M-Mr. Oh-Jin!”

“All done.”

It had only taken ten seconds to finish applying the oil across her back. Kwon Oh-Jin had quickly finished before that snow white temptation could bury his last shred of self-control.

“

Hmph...

already?”

Isabella pouted in disappointment, wiggling her toes.

“Then...”

She glanced at him with a glimmer in her eyes. Then, she tied her bikini back up and turned over to face him, extending her long legs toward him.

“Would you mind... doing my legs too?”

The temptation sounded as sweet as honey. Not many men had the willpower to say, “Can’t you do that yourself?”

“Your legs too?”

It felt like beating a video game boss, only for it to respawn with full HP and another round.

Kwon Oh-Jin stared at her dumbfoundedly.

Isabella’s eyes sparkled like a predator locking onto its prey. She smiled and extended her long legs.

“Yes. Please do my legs—

Argh!”

Isabella suddenly clutched her chest and grimaced in pain. She gasped for breath as her shoulders trembled and her face turned pale.

“Isabella?”

“

A-Ah...

I-I’m sorry.”

She forced an awkward smile and slowly sat up on the sunbed.

“I guess I’m not feeling too well after all.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m just feeling a bit anemic. I’m okay now.”

She cheerfully smiled and bounced to her feet as if to prove she was fine.

“Just to be safe, I’ll head back to the van and rest for a bit. You should enjoy the water a little longer, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

“But—”

“If you don’t soak yourself in the water, you won’t receive any internal healing effects from the Star Zone here. Make sure you submerge yourself fully.”

“

Hmm

. Okay.”

“Then, I’ll head out first.”

With somewhat anxious steps, Isabella turned and walked toward the van parked in the distance. Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes at her retreating figure.

Something’s off.

The Black Star Society’s third-ranked executor, someone with blood-related abilities, was experiencing anemia? It didn’t add up no matter how much he thought about it.

He started walking in the direction she had gone.

Black Curtain.

Black clouds hid his presence.

***

Isabella rushed past the parked van into a narrow, dark alley.

She clutched her chest and gasped, “

Haa, haa!

”

Her figure bent over in pain like a curved bow.

“

Agh...

”

From the far end of the alley, an elderly man in a spotless butler uniform appeared.

“Are you all right, my queen?”

It was Roberto, the Leech faction’s second-in-command and Isabella’s most loyal subordinate.

“

Haa, haa

. I’m fine.”

“Here is some blood.”

Roberto handed her a prepared blood pack. Isabella tore it open and chugged it down in one go.

Seemingly a bit more stable, she let out a short breath, “

Phew.

”

Still, it didn’t seem like she had fully recovered yet. Her platinum hair clung to her damp forehead covered in cold sweat.

“The curse’s influence seems stronger because we’re near a Star Zone,” Roberto said.

“I know.”

Isabella bit her lip gently and placed a hand over her left chest.

Woong.

The cross-shaped pendant around her neck glowed. The Stigma of Aries on her chest faded, replaced by the Stigma of Leech. However, that Stigma was blurred in spots as if it had been rubbed out with an eraser.

The Curse of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, once thought to have been gone, had secretly latched onto her Stigma and grown like a parasite.

“My queen.”

Roberto worriedly stepped closer and stared at the now-empty blood pack.

“You need blood with a higher concentration of mana. If you’d allow us to hunt Awakeners, I could personally—”

“I told you before, that’s not allowed.” Isabella coldly looked at him. “Like I said, the only acceptable blood is blood acquired through donations, not hunting.”

“B-But—”

Her expression grew fierce.

“Get a grip, Roberto. If we start hunting for blood, the Stigma of Leech’s vampiric urges will go out of control.”

Once that happened, she would no longer be human but closer to a monster.

“Blood will only be obtained through donations. Do you understand why I’m taking care of the gypsies?”

The blood she had just consumed was collected from the voluntary donations of gypsies, who the Colgrande Family provided food and shelter for. Of course, they had donated their blood hoping to help fellow gypsies who lacked access to proper healthcare.

However, Isabella had secretly taken some of that blood to help suppress the vampiric cravings of Leech Awakeners. In essence, the gypsies were being used as a kind of human blood farm. She had manipulated the Colgrande Family into running dozens of charitable foundations for this reason.

“At this rate...!”

Roberto’s eyes were full of concern.

While donated blood helped to subdue the thirst, it wasn’t enough to break the curse that gnawed away at her. To cure herself, she needed blood from an Awakener who possessed very pure mana. They needed to be at least a high-ranking Awakener, but such blood couldn’t be obtained through donations.

“I’ll be fine, Roberto. Who do you think I am?”

Isabella brushed her platinum-blonde hair from her forehead and smiled. Seeing her confident face slightly eased Roberto.

“You are our most beautiful and wise queen.”

“

Haha.

I’m glad you know.”

Now seemingly much better, Isabella crossed her arms and smugly smiled.

“More importantly, did you see how Mr. Oh-Jin completely fell for me?!”

She thought back to Kwon Oh-Jin blushing and acting all flustered before applying the oil.

Her smile grew bigger as she puffed up her chest. “All of this was possible thanks to my thorough planning!”

This vacation had been a carefully calculated operation from the very beginning.

Isabella eagerly laid out her plan with a proud grin.

“First, I showed my capabilities to Mr. Oh-Jin!”

The lavish mansion on top of a cliff featured dozens of attendants and gourmet meals.

For someone like him, who had grown up impoverished in an orphanage, it probably felt like stepping into another world. And the ruler of that world turned out to be none other than Isabella. She could imagine how special she appeared to be in his eyes.

“Then, I made him realize the gap between me and Miss Ha-Eun.”

First, their swimsuits showed off their stark physical difference. Then, the overwhelming number of men who swarmed her when they arrived at the beach subtly demonstrated her far greater popularity.

She had proven that she was on a completely different level from Song Ha-Eun in every aspect when it came to looks, wealth, and influence!

“Finally, I even closed the psychological distance between us through physical contact!”

Even she had to admit that this operation proceeded almost perfectly!

“Well? What do you think, Roberto? Don’t you think it was a perfect plan?”

Roberto awkwardly smiled at the overly excited Isabella and scratched his wrinkled cheek. “

Um...

Why don’t you just confess your feelings?”

Isabella’s eyes widened like a startled rabbit. She looked at him as if he had spoken pure nonsense.

“W-What?”

Confess to Kwon Oh-Jin directly?

“W-What if he rejects me?!”

Her face flushed red like an apple as she swiftly kicked Roberto’s shin.