The Unveiling Kiss

Golden, curly hair cascaded softly over her shoulders, while her sea-blue eyes sparkled with a myriad of bright pinpricks of light. Her features, enhanced by light makeup, were as soft and delicate as a sculpture.

In Daphne’s eyes, the young woman was still as beautiful and lively as she remembered. Yet, her gaze and expression now held a depth Daphne had never witnessed before.

‘Is this truly Edith? Or could it be a Bloodkin disguise?’

She sensed a subtle danger. However, she couldn’t possibly use ‘Shadow Sprint’ to flee right in front of Edith, as that would only expose her true nature prematurely.

‘She decided to probe slightly first, to ascertain the true situation.’

“First, I am grateful for your kindness, Miss Edith.” Daphne frowned, her expression grave, and adopted the dignified bearing of a Grand Cantor, her voice gaining a touch more gravitas. “However, after a long journey, an unexpected attack, and still grieving the loss of my companions, all I desire now is solitude.”

Yet, Edith seemed not to hear her words, taking a deliberate step forward.

Beneath the white ruffled hem of her aqua-blue gown, slender, silken-clad calves emerged. The soft tap of her black, flat-heeled leather shoes on the floor made Daphne jump, and the disguised half-Bloodkin girl instinctively recoiled half a step, a ripple of unease passing through her.

“Miss Edith, might I trouble you to—”

Daphne was about to politely ask Edith to leave, but she hadn’t anticipated that her adopted daughter, who usually appeared frail and sickly, would now suddenly lunge forward. With a swift, arrow-like movement, Edith seized Daphne’s unprepared hands and pushed her forcefully against the wall behind her.

The impact wasn’t severe, yet for her highly sensitive back, it was an immense shock.

Before she could even cry out, a pair of warm, soft, moist lips pressed against hers, turning all of Daphne’s trapped cries into indistinct muffled groans.

‘Her first kiss… stolen by her most beloved adopted daughter!?’

A soft, wet tongue tentatively extended, then lightly licked and brushed around her slightly parted teeth, as if to breach this fragile gate and reach the core within.

The scent of starflowers wafted from the girl, its rich fragrance momentarily emptying Daphne’s mind and leaving her body feeling faintly weak and pliant.

Daphne was terrified, and she resisted fiercely, actually managing to break free from Edith’s grasp. “Miss Edith, what is the meaning of this? We… this is our first meeting, isn’t it?” Pushing Edith back a little, Daphne, despite her panic, didn’t forget to maintain Ellenore’s persona. “This is an affront to a Grand Cantor. If I report this to the Grand Pontificate of Salentz, you could very well be excommunicated! Before things become irreversible, I urge you to stop.”

Unfortunately, Daphne couldn’t see herself at that moment. Her silver hair was disheveled and scattered, and a thin mist of tears veiled her emerald-green eyes. As she softly panted, she spoke righteous words in a feigned strong, gentle voice, a demeanor that only made her more alluring, stirring a possessive desire in others.

She had no idea that Edith had, in fact, deliberately released her.

“You’re not Ellenore Perkin, are you?”

A simple question.

The room instantly fell silent, so quiet that even the faint sounds from the hall downstairs could be heard.

Daphne’s expression and movements froze simultaneously, the next line she had prepared catching in her throat. She felt her heart skip a beat in that instant.

“A Bloodkin? No… this dull, indistinct sensation feels more like a half-Bloodkin, neither here nor there.” Edith rubbed her temples, her scrutinizing gaze sweeping from Daphne’s silver hair down to her snowy white ankle boots. “The real Ellenore Perkin is dead. And you, a self-proclaimed clever half-Bloodkin, have disguised yourself as the Grand Cantor, coming here under her name.”

Edith’s tone rose slightly, mirroring the subtle upturn of her lips, as a triumphant expression gradually surfaced on her face.

“Am I not correct?”

‘How could this be!?’

Just half a month ago, this girl couldn’t even distinguish a pure-blooded Bloodkin. Yet now, the detection of a half-Bloodkin, which typically causes an even milder reaction, had her caught instantly?

Daphne had dared to impersonate Ellenore and return precisely because she knew Edith’s ability to discern Bloodkin disguises was still immature.

After all, in the original game plot, which she hadn’t interfered with, Edith’s rare innate ability wasn’t fully mastered until just before her death, ten years later. Players undertaking this side quest in the Imperial Ael Territory had to use dark magic to fashion Edith’s brain and skull into a detection device to complete the mission. The reward for this quest was precisely this skull-detector, capable of identifying Bloodkin disguises.

Because it was so gruesome, this particular side quest was highly debated among players.

Daphne had always viewed Edith’s fate as a tragedy, which was why, six years ago, she had gone to Lovisa, the capital of the Ael Territory, to search for the then-young Edith, who was begging in the streets.

Yet now, Edith seemed to have already mastered this ability, even capable of discerning whether someone was a pure-blooded Bloodkin or a half-Bloodkin based on the intensity of the pain…

‘Could it be that bringing her back to the Salentz religious territory, feeding her well and improving her nutrition, caused her abilities to awaken prematurely?’

‘No good deed goes unpunished!’

‘Hoist by my own petard!’

So, half a month ago, Edith’s lack of reaction to the three pure-blooded Bloodkin was actually a deliberate act of feigned ignorance and endurance? When did the innocent, lively, simple-minded, and understanding Edith become so cunning?

Edith had no idea that the half-Bloodkin girl whose disguise had been exposed before her was, in fact, her beloved father. Nor did she know the turbulent, fierce storm of thoughts that had erupted in the half-Bloodkin girl’s small head in that brief instant.

She only knew she had found a new toy for herself.

Excitement and delight—these were Edith’s only two emotions at that moment.

“You truly have audacious courage, daring to impersonate a Grand Cantor of the Church.” The young woman took Daphne’s flustered, helpless hands and pressed her back against the wall. Her deep, sea-blue eyes stared directly into Daphne’s. “If I were to tell everyone the truth, what do you think would become of you?”

‘A threat, you say!?’

This was not the angelic Edith Daphne knew at all. The golden-haired, blue-eyed girl before her seemed to transform into a monstrous, greedy, cunning fiend, poised to devour the weak and helpless Daphne whole.

All her efforts to enhance her strength seemed to be of little use. She couldn’t possibly truly act ruthlessly toward the daughter she had raised, could she?

Moreover, the situation had grown even more complicated. If Edith revealed that she was a half-Bloodkin, Daphne would likely not leave Kohl Town alive.

The strength of those Templar Knights far surpassed her own current abilities. At that point, she would neither be able to fight nor escape.

Not to mention Gwynevere. The scene of Daphne provoking her earlier was still vivid in her mind, and Daphne dared not imagine what horrific things Gwynevere would do if she caught her.

‘Well, that was a masterful move, kicking myself right back into the tiger’s den.’

‘Another spectacular failure!’

“What do you want? Since you didn’t expose me immediately, it means I still hold value for you, doesn’t it?” Daphne intended to struggle a bit more, preparing to negotiate with Edith.

“So clever.” Edith smiled faintly. “What I want is very simple, you see.”

It was another sudden attack Daphne hadn’t anticipated. The golden-haired girl pressed her lips against Daphne’s once more, gently biting her soft, tender, rosy lips.

Her heart skipped a beat again.

As if deliberately teasing her, Edith kissed her just once before slightly pulling away, a glistening silver thread of saliva stretching between them before snapping from its own weight.

Facing the half-Bloodkin girl, who was now flushed and breathless, her legs trembling from just two light kisses, Edith smiled slyly.

“I want you.”