As Hayashi Maki leaned down and kissed Crusch, the black "dragon blood" taint lodged inside her body reacted—spreading like ink, trying to corrode him as well.
This so-called dragon blood came from Capella Emerada Lugunica, one of the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishops—Lust.
Capella's past identity was that of a royal princess of Lugunica. But she was a sadist who treated civilians with extreme cruelty. When "Capella" died, the kingdom buried her perfunctorily—no grand funeral, no mourning. The public loathed her.
In truth, she hadn't truly died. She faked her death, obtained the Witch Factor of Lust by chance, and after mastering it, became the Archbishop of Lust.
The notorious assassin organization that Elsa belonged to was founded by Capella.
Capella was also the "adoptive mother" of Elsa, the mabeast-user Meili, and the two Gluttony brothers.
Out of sheer malice and amusement, Capella attacked Crusch. She turned bystanders into fly-like monsters and injected Crusch with a polluted, cursed form of dragon blood. This filth would make Crusch die in agony—leaving even being alive as a kind of torture.
But the instant that contamination touched Hayashi Maki's skin, an unreasonable force within him purified it. The black filth dissolved into mist and scattered.
Hayashi Maki had already absorbed multiple Witch Factors and the authorities they manifested. Compared to that, purifying Lust's "dragon blood" was nothing. Not only did he cleanse it, he even seized a faint thread of Lust's authority from the taint itself.
Of course, the priority was saving Crusch.
Seeing Crusch's brows knit in pain, Hayashi Maki shifted his hand and began a healing rite—using magic and close contact to draw the corruption out of her system without further harming her. The pain in her expression gradually eased, turning into relief, then a faint, shaky calm.
No matter how strong Crusch was—head of House Karsten, a duke with iron will—she was still human. Relief made her look unexpectedly soft.
After a long while, the treatment ended.
Hayashi Maki had successfully formed a contract with Crusch and gained a new ability in the process.
The power she granted him as a contracted companion was called "Wind of the King." It was a passive ability that could detect lies and improved affinity and control over wind-based power.
To Hayashi Maki, the wind-control boost was nice but not essential—his mastery of magic was already absurd.
The important part wasn't the skill.
It was that Crusch now belonged to his side.
With Emilia and Priscilla already bound to him, that made three "princess-tier" figures tied to him. Anastasia would follow sooner or later, and he'd already planted the seeds with Felt. If things kept going this way, most of Lugunica would end up under his influence.
Which meant the remaining obstacle was the Witch Cult's monsters.
A little later, Crusch finally stirred awake.
Her long lashes trembled as she opened her eyes.
"…Huh…?"
When she saw Hayashi Maki's face—and sensed something was wrong—her cheeks flushed.
"Y-you… who are you? And… who am I?"
Hayashi Maki paused, then understood immediately.
Capella hadn't only poisoned Crusch—Gluttony had also eaten her memories.
Crusch had become innocent and blank in the same way Emilia had once been—pure, confused, and defenseless.
Recovering those memories wouldn't be hard in principle… but Rui Arneb, that little Gluttony monster, wouldn't return them willingly. She'd probably already begun "tasting" Crusch's stolen life.
Fine. That could wait.
Hayashi Maki gently smoothed Crusch's hair and kissed her forehead, speaking with steady certainty.
"Your name is Crusch Karsten. You're the Duke of House Karsten. I'm Hayashi Maki. I came to save you—someone attacked you, and your memories were stolen. I'll get them back."
Crusch stared at him, still dazed.
"…I don't remember anything. But… you saved me?"
Hayashi Maki helped her up, used water magic to clean away the lingering filth, and made sure she was properly dressed and stable before leading her out.
The moment Felix saw Crusch walking—alive, breathing, intact—he broke down, tears pouring out as he grabbed her hands.
"Crusch-sama—thank goodness… thank goodness…! I thought… I thought you were going to be gone forever!"
To Felix, even if she'd lost something precious, being alive mattered more than anything.
Crusch blinked at him with blank confusion.
"…I'm sorry. Who are you?"
Felix went pale and whipped around to Hayashi Maki.
"She doesn't recognize me—what happened?!"
"Gluttony ate her memories," Hayashi Maki said plainly. "If you want them back, we'll have to reclaim them from the Corridor of Memories—most likely through the Watchtower."
Felix finally exhaled, trembling with relief that there was at least a path forward. Then he dropped to one knee.
"Thank you, Hayashi Maki-sama. You saved her. If you ever need me—anything I can do—I will do it!"
"Stand up," Hayashi Maki said. "And yes—I'll help you take Crusch's memories back."
Because he needed to recover the full authority of Gluttony anyway.
…
Emilia and Priscilla watched the newly blank, gentle Crusch with complicated expressions.
Priscilla, in particular, looked almost amused.
Of course I'm the one most fit to rule, her eyes seemed to say. Look at her now—no presence at all.
…
Hayashi Maki didn't bother joining the women's chatter. He was walking along a quiet street in Priestella, thinking.
Then a familiar voice drifted from behind him.
"Maki… what are you thinking about?"
He turned—and saw Emilia smiling sweetly.
Hayashi Maki smiled back. "I'm thinking about you."
"R-really?" Emilia blushed, shyly lowering her head as she cupped her face.
Hayashi Maki's smile sharpened.
"Capella Emerada Lugunica… it's you, isn't it?"
"Emilia" blinked, frowning in confusion.
"Capella? What are you talking about?"
Hayashi Maki didn't budge.
"Drop the act, Archbishop of Lust. Even if you change your body into Emilia's shape, you can't hide that twisted heart—or the malice leaking off you."
"My Emilia would never look at someone the way you do."
For a beat, the "Emilia" expression froze.
Then she laughed—high, delighted, and wrong.
"Heeheehee… you caught me. How surprising. You really are special."
Her form warped like melted wax, reshaping into a petite girl with a black tail—small, cute, and utterly monstrous beneath the skin.
Capella Emerada Lugunica—Archbishop of Lust.
A crazy, sadistic, and dangerous woman.
If you want, paste the next chunk and I'll keep translating in the same "aged up + non-graphic + consensual" style.