Chapter 87 - Spreading the mark [3/3]

Kane chuckled at Aelia's protective outburst, while Lyra looked disappointed as if she wanted the kiss to continue. Which she very likely did. 

Lyra now looked at Kane with desire, and even a hint of awe. Clearly, he'd made an impression on this girl, not just with the kiss, but with his entire performance. 

But Kane didn't care about that right now. He was just happy that Lyra's impression of him would likely make her easier to control. Perhaps he'd care about her feelings beyond that at a later time, but certainly not now. 

So, he turned to the last member of these four bandits: Anna. 

The hareling had gradually backed away from him during all this, and by now, she was standing in a corner, with her back against the wall, looking at him with a strange mixture of respect, awe, and dread. 

Her eyes were wide open, and clearly struggled with the lust that was building up inside her. She hyperventilated a little as her body softly trembled. She slowly shook her head, as if unwilling, despite the clear enthusiasm she showed earlier, regarding his status as a Lord. 

Her mouth opened and closed as if trying to say something, but no sound came out. She was clearly panicking about the prospect of kissing him, but she also wanted his mark. For one, she didn't want to die, and for two, she wanted to follow a true Lord, blessed by The Mother. 

But Kane wasn't interested in her hesitation. He frowned slightly, and started moving in her direction, which only caused Anna to panic more, attempting to press herself deeper into the wall she was standing against. 

His aura of lust continued spreading into the surroundings, as the rune was still active, and the hareling's instincts were desperately screaming at her to jump at him, even as her rational brain was screaming for her to get away. 

Aelia tried to interfere. "Wait!" she exclaimed, while moving in between him and Anna. Her tone was part angry, part pleading. "She's a hareling! She's fought hard to control her lust! Don't force her to—" 

But that was as far as she got, because at that point, Kane simply stepped around her, and continued onto Anna with a calm, yet determined gaze. Behind him, Aelia cursed and looked at his back with resentment. 

The Mark of Loyalty was now preventing her from obstructing him anymore, so all she could do was watch, making her feel helpless and angry. She even shot a pleading look at Luna, thinking she was the only one who could do anything, but the catling obviously ignored her. 

Mira and Lyra looked uncomfortable as well. Previously, they felt positive about him, but now, seeing the terrified Anna, and Kane's uncaring attitude, caused their opinions to waver. 

Finally, Kane reached her and grabbed her trembling chin. At this point, even tears had appeared in her eyes as she looked at him pleadingly. Although, pleading for what was unclear. She'd previously voiced her intention to accept his mark, so perhaps she simply wanted him to get it over with quickly. 

Holding her chin, Kane leaned in slowly. Tension rose, and all eyes were on him, while Luna was the only one with a gaze of amusement. She knew what he was going to do. 

Because when he leaned in, he didn't aim for her lips. Instead, he softly planted his lips on the hareling's forehead, causing Anna to stop trembling out of shock. 

Rather than take his time like before, Kane instantly applied his mark, which encountered no resistance from the stunned hareling, and then quickly retreated. It was over in less than a second. Immediately after, he disabled the rune, and its corresponding aura of lust, which finally put an end to Anna's torture. 

Instantly, the hareling was feeling better. She still felt inordinate amounts of lust, but no more than she usually felt, and was more than used to dealing with. 

She blinked, and looked at the slightly smirking Kane with shock, "You—" but she didn't get further than that, before an angry voice interrupted her from behind Kane. 

"You've got to be kidding me!" an aggrieved, indignant, and resentful Aelia exclaimed. "You never actually needed to kiss us?!" 

With his lips curled into a teasing grin, Kane turned around to face the furious Aelia, a playfully giggling Mira, and a softly smiling and blushing Lyra. 

"I never said I needed to kiss you," he said, chuckling softy. "I just wanted to, and you went along with it." He was yet unable to apply the mark through his lust aura alone, but the truth was, that he only really needed any kind of intimate act. 

"You…!" Aelia cursed as she pointed at him, but then fell quiet, as she had no good comeback. So instead, she opted to glare at him angrily. Something Kane was all too happy to ignore, of course. 

Suddenly, a soft voice came from behind him. "T— Thank you," Anna muttered softly, with a small, embarrassed smile. 

When Kane turned around to look at her calmly, she continued, "You could have ignored me by doing as you like, and I might have lost control of my lust…" Her gaze became a little distant, as if remembering something. 

But then, she refocused, her smile brightened, and her eyes sparkled with trust and happiness, "But you didn't! You really were chosen by The Mother!" 

 But Kane chuckled, and shook his head, "I don't know anything about a Mother, but if you're following me while expecting some kind of saint, you'll be sorely disappointed. Being unwilling to take advantage of a panicking hareling, who is doing an admirable job of resisting her own instincts, is about as good as it gets with me." 

That wasn't even the only reason he chose not to kiss her. Kissing her might have caused her to become unable to control her own instincts any longer, which might have given him some temporary fun, but that wasn't worth it. This way, the loyalty of these bandits had increased, particularly with Anna. 

'Sex can always come later,' he chuckled to himself. 

"That's still better than most," the lackadaisical voice of Mira came from behind. "And we won't forget that. Even Aelia will get over it," she chuckled at the end, causing the still angry, blue-haired woman to glare at her companion. 

Then, the ramling bent down to grab her weapons, before turning to Kane with an expectant smirk, "So, what's next, Boss?"