Chapter 5

Beatrice widened her eyes, surprised to see the old head butler running toward her for the first time.

“Tower Master! Oh heavens, oh heavens, thank you, thank you, you’ve finally come! I was just about to send a message to the Ivory Tower.”

“Are you alright, Albert?”

“His Highness!”

The usually dignified butler’s expression was a mess. Beatrice calmly held the trembling hands of the old man.

Perhaps comforted by her warmth, Albert whispered with a face about to burst into tears.

“His Highness… No matter how you look at it, he seems completely exhausted.”

The old butler’s hand, wrapped in Beatrice’s, trembled even more violently. The exhausted one seemed to be him, not the Grand Duke.

Beatrice swallowed her biting remark, ‘What’s the big deal if that tough man is exhausted?’

Old butler Albert had a tendency to overprotect Schwert’s precious heir. No matter how legendary Erich von Schwert was in others’ eyes, in the old man’s, he was still a child clutching a blanket in his sleep.

“So, Albert. Where is His Highness the Grand Duke?”

“He hasn’t left his bedroom for two days. He’s even stopped eating… sniff…”

“Did you go inside his bedroom?”

“There’s a barrier on His Highness’s bedroom. Don’t you remember?”

“Oh.”

Right after the Second Human-Monster War, Beatrice herself had cast the protective barrier on the Grand Duke’s bedroom. Without the owner’s permission, or unless the password was entered correctly, no one could enter.

Albert didn’t know the password, so it seemed the owner hadn’t told anyone.

Beatrice pondered this fact and clicked her tongue. If she didn’t guess the password in five tries, she’d have to break the barrier to get in.

What a waste. It had taken a lot of effort to set up.

“Well…”

Beatrice gave the haggard old butler a crooked smile.

“I’ll definitely bring him out, Albert. Don’t worry too much.”

At Beatrice’s request, everyone near the Grand Duke’s bedroom withdrew. One person skilled in stealth seemed intent on hiding, but Beatrice dragged him out and threw him out the window.

If he couldn’t survive from that height, he didn’t deserve to belong to Schwert.

As she placed her hand on the door handle, a password entry screen appeared. Beatrice wrinkled her nose and guessed the answer.

First. The day the war ended.

[Incorrect password. Please try again. 1/5]

Second. Schwert’s birthday.

[Incorrect password. Please try again. 2/5]

Scratching her head blankly, Beatrice reluctantly entered the third candidate.

Third. The death anniversary of the previous Grand Duke and Duchess.

The tragedy that befell the previous Grand Duke and Duchess was enough to solidify Erich’s desire for revenge against monsters. For that man… it was a very important day.

Even if it was a day stained with blood.

[Incorrect password. Please try again. 3/5]

Only two chances left.

Beatrice tilted her head this way and that, remembering that she and Erich were lovers when the barrier was created.

“Hm.”

Was Erich von Schwert really crazy enough to set his ex-lover’s birthday as the password?

She entered the numbers with a resigned thought, ‘If it doesn’t work, I’ll just break the barrier.’

Fourth. Her own birthday.

[Security released. Please enter.]

A cheerful notification sounded, and the door handle became lighter.

He really is crazy, isn’t he?

That was Beatrice’s honest impression as she opened the door and entered.

The moment she stepped into the room, Beatrice was seized by a strong urge to turn around and run away.

It wasn’t simply because she didn’t want to have s*x with Schwert. Her survival instincts were warning her, even pleading with her to escape immediately.

Her heart sank. Her whole body entered combat mode. Her tense muscles felt so tight it was painful. Her breath caught in her throat.

Whether she ran or struck first,

She felt she had to draw blood, somehow.

Beatrice tried to calm her twitching fingertips. Slowly stepping forward, she bit her lip.

Short-range warrior, long-range sorcerer.

This phrase, like a proverb, summed up the compatibility between warriors and sorcerers.

At close range, sorcerers couldn’t beat warriors; at long range, warriors couldn’t beat sorcerers. And now she was in the same room as the “legend of the sword.”

Beatrice’s back was drenched in cold sweat. Her chest, her nape.

Unable to wipe away the sweat running down, Beatrice scanned the room with her eyes.

So, where was His Highness the Grand Duke?

Judging by the murderous spiritual power scattered throughout the room, he seemed very angry. Beatrice’s gaze stopped at the long sofa.

Erich von Schwert sat in the center of the sofa, not moving an inch.

He didn’t turn around, even though he must have sensed her presence. Like a statue.

Ah. He must really be frozen.

Remembering that the “Name” curse paralyzed the whole body, Beatrice smiled bitterly. Crushing his surroundings with just his aura while unable to move—she couldn’t help but admire his abilities, even at a time like this.

She moved her feet a bit faster.

Arriving before him, his dark blue glare flashed as if to pierce her face, slightly irritated.

“Sorry I’m late. I didn’t expect it to get this bad.”

Beatrice sincerely apologized. His lips seemed to move, if only slightly.

Sneer? Mockery? Annoyance?

She couldn’t read the emotion, but it was clear he couldn’t speak.

Beatrice took a deep breath and removed the hairpin from her hair.

Her long silver hair cascaded down like a waterfall. The dreamy scene, like starlight pouring down, was captured in his unwavering dark blue eyes.

Next, Beatrice unfastened the brooch holding her cloak. The thick fabric dropped to the floor, revealing a simple white dress with no decoration.

Before sitting on his lap, Beatrice also removed her underwear. She placed her hands on the buttons of her dress, then paused.

She didn’t particularly like doing it clothed, but throwing off her clothes herself felt a bit—actually, quite a lot—awkward.

In the end, Beatrice decided to keep the dress on, sitting astride the man’s lap. Despite her added weight, Erich didn’t react.

Beatrice gathered her hair to one side and steadied her breath.

The feeling of the fabric touching her exposed sensitive parts was strange. It wasn’t the first time she’d sat on his lap like this.

…Really, it felt so odd.

Lost in confusion, Beatrice almost kissed him without realizing.

Just like in the old days.

She wanted to say something, but didn’t. Beatrice moved her lips, then firmly closed them.

She never imagined she’d be tangled with this man again, in this way.

How did it come to this?

Ah. Whatever. 

She thought, half irritably. What good would worrying about the cause do?

The original reason was always trivial.

Beatrice slowly reached behind and felt for the man’s right thigh. As before, Erich von Schwert’s member was on the right.

…She hated that she remembered this.

Grumbling inwardly, Beatrice massaged the distinctly different feeling there. Even though his whole body was paralyzed, the Grand Duke responded honestly to desire and was easily aroused.

Taking the opportunity, Beatrice opened his collar and pressed firmly on her name written there.

His pants swelled as if about to burst.

And Erich’s dark blue eyes seemed about to explode Beatrice’s head. If she teased him any further, she couldn’t guarantee her safety.

Beatrice steadied her breath and undid Erich’s trousers, freeing his member.

Maybe it was just because she hadn’t seen it in a while, but it seemed even bigger than before…

Silently, she took two bottles from her inventory. One was lubricant. She bit off the cork and poured the liquid onto him without hesitation.

And the other—

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not that I hate having s*x with you so much that I need the help of medicine.”

It was the most demanded stimulant in the Ivory Tower and the Empire.

“It’s just, you’re annoyingly big, I haven’t had s*x in a while… and I have to do penetration.”

Erich stared at her without blinking.

“This will last about five hours, so if you have any conscience, you should keep up. I trust you.”

Without waiting for his answer—not that he could reply anyway—Beatrice swallowed the liquid.