Chapter 2 (Part 1)

“Did you cough, Duke!”

Having risen early in the morning and completed all preparations to go out, Sienna, holding Mandrago’s sign in her arms, cautiously knocked on the door of the adjacent room. Fortunately, Duke Felice also seemed to have prepared early, as the door soon opened with the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

“Good, ahem, morning…. In fact, I have to go to the laboratory now, and as you are aware of the contract details, you must accompany me wherever I go.”

Sienna, ready to leave, quickly recited the words she had prepared without pause. Luckily, she didn’t use any strange honorifics this time. Contrary to her concerns, Duke Felice nodded immediately and said,

“Should we leave right now?”

“Oh, yes.”

The woman standing before him hesitated for a moment before starting to walk ahead, as if signaling him to follow. Eden slowly followed her, gazing intently at Sienna’s back.

Perhaps because he had completely calmed his previously complicated mind last night, he now felt as though he was truly seeing the woman before him.

The first thing that caught his eye was her hair, slightly damp and swaying with her movements. It was a mysterious hair color. It seemed to shimmer with a deep blue tint, or perhaps it was entirely gray like storm clouds on a gloomy day, or maybe it was like the silvery sparkle on a winter lake.

Her eyes, which had wandered aimlessly and then boldly traced over his body, probably had a dark green hue.

She was an unprdecreeable woman. Yesterday, she used strange honorifics, evoking a sense of pity, but today, she spoke perfectly fine. Judging by her attitude, she seemed to secretly fear him, yet she couldn’t hide her irreverent gaze that subtly kept tracing over his chest.

Moreover, her gaze was, how should one put it? It was distinctly different from the eyes of other women who courted him. It was oddly absurd yet not unpleasant, more like admiring a well-sculpted inanimate object than looking at a person of the opposite s*x….

He pondered how to define her disrespectful gaze while staring at her swaying hair. Then, he suddenly had to stop because Sienna abruptly halted.

As she stealthily approached the dormitory exit and peeked her head outside, Eden frowned. The way she stretched her neck out to observe the outside looked like someone guilty of a crime.

“You said you were going to the laboratory, so what are you doing all of a sudden?”

“I hope there aren’t any passersby. I don’t want to be caught being with you, Duke.”

Sienna whispered, glancing back at him.

The laboratory building was close enough to the dormitory that one could practically touch it if they fell. Moreover, this area was rarely visited by undergraduates. As such, the chances of encountering others were slim, but one could never be too careful. She didn’t want to be seen with Duke Felice and end up being stoned or gossiped about.

“It would have been wise to consider such worries before participating in the auction. Isn’t it amusing to worry about rumors now?”

Eden, taken aback, criticized her in a stiff tone. The fact that he had been put up for auction and that the woman before him had bid 300 million Er to win him would likely have spread throughout the entire academy, no, the entire capital. Naturally, the name Sienna Onyx would also have been on the lips of countless people.

At his reproachful tone, Sienna opened her mouth as if she had much to say, then let out a short sigh.

Of course, the rumor that Eden Felice, the Duke, had appeared at the academy’s Slave Mate auction would have already spread throughout the entire empire, but more people might not yet know that the winning bidder was Sienna Onyx.

Her name wasn’t called at the auction, and everyone who knew her had graduated, and she had been holed up in the laboratory and dormitory for years. The only people who would sense her presence were Professor Erba or Montague. She didn’t want to give up even the slightest possibility.

And if specific rumors were already circulating that Sienna Onyx, who was in the doctoral program of Magical Botany, had won Duke Felice, she had to be even more cautious. People who fancied the Duke, like Lady Alicia Franz from the auction yesterday, would be watching her with eyes wide open, unwilling to leave her alone.

In that sense, it was a bit dangerous for the Duke, with his shiny and exceptionally handsome face, to openly stride beside her.

“Um, I know it’s a rude request, but Duke, could you possibly cover your head with your jacket…?”

“…What?”

Eden tilted his chin sideways, doubting if he had heard wrong. Seeing her hesitantly speak after retracting her head, it seemed she was genuinely serious.

The problem was that even if he didn’t want to, he had no choice but to carry out her request, which was more like an order.

‘Damn it….’

Eden reluctantly took off his jacket, feeling an unknown force envelop his body. His rational mind was telling him not to put on the jacket, but Sienna’s command was considered a benign one that did not violate the contract, thus it was enforced. The magical contract was indeed fair and precise.

“Wow. It really works? Thank you.”

Sienna watched in fascination as the Duke, despite frowning deeply in displeasure, put the jacket over his head. 

So this is the effect of the magical contract! With this, there would be no difficulty in using the Duke in the Laboratory. 

Her mood lifted instantly. She finally felt a bit of the worth of the large sum she had spent.

“…There’s no particular sign of anyone outside, so let’s just hurry.”

The Duke’s voice, muffled under the jacket, somehow carried an eerie tone. Sienna nodded, opened the door wide, and stepped outside.

Just as Eden said, they felt no presence and were able to cross safely to the laboratory building without encountering anyone. Sienna, having entered her personal laboratory on the second floor, sighed in relief and looked back at Eden.

“You can take off the jacket now.”

Eden, almost unknowingly, complied with her words and carefully examined the inside of the Laboratory. The small greenhouse filled with rare magical plants caught his eye first. They were plants he himself had not often encountered.

Eden slowly blinked as he looked around at the various types of reagent bottles on the table, the bubbling purple liquid in the flask beside them, and the mysterious magical potions lined up in a row on the shelf. Then he turned to Sienna.

“Are you making a magical potion?”

A light of interest flickered in his cold, sunken red eyes. Sienna nodded vigorously, as if she were meeting Professor Erba.

“I’m pursuing a doctorate in Magical Botany. I’m working on a thesis, and to complete it, I need to create a magical potion, so I’m researching!”

“Magical Botany is not a field that’s much favored these days. That’s unexpected.”

Given the academy’s nature, where most students were nobles, it was extremely rare for someone to spend a lot of time and tuition on a seemingly useless doctoral program. Magical Botany was even less favored.

‘Is that why she was the only one in the dormitory and laboratory?’

Eden found it fascinating to see the woman looking up at him with sparkling eyes. However, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Sienna’s next words.

“I really have to graduate this semester. So, I was hoping you could help me a little with my research, Duke….”

Her behavior was cheeky, trying to take advantage of whatever she could, even though she seemed to be struggling. Or was she really struggling?

“If I help, wouldn’t it mean you didn’t conduct the research alone? Are you asking me to assist you in obtaining a degree through dishonest means?”

“No, no! What I want is really simple. The truth is, the machines are not very good, so they consume a lot of magic, and it takes a lot of strength to handle the materials. I’m just asking for help with those things….”

Her hurried excuse, waving her hands frantically, was even more absurd. Wasn’t she essentially saying she wanted to use him as a magic injection tool or a material handling tool?

Eden, facing Sienna who looked up at him earnestly, reluctantly nodded. There was no other choice. It wasn’t an illegal request to help with the research from start to finish, and he was bound by contract to follow her words anyway.

“Thank you! Then, first, could you fill these magical potion machines with magic?”

As if she had been waiting, she set him to work, and while Eden reluctantly walked over, Sienna hurriedly began to tidy up the laboratory she had left empty for the day.

She quickly swept up the erotic novels and the box of tools that amused her, shoving them haphazardly into the bottom shelf of the bookcase, then nonchalantly wiped the dust off the table.

She brought several empty flasks to experiment with a new combination, and soon the sound of machines whirring started to come from the back.