8. when you can’t handle it, running away is the best option

Lysith was sitting peacefully on the study sofa, doing embroidery as usual. It was about four days after Diana had visited her mansion.

The flower that had only taken shape then was now in full bloom, with only the finishing touches left. Even when you look at it objectively, it was in a remarkably beautiful form. To think I accomplished this with my own hands!

Was her original self also so skilled that she could do this so quickly? Unable to contain the corners of her mouth rising with pride, she held up the beautifully embroidered handkerchief with both hands, examining it under the sunlight.

“It’s good.”

She was very satisfied. Now she understood why Lysith did so much embroidery. At first, she thought it was just because of her timid personality, but after doing it herself, she realized the sense of achievement when completing something beautiful was tremendous. Especially if it was to be given to someone.

There was a man who came to mind when thinking of handkerchiefs and embroidery, but she thought about that for about 5 seconds before folding it up and throwing it in the trash.

Since the recent nightmare incident, Lysith’s hostility towards Dietrich had reached its peak.

After shaking her head, Lysith focused on embroidering again. It was only when the sunset came that she finally completed her work and stretched her arms out in a victory pose. It was worth eating dinner early.

After spreading the handkerchief on the table, she looked at the small box placed beside it. It was the cufflinks that had arrived quickly after being recently completed. Ashites’ pair that arrived together was stored in a drawer in her room.

Because she had been determined to finish it today, Lysith asked Penchev on her way back from dinner to wait outside the study for a moment.

She felt sorry for keeping him waiting for so long, as it had taken longer than expected. But before she could even stand up and grab the handle, the door opened from the outside and Penchev appeared.

A puzzled Lysith stopped in surprise.

“Oh… How did you know?”

“I heard Miss’s footsteps.”

Her first thought was whether the room wasn’t soundproof. But the door was very thick, and above all, it was usual that sounds from beyond the door weren’t easily heard unless it was in the quiet early morning hours.

Seeing Lysith’s wide-eyed look, he smiled slightly and asked for permission to enter. Lysith, caught off guard, gave her permission and headed to the sofa where she had been sitting.

After looking around the study with its serene scenery, Penchev turned his gaze back to Lysith sitting on the sofa and spoke.

“It’s my first time entering the study at this hour, but it seems the study resembles you, Miss.”

“It resembles me? In what way?”

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly which part… But I think it would be right to say it has an elegant, quiet, and comfortable feeling.”

“……”

The mansion’s study was a space Lysith particularly cherished. She enjoyed reading novels here, and it felt like a quiet space with the smell of paper, a space just for herself.

Hearing that such a study resembled its owner made her feel a bit embarrassed.

Lysith cleared her throat softly to hide her embarrassment and pushed the neatly placed handkerchief and small box on the table with her fingertips. She saw the man’s eyes grow slightly larger than before as he looked at the two objects that had moved closer to him.

“This is…”

“A gift. I embroidered the handkerchief myself, and this… would you like to open it yourself?”

Penchev carefully picked up the box. Lysith’s mouth opened slightly in surprise when she noticed his hands trembling, but Penchev, with all his attention focused on the gift in front of him, didn’t notice this.

When he opened the white box, the blue jewel of the cufflinks sparkled under the evening sun. Discovering the long white line clearly visible on the blue surface, he realized what it was and quickly raised his head.

“…Could it be, Miss.”

“Umm, you see. I was going to make it gray too? But there wasn’t anything that felt right in gray. While pondering what color to use… I remembered you seemed to like the color of my eyes.”

Even as she spoke, Lysith looked sheepish, brushing her cheek with her hand before fidgeting with her hair, visible in Penchev’s view.

His hands started trembling again, but not wanting to drop the gift, he held onto the small box in his hands with all his might. She seemed to think he was surprised by the color, but more than that, he was overwhelmingly happy that she had remembered his liking for her eye color and specifically chosen a jewel with this characteristic.

And as he raised his gaze slightly, he saw the handkerchief she said she had embroidered herself, neatly placed on the table. When he had seen her embroidering the handkerchief before, he never thought it would be for him.

How many times had he thought: It must be a hobby, there’s no chance it’s for me, if it’s a gift it might be for the Tower Master…

After carefully placing the box back on the table, he took the lady’s hands that were resting on the table in both of his, and lowered his lips as elegantly as possible, to a degree that couldn’t be more respectful.

What entered Lysith’s view was the sight of him lowering his eyes as he kissed the back of her hand. Her heart fluttered unnecessarily at her hand enveloped by his large hands. It was her first time experiencing something like this.

The hand that had been held respectfully was then flipped over, and his lips soon touched her palm. Caught off guard by this unexpected action, before she could react, he buried his cheek in her palm and looked up at her, kneeling on one knee.

“Um…”

“Miss.”

“…Yes.”

“If there’s someone who could die from happiness today, it would probably be me.”

When Lysith whispered not to talk about dying, he softly laughed, saying he understood, and again rubbed his cheek against her soft palm. Watching him, Lysith couldn’t help but think: He’s like a cat…

“I wanted to express how much this means to me. I would have been happy enough with just the accessory, but you even gave me a handkerchief you embroidered yourself.”

“……”

“To be honest, I didn’t expect this would come to me. Vaguely, if it was a gift, I thought it would go to the Tower Master. But… such a precious thing is for me.”

“You seem to underestimate yourself too much.”

“I’ve been through times that made me feel that way. But that’s all in the past now, and being here with you like this, I feel like I can endure recalling those past things somewhat.”

His reaction was even better than I had expected. Lysith was so pleased that she felt rather embarrassed. ……Though she felt a slight pang of guilt when Ashites was mentioned.

He briefly extended his other hand to carefully pick up a handkerchief, gently stroking the embroidery with his thumb as he smiled again.

“You’ve embroidered it with the flowers I often tend to in the garden.”

“Yes, since you water and care for them……”

“They caught my eye because they resemble you, Miss.”

Penchev, who had uttered words that could make Lysith’s heart skip a beat, placed the handkerchief on the table and lowered his lips again. The back of her hand, her palm, her wrist, the tender flesh inside her arm, up to the crook of her elbow. Lysith’s fingers curled inward at his slow yet persistent movements.

Penchev, unable to go further up due to her sleeve, fiddled with the sleeve of Lysith’s dress as if asking permission for more than just kisses.

Lysith took a small breath as their eyes met. Now? Here? At such a… timing?

‘The, the study…..’

As if sensing Lysith’s hesitation, the system chimed. At that sound, she pretended to scan the study while looking at the system window, where she saw a quest window that had just appeared.

[Sub Quest Prepared For You]
‘LV.5 – Have a Conversation in a Guilty Place!’
TIP 1! You know this conversation is a bodily one, right?
TIP 2! Shouldn’t you keep your voice down?

The second tip was already up. That meant…… this place met the conditions.

While it was certainly good to clear a quest, it was a bit amusing to readily accept this situation, so Lysith tried to manage her expression.

Then, caressing Penchev’s cheek with her hand, she whispered in a small voice.

“Then……”

“……Yes.”

“Just once.”

She specifically said once because she thought she might really die if they did it like last time.

Anyway, pleased with Lysith’s permission, he smiled and raised his upper body to simply undo the buttons on the back of her dress with a pop, pop. The dress fell limply, and even the chemise she wore underneath slipped off.

Suddenly remembering that they hadn’t locked the door of the study, Lysith hastily spoke up.

“Didn’t we forget to lock the door?”

“I locked it.”

“……”

Don’t tell me he planned this from the start? The thought flashed through Lysith’s mind. It was quite plausible for a fleeting thought. Otherwise, why would he lock it…….

As if sensing that Lysith was thinking about something else, Penchev pressed his lips against hers while casually removing his own clothes. To him, it felt like it had been a really long time since their lips had touched. He barely managed to grasp his senses as he felt like he might lose his mind for a moment, and gently invaded between her naturally parting lips with his tongue.

“Uh, mm……”

Lysith’s moan escaped through the gap of their overlapping lips. The man’s thick tongue stirred inside her mouth, licking her teeth, entwining with her tongue, and pleasurably sucking.