“…Even if something bad happens, I’ll resolve it before you even notice. By any means necessary.”

It wasn’t just empty words. Since he had already put May in danger before, it was a pledge to never do so again. Of course, it might not sound very sincere given his earlier statement about using her as bait.

May, pondering Johan’s words, suddenly made a serious expression.

“Johan, you’re… too kind.”

Following that statement came words like philanthropy, altruism… terms that didn’t suit him at all. After instantly transforming Johan into an angel of the century, she then advised him with almost comical seriousness.

“But they say if you live too kindly, you’ll end up losing out…. They said you need to know how to be a little bad too….”

People who live for others tend to neglect themselves, she said. May slightly furrowed her brow and spoke clearly while looking at him.

“And I… don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me.”

“……”

“If it was difficult for your family members, then it means it’s that hard…. Um… I mean you don’t need to go through too much hardship because of me….”

She had just said one should know how to be moderately bad. Yet the words May was giving Johan were exactly the opposite. Saying she would rather neglect herself than have others sacrifice for her.

That gentle face, without a trace of selfishness, deeply imprinted in Johan’s eyes. When she should be angry about being used as bait….

“If it ever becomes too hard and difficult, I’m fine, so you can give up…!”

To think she would tell him to just give up on her if it became burdensome.

“Ha….”

An involuntary sigh of exasperation escaped him. And hearing that, May hastily checked his reaction.

“Ah! I-I’m absolutely not doubting your abilities! I was just talking about if such a situation arose! I just felt like I should say it now….”

May, who had hurriedly added these words, looked at him with a serious face as if asking him to believe her. Finally, unable to bear the sight, Johan moved to the opposite side, next to her, and tightly embraced her small body. With every breath he inhaled, her soft scent mixed in. Johan greedily took it in and asked,

“Why do you keep saying such things?”

“…Yes… what kind?”

“Words that make me want to be kind.”

“…Oh, you’re already kind….”

Johan let out a small laugh at her soft protest.

“I’m not originally, but… when you say I am, I keep wanting to become that way.”

“Ah….”

Johan hugged the warm body in his arms more tightly. He had never seen such a foolish woman in his life. And May’s qualities kept touching parts of his humanity he didn’t know he possessed.

‘No, come to think of it, it’s been like this from the beginning.’

He had had similar thoughts several times already. At that time, he simply couldn’t define such thoughts. He just thought she was a particularly pitiful woman, so he paid a little more attention to her. Because it was an emotion he had never experienced before.

Johan released the body he was holding and deeply met May’s eyes. He could see her round black eyes blinking in bewilderment. Pitiful and pretty thing, cute and wanting to protect… such embarrassing feelings mixed and ultimately spread into affection.

Johan naturally did what that emotion commanded. That is to say, not satisfied with just embracing May, he showered her forehead and hair with kisses. He wanted to trace each fluttering eyelash with his tongue. He also wanted to gently nibble her soft flesh.

He wanted to perform acts filled purely with affection, not just appeasing unnecessary desires created by the thought-form’s manipulation. As his affection deepened, it stepped into the boundary of s*xual desire. Recognizing this, his brow furrowed involuntarily as thirst arose instantly.

His mind soon filled with lecherous thoughts. Kneeling before this woman, and with that obedient servant-like appearance, thoroughly tasting between her legs….

Such acts, which could never be considered kind, lined up. She would probably cry soon. But being quite honest, she would quickly say it feels good.

With such thoughts, Johan took May’s small hand and made her touch his head. As if volunteering to be her dog, while thinking the woman before him followed him like a puppy.

May naturally stroked his head. While doing so, she worriedly examined Johan’s face, which was crumpled with something like restraint. Not knowing what thoughts her servant was having.

‘…Who’s worried about whom.’

When he finally couldn’t resist and lightly bit her soft cheek, Johan’s body was suddenly pushed sideways. Johan reacted with irritation, though his face didn’t show much surprise, as if he had expected it.

“Seriously, what an untrustworthy lawyer. We agreed not to interfere with each other.”

After saying that, Johan relaxed his body and sprawled his upper body against the sofa’s backrest. His face clearly showed that the mood had been broken. With his head tilted back, his raised gaze was directed at the man standing behind the chair.

The man, who emitted a faint smell of tobacco, answered with a cold face without even looking at Johan.

“I’m restraining your personal desires. I said I would step in when necessary.”

Even while saying this, he picked up May’s body and moved her far away from Johan.

“Uh….”

May, who hadn’t realized Dominic was approaching, blinked her eyes as she was involuntarily moved to the end of the sofa. She couldn’t follow the flow of their conversation. In fact, she had been receiving Johan’s sudden shower of kisses without knowing the reason.

Dominic’s eyes seemed to frown slightly when he saw May’s clueless face. Though it might have been an illusion as his expression quickly returned to being expressionless….

“It’s better to maintain some distance with employees.”

Judging by the pointed remark he added, it wasn’t an illusion. May nodded her head with an awkward face, feeling as if she had been scolded.

“Ah, yes….”

After seeing this, Dominic moved his steps without lingering, like someone who had finished his task.

May dazedly watched the back of the man going up to the second floor.

‘Come to think of it, he’s staying here naturally….’

A sudden realization crossed her mind.

* * *

‘He hasn’t even mentioned when he’ll leave.’

It had already been several days since she realized Dominic was naturally staying at the mansion.

It was enough to make her wonder if this mansion had some power to make people stay. Even Aiden, who must have found many inconveniences compared to life at the ducal household, deliberately tried to return here…. It was quite a credible conjecture.

‘Still, I should ask how long he plans to stay, right?’

Of course, she didn’t mind Dominic staying. For the occasional sense of mission that rose within her, that is… for the task of creating a vessel, having multiple partners was beneficial.

From that perspective, Dominic’s stay should actually be welcomed.

If there was a problem in the current situation, it was that neither of them readily offered help like before. This was true for Johan, and actually, Dominic had been like that even before Johan returned to the mansion.

But what was strange was that their similar attitudes, as if by agreement, didn’t feel as disappointing as before.

May, who had finished her teatime with Johan, which had become a daily routine over the past few days, lay on her bed with a somewhat blank face.

‘…I need to create a vessel, but…’

At some point, the thought that she absolutely had to do so had dominated her mind….

The anxiety that had accompanied it seemed like a lie now, as her heart was calm. Was it because she had been rejected several times? She felt that the urge wasn’t rising as strongly as before. The desire that had been eagerly rising even on the day Johan returned seemed to have disappeared completely, as if sealed in some box.

From her perception, it was since after she told Johan about her sadness, and he removed all the mirrors from the room…. Or it might have been since she started receiving the compass’s shower of kisses every time she fell asleep and woke up. May made a contemplative sound as she looked at the compass that had naturally taken its place beside her.

Her slightly furrowed face showed a small question.

‘If the desire has decreased because of the compass… since it’s interfering with what I need to do, is this a bad sign?’

The compass, as if sensing her gaze, unfailingly stuck to her cheek. Then, golden energy that popped like soap bubbles instantly swept over her body.

It was a feeling and movement that couldn’t be described as ‘bad’ no matter how you looked at it.

Just as the discomfort she felt when she first got the compass back seemed like an illusion, the golden energy relaxed her body comfortably.