Chapter 5

What did he want? Money? Or status?

Elott recalled one by one the ornaments she had collected in her room, such as a ruby brooch and a garnet hairpin. Her frantic mind spun in circles, trying to calculate how much they were worth, how much gold she could hand over immediately, and things of that sort.

But if one thought clearly, there was no way a prodigy who would be granted the title of Earl in the near future would covet the mere trinkets of some young lady.

But a mind pushed to the very limit of anxiety had no room left to realize even that. The only rope she had to cling to was the hope that Lucion had responded positively.

“You said you weren’t interested in what happened yesterday.”

At Lucion’s words, Elott’s eyes widened. Only after belatedly understanding his meaning was she able to nod.

The reason I had returned to the archive room was to silence him about what he had discovered yesterday. Only that. There was no other reason.

Elott repeated only those words to herself, as though placing herself under hypnosis. Keeping the truth she had hidden in her heart buried far away.

Then it really did become fixed in place as if that were the truth. Elott’s eyes grew bold. She had nothing to hesitate over. No matter what Lucion wanted, all she had to do was pay a fitting price and silence him.

At the suddenly changed look in her eyes, Lucion smiled. Placing one knee on the floor, he lowered himself and met Elott’s gaze.

She flinched only because he had come so close, but her daring momentum did not fade. Lucion was reflected in her tear-wet eyes. He smiled as though this truly were for the best. At that clear face without a single shadow, Elott’s expression crumbled for a moment.

“Then show me. Whether that’s really true.”

His tone was absurdly gentle. A kindness so out of place for the situation felt unreal.

Looking at Lucion like that, one thing suddenly occurred to her. Up until now, he had never actually threatened or forced Elott.

“If what you say is true, I’ll open the door. And of course, I’ll pretend I never saw what I saw yesterday.”

Lucion tapped the door supporting her back with his fingertips. The sound that reached her ears was steady. At the words that he would pretend not to know, her eyes flew open wide. Elott braced a hand against the floor and thr*st her face toward him.

“Wh-what do I have to do?”

Urgency showed plainly in the way she asked in haste. It was a chance that would never come again. But it was hard to guess what exactly he wanted her to show.

Before she knew it, her dry hand had already seized his knee. At the way she looked as if she might even cling to his trouser leg, Lucion stroked her head. But the hand that soothed her as though to reassure her did not last long, and soon pushed at Elott’s shoulder.

“The same thing as yesterday.”

Her back touched the cold wall. Before she could even fully feel the chill that made her shudder, her mind went blank. The hope that she might escape this situation plunged into ruin with that one sentence of his.

“It’s simple, isn’t it? If you really have no interest, then you won’t feel anything.”

His tone was flat, as though he were explaining something very simple. Before his strangely gentle face, Elott went paler than ever.

Unlike the immense shock she had just suffered, the time given to her was but a moment. Before she knew it, the kind smile had vanished from Lucion’s face, and a cold punisher revealed himself.

“Lift your skirt.”

Without leaving her a moment to breathe, the cruel command came down. Elott looked at him while huddled against the wall. His face, solid as a fortress, showed not even the slightest opening to break through.

Time passed slowly. The night deepened, and it felt as though nothing would end like this.

‘Elott, get a hold of yourself.’

In the suffocating silence, Elott urged herself on. Thinking about it, this was rather simple.

If she proved that she had no interest in such a bad pastime, she would be able to leave the archive room. Then she would never have to meet Lucion again. Even what had happened last night could be buried forever as a secret, as though it had never happened.

She had to make it into something that had never happened, somehow. Once she had made up her mind, there should have been nothing to hesitate over in her actions. It had to be that way, and yet her fingertips trembled endlessly as though stricken with illness.

It took her a long time just to grasp the hem of her skirt. When she carefully lifted the fabric, her white stockings and the garter belt holding them in place were revealed.

Clutching her skirt hem, Elott watched him cautiously. The gaze Lucion fixed on her was as persistent as a beast stalking prey.

“Raise your knees, and spread your legs. You’ll need to show properly if you want to prove it.”

The courage she had summoned with all her strength was only the beginning. In a cool tone, Lucion corrected her posture. At the icy command, Elott bit down on her lip.

Her bent knees parted to both sides. Inside her snow-white thighs, lace-woven panties tightly covered her s*x. It was a posture that laid everything bare. Her heated face rose and fell with quick breathing.

Lucion’s face as he looked down at her remained utterly impassive. As though asking what she was hesitating for, he tilted his head. It was a silent command. Inside the palm clutching her skirt, Elott’s nails dug into her skin. It should have hurt, and yet she could not feel even that.

In the end, Elott could not make her hand move. Her legs, forced apart, trembled and gradually drew inward again. I can’t do it. The words she muttered inwardly trembled around inside her mouth.

“Shall I help you.”

It was an indifferent voice. At his words, Elott lifted her head. On her pale face, her wet eyes were red and inflamed. Lucion reached out and touched her face. The tips of his long, beautiful fingers wiped away the tears gathered there.

Please, just let this be enough. I’ve already done this much.

At the gentle touch, tears suddenly burst free. The falling tears wet her face. Yet contrary to her misery, hope rose strongly within her, carried by his gentle side.

She had lived her entire life as a noble young lady. Even if she had suffered from the pain of having to hide her true feelings, she was no different from a flower in a greenhouse that had never once been soiled. Simply exposing her body before another person was enough to crush Elott’s mind into powder.

“Hic, stop, this.”

Her sobs rose all the way to her throat, and she could not properly continue her words. Elott tightly grasped the hand of Lucion, who was touching her face. She begged for mercy. With her smeared face and half-bared appearance, she was pleading for him to pity her.

Shh. It was a sigh meant to soothe a child. The back of his hand, fierce with raised veins, stroked her cheek. Leaning into that faint warmth, Elott looked at him. Like an angel from a revelation, his face was smiling brilliantly, as though granting mercy.

Ah. In the end, he had no intention of doing anything harsh. With a face so kind and beautiful, there was no way he would ruin another person.

“……Luci-”

In a trembling voice, Elott called his name. Thinking that if they simply smiled at each other like this, everything would end.

But his name was never completed. Before Elott’s eyes, a smile spread, raw and sharp. The touch of the angel slowly receded. The moment Lucion’s hand fell away from Elott’s face, something cold and hard pressed down on the inside of her legs.

Something dark black, with a rounded toe. The polished men’s shoe, gleaming from being carefully shined, was a finest-quality item born from the hands of a craftsman out of the hide of a young lamb.

When she lowered her eyes, another person’s shoe was pressing down atop Elott’s panties. Press. At the force bearing down, the thin fabric clung against her s*x.

Despite its blunt shape, the way it moved was slow and delicate. It did not hesitate to apply pressure, but it did not inflict pain. Under the cold shoe pressing her down, warmth bloomed in her s*x together with faint friction.

Flame rose in that stunned sensation. Her face, blank as though she did not even know what was being done to her, finally filled with shock. But there was something even more startling than the act of being trampled itself.

“Ahng……!”

A high m*an struck the wall. The lips that let out ragged breaths and the legs that had parted were now clinging to his leg. The way it seemed to push him away while at the same time clutching him was contradictory.

Lucion paid it no mind and continued moving his shoe. The more the sole rubbed below, the more the fire it stoked made her dizzy. It felt as though she were moving between heaven and hell. It was hot. The sensation from that one place being pressed was all Elott could feel.

Press. Press. The part being stepped on mixed together the layered folds within, her cl*toris, and even the hidden secret opening at the center.

It was a chaotic sensation, like mixing many different oil paints together on a palette. But the color that emerged in the end led Elott into a vivid red ecstasy.

She did not dare say that he must not. The moment the tip of the shoe touched the swollen spot, Elott’s head twisted and her waist curled inward.

“Ah, ah……!”

Her entire body trembled as though struck by a sharp bolt. Lucion’s leg was wedged between her knees as they struggled to close. At last, all strength drained out of her. Leaning against the wall, she collapsed sideways.

“Hng……”

Her cheek was crushed against the cold floor. Because of the sensation that had surged all the way to some far-off peak, she had no room to judge things like the temperature of her skin. But anything that rose high was bound to sink back down.

At last, the fountain that had shot up into the sky fell back down, and the stream struck the floor. When even her hot, panting breath was swallowed by the cold air, Elott was able to notice Lucion looking down at her from above.

“So this is your proof.”

The toe of the shoe, polished so well, was damp with a subtle liquid. An indifferent gaze swept over Elott’s body. At Lucion’s voice, the ringing in her ears was cleanly erased. Soon, the veil that had cut her off from the world shattered, and the dreadful reality finally revealed itself.

Ah. It was a dying cry. The shame that had been hidden by her cl*max came back to life like a giant wave and swept Elott away.

Lucion put one knee on the floor and met her eyes. Looking at her clouded pupils, he smiled and slowly stroked Elott’s blond hair as he whispered.

“We’re going to play together.”

His voice was as sweet as the sound of a stringed instrument. The sphere of light floating in the air shone down on Lucion, creating a deep backlight. The dark shadow swallowed Elott whole. Her mind drifted farther and farther away. Then lips touched her cheek. It was a merciful kiss bestowed upon the defeated one.