Chapter 2.3

“There are documents that Lady Alois asked me to get approved on her behalf.”  

Barely moving her stiff body, Claire handed over the documents, but Rexion tried to take them with his hand, not even taking his eyes off the papers he was reading.  

Now he didn’t even want to meet my eyes?  

It didn’t feel good that Rexion, who used to look at her face, now seemed to avoid even her gaze, but Claire tried not to show it and politely offered the documents to him.  

However, in trying to be considerate and handing the documents closer, she ended up pushing them too close, and as a result, her hand touched his.  

“Tsk!”  

Even though their hands only brushed for a moment, Rexion frowned as if he was deeply displeased.  

He snatched the documents roughly, quickly signed them, and then tossed them onto the desk. The sudden movement caused a small gust, and the papers nearby fell to the floor.  

“I’ll pick them up myself, so you can just leave them and go.”  

As Claire bent down to pick up the papers, his tone became so cold it seemed to freeze the air around them.  

“Understood.”  

Thinking the atmosphere would only become more hostile if she picked up the papers, Claire gave a small nod and left after saying goodbye.  

“Phew.”  

The moment she closed the door behind her, she finally let out the breath she hadn’t been able to take until just then. Every time they met, she felt like she couldn’t breathe properly, and if this continued, she felt as though she might not live out her days.  

I don’t want to touch you either!  

Since she couldn’t bring herself to ask why he disliked her, Claire could only complain inwardly.  

After glaring at the door for a moment, she strode back to her seat. As if reflecting her unpleasant feelings, every step she took felt heavy.  

“She keeps getting on my nerves.”  

Warm sunlight poured in through the crack in the window, and Rexion, sitting alone at his desk, frowned as he looked toward the door with his hand pressed to his temple. Partly it was because the strong sunlight made it hard to keep his eyes open, but there was another reason.  

When he recalled the woman who had just left after getting the documents approved, the wrinkles between his brows deepened even further.  

Lately, many things had been getting on his nerves, and among them, that woman was the biggest headache.  

What bothered Rexion most was related to his promotion.  

His promotion was due to luck. He was able to take the position because Marquis Vikander, who had been the treasurer, was caught embezzling.  

Of course, his good record up to then made it possible for him to seize the opportunity, but more than that, the Emperor knew well that Rexion held a firm belief that he would never commit embezzlement in his life, so he specially gave Rexion the treasurer’s position.  

‘Are you happy to have been promoted before Helion?’  

Since a young person had been promoted so quickly, people around him didn’t welcome Rexion’s promotion. The one who was most displeased was his father, Duke Radner.  

The Radner family had always revolved around Helion, who would inherit the family in the future. So it was only natural that Duke Radner’s gaze toward Rexion was unpleasant.  

Even if he felt disappointed with his father, that wasn’t what bothered Rexion the most. He was used to such looks, so he didn’t mind. He could just respond with indifference.  

But that woman who had just left was different. No matter how much he tried to ignore her, he couldn’t. The more he tried not to care, the more she got on his nerves.  

She’s a woman who likes my brother. It’s best to just ignore her.  

He knew where her heart was directed. He could tell just by the way she looked at his brother.  

So, even though he hoped things wouldn’t work out between them, he tried not to care. He felt that wishing for Claire’s happiness while also wishing against it made his own feelings ugly.  

But lately, he had started to notice something strange happening to his body, and so he simply couldn’t ignore her.  

Why is this happening again?  

With an unpleasant expression, Rexion’s gaze dropped downward. The thing trapped inside his pants, feeling sore, had swelled up and grown hard as if it might burst.  

Because of the physical contact with her just now, it was more sensitive than usual, twitching and swelling on its own.  

“Damn.”  

Rexion cursed in a low voice.  

Whenever he thought of Claire, he found himself aroused, and his p*nis would suddenly swell up without warning. To the point where it interfered with his daily life.  

Of course, it hadn’t been like that from the moment he first saw her. When did it start?  

It must have been that day. It felt like any other day, but something was a little off.  

He had just been walking down the corridor as usual when suddenly, a white fog enveloped him like mist, and at the same time, he felt his mind grow hazy.  

He had always been healthy and had never collapsed before, but the powerful scent that surrounded him made his legs weak. He barely managed to stay upright as he tried to make his way through the fog.  

‘Who… is that?’  

He thought he saw a silhouette through the thick fog. The face wasn’t clear, but judging by the outline, it was a woman with long hair.  

She seemed to approach him slowly and did something to him. Since that day, his body had changed.  

Ridiculous. 

He wasn’t some animal in heat.  

Rexion cursed again as he looked at his painfully hard lower half.  

It was the first time his body had reacted like this just from thinking about one person. Even the slightest contact with her made his lower half react, and it was driving him mad.  

Damn it. Why is this happening?  

He couldn’t take care of himself while at work, so he tried to avoid meeting Claire as much as possible, but it wasn’t easy.  

What a pervert he had become.  

He was sure he had been put under a spell. The woman he met that day must have been a mage.  

Someone must have asked her to curse him so he couldn’t live a normal life. Otherwise, there was no way he would have ended up working in the same department as her by coincidence.  

Was his promotion to treasurer also someone’s scheme?  

He had reached the position of treasurer through his own abilities, but with things as they were, Rexion couldn’t help but doubt even his own promotion.  

The more someone has, the more they have to lose. Right now, he was barely holding on, but if he couldn’t keep his growing desire in check, he might even get kicked out of the treasurer’s position for harassment—such an absurd thought even crossed his mind.  

He wanted to find that woman he met that day and make her return his body to normal, but the problem was he didn’t know who she was.  

He thought he might be able to find her by looking for a woman with a similar silhouette, but when he looked around the palace, he never saw her.  

Where on earth could he find her?  

Staring at his lower half, Rexion’s face twisted in pain.