Chapter 6

Only after thoroughly washing her hands with soap did Aicel let her go. When his body, which fit perfectly around her, began to react again, Aicel narrowed his eyes.

She didn’t have particularly striking features. Maybe her body… wasn’t bad. Aicel imagined the skin and flesh beneath Lucy’s clothes as he watched her mutter to herself.

She pretended not to care, but kept glancing at him, clearly uncomfortable being alone with him. Her act of being scared but not backing down was also rather interesting.

“Since applying it isn’t difficult, my responsibility as my brother’s substitute ends here… right?”

Lucy glanced around nervously, clearly wanting to leave. Aicel frowned without realizing it. For some reason, watching Lucy try to disappear from his sight was irritating and grating.

It wasn’t pleasant to see a woman trying to reject him. As he tried to lift his head, his arousal faded. Aicel twisted his lips and spoke.

“Trying to get away that easily? I’m still looking for Sybil Noctus. What if you’re hiding that bastard?”

“Absolutely not! Search the house if you want!”

“Or maybe there’s another hideout.”

‘Most people only have one house! You lucky, damn multi-property owner!’

Lucy held back her irritation and spoke calmly.

“I don’t have the money for that, nor do I wish to lie and make an enemy of the Penden Duchy.”

She continued, her voice rising, saying she was looking for Sybil Noctus too and hadn’t heard from him in years.

“So now, now….”

“It’s none of your business?”

“Yes!”

Thinking male relatives were no help in life, Lucy nodded vigorously. As Aicel stretched his shoulders, he raised his hand. Lucy flinched.

Aicel let out a hollow laugh.

“Scared, are you? I don’t hit women.”

For someone who’d threatened her with a gun and talked about burns with a cigarette, that was a goldfish-brained thing to say. 

‘Saying one thing and doing another—maybe he was bilingual.’

Lucy mocked him inwardly.

He grabbed Lucy’s cheeks. His hands were so large he could press both cheeks at once, making her lips stick out like a duck’s.

“You know what I felt, looking at Sybil Noctus? Like I’d seen that face somewhere before. But now, seeing you, I get it. It wasn’t him who felt familiar.”

“Mmph.”

“It was you he resembled.”

“Mmmffhh.”

Saliva dribbled from her ducked lips. Lucy tried to suck it back in, but it was too late.

“Ugh, gross.”

Aicel, annoyed, let go and wiped his saliva-covered fingers, glaring at Lucy. She, too, wiped her lips with her sleeve and mumbled meekly.

“I don’t know you, Young Master. You’re mistaken.”

Aicel looked at her with contempt and scolded,

“Of course. Someone as ugly as you, we couldn’t possibly know each other.”

“Ugh.”

Lucy bit her lip, stung. She’d never thought of herself as unattractive.

‘You jerk! You… you…!’

Furious, Lucy glared at Aicel.

‘You…!’

Sharp brows and brow bone, mysterious pale amber eyes, deep eyes full of decadent allure, a nose that jutted out without hesitation, a strong jawline that gave a rough masculinity…

‘He’s handsome. I lose.’

She searched his face for flaws, but only crushing defeat greeted her. Aicel’s appearance was flawless.

His slightly drooping eyes, despite their shape, never looked gentle. When he tensed his brows or glared, it made him seem like he had his own story, and made the person facing him feel hunted.

Truly, he had a crazy face. His well-built body, perfectly matching his aura, added to his dangerous, untouchable presence.

If not for that unruly mouth and wild hair, not even the Imperial Family could outshine him in the Empire.

Still tilting his head, Aicel gazed at her and spoke.

“For now, I need you to catch Sybil Noctus.”

“Why?!”

“Because your brother will come looking for you.”

“No, ah….”

Lucy was so frustrated she wanted to beat her chest like a gorilla—hers and someone else’s.

‘What have you been listening to? No matter what I do, he hasn’t shown his face…’

This was bad. Was he just stupid? He didn’t make sense. Lucy sighed, staring at the ceiling with its intricate patterns. Then she suddenly remembered something important.

“Um, if you catch my brother… are you going to kill him?”

Lucy watched his reaction. Even if her brother deserved it, she didn’t really want to see his corpse.

“…….”

Aicel gazed at Lucy, who was pretending to cry. She bit her lower lip as if swallowing her sorrow. Her slightly visible teeth were as cute as a rabbit’s. Her eyes weren’t red, but her lashes fluttered pitifully. Her light green eyes, moist but unwavering, looked up at Aicel with defiance.

‘…Is she trying to seduce me like this?’

It wasn’t really seduction, but Aicel tended to interpret things his own way.

They say like recognizes like. Aicel saw in her eyes a mix of resistance, a bit of narcissism, and an extraordinary stubbornness. It was like a fuse slowly being lit.

‘…Interesting.’

Suddenly, he wanted to see Lucy truly on the verge of tears, not just pretending.

To be exact, he wanted to see her lying n*ked on white sheets, sobbing with tear-stained eyes.

He remembered the feel of her hand on him. Much lower than her belly button, there must be flesh as soft as that hand….

As he thought that far, he felt himself stirring again. Before meeting Lucy, nothing had worked, no matter what he did. But now, his body was hardening on its own, out of his control.

After suffering from erectile dysfunction as a side effect from Sybil Noctus, it was a sensation he hadn’t felt in ages.

Aicel glanced down at Lucy.

She had rolled up one sleeve to wash her hands. The inside of her forearm was as pale as her face.

He felt an urge to force her thighs apart and bury himself in her secret place.

“…Young Master?”

Lucy, noticing Aicel’s silence, glanced down and then snapped her eyes back up with a gasp. Her reaction amused Aicel, and he grinned. Knowing his own good looks, he enjoyed watching Lucy’s cheeks and ears turn red. She really was entertaining.

“Whether I kill Sybil Noctus or not depends on you.”

Aicel spoke with a wicked, mischievous smile, and Lucy felt a chill at the devilish beauty of his face. Watching her tense up, he lightly tapped her cheek. He smiled as if he didn’t care if she noticed the commotion in his lower half.

“Lucy Noctus.”

Lucy flinched, standing still. Her cheeks were soft. The warmth felt good. He thought it would feel even better to rub himself against them.

His amber eyes curved beautifully—and dangerously.

“Just so you know, don’t run. When someone runs from me, I want to catch and tear them apart.”

So bears and madmen really do tear people up.

As her internal warning lights flashed red, Lucy muttered without thinking,

“…I’m screwed.”

“What was that?”

“I said, ‘Lucky you. Others would be jealous. Wow.’”

Aicel raised the corner of his mouth.

“You like it that much?”

“Yes. I’m just a merchant—how could I ever get connected to a member of the Penden Duchy?”

“Then let’s see each other often.”

‘No, that’s a bit much.’

“As for ‘often’, that doesn’t mean tomorrow, right?”

“That’s not certain. Why?”

Lucy looked at Aicel, as if sighing with her eyes.

“Tomorrow… is a legal holiday…”

“…….”

Aicel stared at Lucy as if wondering what kind of person she was. Lucy was wrapped in a faint anxiety, wondering if this crazy man was really ignorant of imperial law or how to read a calendar.

After a moment, he spoke as if doing her a favor.

“I won’t call you tomorrow.”

***

Unfortunately, Lucy couldn’t spread malicious rumors about him right away. Not because Aicel’s manhood was lacking in size or shape, but above all, because of the copper cylinder in her hand.

It was a device where, if you pulled the protruding cord in the middle, a roll of fine paper would come out—an important contract holder that only the parties involved could open.

On it was written:

[The second party must keep the first party’s secret. In other words, keep your mouth shut.]

Several items were scrawled fiercely, true to his character, and at the bottom, Lucy Noctus’s signature shone in gold.

[Signature, Lucy Noctus.]

It was golden magical ink called the ‘Oath of the River Styx’. It prevented forgery and was often used by nobles for writing wills.

After leaving Aicel Penden’s mansion, Lucy let out a weary sigh.

“Ugh. I was just trying to find my brother, and this is what I get.”

She didn’t even have the energy to get angry.

Lucy opened her palm and stared at it blankly.

It felt as if the sensation of that hot, throbbing rod was still there. Shameful scenes kept replaying in her mind—the swollen, almost bursting tip, the taut scrotum pressed up against the base, the fierce, proud shape…

“Ugh, stop thinking about it!”

Lucy lightly thumped her head with her wrist. She didn’t want to admit that she’d gotten even a little excited while helping some stranger pleasure himself.

‘I didn’t enjoy it! Never! It’s just… left over sorrow from childhood, when I couldn’t even enjoy a rattle toy because of poverty…!’

Such ridiculous, shameful self-excuses kept running through her mind.