Chapter 21: 21

Translator: Yonnee

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────Chapter 21

Me becoming a succubus was something inevitable. No one could be held accountable for it. But I didn’t lose my ring. No matter how dire a situation that was—no, it really was that kind of situation, so I should have been more alert back then.

It was my responsibility to have done so, even when I saw that knight picking it up, even as soon as I saw that noble.

But Sir Ares wasn’t at fault here either. There was an enchantment on the ring. I clutched the blanket over me tighter. I heard something surprising from someone she hadn’t expected to hear this from.

Somehow, I felt the urge to cry, so I exhaled heavily, through which a dry cough came out.

“Ah, wait a second!”

Sir Ares rushed to get some water, and I gingerly received the cup.

When I gulped down all the water, Ares took back the cup. In that understated, uneasy atmosphere, only our quiet breaths could be heard. It would also be awkward if I lied back down again, so all I could do was bow my head down while fumbling with my fingers.

“You know, Damian found the ring’s whereabouts. Just in case you don’t know.”

“Yes. Sir Endymion told me.”

“Maybe he’ll be back today or tomorrow. Then we’ll find your ring no matter what. You’ve even told me your secrets.”

“…Thank you.”

“So don’t avoid me anymore. Even at night… okay?”

And his face leaned in close enough that I could feel his hot breath. It was too close. I didn’t want him to see my cheeks burning up, but on this bed, there was no place to escape. When I tried to look elsewhere and pull back, Sir Ares smiled mischievously.

Wait. Please don’t do this.

“Lily.”

Sir Ares called my name. I couldn’t even hear his voice properly because I was feeling so nervous, so I just nodded. But suddenly, our lips touched.

It happened in an instant, so I had no chance to avoid it. This kiss was nothing compared to how we did it whenever we slept together. Rather than a deep kiss, it was like a peck on the lips that kids did.

Even though it was only this, I was so surprised that I couldn’t even breathe. My eyes were wide open and I inhaled sharply, and as Sir Ares pulled back away from me, his face instantly turned red. It looked like he was embarrassed even after he had already done it.

“S-Sorry. It’s just, you know! B-Because I’m so happy…”

I guess I really wasn’t feeling well. My fever might be so high that a blinding light was flashing over my eyes. Both Sir Endymion and Sir Ares had a knack for keeping people on their toes.

I already didn’t know what to expect from Sir Endymion, but Sir Ares’ unexpected behavior was so sudden that I couldn’t even keep up.

“Ahem, hum. Ah, right. They said that there’s no complications when you fainted, Milady, but they said that you shouldn’t overdo it because they think the cause is stress.”

“…Alright.”

“So hurry up and sleep more. Don’t forget what I told you earlier.”

“Y-You’re not going? Do you not need to go back…?”

While speaking, Sir Ares had gently laid me back on the bed. However, when he told me to sleep more, it didn’t seem like he had the intention to go back, so I hurriedly asked this.

“Huh? I’ll go after the Lady has fallen asleep.”

“No. No, really. You don’t have to do this. You’re a very busy person.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Odil’s taking care of my work.”

It’s not okay. It’s never going to be okay. Endymion was that kind of person, so I’ve gotten used to him being like that, but I wouldn’t be able to endure watching Ares act this way.

Maybe it’s because of the uncomfortable situation or maybe it’s because of my nervousness, but my heart was pounding really hard.

“You have to rest well and get well soon so that you can come out at night. Or if you don’t want to wait until night and just do it now…”

‘Aaaaahhhh…!’

In the end, I could only scream in my head as I closed my eyes even though I couldn’t sleep. My eyelashes were quivering.

I waited for him to leave the room, but I could feel him caressing my cheeks, my hair, and there was no sound of the door opening or closing. I have no idea whether it’s because I was feeling so flustered or whether it’s because his hand was warm, but really, my heart was beating like crazy. I got worried that Ares might be able to hear it.

“Milady, are you sleeping?”

“No.”

“When will you sleep?”

“When Sir Ares leaves. Please, it’s uncomfortable, so you can just go.”

“Once you’ve slept…”

“Wow. You didn’t attend the meeting, so I was wondering what you were doing, yet here you are flirting with a girl. You’ve changed quite a bit in the time I haven’t seen you, Hyung¹.”

And as I heard that familiar voice, my eyes shot open in astonishment. Sir Ares, who was looking sideways, had his eyes wide open as his lips drew up to a broad smile.

“Damian!”

“I’m back.”

His black hair, which was slightly damp as though he had just finished bathing, was ruffled by Sir Ares’ hand. Then, his red eyes, which were so dark that they looked closer to black in the distance, languidly turned towards me.

When our eyes met, I automatically avoided his gaze and lifted the blanket a little so that I wouldn’t show how awkward I felt.

“…Noonim¹, I think we’ve met each other before. Can I see your face for a second?”

My heart had been working overtime since earlier, but now it dropped to the ground with a thud. I was so shocked that I could feel my hands and feet going cold. Sir Ares surreptitiously blocked me from his view and redirected the conversation.

“Why are you so curious about my Lady’s face? Rather than that, we need to talk about how your mission went.”

“Oh, I already reported to Odil Hyung. But you know, Hyung.”

“H-Huh?”

“You’re changing the subject so obviously.”

“We know each other, right?”

Without even a moment for Sir Ares to react, Sir Damian approached me in an instant and came close enough that I could feel his breath. He was smiling teasingly—it was the same smile as when I would sleep with him while I was a succubus, using all sorts of weird toys or doing something unexpected.

“No. You saw it wrong. I-It’s a mix up, sir.”

I opened my lips to speak in a determined voice, but I eventually stuttered as I avoided his gaze.

I had never met Damian during the day. It was already a few months ago since I slept with him because he wasn’t in the palace often in the first place.

Like Endymion, he wasn’t originally interested in me, but I couldn’t believe that he could recognize the resemblance between me and Lilith even during the day.

A succubus’ fascination showed the illusion of man’s most ideal woman. If they didn’t have an ideal type, then it would be the most beautiful appearance that he could possibly imagine.

That’s why if his reason for recognizing me didn’t involve my natural scent or if it wasn’t something like Endymion’s case, then it certainly seemed strange that he would find out.

“Stop it, Damian. That’s… Anyway, it’s not that.”

“What are you talking about? I never said who I was of.”

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“……”

Both me and Ares weren’t good at lying or making something up. As Damian looked between the two of us alternately, he smiled mischievously and sat on the bed. Then, he spoke to Ares.

“Odil Hyung is really mad. Is it alright for you to relax here like this?”

“…He’s angry?”

“Yeah. And I heard that you’ve been very spaced out lately, and that you’ve been skipping out a lot. You didn’t attend this morning’s meeting either. You should really watch yourself and just hurry back.”

Considering how Sir Ares combed the entire palace just to find me, it was right to think that this was something that a commander shouldn’t be doing. Sir Odil hates irresponsible people. For that reason, I felt that he was angry at even life itself.

With a pale face, Sir Ares sighed. Then, he looked towards me with a sad expression as he replied to Damian.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

“Me? I don’t have to go. I only came here to find you, Al Hyung.”²

“N-No! Come with me!”

“Why are you being like this, Hyung. I’m the one who just came back early in the morning. I haven’t eaten a proper meal for a day and a half, I can’t even rest for a second, and it’s the first time I’ve seen your face in a long time. I’ll be sad if you do this.”

Ares looked flustered as Damian pouted. He couldn’t possibly be left here with me, but it seemed like he was really bent on staying here.

I also wanted to avoid being alone with Damian, so right now, I had no choice but to glance at Ares with a pleading look even though I knew he wouldn’t help much.

After a few minutes of silence between us, Damian suddenly stood up from the bed and pushed Ares’ back.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go. C’mon.”

“Huh? O-Okay. Then, Milady, I’ll see you later.”

Instead of answering, I just sighed. I still wanted to know whether Damian could get back my ring soon, yet he surprised me by saying, ‘We know each other’ as soon as our eyes met. I wasn’t sure if he really recognized me or if there was just someone similar to me who he knew.

But at this point, I don’t even know if my identity could still be called a secret. My frazzled mind became calm for a moment, but something popped right in front of me just then.

“Ack!”

“Ah, what’s up with that. Is my face that scary?”

“N-No, sir. Y-You haven’t left yet?”

After leaving through the door after Ares, he went back in and sat down on the bed again. Behind Damian, who was smiling naughtily while tilting his head to the side, a loud voice could be heard beyond the door.

“Damian! Open this door!”

“Please be quiet!”

“You can’t act like this, Commander Fenril!”

I was wondering why he followed Ares without kicking up a fuss, but I guess he was planning to do this from the beginning. When I saw Ares heard a racket outside, it seemed like he left Ares’ side while they were on their way to meet Sir Odil.

I was starting to get scared of what he wanted to talk to me about, this man who I rarely ever saw.

“……”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be quiet soon. Rather than that, I think we have something more important to talk about.”

I couldn’t breathe again in front of Damian as he looked at my face so blatantly.

“Ah, I knew it. You changed your face, right? That’s amazing. If I didn’t see you this close, I wouldn’t have noticed.”

“H-How…”

“I have good eyes. Well, there are other reasons. That Hyung who knows only one woman—his mother, mind you—is suddenly calling someone Milady this, Milady that, so who else could it be but you? And I guessed because he couldn’t tell Odil Hyung.”

No matter how suspicious Ares was acting, it wasn’t convincing to say that Damian’s ‘good eyes’ were the reason why he recognized how my face had changed. But I was too shocked by what he said so casually that I couldn’t even argue.

“Please—Please don’t tell Commander Cygnus. Please…”

“…Did you eat something rotten? What’s wrong with the way you talk?”

Ah, this is really bad… I suddenly hated how distant I was with Damian and it was making me want to cry.

It’s been like this for a long time now, but I really do feel uncomfortable with this guy. It was completely different from the reluctance I felt towards Endymion.

However, my alter ego Lilith was a creature that was both curious about and vulnerable to pleasure, so she liked Damian a lot. It was a different kind of like towards Sir Odil.

“And you don’t have the kind of personality to work diligently. Why are you pretending to be a maid?”

“…I’m a diligent enough person.”

“See, you’re talking like that again. Can I check for just a second?”

“What are you…!”

Damian climbed over the bed and crawled over to grab my hand, which I was fiddling nervously. And as if to confirm something, he pulled up my skirt to check the body hidden beneath the uniform.

I couldn’t even scream! It happened in a blink of an eye, and he suddenly smiled. Damian slowly climbed on top of me, caressing my thigh with his other hand.

“What are you doing…”

“Ah, I found you. I knew it, it’s you. But you know, it’s really weird. Why does it feel like you’ve changed into a different person.”

He was talking about checking the succubus pattern on my lower abdomen. Whenever his fingers grazed over my skin slowly as if drawing a sketch, chills ran down my spine as my legs trembled. It was such a sensitive part of my body that I reacted slowly but surely.

“Hm? Say something.”

A leg suddenly went between my thighs.

“You’re already wet.”

My vision went blank at the gleeful tone. Whenever he pressed down on my lower abdomen, my whole body tingled to the point that I couldn’t stand it. As if paralyzed, my tongue was stiff and I could barely move my lips as I exhaled shakily.

“Mmh… I’ll talk, so your h-hand, please…”

“But I don’t want to. Whenever I touch you here, don’t you know just how much you tighten up?”

“……!”

His expression didn’t change even as my own face had become beet red as though I had a fever. He had a mischievous smirk on his lips that made it seem like he had found a new fun toy, and I wanted to smack it right off his face.

But I didn’t have any strength in my body at all. He kept stimulating my most sensitive part.

——

¹ Damian calls Ares ‘Hyung’ which roughly translates to ‘Brother’, but they’re not actually blood-related brothers. It’s an honorific term that could also be used by a man to call another man who’s (1) close friends with him and (2) is older, but of a similar age. It’s also the same kind of honorific when Damian called Lily ‘Noonim’ or ‘Sister’ in this chapter. (Regulus called Lily ‘Noona’ in a few past chapters, which is a more casual version of ‘Noonim’.)

I didn’t think it would be a problem when it was only Regulus saying ‘Sister’, but now that Damian appeared and is using these terms more often and towards more people, I realized that it’s a bit awkward to continue using these terms in English. That’s why I went ahead and switched to using Hyung/Hyung-nim and Noona/Noonim and other such honorifics attributed to ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’ starting this chapter.

If you’d like me to revert back to translating those terms as ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’ as is, let me know in the comments! I’ll do so if a majority of you say so. ty~

² Damian’s nickname for Ares being ‘Al’ stems from the /r/ and /l/ sound in Korean being the same letter/character.

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