“Okay. I’ll admit it. For me, that wench… You say her name’s Lily? I don’t want Lily to leave the palace.”
“Then, do you agree with my plan?”
“Just half of it.”
“Half?”
“……”
“I also agree. Only with half of it.”
While Odil faced Endymion, Endymion and Damian tilted their heads to the side. But Damian soon burst into laughter, as if he realized something.
“Wow, you villains.”
“I don’t think there’s any lie to it.”
“W-What. Huh? What is it?”
“Since Odil agreed to the trick, the delegation will be allowed to visit soon. I don’t know why the Pope wants to meet Lily, and he’s the one who has the ring right now. But all we promised to do is to find the ring.”
“What do you mean?”
“Whether stealing or negotiating, you know, nothing like that.”
“Ack! T-Then, what will we say to the lady?”
“As Miss Lily said earlier, just pretend not to know. If she talks about the ring first, we can act like the Pope’s going to visit and we’ll first be meeting him. So, as late as possible… Like that. I think it would be okay if we mention it to her when there’s only about a week left.”
Not being able to decide whether this was juvenile or just plain meticulous, Damian rubbed his arm because goosebumps rose. Then, he asked.
“What if we fail to steal or negotiate?”
“Then let’s think of a plan B.”
Damian had asked with an expression filled with concern, but he could guess that Endymion had already thought of another plan. Just by looking at him talk like that, it seemed like honey would flow out every time he talked. In fact, he usually acted like that, but he was good at hiding his true feelings.
These guys, really. He also felt pity for them all, for all the things they had to do here—whether they were the victims or whether they had become the predators. Thinking this way, Damian actually didn’t think the same for himself.
Then, Damian suddenly recalled that Endymion was not very interested in the succubus at first, unlike himself, Odil, and Ares.
“But Eddy Hyung. You said you admitted that you like her. What about her do you like so much? Her face? How she is at night? Or is it because you find it fun being teased?”
“Damian. You don’t need a reason to like someone. You just end up liking them. Do you need a reason for the wind to blow and flowers to bloom?”
“…Hyung. Can you see my goosebumps right now?”
As soon as Endimion smiled nicely, Damian knew he never intended to answer, so he said bluntly and swept his arm.
“Then, what about you, Odil Hyung? You hated her a lot.”
“I didn’t hate her.”
“You did.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Isn’t that a bold-faced lie? You did hate her—”
“I said I didn’t.”
In the end, Damian just nodded silently because Odil looked as though he’d kill him judging by his glare.
“Sure. I know how much Hyung likes her though.”
“Like… I don’t, no. I don’t like her—”
“You said you don’t hate her. That means you like her then.”
It was a terribly simplified reasoning, as he slowly became too lazy to think, Damian stopped talking there. Ares met his eyes, then promptly shook his head. Damian avoided his gaze.
“Fine, I’ll pretend I don’t know.”
A short silence ensued. Odil’s expression was fine for the most part, but he didn’t notice that his neck was red. With a blunt voice, Ares said.
“Then, Odil. Will we be keeping it a secret from the lady? About the ring.”
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know why I’m doing this. It might be because of that wicked woman’s magic power.”
Everyone knew that a succubus had the magic power to entrance people. Licking his dry lips, Odil calmly added.
“That’s why I think I want to confirm. If I leave it to someone else, at this rate, there’s no reason not to.”
“…Eddy, are you fine with this? You like the lady. If we don’t find a ring, she’ll have to keep living like that.”
Ares said it indirectly, but there’s no one here who didn’t know what he meant. With an unexpected smile, Endymion nodded.
“I don’t really mind if Miss Lily spends the night with you guys. Didn’t I already say that? As long as she’s here, that’s enough for me.”
“It’s true love, really true love.”
“You’re saying something obvious, Damian.”
When Endymion smiled proudly at the sarcastic remark, Damian really had nothing else to say. True love, wow. Endymion smiled shyly, but he soon faced Ares and hesitated.
“Ares. I know you’re soft-hearted unlike how you look. If you have that kind of personality, you’ll start to care a lot more for her. Take for instance, Miss Lily thinks that she lost her ring due to the war.”
H-How did he know? Ares sucked in a sharp breath at what Endymion said as though he was right there next to them when Lily said that. However, Endymion continued to talk regardless.
“Miss Lily isn’t the type to blame others, so she’s just blaming herself while thinking it’s her fault, right? I know you feel guilty about this to some extent, but Miss Lily feels rather responsible for you and Odil right now.”
Damien and Endymion cooperated with her willingly from the beginning, but that wasn’t the case for Odil and Ares. Lily herself said that she had taken advantage of their bodies. After all, they had started their relationship without clear consent.
They could now vaguely guess what Endymion meant when he said, ‘Plan B’.
“I won’t force you, but please be honest here. Do you really want Miss Lily to find her ring and leave right after?”
“I…”
Ares shut his eyes tightly. She’s his first love. And he also shared his first time with her. Not to mention, Ares already held feelings for her. On one hand, he wished that she’d always only smile, but on the other hand, he wished that she’d stay next to him all the time.
He hesitated for a long time, but eventually, Ares nodded. Unlike before, this was a clear answer. Sitting there with a bit of a bitter expression, Odil turned to Ares and opened his lips to speak.
“Did you say that Lily’s a maid in charge of a library?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“…I had a sudden thought just now. It might be nice to build a library on the 3rd floor of the knights’ building. What do you all think?”
“That’s… a good idea. I’ll draft a budget by the end of the day.”
“Huh? Huuh? What library… Ah.”
“Wow, you Hyungs are just really, damn.”
At the same moment Ares realized what Endymion and Odil were talking about, Damian sincerely applauded them with admiration. Odil answered indifferently anyway.
“Then I believe everyone agrees. Next— Damien. Do you have anyone you want to recommend?
“Hyung. You’re getting back at me because I teased you earlier, right?”
“No.”
Of course not. Odil’s tenacity was unrivaled. Just by how he looked, it seemed like he wasn’t interested in other people’s business or that he’d quickly lose interest in other people, but actually, he tended to hold a grudge for a long time.
As though it was the last one, Damian sighed again, but in fact, he’d been sighing nonstop all this day already.
“I just know you’re going to throw me under the bus for this, but I’ll just let you win this time. There’s a maid named Lilith Sera working at the library. She’s very sincere, hardworking, and our cute youngest commander follows her so well.”
“Good. Then Endymion, I’ll leave it up to you.”
“Yes. Someone will have to tell Miss Lily about the transfer, but if Ares and Damian do it, it won’t go over well. Can you go, Odil?”
When the two stepped out, they continued talking about the plan so naturally. No matter how much he thought about it, Damian could only click his tongue.
·
The most important and most urgent task on the agenda was completed to some extent, so Endymion entered the office to deal with what Odil had asked him to do. How would Lily react once she’d hear this news? He felt apologetic for what they were doing, but compared to that, the joy he felt was even greater than that.
He’d be able to be with her in the same space, be able to see her more in the future.
Wearing glasses neatly placed on the desk, Endymion suddenly recalled the image of Lily taking him all in with her mouth. Her expression was a mix of a colorful, aroused smile, but also an innocent face that smiled shyly like a flower blooming in the field. All the while, her red lips glistened with his s*men.
“But Eddy Hyung. You said you admitted that you like her. What about her do you like so much? Her face? How she is at night? Or is it because you find it fun being teased?”
Endymion smiled lightly, recalling what Damian had said earlier. I brushed the matter off skillfully, but in fact, he couldn’t answer seriously. Because the reason was so childish.