ESL Chapter 49

“That can’t be right!!!! Lord Luciel would never do such a thing!!”

Trembling with rage, Berchel cried out at the top of his voice. He was so worked up it looked as though he might bolt from the room at any moment. But at the sound of Lea’s quiet voice, he forced himself to suppress his anger.

“Calm down, Berchel. I know Luciel would never do something like that.”

Watching Lea soothe Berchel, Razen let a strange, unreadable smile play at the corners of his lips — the kind of smile that was quite charming, yet gave nothing away.

“It is true that he has been confined, my lady.”

As he spoke, both Lea and Berchel turned their gazes toward him.

“Since when?”

“It has been approximately three days.”

“Where is he being held?”

“He is confined in the innermost room of Duke Mihael’s annex.”

“Is there any way to approach him?”

“The security is so tight that sneaking in would be impossible.”

“If sneaking in is impossible, that means there is another way.”

Watching the young lady catch even that small hint he had offered, Razen replaced the strange smile from moments before with a softer one.

“You truly are the spitting image of His Grace, my lady.”

****

Click.

The sound of the door opening reached his ears, but Luciel, sitting with his back against the wall, showed no reaction at all. Even as the rustling sound of a dress being removed filled the air right in front of him, he simply kept his eyes closed.

“Aah… my young lord…”

With an eager moan, a woman’s soft breasts pressed against his chest, her weight settling over him. Her smooth hands slid like water into his already disheveled trousers and wrapped gently around him.

“Aah…”

Gripping him, the woman moved her hand slowly and let out a satisfied breath. If he was already like this before arousal, what would he be like once excited… She felt heat rising through her body and flicked her tongue out to wet her lips.

The knowledge that she only needed to take this beautiful man to bed and receive his seed to live a life of luxury for the rest of her days was stoking her excitement to a fever pitch. And she had confidence in herself. Of all the many men she had been with, not a single one had failed to respond to her touch. Besides, her target was currently under the influence of an aphrodisiac. There was no way he could hold out without taking her.

“I’ll make it absolutely wonderful for you. So just leave it to me.”

She whispered with self-assurance, using her fingers to work a rhythm over what she held in her hand. Her plan was to bring him partway there with her hand, then finish the job with her mouth. But when the thing in her grasp showed not the slightest response, she began to grow anxious. She withdrew her hand from his trousers, undid them, and took him in her mouth.

“Mmph… mmph…”

She brought every technique she possessed to bear, but the limp flesh showed not the slightest reaction. Exhausted at last, she released him with a gasp and caught her breath.

“Wh— what… Are you impotent?! How can you not react even after taking an aphrodisiac…?”

Panic was setting in now. She knew perfectly well what had happened to the two women who had gone in before her.

“Fine. If it comes to this, I’ll just take it by force.”

She tried to force his unresponsive body into hers regardless. But with him unaroused, it was never going to be easy. As she rocked her hips above him, desperately trying to make it work, she was suddenly seized by a rough hand and flung to the floor.

“Kyaah!”

Her body, which had been burning with heat only moments ago, went ice cold in an instant. She looked up to find the beautiful man who had shoved her staring back at her.

“…Get out.”

Luciel’s closed eyes slowly opened, revealing irises the color of emerald, and the woman froze where she was. Clouded and deepened by the powerful aphrodisiac — more so than usual — his gaze was mesmerizingly beautiful, yet at the same time utterly merciless. It was cold enough to make one freeze just from looking at it, and the woman was so gripped by terror that she didn’t even notice she was shaking. Even after Luciel’s eyes fell shut again and that gaze disappeared, it had already burned itself so deeply into her mind that she could do nothing but tremble, unable to even think of approaching him again.

****

“A failure again.”

Cheor watched the naked woman being dragged out by a knight and curled his lips into a twisted smile. Despite having administered enough of the drug to overwhelm any reason, his nephew was stubbornly holding on.

“How many days has it been?”

At his question, the knight standing beside him bowed at the waist and answered.

“Three days, Your Grace.”

“Three days… Let’s see just how long he can hold out.”

Cheor said with a sneer, his eyes fixed on the closed door guarded by knights. No matter how remarkable Luciel was, he thought, even he would not be able to last a full week in a drug-addled state — and that thought made his twisted smile deepen further. In truth, the fact that he had held out this long was already remarkable. It was simply a shame that they could not administer more of the drug, as they had been warned that further doses would put his life at risk.

“What shall we do with the woman?”

At the knight’s question, Cheor glanced briefly at the woman still crumpled on the floor, shaking uncontrollably, then turned away.

“Same as before.”

****

“Is this truly the only way?”

Razen, who had been reviewing the illusion orb Lea had requested, looked up at the sound of Ian’s voice. Her escort knight, if he recalled correctly. The man’s eyes were so devoid of expression they might have seemed cold, yet the emotion plainly layered beneath them was unmistakable displeasure. Razen set down the spectacles he had been wearing and spoke — his voice undeniably gentle, but utterly empty of feeling.

“If there were another way, I would have told you already. Or would you prefer to dress as a woman and go in yourself, Sir Knight?”

“……”

“Well… given enough time, another option may present itself. You are welcome to wait until then, if you wish.”

“….Understood.”

Meeting Ian’s gaze — which said he accepted the logic but was still far from pleased — Razen smiled pleasantly.

“Please don’t worry too much. The one who will accompany my lady inside is one of my own men. He’s capable enough that if anything happens, he’ll find a way to get her out regardless.”

That’s not the point… The words surged all the way up Ian’s throat, but he couldn’t bring himself to say them, and he swallowed them down with a silent exhale. If he could have his way, he would dress as a woman himself and go in her place. That was how uncomfortable this made him. And he was not the only one feeling uneasy.

His Lordship will surely be furious if he finds out…

He’ll probably smile that brilliant smile of his, and then he might just run someone through with his sword… The memory of the look in Luciel’s eyes when he was angry made Berchel flinch.

Each lost in their own thoughts, they all looked up simultaneously as the door clicked open. Their reactions, however, were anything but uniform. Berchel’s eyes went blank and glassy as if he were bewitched. Ian kept his expression carefully in place, but his pupils were in visible upheaval. And Razen wore his composed smile — though in truth, he was mildly taken aback.

This is a bit dangerous…

He studied Lea’s appearance as she entered alongside a maid, eyes sharpening. Her long, wavy violet hair, adorned with moderately priced accessories, cascaded naturally down to her hips. The eyeliner drawn to accentuate her features was swept slightly upward at the corners, making her already beautiful eyes stand out all the more. He had thought that a light touch of makeup would transform her, given that she took after His Grace in her striking looks — but he had not anticipated this. And dressed in an elaborate black lace gown that concealed nothing of her figure, she looked bewitchingly alluring and imperious all at once, in a way that made it impossible to believe she was still a minor. As though she had been born to captivate men.

“My lady, would you try blinking for me, if you would?”

“Hmm, like this?”

Instantly catching Razen’s intent, Lea turned her head slightly, lowered her gaze, and slowly batted her long lashes — once, twice. She had occasionally frequented pleasure districts back in the Kingdom of Hamel when gathering intelligence on wanted criminals, and remembering what the women she had met there used to do made it easy enough to replicate.

“Ugh…”

“…!”

The room was, in a word, obliterated. Berchel’s face blazed scarlet as though it had caught fire, and he snapped his head away. Ian covered his face with one large hand and bowed his head — and his ears were red as boiled lobster. Even Razen was left momentarily speechless.

“This won’t do. She’s far too conspicuous.”

Razen let out a sigh and called over the maid who had prepared her. He began issuing instructions on what needed to be changed.

“Switch the wig to a common brown, and change the lip color to a soft pink. Minimize the accessories as much as possible, and she’ll need to be changed into something more modest as well.”

“Understood. My lady, this way please.”

After Lea left guided by the maid, a peculiar silence settled over the room — over everyone except Razen, that is.