ESL Chapter 50

“Your image changes quite dramatically depending on how you dress, miss. You’re a great beauty by nature, taking after His Grace, but I dare say you’ll break many a man’s heart.”

Razen glanced at the door Lea had gone through to change her clothes, then rose to his feet. He had been informed by MacLean that she was the heir to the ducal house. And that she would become his master in the future. For that reason, he too had to make a judgment — whether she was truly a master worthy of his service.

This affair should be more than enough to make that determination.

Holding the vision orb in his hand, Razen pulled his pocket watch from his pocket and checked the time. The appointed hour was nearly upon them. Since the butler of the Mihael ducal house disliked tardiness, he needed to escort the young lady out in time. What he had said to Ian was not a lie. The servant who would be moving alongside the butler was his subordinate, and would guide the young lady well. But that was the extent of what he could do — everything beyond that was something the young lady would have to resolve on her own.

Click.

He heard the door open again, and as he watched the girl who might one day become his mistress step out, he smiled quietly.

****

“Then, miss — please return safely.”

Razen had accompanied Lea to the vicinity of the meeting point with the Mihael ducal house’s butler, and when his subordinate arrived to take her the rest of the way, he took her hand, bowed his head, and pressed a courteous kiss to the back of it. Then he looked at his subordinate and spoke in a low but firm voice.

“Guster, under any circumstances, the young lady takes priority. In an emergency, being seen doesn’t matter. Once the young lady has safely entered his room, don’t forget to get out of the ducal residence quickly.”

“Understood, sir.”

Lea looked at the broad-shouldered man bowing to Razen. Guster was a handsome fellow with a shaved head and a warm, easygoing smile that made a strong impression. His inner presence, kept well in check behind that imposing frame, was no ordinary thing — if trouble arose, he would be a considerable fighting force. No wonder Razen trusted him enough to entrust her to his care.

“Shall we go, miss? I’ll escort you.”

Following the man through the alleyway, she caught sight of a plain, unmarked carriage and an elderly gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair standing before it. Guster approached the old man first, with Lea following slowly behind.

“You’re late.”

The moment they reached the carriage, the elderly gentleman’s cold reprimand came down on Guster. It was the sort of bearing that would crush an ordinary person, but Guster simply grinned and bowed his head.

“My apologies, sir. She’s a girl with quite the following — it wasn’t easy to sweet-talk her into coming.”

“…”

As the old butler’s sharp gaze fell on Lea, she assumed a prim expression and dropped her eyes demurely. The wide brim of her hat obscured much of her face, but the jaw line and lips visible beneath it betrayed a remarkable beauty. This one will satisfy Lord Cheor, the old butler thought, giving a nod of approval.

“Put her in.”

The carriage door swung open, and Lea climbed in with Guster’s assistance. The old butler and Guster appeared to take their seats up on the driver’s box. As the door closed and the carriage set off, Lea ran her fingers over the ring on her hand. She had committed the layout of Razen’s study to memory precisely, so using the ring to teleport there should pose no problem. The only challenge was not being discovered while she brought Luciel back to his senses — but the vision orb Razen had prepared for her should take care of that somehow. That was exactly why she had asked him for it. There was only one thing she was truly worried about: Luciel’s condition.

“Just hold on until I get there, Luciel. I’ll pull you out of that hell.”

She murmured quietly. While she was lost in thought, the carriage had already passed through an ornate gate and was rolling through a vast garden. A short while later, it came to a stop.

“Get out.”

The carriage door opened and the old butler spoke. Lea took Guster’s hand and stepped out slowly. Before her stood a grand and stately mansion that rivaled even the Kaien ducal residence in size. Truly fitting for the Mihael ducal house, whose lineage stretched back to the very founding of the empire.

Lea quietly followed the old butler as he walked inside. Guster walked beside her, and taking care not to be heard by the butler, he whispered low.

“We’re being brought to Cheor Lucan Mihael. He’s assessing whether you’re beautiful enough to seduce his nephew. Just avert your gaze slightly and you’ll be fine.”

“…”

Lea gave a slight nod to show she understood. Cheor Lucan Mihael… Luciel’s enemy… and hers. Her crimson eyes went cold and still.

****

“Your Grace. May I enter?”

“Come in.”

At the knock and the sound of old butler Theo’s voice, Cheor set down the documents he had been reviewing and settled deeper into his chair. Four days now — Luciel was holding out more stubbornly than expected, but Cheor felt not the slightest trace of anxiety. On the contrary, whenever he thought of bringing that troublesome young beast to its knees at his feet, a fierce surge of pleasure welled up from somewhere deep inside him.

What does it matter if he’s the legitimate heir. A thin, cold smile curved his lips. If the legitimate bloodline was so important — if that was why he could not have this ducal house — then he simply had to make a legitimate heir. The aphrodisiac he was using on Luciel was the most potent of its kind, and with prolonged use it not only drove its victim to madness but functioned as a slow-acting poison that brought death by degrees. Luciel, in the end, was nothing more than a tool for producing that heir.

It was not as though the elders had raised no objections to his pinning a murder charge on his adopted daughter and imprisoning the legitimate heir of the house at his own whim. But with more than half the factions already under his control, those elders were nothing but toothless old tigers to him.

“I’ve brought her.”

At Theo’s words, Cheor raised his eyes to the woman standing beside him.

“Take off your hat.”

At his command, Lea obediently raised her hand and removed the hat she was wearing. As the hat came off and her appearance was revealed, Cheor let out a low sound of admiration. Despite the unremarkable hair color and the somewhat plain, modest dress she wore, she was a stunning beauty whose looks drew the eye irresistibly. The slight downward cast of her gaze only made her look more enticing. If she weren’t being sent to Luciel, she was the sort he’d want to press down for himself. She was on an entirely different level from the three women brought before.

“You’ve done well this time.”

At Cheor’s praise, Theo bowed with evident pleasure.

“She’s a woman who serves only high nobility, Your Grace. I understand it took considerable effort to persuade her.”

“So it appears. She pleases me.”

Cheor rose from his chair. He crossed to Lea, took her chin in his hand, and tilted it up to make her look at him. Through the thick, dark lashes cast down over her eyes, a glimpse of gem-like crimson irises caught his interest. As the thumb holding her chin idly brushed across her full lips, he felt the woman’s body go rigid.

“Even if Luciel refuses her, don’t send this one to the knights — bring her to me.”

Cheor slowly withdrew his hand from the woman’s face, twisting his lips into a smile. Whether or not this woman managed to seduce Luciel, it seemed today was going to be quite a pleasant day.

****

Lea left the study following Theo and was handed over to Guster.

“Are you all right, miss?”

Noting that her expression had stiffened somewhat, Guster asked carefully, concern in his voice. He worried she might have been frightened. But his concern turned out to be needless.

“What a serpent of a man. That Cheor Lucan Mihael. Ugh, revolting.”

Recalling the feel of his hand against her lips, Lea shuddered visibly with disgust.

“Ha… you’ve read him exactly right, miss. Cheor Lucan Mihael is a cunning and cruel man indeed.”

As they made their way toward the room where Luciel was being held, Guster and Lea spoke quietly. Through him, she was able to learn something of how Luciel had grown up and why he had once left the ducal house.

“He’s a pitiable soul, young Master Luciel. Even so, he tried his utmost not to stand against his own blood — and now he’s been dealt a proper blade in the back.”

Guster clicked his tongue with a look of sorrow, then fell silent as the knights guarding the corridor came into view. Lea, too, realizing they were nearly at the room where Luciel was being held, quietly fell in step behind him. A few minutes more and a door guarded by four knights with swords in hand came into view. As Guster approached the door, the knights drew their blades in unison.

“I’ve come by His Grace’s orders to bring a woman in.”

Guster stepped back as he spoke, and the knights’ gazes shifted to Lea standing behind him. She had her hat on, but they could tell plainly enough that she was a beauty — their suspicions dissolved, they resheathed their swords and stepped aside. One of the knights produced a key and unlocked the door.

“Go in.”

The door opened, and Lea stepped inside without hesitation. She heard the door close behind her and scanned the room. The light flowing from a mana stone cast a soft glow throughout the space, but it was enough only to make out shapes — the room was dim. Her eyes swept the room searching for Luciel, and then brightened as they found a silhouette leaning against the wall.