Chapter 9
“Huh?”
“What exactly is this clause?”
Edward’s beautiful eyes narrowed in apparent dissatisfaction.
The smile on his face remained, though it had somehow turned into the smile of someone who was mildly sulking.
Even when he’s frowning, he’s ridiculously handsome.
But instead of feeling her heart race, Lucy only wanted to pry his arm off her shoulder as quickly as possible.
To anyone else, his face was worthy of admiration, worship, and praise.
But to Lucy, who knew the rotten personality hidden beneath that beautiful exterior, Edward’s looks were nothing less than a ticking time bomb.
Edward could feel her shoulders shrinking nervously inside his embrace, yet she stubbornly refused to back down.
Well, well…
He looked down at her with amused eyes.
She’s obviously infatuated with me. I thought if I just smiled at her like this…
…she’d tear up that troublesome contract herself.
He hadn’t expected her to produce a written contract in the first place.
He’d assumed that if he treated her well and fed her properly, she’d simply follow him around obediently.
Instead…
A contract.
She’s smarter than I expected.
Even though she’d fallen for him, she’d managed to stay rational.
That alone deserved some recognition.
Edward knew perfectly well that although Lucy owed him her life…
If she walked away, he would be the one losing out.
Even if he imprisoned her by force, it would only hurt him if she refused to purify him.
That was why he’d intended to persuade her gently into tearing up the contract instead of intimidating her.
I can’t believe that didn’t work.
Usually it did.
Whenever he smiled pleasantly during a conversation, people became so overwhelmed they willingly acted exactly as he wished.
But this little mouse…
Her large, round eyes darted around anxiously.
Anyone could tell she was uncomfortable and desperately watching his mood.
Uncomfortable?
Nervous around me?
Even though someone as handsome as me is putting an arm around your shoulders?
Even though you like me?
For some reason…
He didn’t like that reaction at all.
Shouldn’t someone be delighted when the person they liked treated them this warmly?
In truth…
Edward himself was the one enjoying their physical contact.
Yet, in his mind, he regarded it as a favor he was bestowing upon her.
After all, he’d encountered countless people—regardless of gender—who would gladly risk their lives just for the chance to be embraced by him.
Even while feeling mildly offended…
The refreshing sensation flowing from where their shoulders touched brushed gently across his mind.
It felt as though the murky corruption inside him was settling down.
Just touching her has this much effect…
Then how incredible would actual purification feel?
And yet…
Once a week? Holding hands?
How could I possibly be satisfied with something like that?
Without realizing it…
Edward looked down at Lucy with the eyes of a predator.
Feeling an inexplicable chill, Lucy cautiously asked,
“…Which part don’t you like?”
“Are you joking?”
“No! I’m serious!”
As far as Lucy knew…
Edward was the strongest Dragon Incarnation in existence.
There’s no way the only Dragon Incarnation and the male lead could be weak.
And she wasn’t wrong.
What Lucy didn’t know was that the berserk episode he’d nearly suffered this time would’ve destroyed the world if it had happened to any other Dragon Incarnation.
Still…
Once a week sounds perfectly reasonable…
“…I thought it’d be better to keep physical contact to a minimum, so I wrote it that way…”
“Better?”
Lucy nodded earnestly.
Sure, this is technically an R-rated world where purification happens through intimate physical contact…
But even if the heavens split apart…
Even if Edward somehow became impotent…
Lucy had absolutely, positively, never-ever intended to end up in his bed.
To begin with…
Edward had hated purifying Sepina.
Would purification with her really be any different?
Besides… in these dark R-rated novels…
Women who slept with the male lead instead of the heroine usually ended up being discarded after he realized,
“The woman I truly want isn’t her… it’s the heroine.”
Even Sepina had died a gruesome death in the original ending.
She had pretended to be the true saintess after eliminating the real one.
Her fate had been inevitable.
Lucy had no desire whatsoever to follow the same path.
I refuse to die as disposable material used to strengthen the romance between the male and female leads.
If she’d at least reincarnated as some villainess noble…
She would’ve had money.
Instead…
She was simply a penniless fugitive who had only just escaped captivity.
Besides…
Considering Edward’s current condition…
No matter how much purification he received…
“Ahem!”
There’s no need to reveal how much I know just yet.
Lucy cleared her throat and changed her approach.
“Hoho. I happened to overhear quite a few things while I was living in the temple.”
“Such as?”
“I heard that… every purification session with Lady Sepina was something you absolutely hated and merely endured.”
“Ah.”
“Since it seems you dislike the things required for purification… I thought limiting both the frequency and physical contact would be—”
“So they knew I hated it.”
Edward replied with the same smiling face.
Only…
His crimson eyes were frighteningly cold.
Feeling a chill run down her spine…
Lucy silently offered her condolences to the temple that was about to suffer the consequences.
Not that I’m actually sorry.
Good riddance.
She honestly believed an organization that kidnapped children and treated them like disposable tools deserved to collapse.
“And you cooperated with them despite knowing all that?”
“But I was just an experiment!”
Edward tilted his head.
“If you even heard that I hated it, doesn’t that mean you were fairly close to the temple?”
“I didn’t hear it directly! I… I could feel your emotions myself!”
“What?”
She wasn’t making it up.
Whenever Sepina underwent purification with Edward…
Lucy’s own body reacted as well.
Only my hands reacted, though.
Her palms would become unbearably hot.
And every so often…
A sharp sensation, like being pierced by needles, would pass through them.
Not affection.
Hatred.
Disgust.
Rage.
I’m pretty sure those emotions came from the Duke.
Remembering that murderous aura made the back of her neck damp with cold sweat.
“You felt it?”
Hearing Edward repeat those words made her feel even colder.
Wait…
If I tell him I felt everything during his purification…
Doesn’t that basically sound like I secretly watched his intimate moments?
Wow.
Even she’d be creeped out by that.
Cold sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades.
All the confidence she’d shown earlier vanished in an instant.
“Well…”
Edward still looked down at her with obvious amusement.
His lips smiled.
His eyes didn’t.
“How much?”
“…”
“How much did you feel?”
Slowly…
Edward’s fingers brushed along her forearm.
As though measuring exactly how deeply she’d trespassed into his private moments.
“Hic!”
A startled hiccup escaped her.
The instant she sensed genuine danger…
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut and blurted,
“N-not that much!”
“Really?”
“Hoho! Of course! Other than realizing Your Grace is… exceptionally skilled…”
How skilled did he have to be for my hands to get that hot?
Her hands were directly connected to the chains that drained her holy power.
Naturally…
Edward and Sepina’s intimate purification sessions had been vividly transmitted through them.
If those sensations had spread through her entire body instead…
Ugh…
Lucy turned pale and shook her head.
Then…
“Hah.”
A low, refreshing laugh escaped Edward.
Lucy blinked in surprise and looked up.
“Hahaha…!”
What?
The Dragon Incarnation…
Was laughing.
Not his usual seductive smile.
Not his mocking smile.
But the bright, genuine laughter of a carefree young man.
Now what’s gotten into him?
Anyone else would’ve found the sight breathtaking.
To Lucy…
It only felt as though she’d just pressed the button on a bomb.
This is terrifying!
While Lucy experienced an entirely different kind of horror…
Edward finally stopped laughing and tilted his head.
“You really are shameless.”
Immediately…
Lucy felt wronged again.
“No, that’s not what I meant!”
“And yet you exercised this much restraint in your contract?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
“Why not increase both the frequency… and the level of physical contact?”
“…”
“I might even agree.”
Edward meant every word.
With Sepina…
Holding hands had already been his absolute limit.
Even then…
He’d only imagined pretending to kiss the back of her hand before biting it off instead.
But now…
She was saying he was skilled?
Does she know, or doesn’t she?
He couldn’t help letting out another amused laugh.
He almost wanted to teach her what real skill looked like.
If it were this woman…
Kissing the back of her hand…
Didn’t seem unpleasant at all.
Maybe…
Even kissing her cheek wouldn’t bother him.
After all…
The faint imprint of House Tesseron’s crest still remained on her cheek.
For some reason…
He found himself wanting to bite it.
She seems to be in love with me anyway.
Surely she wouldn’t mind that much.
Unfortunately…
His sincere suggestion was interpreted very differently.
Is this some kind of trap question?
Lucy simply couldn’t believe Edward would ever ask her, instead of the heroine, to increase the frequency or intimacy of purification.
Is he testing me?
At this point…
There seemed little point in hiding what she knew.
So Lucy abandoned her earlier caution and answered casually.
“Oh, come on. I know you don’t really mean that.”
“Why not?”
“Because increasing the number of purification sessions wouldn’t help you anyway.”
“Wouldn’t help?”
“Yes.”
“Because…”
Rustle.
Just as Lucy concentrated on explaining…
Tepe and Gorgo returned with food, approaching out of habit without making the slightest sound.
Completely unaware of their arrival…
Lucy confidently declared,
“Because, Your Grace…”
“…you’re still an incomplete Dragon Incarnation.”
Shing!
“Ahhh!”
A sword flashed toward Lucy.
