Chapter 67
Chapter 67
Uh.
'You, you went too far.'
Damn.
Tap-tap.
Before I could even take back what I'd said, Viscountess Müller rushed right up to me.
Just one step.
The distance closed by that single step was devastating as hell.
A dizzyingly close distance, close enough for our breath to touch.
The thick, earthy scent unique to her body, mixed in with the sweet fragrance of a luxury perfume, washed over me.
"You should've said so sooner."
Viscountess Müller's red lips curved into an alluring arc.
"If you'd told me an older woman was fine too, I wouldn't have gone around in circles. I would've just devoured you and made you mine."
Oh damn.
Damn.
It felt as though the very foundations of my firmly established tastes were shaking to the roots.
I'd always believed, without a shred of doubt, that my ideal type was pale, fair, and pure-looking.
And yet, in front of this healthy, provocative, bronze-skinned older beauty, my pupils were shaking helplessly, as if bewitched.
'Quit getting excited, heart.'
I know it's biologically unavoidable. Jeez.
I barely managed to suppress my pounding heart and answered.
"That's a very aggressive line."
"Oh my."
Viscountess Müller narrowed her eyes and gave a wicked smile.
"Are you making a pun because you have nothing to say?"
"......"
"If you keep that up, I'm going to get embarrassed and have no choice but to think you tacitly agreed."
Swish.
She casually reached out and rested a hand on my shoulder.
The warmth from her fingertips sent a thrilling jolt down my spine.
Her fragrance thickened until it seemed to numb my nose.
This older sister's push-and-pull game was no child's play.
I felt like a herbivore standing before a seasoned predator.
In the end, I had no choice but to throw in the towel.
"I'm sorry, so could you please stop?"
"Why?"
"Because it feels like my heart's about to burst."
My brutally honest answer made the smile on Viscountess Müller's lips deepen.
She withdrew the hand from my shoulder and smiled lightly.
"If you ever change your mind, tell me. I'm open, you know."
"Quit teasing me. If you play that trick on me a second time, my heart won't survive it."
"So that means you got excited?"
"......"
Ah, this auntie wasn't going to let even one thing slide.
She'd blocked off every escape route at the source.
Come to think of it, had this woman always been this beautiful?
I thought the glow came from her being rich, but her looks alone were enough to steal a person's soul.
Damn, am I seriously fucked?
When I stood there dazed and slack-jawed, Viscountess Müller burst out laughing.
"Ahahaha! I'm joking. No need to get so stiff."
"For a joke, that was a little too powerful."
"You were the one who started it, saying you'd even lick my toes and all that. I just fired back because I didn't want to lose, so relax."
She gave a light wink and headed out.
* * *
Only an empty lunchbox sat on the desk.
Lily rested her chin on both hands and grinned goofily at the air.
"I wonder where Lord Cassian went, heeey."
Her muttered words drifted through the air like cotton candy.
The taste of tender boiled pork and soft roast beef still seemed to linger in her mouth.
"It was so delicious, hehe."
It wasn't just that the food suited her taste and left her in a good mood.
It was a dish prepared carefully just for her, with her tastes in mind.
It was that indifferent yet gentle hand, using a fork to feed it straight into her mouth.
Lily's white cheeks flushed red like an apple.
In her previous life, she had lived as a saint who served God.
She'd spent her life sweetly reciting only agape, unconditional sacrifice, and service to all.
But she was only now realizing she'd been completely ignorant of what "true affection" meant when directed at oneself.
Those brief moments she'd shared with Cassian.
The way he looked at the world and at people with such kind, loving eyes.
Every little favor he casually threw her way was moistening Lily's parched heart and making it bloom.
"Hehe. I'm glad I got hurt."
A dangerous line, shocking enough to make even her startled at saying it aloud.
That was how sincere she was.
Her knees hurt so badly they felt ready to shatter, and her wrists had trembled all night from the punishment.
'Because Lord Cassian looked at me with such a worried expression.'
His deep concern for her, hidden behind that usual look of annoyance.
His kindness in feeding her meat directly because her trembling hands couldn't even manage to eat properly.
All of it made her chest swell.
'Of course, I shouldn't abuse that.'
She didn't want to become a bad person who shrewdly took advantage of Cassian's kindness.
She had no intention whatsoever of pretending to be hurt or putting on a sick act just to crave more of his kindness.
Just this moment.
This dazzling afternoon of peace, with a full stomach and a heart just as full, was simply too beautiful.
Knock, knock.
"...... Huh?"
The knock broke the laboratory's silence.
Lily tilted her head toward the door.
'Has Lord Cassian already come back?'
He'd only just gone out after saying he had something to do.
Though she was surprised, she was glad to see him, so Lily called out to the door in an eager voice.
"Who is it?"
"It's me. Lily."
"...... Huh?"
The answer she heard wasn't Cassian's gruff low voice.
An elegant, gentle voice, familiar and brimming with the easy confidence of someone with money to spare.
It was Master Müller.
'Master?'
At that moment, a tiny pang of disappointment popped like a bubble in one corner of her heart.
Disappointment that it wasn't Cassian.
Still, she was definitely someone she would never refuse to see.
She was a reliable guardian and teacher who truly cared for her.
Lily hurriedly stood up and grabbed the doorknob, then froze.
'Can I open it?'
Cassian had definitely made it very clear before he left.
To lock the door tight and not take even a single step outside, and stay quietly put.
But.
'Still, Master wouldn't be one of the people Cassian said not to open the door for carelessly.'
Because she wasn't a bad person.
Lily finished rationalizing it to herself and cheerfully turned the doorknob.
Click, creak.
"Master! Welcome— ah."
When the door opened, Lily's eyes went wide.
Beyond the door, there wasn't only Master Müller in a dirt-stained leather apron.
Behind her.
"......"
A man standing with his back against the wall.
It was Cassian, whom Lily had just been desperately calling for in her heart a moment ago, standing there with his weight on one leg.
"Lord Cassian!"
Lily's face lit up in an instant.
But Cassian only gave a perfunctory little wave, his expression oddly stiff.
Why was he like that?
Then Master Müller turned her head toward Cassian and said,
"Wait here for a moment."
"Yes, ma'am."
Master Müller snorted with amusement and slipped lightly into the laboratory.
Then she immediately turned back and shut the door firmly.
Clack, click!
The sound of the double lock being fastened rang out with an especially heavy thud.
'What's going on?'
Lily swallowed.
She couldn't just speak carelessly.
Because her teacher's expression, always relaxed and kind, was now subtly chilled.
A cold face that made her wonder if she'd done something wrong.
But when her eyes met Lily's, her teacher smiled softly again.
"Did you eat well?"
"Yes. Ah, yes! Lord Cassian packed a whole lot of delicious food for me, so..."
"I see. I'm glad you ate well and got your fill. I came to check on something for a moment."
"Check on... what? What... are you talking about!"
If it was her teacher's request, she was ready to answer faithfully to anything.
Lily clenched both fists and answered spiritedly.
However, the next words out of her teacher's mouth were enough to briefly freeze Lily's thoughts.
"Take off your skirt."
"...... Huh?"
Lily's mouth hung open like an idiot.
Her brain refused to process the information.
"I-I just..."
"You didn't hear wrong. Take off your skirt, and take off the stockings underneath too."
"...... M-Master?"
"Hurry up. We don't have time."
Her teacher urged her on, sitting elegantly on the sofa with her legs crossed.
'What is this situation?'
Lily's face flushed bright red, as if it might burst.
No matter that they were both women and that this was her teacher, to suddenly demand that she strip down below the waist in the middle of a bright laboratory in broad daylight...
As Lily clutched the hem of her skirt tightly and didn't know what to do, her teacher let out a small sigh.
"Don't misunderstand. It's not like I have some weird taste and want to look at your bare legs."
"T-Then why...?"
"Cassian reported something to me."
"Lord Cassian did?"
"Yeah. He said our sweet, obedient little puppy of a disciple looked like she'd suffered some brutal abuse from that old cardinal last night."
Thud.
Lily felt as if her heart had dropped to the floor.
The kneeling punishment ordered by the cardinal.
She hadn't told anyone, and she'd smiled brightly, trying hard not to let anyone notice.
She'd said it was just because praying was hard.
'How...'
She'd only shown Cassian her arms, not her legs.
"I don't know why he knew either. Anyway, that man really does have a sharp eye."
Her teacher added with a cheerful laugh.
"Anyway, hurry up and take it off."
Lily flinched as she looked at her teacher saying that.
'Uh.'
What?
Lily suddenly felt like a herbivore standing before a carnivore.