Chapter 388
Chapter 388
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 388
Chapter Title: Shared Secret (4)
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1.
"Hah..."
Diana, who had returned from Tarot Town loaded down with books, lay sprawled on the bed with her chin propped on the pillow.
Her thoughts tangled up for all sorts of reasons, she'd spent the last three hours frozen in place, just murmuring to herself.
"When you think about it... that was my first kiss..."
The word "first" carries immense weight.
It's why the world only remembers number ones.
Why terms like "original" or "pioneer" get treated as the best.
Diana knew better than anyone what a first kiss meant.
She'd seen it plenty in her mom's novels.
Truth be told, she'd thought about it before: kissing was an incredibly filthy act.
Why does being next to someone sneezing make you uncomfortable?
Why do you want to spit on the face or clothes of someone you despise?
Because saliva is dirty.
Yet pressing your lips—the very gateway to that saliva—against someone else's.
And worse, mingling the tongues slathered in it.
That this was a symbol of love was one of the greatest mysteries of Diana's life.
What could possibly be good about it?
Diana stretched out her arm and pinched her own lips.
She recalled the moment their mouths had met.
Siu, who bore her weight easily even as she hung from his neck.
His soft, tender lips, slightly rough and unusually hot against hers.
Her heart pounding like it was broken.
None of it felt unclean.
It was more like a spell that naturally resolved all her lingering doubts.
"..."
The excuse about having leverage over him.
Yeah, an excuse.
Sin Siu had already proven his trustworthiness to her in countless ways.
And Diana trusted his handshake promises without question.
She'd kissed him simply because she wanted to.
"Everything's all jumbled up..."
So why had she asked him to seduce her mother?
Why hand him a strategy guide and beg him to take away the tutor she didn't want to lose?
Even now, savoring the lingering aftertaste of that kiss, she felt an inexplicable possessiveness watching him embrace her mother.
"Guess I need a drink."
Such contradictory behavior must stem from her love for her mother outweighing her feelings for Sin Siu.
That was the conclusion Diana had reached for now.
2.
Diana's bold and bizarre proposal had been tabled for now, with no answer given.
"...Man, what can you even say to that."
Her daughter offering her body as payment to seduce her mother.
It was an utterly depraved suggestion.
Of course, considering Diana's tendency to spiral into wild antics when she got impulsive.
He figured her idea came from some painfully simplistic line of thinking.
For someone as innocent about romance as Diana.
Problem 1: I don't want Mom to leave.
Solution 1: If Mom gets a new boyfriend, maybe she won't.
Problem 2: To get someone to seduce Mom, I need to offer good terms.
Solution 2: I'll give him my body.
Trying to solve both at once led to this absurd outcome.
Like how a naive child's "solution" can sometimes be eerily off-putting.
"Should I tell her...?"
Why Diana stubbornly clung to her unproductive laziness.
Should he pass it on to Countess Yesod for a real fix, or stay silent to honor his bond with Diana?
Tough call.
In the private lab Countess Yesod had set up for him.
Sitting in a chair, smoking, Siu's eyes fell on the stack of books on the table.
Public enemy records and a dozen or so volumes Diana had picked out.
With awkward timing until the tutoring session, maybe skim these?
Siu opened a book whose title he hadn't even properly read before.
"Sweeter Than Cocoa... A romance novel?"
This one wasn't handwritten—printed, with no leather cover or even hardcover.
A cheap romance novel any commoner could afford without worry.
Who knew the Countess had such girly tastes.
People really are full of surprises.
Siu flipped through it casually.
Roughly, it was about a witch falling for a young man she'd been close to since her apprentice days.
First time reading this genre, but pretty fun.
Rich vocabulary, solid prose.
Scattered with delicate emotional descriptions that kept it engaging.
"Hm?"
About a quarter in, an explicit sex scene hit.
"Well, happens."
Sex is one of humanity's base desires, so elements catering to it slip easily into pop culture.
Just look at Korean pansori or folk songs.
Last night, holding Countess Yesod, he'd realized she was just a woman too.
With her strict orthodox witch image softened, no shock if she enjoyed these novels.
But the story soon surpassed Siu's understanding.
After various events, the witch awakens to masochistic pleasure.
And poses as the male lead's maid, submitting to him.
"What the hell is this."
Every kind of play imaginable.
Getting her ass spanked with a modified magical whip, outdoor exposure, even modern-world adult toys for all sorts of training sessions.
Beyond sweet romance into sticky, overt sex scenes nonstop?
"...This is straight-up erotica?"
Siu quickly skimmed the others to check.
Now he saw the titles were all suspicious.
Devilish Delivery Girl, The Bored Witch's Dangerous Pranks, The Debt-Ridden Witch's Repayment Life, How Butterfly Flowers Wilt...
All high-heat stuff.
And the common thread: dominant man, submissive witch.
Clear dynamic.
Style and tastes matched perfectly.
Definitely the same author.
"Head's spinning."
The Countess had this secret kink?
But Diana picked these books.
So contrary to his assumptions, she knew everything...
Though her reaction at the host club—freaking out over the twins kissing him—didn't seem fake.
Had she learned since then?
As Siu reeled in confusion.
"Siu? Are you in there?"
The Countess entered.
3.
Countess Yesod's day flew by in a blur.
Lunch with Countess Deneb Jemernai after meeting Shriya in Border Town.
Then discussions with Duke Erelim on reorganizing the academic conference structure.
Meeting her proxy to fine-tune modern-world business details, receiving reports, issuing directives.
Dinner with Diana.
Only now could she finally catch her breath.
All that remained was the private lesson with Siu she'd been eagerly awaiting.
Truth be told, a slightly "novel research" session was planned for today.
"Mana recharge through intercourse..."
Last night and this morning.
She'd observed something defying common sense when Siu ejaculated.
Pure, pristine mana absorbed alongside her own, multiplying and returning several times over.
By his account, it happened with creampies.
Every witch's mana capacity differs wildly.
Set by stigma and nature magic systems, unrelated to rank.
Even for grand witches, fully depleting and re-self-generating takes two weeks at best, a month or more at worst.
Mana potions shorten it, but under a week is rare.
Yet Siu's method shattered that "common sense."
Even empty, her mana would fill completely.
Lucy Yesod was a witch.
Up to last night, she'd been too lost in the pleasure he gave to pay mind, but this anomaly now piqued her interest.
Thus, they'd agreed to explore mana recharge effects after tutoring.
"Oh my..."
Research or not, it boiled down to sex.
Tonight, she'd be in his firm embrace again, showing her most shameful side.
Even using research as cover, requesting sex back-to-back might make her seem too brazen.
Worried how showing up before tutoring time, acting needy, would look to him...
A bit embarrassing.
"It's for research..."
But this was for science!
With self-justification sorted, Countess Yesod opened the lab door.
"Siu? Are you in there?"
The moment she stepped in, Siu suddenly busied himself.
A flurry of rustling as things on the desk vanished, wrapped in dark ribbons.
"Oh, you're here? It's early... Work wrapped up quick, huh."
And there he sat, posture stiff and awkward, forcing a smile at her.
Deeply suspicious.
"My, my?"
Under her curious gaze, he grew even more awkward.
So ferocious once atop the bed, yet so innocently dopey now.
That gap only inflamed her more.
"Hiding something...? Or am I imagining it?"
"N-No way."
She smirked playfully.
Maybe fantasizing about her and jerking off?
Or sneaking off with her panties or something.
"Were you up to something naughty alone?"
"No way. This is a lab."
"Then show me what you're hiding?"
"Hiding what..."
"I saw it all. Desk cleanup with ribbons the second I walked in."
Clack-clack went her heels as she perched on the desk where Siu sat.
Books scattered right below.
Paper quality and damaged covers screamed non-academic—not magic tomes.
"Books, huh?"
"Countess, it's not—"
Seeing her eyes lock on them, Siu panicked visibly, trying to deflect.
She smiled.
Adorable.
Reading sensual novels, maybe?
"What fun book has our Siu so engrossed...?"
Telekinesis pulled one into her hand.
"...?"
One glance at the title, and her composure cracked.
Eyes trembling, she scanned the rest.
"..."
Speechless.
Every book under his desk was an erotic novel penned by Countess Yesod herself.
"H-How, how did you get these?!"
"...Is this really your taste...?"
"N-No! I mean, yes I wrote them, but...! Creative work and an author's urges are separate! Siu! How dare you insult Lucy Yesod?!"
"No intent to insult..."
"Ah... Aah..."
Unable to bear the shame, she covered her face.
No clue how they ended up with him, but her face burned like fire.
Scenes and lines from her novels flashed through her mind like a panorama.
Her private, shameful hobby for self-satisfaction—now all seen by him?
Her dignity as Countess.
Her prestige as an older woman.
All her carefully maintained facade shattered.
"..."
Books Diana fetched.
Her own novels, no less.
Siu was a bit stunned.
"I don't really mind. Honest."
"...Just... leave me alone for a bit..."
Siu patted her shoulder comfortingly, and she huddled there, swallowing her embarrassment for a good while.