Chapter 604
Chapter 604
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 604
Chapter Title: Back to Daily Life (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I carried the soundly sleeping Lurye upstairs, dumped her haphazardly on the bed—she was out so cold she wouldn't notice if I doodled on her face—and stepped out onto the terrace, lighting a cigarette.
My body felt heavy and sluggish.
Was it the fatigue piling up from wandering outside all this time?
Now that I was back in this familiar, comforting place, drowsiness came crashing over me.
"Phew..."
Chasing away the sleepiness with the plain tobacco smoke, I reviewed my upcoming schedule.
The cool night breeze helped clear my head a good deal.
"First up is the arm, I guess?"
The issue with the prosthetic arm I'd had installed with support from the Gemernai Count previously.
Thanks to Count Cohab's slapdash service, it still had zero sensation.
It moved freely enough that combat wasn't a big problem, but damn, was it inconvenient.
Count Cohab had promised to help with treatment in exchange for researching my body, so I'd shoved the matter to the back burner.
I was already treated like a raid mob as it was—if word got out about the magic amplification, stigma replication, and transplantation functions, there'd be no peace at all.
I'd consult with Yebin about this one.
"Next is Count Yesod."
The research on stigma transfer through intercourse had been stalled for about three months.
We'd originally planned experiments once a month.
Now that I was back in Gehenna, I figured I'd drop by around tomorrow.
"And the donation's the real headache..."
That was the biggest pain in the ass right now.
The amount Lurye needed to donate for citizenship came out to about 8 billion won.
Truth be told, even without clearing the trial, a quick raid on Akula's treasury would cover it easy.
It was money for Lurye herself, so no real guilt in swiping it.
The problem was Count Al bireo's conditions for providing the funds this time.
No help from anyone else. And the source of the money had to be crystal clear.
It sounded harsh at first glance, but it wasn't entirely unfair.
Al bireo had already been plenty generous, vouching with her 'name' for her son-in-law's brand-new girlfriend.
In other words, her demands were punishment for my recklessness—and a test.
"But where the hell am I supposed to scrape together 8 billion?"
Sharon had scraped together 1.3 billion over ten straight years playing debt slave.
Of course, she was 17th Hierarchy back then, and I was packing great witch-level power now, so the situations weren't exactly the same...
Deep in thought, I heard footsteps behind me and turned around.
"Enjoy your dinner?"
"Oh, Lady Deneb. Out for a stroll?"
"Yes, just before bed."
There stood Deneb in light clothes.
The scene gave off a strange sense of déjà vu.
Pale moonlight flowed over her round shoulders and the loose cascade of white hair.
The thin white nightdress was so revealing it was hard to know where to look—exactly like the outfit I'd seen her in constantly back when we were trapped in the fish tank together.
She'd at least had a cloak back then, but the season had shifted to a shawl now, making it even more distracting.
Was it the outfit? Daytime Deneb and nighttime Deneb had completely different vibes.
I knew I shouldn't stare, but my eyes were drawn to her exposed skin like some kind of inertia.
Her soft-looking cleavage, the fluffy hair at her ears like swan down, the elegant arch of her collarbones like fine architecture, the little mole beside her neck.
That last one especially stirred some seriously impious thoughts.
I knew exactly where those cute little moles dotted Deneb's secret spots.
"Ah..."
Finally noticing my gaze, Deneb clutched her shawl closed and shyly dropped her eyes.
Even that expression felt familiar.
Apparently, three months wasn't enough to dim the allure of her seductive side.
"Uh... sorry. It wasn't like I wanted to look or anything..."
"A man can't help himself. Strictly speaking, it's my charm that's to blame."
Deneb brushed off the awkwardness with a joke.
I was a little touched.
Was this really the Little Mother-in-law I knew?
The venomous, autumn viper sharpness was long gone.
No coquettish airs—just a warm maternal glow that would indulge even the pettiest whims.
I'd clearly racked up massive points with her, both at our first reunion and over dinner tonight.
Deneb glided over quietly, like walking on water, and stood right beside me.
She placed a hand on the terrace railing overlooking the garden.
"......"
"......"
Truth be told, it was pretty damn awkward.
We'd clearly agreed to bury everything from the fish tank right there in the fish tank.
But a relationship that had already shifted once...
It might not be so easy to ctrl+z it back to a blank slate.
In the long silence, I quietly stubbed out my cigarette in the case.
That's when Deneb spoke up.
"Nice cool night air. Even though summer's almost here."
"Want this?"
I shrugged off my jacket quick and draped it over her shoulders.
It hit me again just how big the size difference was between a man and a woman.
Her slender frame was practically swallowed up by the coat.
"Thank you."
"No big deal."
Her eyes widened in mild surprise before she smiled her thanks.
"By the way, wasn't trying to eavesdrop or anything. But what's this about 8 billion?"
She already knew I'd secured Lurye's citizenship using the Gemernai family's pull.
But when I explained the whole story about having to cover the donation myself, Deneb's eyes went wide like it was news to her.
"Something like that happened, huh."
"I see it as my responsibility to handle."
"......"
Deneb pursed her lips like a clam for a moment—then made an unexpected offer.
"Si-woo."
"Yes."
"Want me to help?"
"Got a good idea?"
She nodded.
"My secret funds could cover that amount no problem."
"You mean you'd pay it outright?"
"Yes."
I'd figured she'd line up some way for me to earn it legit, not just straight-up front the massive sum.
Of course, for Deneb—who ran dinosaur-level companies not just in Gehenna but the modern world too—it was pocket change...
"In the end, it's my fault you're in this mess."
"I really appreciate the thought. But I don't think that'd work."
But it was money I straight-up couldn't take.
This was the Big Mother-in-law's test from the jump.
Handing over cash from the Little Mother-in-law? I'd be ground to dust.
Just imagining Al bireo finding out and blowing up about what my deal was with Deneb sent chills down my spine.
"Still... I want to help somehow..."
"If you insist, I'd be grateful if you could scout some suitable part-time gigs."
"Will that be enough? Fake employment if it comes to it?"
"No, no, really, I'm good."
"I could cook the books clean, no slip-ups."
Fake job? Falsifying records? Was that even safe?
Even ignoring safety, it was a tough sell when I was trying to prove everything legit.
I turned down all the shady offers, and Deneb pouted, clearly bummed she couldn't do more.
"Well, if that's how you feel, nothing I can do. Heading in."
Her voice had a peevish edge now—finally a glimpse of the old Deneb.
Rather a relief.
"Si-woo, there's a stain on your jacket."
As she went to hand back the jacket, Deneb paused—then hugged it to her chest again.
"Huh? Where?"
I craned to look, but it was tucked snug against her, hard to see.
Deneb jumped in quick.
"Probably too tiny to spot. Looks like from dinner—I'll have it laundered and get it back to you tomorrow."
"Huh?"
"Good night."
She vanished in quick steps before I could stop her.
I called thanks to the back of her head, but no reply.
"What the hell was that?"
No clue whatsoever.
2.
The quiet dead of night, everyone fast asleep.
Deneb quietly opened Si-woo's door and slipped inside.
"This late, he has to be alone..."
Her heart pounded.
On the moonlit bed, innocent Si-woo slept oblivious to the world.
Down to his panties.
Every ridge of his sharply defined muscles was on full display—perfect for hanging laundry from above.
-Click
"Lullaby."
She locked the door against any intruders and sang her sleep spell.
Even major disturbances wouldn't wake him now.
No one left to interrupt Deneb.
The thrill born from that certainty.
Burying the guilt and shame for feeling that thrill deep in her chest, she approached the bed.
Pushing her forward was a desire fiercer than any guilt or shame.
The desire to hold him, to be held by him, to whisper love to him.
She quietly slipped off his underwear.
The thick, hard shaft that had churned her insides time and again stood tall to the heavens.
And Deneb's desire ran deep enough to embrace that towering erection.
The moonlight felt too exposing, so she closed her eyes.
Hands on his firm chest, she mounted him like astride a horse.
"Haa..."
His musky scent mingled with the thrill of taboo into a heady cocktail.
The sinful pleasure flooding her senses numbed her brain.
"Si-woo... sorry. Haa, sorry... I'm so sorry... I know I shouldn't... but..."
Muttering futile apologies nonstop, Deneb rocked her hips gently atop him.
Her waist swayed soft as a leaf on ripples—then went rigid.
"Haaaang...!"
A moan too intense to stifle.
An orgasm tangled with a storm of emotions.
As she basked in the afterglow, her eyelids fluttered—then she flopped sideways.
A rough drop from cowgirl like that could've meant penile fracture disaster, but no such thing happened.
"......"
It was all just Deneb's fantasy to begin with.
Curled up like a baby, she sniffed the scent clinging to his jacket.
Her drenched fingers only amplified the pathos.
"Where did it all go wrong..."
Back when Si-woo went missing.
Deneb had seen it as heaven's punishment for her own incestuous sin.
She was the one who'd steered a routine mana charge into sticky, intimate sex—who'd done the seducing.
So she'd vowed to heaven: if he returned safe, she'd give up everything else.
Never look at him with longing eyes again. Go back to how it was, like nothing ever happened.
But the moment she saw him back, her resolve crumbled like a house of cards.
No matter how she steeled herself staring at the twins, she couldn't hold it together.
She felt a transcendent impulse hurling her aside.
Even now, she'd spun a flimsy lie to snag his jacket and was panting away sniffing his scent.
Chasing that dizzy pleasure came nothing but bleak guilt and self-loathing.
"Haa..."
This late-blooming love, crashing into her at the tail end of life, tormented Deneb like a fever.