Chapter 117: Dissatisfaction
Chapter 117: Dissatisfaction
"Haa... I'm so lonely..."
The woman let out a deep sigh while slumped at her office desk. In the empty room, there was no one to answer her voice.
She was lonely. Terribly so. Though she met many people, conversed, and exchanged greetings in the midst of her busy schedule, the lump of loneliness wedged in her heart refused to dissolve.
After skimming through a stack of documents and confirming that her morning tasks were mostly handled, she gripped the barrel of her pen. Outside, it was still before the lunch hour; the hallways were silent, devoid of even the sound of footsteps.
‘If it’s now... it should be fine.’
She turned the pen upside down and lowered it beneath the desk. Lifting her skirt slightly, she slid the pen over her panties, pressing it against her exposed crotch.
As she firmly prodded her lonely labia through the fabric, her body gave a sharp shiver. Having gone so long without intimacy, her body was flushed and sensitized, finding pleasure in even the slightest stimulation.
She continued to stroke the vertical slit with the rounded cap of the pen, and soft moans began to escape her lips.
"Hngh... Haa...♡"
She knew better than anyone that she shouldn't be doing this in her office—especially now, when everyone else was working and she was supposed to be a role model—but her hand wouldn't stop, moving rhythmically to soothe her solitude.
A jolt. Unable to withstand the spine-tingling pleasure, she buried her face on the desk. Realizing she no longer needed to support her own weight, she focused all her senses on the friction between her thighs.
She could feel her panties growing damp as they soaked up her vaginal fluids. The moisture caused the fabric to cling tighter to her skin, making the sensation of the pen even more vivid, which in turn heightened the exquisite pleasure.
The stimulation below sent a rising heat surging through her core. It was easy to tell that this was the fuse leading toward a climax.
Every time she moved the pen, the fuse grew shorter, and her body burned hotter, beginning to tremble violently.
However, the wick that should have kept shortening suddenly stopped. It wouldn't burn any further. She needed the built-up tension to explode, but she simply couldn't reach that peak.
"I want to go...♡"
But she couldn't. No matter how much she pleasured herself alone, she could never reach a climax. She knew the reason all too well.
"Darling... I... I can't stand it..."
In the two years since her husband had passed away, she hadn't reached a climax even once. Her own hands weren't enough. No matter what tools she used or what she tried, she couldn't get there alone.
She needed a man. A man with a magnificent, long, and thick member. But as a noble and the Lady of the castle, she couldn't simply seek out a man if she wanted to maintain her chastity and integrity.
Yet, she was at her limit. What began as comforting herself in bed at night had gradually spiraled until she was spending her entire evening masturbating, and now, she couldn't even endure the working hours.
In these days where she felt she might truly go mad if she didn't release this stifling sexual desire, the unquenchable thirst only continued to pile up, layer by layer.
Knock, knock.
The sound of a knock and the presence of someone outside made her jump, her hand freezing instantly. She hadn't moaned that loudly, so surely nothing had been heard outside.
"My Lady, are you inside?"
"W-Wait just a moment."
Relieved by the familiar voice, she kept the person waiting at the door for a few seconds. If it was this person, they would likely keep quiet even if they had heard something.
She hurriedly wiped away her stray saliva, straightened her hair, and composed herself before letting the visitor in. It was the new Captain of the Guard, a woman with dazzling looks and sky-blue hair.
Having taken office only two weeks ago, she was a daughter of the Myers family who had been born and raised here. As a fellow noble of Capia, Erdia was already well-acquainted with her.
"Lady Erdia, I'm planning to recruit additional guard personnel for the castle. Is that alright?"
"Don't be so formal, Hilda. You can call me by my name when it's just the two of us."
The Captain of the Guard immediately dove into official business after her greeting. While she could seem a bit stiff, her thoroughness in everything she did made her highly trustworthy.
Erdia felt a bit guilty for taking such a talented individual away from the young Emperor, but the gap in security left by her late husband's death was not something she could handle alone.
She examined the recruitment plan Hilda handed over. The numbers, budget, and strategy were all flawless. Aside from the fact that there were quite a few women among the recruits, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"Mm, everything looks fine. I was actually considering increasing the patrol personnel within the castle myself. Proceed as planned."
"Yes, Lady Erdia. By the way... did you change your perfume? Your scent seems different..."
"Wh-What...!? Ahaha, how did you know? You certainly have an eye for detail, Hilda."
Just when she thought the report was over, Hilda had suddenly brought up her scent. Erdia panicked, barely managing to squeeze out an excuse.
‘Did I look strange?’
She was terrified that her masturbation in the office had been discovered, but fortunately, Hilda seemed to believe the excuse about the perfume.
"I see... I've actually been thinking about changing my perfume as well."
"Oh, really? I think you're perfect just the way you are, Hilda."
Erdia was inwardly surprised by Hilda's concern. Even to another woman, Hilda possessed a dazzling beauty that was easy to fall for.
In particular, her figure was so good that certain parts of her body were emphasized even through her dress-style armor, and the perfume she currently used was already quite charming.
"The thing is... there's a man I've become interested in..."
"Oh my, really!? I wonder who the lucky man is."
Though a widow, Erdia was still in the prime of her late twenties. It was only natural for her to be curious about the love life of someone like Hilda, who was around the age of a younger sister.
Hilda blushed, unable to meet Erdia's eyes out of embarrassment, but eventually gave in to her superior's curious gaze and began to open up.
"Umm... how should I put it? He's incredibly cute and small, and he listens to me so well that he's like a puppy. He just turned twenty."
"What? Twenty? Goodness. Any younger and it would have been a scandal."
From the way she spoke, they sounded almost like lovers. A sweet romance with a younger man... For Erdia, whose only experience with romance was her late husband who had been older than her, it was something she slightly envied.
"And he's so good in bed... I've never felt that good before."
"In... bed..."
"Ah, I'm sorry. I got too comfortable and spoke out of turn."
Erdia shook her head to show it was fine, her mind lingering on the ecstatic expression Hilda had worn for a moment. If a girl like Hilda said it felt good enough to make her slip up like that, it must have been truly incredible.
If it felt that good, surely even a widow like her... Erdia realized she was caught up in scandalous thoughts and quickly shook her head.
"Um... Lady Erdia? Are you alright? Did I perhaps offend you...?"
"N-No, it's nothing. I was just wondering what kind of amazing person he must be to capture your interest, Hilda."
Seeing Erdia's flustered reaction, Hilda smiled brightly and threw out the bait.
"In that case, would you like to meet him, Lady Erdia? Since he's someone I plan to see for a long time, I wanted to get your expert opinion."
"You flatter me too much, Hilda. I'm just a mere widow."
"That's not true, Lady Erdia. Who could ignore your achievements? You restored the declining Castle Capia and its surrounding territories in just two years after taking over. That's a massive feat."
Her husband, the former Lord of Capia, had been a kind man but lacked competence. Under the pressure of neighboring nobles and the internal strife of Anzence, he hadn't been able to manage the territory properly.
In contrast, Erdia was a skilled administrator who had turned Capia's finances around and brought stability to the region. Even as composed as she was, she couldn't help but be moved by such sincere praise.
"An opinion... I see. If you put it that way, shall I meet him? I've become curious about him myself."
"I'm sure you'll like him too, My Lady! ♡"
Following Hilda's confident suggestion, the two agreed to meet in the city after work.
Unlike Hilda, who had changed into practical trousers, Erdia wore a coat over the light skirt she had been wearing in the office.
After greeting each other again, Erdia followed Hilda toward the meeting place.
Walking behind Hilda, Erdia found herself feeling quite excited, imagining what kind of person Hilda had fallen for.
With Hilda's charms, it wouldn't be strange for any man to love her. On the other hand, wouldn't she prefer someone modest and thoughtful over someone flashy?
Lost in these girlish fantasies, she soon realized they had been walking for quite a while.
The scenery of the streets had changed. Instead of the lively avenues filled with people, they were now in the back alleys—a place even she, as the Lady of the castle, found difficult to manage.
Erdia reached out to stop Hilda, but because Hilda had shown nothing but reliability over the past two weeks, she suppressed her doubts and kept walking.
As they turned a corner, Hilda spotted the person she was meeting and ran toward him with a bright smile. Following behind, Erdia turned the corner and saw Hilda embracing a boy.
"Hilda? Is this the young man you mentioned?"
Judging by her reaction, this had to be the person, but he was far too different from what Erdia had imagined.
She had expected a tall, sturdy young man or perhaps a studious entrepreneur. The appearance of this black-haired boy was baffling.
Certainly, his looks were outstanding, and he had an appearance that triggered a protective instinct, but she couldn't imagine him as a partner for a serious relationship—one significant enough to consult her superior about.
"Then, allow me to introduce you. Lady Erdia, this is Jaejin, the one I am in a deep relationship with. Jaejin-nim, this is Lady Erdia, the Lord of Capia and my superior."
The boy named Jaejin gave off a strange atmosphere that contrasted with his gentle and fragile appearance.
Unable to move easily in that inexplicable aura, Erdia belatedly reacted to the hand Jaejin held out.
"I-I'm Jaejin. I hope to continue a good relationship with Hilda-ssi."
"I am Erdia. As the Lord of this place, I am Hilda's direct superior. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Jaejin's trembling reaction, perhaps due to nerves, easily broke the distance created by his mysterious atmosphere.
"Shall we go, then, Lady Erdia?"
As Hilda asked and began to lead the way, the two naturally followed behind her. Erdia walked while stealing glances at the boy, until they stopped in front of a building.
The Shadow of Lilim. The largest brothel in Capia's red-light district—a place Erdia had never been able to bring under her control—stood right before her eyes.