Chapter 524
Chapter 524
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 524
Chapter Title: Doctor Gam Deok-bae (60)
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Serpin's bold claim that his skills were top-notch turned out to be true. Dirk Ruin had overturned the verdict that treatment was impossible and fully cured all fifteen soldiers. His presence became a tremendous asset. Morale among the troops soared. Comrades who had suffered under curses and finally returned to take up their spears again. It was a precious gift received just before setting out on the expedition.
"Lucius, sir."
"Mm. Let's head out."
Thanks to that, Lucius even found himself with some spare time.
Normally, he would have gone to the infirmary to help with treatments, but today was different. Instead of the infirmary, he headed to Chloe's workshop. It was a perfectly reasonable excuse to prepare for the upcoming expedition. Using that as a pretext, he planned to spend more time with Chloe.
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Yes, thank you."
In truth, he hadn't been this interested in her at first.
He'd only thought of her as a treatment to cure his headaches.
But as time spent by her side gradually increased,
his feelings naturally began to change.
Her lovely face, her gentle smile, her kind and pure heart. Just looking at her warmed a person's soul... like morning sunlight. Through Chloe, Lucius was reminded of his own mother. The mother he both loved and hated to the point of loathing. But unlike her, Chloe still smiled brightly at him...
Lucius wanted her.
He desired her.
And so today, once again, he went to find Chloe.
"L-Lucius, sir?! What brings you here..."
"Chloe's not here."
"Ah, uh, she hasn't arrived yet."
But Lucius didn't know the first thing about 'dating.' He liked Chloe and had fallen in love with her... but inexperienced as he was, he had no idea how to go about being with a woman. If he had any emotional leeway, he might have pushed forward boldly... but with his trauma, he couldn't help being timid. And so, his chosen method was to show up unannounced. For now, he just wanted to increase the time they spent together.
"Hmm, she's late..."
-Bang!
"Sorry, everyone! I overslept because I forgot... Eeeee?!"
"You're ten minutes late."
"L-Lu... Lucius, sir?! Why is Lucius here..."
"Is there some special reason you can't meet with me?"
"N-No, not at all... Ah, ahaha..."
"I'm not here to scold you, so sit down."
A rare, unguarded side of Chloe that he never usually saw. Lucius was glad he'd come early. Her disheveled hair and rumpled clothes. A pathetic look she only showed to people she was comfortable with. Strangely, even that was endearing on Chloe.
"I'm sorry..."
"Not getting enough sleep again?"
"Ahaha... Well..."
"Because of the expedition?"
"......Yes."
"Don't worry. You won't be in any danger, so rest easy."
"Even so... everyone else will be in danger."
"......I'll make sure nothing like that happens."
She's on a different wavelength, as always.
Chloe, who worried more about others than herself. For her sake alone, he vowed to make the expedition a success without a single casualty... reassuring her in a low voice. Soon after, they began the morning's work over warm black tea... and before they knew it, lunchtime arrived. From today, he planned to eat lunch with her too.
"Sorry, I'm so tired I just want to nap for a bit."
"......Skipping meals isn't good."
"Ahaha... True..."
"No helping it, then. Do that today."
"Thank you!"
But as with all things in life...
it didn't always go according to plan.
He returned to the workshop after lunch, but naturally, Chloe was gone. Chloe's empty workshop. Yet for Lucius, to whom everything was still novel, there was no time to be bored. He could imagine her analyzing artifacts over there, writing reports here. As he examined each item one by one, work hours came around. But Chloe still hadn't returned to the workshop.
"......She's late."
"Sh-She'll be here any minute!"
-Bang!
"Sorry! Haah, haah..."
Late again because of oversleeping?
Just as worry began to creep in, the door opened. Chloe, who had rushed in panting heavily, caught her breath. Late twice in a row, morning and now afternoon. But he wasn't particularly angry. She'd hurried so much she'd arrived in a total mess. It was still unbearably cute and lovable.
"You're late."
"S-Sorry! Haah... I definitely set an alarm..."
"You've got a lot of issues. Is this normal for you?"
"N-No! I always time it perfectly!"
"Enough excuses. Get out."
"......Huh?!"
"You planning to work like that? It's beyond undignified."
"Ah, ahaha..."
"I'll give you time. Go fix yourself up outside."
"Got it!"
He couldn't let others see her like that. After giving her time to tidy up, he quietly smiled. While she was gone, he prepared black tea, and they began the afternoon's work together. Reading reports, scheduling, fine-tuning details... mundane tasks that now felt thrillingly joyful. Chloe truly was special.
-Knock knock
"It's Ruin."
"......Ruin? Come in."
"Thank y... Oh? Lucius, sir?"
"What brings you here."
"Ah... Just had some business."
Then Ruin came and called Chloe away, but it was nothing to worry about. It took a while, but Chloe returned looking serene. No, more like beaming happily. Because of the gift from Ruin? Delicious sweets from Lehinar, apparently... Women really do love desserts. Lucius gained some insight.
"Let's all eat these together while we work!"
"Better to make it teatime instead."
"Oh, should we?"
"Smith, brew some black tea."
"Right away!"
"......Black tea."
"Something wrong?"
"No, nothing! Hehe, thanks to you, Lucius, sir, I've been drinking fancy black tea like crazy!"
After a short teatime, they dove back into work, and before they knew it, it was quitting time. Nothing particularly special had happened... but just being with Chloe made Lucius happy. Still, tomorrow they had to eat together. And if he brought tasty desserts like today, she'd be delighted again, right? Looking forward to a better tomorrow, he parted from Chloe with a smile.
Meanwhile, Chloe headed straight back to her quarters, heedless of all that...
"Haah... I'm back, mmph... *slurp*, haah..."
"Good work."
and began mingling her body with Ruin's.
It wasn't like she particularly liked or loved Ruin. But it was true that being with him calmed her mind. The only person in this world her abilities didn't work on. Wasn't that enough on its own?
When she thought about it, there was no better partner than Ruin.
If she married some other man and shared a bed with him...
"He likes it when I poke here, so target this next time..." or "This is softer than my ex's..." Ugh! It would be utterly revolting! These were thoughts she couldn't have without prior experience. But now it was different. A man whose inner thoughts she couldn't see was far more valuable than she'd imagined.
......Of course, even setting that aside, Ruin was a good man.
A bit of a pervert, sure, but pure at heart. She'd never met a man as transparently obvious as Ruin. A lewd guy who wanted to kiss her and have sex because he liked her so much. But in return, he made her feel good too... He was pretty decent.
So she accepted him.
No confession, no acceptance... but given their current relationship, couldn't it be called lovers? The thoughtful man who made her breakfast this morning. Who couldn't hold back and kissed her... and ended up having sex until she was late. It was embarrassing enough to die, but she didn't hate it. Her heart raced; she got excited.
'That's why! Mm... haah, he shows up on his own and starts pressuring me from morning...'
'That guy's the worst.'
'Right? Ahh... haah, he's seriously creepy... Mm!"
'Hoo... Can I cum inside?'
'Yeah... cum, haah... it's fine, *slurp*...'
And without Ruin, she couldn't even vent like this.
She didn't particularly enjoy gossiping...
but today she was too frustrated not to.
He shows up without a word and pressures her from morning... Seriously, what the hell! The stress from Lucius was piling up big time. But having someone to relieve it with was a blessing. She and Ruin had sex right up until she was late for lunch too...
Fortunately, Lucius wasn't the type to nitpick about tardiness.
'What... he comes during work hours?'
'He left in a hurry and half-assed the cleanup.'
'Eek...'
'Your panties are soaked, right?'
'......It's because you came inside!'
'You said it was okay.'
'That's... true, but...'
'Take off your panties.'
'Y-You're insane?!'
'No one's here.'
'Still...'
'Hurry.'
'Eek... here...'
'There, with this... hoo, good now?'
'What... weren't you gonna touch me?'
'Like you said, we're in the middle of work.'
'......Hmph. You take off your pants too.'
The problem was him skipping cleanup in his rush to leave. Sitting still would let the leftover cum leak out, which was trouble... but he took care of it. Ruin fetched a magic tool and cleaned her up thoroughly. In gratitude, she sucked him off for a bit. Even in an empty office, it was thrilling.
'Haah, haah... Tastes awful, ugh...'
'You swallowed again?'
'No choice...'
'Good girl.'
'Don't pat me...'
'Then I'll head back now... got it?'
'......Yeah.'
'Not sleeping over tonight, so don't wait up.'
'You didn't last night either... ahh...'
'Still wet, huh.'
'D-Don't touch!'
'I'll fuck you plenty after work, so hold out.'
'......Do whatever.'
So after quitting time, she hurried straight back to her quarters.
"Haah... I'm back, mmph... *slurp*, haah..."
"Good work."
And naturally, she mingled bodies with Ruin again today.