Chapter 62: Once You've Tasted Pleasure, You Can't Forget That Sensation
"What about Morris Dmitry?"
Luis bowed her head.
The emperor's eyes sharpened as she glared at Luis. Swallowing hard under that gaze that seemed to peer right into her soul, Luis thought,
Is this okay?
She recalled Morris's instructions.
Report that they've been holding a meeting to buy the iron mine in the Torimong Mountains discovered by a noble from the noble faction.
Will this really work?
This was Ryuclid von Vermut, after all. The man who had eliminated countless rivals to rise from crown prince to emperor and solidify his power.
It was an obvious lie.
Even Minister Morris might not...
Luis bit her lip.
Would the emperor really fall for it? This was a gamble with her life on the line.
But if I report here that Morris is leading the neutral faction to form an alliance with the nobles...
She could get past this easily.
But.
I can't forget it.
The ecstasy she'd felt when Morris stroked her hair. A sensation she'd thought lost forever after her surgery had awakened within her because of him. No matter how she tried to comfort herself alone, she could never recapture it. Just thinking about it made her lower abdomen throb.
"Why no answer?"
The emperor's eyes narrowed.
"W-Well..."
"Speak quickly. Has Hongryeon ever hesitated like this?"
"It's not confirmed information."
"Speak."
After a moment's hesitation, Luis dropped to her knees and reported.
"They say he met with Emily of the Gold Merchant Guild to acquire the iron mine in the Torimong Mountains."
Luis decided to side with Morris. If she hadn't known, maybe—but now that she'd experienced it once, she couldn't abandon the pleasure that had awakened her senses.
"The Torimong Mountains mine... Isn't that owned by a noble from the noble faction?"
"Yes."
"How do they plan to buy it?"
"I'm not sure of the details, but it seems they intend to deceive them about the quality of the iron from the mine to undervalue it."
"Oh? Is that so?"
The emperor stroked her chin, her eyes gleaming.
Did... did it work?
Luis glanced at the emperor's expression. She nodded, staring into space.
"As expected, he's capable. Already thinking that far ahead."
Luis was stunned. The emperor had always been brilliant. The undefeated ruler who ascended to the throne without a single loss, with an unmatched eye for political currents. So why?
But Luis had overlooked something. When a grand ambition is within sight, people sometimes force everything around them to fit their delusions.
Emperor Ryuclid's mind was consumed with conquering the noble faction. With Morris's help, Siegfried Duke had crumbled, shaking the nobles. Cedric Volpart's exile had weakened the radicals, but the emperor could bolster them anytime.
Not much longer.
The day she'd sweep away the nobles and ascend as absolute emperor.
The armrest in her grip cracked with a sharp sound.
"Perfect. Truly perfect."
Her low murmur brimmed with satisfaction. She was thoroughly pleased with Morris.
Seria, the empress, and now the noble faction.
Everything falling into place just as she envisioned, all thanks to Morris. Seria was already starting to break. The empress would return renewed after proper treatment. Whatever sorcery Morris had wrought, Siegfried's fall had destabilized the nobles simultaneously.
"It wouldn't be bad to carve out new territories from the nobles and grant Morris a new duchy."
The emperor envisioned herself wielding absolute imperial authority.
Magnificent.
Luis looked up at her.
Something's off.
The emperor she'd known exuded sharp intellect. But now... not a trace of it remained.
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Ah, go."
Luis hurried from the audience chamber.
"Hah... hah..."
Her heart pounded fiercely. The tension squeezing it felt like death.
For the first time, she'd lied to the emperor. For her own pleasure, no less.
She'd served as Hongryeon's captain for over a decade.
How had it come to this?
She didn't know. Truly didn't.
Her mind might not, but her body did.
Clack, clack.
Hah... hah...
Luis set off to find Morris.
***
"Are you alright?"
I asked Mary Jane.
"I'm fine."
"Your face says otherwise."
Since the magic circle was etched on her chest, she'd grown unusually quiet.
"I was just keeping silent as an act of atonement."
"I see."
"Yes."
"Good enough."
Was that a hint of sulkiness? Probably my imagination. I didn't point it out. Her giggling demeanor might mislead, but Jane was a proud transcendent being. Forming a pact with me couldn't be pleasant for her.
A few days of space should suffice.
Then—
Bang!
"Lord Morris!"
The door flew open as Luis burst in. The office atmosphere shifted instantly with her tanned skin and short black hair.
"Hah... hah..."
She panted heavily.
"Luis, judging by your expression, it went well."
"Y-Yes. To the emperor..."
Luis trailed off, spotting Jane behind me.
"No matter. Jane's one of mine too."
Forced by pact, but still.
"Hah."
Luis exhaled in relief.
"I was too tense to speak properly. But what did you do? His Majesty seemed... entranced somehow."
"Did he?"
Probably Seria and the empress. Pleasure must have clouded his judgment.
"Good work. But why are you here?"
"Y-You really don't know?"
"...You want it here? In the minister's office?"
I gestured to Jane behind me.
"With Jane watching?"
Jane tilted her head, puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
Her eyes met mine, and realization dawned.
"Ah."
She gasped in understanding. Jane observed me constantly; she'd know exactly what Luis had endured.
"I-It's fine. I'll step out. Sorry, I missed the cue."
"No need."
I stopped Jane from vanishing. Better to have a witness than none.
I eyed the fidgeting Luis.
Gulp.
That oddly aroused look...
"You want Jane here?"
Luis couldn't respond. She licked her dry lips repeatedly.
"Craving an audience, eh? You're quite the pervert."
Had she noticed Elise watching the first time I stimulated her scalp? Or was it just her kink?
Didn't matter.
What did was:
Luis fulfilled her role.
Time to pay up.
If she wanted an audience, I'd provide one—even force it.
"Come here."
I extended my hand. Luis's eyes widened at the mana tendrils extending from it. She couldn't look away.
"It'll be brief."
But I'd satisfy her more than ever.
I placed my mana-charged hand on her head. Her body shuddered instantly.
"Nngh!"
It trembled violently. The mana in my hand invaded her scalp strand by strand, awakening dormant sensations one by one. The pleasure killed by surgery revived, amplified to extremes.
Her mind must be swirling with fantasies. Every image of ecstasy she imagined tormented her scalp simultaneously.
"Haaaang!"
Her moan echoed through the office. Without prompting, Jane erected a mana barrier around us, muffling the sound. Only our voices would carry.
"S-Stop, nnggh!"
Luis's eyes rolled back. Like last time, she teetered on collapse—but endured. Knowing I'd stop if she fell.
"Nnggh!"
Foam bubbled at her lips. Eyes rolled, fists clenched.
"Better stop now."
"N-Nooo. I-It's f-fine."
"Push too far, and your brain might burn out."
"I c-can haaaandle it."
She writhed, forcing out words.
"Kgh!"
Blood trickled from her nose. Her crotch was soaked, thick fluids dripping down her thighs.
"This is far enough."
Her life was at risk. She was too useful to lose.
I lifted my hand. She reached desperately, but too late.
Done.
She crumpled to the floor. Yellow liquid pooled beneath her.
"Incontinence, huh."
With her piss soaking the floor, Luis collapsed fully.
I shook out my hand toward Jane.
"Can you clean this up?"
"Of course. But... are you sure?"
"About what?"
"She's Hongryeon's captain. She could betray you anytime..."
"It's fine. Once someone tastes a forgotten pleasure, they're bound to it."
That was all.
The reason I could control Luis like my own.
"Is that so?"
As a transcendent, she couldn't grasp it.
"Why, Jane—do you want to feel it too?"