Chapter 172: Garden Rendezvous
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172: Garden Rendezvous
The moment I saw the contract Sylvia handed me, my first thought was, So she’s playing cheap tricks.
I could see the effort she’d put into drafting it.
It covered the contract’s purpose, rights and obligations, and duration, as well as the liabilities upon termination.
But the duration clause made it obvious what she was thinking when she offered me this contract.
‘Until my life ends.’
Typically, a 4th Circle mage’s lifespan is around 150 years.
Compared to the long-lived elves, it might seem like a mayfly’s existence, but I had no intention of living such a short life.
There were all sorts of ways to extend one’s lifespan.
I could advance my realm, borrow the power of an elixir, or even rely on the dating app.
Sylvia must have realized she couldn’t stop me from becoming the Royal Consort, so she presented this contract to at least prevent me from fooling around indiscriminately.
Of course, there wasn't a single reason for me to agree to this.
If I wanted to meet a noble elven lady, all I had to do was put in the effort.
“…What did you just say?”
Sylvia’s usually expressionless face twisted into a demonic scowl.
The hand resting on the hilt of her sword was trembling.
“I said if you’ll be with me for a year, I won’t touch any other woman.”
“You’ve truly lost your mind.”
Shaaa—
A killing intent so intense it could have given a normal person a heart attack spread through the air.
“See, this is much better than you forcing yourself to speak formally.”
I don’t know when she drew it, but Sylvia’s sword was now emitting a soft glow in the moonlight.
No, on second look, it wasn’t moonlight. It was Aura.
“…Know your place, human.”
I could feel her suppressing her emotions to their absolute limit.
If I weren’t engaged to Iris, my head would have probably rolled long ago.
Her hatred of humans was just as severe as her hatred of men.
“Well, if you don’t like the terms, I guess there’s nothing to be done.”
But on the other hand, as long as Iris and I were together, Sylvia would always be beneath me.
Though she does get a little prickly(?) like this from time to time.
Well, that’s manageable…
A sword fight I could handle was better than the mental attacks of women who beat around the bush.
-You’re always like this.
-You don’t even know why I’m mad, do you?
-What am I to you, anyway?
-Forget it, I’m going home. Don’t contact me for a while.
-You’re not even going to stop me?
-Ugh, so annoying.
For a moment, a memory that shouldn’t exist flashed through my mind.
I was sure I’d never had a proper conversation with a woman before meeting Iris, so what was this?
I shook my head to clear the sudden headache.
“By the way, do you remember what happened last night?”
Just as I was about to rest after a pleasant time with Bella and Grace, some sword-wielding robber had caused a commotion.
If Iris hadn’t been there, things could have gotten ugly.
Of course, Sylvia had come to apologize the very next morning.
“…What about it?”
But that wasn’t the only wrong she had committed.
“You held a knife to my throat multiple times, and you think a simple apology is enough to smooth things over? Is that all a knight’s honor is worth?”
“How dare you speak of honor with that filthy mouth…”
Even as she muttered in a voice full of discontent, Sylvia’s eyes wavered slightly.
No matter how much misandry and hatred for humans were her default settings, at her core, Sylvia was a noble.
A noble who understood honor.
It wasn’t for nothing that Iris had told me to take her virginity as payment for her mistakes.
‘She must have seen the possibility.’
The viscount’s assassination had ended earlier than expected, so I had plenty of time.
“…What is it you want?”
“I told you already.”
Crrrack. I could hear the sound of her sword hilt splintering in real time. She was clenching her jaw so hard that her expression was no longer just distorted, but utterly murderous.
“Be my partner for one year, and after that, I won’t touch any woman other than Iris.”
“…”
“A year is just a moment for an elf, isn’t it? Seems like a fair deal to me.”
For the record, I was lying. I’d think about what to do in a year when the time came.
What mattered now was that Sylvia was wavering.
“Well, if you don’t want to, I guess that’s that. By the way, I think Lady Hessler was interested in me. Maybe I’ll try to seduce her before I leave…”
I muttered as if to myself. Of course, I meant for her to hear.
There was no way Sylvia, with her senses far surpassing a normal human’s, wouldn’t have heard me.
“…I’ll do it.”
“What?”
We were on the outskirts of the garden, so there were no lights, and now clouds had even covered the moon, plunging the area into pitch-black darkness.
But even so, I could clearly see Sylvia’s face, flushed bright red.
“…I’ll accept your proposal.”
Her eyes, fixed on me, were filled with disgust and shame.
I fought to hide the smile that threatened to reach my ears and replied.
“I’ll be in your care for the next year.”
Let me say it again: I have no hobby of forcing myself on people I dislike.
But if it’s to let off steam or get revenge, that’s a different story.
Of course, this wasn’t something so grand as to be called revenge.
Sylvia was the one who had built up this karma. If she wanted to blame someone, she had only herself to blame.
“First, why don’t we start by taking off your top?”
“…What?”
My reason for tolerating Sylvia’s outrageous behavior until now was never because I had a weakness for beautiful women.
*
“…You beast, you vulgar bastard, you lawless fiend. Do you truly not know a shred of honor?”
“You want to take off your underwear, too?”
“…”
Sylvia bit her red lip, her hands trembling.
Even if this was a secluded spot with no one passing by, we were still undeniably outdoors.
“…Swear it.”
“What?”
Thwack! Sylvia suddenly strode up and grabbed me by the collar.
“Swear that you’ll keep your promise, no matter what…!”
“…I swear. I’m an atheist, so I can’t swear on a god’s name, but still.”
A verbal oath meant nothing to me anyway.
“Huuu…”
Sylvia squeezed her eyes shut and took a slow, deep breath.
After a moment, she spoke.
Rustle. Sylvia took off her cloak.
Just then, the wind blew, parting the clouds and letting moonlight spill into the garden.
Perhaps it was the moonlight, but the deep blush staining Sylvia’s face seemed even more pronounced.
Click. This time, it was the sound of a button coming undone.
Starting from the top, she unfastened her shirt, one button at a time. I had to stop myself from letting out a gasp of admiration.
Every single movement of her fingers as she undid the buttons was incredibly erotic, though not in a vulgar way.
“…You despicable bastard.”
Sylvia frowned, but my attention was completely captivated by the pale skin revealed between the folds of her shirt.
Her underwear looked a bit cheap, but just as a plain wrapper doesn’t diminish the value of a jewel, it wasn’t even a consideration right now.
“Kuh…”
With a face twisted in shame, Sylvia completely removed her shirt.
Of course, she was still wearing her underwear and pants, so she wasn’t naked.
But her reaction suggested she might as well die from the shame of revealing her skin to a strange man.
“The underwear, too.”
“I’m going to…!”
Sylvia glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.
I never thought a woman who could slice up a knight in seconds with a few support spells would struggle so much with just taking off her underwear.
I guess that’s a knight from a ducal family for you.
After a long hesitation, Sylvia finally threw off the piece of cloth covering her chest.
‘…Wow.’
I had to swallow the gasp that tried to escape my lips.
Sylvia’s finally revealed breasts were enormous, easily rivaling those of Iris and Cheon Yeo-hwa.
Moreover, her skin was so white, yet it didn’t look pale at all.
Her areolas and nipples were not only beautifully shaped but also glowed with a luxurious red hue.
They looked like strawberries on a pure white whipped cream cake.
“Why am I doing this…”
Sylvia’s gaze drifted to the ground, her face a mixture of a self-mocking smile and an expression of utter emptiness.
I started walking toward her.
As the distance between us closed, Sylvia instinctively backed away.
“St-stop.”
I had no reason to listen to her.
Before long, Sylvia’s back hit the decorative hedge surrounding the garden.
With nowhere left to run, Sylvia’s eyes began to tremble.
We were so close I could feel her breath on my skin, and her stimulating scent tickled my nose.
I gently stroked her white hair.
“Ugh…?!”
Just a simple touch to her hair made Sylvia flinch and tremble.
She looked desperate to slap my hand away.
But the reaction of this man-hating virgin stirred a sadistic impulse within me.
This time, I touched her shoulder.
“…Hnng!”
For a woman who could punch a hole through a person’s chest, her skin was far too soft. The way it clung to my hand was addictive.
It was unexpected, though. I thought she would have pushed me away the moment I touched her.
“Where should I touch you next?”
“…”
Sylvia bit her lip and didn’t answer.
It was as if she was determined not to give me the reaction I wanted.
In return, I slowly moved my hand down from her shoulder.
Swoosh. I caressed her slender, soft forearm.
“Disgusting…”
As expected, she couldn’t hold back for long, and a curse escaped her lips.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
I smirked shamelessly and suddenly reached out, grabbing her large breast.
“Kyaa?!”
Startled, Sylvia slapped my hand away and collapsed to the ground.
I had anticipated this and cast a Silence spell, so I wasn’t worried about anyone hearing.
“It’s just a breast.”
Of course, Sylvia’s breasts were worthy of being called a national treasure.
The supreme softness I felt through my palm, even for a fleeting moment, was on par with the ecstasy I’d felt when I first touched Iris’s.
“W-warn me before you touch me…!”
“What?”
Anyone hearing this would think we were a couple fooling around.
“If you really hate being touched, there’s another way. What do you say?”
“…”
Sylvia seemed to consider it for a moment before finally nodding.
She must have thought that whatever it was, it would be better than being touched by me.
But it didn’t take long for her to realize it wasn’t a very wise choice.
When I casually unzipped my pants and pulled out my dick, Sylvia reflexively squeezed her eyes shut and screamed again.
“Wh-what do you think you’re doing…!!”
Sylvia shouted at me, her head bowed as she stared at the ground.
“You said you didn’t want to be touched.”
“Wh-what does that have to do with suddenly taking out your… your genitals!”
A truly virginal line.
I murmured in a low voice.
“Suck it.”