Chapter 556: The Thawed Ice
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 556: The Thawed Ice
The price for getting caught sneaking a raspberry on Anastasia’s belly was truly disastrous.
As the Tower Lord’s retaliatory beating continued, all I was allowed to do was curl up like a pill bug and pathetically block her attacks.
Even so, my whole body was bruised and my bones ached, but I’d become an expert at taking a beating, so it was more or less bearable.
The verbal abuse that lasted the entire lesson, however, was not.
The Tower Lord’s critiques, which gave me no room to breathe, were less like reprimands and more like a form of mental torture that gnawed away at my spirit.
Fatigue gradually built up in an atmosphere akin to walking on thin ice, but as the sun began to set, the situation was reversed.
The Tower Lord, as if she had something to say, kept hovering around me, furtively glancing my way.
I considered speaking to her first, but I didn't want to ask for trouble, so I decided to just sit quietly on the sofa.
About ten minutes passed like that.
Like a puppy that had lost its patience, the Tower Lord sidled up and plopped down on the sofa next to me.
“Lady Valentina?”
“...”
No answer came.
But I could feel that the atmosphere was shifting in a strange direction.
As a test, I casually moved to the adjacent seat, but the Tower Lord followed me as if to make a point.
...What is this?
Under the warm lighting, a faint blush spread across the Tower Lord’s face.
Moreover, seeing her purse her lips and steal glances at me, it was obvious she had something she wanted to say.
...Don’t tell me she’s sexually frustrated?
It wasn’t an entirely ridiculous delusion.
For one, when I ran into her in Anastasia’s bedroom, her attire had been indecent beyond words.
Even when she was beating me from the mount position, she’d reeked of a sensual scent.
Like the pheromones of a female in heat.
And even now, I could faintly smell something similar.
“A-about tomorrow’s treatment... shouldn’t we... get started...?”
As the Tower Lord lowered her head and timidly tugged on my collar, I cheered inwardly.
My prediction had hit the mark.
But I didn't show my delight openly.
I had suffered far too much over the past half-day.
“Hmm... I don’t know. It’s only a little past six. Is there really a need to rush? I think it would be fine to eat dinner first and take our time.”
“B-but... you... ah! Didn’t you say the amount of yang energy needed for Ana’s treatment has increased significantly? We don’t know what might happen, so it would be better to do it as soon as possible...”
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Fwoosh—
I summoned a black flame in front of the Tower Lord.
The black flame uniquely possessed both yin and yang energy, and as it had grown this time, the yin and yang energy within my body had been amplified along with it.
In other words, I no longer needed to replenish my yang energy through sex with the Tower Lord.
Not that I have any intention of stopping, of course.
For me, sex isn't the means; it's the goal.
Even with a knife to my throat, I would never give up having sex with the Tower Lord.
But in this moment, I needed to suppress that true desire.
“I had an unexpected enlightenment. Thanks to that, the yang energy in my body has increased.”
“Wh-what does that...”
The Tower Lord’s blue eyes, meeting mine, were filled with unmistakable bewilderment.
“You’ve worked so hard all this time. Even if it was for your daughter, deciding to sleep with a man you barely know couldn’t have been an easy decision. Well... I suppose I’m not one to talk.”
I steadfastly continued my act, subtly putting some distance between us.
Truthfully, the time I’d spent with her wasn’t that long.
But what can I say? I’m an impatient man.
I was getting eager to hear the Tower Lord’s true feelings.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but from now on, you won’t have to sacrifice yourself, Lady Valentina. I’ll break the curse on Lady Ana, no matter what it takes.”
“...”
As I spoke gallantly with an affable smile, the Tower Lord’s lips parted for a moment before she quietly bowed her head.
It meant that it would be difficult to draw out her true feelings with just this.
Tsk... I guess I can’t expect to be full after the first bite, huh?
I set aside my disappointment and stood up.
“You’ve treated me to delicious meals all this time, so today, I’ll treat you to some Korean food. I bought the ingredients in the city. Of course, it won’t compare to your cooking skills.”
It wasn’t that I was a bad cook, but my skills were only at the level of someone who lives alone.
The Tower Lord’s cooking, on the other hand, was on par with a three-star restaurant chef, so there was no comparison to begin with.
“...Alright.”
The Tower Lord didn’t reveal her true feelings, even at the end.
A deep shadow was simply cast over her face.
*
Normally, the table would have been filled with all sorts of dishes made by the Tower Lord, but today’s menu was strikingly simple.
There was only white rice and seaweed soup, braised short ribs, a sunny-side-up egg, kimchi, and spicy shredded radish salad.
For the record, the ingredients came from my inventory, and for the kimchi, I used a retort pouch product from a large corporation.
It’s not like I could start fermenting my own kimchi here.
Of course, I made the other dishes myself, based on recipes I learned from the nuns at the orphanage.
They were dishes I often made for myself when I lived alone, so I could at least guarantee they tasted good.
Though I had no idea if they would suit the Tower Lord’s palate.
Objectively speaking, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it an SSS-rank home-cooked meal.
But could unfamiliar Korean food win over the palate of a Westerner like the Tower Lord?
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t feel confident.
Clink, clatter—
Thus began a slightly anxious meal, and as expected, not a single word was exchanged between us.
It wasn’t particularly strange.
The Tower Lord was the type to insist on basic table manners and never said a word while eating.
But today, things were a little different.
Clink, clatter—
Only the occasional sound of utensils clashing echoed across the silent dinner table.
The Tower Lord was elegantly eating the braised ribs using only a fork and knife.
Fortunately, the food didn't seem to taste bad, as she continued to eat in silence, but her expression remained dark.
Thanks to her, I felt self-conscious just eating my own food.
I was planning to tell her over dinner that I could probably break the curse by dawn tomorrow...
No matter how I looked at it, this wasn't the right atmosphere for a surprise.
If I’d known it would be like this, I should have just had a satisfying round of sex before eating.
Then it would have been a happy, harmonious, and heartwarming mealtime where I could have heard her opinion on the taste, or we could have fed each other.
A vague regret washed over me, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
The bleak dinner continued for some time.
Still, after the meal was over, I felt a little excited at the thought of finally being liberated—
“...Could you spare me a moment?”
“...Pardon?”
“It will only be a moment.”
Seeing the somewhat desperate look on the Tower Lord’s face, I couldn’t refuse her request and followed her to a nearby room.
It seemed to have been used as a reception room before, as only a sofa and a table were placed sparsely inside.
“...Which do you prefer? Green tea, black tea, or coffee?”
“Green tea, please.”
“Wait here a moment.”
The Tower Lord left the room with a slightly quicker pace than usual and returned shortly after with a tray holding teacups.
The fragrant aroma of black tea and the subtle scent of green tea wafted past my nose.
Thud—
Placing the tray on the table, the Tower Lord offered me the green tea, and I smiled as I picked up the teacup.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy this...?”
But I couldn’t help but tilt my head when the Tower Lord sat down right next to me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
She must have been embarrassed herself, as even her earlobes were flushed bright red.
Nevertheless, the Tower Lord stubbornly held her ground.
“...I cannot thank you enough. Thanks to you, I was able to save Ana’s life without having to sell my soul to that detestable demon.”
“Um... I think this is the fifth time I’ve heard that. You can stop now. Besides, it’s not like I’m helping you for free, right?”
I had learned quite a lot from the Tower Lord.
Advice and clues to reach the 6th Circle, insights on resonating with the elements, the precise theory behind operating Magia Lida, and her independently developed ice magic.
Each one was worth more than a mountain of gold.
Besides, Anastasia was a sweet, harmless, beautiful girl with an amazing body and huge breasts, on par with the Tower Lord herself.
Thanks to her, every day was enjoyable, and crucially, I even got to have sex with the Tower Lord.
In other words, there was never a single time I offered my services for free.
“So you really don’t have to feel indebted.”
“...”
Grip—!
At that moment, the Tower Lord grabbed my collar tightly and met my gaze.
Her blue eyes were trembling faintly with anxiety.
“...You told me I no longer needed to sacrifice myself. That even though it was for Ana, I must have agonized over the decision to sleep with a man I barely knew.”
“Uh... yes, well... I did say that—”
“You’re wrong.”
“...?”
The Tower Lord swallowed hard and continued.
She looked like she was desperately trying not to bite her tongue, not to stutter.
“...At first, it was just as you said. The fact that I had to be intimate with someone was so repulsive I couldn’t accept it. But... as time passed, as I slept with you, those feelings slowly faded away.”
The Tower Lord gently caressed her lower abdomen, pressing closer as if she couldn’t bear to look away from me.
“...When I believed I was carrying your child, I felt a happiness that seemed to fill my withered heart. And... th-this morning, I even... comforted myself while thinking of you.”
“...Huh?”
My mind went blank at the Tower Lord’s completely unexpected confession.
But just as a fire truck doesn’t stop at a red light, the Tower Lord kept going.
“I don’t know what these feelings I have now are. But... just thinking of you makes my chest burn uncontrollably, and my heart pounds like it’s about to burst.”
Taking my hand, the Tower Lord slowly placed it over her own chest.
Her heart was hammering wildly, in a way that couldn’t be compared to before.
Each beat of her heart, transmitted through my palm, seemed to prove that the words Valentina spoke were not a lie.
“...You can condemn me as a vulgar woman. In fact, even at this very moment, I’m recalling the memories of the nights we spent together.”
“...”
“You said we no longer need to sleep together to break Ana’s curse. But I think differently.”
The Tower Lord gently cupped my face with both hands and slowly leaned in.
Soon, our lips met.
The kiss happened in the blink of an eye, but it was more than enough time to feel the other’s emotions and warmth.
Under the warm light, the Tower Lord, with an expression that seemed to reveal all the emotions she had hidden in her heart, shyly continued.
“...Even if it’s not for Ana’s curse, right now, would you hold me simply as a woman?”