Chapter 9. ...Fuck, Living with a Handsome Face Is Tough.

Chloe.

Chloe Roswell.

The moment that name struck my eardrums, my heart felt as if it dropped straight to the floor.

―They say every night from the annex, you can hear Chloe-nim's sticky moans and the screams of men, you know?

The voice of Bas whispering while spraying spit flashed through my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind.

'.....Fuck, the person I should avoid meeting the most just walked into my house on her own two feet?'

Even so, there was only one thing I could do.

With the face of an innocent blind healer, simply massage Chloe's ankle held in my hands with utmost devotion.

"A-Ah, is that so. It's an honor, Chloe-nim."

"Fuhut, no need to be so stiff. Just continue what you were doing."

".....Yes."

Suppressing my trembling fingertips, I gently pressed around the swelling of her ankle to relieve it.

When I firmly pressed the hollow spot below her ankle bone with my thumb, a languid breath seeped out from between Chloe's lips.

"Haa... Hreung...♥"

A sticky moan stuck to my ears, but I quietly worked my hands without changing my expression even a bit.

In fact, the name Chloe Roswell itself was famous even in these back alleys.

And in a very good way at that.

According to what I heard, when there was a famine, she was a person of high virtue who opened the granary instead of her husband, the Baron, and distributed grain to the commoners.

It was to the point where people said Roswell Territory was worth living in because Chloe was the mistress of the house.

On top of that.

I heard that when an epidemic hit Roswell two years ago, she spent her private funds to personally bring healers.

Thanks to that, an old woman who survived still bows every morning toward Chloe's mansion.

'Yeah. When I only heard the rumors, I thought so too.'

The problem was that I clearly heard rumors directly opposite to that perfect virtue with my own two ears from Bas.

Men being dragged into the annex every night.

And the screams of men leaking out.

'Just looking at this sight of her being stark naked right now... isn't it obvious which rumor is true?'

Right now, Chloe is sitting in front of the blind healer without a single thread on, entrusting her ankle to him.

While licking my face with her glistening eyes.

"Eueung... Haa♥ You... your fingertips are quite wicked."

"You flatter me."

It was then.

Chloe slowly uncrossed her legs and spoke in an even more heated voice.

"My knee hurts a bit too... Can you massage it for me?"

Her knee hurts?

At Chloe's words, I scanned the hologram window floated by Eye Opening once again.

[Target Information]

Name: Chloe Roswell

Age: 38 years old

Affiliation: Baron Roswell Family

Physical Condition: Mild sprain in right ankle. No other abnormalities across the entire body.

Current Psychological State: [Excitement] [Amusement] [Craving]

Just in case, I narrowed down the flow of mana illuminated by Eye Opening toward her knees and peered in.

Not to mention her patella, her cartilage and ligaments were all perfectly fine.

No, far from just being fine, it was a joint so well-maintained that it was unbelievable for someone in her late thirties.

'This crazy bitch...'

Besides, look at her psychological state.

[Excitement], [Amusement], and [Craving]?

Far from a patient, it was the psychological state of a wild beast with prey right in front of it.

'Let me refuse. Wait, but under what excuse?'

There was no way a blind person who couldn't see could say, 'Chloe-nim's knee is perfectly fine.'

Furthermore, the opponent is the mistress of this territory.

The moment a mere commoner refuses a noble lady's request, the outcome is obvious.

".....Understood. Excuse me then."

In the end, biting the bullet, I moved my hands to cup the area around her kneecap.

Strictly businesslike, strictly as a treatment.

"Eu, mm..."

I handled it with exemplary hand movements straight out of a textbook, gently stroking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clockwise around her patella.

Then.

"Haeut♥ Eueung... so good..."

I didn't even press hard, so why on earth is she acting like this?

It was an intensity too embarrassing to even call acupressure.

Even so, Chloe scratched the bedsheets with her fingernails and squirmed her body.

'I'm going crazy. Did this woman come here not to get treatment, but to satisfy her desires?'

The moment cold sweat trickled down my spine, Chloe's voice reached my ears once more.

"A little higher... up."

This time, Chloe's hand slid down slightly and grabbed the back of my hand, which was massaging her knee.

And then pulled it right up onto her thigh.

The warm and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smooth texture conveyed beneath my palm.

'Fuck!! How the hell am I supposed to get out of this situation?!'

Emergency alarms rang like crazy in my head.

If I shake her off, I die.

Then what if I go all the way like this?

I die even more surely.

It wasn't about acting blind anymore; this was a matter of survival.

"Haa... Mmh♥ Yes... as expected of the Hand of God...♥ Heu, heuet―!"

Chloe released a satisfied moan and threw her head back.

And in the next moment.

".....Eut?!"

Chloe's hand grabbed my hair.

Strongly enough that her five fingers dug into my scalp.

"Ch-Chloe-nim... why are you doing this...?"

"......"

There was no answer.

That felt even scarier.

Without even pretending to listen, Chloe slowly pulled the hand clutching my hair toward herself.

As a result, my face was dragged little by little, step by step, toward the inside of her thighs.

"Y-Yes... closer... closer...♥"

".......!"

A thick scent of perfume wafted heavily to the tip of my nose.

Chloe's heated thigh was getting close enough to touch my forehead.

"It's alright... don't be scared, come closer...♥"

As I was pulled along obediently, I felt like my face was overlapping with the faces of the men who reportedly screamed every night in the annex.

My heart leaped right up into my throat.

If I were dragged just a few hand spans further like this, I didn't even want to imagine what would happen.

Tok, tok, tok—

"Ian-nim? I have an appointment, are you inside?"

At that very desperate moment when all kinds of escape scenarios flashed through my mind, a clear, resonant female voice sounded from outside the door.

It was truly a silver lining sent down from heaven.

".....!!"

At the female voice heard from outside the door, Chloe's hand clutching my hair broke away like lightning.

At the same time, she sprang up from the bed as if bouncing off it and hurriedly picked up the clothes thrown on the floor.

Sa-rak─ Sa-rarak─!

The noble lady who had been leisurely flicking her toes just a moment ago was nowhere to be found.

The sight of her frantically putting her clothes back on with her back turned was just like a married woman caught in a secret tryst by her husband.

'I survived for now...'

Hiding my fluster, I spoke toward the air with a serene face.

"Your ankle should be fine now. Please don't overexert yourself for the time being."

".....K-Khem! I put the treatment fee on the table."

"Thank you."

I bowed politely toward Chloe, who was tidying up her clothes.

Before long, just as I was about to sigh in relief at the sound of the doorknob turning, Chloe's voice reached my ears once more.

"Ah, and..."

Chloe, who had opened the door halfway, suddenly paused and continued.

"Next time... I shall visit in the evening."

".....Pardon?"

Dal-kak.

Instead of an answer, the door closed.

The single statement from Chloe that she would visit in the evening felt like it was slowly spreading through the room like poisonous gas.

Correcting my gaze that had been fixed on empty air, I heavily furrowed my brows.

'.....Fuck, living with a handsome face is tough.'

"Ian! I'm here!"

It was two days later in the evening.

The shabby door burst open, and Bas strode inside.

Holding a basket with liquor bottles in one hand.

"Huh? Isn't it evening right now?"

"Haha! Amazing. How does a guy who can't even see know that?"

"The air is different. Evening air is damp."

"As expected, I really can't fool our Ian."

Bas laughed heartily as he put the liquor bottle down on the table.

Tilted my head and spoke.

"By the way, aren't you working today?"

"Work?"

"You should be at the training grounds at this hour."

"Ah, today is my day off, so I thought I'd have a light drink with you."

"Oh, sounds good!"

A moment later, two rough wooden cups were poured brimful with cheap alcohol.

Clinking our cups, we gulped down the liquor using trifling stories as side dishes.

"The knight commander actually told me to try learning swordsmanship, you know?"

"Bluffing again."

"It's true! Even though I look like this, my strength and physique don't lose to knights at all!"

"Then is it now time to brag about your rich friend named Fitz again?"

"Ha... This bastard, doesn't believe me to the very end."

That was how the conversation ripened, around the time Bas's tongue was becoming half-slurred from the alcohol's influence.

"Ah, right, Ian. There's something I didn't tell you."

"What is it?"

When I pulled a face full of question marks, Bas suddenly lowered his voice and pulled his chair close.

"Yesterday evening... I heard a strange sound at Chloe-nim's annex."

"....Did you hear a man screaming again?"

"No, it wasn't that this time..."

Bas set down his liquor cup and took a glance out the window.

"Young Lady Catherine and Chloe-nim were having a really bad argument."

".....An argument?"

"I couldn't hear the contents, but the tone of their voices was no joke. I'm telling you, it's the first time in my life I've heard Young Lady Catherine raise her voice like that. Something... there's definitely a serious problem."

"Well, noble matters have nothing to do with us, right?"

"....That's true."

Even after that, Bas emptied his alcohol cup and chattered on for a long while.

And before long.

"Dureureong..... Pyuu..... Dureureong....."

Sitting on the chair, he tilted his head back and began snoring to the world.

".....Bas?"

I softly called out to him, but all that returned was loud snoring.

Even when I poked his cheek with my finger, there wasn't even a twitch.

'This guy is completely fast asleep. Which means...'

Is it finally time to move?

I quietly stood up from my seat and took out the bundle hidden under the bed.

'For now, since Bas is sleeping at my house, a witness and alibi are secured.'

Belmont Territory, three hours away by carriage.

However, with this body now that all the mana circuits are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠open, if I ran without resting, the timing would roughly fit.

'Then before Bas wakes up... shall I go visit Belmont Territory?'

Leaving Bas behind as he continued snoring, I silently opened the door and seeped into the darkness.