—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next morning, as I was preparing to leave the manor, I quickly hid at the bottom of the stairs connecting the second floor to the entrance hall. There was someone already there.
“Roland! You’re going to Quaran again? Why? You said it was an unnecessary concern.”
Roland looked around, then grabbed Sophia’s arm and led her to an empty storage room.
It wasn’t a pleasant sight to see him so casually grab a noblewoman. Come to think of it, Roland had always been close to Sophia. He had even escorted her to the last party.
I quietly followed them, making sure to muffle my footsteps. Fortunately, the storage room door was slightly ajar.
“I told you yesterday. It’s because of him.”
“I heard he spent a fortune on that new Eastern whore. We were wrong. He’s still the same womanizing scoundrel who cares nothing but chasing skirts. There’s no reason for you to go back to Quaran.”
As expected, Roland was Sophia’s spy. Fortunately, my act yesterday had worked.
“He could be acting.”
“Or you just want to believe that.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Hmph, it’s obvious. You want to go back to the brothel. To see that Eastern whore. You think I don’t know?”
“That’s not true.”
I slowly exhaled the breath I had been holding. I thought I had been caught, but Sophia didn’t seem convinced. Roland also didn’t seem to mean what he said.
In any case, their relationship was definitely suspicious.
When did it start? I had been avoiding Sophia because I felt uncomfortable around her, and I hated Anya so much that I only slept at the manor. It was shocking that I hadn’t noticed their relationship despite living under the same roof.
In my defense, who would have imagined that Sophia, a distant relative of the Baron with nothing to be envious of, would have a relationship with a notorious womanizer like Roland?
Moreover, while it wasn’t uncommon for noblewomen to have lovers, Sophia wasn’t a noble, just a distant relative. If Father were to find out, he would annul the marriage immediately.
Even Baron Rasino wouldn’t be able to stop him. He might even have to compensate Father for arranging such a marriage.
Anyway.
I couldn’t understand either Sophia, who had taken Roland as her lover despite knowing his womanizing ways, or Roland, who frequented brothels despite having a high-ranking woman as his lover.
Frankly, I didn’t care to understand.
The important thing was how to use this to my advantage. I intentionally made some noise and called out,
“Sir Roland. Are you there?”
“…!”
The voices inside abruptly stopped. Roland emerged from the storage room with an awkward expression. He stood with his back to the door, blocking it from my view.
“Oh, Master Allen. You’re already up.”
Imagining Sophia hiding inside, holding her breath, made me want to laugh. A mischievous idea popped into my head.
“We should leave soon so we have more time to enjoy ourselves. But what were you doing in this secluded place?”
As I looked past Roland towards the storage room door, I heard a gasp from inside. Roland subtly shifted his position, blocking my view.
“Haha, well…”
A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and hung precariously from the tip of his awkward smile.
“Don’t tell me you couldn’t wait and were having some fun with a maid?”
I heard a crash from inside. The corner of Roland’s smiling mouth twitched.
“P-Pardon? Hahaha. Well, something like that happened. Haha…”
“That girl must be quite something. Enjoying a secret rendezvous early in the morning? She risks being severely punished if caught, yet she indulges in such risky behavior. What a lustful woman. And the fact that she seduced you, who’s going to the brothel today, suggests she must be quite skilled.”
“Ahem, even virtuous women have their moments of weakness.”
“So, she acts all virtuous usually, but turns into a seductress at night? How charming. I’m curious to see who she is.”
I took a step towards the storage room, bypassing Roland. Startled, Roland quickly blocked my path.
“Sir Roland? That’s not very nice. We should share the good things. I even yielded Lucy to you.”
“W-Well, you see, she’s far too beneath you, Master Allen. You’d be disgusted if you saw her. It’s not worth ruining your morning.”
Roland was trying to protect Sophia, but I could hear the sound of grinding teeth from behind the door. Roland glanced at the door, his face turning pale.
“Well, your tastes are quite broad, I must say. There’s not a woman in this manor, or in the brothel, who hasn’t been touched by you.”
More crashing sounds came from inside the storage room. Sophia seemed to have forgotten that she was supposed to be hiding. Roland hurriedly grabbed my arm and pulled me away.
“Master Allen. Let’s go. We’re late.”
“My, my. Someone’s in a hurry! Lucy must be quite a beauty, just as you said.”
I let him lead me away, raising my voice. As soon as we left the manor, Sophia’s furious voice echoed from within. Roland’s face paled.
Seeing his reaction, I knew that the next time I went to Quaran, I would be going alone.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“You’re here.”
Jin was waiting for me at the entrance to the bathhouse. The men gathered around her turned to stare at me.
“Master Allen. Is that woman…?”
Roland’s eyes widened as he looked at me. Even Lucy, who was out of place in this small town, couldn’t compare to Jin’s beauty.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Master Allen! Don’t forget your promise!”
He was referring to my promise to yield Jin to him in a week. Having no intention of keeping that promise, I ignored him and walked past.
“Haa.”
“Oh my god.”
Jin casually linked arms with me. The men watching us let out sighs of disappointment. They looked at me as if I were a villain dragging away a princess. I clicked my tongue.
“You’re drawing unnecessary attention.”
“Didn’t you say I could spread the rumor?”
As soon as we entered the private room, Jin unlinked her arm and sat on the massage table, smiling.
“Your attitude has changed quite a bit since yesterday.”
“That’s because I now understand what you meant by ‘favor.’ You sacrificed Lucy to Jaken to achieve this, didn’t you?”
“Why? Is Lucy suffering?”
Jin frowned, as if the thought was unpleasant. Even her frown was beautiful.
“Everyone’s saying she’s paying the price for her arrogance, relying on your favor.”
Now that the forbidden fruit was within reach, the men who had only been able to admire her from afar wouldn’t hold back. Moreover, such pent-up desires often erupted in violence.
There were plenty of men who frequented brothels who were far worse scoundrels than me. They simply weren’t noteworthy enough to be talked about.
“Thanks to my protection, she never experienced anything unpleasant since she started working here. Yet, she took it for granted. She used my favor as a shield, lived comfortably on my money, and flirted with my enemy.”
“Sir Roland, you mean?”
“Let’s leave it at that. So, does this mean you’ve accepted my proposition?”
Jin shook her head.
“I haven’t decided yet. I can’t understand you. I asked around, and the opinions on you and Roland were completely different. One is a knight desired by all women, the other a scoundrel, the heir to a small territory…”
Jin trailed off and chuckled.
“A scoundrel? That’s funny. The you I saw yesterday wasn’t a scoundrel. You were… unreadable. And that’s what made you scary.”
“That’s not important.”
“By the way, Lucy asked me to relay a message. She said to tell you everything you say, and she would protect me. Of course, she was dragged away by Jaken to entertain countless men right after saying that.”
“What a fool.”
I wondered if Lucy was regretting her choices. Considering how oblivious she had been to her own actions, she was probably resenting me. I no longer cared.
“Sir Roland must have put her up to that.”
“So, you admit that we now hold each other’s weaknesses?”
“Yours seems bigger, though.”
Jin smiled meaningfully. Trying to gain the upper hand just because she saw an opening? As expected of the future Great Mother of the underworld.
“Is that so?”
Jin’s smile vanished instantly. She closed the distance between us in the blink of an eye and placed her hand on my neck. It wasn’t my imagination that her touch felt like a sharpened blade.
“What else do you know?”
“What if I do? What difference does it make? As I said, the important thing is that we now have leverage over each other.”
“That’s true, but… who would call you a scoundrel?”
“Let’s talk business.”
As I undressed, Jin, startled, backed away again. The contrast between her sharp demeanor and her inexperience amused me.
She frowned, as if she thought I was mocking her. I stepped into the bath. I had paid a hefty sum, so it would be a waste not to at least wash up.
“You said you needed to avoid Sir Roland, right?”
Jin sat down on the massage table and spoke. She tilted her head and glanced at my chest above the water, swallowing hard.
“You should be more concerned about the manager and the other whores. Sir Roland won’t be coming back here from tomorrow.”
Sophia, now thoroughly provoked, would make sure of it.
“You got rid of your watchdog in a single day? Who’s the scoundrel now? It seems I’m not needed after all.”
“I told you. You should be more concerned about the others.”
Would Roland, who had stolen the heart of my cherished mistress of three years, leave other women alone? I had to assume that every whore in this brothel was Roland’s informant.
“So, what’s your plan?”
“I need you to put on an act.”
“An act?”
“Yes. Make everyone believe we’re having a passionate affair. Just observe the other women, and you’ll figure it out.”
Having finished washing up while we talked, I got out of the bath. As I dressed, Jin, her face covered with both hands, peeked at me through her fingers and said,
“Are you leaving just like that?”
“What else should I do?”
“My fee is quite expensive…”
Indeed, if I had known I could get rid of Roland so easily, I wouldn’t have paid for a whole week in advance.
“And?”
“Is there something wrong… down there?”
I couldn’t ignore such a blatant provocation. Despite knowing her intentions, I approached Jin. Her face hardened as I stepped closer.
I gently lifted her chin with my hand, and her hand instinctively landed on my chest, right over my heart. I didn’t know what trick she had up her sleeve, but it was bound to be dangerous.
“Beautiful.”
“Eh…?”
As a flicker of surprise crossed her blue-tinged eyes, I seized the opportunity and stole a kiss. A moment later, Jin’s hand on my chest tightened, but by then, I had already pulled away.
“You taste a bit salty. Did you have seafood stew for breakfast?”
“You…!”
“You shouldn’t have provoked me.”
“Y-You…”
I put on a dark grey robe with a hood that covered my face. Without hesitation, I walked out of the private room, but not before adding,
“I’ll leave the acting to you.”
Jin’s body trembled as she watched Allen walk away.
“That was my first kiss…!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The becoming hot mom turn out to be virgin?! 😱
