Chapter 38: destined to be together
Cain looked to his side, turning his head slowly, and his eyes met Lucy standing there. She radiated a mesmerizing, breathtaking beauty. Now, at this close distance and for the very first time, he did not need to activate any special magical techniques to behold her exquisite loveliness, which suddenly made his heart flutter with an unfamiliar softness and warmth.
He tried to gather his composure and forced his usual smile, saying, "Oh, Lady Lucy... what an unexpected surprise to find that you are also someone who enjoys quiet, secluded places..."
Lucy nodded her beautiful head, agreeing with the words of Cain, who stood just a short distance away from her.
She looked at him and asked in a tone bearing calm interest, "So, Lord Cain, how is little Amelia? Does she seem mischievous in her dealings with you...?"
Cain gritted his teeth forcefully, cursing this terrifying contradiction beneath his breath. Lucy was speaking as though she weren’t residing with them in the castle full-time, monitoring their finest details! However, he suppressed his vexation and replied with dignity, "She is a highly obedient and intelligent child. It is entirely clear that Lady Lucy’s past upbringing and guidance were highly fruitful and successful."
Lucy’s smile widened upon hearing Cain’s polite words and the praise directed at her upbringing. For a moment, she felt as if a swarm of butterflies were fluttering in her stomach from the sheer, overwhelming happiness that swept through her being.
She then asked him, casting a prolonged gaze and a smile adorning her gorgeous face, "That pleases me... So, what is happening in Lord Cain’s life these days...?"
Cain contemplated her smiling face, but his cautious instincts immediately made him feel that behind this soft smile lay other hidden intentions, as if she were testing him precisely. He decided to launch a clever counterattack to ward off suspicion from himself, speaking in a calm tone, "In fact, there aren’t many exciting events... What about you, Lady Lucy? Have you finally found that foolish scoundrel who abandoned you in the past and failed to take responsibility, or have you not tracked him down yet...?"
Lucy chuckled softly between her teeth at Cain’s questions, but her enchanting smile never left her lips for a second. Instead, her eyes gleamed with mystery as she answered in a steady voice, "No, not yet... but I feel that I am very close to him... Very soon I will find him, and I am on the verge of catching him and never letting him escape from me again."
Cain swallowed his saliva with difficulty, trying to control his nerves to appear more customary and natural than necessary—to the point that his excessive effort made him look highly suspicious at this stage!
Nevertheless, he followed up with his question, "And what will Lady Lucy do when she catches this scoundrel then? He is a person who undoubtedly deserves the harshest forms of punishment... and it is punishment enough that his conscience reproaches him after leaving a woman like you..."
Lucy replied in a cryptic tone, her eyes brimming with a concealed desire, "Do you truly want to know what I will do to him? In fact... even I do not know for certain yet. All that occupies my mind and thoughts currently is tightening my grip upon him and capturing him. After that... he himself can decide what we shall do together first..."
Although Lucy’s words sounded ambiguous and made the confident Cain tremble completely from the inside out with sheer terror, she was actually feeling immense embarrassment in her depths! Lucy did not want to disclose to him her true, insane desires—such as her plans to kidnap him away from the world, take him to a completely isolated place, and bind him with chains. Rather, she was trying to arrange matters so that he would be the one to choose when things between them became fully optimal.
However, her vague words left Cain’s mind wandering to the most blood-drenched scenarios. He imagined Lucy holding a cleaver and choosing with a sadistic smile: (Should I chop off your right arm or your left arm first?), then ambushing him and hacking them both off in a horrifying, bloody scene!
Therefore, Cain made a firm decision in his mind to depart immediately and flee from this confrontation before uttering a wrong word that would trap him completely.
Yet, he paused and contemplated the situation. In reality, he did not hate speaking with Lucy; rather, he wanted her presence by his side. But he did not want anyone to get hurt if Lucy grew angry and decided to attack him... at that point, he wanted to bear the responsibility alone. Furthermore, this place was not the best environment for such a conversation.
He turned to her and asked in a serious tone, "Lady Lucy... in fact, I wish to discuss and carve out some matters concerning Amelia’s future. Are you open and willing to speak in a quieter location? Because I am currently preoccupied and distracted here."
Lucy nearly soared with joy upon hearing these words from Cain. An immense happiness washed over her, one she had not anticipated, and at that moment, nothing crossed her mind except the royal suite whose key she had taken moments ago. She had not planned on going there at all, but since Cain was the one requesting to speak in absolute privacy, she was willing to agree to any location regardless.
Lucy replied in a calm tone, trying to control her racing heartbeat, "Of course... I shall wait for you then in my royal suite, number 55. You may come there after you finish your matters here, for I am unwelcome among these nobles anyway."
Cain nodded his head in agreement. Before they parted, their gazes met for a brief, deep moment, before their eyes pulled away with shyness and apprehension, each exhaling a light sigh laden with complex emotions.
Cain vanished from the spot utilizing his skills, reappearing in the midst of the roaring celebration hall before the nobles, returning the banquet to its usual vibrancy. Two hours passed in a flash.
The servants began moving briskly, distributing cups of luxurious wine to the high-ranking figures.
The hand of one servant extended and handed Cain a specific glass cup. Due to his distracted mind, Cain took the cup and swallowed the wine entirely in a single gulp without much thought, continuing to engage in side conversations with the nobles from time to time.
However... mere seconds later, the crimson System screen erupted violently before his eyes, and the mechanical warning voice echoed with terrifying severity in his mind:
{Urgent warning to the Host: The Host’s body has been subjected to the effects of a highly potent, forbidden magic and poison targeting your vital and mental energy! The Host must immediately attempt to reach a safe place and find a solution or an antidote to neutralize the effects of this poison before a dangerous and catastrophic negative reaction occurs to your life and power... A smuggled forbidden technique from another world has indeed been deployed! If the Host does not find a solution within two hours, Michael’s Jewel will malfunction and become completely useless.}
Suddenly, a severe dizziness struck Cain’s head, and his balance faltered for a moment, while a sweeping, burning wave of exploding heat surged through his entire body and veins! Cain had experienced this scorching, familiar sensation before in his past... but his clouded mind failed to aid him in recalling its precise nature now.
Cain almost fell to the ground from the intensity of the impact. This was no ordinary wine or ordinary poison, because that blazing heat began to concentrate and rush violently downward, beginning to burn his honor and his younger brother with an insane, unquenchable lust! This was a vile conspiracy and a plot to ensnare him!
Cain tried to retreat and move away from sight, wondering with distress if he would be openly targeted and attacked now while in this weakened state. He tried to resist the numbness and the consuming lust with all the strength he possessed, but he could not control it entirely.
[Michael’s Jewel] had completely stripped away all his means of protection.
During this time, a servant advanced toward him—the very same subordinate belonging to Sylvia—attempting to support him and pretend to aid him amid the gathering of nobles, speaking maliciously, "Lord Cain... are you alright?"
Cain barked in a sharp tone, his voice trembling, "I am fine... move away from me immediately and do not touch me!"
The servant backed away rapidly, but suddenly slipped a small metal key into Cain’s hand, speaking enticingly, "Lord Cain, this is a key to a private, luxury suite in this hotel. You can head there immediately to rest and sleep if you feel heavily exhausted..."
Cain refused to take the key and tried to throw it away, but the servant placed it with lightning speed upon a nearby table beside him, bidding Cain farewell with a bowed head, a smile never leaving his face. Cain was literally agonizing from the intense, raging lust burning his mind and body. Several meddlesome people and nobles began gathering around him, attempting to ascertain his condition and assist him, but he rejected them all harshly, fearing that anyone might exploit his miserable state and the loss of his power.
But the servant, before vanishing completely among the crowds, turned to Cain and whispered in a meaningful tone with a slight smile, "If you want the cure and the extinguishing of that fire... then go to that suite..."
Cain rejected this offer internally with absolute horror and disgust. Yet, amid this large crowd of people and the pressure of the nobles around him, he was forced to justify his stance, speaking in a weak voice, "Do not worry, everyone... I am fine. I will go and rest for a bit upstairs. It seems I have a sudden, weak tolerance against the premium alcohol tonight..."
Cain’s mind and logic began to gradually decay under the influence of the forbidden poison. He thought frantically: If I leave here now and get attacked by enemies while in this disgraceful state, it will completely finish me... If someone possesses a poison capable of affecting me, they are definitely waiting outside to ambush me, or there is a dangerous plot afoot... I must act and find an urgent solution to extinguish this fire before I am dazed and completely lose my sanity and control over my body!
His strict logical judgments had long been devastated under the weight of the poison. He began to ascend the stairs leading to the upper floors with heavy, slow steps, filled with the yearning heat of lust that scorched his cells, heading toward that room where he believed his salvation lay.
He moved extremely slowly, the numbers of the doors and suites dancing and overlapping in a blurred, sharp manner before his wandering eyes due to the severe dizziness and poison.
At the very last moment of his fading consciousness, right before opening the door of the room he was told to open, a crucial thought flashed in his mind, and he remembered something decisive: Lucy! Lucy was currently at the [Truth Level]. Thanks to the essence of her power, she could easily cleanse this forbidden poison and eradicate it from his body, couldn’t she?!
His trajectory changed instantly. He began to move with eyes filled with near-total disorientation, searching for his true destination... until he arrived with his full exhaustion and burning heat at Suite 55. His trembling hand extended to knock on the door!
The door opened with a mysterious stillness. Lucy was standing behind it, an enchanting smile adorning her lips, her eyes gleaming with the anticipation of waiting for Cain. However, those smiling expressions vanished and erased completely in a fraction of a second, replaced by a terrifying stiffness and eyes that widened with bloody shock upon seeing his miserable, degrading condition!
Cain was leaning against the doorframe with a trembling body, his breath so scorching it almost burned the air around him. He raised his wandering eyes toward her and murmured in a hoarse, broken voice, "Lucy... I need... I need help..."
Lucy did not wait for a single second. Instead, she unleashed her Divine Consciousness and the essence of her dominant energy to examine his entire body and veins in a flash. In that instant, she saw the filthy impurities flowing in his blood; she beheld that forbidden aphrodisiac and poison, which was working slowly and viciously to devour his cells and gradually cloud his mind entirely.
The poison had already overpowered his mind, and here arose the greatest dilemma. Lucy—despite her absolute power and dominance at the Truth stage—was not specialized in healing and purification magic. Her calculations told her that even if she cast the most powerful healing magic she possessed, his body would not be able to expel the poison and heal from it before eight full hours had passed! And he did not have all this time.
However... during her meticulous examination of his body, her sharp eyes caught another detail that made her breath catch!
His luxurious trousers were prominently bulging at a certain area, and his eyes, which had almost lost their human luster, were beginning to gradually surrender to the instincts of a raging beast seeking to prey upon its victim to extinguish its fire.
Upon seeing this sight, and discovering his raging desire, Lucy immediately felt that sweet, thrilling prickle coursing between her thighs once more, her pupils dilating with consuming obsession. Her smooth fingers extended to stroke the strands of his sweat-dampened hair, and she whispered in a voice laced with madness:
"Damn it... If I had finished developing the [Soul Touch] technique long ago, I would have ended all matters and claimed you entirely by now... But it doesn’t matter, things can always be compensated for, and other opportunities can be seized as long as we are together."
Suddenly, Lucy focused her gaze and projected her exploratory energy through the walls of the hotel, penetrating the rooms all the way to the nearby suite. There, through the walls, she saw Princess Sylvia sitting on the edge of her luxurious bed, crossing one leg over the other, wearing that sheer and highly provocative lingerie, waiting for her victim to arrive.
Lucy’s brow furrowed into a sadistic, mocking smile, and she muttered to herself, "Oh... it seems I understand now..."
Lucy was on the verge of uttering a word of mocking apology—an apology directed at poor Sylvia. Because her husband and beloved, Cain, was destined, along with his body and desire, to reach her alone and none other, especially when he was at the peak of his raging desire and dominant lust! She would never allow any wench to touch a single inch of her private property.
Lucy wasted no more time. She leaned her gorgeous body clad in the black attire, utilizing her dominant energy to lift Cain’s heavy, exhausted body entirely off the ground as if it were a feather, until he stood straight and his distracted head was aligned with her face...
And before he could utter another syllable, she pressed her lips against his mouth in a violent, deep kiss, filled with the obsession of years, transferring to him the flame of her desire and announcing the beginning of a night from which there would be no turning back!
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