Chapter 42
You Shouldn't Come Looking for Me Now
"Liana."
Only when the sun had completely set did Liana realize she hadn't finished the task Werner had given her.
But even if she had realized it sooner, she wasn't sure she could have done it.
She couldn't have gone back to Shed's room to refill his water bottle after leaving him like that.
Trying to calm her red, swollen eyes, she bowed deeply before Werner.
"I'm sorry, Head Butler."
As Liana lowered her head, Werner sighed deeply.
He didn't say anything, but Liana felt like she was being plunged into the mud with just his breath.
Useless and pathetic. Not even able to do that small task properly.
It was as if she could hear stinging rebukes in her ear.
"It's alright for now. His Excellency must not have been feeling well, as he went to bed early."
Werner waved his hand, recalling Shed, who had seemed particularly fierce today.
Going to him on a day like today would only stir up trouble.
"Bring him water and a towel in the morning. Leave the sheets alone and just ventilate the room."
"……Yes, Head Butler."
She was relieved that she didn't have to face him right away, but she didn't expect things to get any better by morning.
She cautiously considered asking Werner to give her another task, but then closed her mouth.
Werner was already being considerate enough to her, and she didn't want to be someone who complained about the work she was assigned again.
A maid who couldn't even handle the simple task of carrying water and towels was pathetic enough.
"Thank you, Head Butler."
"……Have a good night."
Werner reminded her not to forget about the dawn task and went downstairs.
Liana returned to her room and looked at the pitch-black scenery outside the window.
Werner had told her to bring it when the Duke woke up, but she didn't have the courage to face him.
It would be better to prepare everything early in the morning, before he woke up.
Even deep into the night, the heat that filled his body wouldn't wash away.
He felt feverish and hazy, as if drunk.
But unlike his blurred mind, his senses were sharper and more sensitive than ever.
He raised his head, touching his forehead.
And then, she was there before his eyes.
"Liana?"
A woman in a semi-transparent gown, her silhouette subtly visible, had walked into his bedroom.
Her platinum blonde hair, damp from a shower, was draped long over her shoulders, and she walked barefoot on the red carpet.
His heart pounded every time her white foot touched the carpet.
"Shed."
Liana smiled, her eyes fixed on him.
With just that one smile, the surroundings brightened as if someone had turned on the lights.
Without realizing it, the corners of his lips lifted at her smile.
Shed realized.
There was a time when she used to smile like that too.
"Luise."
Her old name flowed from the end of his lips, and she simply smiled.
At that moment, he thought that all of this might be a dream.
There was no way she would smile at him like that.
But he didn't bother holding onto that thought for long and let it go.
It didn't matter whether this was a dream or not.
All that mattered was that she was before his eyes.
If it was a dream, he would just stay here as it was.
Shed didn't take his eyes off her.
Luise, who had come right up to him, smiled shyly and hugged him.
"I missed you, Shed."
Her sweet whisper tickled his chest.
Ah, so it really is a dream.
You're growing in my subconscious after all.
The fact that it was a dream only became clearer with the deepening sweetness, but Shed ignored it, pretending not to know.
It was because she was too hot in his arms.
Shed didn't know how to cool down the high fever that had wrapped around his body.
Meanwhile, Luise reached out her slender arms and wrapped them around his neck.
A drop of water fell from her wet hair.
The small droplet soaked her clothes, and the white gown became increasingly transparent as it got wet.
Her skin was visible beneath the semi-transparent fabric.
An unbearable desire surged with the intense fragrance spreading at the tip of his nose.
It's just a dream anyway.
Shed kissed her lips as she stared at him and smiled.
It was as if a fever was spreading through the tips of their lips.
It was a deep illness that might drag him to his death.
But, he didn't care.
No, rather, he wanted to suffer from that fever for a long time.
He filled his mouth with her scent and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with it as his breath briefly burst out.
Her sweet breath tempted him, digging deeper and deeper.
His head was foggy, as if covered in mist, and dizzy as if heat haze was rising.
Unable to bear the heat that was about to explode, he laid her small body on the bed as it was.
"Haa……."
Her hot breath burst from her red lips as she fell for a moment, brushing against his cheek.
Her blonde hair, sparkling in the dim light, was scattered on the white sheets, and her loose gown was loosely open.
A shiver ran down his spine as her hot hands wrapped around Shed's waist.
His lower body throbbed, and his excited blood vessels felt like they were about to burst.
"Luise."
Lying on the bed, she looked up at him with terribly loving eyes.
As if she would never leave.
As if she would be by his side forever.
Intoxicated by that blissful deception, Shed buried his lips in her pure white neck.
"Shed……."
"……I missed you too, Luise."
Shed whispered, blooming red heat on her white skin.
I missed you like crazy.
I couldn't believe your death.
After hearing the news of your death, my life has been as good as dead.
Shed poured out the words that had been boiling hotly from deep within him onto her.
That's right. He was no longer a slave.
Now he had the title and power to be worthy of Luise Ideana.
There was no reason to hesitate, no barriers to block him.
Shed hugged the beautiful Luise tightly.
At that moment.
"Shed."
Rustle, she crumbled like dry leaves, scattering and disappearing into pure white.
At the same time as he waved his empty hands in the air, Shed opened his eyes.
It was reality.
Luise wasn't there, only the deep darkness of dawn had settled.
Shed sat up and swept his sweat-soaked hair back in confusion.
The sensation of Luise, whom he had been holding until just now, was vivid at his throbbing fingertips.
The blood flowing through his bulging blood vessels was boiling with pleasure, and his whole body was hot as if steam was rising.
As if phantom pain remained, the aftereffects of a fever he hadn't even suffered were intense.
Unresolved emotions swelled up as if they were about to burst.
But there was only cold darkness around him.
His mood plummeted into the mud with the mirage-like disappearance of the illusion.
It was a disgustingly repulsive dream.
His whole body was damp with sweat and his throat was parched with thirst.
He picked up the water bottle on the bedside table with trembling hands.
But the dry water bottle stopped after dripping just one drop of water onto the cup.
"Damn it……!"
Shed threw the water bottle down irritably.
Clang, the ceramic water bottle shattered as it hit the wall, scattering across the floor.
"Haa, haa……."
He thought of Liana.
He wanted to trap her in his arms right away and hug her until she burst.
He wanted to devour her completely and make her his own.
An uncontrollable desire filled his head.
Only then did Shed realize.
That Lupus's instinctive desire had come to him as well.
He roughly opened the drawer of the bedside table and took out a small key.
He shoved the key into the small drawer on one side of the room, past the floor where the water bottle had broken.
"Damn it."
His hand trembled with excitement, and the key scratched the entrance several times before finally fitting in and being pushed in.
As soon as the key turned with a click, Shed pulled the drawer out as if he would pull it out completely.
There was a small medicine bottle in the drawer.
When he opened the medicine bottle, there were about thirty white pills inside.
He poured the pills onto his hand, put them in his mouth, and swallowed them without water.
Eclaus had warned him to take only one pill when he went into heat, but he didn't have the capacity to think about how many pills he had taken.
He waited for the medicine to take effect, holding the medicine bottle in his trembling hand.
His body was still hot, throbbing, and tingling.
Every time the clothes on his body brushed against his skin, it stimulated his sensitive senses.
He threw the gown that was stimulating him onto the bed and closed his eyes tightly.
When he closed his eyes, her image became clear.
The image of her smiling in his dream came to mind, but ridiculously, the last image of Liana that he had seen was her glaring at him with eyes reddened as if she was about to cry.
That sense of incongruity tormented him, and a hot breath caught in his throat.
"Damn it!"
Unable to suppress his excitement, he swept everything off the bedside table.
Crash, the objects broke and made a mess of the floor.
The damn medicine wasn't working, and the increasingly intense lust was devouring everything.
He was horrified and disgusted by himself, who was being devoured by desire like a beast.
He gripped his arm tightly to suppress the heat-ridden body, and his fingernails dug into his flesh.
Blood oozed out at the end, but even that pain was not enough to make him forget his excitement.
'It seems like the other Lupus get the effects of the medicine right away when they take it, so why……!'
Shed gritted his teeth, clenching the medicine in his hand.
Sweat dripped down his hot, hard muscles.
The Lupus he knew would quickly suppress their heat and return to their daily lives as soon as the medicine took effect.
That's why Shed himself thought he would be like that too.
But strangely, the Sedative didn't work on his body.
He opened the medicine bottle again and poured the medicine onto his hand again.
"You must be careful as the effects are strong. Overdosing can kill you, as with all medicines."
The warning Eclaus had given him when he handed him the medicine didn't matter.
The top priority was to calm this beastly lust.
He put the medicine in his mouth and crunched it, biting down on it.
He didn't care about the side effects or anything else, he just wanted this excitement to be killed right away.
Otherwise, right now…….
Knock knock.
At that moment, a small sound touched his sensitive senses.
Shed, who had swallowed the medicine, raised his head sharply.
Silence fell in the room filled with rough breathing.
And.
"……Your Excellency, I brought water."
Ah.
Damn it.
You shouldn't come looking for me now.
