Duke, Is This Your First Time?

”No… you can borrow it and give it back. It’s worth it right?”

After leaving the tavern, Elysia strode over to where Hal was waiting with a dumbfounded look on her face.

She had just slipped out, barely refusing Iker’s offer to take her home. She glanced back.

 She could see him still standing in front of the door of the tavern. Was he watching her go? As their eyes met, she was startled and quickly turned her head forward.

Perhaps because she was embarrassed remembering Iker’s offer, her steps quickened.

[I’m asking if you need a man to warm your bed.]

 [You said I satisfied you enough, so consider my offer. If the Marquess needs it, I’ll lend it to you anytime.]

For a moment, Elysia barely picked up and swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth, ‘Have you lost your mind?’

Instead, she asked him back.’Is this reality?’  And what did he say?

[I can lend it to you secretly.]

She, who struggled to open her mouth for a while because she was dumbfounded to receive an offer from Duke Deimos to be her secret s*x partner, immediately rejected.

 [I’m sorry, but I refuse. I will not enter into a relationship with someone at the same workplace. I can’t ignore the emotional side. Above all, Your Excellency and I are in the opposite position.]

He was the head of the Imperialists and she was the head of the Nobility. However, it was a distant way of saying that it was impossible for the two of them to lie in bed together.

But Iker didn’t seem to think so.

[It’s only immature if you mix personal emotions with work. I think for someone as capable as you, you wouldn’t do that. But I don’t have the hobby to force it on someone who doesn’t want to, so let it go for now.]

The conversation with Iker seemed to conclude that way. But perhaps it was the word “for now” in his words that made her veal uneasy.

‘It’s strange. That man.’

There was something different about him from all the other men she had met. The things he said, the way he approached her.

‘I don’t know what to say. Really crazy….’

If he wasn’t crazy, he wouldn’t make such a proposal to her, his rival, to be her secret s*x partner.

Elysia, who was walking with a frown, was suddenly surprised by the familiar voice from the side.

“Where are you going?”

“Hal?”

Turning her head, she saw Hal standing leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Why are you here? We agreed to meet in the second alley, didn’t we?”

When Elysia asked in surprise, Hal’s brow furrowed as he approached, suddenly frowning at her. He was so close that she could feel his breath.

His eyebrows furrowed a bit more as he smelled her.

“How much alcohol did you drink?”

“Alcohol? I had two glasses of brandy.”

“Don’t lie.”

Hal’s skeptical voice rang in Elysia’s ear.

His warm breath tickled her lips and Elysia narrowed her eyes.

Hmm.

Twisting her lips in a mean way, she raised her hand and grabbed Hal’s chin. The distance between their lips, which had been so close, narrowed to a paper-thin pause.

“I’m sure I told you, but if you do this again, I’ll kiss you.”

Hal’s handsome face scrunched up at Elysia’s mischievous whisper.

Elysia shrugged as Hal quickly raised his head and stepped back as if he had heard something he shouldn’t hear.

“Anyway, I don’t think I can win. And although I like drinking, my opponent is crazy. Do you think I’d drink with Duke Deimos in front of me? In this situation?”

She was about to retort, “Where do you get off saying something so outrageous?” when she was suddenly stunned by Hal’s irritating voice.

“By the way, can’t you also see that this is the second alley?”

“What?”

“This is where we’re supposed to meet.”

“…?”

Elysia slowly looked around.  To her surprise, where she was standing was the place where she was supposed to meet with Hal. 

“I must be crazy.” 

If she wasn’t crazy, there was no way to describe it. She was so distracted by Duke Deimos that she overlooked the meeting place.

 “Do you want to kill Triel?” 

“You’ve gone crazy. What are you talking about now?”

When Elysia looked dumbfounded, Hal shrugged his shoulders and spoke to her. 

“Kill him or not, that’s up to you. I dug that guy out well and threw him back to his original place. I even saw to it that Duke Deimos’ second-in-command came in, so there shouldn’t be a problem.”

 “You kept his mouth shut, didn’t you?”

 “I told him that if he said one word about us, the next time we would bury him so that not a single hair would be visible.”

 “Well done. If he was that scared, he’d better behave.”

Nodding her head in satisfaction, Elysia was surprised to hear Hal’s voice belatedly.

 “By the way, what did Duke Deimos ask you earlier?”

 “Huh?”

 “What did he ask you that you had that stupid look on your face?” 

“Um….”

Elysia’s eyes rolled with embarrassment. How could she say what Iker said to Hal, even though he was as close as a brother to her.

She hesitated.

“Duke Deimos…he said it was his first. I’ve heard about it from Lulien, but it was a bit of a shock to have it confirmed in person.”

“I see.”

look of approval in Harl’s eyes at her reply.

Sighing in relief at the look of approval in Hal’s eyes, Elysia spoke softly, feeling embarrassed.

“Honestly, putting his status aside, can we talk about the fact that with a face like that, and a physique like that, he has never had a woman? The world can only benefit from such an appearance if it is used widely. Don’t you think so, Hal?”

There would be an abundance of women who would follow Duke Deimos at the snap of his fingers.

In a way, she thought, Duke Deimos was wasting his looks. But her friend didn’t seem to think so.

“Well, I don’t know about that.”

His reply came back quickly and without any hesitation, and Elysia realized she had forgotten something.

Why did she think there was only Duke Deimos? There was another man by her side who had a good face and physique, but no woman looked at him.

“Hal, why don’t you think again? You seem to be able to take advantage of the world enough.”

Elysia said seriously, putting her hand on Hal’s shoulder. But what came back was an absurd look. It was mixed with a look that said, “Are you crazy?”

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine.” (Elysia)

She shrugged her shoulders as she quickly removed her hand from his shoulder. Hal sighed and turned away.

“Don’t waste your breath and follow me. I parked the carriage a block away.” (Hal)

“Okay, but you really don’t want to date? To benefit the world with your broad heart………….” (Elysia)

“One more word and I’ll leave you behind.” (Hal)

“I’m just asking in all seriousness.” (Elysia)

“You seem bored. Do you want me to share Helios’ work?” (Hal)

“No, I’ll be quiet.”

The bright moonlight was falling behind the two as they bickered and walked towards the carriage.

***

“Your Excellency, I’m back.”

Iker, who had been watching Elysia’s back as she disappeared into the alley, turned around at the sound of his second-in-command Michael’s voice.

“What about Jonathan Triel?”

“He was in his room at the inn, so I told him he was arrested and would take him to the interrogation room. But there was something a little strange about him.”

Michael’s face had a curious expression on it.

“What is it?”

Michael’s eyes narrowed as he answered.

“Well, you see. I thought he would be naked because he was with a woman in a room at the inn, but there was dirt all over his body. It was like he rolled naked on the ground.”

It didn’t make sense, he thought.

Where did the dirt on Jonathan’s body come from, if there was no way there could be dirt in an inn room?

He reported it because he couldn’t understand the situation, but his boss didn’t show much reaction.

“Is that all?”

“Huh?”

“Is that the only thing that’s wrong?”

Surprised, Michael quickly addressed the rest of the questions.

“And he was smiling at me like a crazy person. He said he was glad that he lived. He even begged me to take him away quickly.”

Michael’s brow furrowed mercilessly as he thought of the naked Jonathan who was holding onto his pants and begged.

He frowned. It was so ugly that he wanted to bury his eyes.

He checked to see if maybe Triel was drunk, but he wasn’t. That made it even weirder.

He finished his story and waited for his boss’s reaction. He had no doubt that this time his boss would agree with him.

But the words that came out of Iker’s mouth were not what he was expecting.

“I see. Good job.”

‘What is this reaction?’

Stunned, Michael blinked his eyes. Iker’s reaction was nonchalant, even though the situation was by no means normal as far as he was concerned. 

How could he not find this strange? Did his boss know what happened to Jonathan Triel?

Unable to understand his boss’s reaction as well as Jonathan’s actions, Michael rolled his eyes.

However, he didn’t dare to ask more, so he quietly turned around.

“Then I’ll go and interrogate Jonathan Triel………”

“I’ll do it.” (Iker)

“What?”

“I said I would do it myself.” (Iker)

Michael’s eyes shook violently at Iker’s words.