I Thought I Was the Monster Duke's Fake Tranquilizer - Chapter 33
Having lived so long in the shelter, she had grown accustomed to sleeping lightly and waking often, so even having a dream was a rare occurrence.
But of all things, a dream about the duke.
And a dream that ended on such a suggestive note, at that!
‘If I’d known I’d have this kind of dream, I wouldn’t have fallen asleep.’
But her regret was short-lived.
“…Well, there wasn’t much else to do anyway.”
“The demonic beast? Take me there at once.”
“K-Kyah…? Y-Yes, right away…!”
That is to say, right after Edward had left with the flustered innkeeper, leaving the dazed Lucy behind.
Left alone, Lucy had absolutely nothing to do.
Going outside when a demonic beast was on the loose was out of the question.
And if the people who’d been crowded against the wall were still gathered there, she’d turn back into a zoo monkey the moment she stepped out, which would be troublesome.
‘…But everyone evacuated, right?’
She was a little worried, but seeing as the innkeeper had come running to fetch Edward, she trusted that they’d all gotten away on their own.
‘Then I’ll just…’
…Sleep.
One could call it excessively nonchalant, given that a demonic beast was rampaging nearby.
But if she was going to make it to the Duke of Thesseron’s castle, she needed to build up her stamina.
‘That’s exactly why we’re here now, isn’t it?’
Wasn’t the whole reason they’d stopped to rest because she was too weak to go straight to the ducal castle?
If that was the case, then eating well and resting well were her duties for the moment.
Worrying about the invincible dragon incarnation was as meaningless as worrying about a celebrity.
So boldly grabbing a blanket and pillow had seemed like a fine idea, but…
‘This room is a little… you know?’
She was reluctant to sleep in the room Edward had left her in.
Wasn’t it the room he’d chosen for himself in the first place? Which meant he’d taken off his armor here…
In that instant, Lucy swiftly banished the afterimage that filled her mind—that chest straining against its harness.
‘In any case, he might use it when he comes back.’
With that, Lucy stepped into the hallway and found herself a room that was suitably comfortable and suitably small.
She had secretly worried whether sleep would even come once she lay down.
Yet she had slept so deeply that she’d had a dream like this—how absurd.
Lucy turned over, feeling thoroughly wronged.
“…But is this really my fault?”
If only Edward hadn’t said those words to her before he left.
“It’s useful. There is.”
He was terrifying and had a filthy personality, and yet, in that moment, he had said exactly what she needed to hear.
“Does that make him lucky or unlucky?”
No, if only the face that had spoken those words had been even slightly less handsome.
…And furthermore, if only he hadn’t smashed his lips against hers!
Of course, Lucy knew it had been necessary.
With a full-scale battle ahead, he must have needed the purification all the more.
But the stimulation of her first kiss had been far too intense.
And all they had done was press their lips together.
‘It wasn’t even with tongue…’
Even now, her lips still felt like they were burning.
“So from now on, every time I do a purification, it’s going to feel like this…”
…Probably.
She tried to spin a wholesome hope circuit, but having entered an R-19 world, there was no helping it.
And now that they’d already crashed lips, she couldn’t exactly back out.
“It can’t be helped.”
Coolly canceling her plan to minimize contact, Lucy resolved to steel her heart thoroughly.
So that she could prepare herself for whatever kiss might come next.
Wasn’t there a magic phrase for times like this?
The words that protagonists, overwhelmed by arousal, always recited to regain their reason.
“It’s just purification. Just purification!”
She murmured quietly and rose to find pale blue dawn light streaming through the window. It seemed quite a bit of time had passed without her noticing.
Only then did she sense something strange.
‘…Why is it so quiet?’
Lucy carefully stepped into the hallway.
“He’s still not back?”
Just in case, she crept toward the room Edward had claimed. It was indeed empty.
There was no way he would have taken this long to slay a demonic beast.
“This is a little strange.”
