I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 94

“You’re still awake.”

The Duchess asked in her usual, unremarkable tone.

“Ah, yes. I had some work to do…”

Eleanor replied with a smile, but cold sweat was pouring down her back.

‘Why on earth did I tell him to hide?’

They were just talking; they weren’t doing anything wrong. If they were discovered like this, it would look even more suspicious.

‘Ugh. I can’t ask him to come out now.’

If he suddenly emerged from under the desk and said they weren’t doing anything, it wouldn’t be believable.

“What is it?”

“I was passing by and saw your light was still on, so I thought I’d knock.”

Next time she stayed up late, she’d have to cover the gap under the door.

“You must be very busy, working at this hour.”

“Oh, no, haha. I just kept getting distracted, and the work dragged on.”

“Are you going to bed now?”

“Yes, I’ll just finish this up and then go to sleep.”

The Duchess’s eyes were full of pride as she looked at Eleanor. Eleanor was grateful for the sentiment, but all she could think was, ‘Please, just leave quickly.’

However, Eleanor’s wish was not granted.

“If you’re going to work more, shall we talk for a bit?”

“Pardon?”

Eleanor’s eyes widened in surprise, but the Duchess stepped inside.

“I won’t bother you. I’ll just sit here and watch.”

Conversations with the clever and cool-headed Duchess were one of Eleanor’s pleasures. She was always welcome, but not today.

‘Why does it have to be now?’

Just as she thought that, Eleanor almost let out a shocked cry.

Lian, who was under the desk, had straightened up. It seemed he was changing his position as the conversation looked like it would be a long one. Even the world’s greatest knight would find it hard to hold a cramped position for long, so she understood…

‘Ah, that tickles.’

It was good that he was moving slowly and silently, but because of that, she felt the unmistakable trajectory of his lips moving from her ankle to her knee.

Her voluminous skirt was pushed by his broad shoulders and slid up to her knee. It didn’t touch her skin directly, but she nearly shivered from his breath that escaped through his slightly parted lips.

“What’s wrong, Eleanor?”

The Duchess, who had approached, tilted her head at Eleanor, who was biting her lip.

“Oh, m-my legs are just very numb from sitting for so long.”

“My, you’re overworking yourself.”

“This is nothing, ha-haha.”

The Duchess, as if to be considerate of Eleanor, sat on a stool across from the desk instead of her usual sofa. She picked up a stack of ledgers on the desk and began offering advice.

“This is from the Koltzen Merchant Guild. I have a separate trade route I use; would you like me to mediate?”

“Oh? If you would, I’d be s-so… grateful.”

“If you’re distributing books in this region, the Myrtha family would be better than the Hansel family.”

As always, she gave advice that was worth its weight in gold. However, Eleanor couldn’t concentrate at all.

‘What kind of tangle is going on down there?’

Her knees, which she was struggling to keep together, would touch Lian’s cheek with even a slight movement. One foot was halfway in the air, and the other was pressed against something. She felt like she’d get a cramp if she endured any longer, so Eleanor tried to pull her foot away.

“Ugh.”

Eleanor flinched at the low sound Lian made. Almost at the same time, the Duchess looked up. She must have heard a faint sound.

“Ahem, ahem. Something’s caught in my throat.”

She quickly cleared her throat and gulped down the lukewarm tea in her cup. Her mind was in complete chaos.

‘What… did I press?’

She thought her foot was wedged between his arm and body, but it seemed to have been wedged between Lian’s thighs. And since she had moved her foot forward…

Eleanor stopped thinking. If her face turned red now, it would be over.

‘Aaaah. What do I do?’

The problem was that her foot was still in a very awkward place. Despite his slender appearance, Lian’s body was firm with muscle. There was no room for her to pull her foot away from his solid thigh muscles.

When she moved slightly, Lian flinched, then let out a long breath.

“Hoo…”

As if it wasn’t already ticklish enough. A strange sensation spread across her sensitive knee from his long exhale. She desperately tried to suppress her shivering body and fill her teacup again to muffle any sound she made.

But her hands were trembling, and it wasn’t easy.

“Shall I do it for you?”

“Oh, no.”

She declined, but the Duchess took the teapot and poured it herself. As expected of someone from the highest noble house, her movements were very graceful, as if she had been trained in the tea ceremony.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking I should talk to you about this when I had the chance.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“Do you remember what I told you before, about refraining from getting caught up in a private mood with Lian until everything is over?”

When the Duchess mentioned Lian, Eleanor was so startled that she instinctively wiggled her foot. Now she could feel a very distinct change in Lian’s body.

As the flustered Eleanor pulled her foot back, Lian rested his face against her leg. The terribly soft sensation made her whole body stand on end.

“I hope you don’t misunderstand. I’m… not trying to interfere with you two.”

The Duchess seemed to be saying something important, but Eleanor couldn’t hear it because of the urgent situation below.

Lian had grabbed her ankle.

‘Gasp!’

He seemed to have realized that Eleanor was very uncomfortable in her current position. No, he was probably more uncomfortable. He carefully took her foot off, then tried to move it away by propping it with his arm, but there was no space for her leg.

In her predicament, he placed her leg on his shoulder. This gave Lian more space to sit and made her posture much more comfortable, but Eleanor’s mind went completely blank.

‘This position seems even worse…!’

Her knee was resting on Lian’s shoulder. That was fine, but the problem was that Lian was positioned between her legs. And since she had lifted her leg, her skirt had slid up even higher.

The voluminous skirt obscured their view, and it was very dark, so nothing could be seen, but this posture was far too embarrassing.

“I feel sorry for you. I know it’s not my place to intervene.”

The Duchess’s eyes, unaware of the disaster unfolding, grew wistful.

“I only lived with Lian until he entered the Academy, and since then, I’ve only seen him very rarely. I still vividly remember him as a child, and now he’s brought a lady home…”

Seeing the Duchess’s emotional eyes, guilt surged within Eleanor. She had unintentionally subjected him to all sorts of “niche” plays, so to speak.

I am so sorry. I tied up your precious son, made him kneel under a desk, and toyed with him with my foot.

Eleanor apologized to the Duchess in her mind and lowered her head. She couldn’t see Lian’s face. Instead, she saw his long fingers clutching the hem of her skirt. The strangely erotic sight made Eleanor’s face flush.

“I’d like you to think of it as a process to be recognized by everyone, not just by me. It might just be my anxiety, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious right now.”

“Yes, you are right.”

Eleanor agreed, internally pleading to someone she didn’t know: ‘Oh, please, don’t move anymore.’

However, her thoughts were not conveyed. She felt his Adam’s apple move as if he had swallowed, then the fingers that were holding her ankle began to advance. They traveled up her leg to the boundary created by her skirt and stopped near her thigh.

They had caught on her garter belt. She had taken off her uncomfortable stockings to work more comfortably but had left the garter belt connected to her waist to remove before bed. When Lian ran his fingertips along it, she involuntarily swallowed.

“I just want you to think of it as a process of being recognized by everyone, not just me. I might be overly cautious, but there is no harm in exercising a little restraint right now.”

“Yes… I understand everything.”

But I don’t think your son understands, Eleanor thought.

Eleanor lowered her hand and placed it on Lian’s head. She tried to hold him still, but her fingers burrowing into his hair seemed to have stimulated him instead.

“Ah.”

Something wet touched her thigh. She felt as if she was being electrocuted by the soft, moist sensation and was about to convulse. A small gasp escaped her lips, and the Duchess raised an eyebrow.

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

It was absolutely not nothing! A scream echoed in her mind, but she had no choice but to hold it in.

Lian’s lips shifted slightly to the side, and an even more arousing, throbbing sensation spread.

“You don’t look well. Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine. Just a little sleepy…”

At Eleanor’s words, the Duchess looked up at the clock on the wall.

“I see. It’s very late; you should get to bed now.”

Finally, the words she had been waiting for flowed from the Duchess’s lips.

“I’ll go now, as I seem to be a distraction. Don’t overdo it, and get some rest.”

The Duchess stood up. Eleanor pushed Lian away and got to her feet as well. Her skirt billowed out, covering her exposed legs.

“Good night, Duchess.”

Duchess Floyd waved her hand and exited.

Eleanor, with her legs trembling, saw the Duchess off. As soon as she closed the door, she locked it.

Lian emerged from under the desk.

“W-What were you doing? We almost got caught!” Eleanor chastised him in a low voice. She couldn’t scold him too strongly, though, since she was the one who had pushed him under the desk and then provoked him.

Lian approached Eleanor without any excuse.

“Go back to your room before you get… Oops!”

Eleanor couldn’t finish her sentence. Lian easily lifted her and laid her down on the long chair. And then he pressed his lips to hers.

Lian’s lips, which she hadn’t touched in a while, were incredibly hot and even more explicit than usual. His half-closed purple eyes were hazy, as if he had already lost half of his reason.

‘I shouldn’t be doing this!’

She tried to push him away, but he wasn’t the only one who had been heated up by their recent contact. The rough kiss was an excessive stimulus for her already warmed body. With her hands losing strength, she placed them on his shoulders and accepted his lips for a while.

Passionate sounds filled the room, and their bodies were tightly pressed together. The heat, far from cooling down, only intensified, and his hands began to wander. When they reached a rather precarious spot, a warning bell finally rang in Eleanor’s mind.

“Count, stop.”

She pushed him away with all her might, and their lips separated with a moist sound.

“W-We shouldn’t be doing this. Didn’t you hear what the Duchess just said?”

“I couldn’t hear a thing.”

The desk wasn’t soundproof; there was no way he couldn’t have heard what was said right in front of him. It probably meant he had no mental capacity to listen. His gaze was still dangerous, so Eleanor spoke again.

“We made a promise to the Duchess.”

“And… I’ve held back a lot because of that.”

Lian gasped, muttering to himself.

“If you knew how I felt right now, you would know how much I’ve held back.”

His low voice made her heart pound as if she couldn’t breathe. He didn’t move away, instead propping himself up on the desk with both arms and gazing at Eleanor.

“Eleanor.”

She turned her head at the sound of her name, and their eyes met. His purple irises were filled with a light that said he didn’t want to stop. Eleanor involuntarily swallowed.

Support