Chapter 610 – #123_Deneb’S Melancholy (5)
#610
1.
“So… you’re saying that kind of preference actually exists?”
Lucy’s face was so hot that steam seemed to be coming out of her ears as she nodded heavily.
If Deneb had even a slight interest in the darker side of things, this whole misunderstanding could have been cleared up with a simple “I was doing SM play.”
The unfortunate thing here was that Deneb’s knowledge of sex was shockingly poor.
Deneb couldn’t even grasp the fundamental idea that such a preference existed.
Instead, she looked at Lucy with suspicion, thinking she was making up some ridiculous lie.
“Really? Not to judge Siwoo later, or to hide the fact that you were threatened?”
“I’m telling you, it’s true…”
Even after some explanation, Deneb’s expression was one of utter bewilderment.
It was probably the same face she’d make if she were eating stinky surströmming with a blissful expression.
“So… you can feel sexually aroused by being dominated or spanked? Really?”
“Deneb, why are you doing this to me?”
A sexual preference that had been hidden for a lifetime was forcibly outed.
To make matters worse, having to explain it in detail was a humiliating experience that was too cruel for Lucy.
The Count of Yesod was almost in tears as she pleaded her injustice.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I just can’t believe it… Could I ask someone else to cross-verify?”
“Did I do something wrong?!”
In the end, Deneb’s suspicion was resolved by using the ‘Oath of Confession’ to verify the truth.
After confirming that there was not a single lie in her words, Deneb bit her fingernails as if her values were in chaos.
Lucy, who had been sitting there in a daze, finally came to her senses.
Being embarrassed was one thing, but the issues that needed to be addressed were another.
“Deneb.”
“Yes.”
“I think of you as a close friend, Deneb. But even so, this time you crossed the line.”
That’s right.
The bedroom where they had been today was Lucy’s chamber.
It was a place that could not be accidentally passed by unless someone deliberately sneaked in.
Now it was Lucy’s turn to interrogate Deneb.
The thought that she had nothing left to lose was a great bellows to the embers of her fading anger.
“I appreciate you worrying about me, even if it was a misunderstanding. But you need to explain this rudeness.”
“As I said, it was by chance…”
“Don’t lie. It’s not a place you could just stumble into. You’re not trying to expose my weakness like this and then slip away, are you?”
Siwoo wasn’t a blackmailer, and Lucy Yesod was just a pervert beyond common sense.
Deneb had been somewhat relieved by this conclusion, but as Lucy’s sharp interrogation continued, she realized the situation.
Deneb’s worries were completely off the mark.
If the blackmail had been true, she might have glossed over it with something like, ‘A passerby solved the problem,’ but at this point, she had to clearly reveal the reason for her eavesdropping.
“Well, that’s…”
“You’re not going to say it’s difficult to answer, are you?”
Deneb thought as she heard Lucy’s sharp voice, which was reminiscent of her past temper.
The worries that had been clouding Deneb’s mind recently were entirely her own, and she hadn’t been able to confide in or seek advice from anyone.
Not even Albireo, who was like her other half, or rather, because he was like her other half, she couldn’t confide in him.
But what about Lucy?
If it was her, with her unique tastes.
If it was her, who had maintained their friendship for so long, she might listen to Deneb’s worries without judgment.
Moreover, although it wasn’t her intention, Deneb had also gotten a hold of Lucy’s weakness, so there was little chance of it being leaked to the outside.
“I’ll keep your secret too…”
“Is that even a question? If this gets out, I’ll go down with you, Count Deneb!”
Lucy jumped up and slammed her hand on the table.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s not that, but can you keep my secret too, Count Lucy?”
“…Okay. Let’s move somewhere else. It seems like it’ll take a while.”
2.
If Deneb had tried to make up some flimsy lie or utter some absurd excuse, Lucy wouldn’t have stood still either.
She would have demanded compensation for the mental damage.
But the words she finally managed to utter after finishing a whole bottle of high-end whiskey were so shocking that they completely blew away that anger.
“So, to summarize, you, Count Deneb… have fallen in love with Siwoo? And that’s why you were following him?”
“Love! That’s absurd! It’s just… I’ve become aware of him.”
“That’s the same thing…”
“That’s that, and this is this!”
To summarize Deneb’s long-winded, roundabout way of speaking in one sentence, it was, ‘Lately, my son-in-law looks like a man to me.’
It was an issue that would get her a barrage of curses from the host if she went on a radio program that only dealt with mind-boggling stories.
“Why on earth…”
But just hearing this, it was hard to guess the cause.
Of course, Shin Siwoo was an incredibly handsome man with a great body.
As the only witch in the world, he would also be quite rare.
But who was Deneb?
She was a staunch, orthodox witch who had never given a man a second glance in her entire life.
Even Lucy, the master of trashy novels, wouldn’t think that she was someone who would be interested in a decadent relationship that would make her flinch.
“…May I ask what happened?”
“Ah, I’m so resentful. I was happier when I didn’t know anything…”
Deneb shed tears like beads.
She cautiously confided in Lucy about the problem that she had been suffering from alone.
“At first, it was just for verification.”
“What kind of verification?”
“That’s…”
Deneb’s recollection that followed made Lucy’s jaw drop further and further.
She had put off her first experience.
It was to check in advance if it would have any effect on the apprentice witch, or so she said.
Up until then, she had no feelings of romantic interest in men.
The root of the problem was the fish tank kidnapping incident that Lucy was also familiar with.
Deneb had sex with Siwoo to replenish her magic power.
Of course, she didn’t necessarily require reciprocating movements for magic power replication, so at first, it was just sex where she would ejaculate immediately after insertion.
“But… I was getting tired. He was reliable, and my desire to lean on him kept growing. Somehow… I ended up making a demand on my own…”
And then, a wild intercourse with the brakes broken.
After that, Deneb escaped alone, thanks to Siwoo’s sacrifice, or rather, his sacrifice.
Lucy stared at Deneb as she recounted how worried she had been and how tormented she had been every day when Siwoo went missing.
A somber atmosphere as if she was making a confession.
But there was something that couldn’t be hidden by her tearful voice and the gloomy atmosphere of writhing in guilt.
A girl suffering from the fever of first love.
The fresh, innocent affection that Lucy had seen in the mirror when she first fell in love a long time ago.
It was the most powerful magic in the world, and at the same time, a curse.
“I have no face to show my twins. I don’t have much time left in my life, and it’s pathetic that I’m caught up in a man’s problem, but I can’t give up…”
Deneb’s voice, having finally confessed all her worries and sins, was muffled and choked.
Because it was her first time, she was clumsy, and because it was her first time, it was difficult to handle.
Because it was her first time, she was afraid, and because it was her first time, she couldn’t control her love.
And the person she had fallen in love with was her son-in-law.
It was as unstable and dangerous as heading straight to the Autobahn after getting a driver’s license.
How could she easily point a finger at her just because the relationship was forbidden?
Besides, Deneb was Lucy’s friend.
Blood was thicker than water.
Lucy forgot the humiliation she had suffered because of Deneb’s misunderstanding and stroked the back of her hand.
“I’m sorry. I think I drank too much. I was too much, wasn’t I?”
“Too much? How can a person’s heart go the way it wants?”
“I hate myself so much. But… I can’t stop. I don’t know how to stop.”
Deneb, who had been holding back, burst into tears at Lucy’s comfort, hugging her tightly and lamenting for a long time.
3.
“…Sniff.”
Deneb wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, dabbing at her swollen eyes.
Her breathing was a bit rough, but she looked somehow refreshed.
It was only natural, as she had squeezed out the worries that had been festering like pus.
“What should I do?”
Lucy’s pupils vibrated at Deneb’s question that followed.
She thought it would be enough to just listen to her worries, but was she really asking for a solution?
There were levels to love counseling.
Even for Lucy, it wasn’t easy to give advice on this kind of ultra-difficult, forbidden love.
What on earth was she supposed to answer here?
“Should I… give up?”
“I, I don’t know…”
“I know. I know how I must look in your eyes… A pathetic and stupid woman.”
Lucy blurted out a word at the sight of Deneb, who was exuding an aura of self-loathing.
It was a word that came out as a reflex, rather than a clear plan.
“How about being honest first?”
“Honest?”
“Yes, like you told me, how about telling Siwoo…”
In a normal situation, it would have been good advice.
But this wasn’t just unrequited love where she couldn’t express her feelings.
If the result of a sincere conversation was Siwoo and Deneb getting together, it would be a messy family tree.
“I can’t do it…”
“Then, how about consulting your sister…”
“If my sister finds out about this, she’ll try to kill me. I can’t tell her even if my mouth is torn.”
In the end, it meant that she couldn’t do either.
That was probably why the wise Deneb had been suffering so much.
Lucy clicked her tongue inwardly and suddenly thought of something.
It wouldn’t be a fundamental solution to the incurable disease of lovesickness, but it was a remedy that could have a symptomatic effect.
“Deneb.”
“Yes.”
“Please listen without misunderstanding?”
But was it really okay to recommend this?
Wouldn’t it just complicate the situation even more?
While pushing aside the worries in one corner of her heart, Lucy spoke the thought that had just come to her mind.
