Chapter 544 – #114_Lurue Nukelavi (2)
#544
1.
Siwoo, having been slapped hard on the cheek, knelt down and began to explain himself in detail.
Lurue, having listened to everything, scoffed as if she couldn’t believe her ears.
“You expect me to believe such a ridiculous excuse?”
“It’s the truth…!”
Everything he said was hard to believe.
“You’re saying that if I smell your scent, you can’t control your lust? Don’t be ridiculous! Even animals in heat aren’t that bad.”
“But, as I said, didn’t your magic recover?”
“It did, strangely enough. However, just because one part of your statement is true doesn’t mean everything you say is credible.”
Lurue came out of the bedroom after only 15 minutes.
Compared to how she looked when she first woke up, she didn’t seem as angry as expected.
I had expected that she wouldn’t kill me, but at least I would be confined to my room for a few days. However, she came back right away and gave me a chance to explain myself.
But no matter how sincerely he tried to tell the truth, Lurue didn’t seem to believe him.
Lurue, who had barely managed to control her anger by slapping him, was becoming more and more displeased as Siwoo continued to speak.
“Do you think I’m a fool?”
As she said, he knew it was a ridiculous story.
Until now, other women had believed him, albeit suspiciously, or hadn’t even doubted him at all, but now it was only natural that she found it hard to believe.
His credibility was probably plummeting.
The most difficult thing was that he couldn’t prove that his statement was true.
If he were to let Lurue smell his scent and watch her reaction, he would only be accumulating more bad karma.
Even if he were to risk being attacked by Lurue and let her smell his scent, it would be impossible to explicitly prove the correlation between lust and scent.
Lust is an intangible desire.
“Please believe me. It’s the truth.”
“……”
All he could do was appeal to her with the last bit of trust he had left.
Lurue crossed her arms and pondered for a long time.
Her furrowed brow showed no sign of relaxing, which made him anxious.
“To think I wasted my time listening to such a pathetic excuse makes me angry all over again.”
“……”
“I’m disappointed. I’ll give you one last chance to tell the truth. Remember that my mercy ends here.”
With a firm ultimatum, Lurue closed her mouth tightly.
The ticking of the clock and the sound of a fuse burning seemed to echo in his ears.
His life depended on how he answered here.
“……”
He had already told her the whole truth without a single lie.
But Lurue was not convinced.
Repeating the same statement wouldn’t make it any more convincing.
So what answer did she want to hear?
A spark of inspiration flashed through the cold sweat running down his back.
It was the truth that sometimes a lie that one wants to hear is more plausible than the truth that one doesn’t want to hear.
“I…”
But his words were cut short.
He couldn’t be sure if it was okay to say this.
“Why are you stopping mid-sentence?”
The moment he opened his mouth, the grace period became even shorter, so he had no choice but to give the answer he had prepared.
“I… blinded by Your Majesty’s beautiful and priceless body, forgot my restraint and fell into desire.”
Well, it wasn’t a complete lie.
The reason he had gone out of control more than necessary was definitely because Lurue had such a beautiful body and appearance.
He anxiously watched her expression.
“……”
Her eyebrows and lips were still not relaxed at all.
It was clear that she was not satisfied with his excuse.
But now that he had taken the plunge, it would be the worst possible move to admit that he had made a slip of the tongue.
Rather, he had to push forward boldly and shamelessly.
“I didn’t want to miss the chance to hold Your Majesty. I was determined that even if I died, I would smile happily if I spent one night with Your Majesty.”
“……”
He had climbed onto a tiger’s back.
There was no turning back, so he clenched his fist and continued to speak like an orator.
“I was truly happy. But! After the deed was done, I became greedy for a life that I thought I had no regrets about.
Spending one night with Your Majesty was not just about sharing love between a man and a woman, but it was so happy that it even changed my outlook on life.”
“……”
“Because of that, I dared to deceive Your Majesty. Because if I was alive, I would have another chance!
That I couldn’t control myself because I smelled your scent! Even thinking about it now, it’s a foolish, hastily made excuse! I am ashamed of myself!”
“……”
“I must have been captivated by Your Majesty’s charm, which is like a curse.”
He rattled off the words he had learned at the host bar, with a bit of exaggeration.
He hadn’t originally intended to go this far, but because the words were so embarrassing, he had gained momentum.
“Please kill me!”
He bowed his head and waited for Lurue’s verdict.
Ten seconds that felt like ten minutes passed, and the cold sweat cooled, covering his neck with a chilly air.
Then, a voice so small that it could barely be heard broke the silence.
“…So, that’s what happened?”
“Yes, it is.”
When he raised his head, Lurue’s face was red, and she was twirling her hair with her fingers.
Her legs couldn’t stay still for a moment, and she was slowly stepping as if she were waltzing.
“You think I would fall for such sweet talk?”
Contrary to her words, her voice suddenly became gentle.
Lurue, who had been swaying in place, circled around Siwoo with a strange gait and then patted him on the shoulder.
“Well, my charm was like a curse… It’s an undeniable fact, hmm…”
She continued to speak, patting him without any real meaning.
“Ha… really… This is not an incident that can be overlooked so generously… So, what part of me felt so attractive that it changed your outlook on life?”
It was so effective that it was surprising.
It was the same principle as showing off his skills as a high-level player in an arcade.
Praise is always more pleasant when someone else gives it to you than when you give it to yourself a hundred times.
Even though it was obvious flattery, it was the first time Lurue had ever received a compliment about her appearance from a man, and it had a big impact on her.
Her pride was so high that it had reached a place where the shameful memories of last night couldn’t reach.
Lurue shuddered as she felt a tingling sensation in her chest rather than her lower abdomen this time.
She unfolded her arms, struck a pose like a model on a runway, and lifted her chin.
“Now, tell me. What part of me was so attractive?”
When things go this well, it’s usually a bad sign, but…
He almost said “body” out of carelessness, but he managed to catch himself.
“First of all… it’s Your Majesty’s hair.”
“Hmm? My hair? I’ve never really taken care of it, but is it that beautiful?”
Lurue ruffled her hair by her ear and smiled as if it was nothing special.
He carefully made his appeal, being careful not to smell her scent.
“Yes, the way it flows like the waves of the night sea is more beautiful than a shampoo model.”
“And?”
“Your eyes, full of spirit, are truly worthy of being called insightful, and your elegant eyebrows look as if they were drawn by a master with a brush.”
“And? Is that all? Go on.”
“Even though you are petite…”
“Petite?”
Siwoo quickly took back his words as Lurue glared at him.
“Even though you have a slender figure, you have a feminine line. It’s no exaggeration to say that you are a goddess, not just the queen of the sea. And your height is above the average for a witch.”
It was an excellent improvisation, except for the fact that he almost made a mistake because she was asking so many questions in a row.
That’s why people need to have a lot of experience.
“Heeeeeum…!”
Lurue made a satisfied snort, as if she had never been angry, and twitched her lips.
Was it okay for her to be so simple-minded?
He even felt guilty for deceiving such an innocent queen.
“Now that I hear it, it’s not appropriate to blame only your lack of virtue. It’s only because my fatal beauty has bewitched you, so how can I blame a moth that flies into a lamp?”
“I am honored.”
“But! I can’t let this go without any punishment!”
Lurue commanded in a loud voice.
Her high-pitched voice was full of youthful energy, but it was also charismatic.
Seeing this, he realized that not just anyone could become a witch.
“I hereby banish the Minister of Internal Affairs, Shin Siwoo, from entering the dining hall for one week! I also forbid him from eating ice cream and desserts!”
He was reinstated as Minister of Internal Affairs from being a slave.
“I will banish you to the Nukelavi’s main palace! There, you will face the wall and reflect on your lack of self-control and patience!”
“I am deeply grateful for your grace.”
It was just a formality, a way of telling him to go to the place of exile and face trials and challenges.
He had already asked Lurue to allow him to challenge the trials again.
Siwoo sighed in relief, grateful for her unseen consideration.
But…
Things had gotten a little complicated.
He had originally planned to ask Lurue about external communication or contact today, but he was worried that it would be like stirring up trouble when she had barely gotten into a good mood.
Then he should focus on the trials first.
Had Lurue’s magic been copied and made him stronger? He needed to see for himself.
