CH 110

Count Flantrude’s tour of the royal capital was a real pleasure.



He was knowledgeable about the best spots in the royal capital, very eloquent, and really thoughtful.



And he had stylish manners. 



…He truly was an aristocrat through and through.



The kind that was popular with women. The only problem with him was that there was an underlying sense of elitism rooted in him.



A common trait of noble supremacists.



His bad reputation kept noblewomen away from him, and he was too prideful to approach the average ones.



That’s why he was feeling lonely and hungry for praise. 



Which made him extraordinarily easy to deal with.



I could slip into the cracks of his heart all I wanted.



[Lou, did you enjoy the royal capital?] (Count Flantrude)



[Yes, very much so. I would love to live there someday.] (Lugh/Lou)



[In that case, would you like to move in with me?] (Count Flantrude)



[Fufu…! I’m flattered by your offer.] (Lugh/Lou)



I replied with an evasive tone, rosy cheeks, and an expression of longing.



Because I knew that this was the sort of gesture that would tug at this man’s heartstrings.



And then, we gently looked at each other, hand in hand.



[Lou, you are a wonderful lady. My offer was only meant as a jest, but perhaps I will be serious about it.] (Count Flantrude)



[My! I knew you didn’t actually mean it. You are such a prankster, Count Flantrude.] (Lugh/Lou)



We chuckled a bit bashfully.



The mood felt like something out of a shoujo manga.



Then when I felt someone staring at me and turned to look at them, I was met with Tarte and Dia’s ice-cold glares.



…I don’t like this situation either, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t look at me like that.



And so, the carriage drove straight to Count Flantrude’s mansion.



I was surprised when I saw Count Flantrude’s residence.



As expected of a formerly prestigious household.



Even in the royal capital, there weren’t many mansions like this one.



There were plenty of houses that cost a pretty penny, but this one had the weight of history and a polished sense of style.



The last remaining property of House Flantrude. If the current head hadn’t killed his father and tried everything he could to get his household back on its feet, this mansion would’ve been sold to someone else long ago.



I sang the praise of this mansion.



It was his pride and joy as a Flantrude, so praising it was akin to praising him.



[This mansion represents the history of House Flantrude. I will protect it at all costs. No matter what people may say behind my back.] (Count Flantrude)



Perhaps it was due to being in a merry mood from the way I entertained him, but he let his true feelings slip out.



Providing a false testimony to incriminate me was probably for the sake of protecting his house as well.



[At all costs? That sounds sinister. What do you mean by that?] (Lugh/Lou)



[…Hahaha! It’s nothing interesting. That aside, the party will soon begin. I’ll give you a room where you can rest until then.] (Count Flantrude)



[We shall take you up on your offer. I will see you at the party.] (Lugh/Lou)



I smiled and moved into the room he lent me.



Upon entering the room, the first thing I did was to check the inside.



I carefully checked to see if there were any sorts of mechanisms that could pick up voices from the outside.



After tapping on the wall, figuring out its thickness, and making sure no sound would leak out, I gave Tarte and Dia permission to speak normally.



[You completely blew my mind. I can’t believe you got that man in the palm of your hand so easily. I think this could make me lose my confidence as a woman.] (Dia)



[That was really incredible. Though I’m a woman, I could actually fall for one myself if she approached me the way you did.] (Tarte)



[…I’m only doing this because it’s my job. I don’t have that sort of preference.] (Lugh)



Not that they questioned me about it, but I could see the doubt in their eyes, so I said that to clear it up.



[I know, I know. But still, I was scared for a moment. If leading a man around by the nose was that easy for you, then you may have…] (Dia)



What she was about to say before stopping herself was『You may have used your acting skills to make us fall for you as well.』



It’s true that I possessed the right skills to make women fall in love with me. Which was much more simple than seducing a guy by cross-dressing.



[One thing you can be sure of is that the way I behave in front of you girls is not an act. I only associate with that guy for my job. But with you two, it’s different. I want to spend my life with you. It wouldn’t mean anything if I used my acting skills and techniques to make you like me. Such an insincere relationship would be exhausting and short-lived. It’s the fact that people still like each other after showing their true selves that gives meaning to their relationships. That’s how it is for us, right?] (Lugh)



I admit that, if only for a moment, I could put on an act that would make Dia and Tarte love me even more than they already did.



But a relationship that couldn’t last without pretense was nothing but a sham doomed to fail sooner or later.



[Ahaha, I see. Yeah, good to hear. I love you most the way you are now.] (Dia)



[So do I. Ehehe! It’s great that we don’t have to put on airs to be together forever.] (Tarte)



[Thank you both.] (Lugh)



[Why do you thank us all of a sudden?] (Dia)



[No particular reason, I just wanted to say it.] (Lugh)



[You’re so weird, Lugh-sama.] (Tarte)



I was thanking them for loving me the way I was.



…Not that I was going to explain it though, as it was too embarrassing to say.



[Okay, the party is about to begin. You two come over here, I’ll fix your makeup.] (Lugh)



[Please do. …You know, you should teach me how to do makeup sometime.] (Dia)



[I would like to learn that too. Because it’s not just us, even Mother-in-law cannot apply makeup as well as you do.] (Tarte)



[Sure, I can teach you. You could put it to use when disguising yourselves, after all.] (Lugh)



[Alright! Fufufu! Because it frustrates me how much more gorgeous you are than me as a girl!] (Dia)



That’s her reason?



If you asked me, I’d say Dia was much prettier than my female disguise, though.



[*Sniff-sniff*… Lugh, I’ve been wondering about this for a while now, but you smell kinda sweet. Is this one of Orna’s new perfumes? I’m not sure I like it much.] (Dia)



[I was wondering about that too. I feel like I know this scent. As Dia-sama put it, it smells somewhat sweet, but I don’t find it attractive. All of Orna’s perfumes are wonderful, yet why did you select this one?] (Tarte) 



They both severely criticized it, and quite rightly too.



Because it was the kind of stuff that was useless on women, but worked stupendously well on men.



[I picked this one because it was the most effective, of course. As a perfume, it’s not that great, but there’s nothing better to attract men. When Tarte uses【Beastification】, she expels pheromones that attract men as a side effect, right? Well, I collected them and used them to create this perfume. When used on women, far from being effective, it makes them slightly uncomfortable, but when men smell it, they feel lustful.] (Lugh)



The pheromones produced by Tarte’s half-beast form were so potent that they could make even an assassin with perfect mental control go crazy.



Many aphrodisiacs and love potions existed, but none of them were as powerful as that stuff.



That’s why I secured the ingredients, in case I needed them.



[I knew it, you’re way too serious about it! I can’t believe you’d go that far to make a man fall for you!] (Dia)



[T-This is so embarrassing! I can’t believe you are wearing my scent! Uuugh…! You’re so mean, Lugh-sama…!] (Lugh)



Their attitudes were different, but they were both blaming me.



Oh crap, maybe I should’ve kept that to myself. 



[Anyway, it’s time for the party. Let’s go.] (Lugh)



With a bitter smile, I forcefully broke off the conversation, then we headed for the venue.



The party had begun a few hours earlier and was now entering its climax, with me and Count Flantrude dancing in the center of the dance hall.



…But I have to say, I’ve never been to such a terrible party before.



The clientele was just awful.



They were all nothing but blasted arrivistes who believed that money could buy everything.



Of course, someone being wealthy didn’t necessarily mean that they were of low moral character.



I simply had a problem with those who went to these sorts of parties, convinced that they could purchase pride and dignity with money.



Incidentally, Tarte and Dia were looking emaciated and close to their limits.



Their surroundings were rudely giving them vulgar looks, harassing them with sexual remarks, and in the worst cases, they even offered to pay the girls in exchange for sex.



Some tried to touch them as well, but I shut them all out. There was no way I could turn a blind eye to that.



…I’ll have to make it up to Dia and Tarte for all the trouble they had to endure.



[I must apologize. I didn’t think they would be so far out of control.] (Count Flantrude)



[You needn’t worry about it, Count Flantrude. It’s those people who are to blame. But unlike them, you seem like a true gentleman. I enjoy chatting and dancing with you like this.] (Lugh/Lou)



[Hearing you say that cheers me up. I swear, those pigs who have nothing to their names but money are incorrigible. And so am I for having to take advantage of the— Haha… I’m sorry. For some reason, I let my complaints and true feelings leak out whenever I’m with you, Lou. Even though I’ve never told any of that to anyone before.] (Count Flantrude)



Count Flantrude had too much pride to show his weaknesses to others. But at the same time, he wanted someone to listen to him.



So if someone who was willing to accept it all appeared in front of him, he could easily confide his true feelings.



My man-luring perfume, my conversational skills, my appearance that matched his preferences, the tone of my voice, and the way I behaved to make myself look attractive, the drug I slipped into his cocktail earlier, all of these had shattered the armor of his heart.



[You are a strong man.] (Lugh/Lou)



[…You think I’m strong? No one has ever told me that before.] (Count Flantrude)



[I’m simply telling you what I really think. I can sense a strong will in you. I don’t hate people like that. Maybe what you are trying to do is indeed wrong… But I believe that while dirtying your own hands to protect what’s important to you may be extremely difficult, it’s also a noble act.] (Lugh/Lou)



[I feel like crying. Maybe I just needed someone to tell me that what I was doing wasn’t wrong.] (Count Flantrude)



He smiled.



And the dance went on after that.



When the song ended and I let go of his hand, he looked at my hand regretfully and said something to me.



At that moment, one of the pigs— I mean, one of the nouveaux riches came running towards us.



[Dance with me next! For a clumsy dunce, you sure brought in a fine woman. Such smooth skin…! This is without a doubt the hand of a noblewoman, nothing like those of ordinary humans. It was worth the money.] (Old fat pig)



The pig shoved Count Flantrude out of his way, forcibly grabbed my hand and rubbed it.



…I got a bit of goosebumps.



Nobles received special treatment.



Indeed, they possessed mana, and their abilities exceeded those of ordinary humans.



Also, many of them had superior looks. One theory was that unconscious wishes, such as the desire for strength or beauty, may be fulfilled by mana.



The fact that there were so many powerful sorcerers who were so good-looking that it couldn’t be dismissed as a coincidence gave credibility to this theory.



And some moneybags were elated to have those special beings at their beck and call.



Because being able to control aristocratic sorcerers with the power of money made them feel even more special than them.



That’s why those upstarts were pestering him about inviting noble daughters to this party.



[Lord Chartreux, this lady is confused. I suggest you be more gentlemanly.] (Count Flantrude)



[You dare criticize me, Count Flantrude?] (Old fat pig)



Seeing my reluctance, Count Flantrude tried to stop him, but he was silenced.



I see, so this guy is one of his biggest customers.



All right then, time to put on an act.



I’ve been put through such a sickening experience. So I’m gonna get my money’s worth.



First, I looked at Count Flantrude with a frightened expression, asking for his help, and he looked at me as if to implore me.



The look on his face said it all. He was asking me to dance with this man.



Then for a moment, I had a look of despair on my face, then I nodded in determination.



This series of dramas was to portray a scene of the maiden in love sacrificing herself for the sake of her beloved in spite of how painful the experience was going to be.



[In… In that case, I shall accompany you for one song, mister.] (Lugh/Lou)



[Your voice is lovely too. Now give me your hands and hips.] (Old fat pig)



And so, he made me dance like I was in hell.



Not only did he bring his face close to mine, but he also touched my buttocks with his sticky hands.



I’d never had such a discomforting dance in my life. I’d had much more miserable experiences in my previous life, but the reason I had such a hard time now was because I wasn’t a tool anymore, I was human.



It seems that becoming human also has its downsides.



Somehow, the party ended. 



And it was the worst of my life.



After the dance, that rich asshole asked me to become his mistress.



He was so insistent that I had a hard time refusing.



If that was all he did, I would’ve put up with it. But that bastard gave Dia and Tarte dirty looks and threw vulgar remarks at them too.



There’s no way I can forgive that. I’ll make him pay.



…The thing is that he wasn’t aware I knew him as a business partner of the Balor Trading Company.



Nor was he aware that I could make him go bankrupt if I wanted to.



Then, after the party was over, Tarte and Dia were sent back to the room we borrowed from Count Flantrude.



I alone had been invited by him to go out on the balcony and toast with a glass of wine, just the two of us.



[I’m sorry for making you dance with that boor earlier.] (Count Flantrude)



The first thing he said was an apology.



He had completely fallen in love with me.



That last event was apparently the decisive factor.



[Don’t be, it was my choice not to refuse him. I didn’t want to embarrass you.] (Lugh/Lou)



Count Flantrude’s eyes welled up.



[…I will definitely get through this situation. I’m almost there. If I just wait a bit longer, I will be able to cut ties with those fools. You’re the only one I can confide in. House Flantrude is on the edge of bankruptcy. So I’ve been taking advantage of those people to collect money. But I’m done with this now. Soon, I will get hold of a sizable amount of money. I will finally be able to pay back the debt of my incompetent father. Once I do, I won’t let those fools do as they please ever again.] (Count Flantrude)



Count Flantrude’s eyes were filled with passion.



He was intoxicated.



With liquor.



With Lou, the female persona I created to match his tastes.



With my perfume containing Tarte’s pheromones.



With the drug I had slipped into his drink.



With his newfound love.



…And most of all, with himself.



[And so, won’t you marry me!? I need you, Lou, and only you. No one else understands me. But you’re the only one who understood me, you even put your body on the line for me. I want to be with you.] (Count Flantrude)



[Proposing to me out of the blue… I don’t know what to say.] (Lugh/Lou)



[I know this sounds crazy. But I really want you. Once I have the money, I’ll be able to protect you and make you happy!] (Count Flantrude)



[…Um, please let me think about it overnight. I really want to give it proper thought.] (Lugh/Lou)



[In that case, may I hear your reply tomorrow morning? I will come to your room at that time.] (Count Flantrude)



[Yes, I promise I will have an answer by then. But there is just one thing I want to tell you.] (Lugh/Lou)



At that moment, I stopped talking and kissed him on the cheek.



With a dazed look on his face, Count Flantrude pressed his hand on his cheek.



[I love you. It was love at first sight. I don’t think I have ever met anyone as handsome as you. But, in the end, we are aristocrats, which means that feelings alone aren’t enough to succeed in love.] (Lugh/Lou)



After saying that, I ran away.



That way, he would never be able to forget about me.



Putting a few obstacles like this would make his love and desire to monopolize me grow stronger. 



He was now completely enamored with Lou.



With this, my time as Lou was over. I would never assume this identity again.



Because on the next morning, by the time he would come to my room, Lou would be gone, but Lugh Tuatha Dé would be there, ready to persuade him by using Lou’s life as a bargaining chip.



He would even easily betray the mastermind in exchange for the life of his beloved Lou.



Now, back to my room for the final touch.



And to make a move that will be the downfall of the mastermind.



I’ll make him pay dearly for all the trouble and discomfort he caused us.