Chapter 23: On Duty

༺ On Duty ༻

After such a good night’s sleep, I woke up at 10 AM.

I wanted to sleep a little more, but I gave up on this wish since Euphemia was wriggling in my arms.

I told her to be still, but–

— Even worms will wriggle when you step on them, much less people when you hold them against their will.

….. She retorted with ‘What?’

While I find her little acts of defiance amusing, perhaps this one calls for some punishment, so I ordered the maids to prepare the bath for both of us.

Even though I saw every corner of her body already, the creature called ‘woman’ tends to be shy about being naked for some reason.

Euphemia, of course, showed such behaviors too.

In fact…….

Pervert.

Bad bastard.

Shameless.

She has been murmuring those for a while.

But of course, when I embraced her in this large and luxurious bathtub filled with aromatic oils, her grumbling ceased.

“Why….. Why are you doing this…..”

It didn’t take long for Euphemia to whisper these words in a troubled tone.

“I….You were the one who said you wouldn’t lust over me all the time…….”

I had instructed the maids to wait for us outside the bathroom.

But even then, if I tried to release my lust here, they would surely hear the sound of such obscene acts.

“Well, the aftermath of our love would be better cleaned here in the bathroom compared to the bedroom….”

I didn’t even need to complete my sentence to convey my meaning.

Then Euphemia hurriedly jumped in my embrace as she shook her head vigorously.

Is she trying to seduce me?

Thanks to her move, the water in the bathtub shifted, and now her plump white bottom is entirely vulnerable.

“Ah!”

Having no intention of allowing Euphemia to escape after what she did, I grabbed her slender ankle and brought her even closer to me.

Euphemia, who lost her balance, found herself in a shameful position with her upper body half-tilted.

“… … ”

It’s hard to believe this perfect body belongs to a 21-year-old woman. Her pubic hair, which is neither thick nor plentiful, glistened after coming into contact with the water and aromatic oils.

Beneath her pubic hair lays her tightly closed womanhood, reminiscent of a chrysanthemum flower*.

“Euphemia, even though we are a married couple, don’t you think it’s too shameful for you to swing your bottom at my face?”

Shake!

Euphemia, who was still relieved for not having to copulate here, realized in what position her body was and her face blushed with shame.

Her womanhood and her anus, which were presented to me in all their glory, and her shameful expression created such a stimulating sight that a smile formed on my lips.

Of course, I also knew very well about my lustful smile’s impact on Euphemia, so I stared right at her.

“Stop wasting my time and come here.”

“…… ”

“Euphemia.”

“I…..I’m going!”

Splash!

Euphemia approaches him as her movements stir the water.

The restless water in the bathtub could very well represent her current feelings, as those small waves drenched my face without mercy.

“…… ”

Euphemia, who arrived in front of me and saw the state of my face and my current displeased expression, hesitated….

Is she really that clueless? Can’t she realize that with her in this position, my eye level is aligned with her—-

Whoosh.

Ruffling her wet hair that was now sticking to his face, Ferzen opened his mouth.

“Both color and shape are flawless, that being said….. How long do you intend to keep showing me your parts, Euphemia?”

“…..!”

Splaaaash!

“…..”

Thanks to Euphemia crouching in panic, my face was once again bombarded by the water.

“Euphemia. Stop behaving like a child.”

“If I were alone in the bath, this wouldn’t happen….”

Hearing her dejected voice, I gently pulled her towards my warm embrace.

Perhaps because we were in the bathtub together and naked, the feeling of her skin against mine was exhilarating.

“Why do you keep stroking my navel….”

“Be a good girl and stay quiet.”

Expressing her discomfort, Euphemia applied a little more strength in her grip on my back, but soon she relaxed, perhaps realizing that her resistance was meaningless.

“…… ”

“…… ”

Inside the luxurious bathroom, the only sound one could hear was the breathing of the two occupants.

No, there was another sound.

The sound of Euphemia’s heartbeat echoed from her beautiful bosom.

Badump. Badump……

As I heard the sound of her heartbeats, my own heart started to beat in a similar tune to hers, gradually achieving the perfect symmetry between us.

It’s silly, but when I closed my eyes in this warm bathtub while embracing this woman whose heart was beating at the same frequency as my own, I felt as if all of my problems suddenly disappeared.

“Ah~ ”

And when I gently bit Euphemia’s earlobe, and she let out such a sultry moan as her heartbeat started to quicken once more…..

This made me feel as if I was in control of the most important part of her body – her heart.

Euphemia El Lauren Louerg.

My wife.

She belongs to me.

She is mine.

I will never let her go.

‘……’

Am I being carried away?

Ferzen’s ego suddenly took control of my mind, flooding me with such possessive thoughts as I embraced this woman even more tightly against my naked body.

I need to keep it under control.

* * * * *

“You won’t be coming back today….?”

“Yes.”

After our morning bath, we had a late breakfast… actually it was more like having lunch together, and I informed Euphemia of my schedule for today.

“…… ”

She will be alone for one entire day.

Does she feel as if her leash was released?

Or would she feel lonely without my presence in this vast estate?

Humans are social animals.

Whether she realized it or not, whether she liked it or not, I was the one who provided her warmth during the darkest hours of the nights and the constant reminder that she was not alone anymore.

‘It doesn’t matter, but…..’

Personally, I wish she would miss my presence, even if it’s for only one day.

“Sir, 14 students…..! Everyone except one of your students complained about your redesign of the chair and desks in the classroom…. You need to do something, sir!”

“…… ”

As soon as I left for work and entered the administrative building of the Academy, one frantic clerk approached me and started to complain to the point of even shedding tears in my presence.

He is a member of the Imperial Administration, so that is why he was assigned here.

The stress this poor office worker suffered must’ve been no joke since he had to appease a lot of high aristocratic children, since they must have pressured him to change the classroom layout.

For this man to be reduced to such a state, those children must have threatened him quite strongly…..

“Your name.”

“It’s Alphonse…..”

“Alphonse. Next time one of my students asks or complains about my classroom desks, direct them to my office.”

“Sigh….. As you wish, professor Ferzen….”

That way, this poor clerk can use my name as a shield.

He must have suffered a great deal since just saying this was enough to move him to the point of shedding tears of joy..

“One more thing…. Can you also spread the information that my wife herself designed these desks?”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t need to understand. Just do as you were told.”

“Oh… It shall be done, Professor Ferzen.”

While he looked at me with a dubious gaze, I knew he would follow my instruction.

With this, I would also not be the target of the hate those students were cultivating.

Then I turned my back and went to my assigned office on the fourth floor.

I could see that Euphemia was starting to grow bored of her current lifestyle, so I planned to ‘hire’ her as my assistant teacher in the future, and in this way, she would also be next to me even when I work.

And after redirecting the hate of my students towards her, they could even possibly give her the cold treatment, which would either enhance her desire to prove herself or make her even more dependent on me.

Since she would be just my assistant professor, she would be tasked with things such as helping me prepare my lectures, taking care of the attendance list, supervising an exam, and such.

Of course, since she’s my wife and now under the protection of Brutein, she won’t be harassed by anyone.

If there are kids who are a bit smart, they will surely understand that I won’t borrow my wife’s designs and use them, and also, they won’t dare to harass her and won’t let anyone do the same in fear of my retribution….

‘It’s a win for me either way.’

But Euphemia doesn’t understand the aristocratic society, so she would surely be affected by the ‘acceptable’ level of mistreatment she would suffer from my students. She would come to me in search of comfort. So this is like ‘killing two birds with one stone’ kind of situation.

This plan may be immoral and even cowardly, but for a villain, this is considered cunning.

Squeak.

When I arrived in front of my office, I saw Lizzy in her wheelchair, being pushed around by her corpse servant.

“…… ”

“…… ”

She also seemed to have heard me as she turned her head and met my gaze.

“Do you have any business with me, Lizzy Poliana Claudia?”

Although we were on the fourth floor, it wasn’t empty as some staff or students were loitering around the hallways.

Perhaps she had that panic attack the other time because we were alone in a closed environment.

And now, seeing her here, my guess has been confirmed.

“I’m here to reimburse you….”

“Reimbursement?”

“Your suit jacket…. you said you didn’t want it back….”

“I don’t need such courtesy from you. Go back.”

“No, I will reimburse you.”

“…… ”

That jacket was part of a set, combined with the shirt, pants, and tie.

So when I returned home, one of the first things I did was to dispose of the incomplete set.

So even if she reimbursed my jacket, it would be meaningless.

“Lizzy Poliana Claudia, I have already disposed of the entire set. Therefore, if you still desire to pay me back, you would have to cover the costs of the entire set….”

“I’ll do it. Just tell me your measurements.”

“Did you know that my suit was an Azelia suit?”

Azelia— a brand known for making only premium quality attires and only accepting orders from the highest level of Aristocrats.

And even then, to make an order, you have to be a chosen member.

Azelia’s reputation is so high because they are also in charge of designing clothes for the Imperial Family themselves.

“…… ”

Therefore, even if they had the money, the Claudia Family would never be able to reimburse me for that particular Azelia suit.

Of course, she could ask Yuriel for help, but looking at her, she didn’t seem the type who would consider seeking others for help.

“But….!”

“Sigh. If you still want to be stubborn, do as you wish.”

Opening my office door, I went inside, grabbed a piece of paper, wrote down my exact measurements, and handed it to Lizzy.

“There is no deadline. So if you give up on this foolishness, you still won’t owe me anything. Also, I will forget about this matter soon anyway, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Tsk….. Even if you forget about it…. I will pay you back.”

Squeak.

After taking the piece of paper, Lizzy turned the wheelchair.

“Lizzy Poliana Claudia.”

“… … ”

“How’s your ankle?”

Glance.

Lizzy slowly turned her head towards me.

And the emotions contained in that single glare……

Absolute hate and contempt.

“…… I will pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Creak!

The door closed.

Good, now an apology won’t work on her.

I knew the result my words would cause, but I said it nonetheless.

“…… ”

Brutein—- A place that always stood still.

This long-standing tradition is the cornerstone of our house; because of this, the might of Brutein always shines above their peers.

Therefore, Brutein will reject any type of corruption, and Jeremiah – the head of Brutein – is the same.

‘But…..’

Now my surname is Louerg.

For us aristocrats, the ends will always justify the means.

As such, on this quiet afternoon, a lonely man continued to scheme about the potential outcome his action would bring.

*chrysanthemum flower is a symbol of a woman’s pride, honor, maternity, and love for her children, but in layman’s terms, take this as the same as comparing your toothpick to the Excalibur.

Back-day workout routine (2 to 3 hour workout routine)

3xfailure Pullups for warmup 6×12 Bent over row with W bar 3×12 T-bar row 4×12 Seated row, with drop-in every rep 4×12 lat pulldown (Progressive Overload) 3×8 Rocking pulldown 4×10 Single arm dumbbell row (Rest Pause) 3×12 Chest Supported row 3×10 Dead rows 3xfailure Barbel row