Chapter 178: Next Afternoon
Isaac blinked. "You okay?"
She turned her face slightly, clearly trying to hide the color. "Yes. Just... annoyed."
"Annoyed?"
"I hate how indirect this process is," she muttered. "To start controlling my instincts, I need to erase all my desires first, and bring them to a tranquil state."
Isaac raised an eyebrow.
"Erase your desires?"
Alice crossed her arms and exhaled through her nose. "After that, I have to meditate using a specific mana circulation technique passed down by my ancestor. It’s detailed, but not too complicated once the body is prepared."
"So... what’s the problem?" Isaac asked, still not seeing the issue.
She gave him a look. The kind that made it clear he was being dense.
"I need to erase all my desires, Isaac."
"Right."
Her gaze sharpened. "All of them."
There was a long silence.
Then, Isaac blinked. "And the problem is?"
Alice’s eye twitched. "Are you seriously pretending you don’t get it?"
"No, no, I get it." He leaned back slightly. "Just confirming."
He clearly didn’t get it.
She walked up to him, expression tight, voice low. "To erase my desires, I need to... do it until I’m satisfied."
Isaac looked at her, then back at the stack of papers she had tossed onto the table earlier.
"And that’s really written in the technique?"
"And that’s really written in the technique?"
"Yes."
"...Seriously?"
Alice nodded, her face still faintly red but her tone dead serious.
Isaac hesitated.
He glanced at her again, then suddenly reached out and pulled her close. She didn’t resist. Her arms slid around his shoulders just as his lips found hers.
The room was silent for a while, save for the quiet rustle of movement and shifting breaths.
Their bodies tangled.
Again.
And again.
They didn’t stop until the afternoon light had started creeping through the curtains.
Isaac lay back against the sheets, dazed slightly.
He didn’t know about Alice. But he felt like he had become a sage at the moment. All of his ’desires’ disappeared after hours of ’work’.
His hand covered his face for a moment before he peeked at the woman resting against his side.
’Did she really have to keep healing herself?’ he thought, watching the sleeping figure of Alice.
He genuinely couldn’t tell if it was because she hadn’t been intimate with him for days... or if it was because the mana technique required her to reach some mystical, absolute state of satisfaction.
Regardless, the result had been the same.
Every time she got tired, she would just activate her healing skill and continue.
Isaac carefully slipped out from under the blanket, stretched, and sat up.
His back popped audibly. He gave a dry chuckle, then stood and headed for the washroom.
After a quick shower, he dressed and stepped out of the room.
Only then did he remember, this wasn’t his house.
He was still at the Calloway estate.
The moment he stepped into the corridor, he could feel something was off.
Two maids walking nearby noticed him and immediately looked away, whispering to each other.
One of them glanced back with a blush.
Isaac continued walking, frowning slightly.
The other maids had similar reactions upon seeing him.
He turned a corner, hoping the odd reactions would end, but that’s when he ran straight into Selene and Marien.
"Selene, Marien, Morn—"
Selene’s eyes widened, and her face turned red.
She looked away instantly.
Marien, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue in clear disgust.
"...Morning," he said, voice awkward after noticing their reactions.
Selene turned even redder.
Marien folded his arms.
Isaac curiosity was at its peak. Why was everyone acting like that?
He glanced at Selene, hoping she might offer some clarification or at least defuse the tension.
Instead, she mumbled something unintelligible and bolted down the hall.
Marien followed after her, but not before clicking her tongue at him in disgust.
Isaac was left standing there, confused.
"Why are they all acting like this...?" he muttered. "The rooms here are soundproof. I made sure of it."
He rubbed his temples and continued walking, deciding he might as well get something to eat.
He found the kitchen without trouble. A few servants greeted him politely, but their eyes sparkled with a barely restrained curiosity.
He approached one of the head cooks and asked, "Would it be possible to get some lunch?"
The cook nodded with a smile. "Of course, sir. We’ll prepare something right away."
Isaac sat at the small corner table used for casual meals and waited. The kitchen staff moved efficiently, but their voices carried in the background.
He wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.
But he couldn’t help hearing their whispers, which they thoughts weren’t audible to him.
"...He’s so handsome in person, right?" one of the younger maids whispered from behind the counter. "And did you see the way he was walking? Confident, but a little tired. Hehehe..."
Another girl giggled. "They didn’t come out of the room until afternoon. It’s obvious what they were doing."
"I heard they were together the entire time."
"Honestly, I wish I had a boyfriend like that," one of the kitchen assistants sighed dramatically.
Isaac froze in his seat.
No way.
Although he had been confident the rooms in the Calloway estate were soundproof—and they were —he’d made a critical mistake.
Soundproofing didn’t stop people from looking at the clock.
He’d left Alice’s room past noon.
They hadn’t emerged once since the previous night.
His shoulders slumped slightly.
Of course they’d figure it out just by the timing.
He subtly glanced toward the kitchen door, considering escape.
Maybe if he left now, he could avoid the embarrassment.
Just as he stood, one of the chefs waved cheerfully.
"Lunch will be ready in a few minutes, sir."
Isaac offered a polite nod, then cleared his throat. "Actually, I’ll wait in the dining hall."
Before anyone could respond, he made a swift but calm exit.
The hallway was quiet.
He let out a long sigh, rubbed the back of his neck, and started walking toward the dining area.
That’s when he saw someone already seated at the long table, sipping tea and reading something on a tablet.
Chairman Lucius.
Isaac halted instinctively, wondering if he could turn back.
Too late.
Lucius looked up and smiled. But it wasn’t warm.
It was the kind of smile someone gave just before gutting a fish.
"Come. Sit. Have lunch with me," Chairman Lucius said pleasantly.
Isaac gave a strained smile and walked over. He took a seat across from the man.
Chairman Lucius closed his tablet and set it aside. His eyes remained fixed on Isaac, sharp and unreadable.
"I assume you’re enjoying your stay?" he asked casually.
Before Isaac could respond, a servant came in with his meal and placed the plate down in front of him.
He started eating in silence.
"So," Lucius said a moment later, "how is the food? I’m pretty sure you like it, considering how much you’ve been eating lately."
The word "eating" was emphasized in a way that left absolutely no room for misunderstanding.
Isaac almost choked.
He managed to keep the food down, coughed lightly into his napkin, and stared at his plate.
In his mind, he debated for a moment.
Under normal circumstances, he would’ve cracked a joke or responded shamelessly.
But this time, he was a bit embarrassed after being stared by everyone like that.
’Huh, wait.’
’Why am I getting embarrassed?’
’It’s not like I’ve done anything wrong.’
He wiped his mouth, straightened his posture, and offered a composed smile.
"The food here is excellent," he said calmly. "In fact, all the dishes I’ve tried since arriving have been among the best I’ve had anywhere."
Lucius’ smile froze. A vein twitched near his temple.
"Is that so?" he asked coolly.
"Yes," Isaac replied, still smiling. "The hospitality here is top-tier. I feel lucky to have been invited."
The atmosphere in the dining hall thickened.
It felt like the air itself had gone dense, like something heavy was pressing down on the room.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes, the occasional clinking of silverware the only sound between them.
Lucius didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to.
The man had perfected the art of communicating with sheer presence alone.
If looks could kill, Isaac would’ve evaporated on the spot.
Just when things were about to reach a breaking point, the door to the dining hall opened.
Alice walked in, freshly bathed and dressed in a simple but elegant cream-colored dress.
Her blonde hair was still damp at the ends, and her cheeks had a faint flush from the heat of the shower.
The moment she entered, Chairman Lucius’ demeanor shifted instantly.
His cold aura vanished, replaced by the warm, genial tone of a doting father.
"Alice, good afternoon," he said with a smile that—moments ago—had been aimed at Isaac like a guillotine.
"Good afternoon, uncle," Alice said politely, walking over to sit beside Isaac.
Chairman Lucius gestured for the servants to bring another plate.
"You should eat with us. It’s been a long time since we ate together," he added.
"Mhm," she nodded.
They had lunch together, with Alice making small talk while Lucius responded like a perfectly reasonable man.
Occasionally, his eyes flicked toward Isaac with subtle disapproval, but he kept the conversation civil.
At one point, Lucius asked about the family’s recent expansion into the northern trade routes, and Alice responded with precise numbers and well-researched analysis. She sounded sharp, focused.
Isaac, meanwhile, stayed silent and focused on finishing his food.
As lunch neared its end, Alice turned to him with a slight frown.
"Oh—I just remembered. I forgot to go over the business development plans with you last night."
Chairman Lucius, still chewing, paused for a moment.
"Business development plans?" he asked.
Alice nodded. "Yes. I’ve been preparing some proposals for our side ventures. Isaac and I were supposed to review them together, but we got... sidetracked."
Chairman Lucius tilted his head slightly, tapping a finger against his chin.
"Let me take a look too," he said. "Bring the documents to my office. I’ll give some input. There are probably areas that can be improved."
Alice glanced at Isaac.
He nodded.
"Sure," she said. "We’ll head there after this."
Chairman Lucius stood up with a smile. "Good. I’ll be waiting."
He left the room with the grace of a man who hadn’t spent the last twenty minutes radiating thinly veiled murder.
As soon as he was out of sight, Isaac leaned back slightly in his chair and let out a slow breath.
Alice turned to him with a faint smirk. "You held up better than I expected."
"I thought he was going to stab me with a dessert fork," Isaac muttered.
Alice chuckled. She obviously knew how her uncle treated Isaac when she wasn’t there.
In fact that was why she came out to have lunch, so that Isaac could eat in peace.