Ch.50The Seven Deadly Sins (3)

I stared at Cecilly, forgetting what I was about to say. She was resting her chin on her hand, giving me a bewitching smile while staring intently at me.

When someone like Cecilly, with her mature beauty, speaks with that pose and voice—well, the only way to describe it is devastatingly powerful.

She was already sexy, but when her pose, expression, and voice combined in perfect harmony, I felt myself being drawn in.

If I were any other man, I probably would have lost my senses and fallen for her completely. Fortunately, I’ve developed some immunity from spending time with her regularly. Of course, I couldn’t stop my face from burning or my heart from racing.

“Ahem… ahem…”

I cleared my throat, trying to maintain my composure while feeling my face heat up. It was partly because of her sudden ambush question, but mostly because Cecilly’s atmosphere was so seductive that it was hard to keep my wits about me.

Still, I managed to calm myself somehow. I opened one eye slightly and met Cecilly’s gaze.

Cecilly remained exactly as before, as if determined to stay that way until I answered. Just looking at her made my previously calmed heart start beating wildly again.

‘…Is she really a descendant of succubi?’

Anyway, I should probably answer her question. I tried to quiet my racing heart and spoke calmly.

“…I’d like to say it’s just your overactive imagination, but I can’t.”

In reality, Lilith, the executive who governs lust, looks remarkably similar to Cecilly. According to the setting, Lilith is a demon-race who fell into darkness, with black hair and red eyes like Cecilly, and her revealing outfit accentuates her voluptuous figure.

Of course, she’s not exactly identical to Cecilly. She has tear moles that add to her charm, a different hairstyle, a pair of demon wings on her shoulders, and lastly, she doesn’t wear revealing clothing.

Except for that dress I saw at the last gathering.

Anyway, while I did use Cecilly as a reference, there are significant differences. If I were to make an excuse, it’s not that I referenced Cecilly, but rather that the Lilith in my mind happens to exist before me.

‘But why is she asking this? Is she testing me?’

I opened one eye to check Cecilly’s face. I could see her smiling broadly, clearly amused by something.

As I mentioned before, Cecilly is half-convinced that I’m the author of Biography of Xenon. Since she’s not completely certain, she might be trying to confirm it by gauging my reaction.

While I pondered this, Cecilly heard my answer and smiled more deeply than before. Her voice, capable of captivating any man’s heart, remained unchanged.

“Really? Because they’re too similar?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

After my curt response, Cecilly maintained her smile and stared at me intensely. Under her burdensome gaze, I quickly averted my eyes.

For some reason, the longer I looked into Cecilly’s red eyes, the more dazed I felt. I thought I’d grown accustomed to it, but her beauty truly was unfair.

“I see. That makes me happy somehow.”

Cecilly smiled brightly and spoke with what seemed like a relieved expression. Seeing her reaction, I wondered if I’d been found out, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

In any case, the alluring atmosphere she had been projecting gradually subsided. My flushed face cooled down, and I could feel my racing heart slowly calming.

I inwardly sighed with relief, then asked her in a slightly tired voice:

“…Why did you ask that?”

“Just curious. I wondered if I was the only one who thought so.”

“Like I said earlier, if it were anyone but you saying that, I’d call it an overactive imagination.”

“Hmm.”

At my response, Cecilly let out a suggestive hum and half-closed her eyes. Between her narrowed eyelids, her red irises glowed vividly.

Just as I was starting to feel uneasy, Cecilly leaned her upper body slightly forward and whispered to me.

“So that’s how you see me? As a succubus with a seductive appearance and figure?”

“… …”

Trying to avoid revealing my secret, I ended up exposing my true feelings instead. Looking at Cecilly’s profound expression, I couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh.

Is this the experience of a demon princess who has lived for over 100 years? I felt like I was sinking deeper into quicksand the longer our conversation continued.

While I was lost in these useless thoughts and unable to respond, Cecilly seemed to take my awkward laugh as confirmation and nodded, leaning back.

After looking around to confirm that the dining hall was nearly empty, she quietly said to me, still smiling:

“Issac, did you hear those rumors when you enrolled? The ones about me being a descendant of succubi.”

“Of course I did.”

With my secret thoughts already exposed, the tension suddenly dissipated, allowing me to answer calmly. Having my true feelings discovered was more embarrassing than having my secret revealed.

Hearing my answer, Cecilly looked around once more, seemingly checking if anyone was listening to our conversation.

Then, placing one hand beside her mouth to prevent any sound from leaking out, she quietly spoke:

“Would you believe it if those rumors were true?”

“Hmm…”

I stared blankly at Cecilly’s face.

Judging by her smiling expression, it seemed like a joke, but her tone was very serious. This suggested there was a high probability it was true.

Cecilly really being a descendant of succubi? I had my suspicions, but there’s a difference between hearing rumors and hearing it directly from her.

Though briefly surprised, I simply nodded as if it made sense and answered:

“I’d probably believe it. But even if you are a descendant of succubi, does that change anything?”

But nothing changes. Even if she inherited strong bloodlines, Cecilly is a demon-race, not a demon.

The succubi described in literature, similar to my previous life, gain power by absorbing men’s vital energy, but here, like true demons, they absorb it until death.

In other words, men who have their energy drained die from excessive pleasure.

Oh, of course, thinking it’s good is forbidden. According to historical records, they continued relations even when blood came from the genitals, and there are even records of testicles being torn off. Truly horrifying.

“There are several things. For example…”

Cecilly trailed off and, unusually, started checking my reaction. Moreover, judging by the blush on her cheeks, it seemed to be something she found embarrassing to say herself.

I couldn’t help but wonder what secret could make her hesitate, when she usually didn’t shy away from making suggestive jokes.

After hesitating for a while, she twisted her jet-black hair nervously and finally managed to speak in an embarrassed tone:

“…Like my sexual desire exploding during my period?”

“… …”

“Maybe because I inherited succubus blood, but it’s particularly hard for me to endure. So… I’ll stop there.”

She seemed embarrassed by her own words, as her face rapidly turned red. I was also dumbfounded and stared at her blankly.

Given that she’s lived for over 100 years, perhaps during that time…

“Oh, just to avoid any misunderstandings, I have no experience with that? I can suppress the urges if I meditate all day.”

Just as my thoughts were heading in that direction, Cecilly hastily clarified. She seemed to have read my expression, but this made it even stranger.

A century is an unimaginably long time. My combined age from my previous and current life isn’t even 40, but Cecilly has lived for over 100 years. Many things must have happened during that time, so it was hard to believe she had no romantic experience.

I stared at the unusually flustered Cecilly and carefully asked:

“…You’ve had no experience with men in over 100 years? Is that possible?”

“…As I said before, except for my father, there were hardly any people who took my jokes as jokes. And I’m the princess of Helium, so political complications would arise if scandals broke out.”

“Hmm… I guess that makes sense.”

If you’re the child of a ruler like Cecilly or Rina, you’d need to be more careful about your conduct. In my previous life too, if the children of politicians got bad rumors, their parents would often be criticized as well.

Moreover, Cecilly is the princess of Helium, expected to be the next Demon King. Even the smallest rumor could put her in a difficult position.

‘Then is it okay for her to be with me?’

That thought suddenly occurred to me, making me tilt my head in confusion. During the last gathering, she said linking arms was a kind of reward, but that didn’t add up.

Or it could be a cultural difference. As this question arose, I asked Cecilly about my curiosity.

“Was it okay to link arms at the last gathering?”

“Huh? Oh, that? Linking arms was a reward concept, so it’s fine. But nothing beyond that is allowed. For example, touching horns or interlocking fingers.”

Cecilly explained while fanning herself to cool down her flushed face. As a human, the arm-linking part seemed stranger to me, but I attributed it to cultural differences.

As our conversation was about to break off due to the lack of exchange, Cecilly carefully checked my reaction and spoke in a quiet voice. Her face still had a faint blush, suggesting she hadn’t fully calmed down.

“…Issac, don’t you have any secrets like this?”

“Secrets?”

“Yes. Secrets that are hard to tell others. Actually, the reason I have no romantic experience is because I’m a descendant of succubi. As you know, succubi absorb men’s vital energy until they die, right? The men of Helium firmly believe that rumor, so they tend to avoid me. They think of me as a poisonous flower.”

“Oh…”

That seemed like a novel story. I pursed my lips in admiration.

I personally don’t care whether Cecilly is a succubus or a descendant of one, but it seems the demon-race does. Being descendants of demons themselves, they appear to be sensitive about such matters.

Even I, a human, could easily understand. But that’s not the important thing right now.

“Secrets…”

I rested my chin on one hand, lowered my gaze, and muttered softly. I noticed Cecilly’s face across from me tensing with anticipation.

Does her sharing a secret with me mean she trusts me? Unlike Rina, Cecilly might probe gently, but she doesn’t press me until I speak for myself.

However, she’s already convinced that I’m the author of Biography of Xenon. She wouldn’t have created this situation otherwise. True secrets gain authenticity when revealed by one’s own mouth.

‘Is she really trustworthy?’

Although two months have passed since I formed a connection with Cecilly, there’s still much I don’t know about her. Just because she revealed a secret doesn’t mean I can trust her.

But what if I hesitate to speak when she’s already half-convinced? She might be disappointed, thinking, “I trusted you enough to share my secret, but you don’t trust me.”

After contemplating for a while, I raised my gaze slightly. I saw Cecilly waiting for my answer with a tense expression.

“…Cecilly.”

“Yes, Issac.”

“Are you good at keeping secrets?”

Cecilly nodded at my serious question. Her expression was very sincere, showing no signs of joking.

I exhaled deeply through my nose and looked around. There were hardly any people, but it would be better to speak in a quieter place.

With this in mind, I smiled slightly and quietly suggested to Cecilly:

“Shall we go somewhere quiet for a moment?”

“…Yes!”

Cecilly’s face bloomed with a bright smile at my suggestion.