1.

    “Haa...”

    Diana, who returned from Tarot Town with a bunch of books, was currently lying face down on the bed, resting her head on the pillow.

    With how many things going on in her life at once, her head was filled with complicated thoughts, so she could only sit motionless for about three hours, muttering to herself.

    “Come to think of it... That was my first...kiss...”

    The word ‘first’ came with a lot of implications.

    Such as, the world would only recognize people who were dubbed at ‘first in something’.

    The same logic applied to how everyone treated ‘original’ as the best.

    Such a thing also applied in what was known as a first kiss, and Diana knew this.

    After all, she had read about it a few times in her mother’s novels.

    Although, this was something that she had been contemplating about, but kissing was an extremely dirty act.

    Why would you feel uncomfortable when being around someone who was sneezing?

    Also, why would you spit on someone’s face or clothes when you wanted to insult them?

    It was because saliva was considered dirty.

    Kissing was an act where two people’s mouths—an organ that could be considered as the jar of saliva—would touch each other.

    To take a step further, the two people would start mixing their saliva as a sign of love.

    Diana just couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

    She reached out and touched her lips.

    Recalling the moment when she kissed that man.@@@@

    While hanging on his neck—as he could easily handle her weight...

    The feelings of his rough, yet at the same time, soft, gentle, and unusually hot lips, was etched on her own.

    She could still remember how loud her heartbeat back then was.

    But, Diana never once felt that the act was dirty.

    If anything, it felt like magic that made her understand things she hadn’t understood before.

    “...”

    She did that under the excuse of weakness or whatnot.

    Indeed, it was an excuse.

    After all, Shin Siwoo had proved that he was trustworthy to Diana many times over.

    And she already trusted him completely when they sealed their promise with a handshake.

    The real reason why she kissed him back then was because she wanted to do it.

    “It’s a mess...”

    But then came the questions, why did she ask him to seduce her mother?

    Why did she go out of her way to give out what essentially were strategy books so he could do it easier?

    Even as she was indulging in the lingering feelings of the kiss, she still felt her possessiveness towards him when she recalled the moment when he embraced her mother. ??NO??Е?s?

    “...I need a drink.”

    In the end, she took this contradictory behavior as proof that her love for her mother outweighed her feelings towards Siwoo.

    At least, that was what she thought at that moment.

    2.

    Even until they parted, Siwoo hadn’t given a reply towards Diana’s bold and bizarre proposal.

    “...I don’t know what to say...”

    A daughter who offered her body to get him to seduce her mother.

    No matter how he looked at it, it was an immoral proposal.

    Considering that the proposal came from Diana, someone who had the tendencies to overthink things to an extreme degree when left alone...

    It was easy to see that the idea came from her short-sightedness.

    After all, the naive girl didn’t even understand the intricate relationship between men and women.

    Problem 1) She doesn’t want her mom to disappear.

    Solution 1) If her mother has a boyfriend, she might just not disappear.

    Problem 2) She needs a good reward so that he agrees to her proposal.

    Solution 2) She offers her body.

    Since she tried to solve these two things at once, her brain must have short-circuited somewhere, hence why she came up with such strange answers.

    Indeed, solutions offered by an innocent and naive youngster sometimes proved to be disastrous.

    “If only I can just tell her mother about all this...”

    The reason behind why she kept acting so lazy despite her being able to do the opposite.

    Should he tell the countess to get to the root of the problem at once, or should he keep his mouth shut to keep his promise to Diana?

    He was currently stuck in this dilemma.

    Currently, he was sitting inside the countess’ private study.

    With a cigarette in his hand, he stared at the pile of books on the table.

    The book about the Criminal Exiles he picked up, and the dozen or so books that Diana gave him.

    Anyway, it’ll be a while until class starts. Should I try to read them?

    Thinking as such, he opened the book which title he didn’t recognize.

    “Sweeter Than Cocoa...? Is this a romance novel?”

    The book, which seemed to be printed rather than handwritten, had neither a leather cover nor a hard cover.

    It looked just like a romance novel one could see anywhere.

    Who woulda thought that the countess has such a girly hobby.

    She’d stay in his firm embrace again tonight, and show him all sorts of her embarrassing appearance.

    But, she was still a little worried. After all, even though she had a real reason for it, she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d think of him as a loose woman if she were to ask him to have sex with her again.

    Or if he’d think that she was a weirdo if she were to try flirting with him during class.

    “It’s for the sake of research...”

    Yes, it’s for research! There’s no need to be embarrassed!

    After rationalizing herself once again, the countess opened the door to the study.

    “Mr. Siwoo? Are you there?”

    The moment she opened the door and entered, Siwoo’s flustered face entered her vision.

    With a wooosh, things that were scattered on the table were instantly swiped by his black ribbon.

    “Y-You’re here already? D-Did you get off work early?”

    Seeing the way he was throwing an awkward smile at her, the countess...

    Hmm... Suspicious...

    “Oh my?”

    When he received the countess’ gaze, he looked even more flustered than before.

    He turns into a beast in bed, but here, he looks like a scared rabbit. It’s cute.

    The gap only made the countess even more excited.

    “Are you...hiding something?”

    “N-No...?”

    -Smile!

    A playful smile appeared on the countess’ lips.

    Is he thinking of me while relieving himself?

    Or maybe he sneaked out one of my underwear?

    “Were you having fun by yourself?”

    “Of course not. This place is pretty much a lab, no?”

    “Then, why don’t you show me what you’re hiding?”

    “H-Huh...?”

    “I saw everything, you know? The moment I entered, you started swiping everything on that desk away with your ribbon.”

    The countess then went towards the desk in front of Siwoo.

    Right under the desk, there were books scattered around.

    Judging from the quality of paper and the damaged covers of some of these books, it was clear that they weren’t magic books written for academic purposes.

    “Hm? Books?”

    “Countess, this isn’t—”

    The moment the countess’ eyes landed on the books, she threw Siwoo a smile, ignoring the poor man who tried so hard to change the subject.

    How cute.

    Were these erotic novels or something?

    “What books did our dear Siwoo read, hm...?”

    She used her telekinesis to grab one of the books, and...

    “...Huh?”

    As soon as she read its cover, her expression instantly turned a 180.

    Then, she quickly scanned through the remaining books’ titles with her eyes.

    “...”

    She was struck speechless.

    Because the books lying on the ground were no other than the erotic novels she had written herself.

    “W-W-Where did you get these books, Mr. Siwoo?!”

    “...So it’s true that you liked these books...”

    “N-No! I-I mean, I wrote these books, b-but, just because I wrote it doesn’t mean I like what’s inside it! I-It’s just my creative decisions! Yes! W-What, are you trying to mock me, Mr. Shin Siwoo?! M-Me! L-Lucy Yesod herself?!”

    “Of course not...”

    “A-Ahh...”

    The countess covered her face, trying to cover her embarrassment.

    She didn’t know how he got his hands on these books, but however it was, her face felt like it was burning.

    Lines after lines that she wrote back then flashed in her head.

    O-Oh, no... H-He read through all those embarrassing lines, didn’t he...? Oh no, oh no!

    Her dignity as a countess...

    And her face as an older woman...

    All the things that she had tried to maintain, had shattered to pieces.

    “...”

    So all these books that Ms. Diana gave me...

    Are all written by the countess...?

    Meanwhile, Siwoo was taken aback by the revelation.

    “C-Countess, I-I don’t think having this kind of hobby is—”

    “...Please... Just leave me alone...”

    Siwoo patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her, while the countess squatted down, trying to deal with her embarrassment. This sight continued for a long time.

    1. It is basically Korean''s traditional musical storytelling.