Issac lay on his bed, restless. He couldn’t sleep. Despite feeling comfortable in the calmness of the dark, his thoughts kept him up. Rolling around on his bed, removing the blanket, flipping the pillow, flipping it back, lying on his side- nothing seemed to work.

He got up from his bed. The gentle moonlight came through his window and fell on his sofa. Sitting down on the illuminated sofa, he stared at the night sky above. It somehow reminded him of Nyx.

“Hopefully, she’s in a better place now.” Issac smiled softly. He couldn’t do anything because there were still guards outside, and at this moment, he really wanted to be alone.

“How do I pass the time?” Issac wondered out loud and shut his eyes. Focusing, he accessed the Interceptor to see if Ray was sleeping. If he had it his way, he would’ve put an Interceptor in everyone’s room.

Soon, the dark image of Ray’s room formed in his mind. He could barely see anything, and there seemed to be some low-level night vision in these Surveillance Crystals.

He saw Ray curled up on his bed, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. He was fast asleep. Issac envied him for being able to sleep so peacefully. The only peaceful sleep he had was on the first day. Before he could envy Ray any further, there was a series of knocks on the latter’s door.

Issac saw Ray’s eyes shoot open as he woke up with a start. He looked at the door and whispered, “Lights on.” And the magic lanterns on the walls automatically lit up!

“Holy shit, you can do that!?” Issac lost focus and opened his eyes back in his dark room. He whispered, “Lights on.” And just like in Ray’s room, the lanterns lit up. “My god…why did no one tell me they already had automatic lights? All this time, I’ve been turning them on using the switch like some kind of caveman!”

He suddenly remembered he had been watching something. He turned off the lights vocally and shut his eyes to watch Ray’s room. The view of his room formed in Issac’s mind again.

However, the sight had changed a bit. Ray was sitting on the sofa, and someone was with him.

“Beryl?” Issac couldn’t understand, but he decided to wait and watch. On the table in front of them were two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. Beryl was wearing a negligee, and her fluffy hair fell down her back. She leaned on the sofa leisurely and looked at Ray with half-open eyes.

Ray gulped and asked, “Beryl, why’re you here?”

“Why so tense?” Beryl chuckled languidly, “I’m just here to relax.”

“I see…and?” Ray raised his eyebrow. He had gained some resistance to Beryl’s seductiveness.

“Well, since you’re a light sleeper, I decided to come and bother you.” Beryl slowly reached toward the bottle of wine and clutched the neck with her slender fingers. She took the bottle close and waved her other hand over the cork. The cork slowly rose and popped off the bottle. Ray’s eyes widened.

Beryl looked over to see his shocked expression and giggled, “Do you want to learn how to do this? It’s quite a trick to make the ladies fall for you.”

“Well,” Ray took a deep breath, “it worked on me.”

“I like guys like you!” Beryl poured herself a glass of wine. The rich red wine filled the glass. She was about to put down the bottle; however, she looked at Ray and asked, “Want a glass?”

“…why not?” Ray picked up the glass and held it closer to her. Beryl poured him a glass, too, and set the bottle back on the table. Ray brought the glass of wine closer to him. He swirled it a few times and took a sniff. His nose crinkled as he remarked, “Whew! This is some strong stuff!”

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Beryl had already taken a sip, “I know. It’s made by the best winemaker in the kingdom. It’s more powerful than those sold to the public. It has other effects too.” She had moved closer to Ray, sitting next to him. Ray looked at her with mild surprise. She simply smiled and touched her glass with his before taking a sip.

Ray looked at the wine in his glass. He took a deep breath and took a sip. As soon as it touched his taste buds, Ray felt as though a jolt had run through his body. The taste was electrifying. The rims of the glass separated from his lips. The figure of Beryl entered his periphery before he could admire the wine.

She was lounging on the sofa, one of the straps of her negligee coming down to her arm. This sight stimulated Ray to no end. As he was admiring her instead of the wine, Beryl finally took notice. Smiling mischievously, she said, “You’re already red? From just a sip?”

“I can still keep going,” having said that, Ray took a big gulp of the wine. His body started to heat up.

Beryl laughed playfully, “Look at you all flushed!”

Issac watching this all, couldn’t understand what was happening. He couldn’t even tell if the blush on Ray’s cheeks was from the wine or embarrassment. Issac wanted nothing more than to shut this off because the second-hand embarrassment was off the charts.

“W-Why don’t you tell me about the health benefits you mentioned?” unable to handle her teasing, Ray changed the topic.

Seeing through his plan, Beryl smiled knowingly but played on regardless, “Well, apparently, it can improve your strength...-” she subtly inched closer to Ray, “-resist diseases…, raise your mana capacity, and-” she was close to his face, so much so that their noses could be touching. She looked into his eyes with a sultry gaze. She reached over to whisper in his ear, “-a very powerful aphrodisiac.”

“B-Beryl…!” Ray’s jaw slacked, and he backed away slightly.

She put a finger on his lips and came close again, “Shh…let me savor the taste.” And she locked lips with him quite fiercely.

“She stuck the tongue in! God… she’s so aggressive,” Issac watched in shock as Beryl’ attacked’ Ray, who was drowning in waves and waves of ecstasy.

With a swift movement, Beryl had already taken Ray’s shirt off. And that’s when Issac decided not to watch any further. Opening his eyes, he covered his mouth as he inhaled audibly.

He was trying to spy but never expected to come across such a steamy scene.

“Why did Ber-” Issac’s thoughts began leaking out of his lips, but he quickly closed his mouth. “Why is Beryl fucking Ray? What’s the reason? Did this motherfucker really pick up a chick here, of all places? And they’re having fun-” Issac turned around and looked at the clock. His vision in the dark had improved significantly after his meeting with Nyx. “-one o’clock in the night.’”

Issac stared at the ceiling above his head. His mind was swirling with questions he couldn’t make sense of. Contrary to his intentions, he felt more awake than before.

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Day 5

Issac entered the palace through the entrance with Bayes accompanying him. A maid was already standing by to greet him. Seeing him, the maid, Cheryl, hurriedly came forward and greeted him, “My lord, the Queen is in the dining room with the rest of the 『Heroes』 and is waiting for your arrival.”

“I see,” Issac nodded and faced Bayes, “well, then Bayes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Very well, Sir Issac!” Bayes bowed slightly and left, leaving Cheryl to guide Issac through the palace halls. Issac’s eyes narrowed slightly as they followed Bayes’ departing figure. Yesterday and even today, Bayes’ behavior towards him changed. He felt a bit more respectful and seemed to be hiding something. But Issac did not pay much attention to it. As far as he was concerned, everyone was hiding something in this kingdom.

“My lord…” Cheryl’s call made him turn back to her. Once she had his attention, she asked, “Shall we go?”

“Lead the way,” Issac smiled. Cheryl walked in front, with Issac following behind leisurely.

“So, Cheryl,” Issac began to make small talk with her, “did your parents also serve the Queen, or are you the first one in your family?”

As soon as he asked that question, Issac could visibly see her chest swelling with pride, “I’m from a long line of women who served the Royal Family. My mother served the previous king, and my grandmother served the previous, previous king! We were also granted a surname by the Royal Family.”

“Oh?” Issac raised his eyebrows. “Oh, right! Commoners don’t have surnames.”

“That’s right! So, we’re extremely fortunate to have one!” Issac wanted to laugh seeing Cheryl, who treated a surname like some kind of rare commodity. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that back on Earth, everyone had a surname.

Calming down, he asked, “So, what name were you granted?”

“Asterope. We were granted the surname ‘Asterope.’”

“Oh, so, Cheryl Asterope? Nice name.”

“N-No,” she started to fidget suddenly, “I also have a m-middle name, but….”

“But only your partner can know that name?” Issac finished her sentence.

“Y-Yes!” Cheryl nodded like a chicken pecking on rice. “How did you know?”