HGOS – Chapter 8 – RubyMaybe

TL: This chapter is a little explicit in the word usage. This is your warning!

While Zester’s brown eyes blinked at her in a daze, Fleurette shook her head.

“Let me put it in simpler terms. What you did to the Baroness on your first night together, no, what you committed against her, was nothing more than a basic act of reproduction done by animals.”

“W-what…”

“Let me borrow a pen.”

Fleurette pulled up a chair, grabbed a blank sheet of parchment, and began sketching. A few swift lines later and whatever she was drawing was done. Zester, who had been quietly staring at the paper turned beet red.

“Wha, What is this?!”

“A woman’s body.”

It was a starkly explicit nude illustration of a woman. With such artistic skill, she could’ve succeeded as a painter instead of a courtesan. Which only made it more embarrassing.

“I think you understand the parts about intercourse and ejaculation leading to reproduction, so I’ll skip that explanation.”

“H-Hey, you…”

Zester’s embarrassed face was so flushed that it was about explode, but Fleurette didn’t stop.

“Of course, the ultimate purpose of human intercourse is reproduction, but I can guarantee you that no wife in this world wants her husband to just rip off his clothes and shove himself into her.”

“No, I, I just…”

“Lord Baron, you said you enjoyed the reproductive act, did you not? And your wife hated it so much that she was gnashing her teeth?”

“…That, that’s right.”

“You can’t be the only one enjoying it, now can you?”

Fleurette casually picked up her pen and circled several parts on the female body on the parchment.”

“Here, here, here and here.”

She wiggled the fingers of her free hand with a wicked glint in her eye.

“You need to touch it gently and lovingly.”

“W-What are you—!”

Zester’s chair screeched against the floor as he jerked back in surprise. Fleurette frowned.

“You’re a grown man, and you’re reacting like a child?”

“H-How could I do such a thing…”

“Such a thing? Didn’t you say you wanted to have healthy relations that your wife can enjoy? I thought you called me here to ask me how to do that?”

“But isn’t that animalistic? You’re asking me to grope my wife’s body?”

“Ugh, seriously…”

Fleurette tilted her head back and sighed, then she looked over at Paul and mimed holding a cigarette to her lips. Paul only shook his head coldly.

“During the process, did you not feel the urge to touch your wife’s body?”

Fleurette turned back and asked.

Zester hesitated and opened his wavering lips.

“I, I did, but… how could I do that? Have you seen my wife? She’s so small…”

He squinted and gestured vaguely in the air, as if outlining Cassia.

“…so fair and…she’s not someone I should be touching…”

“Oh God, dear God. For the sake of his pitiful wife, please help me hold on to my last ounce of patience. Please grant me a heart as vast as the ocean so that I may find it in my heart to take pity on this poor beast…”

Fleurette closed her eyes and pressed her hands together in mock prayer, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Mortified, Zester bit his lips and slammed his desk with a loud thud.

“I thought she would hate it! How could I dare!”

“Baron, I’m afraid she couldn’t possibly hate it more than she already does. So you can go ahead and try it. Starting now, I’m going to stop choosing my words carefully because it’s getting very frustrating. Does that work with you?”

“D-Do as you must.”

“Then listen carefully. If you whip out your d*** the moment things start, it’s over. First…”

“Gaaah!”

A long series of tortured screams could be heard from Zester’s study.

* * *

For an entire week, Cassia really did nothing but play around and eat. If Zester had spoken to Paul, it must’ve been effective. Paul did visit her a few times but only to check if she was comfortable and he didn’t once mention any household matters.

It had truly been a peaceful week. It was to the point where her body was itching from the inactivity after 27 years of nonstop work. Either way, she was happy. Her body was comfortable and even though her husband, Zester, was in the castle, he never came to annoy her eyes.

She also spoke with Vita often, although she didn’t let it show what she was really thinking. As expected, Vita often said things that tested her patience, recounting how she and Zester shared their first kiss as kids, how he once beat up a bully who picked on her…

These were stories that Cassia had heard in her past life, and it had upset her then, but she just let it go. Once again, she felt like her past self was an idiot.

But this time, she didn’t feel jealous or upset. She felt nothing.

When exactly did I find Zester and Vita secretly meeting again? Cassia couldn’t remember the exact timeframe so in the meantime, she decided to be patient with Vita.

Vita didn’t just annoy Cassia with old memories. She kept telling Cassia, who didn’t want to do anything, to come out, to go for a walk, etc. and today, she asked Cassia to tour the castle with her, so Cassia dragged her heavy body to go along with her.

And that’s when it happened.

“Who is that?”

The question came in a low, cold voice from Vita, who was walking beside her.

They encountered a woman in a strange outfit when they were walking past Zester’s study. The mysterious woman was wearing an expensive fox-fur shawl and had a brightly colored silk scarf wrapped around her head, a fashion that was currently very popular in the capital. The fact that her face was half-covered made her suspicious.

Anyone could tell she was an outsider, and she was clearly coming out of Zester’s office.

‘What is this? Did he have a woman over?’

Other than his ambiguous relationship with Vita, Zester didn’t have any issue with woman, so Cassia didn’t think much of it. Although she didn’t want to admit it, Zester was a romantic. As far as she knew, Vita was the only woman he kept close.

However, Vita, who was standing next to Cassia, seemed to have a different opinion.

Her eyes sharpened as she locked onto the mysterious woman.

“Oh, oh my… I guess I went the wrong way.”

The woman was really suspicious. The moment she saw Cassia and Vita, she acted startled and casually turned herself around to flee in the opposite direction. As if she was running away from someone she didn’t want to meet.

“Hey.”

It was Vita who called out and tried to stop her. As long as the woman wasn’t deaf, she could hear Vita’s voice but she acted like she didn’t hear anything and kept walking quickly.

“Hey, I said!”

Vita quickly ran over and yanked on the woman’s shawl. The woman, whose way forward was blocked, turned around hesitantly and faced Vita.

“Who are you? Who invited you to the castle? You just came out of the Baron’s office, right?”

Vita asked in an interrogative tone.

“No, I…”

The woman mumbled and glance over Vita’s shoulder at Cassia. She seemed to have just met Zester, and she was worried about Cassia who was in the background. Suspicious indeed.

Cassia sighed softly and approached the two.

“Miss Vita, you are being rude to the guest. Let her go.”

“Shouldn’t I at least check her face? I have to verify. She looks so suspicious.”

“Goodness!”

Vita boldly pulled down the scarf that was covering the woman’s face. A cascade of luscious red hair fluttered into the air.

“Hah?”

The charming red-haired woman was incredibly beautiful.

A beauty, husband’s room, suspicious behavior.

It was definitely a suspicious situation, but Cassia was more angry with Vita than the woman. Even in this life, Vita was playing Zester’s wife.

“Miss Vita, I asked you to stop.”

“Madam, this woman is a prostitute.”

“What?”

“She’s famous even in the capital, don’t you know her, Madam? A money-obsessed cheap prostitute who sells herself to nobles for coin! Tell what you’re doing in our Baron’s room right now!”

“Miss Vita!”

“Seriously now, what kind of unreasonable woman are you? Who do you think you are to be flapping your mouth and calling me cheap? Frankly speaking, if I were actually here to have fun and get paid for it, I wouldn’t even be offended right now.”

“W-What?! Are you crazy?!”

As it turns out, the woman had quite the temper, just like Vita. She rolled up her sleeves and snorted, not intending to quietly accept Vita’s insults.

“I was trying to leave quietly, but since this has happened, please allow me to introduce myself. I don’t want any misunderstandings. You must be Baroness Greze, yes? My name is Fleurette Roseline. The castle butler contacted me about the Baron’s issue, so I paid a visit. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

The woman who introduced herself as Fleurette Roseline straightened her disheveled shawl, gave Vita a look then bowed her head towards Cassia.

Cassia didn’t quite understand what Fleurette was talking about but she accepted the greeting anyway.

“In that case, I understand. If Paul invited you, that makes you a guest of our castle. Our young miss here acted rudely without understanding. It looks like you’re on your way out so I bid you safe travels.”

“Madam!”

Vita protested in a shrill voice, but Cassia ignored her. Fleurette snorted again as if to mock Vita and turned around.

However, Vita was not the type to just send off a strange woman who came out of Zester’s room. The chaos happened in an instant.

“Aaack!”

“Vita!”

With wild eyes, Vita grabbed Fleurette’s hair from behind. Fleurette’s head immediately shook at the strong grip.

But Fleurette was no ordinary opponent.

She swiftly turned around and grabbed Vita’s neatly braided hair. It was a mess.

“Let go of me!”

“You let go, you cheap whore!”

“Vita! Stop this right now!”

Cassia was flustered and didn’t know what to do in this unexpected situation. She knew that Vita was always fiercely territorial with Zester, but she couldn’t remember the girl ever grabbing someone’s hair and causing a commotion in the castle like this.

Did her combat skills improve or something?

“Agh! You’re pulling out all my hair! Baroness, help me!”

“W-Wait, Miss Roseline, ack!”

Cassia moved to intervene, but she was instantly caught in the crossfire. Fleurette, who was losing ground to Vita’s brute strength, flailed and accidentally grabbed Cassia’s dress. The three of them got entangled and started flailing around in chaos. It was truly a complete mess.

The noise must’ve drawn attention because the door to Zester’s study hurriedly flung open.

“W-What in the world is—!”

Paul’s panicked voice cut through the air as he came out with Zester. At this moment, Cassia’s world was spinning. Even in her previous life, she had never been in this kind of dog fight.

“Cassia!”

“Aaagh!”

“Oh my god!”

Cassia’s body, which had been shaking back and forth because of Fleurette’s grip, was caught in a firm hand and pulled away from the commotion. It was Zester.

He pulled Cassia out with considerable force, causing both Vita and Fleurette to lose balance and topple over.

Cassia’s dazed eyes took in the sight of the two women. Vita, now possessed with rage, lunged for Fleurette’s hair again as Fleurette tried to run away.

“Gaah!”

This is madness. Absolute madness. It can’t get any more insane than this.

And the one to blame for all of this? Was it Vita? Fleurette?

No.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Zester held her shoulders and turned her toward him. His face was filled with the same desperate concern she saw on his face right before she died.

What reason in the world would make him invite a prostitute to his castle…

What sweet words did he whisper in Vita’s ears behind her back to make her act more like a wife than his real wife…

‘And why am I the one being humiliated like this?’

That day, Baroness Cassia Greze finally exploded. It was ten years’ worth of repressed fury.

“…I’m not okay, you idiot!”

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