Dungeon of Lust: Managing Otherworldly Beauties

Chapter 225: Half-Forgotten Dream

Valentin drew laborious breaths as he placed his arm against the wall. A small line of blood dribbled onto his chin from his busted lip. A few red scratches lined his knuckles.

A few more haggard breaths escaped his lungs.

"Girl, you really shouldn’t be around these parts. Thugs like those assholes are common."

The girl, with a dubious look on her face, stared at the backs of the three bloody men staggering away from the alley.

"Hmm. I was passing by when I saw your soul! I knew you’d protect me!"

Valentin didn’t exactly know what the girl was on about. He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, brushed his hair out of his eyes, and sighed.

"Whatever. Run along now. Don’t expect my help again."

"Don’t be so harsh to this damsel in distress."

"You caused your own distress. Now, hurry on, please. Before someone else spots you."

Valentin stepped over the still-lit cigarette on the ground, unlocked the back door of the brothel, and swung it open. As he entered, the girl screamed one last thing, sounding almost like a mockery.

"Ah! A cute boy with a beautiful, tortured soul!"

That was the first time Valentin had met Fleur.

***

"Seriously, it’s not safe around here."

Valentin sat in the alley, smoking a cigarette. The same brand his dad used to.

As soon as his break began, the girl appeared without fail. It had been two weeks now, and the girl would appear in the alley every night.

Fleur waved away the smoke as it rose from his lips.

"But you’re around here too, are you not?"

Valentin took the bud out of his mouth and coughed lightly.

"Men and women aren’t seen as equals in these parts. Hunters and prey." Valentin’s grey eyes drifted up and into Fleur’s. "And you don’t seem like the hunter type."

He started bringing the cigarette back to his mouth. Fleur pinched it before the end could touch his lips.

"You’re much too young to be smoking. You’ll dirty your pure soul!"

Fleur threw the cigarette to the ground and stomped on it.

Valentin looked up at her with hollow eyes.

The girl obsessed with speaking about his soul.

"Didn’t you call my soul tortured before? And you don’t look any older than me."

"It is tortured! Like, it’s radiant but sad!"

"Is that so?"

Valentin dug the cigarette box out of his back pocket.

"Damn."

When he sat down, it had fallen out and landed in a puddle from the earlier rain.

Fleur joked as she leaned down and offered Valentin a hand.

"Take it as a sign, Val."

Valentin looked at her hand for a moment, then pushed himself up off the ground.

"Do you seriously have nothing better to do than stalk me?"

The girl screeched:

"Stalk you?!"

"Yeah, stalk me," Valentin pointed up at the night sky. "Why else would you be here at almost midnight every night?"

Fleur laughed as she danced about under the moonlight.

"What if I’m a werewolf who enjoys taking strolls in the night?"

"Then be a werewolf who takes strolls in the day."

Fleur pouted.

"Bleh! Why you gotta be so harsh!"

Valentin rolled his eyes and turned back toward the brothel’s back door. He put his key in the lock then gripped the handle.

But as he pushed down, he suddenly stopped. His sad grey eyes looked over at Fleur.

"Can you at least tell me why you keep bothering me?"

"Bothering you?" Fleur sniffled. "Are you trying to make a girl cry?!"

"Huh?"

"Clearly you don’t know much about love at first sight!"

"You might have a point for once."

Valentin opened the door and fled inside before he could hear a response.

The next day, on his break, he took in the toxic air of the slums and waited.

"I guess I scared her off."

Valentin reached for his back pocket.

"Oh, right."

She never came.

Another day, then three, then a week.

Valentin was absentmindedly loitering around when an odd sentence escaped his lips.

"Seriously, where is she?"

"So you miss me?"

"Huh? Where the hell did you spawn from?"

Just as Valentin said that, Margaret, one of the prostitutes, appeared outside with a trash bag in hand.

As she passed, she said:

"She’s been watching you from over there every day for the past week."

Then walked off toward the dumpster.

"Oh, so you are stalking me."

Fleur scratched her cheek.

"Well..." she sighed. "Seriously, Margaret!"

Valentin’s eyes narrowed.

"How do you know her name?"

Margaret, who’d thrown the trash away, walked back and opened the door. Instead of even hinting at an answer, all she said was:

"The fact you got Val Val talking at all means he’s already in love. Keep going, girly."

Then, she retreated inside.

Valentin sighed and palmed his head.

"Seriously."

Fleur giggled.

"Val Val... hehehe. You were being all stoic and mysterious. So, I decided to go in and ask about you on one of your breaks. That’s how Margaret and I became friends!"

Valentin looked the smug girl up and down.

"You seriously went into a brothel? Are you nuts? What would your parents say?"

"Says the boy who lives in one and smokes."

"I only smoke after it rains."

Fleur twirled, then said:

"Soooooo. Why were you brooding and saying in a deep voice ’where is she’? Are we not gonna talk ’bout that, or...?"

Valentin sighed.

"I was just a little worried some thugs got to you. Since I didn’t think you’d be scared off that easily."

Fleur took a step toward Valentin.

"So you were trying to scare me off?! How rude! How obscene! How funny! Bahaha!"

Valentin clicked his tongue.

"You wouldn’t understand."

Fleur cocked her head to the side.

"Oh? What wouldn’t I understand?"

Valentin looked up at the night sky.

"Nothing."

"No, no. You have to tell me now. Tell me what led to this mysterious, tortured vibe! What is it?"

Valentin’s dull eyes fell to the ground.

"When everything has been taken from you, grasping anything again is simply choosing the next thing you’ll lose."

Valentin turned and speedily unlocked the door, but before he could retreat, Fleur placed her hand on his and stopped him.

"Seriously?! That’s why you’re being like this? Oh, Val... You do realize you also lose things you turn away from, right? Just because you never hold it doesn’t mean you never had it."

Valentin’s eyes slightly widened as he looked over his shoulder.

Fleur drew a laborious breath.

"Val Val, I don’t really care for debating philosophy or whatnot. All I really care about is following my heart’s desires. And when my heart saw you and your soul, it said, ’Love! Love at first sight!"

Valentin bit his lip, which was almost healed. He bit so hard that the scab tore away and reopened the wound.

"Is..."

The fragile boy’s eyes spoke volumes. There seemed to be many words flowing through his head which begged to break free.

Fleur stepped forward and hugged Valentin.

"I won’t force you to accept my feelings, but can you at least be honest with yourself? If you’re going to reject me, let it not be a lie, please."

Valentin’s hand fell off the door handle.

"Ah, seriously. You’re incorrigible."

He turned his head away, trying to hide the single tear that trailed down his cheek, but the girl noticed it, anyway.

After sneakily wiping it away, Val turned and reciprocated the hug. He whispered in her ear.

"I... please... don’t..."

But, whatever he was trying to say was soon drowned out.

"Woo hoo!"

"Yeah!"

"You got him, girl!"

"I told you that you had him."

Margaret, Selene, and Zélie cheered and clapped from the end of the alleyway.

Fleur sighed.

"Seriously!"

Val chuckled quietly.

"How does it feel to be spied on?"

Fleur smiled.

"Pretty nice to know people care about me."

"You know, you’re pretty unique."

"I get that a lot... is it a compliment?"

Val looked off toward the three courtesans giggling and murmuring amongst themselves.

"Honestly, it wasn’t, but it is."

"Huh?! We just started dating and you insult me?"

"Dating? But—"

Fleur pushed her finger over his mouth.

"We’re dating!"

Val couldn’t help but smile.

"Okay, okay. But what I meant was that ’normal’ people are dull, monotonous, and boring. You. You bring light to this dark world."

Fleur stepped away and doubled over.

"’This dark world...’ Bah! Why does everything have to be so serious with you?! Is it that hard to read the mood? Why haven’t you kissed me?!"

Val scratched his cheek

"Uh..."

Then he pointed toward the three women watching.

Fleur’s eyes widened as she spun around and waved her hand

"Shoo, shoo!"

Val’s lips once again contorted into a smile watching the innocent girl.

The entourage fled around the corner, but they were obviously still watching.

Margaret even opened her pocket mirror and watched them in the reflection.

But if Val noticed, he didn’t exactly care. Something deep within him, he’d thought had been lost, stirred.

He held out his hand and lightly pulled Fleur in, then planted an awkward kiss on her cheek.

"Seriously? The cheek?!"

A little red line trailed down Fleur’s face.

***

It was a dream.

A dream of the past.

But that dream?

It wasn’t Vale’s.