The Noble Lady of Lust

Chapter 420: Unnecessary

’My sis never disappoints me.’

"Hehehe~"

There was Alice, thinking that and giggling softly. She had been very happy all afternoon because of what happened at noon after Seraphina tied her up and took her to a corner of the garden.

She was so lost in those sweet thoughts and lingering sensations that she wasn’t even paying attention to her surroundings.

And before she knew it, she had separated from the rest of the group.

"Hehe... huh?... Ah!"

Taking advantage of her moment of distraction, a figure appeared and dragged her away.

"Tell me what you know."

That was the first thing the person who dragged her to a secluded corner said, and it wasn’t at all gentle.

"W-what do you want to know, big sister Cordelia?"

Yes, it was Cordelia; with a frown on her face and a clearly threatening tone, she began to question Alice.

Alice knew what Cordelia was like and her peculiar way of acting. Even so, when she dragged her away without warning and cornered her in a corner, and looked at her with her characteristic piercing gray eyes, she couldn’t help but be nervous.

"Everything."

"C-could you be more specific?"

"I want to know everything."

"Big sister Cordelia, if you don’t explain it to me in more detail, I don’t know what to say to you."

"About P-Phina. What is her secret?"

"Oh!, that. If that’s all, you don’t need to ask me."

Alice calmed down. When she saw Cordelia hesitate and even say Seraphina’s nickname a little embarrassed, she realized she didn’t need to be so nervous.

"No?"

"Now that you’re dating my big sister, I’m sure she’ll tell you. Rather, she’s wanted to tell you, but hasn’t found the opportunity."

Alice knew that Seraphina was going to tell her about her double identity and a few other things, as she does with everyone else.

But between how hectic everything got when they arrived and her becoming stiff just by taking her hand, Alice knows that she hasn’t found the right moment.

It seems that even at this point Cordelia noticed something. Perhaps what happened earlier was the last thing Cordelia needed to seek answers on her own, although for Alice that is unnecessary.

"Does she want to tell me?"

"Yes. My sister usually tells everyone her secrets when we have a new sister. She just hasn’t found the opportunity. I’m sure if you ask her, she’ll tell you."

"I see... wait, everyone? Because it seems like it’s not just you and me."

"Huh? What do you mean? Obviously, it’s not just the two of us."

"What? Then who else?"

"No, I mean... hmm, at least you know about Elena, right?"

Alice didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t name the rest because she thought Seraphina was the one who should say these things, but at least she thought Elena was obvious.

"Her?... Isn’t she just a maid? Why would she date Ph-Phina?"

"Ah! I see you misunderstood. Well, not entirely. Elena is my older sister’s maid, but she also dates her. In fact, she’s her first girlfriend."

"What!?"

"Hmm, why are you surprised? Although she doesn’t like me calling her that, Elena is like my second older sister."

"That doesn’t make any sense... she’s not a noble."

"Oh, that’s true. Well, my older sister has never cared about that."

"...I see. So it wasn’t a joke. Hmmm... yes, it’s still fine. She’s someone with great poise, so it’s not unusual for her to have three lovers."

"Hmm, there aren’t just three of us—"

"What? Who else?"

"I can’t give many details, but there are more of us. We’re a big family. I’m sure my older sister will tell you who our other sisters are when she tells you everything."

"(ㆆ_ㆆ)"

"W-what’s wrong?"

"...I don’t understand you."

"..."

Even Alice thought that, of all the people possible, Cordelia would be the last one she thought would say that to her.

Even now, she didn’t fully understand Cordelia; she could only more or less decipher her actions based on the premise that she liked Seraphina.

If it weren’t for that, Alice could only think that she hated Seraphina, to the point that her body was allergic to her and turned to metal just by holding hands.

And that was with regard to Seraphina. To this day, Alice doesn’t know what Cordelia thinks of her.

Most of the time, she looked at her with indifference, and when she spoke to her, she only responded when necessary.

Only at times like now, when it was something related to Seraphina, did she speak normally.

But Alice was positive and thought that with time they would understand each other better and get along better, as had happened with everyone else.

Even Eira, who seemed cautious and hesitant at first, now gets along well with her when they are alone.

Eira even lets her hug her and so on, which Alice really likes; they were very close and bonded.

What’s more, recently at noon, she felt that they had grown even closer, as the two had a good time together because Seraphina and Christian had taken them to the same place.

Alice thought Seraphina was right: everyone has their own special way of connecting with her.

Comparisons are not something she should seriously engage in. When she came to that realization, she felt closer to Eira, who Alice thinks is becoming less and less reluctant to get involved with other women.

For Alice, Seraphina is someone who is never wrong, and she was not wrong when she said that they could get to know each other better with their bodies.

Alice wanted to do the same with Cordelia, who also seemed to "admire" Seraphina, but she couldn’t because of Cordelia’s metal syndrome.

But she firmly believed that when it finally happened, they could become closer and talk about many things.

But they hadn’t reached that point yet, and Cordelia’s next words confused Alice.

"You’re strange. I don’t understand why you seem so happy talking about Phina’s other lovers... I’ll tell you one thing: you’re the only lover—besides me—whom I truly acknowledge."

"Huh? What about Elena?"

"She’s still in the evaluation process."

"E-evaluation?"

"Listen, what I’m about to tell you is one of my biggest secrets... for as long as I can remember, I’ve always admired her, although I recently realized that it was more love than admiration."

"..."

Alice thought that this was no longer really a secret, but she didn’t say anything. It seemed that Cordelia, who was speaking like a normal person, was trying to get at something.

"It may come as a surprise, since I always try to act as calm and neutral as possible in her presence, and it’s not something easy to notice."

"..."

Once again, Alice refrained from saying anything. Not because she acted well, but rather because she acted so badly that she seemed to hate Seraphina; there was nothing neutral about it.

That’s why she was as surprised as everyone else when Astrid revealed the truth. In fact, she remained incredulous until she saw Cordelia’s room.

"Although I heard from Chris that she had misunderstood me in a negative way, she must have been mistaken."

"..."

Alice really felt like saying a few things, but once again her personality made her refrain.

"Anyway, I really appreciate you because it was thanks to you that I realized many things, but that doesn’t change the fact that she is my most precious person and honestly... I don’t want to share her with anyone else."

"Th-that’s—"

"Yes, I know it’s a bit narrow-minded. My mother has talked to me about it. She told me how love comes in different ways, and I understand that there are people who can love more than one person. In fact, she told me that it’s very, very normal, and Phina is one of them."

"Haah~ I’m glad you think that way, if—"

"But!"

At that moment, Cordelia’s usual cool and calm aura changed, and a slightly dangerous aura spread from her.

"B-but?"

This made Alice very nervous again. She had a feeling that the conversation was not going in a good direction, and her hunch grew stronger with Cordelia’s next words.

"More than three is ’unnecessary’."

"..."

When Cordelia said that, Alice noticed that her eyes seemed more piercing and intimidating.

This affected the always gentle Alice a little. She felt a slight pressure coming from Cordelia.

She was also a little worried, as she didn’t understand what Cordelia meant by "unnecessary."

"My mother says that the more the better, but I can’t accept that. She is a clear example of that. There must be a limit. If there are too many, her love will be scattered, and at some point, we will just be one among many."

"This... hmm."

Alice understood Cordelia’s point.

Harems were quite common, so there were many precedents that would lead her to think that way.

And you didn’t even have to look elsewhere. Alice knew that the Argent, where Cordelia came from, are known for having colossal harems that are beyond the capabilities of those who create them.

So that thing about the dispersion of love is a reasonable conclusion; in fact, it may even be worse: not receiving any kind of affection and being there just for the numbers and male pride.

But from Alice’s perspective, she thought that would never be the case for Seraphina, and she didn’t have to worry about that.

Still, Alice understands her, as she originally thought like Cordelia. She saw no reason why they should add more people, but at some point, that simply ceased to be relevant.

Seraphina simply made it so.

What made it so?

If asked, Alice wouldn’t know how to answer. It wasn’t just physical satisfaction; it was much more than that in many ways.

There were so many things, big and small, that Alice doesn’t know how to put it into words, but what she does know is that she is very happy right now.

And not just because of Seraphina; she had come to love the rest of them as more than just friends. They were all family who would be together, supporting each other for countless times.

Each of them was a source of happiness for her, and she was excited to think that she could have even more.

Rather than stopping Seraphina, she now wanted her to add more; the more, the better.

But she could understand Cordelia’s current thinking because of her limited understanding and knowledge of the circumstances.

But Alice didn’t know how to make Cordelia understand that. She understood that the rest of the people might not think like her.

She was a little nervous, as the situation was delicate and her words could cause a bad reaction.

But paying no attention to Alice’s state, Cordelia continued.

"The two of us should be more than enough, so I propose something: cooperate with me, let’s join forces and eliminate the rest."

Cordelia said this with a serious face. In her gray eyes there was determination and no doubt.

She didn’t know who the others were, but what she did know was that they had no place in her life, in the relationship between her and the person she loved most.

She was already taking several steps back, accepting Alice and possibly Elena, who despite her status seemed like a worthy person.

But that was as far as it went; beyond that, she thought it necessary to take direct action and take care of the rest on her own.

Cordelia thought it was necessary to do so in order for Seraphina’s love to be as focused as possible.

Something Cordelia didn’t notice was that when she said "eliminate," Alice’s nervousness about not knowing how to handle the situation vanished from her face and an indescribable expression formed.

"Eliminate."

And Alice repeated only that one word in a low voice.