Argen quietly closed her eyes.
The sunlight streaming down from above was warm, and she wanted to savour this moment, however briefly.
How long had it been since she’d felt sunlight in her office?
The memory of days spent buried in the gloomy shadows cast by mountains of paperwork made this moment feel especially poignant.
Two large-scale human invasions had occurred in the demon realm.
Whether it was fortunate or not was unclear, but the damage was less than feared, allowing for a swift recovery.
“Um, Lord Argen…” Nadol called out to Argen in a troubled voice.
She had been slumped comfortably in her chair but sat up straight, her back stiff.“What is it?”
He placed a stack of documents on the table and sighed deeply.
“Vacation requests are flooding in…”
It wasn’t just Argen who sensed the work had slackened.
The demons, who had been eyeing vacation time eagerly, seized the opportunity to quickly submit their leave requests.
With no telling when the humans might invade again with their armies, this quiet period was the perfect time to rest.
Her enjoyment of the sunlight was short-lived.
Argen slowly closed her eyes at the sight of the enormous pile of vacation requests, then opened them again.
She felt sorry for the demonic beings, overburdened with work and unable to rest properly.
But with the damage not yet fully repaired, it was impossible for all those personnel to secure leave.
“Classify them by department and grant vacation only 10% of the applicants from each department…”
Just then, the office door burst open, and a young demonic being pulled a cart inside.
Creak, creak.
The cart rolled heavily across the marble floor, its wheels grinding against the stone.
Inside lay a chaotic pile of rolled-up documents.
“Vacation request forms delivery.”
Nadol and the other Elders paled visibly.
The boy brushed his hands off and pulled a fluttering sheet of paper from his outer coat pocket.
“Please take care of mine too!”
The boy bowed at a 90-degree angle, presenting the vacation request with both hands.
Only after taking the request with trembling hands did he pull the empty cart out of the office.
“…Lord Argen.
Shall I sort them first?”
Argen nodded.
The sunlight that had been fluttering on her eyelashes moments ago hid behind the pile of leave requests.
“Two hours and twenty minutes.” The moment he opened the office door, a dry voice flew in.
“Later than yesterday.
You don’t seem to be working particularly hard, so what are you doing that makes you leave late every day?”
The moment Nadol spotted Valen, he darted aside.
He didn’t want to get thrown again.
He’d tried several times to brace his toes and hold his ground, but it was futile.
There was no way a goat who’d spent his entire life sitting at a desk staring at paperwork could physically overpower Valen, who underwent death-defying physical training daily.
“Don’t you ever sleep?
Why are you sitting in front of the office every single day!” Finn shouted at Valen, pointing an accusing finger.
“I’m not here to see you, so don’t bother.” Valen responded dismissively.
“Then you came to see me?”
At the innocent question, the black pupils holding her image trembled violently with agitation.
Valen’s composed demeanour vanished completely, and he couldn’t utter a single word, as if he’d been struck dumb.
“Seeing you can’t speak, it must be true.
It seems Number 38 is embarrassed.
Lord Argen.”
“Is that so?” Zephyr chuckled and patted Valen’s back.
Valen roughly swatted his hand away.
“Cut the crap.”
Argen studied Valen’s face closely.
Even the slightest flicker of confusion in his expression was enough to reveal his turmoil.
He really was embarrassed.
It was baffling why he’d blush over such a trivial thing when he performed all sorts of perverted acts in bed without batting an eye.
Maybe he’s still young.
If No Name wants to hide something, is there really a need to drag it out?
Pretending not to notice and letting it be is the virtue of an Elder.
But one thing worried her.
“…Planning to sleep in my bedroom again tonight?”
“Don’t you like it?”
“Of course she doesn’t like it, you idiot!” No Name asked, and Finn cut off Argen’s reply.“It’s because of you that Lord Argen can’t sleep peacefully!”
Frowning as if annoyed, No Name scooped up Argen.
With Finn wailing loudly behind him, he strode briskly down the long corridor.
“Seems you’ve forgotten—we only need to be intimate once every three days.”
“…….”
“Meaning you don’t have to come to my bedchamber every single day like you’ve been doing lately.”
Valen stopped abruptly after walking only a short distance.
The face Argen looked up at was strangely contorted.
“Have you grown tired of me now?”
“Tired?
What are you talking about?”
“You dragged me here by force, but eating the same guy over and over is starting to get boring.
Yet you can’t just abandon me because of our contract.
Is that it?” His self-deprecating voice carried a hint of anger, seemed anxious, and was tinged with impatience.
Argen felt the chaotic mix of emotions churning within him.
She stared straight at Valen’s face, her eyes wide.
His self-esteem is surprisingly low, unlike how he appears.
This was someone who never backed down in any situation, always appearing not just confident but downright brazen.
Yet now, even trivial words deeply wounded and shook him.
His tantrum was likely just a defence mechanism, lashing out to hide his vulnerability.
He looked pitiful, yapping like a puppy afraid of being abandoned by its owner.
“That’s not it.
I have no desire to share my flesh with anyone but you.”
“Then what is it?
Didn’t you need my semen?
You said you needed to get pregnant.
I’m offering, so why are you rejecting me?”
“I’m tired.
I just want to sleep peacefully for one day.
You’ve come to my bedchamber every single day for a week, drastically cutting into my sleep time.
You know that well enough.”
“……”
“Tonight, let’s sleep holding hands.
Gazing into each other’s eyes, listening to each other’s breath, without sweating.”
Argen whispered in her characteristic slow, indifferent tone.
The icy blue glint in his eyes gradually softened, and the hands that were tightly holding Arhen’s body gradually relaxed..
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
He seemed to realise his own reaction had been overly sensitive.
Valen moved the legs he had stopped.
“This isn’t child’s play.
If you’re not going to do it, there’s no reason for me to stay in you bedroom.”
“Is that so?” Argen rested her face against Valen’s chest.
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart was beating dangerously fast.
Valen escorted Argen to the bedroom door, acting as if he’d leave immediately, yet for some reason followed her inside.
He undressed her, filled the bathtub with bubbles, then personally scrubbed her all over.
Not only that, he combed her hair and left the room to fill an empty water bottle.
The moment he left, several servants let out shrieks.
From now on, there would never be an empty water bottle on Argen’s nightstand.
Argen lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, still in the position he had laid her down.
She had caught him secretly masturbating in the bathroom just moments ago.
It was hard to pretend not to notice him panting behind her back, frantically flailing his arms.
Sticky fluid splattered onto Argen’s back several times.
She thought once would be enough, but he ejaculated three times in a row.
“…He’s got stamina.”
Just then, the door opened and Valen returned.
Even though there was absolutely no reason to be startled, Argen flinched.
“Why are you trembling?
Need to use the bathroom?”
When Valen tried to pick her up, Argen hurriedly pushed his chest away with both hands.“…It’s cold.
And I’m not a patient, so I can go to the bathroom by myself.”
Valen slipped his hand under the covers to check the temperature.
He tended to run hot anyway, often sleeping shirtless.
To Valen, the warmth under the covers seemed stifling; he tilted his head in puzzlement.
“You don’t have a cold, do you?”
“I have no history of contracting such illnesses.”
“Stay still.”
He pressed his large hands firmly against various spots on Argen’s face, lifting them again and again.
He made an expression as if gauging something, then thoroughly felt her neck, forearms, and even under her armpits.
“Why are you turning my clothes inside out?”