S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 18

Caladium’s eyes, which had remained calm despite the continuous whipping, trembled, when he saw Adelaide.

‘This…!’

Is she really crazy? Caladium was bewildered as he breathed in. Although Boraca’s power was poor compared to his bluff, that was by his standards, not Adelaide’s.

Because Boraca knew his weakness, he always carried a weapon with him. He probably bought high-end weapons that cost a lot of money. The whip that was now striking Caladium’s skin was one of them.

And Adelaide can never beat Boraca’s weapon. Even without a weapon, victory was unclear and defeat was only natural. In Caladium’s eyes, such reality was clearly evident.

The cheeky child she brought with her as a subordinate seemed to be stronger than expected, but it was hard for him to guess as he was tied up by a holy relic. However, the odds were slim that her subordinate would be stronger than Boraca’s escort.

In other words, what Adelaide was about to do was far too reckless.

Adelaide was aware of this too. Thanks to her standing up as stealthily as possible, Boraca was still unaware of her existence, but it was only a matter of time before she was found out.

Cold sweat ran down her back. The thought that perhaps even Lisianthus will be put in danger was what scared her the most.

“It hurts? Yes? Tell me it hurts!”

Wupssh! Boraca was so happy to see that his expression had changed after a long time, and whipped him even more enthusiastically. His face was full of excitement at what he was imagining.

Adelaide’s face, on the other hand, contorted. It was as if she could feel it herself. Without realizing it, she stretched out her legs. She felt that she had to come right out and break the hand holding the whip.

But at that moment, her gaze met Caladium’s again. He stared intently at Adelaide with a frown. Strangely, she couldn’t turn away from his eyes. It was like she was being hypnotized.

Wait, hypnosis? That was the moment when Adelaide realized something was wrong.

[“Sit down.”]

Caladium, who had been silent after clenching his teeth, ordered quietly.

Thump. Her body moved involuntarily.

When Adelaide came to her senses, she was back in the shadows again. Fortunately, thanks to Lisianthus’ quick response, there was no sound.

“What, what did you do?!”

Startled, Boraca hurriedly shouted. Caladium shrugged his shoulders with a strange smile, but didn’t answer.

After looking around for about a minute, Boraca realized that nothing had changed, and continued to speak with a low voice.

“Powers? Did you just try to use your powers? Haha! Well, as long as I am wearing this ring, your powers have no effect on me!”

“Then why are you scared?”

A smirk leaked from between his bloody lips. It was an obvious mockery.

“Weak b*stard.”

Boraca’s eyes flipped over at the sound of his taunting voice and high-pitched snicker.

“You…!”

Enraged, he lost his temper and ran towards Caladium. He pulled out a pointed dagger from his arms and aimed at Caladium. Adelaide, who had seen this, tried to get up quickly, but could not do so because the effect of the power still remained. A familiar lethargy overtook her. Adelaide closed her eyes tightly.

“Aaaaargh!”

A painful scream erupted.

Adelaide instinctively furrowed her eyebrows, then opened her eyes shortly after. There was something strange about it. The voice was too high to be Caladium’s.

She peeked over the crates and looked at the situation. Caladium, whose handsome face was stained with blood, was grinning, revealing his white teeth. But there was something hanging from his teeth.

It was an ear. The ear that used to be quietly attached to the side of Boraca’s face until now.

Adelaide closed her eyes for a moment but she couldn’t figure out what had just happened.

Was it because he was so strong that he was able to tear off one of the other demon’s ears even though he was tied by a holy relic? Or that Boraca was too weak and got his ear torn off even when he was holding a sword? Maybe both.

Spit. Caladium spit the round flesh to the floor.

“Argh! Argh!”

“Yeah, where did you get that confidence from, you id*ot.”

From your lover? Caladium said, laughing at Boraca who was screaming while grabbing the area where the ear used to be. There was a lot of ridicule in his pleasant voice.

Soon his gaze went past Boraca and reached Adelaide. One eyebrow raised, and the blood-stained lips moved slowly.

[“Get out.”]

There was no sound, but Caladium clearly conveyed it.

Adelaide, possessed by the cold silver-gray eyes, moved again against her will. Lisianthus followed her side carefully, helping her hide her presence. Fortunately, Boraca was completely unaware of their existence because of the pain.

The portal quickly got closer. Before taking the last step, Adelaide, who had barely escaped from his powers, turned her gaze in Caladium’s direction.

He was still staring at her, fearing that she would act unexpectedly.

Caladium’s lips curled arrogantly. There was no fear on his face even though it was certain that the beating would continue after she left.

She wanted to help, but there was no way right now. Rather, she should be thankful that he gave them a chance to escape. Adelaide bit her lip softly. Her own weakness kept holding her back.

[“I will definitely come back.”]

She moved her lips imitating Caladium. She didn’t know if her whisper reached him.

**********

The night passed very slowly.

Adelaide used to fall asleep quickly once she laid her head on the floor, but not today.

Her heart kept pounding. The noise was so loud that she couldn’t sleep at all. She kept replaying what had happened earlier over and over in her head.

Wupssh! The sound of a whip cutting through the wind, the sight of blood dripping and the red marks on his sturdy skin, and…

[“Sit down.”]

The resolute voice that worried about Adelaide’s safety despite the circumstances he was in.

“Whew…”

Adelaide kept tossing and turning for a while then let out a sigh. Her heart was so frustrated that she couldn’t bear it.

She was a fool for trying to take advantage of his situation, and she was grateful to Caladium for helping her escape. But above all else, she was overwhelmed by her helplessness.

‘I’ve never felt anything like this before…’

From the day she decided not to work, Adelaide accepted her weakness as her fate. She sometimes felt sad when faced with unfortunate incidents, but she naturally embraced those as well. What made her so frustrated was, without realizing it, she now had dreams that were too big.

She was weak and she didn’t know her place.

‘Tomorrow is the end of the test period. What do I do?’

There was only one day left. If they don’t quickly seize the opportunity, all their efforts would be in vain. However, if they overdo it due to impatience, it might make things worse.

Adelaide took another deep breath. She wanted to sleep and stop worrying, but her heart was beating so fast that she couldn’t do so. At this rate, she felt like she would stay up all night.

Is Lisianthus sleeping well? Adelaide, who was suddenly curious, turned her head slightly and looked beside her. She couldn’t see well because he was lying on his back.

She carefully turned her body to form a sitting position. Then the moment she turned her face toward him again.

“Master.”

“Eek!”

Adelaide’s shoulders shook in surprise. In the gloomy darkness, the outlines of Lisianthus were faintly visible, then gradually became clearer. In particular, the long eyelashes, high nose bridge, and the sharply angled jaw, were especially evident.

Adelaide swallowed unknowingly. Somehow, she felt like she was caught trying to peek, so her cheeks burned.

“Sorry, I tossed and turned a lot.”

“No, it’s fine.”

She heard the sound of fine hair slowly falling. It was as if Lisianthus was turning his body towards her. His golden eyes instantaneously turned to her, half veiled in the darkness.

‘Come to think of it, Lisianthus and I slept together yesterday.’

She hadn’t paid much attention to it, but she now realized.

They had no particular feelings for each other, so there was no problem. It also wasn’t the first time she had shared a bed with a man. It was because she often lived in the same place as incubi for useless reasons.

In the past, Adelaide didn’t feel any s*x*al tension towards the opposite s*x very well. Like most succubi, she was naturally insensitive to such things. She was also the one who decided to live with Lisianthus from the day she first met him. There was no need to act like strangers now.

But why was she worried about his presence now? Because she had never slept alone with a man?

“You can’t sleep?”

She found the reason.

As always, it was likely because of the guy’s crazy appearance.

Normally if the surroundings were dark, beauty cannot be discerned, but Lisianthus was showing off his beauty even though darkness surrounds him. Even his voice was so thick and soft. The woman who will become his lover will surely have a hard time no matter who it will be.

Adelaide opened her mouth, expressing her condolences for the poor future demon in her heart.

“Uh, a little bit?”

Adelaide didn’t explain why she couldn’t sleep. She didn’t want to add to his worries.

“Then…”

She stared at the fluttering shape of his eyelashes and waited for his next words. Perhaps because it was dark, his eyes looked particularly hazy.

Lisianthus continued whispering in a subdued voice.

“Do you want me to put you to sleep?”