Chapter 3 - To Entice An Innocent Man (1/2)
At those words, there was silence in the bookstore for a moment.
“……Body?”
“……Body?”
Both Ariel and the woman’s voice rang out at the same time when they heard her companion’s answer. Thanks to the loud voice of the woman, Ariel’s muttering was fortunately buried and could not be heard by the two. Ariel covered her mouth with her hand and listened again.
How can her body stop someone from becoming a priest? Should she lie down in front of the door? Or did she have to hold on to him?
Ariel wasn’t the only one who couldn’t understand, as the woman, who shouted then, asked her friend.
“What do you need a body for?”
“Oh, you really don’t know? What are the conditions to be a priest to the goddess? It’s a pure body. But if you spend a night with the opposite sex before entering the temple…….”
“Ah!”
When the woman heard the answer, her eyes widened and her mouth closed. She finally understood what her friend told her to do.
“That, that means…… I’ll be with him…… You want me to spend the night with him?”
“Yes. It wasn’t that he was entirely uninterested in you either. Are you going to kiss him while standing next to the goddess? He’s a funny guy. Hey, I’ll help to create an opportunity for you to knock him down.”
Hearing this, the woman who was crying nodded as her friend clenched her fist with a determined face, as if they were embarking into an all-out war.
Then, the bookstore owner’s voice was heard from afar.
“What’s going on there?”
He seemed to be worried, wondering if there was a problem because the woman made a loud noise.
“Nothing, everything’s okay!”
Due to the owner’s voice, the two women must have realized that this place was not suitable for further conversation about this topic, so as soon as they were ready, they went back to the entrance with a book. Ariel couldn’t move for a long time even after the two women disappeared.
‘Oh, my God, there is a way.’
Just like they said. The body of a man who will return to the goddess should be a pure body that does not know the desires of the world. But what if he has a relationship with the opposite sex and becomes aware of desire? He’ll be out, really out.
‘All right, then right now……!’
Ariel, who was about to rise from her seat, realized a huge problem at that moment.
Ariel did received sex education when she became older. That’s why she knew what it meant to ‘be with a man’ a while ago. But the problem lied in the extent of Ariel’s knowledge. She knew nothing more than the very basic sex education book avaliable in the kingdom.
In her head, Ariel imagined herself knocking Arsion down. After a while, Ariel let out a long sigh.
When? Where? What? She couldn’t imagine what to do next.
‘No, more than that…….’
Ariel knew very well that she herself was not sexually enticing. Honestly, she was not the beauty of the century.
As soon as she was about to give up on these vain thoughts, Ariel noticed the book that was still in her hand. The book that secretly possessed the title <Things To Do At Night>.
Ariel opened the book with a reckless touch, wanting to see what it was about before putting it back in place. As soon as the book’s pages flew open, Ariel’s eyes widened and her mouth opened.
“Hah!”
Bang! With a thud, Ariel quickly slammed the book shut. Her eyes shook uncontrollably. Ariel couldn’t believe what she just saw.
“This, this is…….”
Pulling her senses together, Ariel went through the memories that lingered in her head. There was a painting on one of the book pages, and it was obviously depicting a man and a woman, both naked…….
Within moments, Ariel’s face turned red like a ripe apple. Ariel, who had been staring absent-mindedly for a long time, carefully turned the cover of the book again. There, the title <Things To Do at Night> caught her eye.
“No way…”
At first, it was just a title, so she didn’t think much about it. However, when she saw the picture inside and looked at the title again, the book seemed unusual. Ariel observed the inner cover. In there, was the headline of the book.
<For the first time you’re stepping into the night world – about the things that everyone is doing but no one is telling you.>
“……!”
‘If there is a destiny, is this what it is?’
Ariel, who looked over the book again, became certain. It was clear that this was a more outspoken sex education book that could be called the ‘Night’s Textbook of All Nights’.
Ariel quickly picked it up and headed to the entrance. As she approached the counter, Ariel was worried if her pounding heart could be heard. Did the shopkeeper know what this book was? It’s a used bookstore with tens of thousands of books asleep covered in dust. Perhaps the owner cannot remember all the books.
‘Will that really be the case?’
The cover of the book was unique, which was why she even took it from an area on the floor. Then, wouldn’t the bookstore owner remember it?
It was as if her mind was in a whirlwind as she approached the checkout counter. When she approached the counter, Ariel saw a written note placed on it.
<Customer audit discount period. Pay 1 silver for 3 books regardless of genre or year of publication. With the exception for books in the special section.>
“……!”
As soon as she saw the note, Ariel reached out to the bookshelf next to her and took out two books without even looking at the title. And she put <Things To Do at Night> between the books.
‘Perfect!’
If such an event was being held, the owner would only check the number of books, not look at the title. No matter what, he’ll only look at the front and back. So if she put <Things To Do at Night> in the middle, the owner wouldn’t know what book she’s really buying.
Ariel quickly pulled a silver out of her pocket. She had never been this nervous before, even as a child when she crawled to the kitchen to eat candy. Her head was blank and her heart was beating faster as she felt like she was performing the biggest mission of her life. The more she thought of this, the more she had to pretend to be relaxed and casual. But Ariel wasn’t sure if she could do that.
Arriving at the counter, Ariel felt like she was standing on the guillotine. The book owner looked at her indifferently.
“I-I’d like to buy these, p-please.”
She tried to speak naturally, but her lips couldn’t move properly. The owner’s eyes, which were on Ariel, shifted to the books she held out.
‘Please. Please just check the number of books and take the silver!’
However, contrary to Ariel’s expectations, the owner’s eyes widened.
“This….”
The owner’s eyes shook. Ariel bit her lips as she watched the expression on the owner’s face, which was usually blank.
I’m doomed.
Ariel immediately wished that the wooden floor under her feet would break. To the depths of the earth. And it would be even better if someone covered it with dirt.
At that moment, the owner opened his mouth.
“Reading a book for the correction of acquired stuttering…….”
“……?”
What, did she pick up a book like that? Ariel looked at the book she held out in bewilderment. Indeed, the title that the owner said was on top.
“……?”
“I feel sorry for the young miss.”
The owner looked at Ariel with regret. Ariel could tell by the look in his eyes. She stuttered a little while ago, and the owner misunderstood her.
“Cheer up, and I hope you get better.”
“Uh… Uh…”
While Ariel was embarrassed, the owner handed her a cloth bag containing the three books she selected. He then received Ariel’s 1 silver, returned some change, and said, “Please don’t feel pressured to come again, I’ll try to look for a better book.”
By the time Ariel came to her senses, she was standing in front of her house with a bag containing the change and books.
***
Click. Ariel, who confirmed that the door was tightly locked, sat in front of the desk. Then she placed the cloth bag into the bottom drawer and pulled out the books inside it, placing them on the desk.
“Cough! Cough!”
When she put a book that had been stuck in the used bookstore for a long time on the desk, she could see the dust floating out of it under the light of the lamp. Ariel, who brushed the dust away with her hands, gulped.
<Stuttering, you can fix it – Don’t lose hope!>
“No, it’s not…….”
As she put that book away, she caught sight of the book with a purple velvet cover.
<Things To Do at Night>
Gulp.
Ariel swallowed dry saliva and slowly flipped the cover of the book. As she passed a few pages, she saw a table of contents.
“Basic knowledge for ladies…… Things to be prepared in advance…… Let’s keep this, the basic manners for the night together…….”
These were good enough. But then, soon, there was a problem.
“Starting with caressing…… The basic idea of sexual intercourse.… Words for a more sensual conversation…….”
The unfamiliar painting she saw seemed to be the one in the ‘basic idea of sexual intercourse’ chapter. Ariel went past the table of contents and began to read the headlines again.
<I don’t know what you’re doing, but I’m sure you’re in a situation where you need to know what to do at night.>
Yes, that’s right. This is exactly it. Ariel unconsciously nodded and continued reading.
<You either have no idea what doing it is like in bed (Oh, of course it’s often not on the bed.) or you only know the basics. Of course, you may have more knowledge and experience than that, but I want you to know that this book is made for people with very basic knowledge.>
Ariel realized that this book was perfectly suited for her. Wasn’t her level of knowledge just what this book was targeting?
Before she knew it, Ariel began to be so absorbed in the book that she could not even hear her mother’s call to eat dinner.
For Ariel now, this book was her only hope.
***
“Arsion’s back!”
Ten days after Arsion returned to the capital, he finally returned home. The people from the duke’s estate welcomed the little duke back after three years.
“It’s late at night, so let us say our greetings tomorrow.”
Arsion smiled and greeted the servants, remembering their faces, then headed to his quarters. Since his social debut, he had been living in the annex that’s a little distance away from the main house. Although he’d returned after three years, everything was the same as if he had left yesterday.
“Your Grace, if you need anything, please let me know.”
At that remark, Arsion recalled what he needed. First, he needed a warm bath to relieve his fatigue. And then…….
“It’s okay. I’m sorry for asking this in the late hour, but can you draw a bath? And then you can go back.”
“But you must be hungry, even if it’s a simple dish…….”
When a young servant, a little excited about the little duke’s return after a long time, tried to continue, wanting to say if he needed anything else, an old servant stopped him and bowed to Arsion.
“Very well, we’ll be back when you are ready. Have a good rest.”
The old servant left the room, holding the young servant’s arm and giving him a stern look as if to stop him from protesting.
“You don’t have to say anything more. Just do what you’re told.”
The young servant, who was about to grumble, nodded, noticing the tone of the old servant who spoke firmly.
***
Ariel sat by the window of her room and looked at the faraway annex. The annex, which had not been in use for the past three years, was lit up to let everyone know that the owner had returned.
‘Arsion is back.’
Late at night, a servant from the main house informed the duke of Arsion’s return to the ducal residence and of a message to have breakfast together tomorrow.
It was really Arsion who she saw as he was passing through residence. She can finally see him properly tomorrow morning. Excited, Ariel laid on the bed, but she couldn’t fall asleep, so she finally put a coat over her shoulders and looked out the window.
As time went by, the lights in the annex began to go out one by one. And it was when the lights in Arsion’s room went out.
The lamp flickered in Arsion’s room.
“……!”
Ariel raised herself in surprise at the light. Again, the lights blinked twice in his room.