In the study of the city lord's manor, Lucian sat at the main desk, a tall pile of parchments spread out before him, signing them one after another without pause, his eyelids already heavy as they fought to stay open.
"When's this gonna be done? Seriously, there are way too few educated people in the city, and training people to handle administrative work isn't easy..."
Years ago, because all those competent in politics had rotted to the core, he had executed them all. Meanwhile, the talents he had painstakingly cultivated over the years were still far from sufficient.
In the end, to give Cipher a beautiful and stable home, he had no choice but to personally handle a portion of the government's affairs.
Right after complaining, Lucian was considering whether to slack off for a bit and rest his eyes, but—
*BANG!*
Suddenly, the sturdy wooden door of the study was violently thrown open as Cipher rushed in like a gust of wind, the impact echoing through the room!
On her shoulder, she carried a sack that was constantly wriggling and struggling, its contents shifting restlessly, with muffled "mmph-mmph" sounds coming from inside.
"Lucian! Lucian!"
Cipher's small face was flushed red, her eyes bright with excitement, practically spelling out 'praise me' across her expression as she strode forward and dropped the sack heavily onto the carpet in the study, where it landed with a dull, heavy thud.
With her hands planted on her hips and her chest puffed out, Cipher wore a proud, openly credit-seeking expression.
"Look!" Cipher pointed at the sack on the floor that was still squirming and wriggling. "I bagged up Okhema's Dux Goldweaver and brought her back for you, meow! How's that? Pretty efficient, right? As soon as she got into the city, I swooped in, threw a sack over her, and brought her straight to you. No delay!"
"..."
Lucian silently looked at the bulging, still-moving sack on the floor, watching it shift slightly, then at Cipher's excited and expectant expression.
"Fera..." Lucian said slowly, then let out a soft, helpless laugh. "You really put a sack over her?"
"Huh?"
Cipher blinked her big eyes, looking completely confused.
"Weren't you the one who told me to do that? You were like, 'When the time comes, just sack her up and bring her to me. I'll persuade her myself.'"
Cipher mimicked Lucian's tone from back then, imitating his words vividly, word for word.
Lucian looked at the silly cat in disbelief for a moment, then slapped his own forehead with his palm.
"Bruh, that was just a joke."
"A joke?"
Cipher froze for a moment as the excitement on her face faded slightly and her expression stiffened, but she quickly curled her lips unconcernedly, spread her hands, and shamelessly acted as though nothing had happened.
"Meh, the sack's already on her anyway, so... what're we even gonna do with her now?"
Lucian rolled his eyes at her before glancing down at the sack that was still wriggling faintly on the ground, with muffled protests constantly coming from within.
He fell silent for a few seconds, his gaze lingering on it before the corners of his lips slowly curved into a meaningful smile.
Just what he needed at the right time.
He had been wanting a worker—or rather, someone capable enough to handle the government's affairs—and now one had conveniently arrived right at his doorstep.
"What're we gonna do, huh?" Lucian got to his feet and casually strolled over, taking his sweet time. "Well, since we've already got the sack on her... Guess we're just gonna keep her."
Right after saying that, he bent down, his fingers deftly undoing the tight knot at the mouth of the sack and loosening it bit by bit.
*Rustle!*
As the sack was pulled open, the person inside finally saw daylight again after being trapped in the darkness.
Aglaea, who had almost been suffocated by the strange, stifling smell of the sack just now, immediately took a sharp, desperate breath of fresh air like someone who had just drowned, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
Now, her golden hair was disheveled, a few stray strands clinging to her temples, while her pale cheeks were flushed an unnatural red from lack of oxygen and simmering anger.
Her eyes, usually gentle and calm, were now burning with fury, mixed with a trace of humiliation from being so openly offended.
Meanwhile, the exquisitely crafted gold-thread toga-style gown she wore was now covered in a thin layer of dust, while several of its delicate golden threads had been snagged loose by the rough sack, leaving faint pulls and uneven lines in the fabric, making her appear somewhat disheveled, yet none of that diminished her astonishing beauty in the slightest.
Lucian had to admit that Aglaea's short golden hair, which rested neatly upon her shoulders, and her finely sculpted hourglass figure were as exquisite as if they had been crafted by the hands of a divine artisan.
Especially those jade-green eyes—they were as pure and translucent as the finest jade. Even though they were now filled with anger, instead of marring her appearance, they added a striking, almost dazzling brilliance.
Even in such a predicament, that calm and gentle temperament still stubbornly held on, refusing to completely shatter, making her resemble a swan caught in distress—noble, elegant, yet fragile.
Lucian's gaze swept slowly across Aglaea's face, lingering for a brief moment, then naturally drifted downward, landing on her chest, which rose and fell in a steady yet slightly rapid rhythm with her breathing.
He gazed at the luxurious gold-thread toga-style gown that clung to her form and outlined her full and graceful curves, yet there was no lewd intent in his eyes, but rather a composed and measured appreciation—or more precisely, an evaluation—as if he were observing a carefully crafted piece of art.
At such close distance, Lucian's subtle shift in gaze was naturally caught by the keen Aglaea, who had been watching his every movement without letting her guard down.
As a result, already overwhelmed with shame and anger, she now felt as if countless fine needles had pricked against her skin all at once!
'Is he lusting after me?! Is that why he kidnapped me?!'
A chill, mixed with a deeper, more piercing sense of humiliation, surged through Aglaea's heart, spreading rapidly through her body.
In her eyes, this man appeared refined and gentle on the surface, yet beneath that facade, he was nothing more than a perverted bastard who lusted after her beauty and had resorted to such despicable means to kidnap her.
'No matter what, I cannot let him defile my purity!'
Aglaea suddenly crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her jade-green eyes filled with vigilance and unwavering resolve as she glared fiercely at Lucian, her posture rigid as if bracing for the worst.
Cipher followed Lucian's line of sight, and her gaze lingered on Aglaea's impressive breasts for a brief moment before she slowly lowered her eyes to her own.
Even though Cipher had grown quite a bit over the years, compared to this golden-haired woman, she still seemed a little lacking by comparison.
Realizing that, Cipher subconsciously reached out and gently rubbed the soft mounds of her chest, as if trying to reassure herself.
'Nah, I'm not in a rush… I'm still young… I can still grow… I definitely can grow more!'
Reassuring herself inwardly, Cipher puffed out her cheeks, her expression tinged with reluctance and quiet frustration, clearly unwilling to accept the disparity.
Yet her eyes, carrying a faint but unmistakable hint of jealousy, still couldn't help but drift back toward Aglaea's pair of breasts once again, her heart irrationally urging her to flatten them just to even things out.
"No looking! I won't let you look at her, meow!" Cipher suddenly stepped in front of Lucian, moving with surprising speed as she firmly covered his eyes with both hands. "Gimme two years, and I'll be that big too!"
"Fera, stop messing around. I gotta handle serious business..."
Lucian gently brushed Cipher's hands away, his tone calm but firm. As soon as he saw her ears perk up sharply, it was obvious that she was displeased.
"Serious business?"
Cipher gazed at Lucian and asked with a slight frown, her brows knitting together in suspicion, which in turn caused Aglaea's gaze on him to sharpen even further.
Serious business?
What serious business could a lustful kidnapper possibly have?
Aglaea had already made up her mind—if she could not resist, she would simply commit suicide by smashing her head against the floor.
As countless possibilities of the 'shameless acts' Lucian might commit flashed rapidly through Aglaea's mind in chaotic succession, she even began thinking about how to protect herself at all costs, or drag him down with her and perish together with him—
"I'm Lucian, the City Lord of Dolos. From now on, you belong to me."
Lucian stated calmly before bending down, slipping his arms under Aglaea's legs and back with practiced ease, and with a slight exertion, he lifted her horizontally into his arms in a firm princess carry.
"W-What are you doing?! Let me go, you shameless brute!"
Aglaea instantly exploded, her body struggling violently as she twisted and thrashed in his grip.
Seeing her frantic reaction, Lucian was actually a bit puzzled.
By all logic, she should have become the Demigod of Romance by now, yet the one in his arms was clearly still just an ordinary Chrysos Heir. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been caught in a sack by Cipher so easily.
If she still had not yet become the Demigod of Romance, then it was no wonder Aglaea was so fiery and full of emotion, her temper flaring without the slightest restraint.
"If you dare do anything improper, I will make you—"
Aglaea had not even finished her threat when Lucian had already taken a few steady steps to the large, heavy chair he had just been sitting in, and then, instead of doing anything improper, he unceremoniously placed her directly onto the chair with a bit more force than necessary.
Immediately after, Lucian waved his hand, then—
*Whoosh!*
He swept the mountain-like pile of administrative documents from the main desk in a single, unceremonious motion and dumped them all in front of Aglaea.
In an instant, stacks of parchments slid and spread across the desk before her, piling higher and higher in uneven layers until they nearly buried her from view, their edges jutting out in a chaotic sprawl.
Lucian dusted off his hands as if he had just finished a trivial chore, then looked at the stunned, almost speechless Aglaea with a calm expression.
"Alright, starting today, you're the Vice City Lord of Dolos," Lucian casually said, his tone light, then pointed at the massive pile of parchments. "All of this is your job now. Do a good job. I'll be watching."
"???"
Aglaea was completely stunned, her thoughts grinding to a halt as she became utterly unable to understand what was happening at all.
'What? What kind of situation is this?'
As that question filled her mind, Aglaea stared blankly at the mountain of parchments piled before her, then slowly raised her head to look at Lucian in confusion, her mind overheating as though it could no longer keep up.
Vice City Lord?
Wasn't this supposed to be a kidnapping?
Wasn't this about coveting her beauty and forcing her to become his plaything?
Shouldn't there have been torture or coercion to force her into betraying Okhema?
Why was he instead giving her such great authority, directly appointing her as the vice city lord?
Was he actually entrusting her with the management of all of Dolos's affairs?
Did any of this even make sense?
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