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1.

“Is it because of this?”

Siwoo took out the pink four-leaf clover he kept in his cigarette case.

With its mysterious color, the clover seemed like it could crumble with mere touch. It definitely looked slightly wilted compared to when Periwinkle first handed it to him.

She said that it was something she experimented on.

And the effect would last for a week.

That was all she told him.

She never went into details about what exactly did it do.

As for the woman herself, as soon as they parted ways, she immediately left for Guam without giving him any contact information, so he had no way to contact her.

I shoulda suspected it when I first saw this color.

It looks damn suspicious. It’s obvious that she was up to something.

“Should I just throw it away…?”

If his suspicions were right, this was an unnecessary gift, no matter what kind of intention she had when she gifted it to him.

Like, seriously, she should give me an instruction or two on how to use it. What’s the point of giving me something that would only put me in awkward situations?

He covered his fingertips with shadow, trying to crush it.

“Ugh…”

But he stopped.

Because he wasn’t sure if that was really the effect this clover had. There was a possibility that this was a backup in case he used up the green four-leaf clover.

Deciding to drop the matter for now, he neatly tidied up Eloa’s bedding.

Recently, both of them had been sharing a room.

Eloa’s four hours of sleep every day was pretty much the most dangerous time for Siwoo, because no one could protect him during that time.

That was why he slept as close to her as possible, so he could wake her up for help in case of emergency.

Of course they didn’t share a bed. They just pushed two beds together side by side.

-Creak!

Suddenly, the door across the room flew open. Eloa scurried over in her pajamas, looking like a little kid.

Of course referring to an adult woman, especially someone as dignified as Duchess Tiphereth, as ‘little kid’ was impolite, but it was hard for him to think otherwise when she was wearing those pajamas.

Siwoo bought this set by himself and it was a size too big for her. The sleeves of the pajamas completely enveloped her hands.

Seeing her with the hems rolled up, trailing on the floor, the ‘little kid’ label was all too fitting.

“I’ve made your bed. Would you like some warm milk before you sleep? I’ve already heated it up.”

“Thanks again.”

“No problem, really.”

He handed her a mug filled with warm milk that he had preheated in the kitchen.

As he had learned over time, Eloa was quite the heavy drinker.

Physically, she couldn’t get addicted due to her spirit body, so that was no problem, but mentally, she had grown dependent on it.

So, he figured out a way to change that. Instead of letting her drink more alcohol, he thought it would be better to give her milk, as that would definitely help her sleep. That was why he had been serving her milk for the past few days.

Considering all the help she gave him, this felt like the least he could do.

“Mhm, this milk tastes perfect.”

Eloa said, after sipping the milk that had been adjusted to the right temperature.

Feeling grateful for his considerate gesture, she flashed a warm smile as she gently swung her legs back and forth.

She really seemed like she was similar in age with the Gemini twins.

If her way of speaking didn’t sound like that of an old woman’s, Siwoo might probably think so.

“Siwoo, I have a favor to ask.”

He was about to go to the kitchen to clean up the mug.

But Eloa suddenly stopped him.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Can you give me a massage?”

A…massage…?

So suddenly?

At times like this?

Her request surprised him a little. Considering the circumstances, it was like she was asking for him to throw her into a crowded place during a pandemic.

Even when he didn’t even do anything, strange things would unfold.

Yet, here she was, asking for physical contact when both of them wore nothing but pajamas.

The clothes designed to have zero points allocated to defense, fully maxing on the comfort stat.

Thin fabric, loose buttons, just a slight bend would reveal what laid underneath.

In this case, her panties’ line was clearly visible above the pants she wore.

“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost? I don’t think it’s such a difficult request to fulfill.”

“Yeah, but…”

Meanwhile, Eloa tried to act nonchalant, as if this was no big deal to her.

The reason why she made this kind of request all of a sudden was because of the promise she made to herself earlier.

Until now, she merely thought of him as a disciple, but she started to think of him as a man subconsciously.

And this behavior of hers caused him to perceive her as a woman.

This made them always start to blush awkwardly in reaction to each other’s gazes or touches.

So, she decided to have a change of mindset.

For example, what if she stopped overreacting to every single thing and responded calmly?

What if she maintained her role as a teacher, thinking nothing of her disciple’s gazes or touches?

She figured that this would help Siwoo break down the awkward distance between them and establish a perfect master-disciple relationship between them.

Just like how she was with Ravi in the past.

“I’ll do it.”

“Alright.”

Siwoo really didn’t feel like doing it, but he still reluctantly agreed.

He climbed onto the bed where she was sitting and knelt down.

I need to get my mind off the gutter.

It’s just a massage, what’s the big deal?

Knead her shoulders for a bit and it’s done. C’mon, I can do this.

“Just a moment, please.”

Eloa then tied her hair with the hairband she had on her wrist, just like during their spars.

This was to prevent her hair from getting in the way when he massaged her shoulders.

Thanks to this, he managed to get a close view of her white neck.

So that he could avoid sniffing her scent as much as possible, he straightened his back. He even used his mouth to breathe, just in case.

Carefully, he placed his hands on her shoulders, as if he was about to defuse a bomb.

“…Hng!”

Thanks to the loose hems of the pajamas, he could see part of her skin.

As soon as his rough hands touched the smooth curve where her shoulder met her neck…

A shiver ran down through Eloa’s soft neck.

Her shoulders tensed up, as if she was jolted with electricity.

He hadn’t even put any pressure on his hands yet.

“Does it hurt? I haven’t started yet, though…”

“A-Ah, no, I’m fine. Keep going, please.”

Siwoo briefly hesitated before starting to massage her shoulders.

Though at first she was all tense, as time passed, she gradually became relaxed.

She’s soft.

He wasn’t only talking about the place where their bare skin touched, but also the parts of her body that were covered by thin pajama fabric. They felt fluffy, like marshmallows.

It felt as if her very form was the essence of femininity itself.

To him, her backside always looked broad.

But now that he was touching it with his own hands, it felt extremely small.

At least, it was too small of a back for someone who was bearing her grief alone. Someone who was carrying the heavy burden that she had placed on herself.

“Feeling better?”

Eloa nodded in response.

Seeing that nothing caught on his fingertips under her pajamas, he briefly considered that she might not be wearing a bra underneath.

It was just a passing thought, but it was enough to make his gaze wander to Eloa’s chest instinctively.

Her breasts that were always tightly wrapped in a sports bra because she didn’t want them to hinder her movements, were surprisingly perky.

Even when she was sitting, they perked the chest part of her pajamas up nicely.

Siwoo quickly gathered his thoughts.

No. Evil thoughts begone

Lately, there have been too many embarrassing incidents, so his mind kept on drifting in that direction…

Not good.

“Ngh…”

Unaware of Siwoo’s inner turmoil, Eloa relaxed her body.

Her previously tense back started to ease up.

When she was about to fully lean back, Siwoo had already calmed his restless mind.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah, it feels nice. You’re pretty good at this.”

“I used to do this for my parents when I was younger. Can you tilt your head back for a moment?”

“Tilt my head…back?”

Puzzled, Eloa leaned her back onto his hand.

He then proceeded to knead her Fengchi acupoint at the back of her neck, below the hairline, the point where beauty salons often massaged as part of their service.

“Ah…”

Eloa’s eyes relaxed halfway, her mouth opened slightly.

Her eyebrows, once arched like crescent moons on her round forehead, began to wiggle.

There, that’s the reaction I want to see.

The natural response when a massage was doing wonders.

Feeling proud of his skillful hands, he pressed firmly on her neck.

Originally, this was the part when he applied pressure using the weight of the other person’s head, but since her head was too small and light, he had to use extra force.

“Ngh, you’re really good at this…”

Eloa’s body swayed like a tipsy cat standing on a tree branch.

Slowly, she leaned back, almost falling over.

“If you don’t feel comfortable sitting up, what about lying all the way down?”

“Would that be alright with you?”

“Yes. If anything, that would make me feel more comfortable too.”

“Alright then.”

Eloa laid her body completely down and Siwoo slipped his hand beneath the back of her head.

He repeated the motion he had done before, massaging her entire neck.

However, something unexpected occurred.

Since she was lying flat, he could see more of her body now.

As she laid down on her back, her pajamas were rolled up a little, revealing her cute belly button that was peeking through the gap,

It looked cute, long and slightly indented.

“I had no idea there was such a clever way to do this…”

At the same time, he noticed a bump.

Two curves protruded over her chest, which had lifted her thin pajamas.

Right in the center of her chest, the bumps were located there.

Those…are her nipples, right…?

“Ow!”

“S-Sorry.”

The unexpected sight made him tighten his grip on her neck, causing her to open her eyes wide in surprise.

“No, no, this feels comfortable. Just keep doing what you were doing.”

Eloa closed her eyes again and entrusted her body to Siwoo’s moving hands.

Inwardly, she was extremely pleased.

The idea that she came up with was exceedingly brilliant.

When Siwoo’s hand first touched her neck, she flinched slightly.

Prior to this, they had bumped into and hit each other during their sparring, but they never had this kind of subtle physical contact.

His unexpectedly rough, thick, and cold hand, brushing against her skin, made her wonder if she had made the wrong decision for a bit.

But once the massage started, she realized that it was a needless worry.

Because even when their bodies touched, it didn’t bother her at all!

Siwoo initially was hesitant, letting out an innocent reaction, much like Eloa’s innocent heart that came up with this approach.

In any case, now that both of them didn’t seem to feel embarrassed about the touch, Eloa felt satisfied. From now on, their master-disciple relationship would form properly, or so she thought.

As long as things continue like this, everything will be fine in the future…

“Nn…”

At that moment, she was starting to get sleepy.

It would be nice if I fall asleep while he’s still massaging me…

In her dazed state, all she could feel was the soothing sensation of his hand on the back of her neck.

As she felt herself slowly sinking into the mattress, her body shifting subtly…

A clicking sound caught her ear.

-Tick, tick, tick.

A faint sound that came exactly three times, leaving her chest feeling strangely open.

When she tossed and turned, the hem of her dress moved around during the massage.

Naturally, three buttons on her loose pajamas came undone.

To make things worse, because she was moving as she did so, the unbuttoned front of her pajamas flapped open, revealing her bare chest.

At that moment, Siwoo’s hand, which had been massaging her neck, suddenly stopped.

Though she couldn’t see what was happening since her eyes were closed, she could still sense that something was amiss.

She was aware of the recent series of mishaps that kept on happening, but this time it seemed like it had escalated quite dramatically.

In other words, by sheer coincidence, her breasts were fully exposed to him.

And he saw everything unfolding directly.

Feeling a rush of embarrassment, she desperately tried to keep her cool.

This won’t change the plan!

She reminded herself of her determination to handle these situations with composure if they really happened again.

As long as she acted as if it wasn’t a big deal, Siwoo would definitely forget about it, or so she thought.

So, I have to pretend like there’s nothing wrong, adjust my collar and act like I’m not flustered by this…

“…”

“…”

But, a long pause followed.

Despite her efforts, she couldn’t bring herself to move or speak.

“…F-Fuu…fu…”

Instead, she pretended to be asleep!