The tavern near the castle gates was a place knights and soldiers often frequented, and appearing like this was bound to spark ridiculous rumors.

“Pull yourself together.”

“Sob…”

Endymion looked at the large, hulking man with his face buried in the table, sniffing, wondering what to do with this pitiful, pathetic sight, and finally emptied the glass in front of him in one gulp.

“Eddy, sob, you’re really fine with this?”

“Well… it’s not that I was unaffected, but it doesn’t matter much.”

When he first met the succubus, he had readily made the contract because it truly did not matter to him which woman he spent the night with. But after meeting Lily, the once-blurred face of the succubus had begun to resemble hers, and he could not help but be unsettled.

He was surprised to realize that Lily had become his ideal woman, but in reality, she never once smiled at him.

Endymion knew very well that his appearance was attractive to women. Whatever he did, his good looks had always been an advantage, never a disadvantage, except with Lily. From their first meeting in the library, she had been excessively uncomfortable around him.

That was why he wanted to somehow make her notice him. Every time her gaze lingered on him, every time her white cheeks flushed red, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Endymion had not dismissed the time when Lilith, the succubus, came to him after a long absence and smiled upon hearing him talk about “the woman he liked.”

“That demon is in the castle.”

So when Odile told him that the succubus was in the castle, the first person he thought of was Lily. He had no clear reason, but he was certain they were the same person. What he worried about was whether Lily might come to harm, but judging by Odile’s attitude, there didn’t seem to be a major problem.

In the first place, his interest in Lilith had stemmed from his feelings for Lily, so even if he hadn’t realized she was a succubus, as long as she didn’t disappear, it didn’t matter much.

“You’re awful! You’re saying you’ve found another woman!”

“Another… no, that’s not it.”

Ares, with the mark still pressed into his forehead, lifted his head sharply and spoke tearfully. Did it look that way? Endymion, cheeks slightly flushed, refilled Ares’s glass with water. Normally, he would have shamelessly laughed and said, “Yes, why don’t you also experience being with many women?” Seeing Endymion act out of character, Ares blinked his bleary eyes.

“…That black-haired maid from earlier, you’re not involved with her?”

Ares narrowed his eyes and asked. The young lady who had taken a step back the moment she saw him had a face so pale it shone even in the night. He had spilled tears upon seeing that faint glimpse of her black hair, and even in his drunken state, the memory was embarrassing.

Still unaware his glass was filled with water, Ares took another sip. His eyes widened at the rare sight of Endymion’s ears turning red.

“…Stop saying strange things and sober up so we can go back.”

“I don’t want to. Odile won’t even give me the time of day, and it’s killing me.”

“Odile is…”

Having known each other long enough to read his thoughts without words, Endymion could tell that Ares was quietly seething. Though his face was as stiff as usual, he had become more irritable and sensitive lately. Both Endymion and Ares knew the cause lay with the succubus.

“Do you think she’s already left the castle?”

“Perhaps.”

“…I hope not.”

Ares, who became sober quickly due to his low alcohol tolerance, murmured in a noticeably clearer voice.

In the gloom that had settled between them, the only sounds were the master’s lazy yawns and the repeated pouring and drinking of water and liquor. With one cheek resting on the table, Ares mumbled softly.

“You know… walking around the castle this time, I realized something.”

“Go ahead.”

“Our lady always called our names, but no one knows hers. We don’t even know her age, why she was in that place, or anything about her at all. It shocked me how we know nothing.”

“…I see.”

Not a single word of Ares’s statement was wrong. Endymion recalled Lily’s behavior earlier and smiled bitterly. The succubus was Lily. And that was all he knew. Lily, whose emotions showed plainly on her face, didn’t trust him, so she had never confided in him or revealed the truth.

“Well. I suppose you don’t care. You probably enjoy being with that maid from earlier more than worrying about such things.”

Seeing Endymion’s troubled smile, Ares confirmed again that something about him was different. Now completely sober, he recalled the maid he had briefly seen.

As always with Endymion’s taste, she had ebony-black hair. Her neatly braided hair and small frame made her look as if she would fit perfectly in his arms.

But aside from her hair color, she bore no resemblance. She was indeed a great beauty, like the women Endymion usually met, but her aura was the complete opposite. That maid somehow looked pitiful, like a small frightened animal.

“Come to think of it, that young lady also had black hair and red eyes. Really, Eddy…”

Ares trailed off with a faint smile. Black hair was not common, but it wasn’t extremely rare either.

In the past, Endymion had never turned away a woman who approached nor clung to one who left, but at some point, he began to choose. While his relationships remained clean and purely for physical pleasure, he had grown insistent on black hair. Ares wondered if perhaps, like himself, Endymion had started to give his heart to the succubus. But he had left on a long mission and never got the chance to ask.

Thinking that, the memory of the red eyes that had widened at the sight of him came vividly to mind. Citizens of Ciel were generally born with blue or green eyes, so Regulus’s amber eyes and Damian’s red eyes were already rare sights.

Ebony-black hair, rare red eyes, a pale face, and then…

“Eddy. What did you say to me earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“When you were with that maid earlier, you kept scolding me.”

Ares tapped his chest as if frustrated. Endymion tilted his head, then clicked his tongue as he remembered. While her appearance was unchangeable, the fact that Ares couldn’t sense her scent even with her right in front of him had made him scoff and ask why he even had a nose.

But quickly regaining his composure, Endymion replied with a perfectly calm face, “I didn’t say anything.”

“Yes, you did! You said to me, ‘Where did you pick up your nose? Is it just for decoration?’ What did you mean by that?”

Feigning composure, Endymion was inwardly flustered. Having known him for so long, Ares caught on, shot to his feet, and his face flushed. Heat, excitement, embarrassment, and a bit of anticipation all showed plainly.

“Could it be… am I right?”

“How would I know what you’re thinking? Stop talking nonsense. If you’re done drinking, let’s go back.”

“Please, Eddy… If you know, tell me. Hm? I’m right, aren’t I?”

Ares’s voice was pleading. Endymion knew just how desperately he was searching for Lily, and that his feelings ran deeper than expected. They were longtime comrades and friends.

He had promised Lily, but an unthinking slip of the tongue had caused this trouble. He had wanted to earn her trust, but he had broken it in less than a day.

Apologies wouldn’t be enough, but he decided he had to persuade Ares somehow. Just as Endymion took a deep breath, intending to admit it, Ares grabbed his shoulder and said, trembling:

“That maid is our lady’s family, right?”

“…Yes. She is… Wait, what?”

“I knew it. Now that I think about it, they do look a bit alike. My nose was so stuffed from crying so much that I couldn’t smell anything… That’s why you kept saying that to me, right? You know, succubi have that unique scent. Then… wait, could that maid be a succubus too?”

Endymion forced his twisting expression back under control. This man… The pity was beyond words, but it was a relief that he had misunderstood.

Licking his dry lips, Endymion said, “I don’t know the details myself, but Miss Lily doesn’t like to talk about herself. So please don’t think of forcing her.”

“B-But… could I at least ask where she is?”

“Of course she wouldn’t answer. No, you’d better think of Miss Lily as someone entirely unrelated. I also think it’s best not to tell Odile.”

At the firm tone, Ares faltered.