Chapter 27: A Glance Cast

“Eh!?”

Adelle’s pale gray eyes, filled with shock, trembled, creating shy ripples.

‘She actually… she actually…’

This was different from her duty of managing Dounia’s daily attire.

That was merely to check if the other party had any further tendency toward corruption, to prevent this suspected Pleasure Follower from unknowingly becoming a ticking time bomb planted inside the Anomaly Bureau.

But now… she…

Adelle pressed her lips together tightly, wanting to pull her hand out from that warmth.

‘The Surveillance Officer is like the Executioner’s eyes, and the Executioner is like the Surveillance Officer’s hands.’

‘But Fia never said it meant this!’

“Miss Adelle…”

Dounia leaned against Adelle’s shoulder.
At such a close distance, Adelle could even hear her soft breathing.

She let out a soft, low laugh, as if mocking Adelle’s unease.

A captivating blush appeared on Adelle’s face, like the most splendid sunset clouds.

Her lips were slightly parted, her silvery teeth biting down lightly, and her right fist, hidden under the table, was clenched tightly.
Adelle seemed to want to shout a reprimand in shame and anger, to push away the audacious Dounia.

But under the gazes of so many people, she couldn’t do it! And Dounia had no intention of letting her go!

Precisely because she had received a good education, precisely because she was a Surveillance Officer who kept her public and private life separate, precisely because she would absolutely not overstep the rules easily…

“Why…!” An alluring mist even appeared on the surface of Adelle’s eyes.

She did her best to keep her voice down, but its trembling betrayed the great turmoil in her heart.

The maid who was always calm and composed, always wearing a cold expression, was now being pushed to the verge of tears by Dounia.

‘I wonder if Miss Violet will notice us… I’m sorry, I’m sorry…’ Adelle repented sincerely. ‘Chief… I have disappointed you…’

Shame and a strong sense of morality mixed together, like a flame meeting oil, and instantly ignited into a raging fire.

Adelle squeezed her eyes shut, as if even the slightest reaction from Dounia would send a current of electricity through her heart, causing her to involuntarily tense her fingers.

“Isn’t that enough… Quickly… let go…” Although she was the one in control, she spoke shyly and resistively.

“Miss Adelle,” Dounia giggled. “I never said you couldn’t leave.”

Adelle’s eyes widened slightly.

Those slender legs had long since stopped blocking her from leaving. It was she herself…

“Actually, Miss Adelle, you quite enjoy this kind of situation, don’t you?” Dounia’s voice sounded like a little demon’s whisper.

An unbelievable fiery red leaped onto the tips of Adelle’s ears.

Seated at the lecture podium, the expressions of Maeve and Holt had both become odd, and the large, pointed hat finally stirred.

“What are they doing…?”

“Hutchinson is already far ahead! There are still close to five minutes left. If Dounia continues to delay like this, how can she possibly make a comeback?”

“Could it be that she knows the gap is too wide and has already given up?”

“No, the atmosphere between the two of them is very strange…?”

A student in the front row saw Adelle’s flushed profile and couldn’t help but lean forward, wanting to see what they were doing.

“The students in the back waiting for the assessment, sit down!” Maeve chided, a change from her usual demeanor.

“S-sorry.” The student sat back down on his stool.

Dounia’s small hand nonchalantly and gently touched Adelle’s chin.
A cool sensation spread from the skin.
Adelle slowly turned her head to look at Dounia.

“Actually, Miss Adelle, you’ve long understood what truly brings your heart pleasure, haven’t you? Right?” Dounia’s delicate eyebrows arched slightly, as if in provocation or invitation.

Her gem-like, dark red, mesmerizingly bright eyes quietly plucked at Adelle’s heartstrings.

“…No.” She denied it forcefully.

“I would not be interested in a Pleasure Follower,” Adelle said resolutely. “Not to mention you’re also a girl… Nothing will ever happen between us.”

“Is that so?” Dounia’s lips curled up slightly, the amusement in her eyes showcasing her confidence. “If Miss Adelle truly isn’t interested at all, then leave me.”

Adelle frowned and was about to move her body.

‘Don’t, don’t!’

Every cell in her body seemed to protest loudly, boiling and exploding in anger, questioning her with muffled voices why she would do such a thing.

“Miss Adelle, if you don’t feel any pleasure, why don’t you just pull away?” Dounia asked with a light laugh.

She tilted her head slightly, the line of her neck like an elegant swan’s.

This intoxicatingly beautiful sight was so lovely in Adelle’s eyes… and dangerous.

“…” Adelle lowered her head, tacitly admitting it in her silence.

A faint anger mixed with shame surged in her heart.
Dounia’s soft questioning had cut a thin crack in her ice-solid defenses.

Looking at Violet’s curious gaze, that sweet, honey-like liquid was about to flow out from the wound.

A blood-red notification prompt spontaneously appeared above Adelle’s head—[Adelle Favorability: -14.3%, Respect: -5%, Corruption: 17%.]

[Corruption has breached the first threshold for the first time. ‘Deeper Consciousness’ sample detected expanding. Data iterating…]

“Since you invited me, then you must have already prepared yourself…”

Fury flickered in Adelle’s gray eyes, and she immediately vented all her rage from breaking her moral code onto Dounia.

“Ugh—!”

Amidst the pleasure, the shyness in Dounia’s heart was also sliced open like a lemon, sour liquid flowing out.

Amidst the pain, Dounia slowly opened her eyes and met the maid’s murderous, ice-cold gaze, welcoming her impending doom.

She abruptly picked up the forbidden book from the table, blocking the line of sight between herself and Adelle.

The demon’s howls and buzzes assaulted her again, but her mind was already as if floating on a cloud, half-awake and half-dreaming.

Dounia read voraciously.
A large amount of forbidden knowledge was brutally poured into her brain.
Her physical senses became unusually acute, and every inch of her skin felt like it was on fire.

But this fire, it was cold yet warm, as exhilarating as jumping into a hot spring amidst a biting cold wind.

Dounia slowly opened her eyes, letting the knowledge flow through her.
She glanced at the sweat-drenched Hutchinson, who was still tightly clutching that small glass shard.

Saliva and snot flowed continuously onto the desktop.
Hutchinson, her facial expression twisted beyond recognition, was breathing heavily.
Her bloodshot eyes actually saw Dounia, who was mostly obscured by Adelle, proudly lifting her head to look down on her.

‘Why, when the forbidden book was clearly open, was she as unaffected as if she were reading a bedtime story?’

“Can’t take it anymore? If you beg for mercy now~ I might just be magnanimous and let you off!~” Dounia giggled, then suddenly shot Adelle a petulant glare.

“You…” Hutchinson managed to force a single word from her throat.

Dounia raised a small fist, her eyes glistening with tears.

“So pitiful… someone’s about to lose to the outsider brat… wuwuwu~ so embarrassing~” Dounia’s little fist bobbed up and down at the corner of her eye, pretending to cry.

Hutchinson’s face turned completely red.
She pointed at Dounia, unable to speak for a long moment.

Her body leaned forward slightly, and she abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Dounia’s lips curled up.
She picked up the forbidden book again and began to read it with a leisurely air.

And that large witch’s hat lifted ever so slightly, as if it had noticed something that interested it.

“Dounia, is it…?”

“This is truly a pleasant surprise that has walked right through the door.”

From under her witch’s hat, Latifah Silvela cast a secret glance.