TMDF 01

Prologue

“Done!”

Clap!

Lucy looked proudly at the completed magic circle after clapping her hands.

Afraid she might have gotten it wrong, she had even used a protractor and ruler to draw it, and no matter how many times she looked at it, it was perfect.

‘Though it does look a little scary.’

The blood-red magic circle looked as menacing as a demonic summoning circle, as if it had been drawn in actual blood, but its effect was sure to be genuine.

Before long, the holy stone placed in the center began to hum, signaling that everything was ready.

Now, all that remained was….

“Now. Go in and lie down, Duke.”

She just had to get the handsome man standing beside her to lie down over there.

“Which duke?”

“……”

“There’s more than one duke in this empire, you know.”

There were only the two of them here, so wasn’t he the only duke?

Rather than asking that, Lucy rolled her eyes.

“Yeees, the one and only incarnation of the Golden Dragon in the empire, slayer of monsters, savior of the continent, and….”

“You should put in ‘handsome,’ too. You like that part.”

“…the incredibly handsome Duke Edward Le Tessaron.”

Only then did the reptile-like red eyes curve gently, in a way that didn’t match their sharp gaze.

Lucy smiled back at those eyes.

Then she pointed accusingly at the magic circle, as if telling him not to pull any funny business.

“Will you go in now?”

Tilt.

“Over there?”

The duke tilted his head adorably.

Even with his enormous build, perhaps because his face was just that handsome, it looked less like anything strange and more like a handsome man acting cute.

‘If another man did that, I’d probably want to smack him.’

The platinum-blond beauty, whose hair seemed to shatter into white light, was most lovable when he acted as though he knew absolutely nothing like this….

‘…but!’

She had almost fallen for it despite knowing exactly what he was doing.

Lucy hurriedly shook away her distracting thoughts and answered.

“Yes. It would be perfect if you lay down on the holy stone.”

The duke continued to look at her with clear, innocent eyes.

And then he simply stated a fact.

“Anyone can see that’s a human sacrifice magic circle.”

Honestly, it really did look like one, so Lucy felt a little guilty.

“…Ah, come on, I told you it’s not!”

“Then that really is….”

Lucy puffed out her chest confidently and declared,

“Yes! It’s a magic circle that will make you a complete incarnation!”

“……”

“If you lie down here, your incomplete blood will become the real blood of a dragon!”

Now that she said it out loud, she did sound a little like someone trying to sell snake oil, which made her feel even more guilty.

“And?”

“You’ll receive proper purification! Your rampage will stop! And….”

“You’ll find your true mate, too?”

At those words, Lucy narrowed her eyes.

Honestly, that whole ‘mate’ business.

“Yes. Of course!”

Even after hearing her refreshing answer, Edward merely shrugged.

“What if it fails?”

“I told you there’s no way that’ll happen.”

“Then my heart will hurt terribly.”

“You weren’t listening to me, were you?”

“I’m more delicate than I look, Lucy. I’ve never experienced defeat, so I’m weak against failure.”

“That may be true, but honestly, that was a little annoying of you.”

“What can I do when it’s the truth?”

Soon, the duke blinked his long eyelashes and rested his head against Lucy’s shoulder….

“So I don’t have to undergo the ritual, and I don’t have to find my mate….”

“Don’t say such weak things!”

…only to be pushed away by Lucy’s furious palm.

“Hah.”

A crooked smile slipped through the gap beside her palm. The duke composed his expression as though he had never acted pitiful in the first place.

Then, with a shamelessly innocent smile, he answered,

“Okay, got it.”

“If you understand, then now, really….”

“But I’m scared to go in alone.”

“……”

“What if this magic circle is a scam? What if some kind of curse magic activates the moment I lie down….”

“Geez, fine! I get it! I said I get it!”

Right. If it was for something this important, surely she could do at least this much for him.

Lucy grabbed Edward’s hand and stepped into the magic circle with a clunk.

“Now, here we…!”

And at the same time as she shouted, she suddenly collapsed to the ground.

“Gasp!”

…What is this?

A scorching heat surged over Lucy’s body like a wave.

“Wait….”

‘Poison…?’

But the sensation was strange for that.

Her breathing grew ragged, her entire body felt unbearably ticklish, and she even felt as though her consciousness were fading….

‘I’ve never heard that the magic circle had an effect like this?!’

Had it failed?

Lucy’s eyes instinctively turned toward the duke.

If she was this hot, how could the monstrous duke, who could go berserk at any moment, possibly be fine?

“Haa.”

Just as she thought.

The eyes of the duke she looked across at, Edward, were glowing even redder than usual.

He also seemed a little out of it.

His head tilted again.

But this time, it wasn’t the cute little tilt he usually gave her.

It was slow, like a leopard tilting its head.

“This is strange, Lucy.”

“D-Duke….”

“I don’t feel anything.”

Chill.

The eyes looking at her as he said that were strangely clear.

“Ah. Maybe ‘nothing’ is a bit much?”

“……”

“My body is hot.”

A shiver ran through Lucy’s entire body.

“D-Duke, sir. Hh, ah….”

She wanted to tell him that something had gone wrong, but her ragged breathing made it impossible to speak properly.

Her legs drew together instinctively, and the back of her throat felt hot.

‘I have to make him get away….’

She had to keep him from getting caught up in the magic circle any further!

“Maybe it’s because you told me to lie down, but I didn’t?”

As he said that, Edward pulled Lucy into his arms.

Lucy desperately tried to steady her body, which grew dizzy from that mere contact….

‘What is happening….’

Once she was held in his firm embrace and laid down on the magic circle, the heat became even more intense.

It was then that Lucy, panting, tightly grabbed the collar of Edward’s clothes.

“Still, nothing is changing.”

“Hhng, ugh….”

“I worked so hard preparing this… I’m hurt, Lucy.”

I’m the one who worked hard preparing it, so why is he the one getting hurt?!

She couldn’t even protest.

It already felt as though her mind had been soaked in arousal.

“You said you’d really help me find my mate.”

Edward whispered those words before lifting the corners of his lips.

“Can’t be helped.”

A sweet heat could be felt in his breath.

“Just like always, you’ll have to purify me yourself.”

“Th-That….”

“But this time, the purification….”

His hand stroked Lucy’s cheek before naturally slipping beneath her skirt.

“…I think I’ll need to receive it properly.”

“……”

“I’ve accumulated quite a lot of turbid energy this time.”

Blink.

His long, fluttering eyelashes were seductive as he smiled with his eyes. The rustling sound of clothes being removed was painfully clear.

Lucy stared at the approaching lips, completely flustered.

Th-This….

‘How did it end up like this?!’