Coming to Terms

Count Agist walked out of the dining room towards the study where Lillica was waiting for him. He felt slightly different than yesterday when he realized he started to notice the women around him more. He noticed how beautiful Isadora was when she was cleaning and humming to herself in her own little world, how Lorraina's smile was infectious, and how Lillica's voluptuous body was so perfect it could be considered a piece of art.

"The problem is now I feel like I'm not thinking as clearly as before." Count Agist said to himself. He looked down at the bulge that was starting to form in his pants when he was thinking about Lillica again and thought, "I bet it's your fault… It is hard to think with two heads."

"Giving it a pep talk before you see the mistress?"

Count Agist jumped startled at the sudden voice behind him.

Dion stood their trying to stifle his laughter and said, "Sorry milord, just thought you looked kind of silly talking to it like that."

Count Agist became a little embarrassed but then decided that Dion might be able to resolve his current issue.

"Dion, I feel like I see women differently… and I find it distracting."

Dion tilts his head, slightly confused as to what Count Agist meant by looking at women differently. "You mean you didn't look at them before, I'm sorry milord, but while I do find it flattering you would think of me that way, I'm afraid I don't shar– "

Count Agist abruptly cut off Dion, who had taken Count Agist's meaning completely incorrectly, and said, "No! Not that! I mean I feel like I can't control myself anymore with certain thoughts. Like I used to look upon a beautiful woman with admiration the same way one would view a work of art, but now I find myself wanting to… to do more than just admire."

Dion nodded, understanding Count Agist's issue now. "Agist, you're fine. Frankly I'm surprised it took you so long! You're 22 and finally start to sexualize women on your own without being driven towards it."

Count Agist frowned, "I don't like it, I don't like feeling like something else is controlling me."

Dion shook his head at Count Agist, he was indeed making a much bigger deal out of it than it needed to be. "Look, your body is just being honest and telling you what it wants, just start thinking about something that makes you sad or disgusted and you can alleviate these feelings, somewhat."

Count Agist never had any regrets about the lifestyle and teaching his father gave him, but for the first time he wished that he had a little more interaction with the opposite sex. His father had multiple wives/concubines/mistresses, which was perfectly normal for a Duke, but he never felt any familial connection with any of them, even his birth mother. Count Agist's perception of women was skewed due to this, but thanks to his friends he was at least kept in the loop on certain things.

"Thank you, I shall try that should the need arise." Count Agist said with a straight face.

Dion did his best to contain his laughter causing Count Agist to look at him questioningly and ask, "What do you find so amusing?"

"Milord, please tell me that pun was intended."

Count Agist tilted his head to the side and thought back to what he said, he finally connected the dots when he thought about getting erections and how they 'arise' and finally got what Dion meant.

"Sod off! Obviously that wasn't intentional!"

Dion was still chuckling to himself then said, "Milord, to be frank, you need to relax more! From what I've heard, even your foray with Lady Lorraina was quite intense."

"How did you hear about that… wait… never mind, I'm sure everyone heard it. Thanks again for your advice but I've kept Lillica waiting long enough."

"True, it is not wise to keep a woman waiting!" Dion grinned and went off in the direction of the dining hall.

Count Agist saw Dion off, then continued on his way to the study.

When Count Agist reached the study, the door was cracked open already. Count Agist opened the door slowly then thought to himself, "Why the hell am I sneaking around my own manor!"

Once inside, Count Agist suddenly felt glad he had been quiet about it.

Lillica was lounging in a chair, leaning on her elbow while thumbing through a book. She looked relaxed and off in her own world. The way she would casually brush the hair out of her face when she turned her head and would occasionally smile was enchanting to Count Agist. The tip of her tail was curling back and forth peacefully, reminding Count Agist of a cat that was relaxed.

Deciding it would be unwise to sneak up on her, Count Agist stepped back out of the room then knocked on the door pretending he was entering it for the first time.

"Lillica, I'm here." Count Agist said softly, not sure why he was speaking softly.

"Obviously! Now how long were you going to make me wait for you?" Lillica said with a hint of anger.

Lillica stood up and started walking towards Count Agist purposefully, her body language made Count Agist very nervous and he quickly said, "I'm sorry Lillica, I was unaware you were expecting me to go see you right away!"

Lillica walked close enough to Count Agist while glaring at him that Count Agist could feel her breath on his face. Suddenly the atmosphere relaxed and Lillica said in her usual seductive manner, "I know Agi, I'm just messing with you, you're so easy to bother that I can't help myself." She then smiled at Count Agist and slapped his cheek lightly.

When she turned away from him and trailed her fingers across a desk, Count Agist couldn't but smile then think to himself, "She's back to her usual self."

"I was looking through some of the books left behind by your family, this one has been quite… informative for me." Lillica then held up the book she was looking at, it was a diary from Count Agist's grandfather. "Your grandfather had quite a harem, yet he only produced one child, your father."

"Indeed, I imagine it was to limit the spread of the curse now that I know a little more about it."

"Oh, he tried… he tried very hard! Some of what he wrote in here makes me blush!"

Count Agist wasn't sure if he should be impressed or scared of his grandfather if his grandfather could make Lillica blush. "As much as I am interested in what could possibly make you blush, what did you want to talk about, are you able to tell me what happened last night? Like why I attempted to kill Lorraina?"

"It's related to your family's pact with Lucius, which has been passed to you after the death of your father. When I first saw your heart, I thought you were merely a good man about to be overwhelmed by his own darkness. After last night, I see now that the curse can run both ways."

"What do you mean? I thought the curse was merely a one-time exchange of power from the Demon General Lucius for King Agist's son in exchange for the souls of all firstborn sons of any son from then on."

Lillica sighed and said, "I forget that magic is only in its infancy with humans… Basically, Lucius draws power from the first-born male from your family, but at the same time they are able to borrow Lucius's power."

"So… was that what came out last night?"

"Yes, if you haven't guessed it, very strong emotions are the easiest ways to bring it out. Hate, fear, lust, envy, greed, basically all of the negative ones. While it will give you power, it will become harder and harder each time to regain control of yourself. I feel partly responsible for your extreme lust last night so I really can't place the blame solely on you, Siegfried."

Count Agist's eye twitched, he really hated that name. "I prefer Agi over Siegfried, even though Siegfried is my name."

Lillica shrugged. "As you wish, Agi."

Count Agist did feel better that Lillica seemed to be back to normal, but he also noticed that she wasn't making physical contact like she used to. It used to bother him, but now that it stopped, he kind of missed it. "Is everything okay with us, Lilli?"

"Yes, why wouldn't it be, I forgave you already, now just let me be angry for a bit! And I hate it when you call me Lilli…"

"Huh? But you said earlier–"

Lillica cut off Count Agist by putting a finger on his lips. "I hate it because it makes me want to fall for you, so just shut up and let me be angry at you."

Count Agist realized that it wasn't so much that he didn't know how to deal with women, but more that they were just impossible to deal with sometimes! "As you wish, Lillica. So, I'm assuming you wanted something more than to just tell me that you want to be angry with me."

"Of course, now thanks to last night, I suspect that we will need to hasten your training that your father setup for you since you've already lost control to Lucius's demonic magic once."

"What training? I already have a strict routine for strength training and keeping my axe skills sharp."

"Yes, but your father anticipated you'd be able to draw upon Lucius's power, now we just need a way to use." Lillica slides a book across the desk towards Count Agist.

Count Agist's eyes went wide when he saw the title of the book Lillica slid to him, "Divine Blade Arts? What is this?!?"