038 My Lord, Let Me Pray To You And Show You, My Devotion~

Elise's blue eyes widened in surprise while her body froze in place; her heart began to thump wildly while her tail stood straight, frozen solid. 

"H-H-How does my lord know?" she asked with a stutter, but she got no answer from Aurelius, just a wide grin on his face. 

"Haaah Haaaah." With each passing second, Elise's breathing became ragged, and her face grew pale. 

Aurelius, watching her reaction, got up from the bed and walked toward her. "It was actually very easy, my dear." He said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, stopping her body from trembling. 

"Actually, everyone around you knows that you are being bullied and that you are trying to hide it," Aurelius mumbled, dropping a bomb on her. 

"W-W-What?! Everyone knows?!" Elise choked as she tilted her head; tears formed in the corners of her eyes. 

She wobbled as Aurelius came close to her, gripping her by the waist and supporting her. 

'Why didn't anyone come to help me?' She asked herself, "I thought--I thought that no one knew...." 

She looked upto Aurelius, his face still covered by the hood, "S-She made me wear make up for the scars..." she cracked, her voice was so low that Aurelius had to lean in to understand what she was saying. 

"No, dear," Aurelius mumbled; he placed his other hand on her cheek, wiping off the tears, along with the makeup she wore, revealing the scars beneath. "Although the makeup masked the scars on your body, it couldn't mask the scars on your soul." 

Elise's breathing became heavy and labored as anger rose through her heart; her blue eyes flickered with light as she backed away from Aurelius. "W-Why? I-I thought---" 

"The world is a cruel place, dear," Aurelius mumbled as he closed the distance between them, his hands wrapping around her waist as he pulled her close, "and that is why I am offering you revenge." 

Elise calmed down a little; however, anger was still simmering in her body, as her body trembled with fury every few seconds. 

But she knew—she knew that she couldn't act on her anger; if she could, she could have done it ages ago. 

"I-I can't, my lord," Elise shook her head as she bit her lip with frustration, "S-She is backed by our manager," tears of helplessness fell from her blue eyes as she looked up at him, "I-I can't lose my job." 

CHUCKLE 

"Silly girl, don't worry about the consequences; I will handle them. And if you agree, I will also give you another job where the people around you will treat you like an equal. You will receive all the love you should have received from the start." 

"B-But---" 

"Shhhhh! There is no need to answer me yet; take your time and answer me after you see how happy the women who follow me are, okay?" he asked as he lifted her chin, his deep blue eyes shining softly, making Elise fall into a momentary daze. 

"Y-Yes," she replied as she pulled away from him, her heart thumping against her chest as she recalled what Aurelius had said, 'I-If he can do it then....' 

Aurelius watched Elise think with an amused smile on his face, 'Hmm, she is almost in the bag and only needs a final push—but not yet; let her think.' 

He then walked toward the bathroom; he wanted to clean himself before spending time with his cute succubus princess. 

But as he was entering the bathroom, Elise, who was thinking about his proposal, turned around and asked, "Umm, my lord?" 

Aurelius stopped in his tracks as he heard Elise calling out to him and turned around. "What is it, dear?" 

"W-Why are you helping me?" 

CHUCKLE 

Aurelius chuckled at her question as he began walking toward Elise, "Why?...." 

He placed his hand on her cheeks upon reaching her as he continued, "it's because I like puppies," his fingers brushed against her smooth skin as he continued, "And you, my dear, are one hell of a cute, lost puppy." 

Aurelius answered with a mysterious glint in his eyes. He didn't linger around her for long and walked back toward the bathroom with an amused smile on his face. 

'W-W-What!?' Elise's brain had a meltdown as she heard his answer, 'What kind of answer is that?' she exclaimed in wonder, perplexed by Aurelius's weird answer. 

And that was what Aurelius wanted: 'If I had answered her with the righteous bullshit, she might not trust me and would become cautious toward me,' Aurelius mumbled inwardly as he soaked himself in the bathtub. 

Since no one came to Elise's aid when she was getting bullied, she might get suspicious of him and wonder if he was truly as saintly as he claimed. 

But as he answered differently, there was a greater chance that she might believe him, chalking it up to a rich and powerful young master with a weird habit. 

Of course, one might think both could fail, and it is true, but the chances of now Aurelius succeeding were higher than what they would be if he sounded righteous—after all, if the people she knew and thought were friends didn't help her, why would a stranger do so? 

And if Aurelius couldn't gain her trust, it wasn't the end either, as he could manipulate her when she watched him have sex. 

And even if that fails, 'I have many other options other than her; that Iris girl would be quite useful, although she would be a little more difficult than Elise.' 

"Anyway, I don't have to think much; I only need them for that list, after all!" Aurelius mumbled as he closed his eyes, relaxing in his bath. 

The maids were only the appetizers on this ship; the main course—they were something else entirely. 

Aurelius spent a couple of minutes in his bath, relaxing his mind and body before he got up. He wrapped a towel around his waist, unwilling to wear his robe while still wet. He left his hood too, as there was no point in wearing it now. 

He walked out of the bathroom and glanced around the room; Elise was standing beside the bed with Anya, the maid of Lilith, standing next to her. 

There was an unknown tension between the two as Elise glared at Anya once in a while. 

Aurelius smiled in amusement as he watched how Anya glanced back at Elise with a frown on her face; she couldn't understand why Elise was glaring at her. 

But when they noticed that Aurelius was back from the bathroom, they both simultaneously turned toward him, 'So Handsome!' 

"My Lord!" 

Aurelius's gaze shifted toward the source of the voice, making his amused smile turn into a lustful grin. 

Lilith was standing on the other side of the bed, still having her disguise on. She bit her lip as she stared back at him with lust and devotion. 

"My lord, let me pray to you and show you, my devotion!" 

Aurelius's grin reached his ears while his blue eyes shone with desire as he muttered, "One lost puppy at a time!"