A Calculated Seduction

“Phillo.”

Aivy called out again, reaching to touch Phillo’s shoulder, but he dodged with a twist of his body.

“Mind yourself, Miss Aivy.”

“No, I… I still have a short lunch break, are you free—”

Phillo shook his head, gesturing for Aivy to stop speaking.

He offered Aivy a polite smile, lifted his wine glass, swirled it before her eyes, then tilted his head back and drained it.

“My toast to you; please, return to your seat.”

Setting down the glass, Phillo raked his crimson hair back from his face, then speared a rib onto his plate, drizzling a little sauce over it, preparing to feast.

Seeing Phillo utterly unmoved by her invitation, Aivy only grew more emboldened.

She bit her lower lip, a delicate blush gradually coloring her cheeks, and began to sway her body slightly toward Phillo, clumsily attempting to tease him.

Aivy was indeed audacious, showing no fear of being seen by anyone from the City Alliance side; she even raised her gaze to glance at Lucius’s situation.

Fortunately, Lucius, on the other side, was too engrossed in canoodling with Dalia Aurelius and fielding the sycophantic flattery of those around him to spare a single glance in their direction.

Saranya propped her chin in her hand, observing the exchange between Aivy and Phillo from the corner of her eye, her soul of gossip burning fiercely.

Phillo possessed handsome features, a refined face, and a broad-shouldered, robust physique that exuded a certain sexual magnetism.

Coupled with the fact that he had once rescued Aivy in the arena, it was hardly surprising that Aivy would first think of Phillo and seek comfort from him whenever she felt dejected.

Yet… was this progression not too swift?

Given such a drastic shift in Aivy’s attitude, could she be plotting something?

Could she have been instructed by Lucius to employ a honey trap, hoping to lure Phillo to their side?

“Hmph, hmph~”

Kaelan, standing beside her, chuckled, her expression full of amusement.

“This Aivy… she truly holds a grudge.”

“A grudge?”

“Indeed. Don’t you humans often say, ‘You only truly cherish what you’ve lost’?

Aivy’s throwing herself at Phillo isn’t for any other reason than to provoke Lucius.”

“But would Lucius even care?”

“What do you think?”

“He wouldn’t…”

From a young age, Aivy had harbored an obsession with her childhood sweetheart, enduring neglect and indifference all the way to this point.

Viewed in this light, she was quite pitiful.

Saranya sighed, a touch of pity entering her gaze as she looked at Aivy.

However, if, as her master suggested, Aivy was truly disheartened and acting solely to exact a final revenge on Lucius, wouldn’t she be needlessly dragging Phillo into trouble?

Really, how could this be allowed?

“It’s a good thing Phillo is a Sigma man (TL Note: A modern slang term for a self-reliant, independent, and often solitary man who operates outside conventional social hierarchies, similar to an ‘alpha’ but outside the social hierarchy).

If it were the old me, I might have…”

“What did you say?”

Kaelan raised an eyebrow.

Saranya suddenly felt a tickle in her stomach, realizing her slip of the tongue, and instantly broke into a cold sweat.

“Ah! I meant, Phillo is a good man; he certainly couldn’t accept Aivy!”

“Well… that may be true, but wouldn’t it be a shame not to take a bite out of a ripe red apple within reach?”

“Huh?!”

“‘Huh’ what ‘huh’? You’ve experienced it firsthand, haven’t you?

I could have easily killed you back then, but because you pleaded and promised to be my little s*ave forever, I didn’t…”

Saranya was instantly speechless.

‘So, in the very beginning, Master was simply interested in my body…’

‘And now…?’

A wave of despondency washed over her.

“Stop eavesdropping, Paresha.

Go right now and make your Phillo accept Aivy.

Whether Phillo uses his eloquence or his bedroom skills, he must secure her, no matter what.”

Upon hearing Kaelan mention her, Paresha hesitantly turned around and lowered her voice.

“This, this isn’t right, is it…?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it!

Aivy holds great value to us.

Now that we have the chance to hold her firmly in our grasp, Phillo should sacrifice a little of his charm for the cause!”

“Ugh, Teacher Kaelan… I’m afraid Phillo won’t agree—”

“Then you force him to agree, don’t tell me you don’t have a way!

If you can’t manage this, then tonight, Little Ya and I won’t leave a crack in the bedroom door for you; you won’t need to come ‘keep watch’ for us!”

Kaelan flashed a cunning smile, deliberately pausing on the words “keep watch,” leaving Paresha both excited and terrified, forcing her to humbly nod in agreement.

‘Is this the art of social maneuvering?!’

‘As expected of the Black Witch, notorious for her twisted wickedness, to treat all human emotions as mere bargaining chips—how cruel!’

Paresha pondered for a long time before finally turning to whisper something into Phillo’s ear.

Saranya didn’t know what Paresha had said, but there was no doubt it was an extremely potent command for Phillo, one that offered no possibility of refusal.

Phillo’s eyes widened in disbelief, his expression shifting from shock to anger, then gradually darkening into one of humiliation.

Silently, he reached his arm under the table and clasped Aivy’s hand beside him.

“Ah…”

The moment their bodies touched, Aivy trembled slightly with excitement, as if she had been electrified.

“Phillo… out the door here, behind the second pillar to the right, let’s meet there in a bit… I have something I want to tell you…”

Aivy’s delicate hand gently caressed Phillo’s flame-like hair, as she stammered out an invitation for a clandestine meeting.

It was her first time doing something so explicit, and the intense feeling of impropriety flushed her face crimson.

Phillo’s face remained grim, but under the pressure exerted by Paresha, he had no other choice but to nod in assent.

“I understand.”

“Mm~”

Aivy nodded joyfully, a smile blooming on her face for the first time at the banquet.

She leaned closer, her voluptuous bosom nearly pressing against Phillo’s back.

She gently wrapped Phillo’s red hair, strand by strand, around the tip of her index finger, then pulled her finger away, only to smooth his curled hair back down with her palm.

She played with his hair like this for a good while, repeatedly, before reluctantly leaving Phillo and returning to her seat.

With that, her master’s wish had been fulfilled.

Kaelan took a sip of the crimson wine, a subtle curve forming on her lips, and began to truly savor the lavish luncheon.

In contrast, Saranya found the food and wine on the table increasingly bland, and the organ music in the background grew piercing, irritating her immensely.

Finally, the banquet concluded, and her torment ended.

Bishop Doron cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over his colleagues from the Holy Fire Faction and the Pedomar Faction seated around him.

After receiving nods of acknowledgment from all, he rose from his seat on the north side and spoke his first words of the banquet.

“The banquet has ended, my children.

Go and enjoy a good midday nap, for the theological debate this afternoon will require all of your utmost efforts.”

****

Saranya stood by the flower beds in the inner courtyard, watching Aivy, the last to leave the banquet hall, scurry like a thief toward Phillo, who had been waiting for a long time.

The two linked arms and slipped behind one of the corridor pillars together.

Saranya took a deep breath, her voice serious.

“Master, you were wrong.”

“How so?”

“Your prediction about Phillo and Aivy was completely mistaken.”

Kaelan stood beside Saranya, both secretly observing.

Behind the pillar, Aivy stood on tiptoe and whispered something into Phillo’s ear.

Phillo remained rooted to the spot, allowing Aivy to tightly clasp his hands, listening quietly.

The next second, without warning, Phillo suddenly leaned forward, pressing against Aivy’s body, and together, they gently swayed against the pillar’s intricate carvings.

“Kaelan, you’ve hidden behind your heart’s wall for too long; you might lose the ability to love others…”

“Is that so…?”

In the distance, Phillo cupped Aivy’s face and actively kissed her lips.

Shrouded by shadows, strands of crimson hair intertwined with golden-braided locks.

The two above, lips intertwined, passionately embraced and kissed.

Witnessing this kiss, Kaelan’s cheeks flushed crimson, and she instinctively lowered her gaze, only to abruptly look up to the side, her eyes meeting Saranya’s icy blue ones.

Kaelan’s lips moved, and she swallowed a hot gulp of saliva.

Saranya had gathered her courage, but the words she wanted to say felt like they were scorching her tongue.

She stammered, only managing to force out half a sentence before stopping abruptly.

“But it’s alright… I… I will try my best to chip away at… your…”

“…”

“Mm…”