Chapter 670 - 670: [670] : The Lady's Beauty Secret

The entire morning, from start to finish, no matter how sweetly Chysis begged for mercy or how prettily she pleaded, Bokue Keikain did not once allow her feet to touch the floor.

By the time a "positively glowing" Chysis managed to get dressed and stumble out of the bedroom in proper clothes, the clock had already struck noon.

Under normal circumstances, this should never have happened.

After all, the whole reason Chysis had come to Itogami Island in the first place was the same as Venelana's: to accompany a certain First Generation Gremory ancestor on her little vacation. And when you're playing escort, you follow the VIP's schedule. No exceptions.

Given how enthusiastic Runeas had been over the past few days, getting her to sleep in past dawn was virtually impossible. Wasting an entire morning in bed? The woman would've considered that a crime against fun itself.

And yet, the miraculous part was this: despite Bokue spending the entire morning pinning Chysis down in that bedroom, not once did the esteemed First Generation come knocking to hurry them along.

It was almost as though she'd somehow predicted the two of them wouldn't be getting out of bed anytime soon, and had decided to sleep in right along with them.

Even more telling, by the time Bokue and Chysis had washed up, come downstairs, finished preparing breakfast, and actually sat down at the dining table ready to eat, they only then heard the sound of sluggish, shuffling footsteps drifting from the staircase at the far end of the hall.

They both turned to look.

And there she was. Runeas. Still in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes with the drowsy confusion of someone who'd been dragged kicking and screaming from the deepest stage of REM sleep.

"Lady Runeas? Did you... just wake up?"

Chysis raised an eyebrow at the sight.

The grogginess alone would've been remarkable enough, but the fact that Runeas hadn't even changed out of her sleepwear sealed it. She'd clearly rolled straight out of bed, sleepwalked through brushing her teeth, splashed some water on her face, and then followed the smell of food downstairs on pure autopilot.

One of the buttons on her pajama top had even popped clean off, leaving the collar hanging open and exposing a generous swathe of pale, luminous skin.

"Mmnnhh~"

Runeas was barely functional. Her eyes refused to open more than halfway, and she navigated toward the dining table the way a cartoon character floats toward a pie cooling on a windowsill, guided entirely by scent. She plopped down in her chair, smacked her lips once, and let out a sound that was equal parts adorable and brain-dead. A single rebellious strand of hair stuck straight up from the center of her little crown like an antenna.

Only after settling in did she manage to mumble something coherent.

"Nngh... what can I say, the beds in the Human World really are dangerously comfy..."

"Lady Runeas..."

Chysis's lip twitched.

"Please tell me you didn't stay up late watching TV last night."

"??"

Direct hit. The words struck like a bolt of lightning. Runeas's entire body jolted as though she'd been electrocuted, and those half-lidded eyes snapped wide open for the first time all morning.

"N-no! Absolutely not! I only watched until... well, the point is, it wasn't that late..."

That settled it.

One look at that guilty face and Chysis didn't need to hear another word. The esteemed First Ancestor had stayed up until the small hours binge-watching movies. Possibly all night. And the only reason she'd stopped was because her body had physically given out and dragged her into unconsciousness against her will.

Now, to be fair, sleep wasn't strictly a biological necessity for powerful devils. It was more like getting a massage or going to a spa. You wouldn't die without it, and there were no serious consequences for skipping it once in a while. But doing it consistently left you feeling refreshed, alert, and frankly just better in every measurable way.

Bottom line: even for a devil, sleep was worth keeping on the schedule.

Still, Chysis knew better than to lecture the Ancestor too sternly. She softened her tone to something more advisory.

"Lady Runeas, you really should take better care of your rest. Chronic sleep deprivation is a woman's worst enemy. They say it dulls the complexion, turns the skin sallow, and even accelerates the formation of wrinkles around the eyes..."

"STOP. Stop talking right now."

Runeas nearly launched herself out of her chair.

She'd spent literal centuries in magical hibernation specifically to preserve her youthful appearance. If something as stupid as binge-watching sci-fi movies at 4 AM was going to undo all of that, she would never forgive herself.

"Fine, fine! I'll go to bed early tonight, I promise! Oh god, please don't let there be wrinkles..."

Just as Runeas was spiraling into full-blown skincare panic, running her fingertips across her face to check for any signs of aging, something caught her eye and she paused.

"Hey, Chysis, is it just me, or does your skin look... better than yesterday? I mean, it wasn't bad before, but today you've got this whole fresh, dewy glow going on. Your complexion is practically radiant."

"Oh? You think so?"

Chysis smiled. With a gesture that could only be described as peak married-woman elegance, she raised a hand and lightly brushed her fingertips along her own cheek.

Runeas leaned in immediately, studying her face from barely a foot away.

"Definitely. Way more color in your cheeks. The skin texture looks smoother too. But wait, didn't you say last night that you had to run back to the Underworld for something? Did you pick up some kind of skincare treatment while you were there?"

"Well..."

Chysis didn't answer right away.

Her gaze drifted sideways, locking for the briefest instant with Bokue's as he sat beside her eating breakfast. The corner of her mouth curled upward.

"You could say that. I did treat myself to a little... rejuvenation procedure."

"Wait, seriously?? You actually have something like that?? I want in! Let me try it too!"

Runeas was instantly hooked, leaning so far forward she was practically climbing across the table.

Bokue: "..."

As the direct cause of Chysis's newfound glow, he knew exactly what that "rejuvenation procedure" entailed.

But how was he supposed to explain that?

He could hardly tell Runeas that the secret to Chysis's luminous skin was his semen.

Actually, scratch that. Given this particular Ancestor's near-total innocence on such matters, there was a decent chance she wouldn't even know what it was. And then he'd have to define it. Step by step. From the beginning.

The mental image alone was catastrophic.

"Of course it's no problem at all~"

Chysis tilted her head, smiling warmly.

"Although it can't really be done during the day. It has to be at night, after a thorough bath... Tell you what, come to Venelana-chan's room tonight after you've washed up, and I'll take care of everything. How does that sound?"

"Perfect! You've got a deal!"

Runeas didn't question why it had to be in Venelana's room specifically. The important thing was that Chysis had agreed. Without a second's hesitation, she nodded and locked it in.

❁❁❁❁

Meanwhile, in the Underworld. Gremory Castle.

Having just finished lunch, Venelana sat alone at the small tea table in her bedroom, one hand propping up her cheek, staring out the window at nothing in particular.

She'd come back yesterday morning. Counting yesterday and today, that made two full days.

Maybe she'd sneak back through the magic mirror tonight?

Life without Bokue was really starting to drag...

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