I knew it!
After the open mouth was forced shut by the blood, the Black Goat, who was implicated, couldn't help but howl twice in its heart, regretting why it had popped out to join in the fun.
Meanwhile, Lyon, realizing something was wrong, had a drastic change in expression. He quickly got the key item threatening her to his mouth and bit down on it before the red-haired director could pounce!
"Mmph I knew ih!"
Gripping the outstretched hands with both his left and right, creating a solid twenty-finger clasp, Lyon prevented the red-haired director from snatching the 【Imbibed Pearl】. With a thick tongue, he glared at her and said:
"You never play fair! Don't move! If you move again, I'll lick it with my tongue!"
Damn it! He actually realized it!
Watching Lyon threateningly raise his tongue, pretending to lick the round pearl from afar, the red-haired director couldn't help but click her tongue in annoyance. Then, while secretly manipulating strands of hair to crawl onto Lyon, she teasingly said with a smile:
"Little Lyon~ Men who are too stingy won't be liked by women, you know~"
"Pah!"
After spitting at the red-haired director, Lyon lifted his foot and shook off the blood-red hair that had climbed onto his shoe. Then, while gripping her hands and continuing to wrestle, he glared at her, his eyes filled with refusal:
"I don't need anyone to like me! Tricks won't work. If you want the pearl, you have to trade a secret for it!"
"You've changed~"
Glancing at the blood-red hair under Lyon's foot, the red-haired director couldn't help but click her tongue in regret. Then, batting her eyes, she said with a wounded expression:
"Back when I was so poor I had to borrow money from Emma to survive, I still generously treated you to drinks. How can you treat me like this now?"
"That's different!"
Having long grown immune to the red-haired director's tactics, Lyon held the pearl firmly in his mouth and the topic firmly in his grasp, his eyes filled with a resolute refusal:
"The pearl can only be exchanged for a secret! Anyway, you're definitely hiding something from me! And it's probably something related to me, otherwise, you wouldn't refuse to talk no matter what!"
"You… When have I ever hidden anything from you?"
Facing the unyielding Lyon, the red-haired director's eyes darted around. Then, while grabbing Lyon's hands and pushing him towards the door, she pitifully said:
"We used to be so close, how could I intentionally hide anything from you?"
"Stay away… and keep your hair away too!"
Leaning his head back to avoid the red-haired director's pitiful expression, Lyon, with the pearl in his mouth, said with a disgusted expression:
"Nonsense! How were we close?"
"You're not admitting it?"
Upon hearing this, the red-haired director couldn't help but look shocked. After sniffing, her eyes slightly reddened, and she said with a pout, looking utterly wronged:
"Last time when I went to the Death Realm, you tricked me into kissing you with a bottle of good wine for my birthday wish, and even when you had just joined the Cleansing Bureau, you took advantage of me being drunk to carry me to the second floor and slept with me in your arms all night. Have you forgotten all of that?"
"?!!!"
Wait, what? When did all this… weren't these all things that happened last year?
Unexpectedly, she would bring up old scores at this time, and Lyon couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
That time in the Death Realm, you said it was your birthday and your only wish was to have a sip of good wine, which is how things ended up that way, okay? As for sleeping in my arms all night, you were acting crazy drunk, and I excused you a few times, and then you kept humming and hugging me tightly, almost breaking my spine!
Although when you talk about these things, I probably… maybe… perhaps did take advantage of you a little bit, but the real situation is completely different from what you're saying, okay? And why are you shouting so loudly? If other people hear about these things, then I won't be able to clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River…
Wait a minute?!
Thinking of this, Lyon's heart suddenly clenched, and he hurriedly turned his head to look.
Sure enough, a woman who would definitely appear at a crucial moment in a crucial location, and overhear secrets that people least wanted to be known, just happened to walk out of the storage room opposite the director's office, looking at him with shock.
I knew it!
Just as Lyon wanted to stop her and explain the real situation, he suddenly felt his hands being pulled back forcefully, and a fragrant gust of wind suddenly attacked the back of his head.
Hmph, trying to fight me? Give it to me!
Relying on exposing scandalous rumors to summon the Miss Interrupter, successfully distracting Lyon's attention, the red-haired director couldn't help but smile triumphantly. Then, with her hands clasped together, she suddenly pulled back, raising her head to snatch the pearl from Lyon's mouth.
However, looking at her suddenly approaching face, Lyon couldn't help but panic slightly. When he tilted his head back to dodge, his jaw loosened, and the 【Imbibed Pearl】 emitting a strange fragrance slipped from his teeth, sliding directly inside.
Under the red-haired director's suddenly widened eyes, the Imbibed Pearl bounced on Lyon's tongue and instantly dissolved, directly turning into a mellow and fragrant clear liquor, sliding down his throat without any resistance, and then completely disappearing.
"…"
"…"
"My wine!!!"
After letting out a heartfelt wail, the light instantly disappeared from the red-haired director's eyes. Lyon, who had been forced to gulp down a large mouthful of wine, coughed instinctively, then released the red-haired director's hands and chased after the back of the Miss Interrupter fleeing.
"Wait! It's not what you heard… Don't run! Stop for me!"
After Lyon's figure swept through the corridor like a gust of wind, disappearing at the end of the first floor, the red-haired director, her eyes filled with heartache, couldn't help but sigh secretly, then returned to her seat with a depressed expression.
I didn't expect him to even get the Wine God's pearl… Although I managed to fool people away, I feel like I've lost out… Oh well, I can't worry about that pearl anymore, as long as I got what I needed.
Pressing her hand against her faintly aching heart, barely smoothing over the pain of losing the Wine God's pearl, the red-haired director sighed and picked up the dip pen on the table, picking out a few strands of hair hooked in her pinky nail.
Luminous white… Deep black…
Judging from the condition of these white hairs, Nico's judgment was correct. Lyon is indeed from the Eastern Three… or rather, the Eastern Four Kingdoms.
Moreover, looking at his frightening courage, Lyon is very likely to be a member of the royal family, naturally inheriting those fragments of power belonging to 【Valor】 from the bloodline of the Eastern Kalevan royal family.
After checking the black and white strands of hair in her hand, confirming that the situation was the same as her judgment, the red-haired director couldn't help but sigh faintly. Then, she picked out those pure white strands of hair and carefully wrapped them around the base of her left ring finger.
And with the red-haired director's actions, her already trimmed half of blood-red hair quickly faded from its original crimson, turning into a snow-white color like a snowy field under the sun.
