"Has he always been like that?"
The Duchess inquired as she turned her head and faced the window of the room she was in, admiring the view outside.
Sitting opposite from her was Jin. Similarly looking at the window, he inwardly sighed.
"Yeah…"
They were currently talking about Ren.
He may have changed a little over the years, but thinking back at all the times he had been with him, he couldn't find a way to deny her words.
"Must've been tough."
"Tell me about it."
Thankfully, the Duchess was quite hospitable. Else he really would've been cursing Ren till the end of his life.
He reached out for his pocket and took out a cigarette.
…It was a habit he picked up due to all the stress he'd been facing recently. It wasn't harmful to him anyways, so it didn't really matter.
"What's that?"
"This?"
He lifted the cigarette.
"Yeah."
The Duchess nodded, her eyes carrying a hint of interest.
After noticing how interested the Duchess was, he lifted his index finger to light the cigarette and then took a brief drag from it.
*Puff*
The Duchess's gaze followed the smoke that raised in the air.
"It's called a cigarette, and it's something that helps me manage my stress."
"…There's such a thing?"
"Mhm"
He took another puff before handing the Duchess his pack.
"Want to have a go?"
"Can I?"
"Yeah. Go ahead."
She reached out with caution. Sliding the cigarette out with the tips of her slim fingers, she brought it in close to her mouth and placed it in between her lips before taking it out.
For a good minute, she examined it with wonder.
"What do I do now?"
"Light the tip."
He pointed at the white side.
A blue flame flickered over the Duchess's finger.
Alternating her gaze between Jin and the stick, she brought the finger close to the tip.
"Like this?"
"Yuh."
The cigarette lit, and an orange ring formed.
"Bring it to your mouth and inhale."
Jin explained before she could ask further.
"…Okay."
instructed, she brought the cigarette to her mouth and took a
Only that…
"Cough! Cough!"
face turned bright red, and she began
to fly out from her
lied to m—Cough!
coughing even more
"Hahah."
composure, let out a muffled
are you
in expression
you trick me on purpose,
'…Is this really her?'
now that he was directly interacting with her, he found her new behavior to be a stark contrast
she hiding her
you dead or something?
no different
twitch of his lips, Jin maintained his
Try again, but this
better not be playing
the cigarette close to her mouth,
Jin turned his head. They
*Puff*
exhalations caused a cloud of smoke to float in the air, and Jin could very clearly hear her letting out a series of muffled coughs. Nevertheless, it was a marked improvement over the
burns
Then, bringing it to her mouth,
to draw on the cigarette in this manner for an ensuing couple of minutes, up until the point where there
do I do with
She showed the butt.
at it before casting
"Throw it away."
"Mhm."
a light flick, it disappeared out
extended her
"What?"
at her strangely. He somewhat had an idea of what she wanted but found himself
It couldn't be, right?
"…"
didn't reply and bobbed
placed it on her hand. She glanced at it
"More?"
Now, this…
cigarette and placed it on her
didn't even bother looking at her hand before directly staring at Jin. Her gaze and expression were clear. She wanted the whole
mouth for the first time in a long time, Jin was left speechless. Was this seriously
'Ah, whatever.'
shook his head and placed the pack in
"Very generous of you."
'Motherf—'
***
I'd like to discuss
Priscilla—]
"Interesting."
staring at the letter
clear glass that was filled with a crimson liquid, his long black
his back leaning against the stone edge of
couldn't wait
the demon's face. Seemingly already having predicted such a
its way to his ears, so the letter did not come
too would've resorted to an alliance. After all, by that point, the only thing on his mind would be revenge rather than the benefits
was extremely advantageous for him as it would mean he could leverage as much as he could from Priscilla, granted that he would help her
essentially two
"Alright, then."
of his finger, the letter vanished into thin air, and he
his suit, he mumbled with
much
*
you sure it's not
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