Chapter 246

Chapter 246: Chapter 246

"You’re welcome to come find out for yourself," Dulce said in response, his silver blue eyes reflecting the festival lanterns.

He shoved the Demon aside and continued on, his steps more deliberate now. In every single agreement his heartless shell had made, there had been no restriction on other intimate partners.

Dulce had seen countless festivals such as this one, and at any other time, it wouldn’t have even caught his attention, much less his interest. But right then, with the inclusion of unwanted contracted Demons, he was inclined to experience it.

"What a pleasant coincidence!" A third person stepped into his path.

This time, it wasn’t a Demon abruptly appearing right in front of him, but rather a perfumed brothel lady who was all smiles, her tone familiar.

"I doubt you remember me, milord, however you are incredibly difficult to forget." She gushed.

Dulce stopped to entertain her, looking past her to the brothel she was standing on the steps of.

’Three-Petals Hall’

The familiar name made him frown; it was the extravagant brothel where he had hired workers to feed Ruoxi the first time the Incubus succumbed to hunger. It was rather impressive that the lady could recognize him right away, although their first meeting had been brief.

"Do you perhaps have..." She trailed off, her searching eyes going past him. "You still have your companion with you!" She said giddily, and Dulce didn’t have to follow her gaze to know that she was staring unabashedly at Ruoxi.

"Are you perhaps looking for entertainment tonight?" She refocused on him, her painted eyes coy. She flipped open an embroidered fan, covering her lower face and red-tinted lips with the accessory.

Dulce had been going to a brothel, and his previous experience with them had been pleasant, even though their service had gone unused. "I am." He replied.

"Splendid!" The lady beamed, grabbing onto his arm, her generous breasts pressing against him. "Come right in. I’ll take you to the best table." She boasted, half pulling him up the stairs.

She knew that the soft-spoken noble made the important decisions, so she had wisely latched onto him, confident that his companions would follow after him. He looked even more striking than he had been in her memories, but he was too delicate for her tastes.

Zinnia, the brothel lady, skillfully signaled to the others also lounging on the stairs, soliciting passersby to guide his companions in when they arrived. She beamed up at Dulce as she led him into the smoky hall filled with the cloying scent of incense, guiding him to an empty low table with a clear view of the veiled lady playing a string instrument on the stage.

Dulce didn’t shrug off the clingy human woman even though he had no interest in her, his jaded gaze sweeping through the room. It had been too long since he had drunk human blood, maybe he could indulge tonight.

The brothel was nowhere near as full as it had been the last time he was in the perfumed hall, but in a matter of a few days, it would be.

"I’ll have your companions brought right to your table," Zinnia reassured him even as she lowered herself to sit with him on the cushions scattered around the low table.

Dulce glanced at the wide, curtained entrance, the layered gauzy curtains swaying enchantingly in the evening breeze. He didn’t bother telling the brothel lady that he was here alone, knowing that it was only a matter of time until that changed.

"Would you like something to drink?" Zinnia asked, more forward than she normally would be.

Flower wines were a staple of Ensbury’s Spring Festival, but Dulce turned his nose up at it. "Ale." He requested instead.

Zinnia was already on her feet as soon as he did, "Right away, milord."

Dulce glanced down at the table he had been seated on. There was a bowl of honeyed nuts already on his table, as well as wooden boxes of incense, which was what added to the hazy interior of the hall.

There were several pillars in the large, open hall. Lanterns and tasseled curtains hung from them; they were still red and gold, yet to be changed to the much brighter colors of the Spring Festival.

A visibly much older woman drifted over to him when she saw him sitting alone, a flower crown in her long hair. "I apologize for the outlandish treatment," She gracefully lowered herself to a nearby pillow to converse with him, her sharp eyes shooting daggers at a group of brothel ladies standing at the edge of the pleasure hall.

Dulce had a hand propped on his knee, compared to the last time he was in the Three-Petals Hall, he looked outright roguish. His blond hair was down around his face, his dark red dress shirt seeming to slowly come off in stages. Right now, his unbuttoned collar inched towards his shoulders, revealing more and more of his red-bruised collarbones.

"Hardly," Dulce said dryly, "My company hurried off to personally prepare me a drink."

The severe expression on the brothel madam lightened, and she beamed, looking him over with a critical eye. "Would you like more options?" She suggested in a sultry manner. "We don’t get a lot of female patrons, but what is a reputable brothel without proper variety?"

Dulce found himself stunned by her words, it felt like his very own words had been thrown back at him. A year ago, when he had saddled himself with a devious Incubus, he had also been looking for a ’reputable’ brothel.

The brothel madam smiled at his expression like they had just shared a secret. "There is no reason to be so surprised, it’s incredibly common." She leaned in to whisper, patting his arm. "Just you wait, I’ll have exactly what you need sent to your table."

Kath’tan arrived just as she made the sensual promise; his dark expression and mild glamour made the sensitive brothel ladies keep a wide berth away from him. The lady who had approached him as soon as he got to the steps of the pleasure hall had simply pointed him in the direction of Dulce’s table, although he had forgettable features, he still deeply unsettled her.

"What did you ask for?" He demanded with a scowl.

Dulce reached out a hand to pick up a honey-drenched nut. He had yet to take a sip of alcohol, but he already felt a bit muddle-headed; it would be no surprise if the smoky haze in the hall had intoxicating qualities.

He didn’t humor the Demon with a response this time, putting the nut in his mouth. Honey stained his fingertips and lips, sticky-sweet, it left a lingering stickiness on his fingers that remained even after he licked them.

Zinnia returned then with several jugs of ale, a wide smile on her beautifully painted face. She carefully arranged the jugs on the spacious, low table, sitting right next to Dulce on the same cushion he was on.

"I apologize for the wait, gentlemen," Her voice was light and airy like the perfume that clung to her soft skin.

Kath’tan stared down at her as she poured out a mug of ale for Dulce, right about seated in his lap. The Vampire neither welcomed nor turned her away, and despite his apathetic expression, he easily rivaled the brothel lady in beauty.

"Would you like a drink, sir?" Zinnia turned to Kath’tan, her red-brown hair in curls around her face.

"You’re drinking ale?" Kath’tan noticed for the first time, a frown on his face.

Dulce’s response was to take the frothing mug of ale and drink it down; he took his time, hiding his grimace behind the tankard. The honeyed nut he had just eaten only exacerbated the bitter taste of the ale; it was a difficult drink.

Zinnia still held the large jug, waiting expectantly for his answer.

Kath’tan nudged an empty mug closer to her, the unease he had felt when he stepped in only growing stronger. Dulce didn’t like to drink ale... he watched the Vampire drink down a mug of ale, the soft swell of his Adam’s apple bobbing.

The mug lowered, half-empty already, his knowledge of the Vampire thrown back in his face. There was a faint flush on Dulce’s face, his eyes drooping. He was clearly already a little bit drunk off half a jug of ale; it was like he was looking at someone completely different.

He was staring intently, so he didn’t miss the Vampire’s red tongue darting out to lick his lips or the slight grimace he made after. Kath’tan’s dark expression lightened for the first time, and no longer paying attention to the attendant’s endless chattering, he picked up a honeyed nut.

Asael and Ruoxi were only just arriving then, and it was all because of the attention Ruoxi drew. The Shadow Demon said nothing about it, but he stuck around to do damage control, the buoying crowd looking right through him.

Dulce was still recovering from the awful taste of his drink when fingers brushed his lips, a honeyed nut falling on his tongue. He glared at Kath’tan, who seemed especially pleased with himself for some reason, bravely fighting off the urge to bite down.

Zinnia missed this odd display happening right in front of her because the object of her interest was walking in at the very moment, surrounded by far too many women for her liking.