Chapter 382: Profanity

Chapter 382: Chapter 382: Profanity

Chapter 382 – Profanity

Raven and Anesthesia were let inside fairly easily. It was to be expected. Anyone who managed to obtain a Pass Card for the Black Market couldn’t be barred from entering.

It was one of the Black Market’s rules, one everyone respected without complaint.

But there was a clear difference between being allowed in, and being given enough privacy to do whatever they pleased.

"What do you think?" Raven said, casual, weaving through the throng of people around them.

Nearly everyone here wore a mask. And those who didn’t were either the biggest fools alive, or had taken potions or artifacts to alter their faces entirely.

There was no sky in the Black Market; just a ceiling above, dark and studded with gemstones, bathing the entire space in a reddish glow.

Stalls lined both sides of the street, vendors shouting themselves hoarse trying to sell whatever they had.

The noise grated, loud and relentless. The smell was no better — a thick haze of smoke that Anesthesia recognized instantly.

Her sister used to smoke too, once. The thought struck her unexpectedly, and reminded her that Isolde hadn’t answered a single message in days now. Days!

She had no idea what her sister was even doing, but for someone who kept insisting on staying in touch, this silence was starting to grate on her nerves badly.

Her mother was the same. Not a single sign of life.

Her whole family seemed to have scattered, each of them wrapped up in something Anesthesia knew nothing about. It irritated her deeply.

Several possibilities crossed her mind. The first was that Isolde was dead, or close enough to it.

Anesthesia wasn’t sure what to feel about that. Some part of her thought she should be relieved her sister was finally gone.

But most of the time, there was a gap between what we thought we should feel, and what we actually did.

Anesthesia had lived inside that gap her entire life.

She closed her eyes, breathing in the Black Market’s rancid air, and Raven’s voice cut through her thoughts, pulling her back.

"You look worried," Raven said, focused on the path ahead, careful not to bump into anyone. It was harder than it looked. "Is it about the man who’s been following us this whole time?"

"So you noticed him too."

"Before you did, actually. You seem to think you’re stronger than me."

"I’m the second ranker, darling."

"A rank you hardly earned, by all accounts," the prince replied, reaching for her hand. "What’s actually worrying you? Don’t say nothing. You’ve been lost in thought a lot lately."

"How about we deal with our tail first?" she suggested. "I don’t love this feeling of being followed."

"Why? He knows we’ve noticed, and he’s still doing it. He might actually be connected to the woman you’re looking for," Raven smiled. "You’ve been expected here, Anes. Who sold you out? One of your own men? Or divination, maybe?"

"Oh... divination..." Anesthesia blinked behind her mask, genuinely caught off guard. She’d completely forgotten that angle.

Since she couldn’t afford an anti-divination artifact, it was entirely plausible her arrival had been tracked through divination.

How had she missed that?

’These whole things with Mother and Isolde are messing with my head way too much,’ she cursed inwardly.

Now that her target likely already knew she was coming, reaching her would be that much harder. And that led to another thought entirely:

"Maybe this is a trap," she said, pausing at an open stall, glancing at what it sold. Some leggings, handcuffs, ropes, and... Anesthesia stopped looking. "The person who claimed to know her location...maybe they’re working with her."

"Very likely."

"So what now?"

"We still need to find her, don’t we?"

"But if we keep going like this, we’re playing it exactly the way she wants. She’ll have the upper hand."

"Then let’s change the game," Raven said. "This is our first outing together. A strange one, sure, but I’m not complaining. Let’s make it worth it."

"What do you have in mind?" she asked, glancing at him sideways.

Raven turned to look at one of the buildings among the others. Tall, painted pink, lined with windows, some open, some shut behind curtains.

A few curtains were pulled back, and both of them caught sight of a couple in one, having sex right out in the open, indifferent to anyone watching.

In fact, no one really was watching, as if everyone here had long grown used to the sight.

Raven wasn’t particularly shocked. He had Esmeray for a sister. He’d seen worse.

Anesthesia was equally unbothered. She’d studied Meursault’s wife’s sex tapes closely enough, after all. She had her own strange kind of familiarity with this.

Their eyes drifted down to the building’s sign.

Above the entrance, in pink lettering shaped like lips, hung the name:

SlipInside – A World of Kink!

At the front doors stood women and men of every age, skin tone, and shape, wearing clothes that made you seriously consider whether wearing nothing might actually be more modest.

They smiled suggestively at everyone passing by, regardless of gender or age.

Anesthesia’s lips twitched hard at the sight. She shot Raven a glare.

"I’ve kissed you. I’m not giving you my body yet," she hissed.

"Who said that’s what I want." Raven smirked, reaching out to pull her in.

Her body pressed against his, her chest against him.

"If she really knows we’re coming, then we simply stop heading towards her," Raven said, hands traveling over her, careful enough to avoid anything too sensitive.

Anesthesia chuckled inwardly at that. Her boyfriend was oddly considerate about how he touched her. She liked it. A far cry from Emrys.

"But we still need to find her," she countered.

"She’ll come to us," he said. "She knows you’re here, and that you want your money. She’s probably stressed, wanting this whole thing over with. So what if we suddenly stop chasing her, and enjoy ourselves instead? She’ll get impatient and come find us. And don’t forget where we’re standing."

They both glanced at the brothel.

"One of the easiest ways to kill someone is while they’re sexually distracted," the prince smiled. "It’s one of the few times we turn into pure beasts, nothing but raw lust running through us."

"If I go in there," Anesthesia said, grabbing his hands and placing them on her own body, "I might actually want to do it, Prince."

"I trust your self-control."

"I don’t trust myself. Can I trust you?"

"You can trust that I won’t touch you unless you want me to."

"So if I give in, you give in too?"

"Most likely."

Anesthesia smiled. "You’re truly not reliable, Prince." She leaned closer to his masked face. "Go on, then. Take my hand, Prince. Don’t let go. Lead this innocent woman into a den of lust, and fuck—!"

"Shut up, Anes," Raven cut her off, but he did take her hand. And he did lead her towards the den of lust.

Would he go through with the last part, though?

He didn’t think so.

But the woman following them — yes, woman, not man, as Raven and Anesthesia had assumed — was absolutely certain they were about to sleep together.

That realization left her torn between two choices: follow them inside and watch two strangers moan and grind against each other like animals, or report back to her stepmother that the woman she was waiting for had finally arrived with a man who looked very much like her boyfriend.

But soon enough, the young woman realized she didn’t have to pick just one. She could do her duty and indulge her eyes at the same time.

Her smile widened, and she suddenly felt the urge to book a gigolo for the rest of the day.

’But abstinence, Felicia,’ she reminded herself, heart racing, walking towards the brothel. ’Abstinence!’

...

Raven and Anesthesia weren’t the only ones getting up to questionable things during their mission.

Love and Klaus were inside a clothing store in Vorn City itself, dressed down in their most casual outfits.

At that moment, they stood in the fitting area, Love hidden behind a curtain, trying on clothes.

Klaus sat comfortably in a chair, feeling handsome and rich, sipping green tea brought over by the sales assistant.

He was at peace. But peace never lasted long with Love around.

"Klaus!" Love shout-whispered, which somehow came out sounding even stranger than either option alone.

He lifted his head and saw only hers poking out from behind the curtain, eyes wide with alarm.

"Get over here, bastard. I need your help!"

"My help?" he said, setting down his tea. "For what?"

"Just get in here! It’s urgent!" Her eyes darted around, checking for anyone nearby, then relaxed when she saw no one.

"I’m not coming in until you tell me," Klaus replied. "For all I know, you’re setting a trap—!"

"The dress you picked is way too fucking small!" she growled. "The zipper broke. I can’t get it off."

Klaus paused, blinking.

"So get in here already," Love hissed, "and undress me."

—End of Chapter 382—