Sitting at a cafe and drinking coffee, for a moment, it seemed like I was on earth. That was, before all of the war and destruction, in a more peaceful time and era.
Though I was quickly tugged away from my reminiscent thoughts, as a waiter came and placed the pastry I had ordered in front of me.
"Your Tarta de Santiago, Señor," The waiter bowed slightly and smiled, "Is there anything else I could do for you?"
"Hm, not that comes to mind. But thank you!" I thanked him, and he simply nodded, bowed, and walked away to tend to another table.
I was currently alone, having heard from Viscount Corbett Zisel that he had gotten information about our missing persons, Eveleen insisted that she go chat with him, just the two of them. So, having heard her be so persistent, I decided to use this day to relax and gather some more clues myself.
Taking advantage of Lev's good elvish hearing, I simply just sat there, drinking my coffee, eating my tart, and eavesdropping on the conversations going on around me.
'Hm, nothing again? Perhaps it's the location…huh?'
I was quickly brought out of my thoughts by the sounds of the heels of someone's shoes clacking in my direction, though I chose to ignore it, which was a bad move on my part.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Kallisto! Why are you alone? Where is your sister?~" Octavius asked with a teasing tone of voice, putting his hand on my chair and leaning over it to face me.
"Oh, good afternoon, Mr Ayrmyne! My sister is currently tending to some business, but what can I do for you?" I smiled as he sat down in front of me and crossed his legs.
"Hmm~ Nothing in particular. I was simply looking for somewhere to enjoy a nice cup of coffee when I saw you sitting all alone here. Perhaps in need of some company?" Octavius chimed in a flirtatious manner, leaning his head to the side and smirking at me.
"..."
'Absolutely not, even Llyr is better than him! EUGH!'
"Well, thank you for your kindness," I replied, putting my coffee cup down and smiling, "Unfortunately, though, I was actually about to get up and leave."
"Oh? So soon though? We only just started chatting!" Octavius complained, then put his hand on mine, "Why not stay for a little longer? It wouldn't hurt, would it?"
"Unfortunately, yes, it would. I have very Important business to attend to," I shot back, standing up, but was then stopped by Octavius grabbing my wrist, "What do you think yo-!"
"Mr Andraste, both you and I know that whatever I have to chat about you with will be worthwhile," He cut me off, his face darkening as he smiled at me, sending shivers down my spine.
'I need to be cautious around this guy…'
"So? How'd you recognize me?" I shot back, mustering up the courage to turn around and look at him instead of yanking off his hand and running away.
"Heh, well, I'd recognize those otherworldly features anywhere! Plus, I feel dead mana on you, and it feels eerily similar to when we first met. You've gone through some changes, haven't you?"
"!" I stood there for a moment, thinking of what moves to make, before settling on my decision.
"Hm~?" Octavius hummed, waiting for my reply. Tilting his head and smiling more.
"Haaa, fine. But let's go somewhere more private and without prying eyes and ears," I gave in and yanked him up, then dragged him away from the cafe, paying my bill on the way out.
***
Slamming the door behind me and watching Octavius stumble into my part of the suite, I disabled the disguise enchantment and pushed Him onto the couch.
My glare darkened as I pushed him into his seat, slamming my hands on both sides of his head and putting my knee between his croach, blocking off any escape route.
"Alright, speak. What the hell do you want?" I demanded, leaning closer to him, getting into his face to the point where our foreheads were almost touching.
I didn't think anything of it, but Octavius clearly did as he sank himself closer into the couch and started blushing like crazy, even pursing his lips.
"H-Hold on! Don't you think this position is a li-!" He tried to say, stammering, but I cut him off, not letting him say anything that didn't answer what I asked him.
"Just answer the damn question, Octavius," I demanded once again, this time grabbing his chin and forcing him to look at me.
"F-Fine! So just let me go, okay?" He insisted, pressing on my chest, though he wasn't strong enough to push me off. Sighing, I stood up and crossed my arms, staring down at him.
"Well then, out with it," I replied coldly, tapping my foot impatiently as Octavius fixed his posture.
"Ahem, well, I heard that you were looking for someone," Octavius announced, leaning forward and placing his chin onto his palms, "So I thought I'd offer up some assistance!"
"..." I scrunched my face in annoyance, pissed off on why he didn't just start with that, "You say that, but we all know it's going to cost something."
"I mean, in this world, everything comes with a price, doesn't it?" Octavius chimed, tilting his head at me and smiling again.
"Yes, and even I know that your prices can come at a cost far too high for most people," I scoffed, tilting my head and looking down at him with an arrogant smile, poking fun at his pride to get a reaction out of him.
'Now I'm not typically into doing this, but it's best to feel him out before really dealing with him.'
Guaging his reactions was another way for me to get a feel for how he works, or rather, figuring out how his temper scales. But that stunt I pulled with the couch before was also a way to make sure he doesn't try to pull anything that could seriously harm me.
Taking advantage of Lev's good looks and being aware that he wasn't a figure mentioned in the novel, getting him interested in me in that way was a way to make sure he didn't attempt to kill me.
Also, considering that I didn't exactly know what he was or what he could do, he was even more of a danger to me. Hell, for all I knew, he could be a being that could harm me without even having to touch Lev's body.
Meaning, at least for now, I'd say seducing him would be the right call. So long as he doesn't catch possible romantic feelings for me, and just a mild interest, I would be in the green(or yellow) zone. After all, having another person develop romantic feelings for me would only cause more trouble in the long run.
"HAHAHA! Oh, you really are so intriguing, Sir Andraste!" Octavius exclaimed, throwing his head back and laughing, then standing up and slowly walking towards me, "It makes me wonder what other emotions I could claw out from your unbreakable facade."
In the dimly lit room, brightened only by the little amount of sunlight coming through the curtains, Octavius's jawline was outlined even more as he leaned closer towards me.
Slowly, he moved his hand to take a strand of my hair and put it up to his face, smirking flirtatiously. Realizing that I didn't mind him touching my hair, Octavius took the opportunity to try to cup my chin in his hand.
"What do you think you are doing?" I smeared, slapping his hand away from me, "I'm here to make a deal with you, not anything else, so keep your hands to yourself."
"Ouch, that's quite harsh, you know!" Octavius mocked, rubbing his hand and looking at me with a sarcastic grin, "I am trying to make a deal with you; all I need is for you to accept my price."
"Ho? And what exactly will you give me for the price you are demanding?" I smiled, raising my eyebrow and crossing my arms.
"It's quite simple, I already have the information here," He pulled out the corner of an envelope from his coat pocket, then put it back, "The envelope contains the name of the person Viscount Zisel sold him to, and the trader's current whereabouts."
"...And how exactly can I trust that the information you'll give me is the truth, hm?" I questioned, scowling slightly, not wanting to fall for any of his tricks.
"Well, my dear, that all depends on you!" Octavius smiled, poking me in the chest, "The truth depends on what you choose to believe it is…I will, however, tell you this: I have never given the wrong information to a client looking for a missing person."
"..." I stood there, thinking for a moment, then raised my head to look at his irritating smiling face, "Haaa, fine. Name your price."
"Hehehe! Perfect! I am oh so glad you agreed!" Octavius sang, oddly cheerful, "As for my price…"
Startling me, Octavius grabbed my wrist, then dragged me to the bed and plopped me right onto it. Like I did to him on the couch, he leaned closer to me and placed both of his hands on both sides of me, trapping me under him.
"W-Wha-?!" I started to protest, but before I could get another word out, he grabbed my chin and placed his lips on mine.
'This might have backfired a little…'
"The price I want," Octacvius added, pulling back for a moment, "Is your body."
"E-Excuse me?! You do know that I have a finance, right?!" I blurted out, trying to get him to back off and rethink his price.
"Heh, I am quite aware…But I also know that you have no feelings for him whatsoever, and instead, have quite the distaste for him. So, it shouldn't matter if we have a little fun, no?" He chuckled some more, getting on top of me now and locking me between his knees.
"Either way, I am a noble, and we all know how nobles perceive sexual intercourse before marriage!" I exclaimed once again, this time, pushing on his chest to try and move him off of me.
"Please~ you and I both know that you don't believe in that," Octavius whispered seductively into my ear, before leaning down and looking up at me, his lips almost touching mine, "As well as the fact that you and Duke Casilda have participated in such activities together before."
"...Damnit!" I exclaimed, realizing that he was right and I really had no reason to refuse him, "Then at least tell me, why charge me with a prize such as this?"
"It really isn't that hard to figure out. It's just that you have piqued my interest in you rather high, so I thought that doing this would help me learn more about you faster!" Octavius smiled with satisfaction, leaning closer to me again, but I pushed him back once more.
"But why does it have to be this way? Couldn't I just answer some questions?" I sighed, frowning at him a little.
"Because…" He started, then kissed me before stopping to continue his answer, "Your body is more honest than your words, dear."
Octavius then pressed his lips to mine, sucking on them like they were a popsicle. Taking my breath from me, he continued his lip assault before licking my mouth and biting my bottom lip, finally pulling back to give me enough time to catch my breath.
"Haaa, you fucking lunatic," I gave him a flirtatious smile, causing him to grab the back of my head and my waist and kiss me again.
This time, deeper, more passionate. As he pressed his hard croach to mine, I gave out a slight moan, just long enough for him to slip his tongue in my mouth.
Gliding his tongue along the roof of my mouth, tickling me and causing another small moan, he rubbed our tongues together. Weakening me with pleasure to where he lay me on my back, taking my legs and lifting them to take my shoes and socks off.
Octavius pressed his lips further against mine, continuing the tango of our tongues as he put my hands above my head and started to unbutton his shirt.
The kiss was intoxicating, I almost didn't want to stop, but we had to so that we could catch our breath.
"Huuu, y'know, you are surprisingly really good at kissing," I smirked, tilting my head, him unbuttoning my shirt in turn.
"Hehe, well, dear, I can give you something much better than a kiss," Octavius exclaimed, licking my neck, then my ear.