Next day.
Azael was sitting in his room on the soft mattress of his bed.
In his hands, he was holding something, a brown incense burner and, in the other hand, a rectangular wooden box.
He put the incense burner on the table beside the bed. Then he opened the wooden box.
Inside, there were dark purple-colored incense sticks.
"They smell nice," Azael muttered as he inhaled the scent coming from those sticks.
He took two sticks and put them in the burner. Then he burned both of them with his flames.
'Alright... I have already called her... she will come at any moment.'
Azael kept sitting on the bed, waiting for Isabel to come.
Today he had neatly combed his black hair. He was wearing a beige-colored shirt and maroon trousers.
He continued to tap on the floor with his right foot.
After a while, a knock came on the door.
"May I come in, Young Master?"
His violet eyes lit up.
"She came!" he thought excitedly. He got up from his seat in excitement, then sat back down, calming himself.
"Come in..."
The door slowly opened.
Isabel entered the room. She was as usual in her black and white Victorian style maid uniform. It reached upto her ankles. Covering her whole body.
Her jet-black hair scraped into a flawless, severe bun. Round black-rimmed glasses framed her beautiful face, smooth porcelain skin, fathomless black eyes, lips a thin cold line.
She wore a white apron in front. The bib of the apron rose high and straight across her chest, but it could do nothing to disguise the sheer volume beneath.
Her breasts were massive, perfectly round, and impossibly full two heavy, taut spheres that pressed insistently against the thin white cotton, making the apron fabric stretch and bow outward in smooth, obscene arcs.
Her waist was thin. Wide hips flaring dramatically beneath the floor-length skirt. I her hand, she was wearing white gloves.
Azael observed her figure dazedly. It seemed like he was getting aroused by the aphrodisiac. He shook his head to come out of his trance.
'You have to control yourself, Azael... damn, why didn't I find a way not to get affected by it... well, it doesn't matter.'
---
Isabel stepped inside then locked the door, then walked toward him.
"Young Master... will you tell me now?" she asked calmly.
Azael looked at her nervously. "Well... yes, I want to tell you. Please sit with me."
This time she didn't say anything. She just came and sat beside him. On his right side.
"The room...it smells nice." She looked at the incense burner. Thought it was something that Young Master brought for creating relaxing atmosphere in his room.
She inhale the scent. The purple aphrodisiac sticks continued to burned. Slowly invading her body. With each breath she took.
Azael also took a deep breath. "So... this is a very... personal and shameful thing..."
With a gentle expression, Isabel said, "Please, Young Master... believe in me and tell me. I will help you in any way possible."
After her words, Azael made a resolved expression.
"Okay... I will tell you then."
Isabel remained calm. Her eyes were focused on Azael.
Azael met her gaze.
"You know... I had weak mana flow from birth."
"Yes, Young Master... I know... what about it?" she asked calmly.
"You see... the thing is... how should I say this to you..."
Isabel rested her gloved hand on his thigh.
"Please, Young Master. Tell me without hesitation."
Azael took a deep breath.
"Hah... actually, while having weak mana flow... I also had another problem because of it..."
With a worried expression, Isabel asked, "What problem?"
"I had erectile dysfunction!" Azael told her shamefully. His expression was filled with embarrassment. His face turned red because of it.
Isabel remained silent for a while.
Then soon, even her face slightly blushed.
"Y-Young Master..." she said softly, then went silent again.
Even she didn't know what to say now. Her young master had such a problem for some years now. And it was true that this was something shameful.
She saw his embarrassed expression and those sad eyes. She couldn't see him like that.
With a gentle voice, she said, "Young Master... have you talked about this to your healer?"
With a sad expression, Azael replied, "Yes... he knew... He said that. It's mostly related to my weak mana flow. But after getting cure..he just left. He didn't told me anything about this...and I have no courage to tell this to Mother Aeliana... not at all."
After hearing that, her eyes lit up slightly.
"Then... you are already cured... you might be okay now."
"I don't know... I never felt any difference even after getting cured..." His head dropped sadly.
Azael had been sad and depressed because of his weak mana flow. But it got worse after losing his father. But now he had actually started to laugh again... only to still have another problem. Something that he could not discuss with others.
With an encouraging expression, Isabel said, "Young Master, please don't lose hope. There might be a way... we can work on it together. We can try to find experienced healers."
Finally, Azael looked at her.
"Actually... that's why I wanted to talk to you... actually there is something I need your help with... to check something...to see if I okay or not."
"Yes. I will help you in anything," she replied seriously.
"Actually, even after getting cured from weak mana flow, I didn't feel any difference in my lower body... but I felt something a few times... it was when..." He paused.
With curiosity, Isabel asked, "When was it?"
With an embarrassed expression, Azael said, "It was when... I hugged you for the first time."
Isabel's eyes widened.
A faint pink shade bloomed across Isabel's porcelain cheeks, spreading like spilled wine. Her usually impassive black eyes flickered with something unsteady surprise, embarrassment, and perhaps the tiniest thread of something warmer she immediately tried to strangle.
"Y-Young Master… what are you saying…?" Her voice, normally so cool and measured, cracked on the last syllable. She pressed her lips together tightly, as though trying to trap the rest of the words before they escaped.
"You… felt something after hugging me?"
Azael nodded slowly, ears burning crimson. He couldn't meet her gaze for more than a second at a time.
"Yes. It was subtle at first...But yesterday… when I hug you before going to monster hunting. It was the first time in years I felt… anything down there so strongly...some different kind of feeling."
He continued, "Even just a little. It wasn't much, but it was something. Before that, nothing. Not even in the mornings. Not even when I—" He cut himself off, mortified, and hurried on. "I thought maybe… maybe it was you. Maybe being close to you… maybe your scent, or your warmth, or… I don't know. I just know it happened."
The incense smoke curled lazily between them, thick and sweet, carrying that dark-purple fragrance deeper into the room with every breath. Isabel's head felt strangely light.
Her heartbeat seemed louder than it should be, thudding against the confines of her ribs and against the straining cotton of her apron. Finally it had started to take effect on her.
She swallowed again.