My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 128

There was something strange in his voice when he suggested she worked it off with her body. It wasn’t just her imagination. She could almost sense his barely veiled anticipation.

“I’ll take on mercenary work to pay it off.”

— I’m not inclined to send you off on rough jobs.

“What exactly do you plan to have me do?”

— Spend some ‘quality time’ by my side.

Regina got the sense that this ‘quality time’ might involve things inappropriate for an underage. She sighed lightly, glaring at the crystal orb.

“Cut it out, Lennon.”

The shift in tone had thrown her off, but now she was sure.

There was no way the underworld’s information guild, which likely even knew the Emperor’s underwear color, wouldn’t have heard about the events at the academy last night.

The moment they didn’t want to exploit a Swordmaster as a mercenary but in other ways, she knew it had to be Lennon. Especially since her current self wasn’t exactly a famed beauty.

At that thought, she heard a door open behind her. She turned her head.

“You noticed, Your Majesty.”

Lennon was lifting off a half-mask that had been covering his face. He smiled as he gave a slight bow. His manner was so elegant that it was hard to believe this was the same person who had been acting playfully on the other side of the crystal orb just a moment ago.

Regina rolled her eyes.

“You’re acting like a whole new person.”

How many personas did he have? In her experience, there were already four: the strict Chancellor, the gentle lover she’d known from her past life. The commanding elder during their s*x, and now the playful underworld master.

“I have to act differently with each identity, or people might notice it’s all me.”

Lennon replied smoothly. She couldn’t even guess how many personas he might be juggling.

“You’d need more than one identity to be the master of the underworld.”

“You figured that out, too.”

“You wouldn’t be satisfied just as a guild master.”

“An honor to hear you say that. While there’s an actual guild master, I wanted to be the one to meet with you.”

Nice words, considering he’d been hiding his identity while pretending to be the guild master.

Seeing her skeptical expression, he raised his gray eyes, and a refined, aristocratic smile graced his face.

“Since it pleased me that Your Majesty recognized me, I’ll waive the fee for this request.”

Apparently, 70 minas was a trivial amount to the Empire’s wealthiest man. Curious, she couldn’t help but ask what he would have done otherwise.

“….And if I hadn’t recognized you?”

“Well, I’d have played a few enjoyable games with my lover who couldn’t recognize me.”

Regina shivered at the casual answer.

‘So he really had planned to make me his slave.’

Has he always been this way? All she could recall of him before was a sly, fox-like image, which did fit a Chancellor.

Lennon must have been devious even in their past life. He’d just hidden it well from her. Or maybe she hadn’t cared, given that she’d had enough strength to keep him from seeming threatening.

‘What would Lennon have done with me if he really had made me his slave?’

Regina forced herself to shake off the inappropriate imaginations that were trying to take over her mind. She was curious, yes, but at the same time, there was a part of her that never wanted to know. She wanted to keep at least some sense of mystery about Lennon intact.

Just then, he let his velvet-gloved fingers graze slowly along his jawline as he muttered.

“It’s a bit of a pity, really. I missed out on a chance to try a few things.”

What exactly did he plan to do with her?

Regina shuddered slightly, realizing just how lucky she was to have recognized him as the master of the underworld guild. What was spare change to him was a huge fortune to her. It was definitely not something she could afford to give up.

She reached out quickly to retrieve her coin purse and clutched it tightly, which only made him chuckle.

“Do you know what a ‘sugar daddy’ is?”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s not a term used openly, but in certain circles, it’s what they call a man who financially supports a much younger woman. And in the reverse case, it’s a ‘sugar mommy’ supporting a younger man.”

“So?”

There have always been transactions based on interest. Be it right or wrong, it’s nothing new.

“Just thought I’d offer. I’m significantly older than you now, after all, and I have considerable resources.”

With his chin resting on his hand and a playful, foxlike glint in his eyes, he looked relaxed. He had a self-assured air only an older man who had everything could carry.

“Arrogant. And the information?”

Regina scoffed, steering the conversation back to business.

Lennon, who was older than her. She couldn’t quite get used to it. It was irritating and unsettling, and somehow left her feeling oddly flustered that she couldn’t look him directly in the eye.

Lennon’s lips curved slightly as he caught sight of the faint flush on her cheeks. The urge to pinch her still-soft, youthful cheeks and smother her with affection clashed with the desire to shatter any pretense of gentleness and make a mess of her.

Both urges to cherish her and push her to the limit were equally sincere. While the former stayed under control, the latter made his lower half a bit troublesome.

He had known, even in his past life, that she was vulnerable to older men.

Though her husbands and lovers tended to be younger, whenever she was around a man just a little older, a bit more mature and self-assured, she’d unconsciously tense up.

It couldn’t be too close in age or too far like a father figure. Just that sweet spot, a handsome man with confidence and sophistication. In front of such men, her usual confident self softened in a way she didn’t seem to realize.