Chapter 60: SSS-Rank Performance in Bed

After being dismissed by Sylvain and their father, Lydia finally returned to her room, grateful to have a little time to herself.

As much as he irritated me, I hope Brother Vincent would be careful with his military deployment.

A soft buzz came from her bracelet before Lydia could settle down.

"A message?"

[Zachary: You snuck out without even saying goodbye. Got time for me today?]

Was this what they meant by women in male-dominated fields? I had slept with the man and fled before breakfast. A classic hit-and-run!

Looking back, Lydia probably should have left him a message before leaving. Fortunately, Erin had managed to save her skin before Vincent could discover where she had been.

Lydia would make sure to reward that loyal maid later. A little bonus would certainly be worth it.

[Lydia: 1 PM. Meet me at Macy’s.]

She expected Zachary to take a while to reply. Especially after spending such a steamy night with her

Lydia had barely put her wrist down when another buzz vibrated her bracelet.

[Zachary: On my way there.]

Lydia stared at the screen. Was he waiting beside his bracelet or something?

Before she could type a reply, a second message appeared.

[Zachary: Forget Macy’s. We’ll go to Coronet. Your restaurant.]

The drive to Coronet turned out to be more awkward than Lydia had expected. Of course it was awkward!

She had slept with Zachary only a few hours ago. How was she supposed to act as though nothing had happened?

Meanwhile, Zachary seemed to be deep in thoughts. But when he caught Lydia was glancing at him, he grinned and reached for her hand.

"Something on your mind, deerling? You’ve been awfully quiet."

"I’m enjoying the scenery."

"Me too. But the view in my bed last night was much better."

"Zachary!!"

They were in a different car this time, though it was running on autopilot as usual.

Just how many cars did this man even own?

When they finally arrived, however, she found herself distracted by the sight of Coronet.

The restaurant had been renovated since Lydia’s last visit.

The Dimensional Rift and their fight had wrecked the restaurant. Lydia was surprised that Zachary had managed to renovate the entire place in just two months.

Another way to put money to a great work. Zach certainly hadn’t done things halfway. As expected of a Ludenberg.

Its luxurious interior and spacious dining areas gave it a more exclusive feel. It was also much busier than before, with customers filling the tables and lively chatter filling the room.

A server brought them refreshments before leaving them alone in the private room on the fifth floor.

"Did I go too rough on you last night? Are you hurt somewhere? Especially after we slept together?"

Lydia almost choked on her drink. That was certainly one way to begin a conversation.

"All good, all good. You’re such a worrywart, Zachary."

"No after effects after our intense guiding session," Zachary coughed and added, "Deep Synchronization?"

"Do you think adding a technical term makes this any less embarrassing? Well, rest assured, I’m perfectly fine."

Lydia paused to looked away as she lowered her voice to an almost inaudible whisper.

"Yeah... just in case you were concerned about your performance, you did just as awesome as your rank—SSS-Rank Sentinel—Zachary Ludenberg."

Lydia’s comment made Zachary cackled really hard. He almost rolled on the plush carpet.

"Deerling! Gosh, why do you have to be this adorable, my Guide?"

"Young and adult Zachary sure has consistent goal, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I was in your Spiritual Domain, you asked to ride my deer form. Then..."

The implication caught Zachary by surprise. However, he soon broke into another snicker and decided to tease her right back.

"Can I say that I’ve ridden the deer... twice?"

A playful jab at his arm from her made Zachary laugh harder.

Well, until he pulled her into his arms and kissed Lydia’s forehead gently.

"You’re being really bold. Suicidal, even, Lydia. But I am indebted to you."

Before Lydia could ask what he meant, Zachary reached for his bracelet and transferred some money to her account.

"Coronet’s reopening payment has been transferred to your account."

"Zachary."

"What? It’s your restaurant, my deerling. Of course, you get the profits."

"Zachary."

"As for the things you’ve seen last night, I—"

"Senior Zachary!"

Lydia raised her voice to stop his explanations. Thankfully, that seemed to work.

"You’re welcome. Yes. I sure appreciate your gift and money. But," Lydia said as she reached across the table and intertwined her fingers with his.

"You don’t have to pay me for spending time with you. Just thank you is enough."

Zachary looked down at their joined hands. Something in his expression softened as Lydia’s sincerity sank in.

She meant every word.

"Thank you, Lydia. Really."

"That’s much better." Lydia beamed a genuine smile at him.

For a moment, they simply held hands across the table.

"Hey, you called me Senior Zachary again. Like I said, I prefer it when you called me by my name, deerling."

"Zachary."

"Much better."

He leaned back in his seat as his expression turning more serious.

"Actually, I never wanted you to see about that side of me in Sinful Desire. Especially with those love drugs and suppressants."

"Supressants?"

She remembered the silver boxes and the drugs she had seen in Sinful Desire.

"Yeah. We Sentinels need them badly to supress our Resonance Stress when Guide wasn’t available. Sure, just like what you said, it was poison, but it was much better rather losing yourself and turned into a Mindless."

Lydia fell silent as she considered his explanation.

"Some drugs even have side effects such as hallucinations, loss of self-control, paranoia, violent outbursts, or send someone into heat—intense sexual arousal."

"So that’s why they are called love drugs!!"

"....right."

Sentinels certainly had it rough.

Zachary mentioned some drugs could induce hallucinations and berserk. Did Emily took those kind of drugs back then?

"Sentinels sure had it rough. Pray tell, did those drugs come out with other side effects, Zachary?"

Zachary didn’t hesitate to answer.

"Addictive and sometimes, it might make us go berserk. Didn’t Ephraim tell you about that?"