Chapter 53: The System Wants Him To Play With Fire [PS BONUS]

The system window unfolded across Nero’s vision just as Evelyn took her first bite of his food.

[Choice Detected: Dangerous Hands.]

[Option 1: Grab Lily’s breasts in front of everyone.]

[Reward: ???]

[Option 2: Place your hand on Lily’s thigh and slowly move upward and make sure you satisfy her.]

[Reward: ???]

Nero’s body turned to stone, and his fingers almost slipped out of Lily’s hand. He read the notification again as if the words might change, but they stayed exactly the same.

’Grab her breasts? Here? Right now?’

Lilia was sitting less than three metres away with Albert standing behind her like a guard. Evelyn was busy tasting their food, and a row of maids watched from the doorway with curious faces.

If he touched Lily’s chest in front of all these people, he wouldn’t even make it to prison. Albert would snap him in half before his fingers got anywhere close.

Option 1 was a death sentence, plain and simple.

Nero let out a long sigh and turned toward Lily, who sat beside him with her back straight and her free hand resting in her lap. Her strawberry-blonde hair framed her flushed cheeks, and the nervous focus in her violet eyes made her look unbearably pretty.

His mind betrayed him at the worst possible moment. He remembered the kiss in the kitchen, the way her arms had wrapped around his neck, and the soft little sound she had made against his mouth when she pulled him closer.

Heat crawled up his neck as his thoughts drifted somewhere they had no business going while her mother sat across the table.

’Option 2 it is. There’s no universe where I pick the first one.’

[Option 2 Selected.]

His pulse hammered in his throat as he lowered his free hand beneath the table. His fingers found the hem of Lily’s skirt and slipped underneath it.

The moment his fingertips touched her bare skin, Lily’s whole body jolted. Enhanced Touch Sensitivity turned that light contact into a sharp current that shot through her leg and sank straight into her stomach.

Warmth spread outward from his fingers, soaking through her skin and settling low in her belly with a heavy, pulsing weight. Her fingers clenched around his hand on top of the table so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Lily’s face went bright red, and her eyes snapped toward him.

’W-What the heck is he doing?!’

His hand was under her skirt, and his bare fingers were pressed against her thigh. Her mother was sitting right there, a stranger was grading their food, and half the household staff was watching from the doorway.

’Since when does Nero have this kind of nerve?’

She opened her mouth to snap at him, but Evelyn chose that exact moment to cut another piece of fish. Lily clamped her jaw shut.

If she reacted now, everyone would look at her and see her face. One glance would be enough for them to know something was wrong, so she sat perfectly still and pretended nothing was happening under the table.

Then Nero’s thumb began to move.

He traced a slow circle over her bare thigh, and with no fabric in the way, she could feel every ridge of his fingerprint dragging across her skin. Each lazy rotation sent a deep pulse of pleasure rolling through her, and her breath caught in her throat.

Nero was struggling just as much on his side. Her thigh was impossibly soft, and his fingers sank into the warm, plush flesh with every circle he drew, so good to hold that he had to keep reminding himself where he was.

Lily flinched each time his thumb finished a loop. She could feel every tiny shift of his palm and every change in pressure, and all of it felt far too good.

Her thighs pressed together on their own and trapped his hand between them, which only made the sensation worse. She forced her legs to relax before anyone noticed.

Evelyn set down her fork and examined the inside of the fish.

"The cooking is even throughout. More importantly, the Mana retention remained stable from the surface to the centre."

Lily’s head whipped toward her. "T-That’s good." She said, and when her voice came out thin and strained, she quickly covered it with a cough.

Under the table, Nero’s hand slid higher along the inside of her thigh. The skin there was even softer and warmer, and he could feel her pulse racing beneath his fingertips.

A tremor ran down Lily’s leg. The warmth in her stomach had turned into a slow, burning heat that grew with every touch, and no amount of willpower could make her ignore it.

Her chest rose and fell faster than it should have, and she caught her lower lip between her teeth to keep any sound from slipping out. Every centimetre his hand travelled left a trail of fire across her skin.

Nero drew slow circles against her inner thigh now, and the soft flesh gave way beneath each pass. He could feel her leg trembling against his palm every single time.

Evelyn moved on to the vegetables. "Your handling is more polished than Miss Lily’s. The vegetables kept their structure while still absorbing the seasoning, and the Mana remained stable after cooking."

Lilia raised an eyebrow. "So he passed?"

"I haven’t finished yet."

Nero kept his eyes on Evelyn while his hand rested high beneath Lily’s skirt. His fingers sat deep along her inner thigh where her skin was hottest, close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating from just beyond them.

Going any further would cross a line he wasn’t sure he could come back from, so he started to pull his hand away.

Lily’s knees snapped together and locked around his wrist.

The bare skin of her thighs squeezed both sides of his hand, so warm it was almost suffocating, and Nero nearly jumped out of his chair. He turned toward her in shock.

Lily stared straight ahead with stiff shoulders and a face so red it looked ready to catch fire. Her breathing was shallow, and she refused to meet his eyes.

"Don’t move." She whispered.

"What?"

"I said don’t move." She hissed through clenched teeth, so softly that only he could hear it.

Nero obeyed and kept his hand exactly where it was, trapped in the soft heat between her thighs. Her pulse pounded against his fingers, and her nails dug little crescents into the back of his other hand on the table.

Evelyn picked up Nero’s plate and started on the rice, and the seconds dragged on like hours.

Even the tiny shifts caused by Nero’s breathing sent ripples through Lily’s body. Enhanced Touch Sensitivity made every accidental twitch of his fingers feel deliberate, and she was slowly melting in her seat.

The heat between her legs throbbed in steady waves that flushed her skin from her cheeks down past her collarbone. Her thighs kept tightening around his hand as if her body couldn’t decide whether to push him away or pull him deeper.

A thin sheen of sweat formed along her collarbone. She was breathing in careful little exhales through her nose, and each one came out shakier than the last.

At last, Evelyn took one final bite of rice and set down her cutlery. "I’ve reached my decision."

Everyone in the room turned toward her, and even Albert stepped closer.

"Nero Martinez also passed. Both candidates qualify for official 1-Star Mana Cook certification."

For a heartbeat the room stayed silent, and then the maids burst into applause. Lilia joined in with measured claps, and Albert followed with a faint smile.

"Congratulations to both of you. You earned it." Lilia said.

Lily raised her hands to clap as well, but the movement made her thighs part beneath the table. Nero’s fingers, suddenly freed, slid upward and brushed directly against the thin fabric covering her most sensitive spot.

Lily’s whole body locked up from her shoulders down to her toes. A jolt far stronger than anything before tore through her core, and her eyes flew wide.

"Mmn...!"

A breathless, choked moan escaped her lips, but the clapping swallowed it before it could reach anyone else. Nobody heard a thing except Nero.

He yanked his hand out from under her skirt the instant her legs loosened. His heart slammed so hard against his ribs that he thought it might crack.

Lily shot up from her chair so suddenly that its legs scraped loudly across the floor. Her first step had a visible wobble, and she pressed her thighs together while smoothing down her skirt with trembling fingers.

"W-Well, I’m going to my room. I’ve got something to do."

Her face was flushed all the way to her ears, and a faint sheen of sweat still glistened on her neck. Without waiting for anyone to answer, she walked out of the dining room faster than usual and never once looked back.

Nero stared after her and accepted his fate. It wouldn’t be prison or exile this time, it would be a funeral.

Lilia checked her watch and rose from her seat. "I have a meeting in the neighbouring city, so I won’t be back until tomorrow." She turned to Evelyn. "I take it their Mana Cook licences will be delivered soon?"

Evelyn picked up her tablet. "Yes, their results will be submitted today. Once the Organisation confirms their information, both licences will be issued."

"Good."

Lilia left with Albert following behind her, while Evelyn packed up her equipment and the maids began clearing the table.

Nero stayed in his seat with his hand still burning from the memory of her skin. When he checked the System window, the Choice was still active, and there was no completion notice anywhere.

Don’t tell me that still wasn’t enough.

He thought about how high his fingers had been when her thighs trapped his wrist, and where they had grazed when she moved to clap. If none of that had counted, then the System wanted him to go even further, and the thought left him completely dumbfounded.

Just then, his phone buzzed against his leg. He pulled it out and found a message from Lily glowing on the screen.

[Come to my room.]

"Why is she calling me to her room?" He mumbled.

The Choice was still incomplete, Lily wanted him in her room, and Lilia would be gone for the whole night.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

He coughed awkwardly and got up from the table. Each step up the staircase felt heavier than the last, and by the time he reached her door, his thoughts were scattered in every direction.

He stared at the wood for a long moment, and then he raised his hand and knocked.