A SLAP ON THE WRIST

"HEY, STOP looking at me like I'm a pervert," Zoe complained when she saw Isaak scooting away from her while giving her a weird look. "It's not like I'm the one who oversexualized the word 'daddy.'"

Isaak, whose face was still red, cleared his throat as if he was embarrassed. "Enough with that talk," he said in a scolding tone. "Let's talk about what happened if you're ready to talk about it."

"Yes, Daddy," she said in a teasing voice that sounded like a purr.

Isaak visibly froze, as if he had just stopped breathing. Then his hands moved to cover his red face with his hands. "Zoe, that's so mean of you."

"I'm sorry," she said while laughing. "I won't tease you anymore."

He just groaned, complaining.

"I'm in serious mode now," she said, then she quickly changed the topic. "And I'm ready to talk about what happened to Nigel Ratliff. I'm also curious to know how he was punished."

Thankfully, it worked.

Isaak removed his hands from his face, then he turned to her with a serious look on his face. "Zoe, I hate to say this, but Nigel Ratliff couldn't be imprisoned like a normal criminal because he's a royal."

Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Oh."

"Instead of a normal prison, Nigel Ratliff is currently locked up in the Tower of Shame," the ghoul duke explained. "That's the place where royals and powerful nobles are locked up for crimes they couldn't avoid, even with their status."

She smiled bitterly. "But getting imprisoned there is just like getting a house arrest, right? Nigel Ratliff will still be treated like a royal."

"His Majesty swore he would make sure Nigel Ratliff won't receive special treatment."

She was disappointed, but not surprised. "Oh, well. Even in our world, powerful and influential men are rarely punished for sexually assaulting women."

"I know it's not enough punishment, but I cut off Nigel's hands."

"Huh?"

"But Zoe, you…" he trailed off, then he paused as if he hesitated.

"What is it?" she asked, then she picked up the teacup to have a sip of the drink.

"Do you remember cutting off Nigel's penis?"

She spat out the tea she just sipped out of shock.

"Are you alright?" the ghoul duke asked as he handed her his white handkerchief, then he gently snatched the teacup from her and placed it on the table. "Is it that shocking to hear?"

"Of course it is!" she said while wiping her mouth with his hanky. "I don't remember cutting off Nigel's penis, but I remember wishing for it to happen…" she trailed off, then she clutched her head when she suddenly got a splitting headache. "Argh!"

"Zoe, what's happening?"

"My head hurts," she said, then she shut her eyes tight when the memory of what happened between her and Nigel Ratliff resurfaced in her mind. She recalled wishing to cut off Nigel's penis, then she heard a strange voice in her head. "A voice…?"

Her headache was gone now, and her mind was clearer.

"The voice told me it would grant my wish," she said, then she opened her eyes and looked at Isaak. Surprisingly, he looked genuinely worried about her. "I saw you arrive after I heard that voice, then I fainted. But I didn't pay the voice any mind because I thought I was just hallucinating back then."

"I can see why you'd think you were just hallucinating back then," he said carefully. "But it happened, Zoe. Whoever or whatever owned that voice granted your wish and cut Nigel's penis off."

She gulped hard. "W-What happened to Nigel Ratliff then?"

"Unfortunately, the older royals and most of the nobles that support that idiot demanded his penis to be re-attached, and so were his hands," he explained in a frustrated voice. "His Majesty had no choice but to succumb to their demands. So, Nigel's hands and penis were reattached using magic."

She clicked her tongue. "He got away with a slap on the wrist."

"In exchange of His Majesty's approval to have Nigel's body parts re-attached, the royals and the nobles had to give in to His Majesty's conditions," Isaak said as if he was comforting her. "First, Nigel will only be allowed to bring one servant. Second, Nigel will only be allowed to receive visitors once a week, and only for an hour. Third, Nigel must apologize to you personally and publicly. And whether or not you accept his apology, he's obliged to compensate you, so feel free to choose what you want to get from his assets."

"Ah, to be a man with power," she said sarcastically. "What if I want to get all his assets?"

"We can arrange that," he said confidently. "His Majesty and I will help you suck him dry."

She let out a frustrated sigh, then she leaned against the backrest of the sofa. "How about the restaurant owner? I'm sure he's involved, and I'm also confident this isn't the first time that something like that happened."

"Vaughn Wilson is already on it."

She turned to the grand duke with a shocked look on his face. "Duke Vaughn Wilson?"

"He was also at the restaurant that day," Isaak said, and he was frowning this time. "While I took care of Nigel, he took care of the restaurant owner and the staff. I heard from His Majesty that Vaughn Wilson is adamant about punishing them heavily. The restaurant owner might receive the death penalty soon."

"Interesting."

Vaughn Wilson acted the way he did in the novel, even if the victim was her and not Eunice Harper this time.

[What's Duke Wilson's deal?]

Did the duke have a personal grudge against the restaurant owner?

Whatever the reason was, Vaughn Wilson was indeed a bizarre character.

"Zoe, it seems like you already expected how Vaughn Wilson would react," Isaak said carefully while observing her reaction quite obviously. "Is that why you asked your assistant to spread the news about your "date" with Nigel? So that it would reach the ears of the mole Vaughn Wilson planted in the Rochester Estate?"

[Ah, Isaak Viotto isn't the main character for nothing.]

"That's right," she confessed, since it was no use lying to him now. "I know that Vaughn Wilson planted a mole on our estate. I also know he would react the way he did if he found out Nigel Ratliff would bring me to that restaurant."

"You sound like you already know what kind of restaurant it was."

She let out a deep sigh while thinking.

Then she realized her brain wasn't built for thinking since she wasn't smart.

[Should I just tell Isaak the truth? That this world only exists in a novel I read? It would hurt him, wouldn't it?]

She may not be smart and kind, but she cared about hurting the feelings of the people who were good to her. If someone told her she was just a book character and not a real person, she would be devastated. She didn't want Isaak to experience that.

But she also couldn't continue lying to him.

"Zoe, it's fine if you can't tell me," Isaak said when he probably noticed she was having a hard time. "I will still trust you."

Ah, Isaak Viotto was indeed a nice person.

"Moreover, I have something else to tell you, Zoe," the ghoul duke continued. "I was a little side-tracked earlier, but I haven't told you the most important thing yet."

She turned to him, relieved that she didn't have to tell him the truth yet. "What is it?"

"The voice that you heard has the aura similar to a demon," Isaak said while tousling his hair with his hand. "It seems like there's a demon inside your soul."

Zoe covered her mouth with her hands when she gasped. "Do you think Zoanne is aware of that?"

***

YOSEF coughed up a chunk of blood after receiving a strong impact on his chest.

He managed to get away from the demon that attacked his temple and locked him up in the prayer room, but he didn't escape unscathed. For the first time in his adult life, he felt physical pain again.

Even his god's blessing couldn't help him.

"Isaak, you should be eternally grateful you have a faithful friend like me," Yosef grumbled to himself while creating a magic circle for his escape plan. Since his divine power wasn't working at the moment, he had no choice but to use his Mana. After all, before he became a priest, he was a mage. "Just what kind of woman did you marry for me and my god to get screwed for simply blessing your marriage?"

***

NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3