Gigolo Diaries-Chapter 5: Astoria

"You expecting someone, lad?" Old man Kodu asked, causing Eros’ brow to furrow even more.

He shook his head, walking closer to the door. There was no way it could be people from the count’s house right? Even if they were the ones they would still have to follow the rules if they suspected Eros. After all, this wasn’t within Vontera’s domain

He pulled the door chain, peeking out to see who could be causing the disturbance.

Outside, a knight, or rather, a boy, who wore a knight’s helmet and was covered in chest armor. On his lower half, he wore a pair of plain jeans that were such a mismatch that it made him stand out like a beam of light amidst shadows.

The boy seemed uncomfortable, looking around to confirm if this was indeed the right place.

Eros visibly saw him heave a sigh of relief when the door creaked open.

"You’re Eros right?"

Eros observed the boy for a moment then looked around. In the distance was a familiar carriage, but Eros couldn’t place the familiarity. He squinted his gaze at it but quickly pulled away.

"Who’s asking?"

"Hey man, the lady said that I should bring you over. I don’t know why but you gotta follow me."

Eros raised a brow, to come to someone’s doorstep and tell them to follow you wasn’t normal. Looking at the carriage once again, Eros suddenly remembered something.

"Who’s your lady?"

The boy thought for a moment before answering. "Her name is Astoria, as for her title... can’t really recall it."

Eros, however, already knew whom he was talking about when he mentioned Astoria. After all, she was the most memorable customer he had ever had.

"Old man, I’ll be back in a second. Gotta go attend to something real quick."

If there was something he knew, then it was to stay on Astoria’s good side.

"What’s going on, kid?"

"It’s nothing, just a friend," Eros said, flashing a smile at Kodu.

The old man didn’t say anything, just frowned a little then rolled himself back into the house.

With a small click, the door chain came off and the door swung open.

The boy who looked like a knight wannabe winced when the smell of chemicals wafted out of the house.

"You hiding corpses in there?" The boy couldn’t help but remark. The smell was so strong he felt like removing his helmet.

It slowly diffused into the air and Eros was standing in front of him.

"Lead the way."

The boy quickly regained his composure and they walked towards the carriage.

When he had spent a night with Astoria, he had expected it to end like all others. What happened, however, was that he got turned into a guinea pig.

The only reason she had hired him was to observe the intricacies of yin and yang through his body.

Of course, he had tried to decline, but he quickly found that her mere presence alone wasn’t something someone like him could bear. With the goal of keeping his life intact, he had done everything she said.

The only silver lining however was that she paid so well he didn’t mind.

Later on, he did some research and discovered that she was a member of the previous Epoch’s Royal family. She wasn’t the type of person he’d like to get angry.

Although if he were on her good side then life would be easy.

The ride wasn’t smooth. The boy seemed to be struggling to keep the horse in check, and from time to time, he would flash Eros an apologetic look.

They got to the manor shortly. And it was the same as Eros remembered.

Although this wasn’t her main villa it was still large and extravagant. The gates whipped apart at the sight of the carriage and it rode in.

When they stopped, Eros took one last look at this kid wondering who he was as he got down from the coachman’s seat clumsily.

The kid stretched his limbs. "If I didn’t bring you back the lady would have skinned me alive. Thanks for cooperating."

Eros just nodded. From what he had heard about Astoria, getting skinned would be classified as getting off lightly, so the boy’s words didn’t seem like an exaggeration.

Luckily Eros was on good terms with her.

They walked side by side, entering the main building and making their way to the study.

The kid knocked on the door twice, a soft response came, prompting him to come in.

At the table, in front of a mountain of books was a red-haired lady radiating a scholar’s vibe. She had a pair of glasses perched on her face which she shifted slightly as she gazed at both of them.

"Oh, you’re back already?"

The boy nodded then let out a grimace. "The horse you gave me was no good, I couldn’t even control it properly."

She let out a light chuckle. "I think that’s your problem, not the horse’s." Her tone sounded so friendly that one would hesitate to believe that she was known as the blood queen and feared by all nobles.

"Liam, shut the door behind you, I want to talk to Eros privately."

After one last complaint, the boy exited the room.

There was a short silence when he left, before Astoria motioned for him to sit in front of her. With a wave of her hand, the pile of books disappeared, revealing a chair.

"Have a seat."

Eros nodded stiffly and walked calmly to the other side of the table.

"Don’t be so tense Eros," she said with a laugh. "Where did all that confidence you had when we first met go?"

She dropped the book, placed her hands on the table, and pushed herself forward so that her face would be directly next to his.

"Where did all that talk of making my legs quake go?"

A small smirk formed on his lips; if he acted like his usual confident self then there would be no way to get her to tease him.

"It’s your fault," Eros whispered back, rubbing his lips against her exposed neck. "I just can’t be myself when I’m around you."

He then gave her neck a little bite.

A shiver went down Astoria’s spine as she realised she had fallen into his trap. Luckily she was too powerful, if not she would’ve ended up naked very quickly.

There was something seductive about him and up until now she still hadn’t figured it out. However, seeing how capable he was, she reaffirmed that he was the right man for this job.

She quickly pulled back and looked at him.

"Enough of these games, I got a job for you."

Eros leaned back slightly, studying her. "What’s that?"

A wide smirk then appeared on her face. "I’m going to send you to paradise."