Ruth's arms tightened around Dapper's back in shock, her grip nearly cracking his spine as she processed his request. Her breath hit his shoulder in ragged bursts, warm and uneven. Dapper immediately regretted saying anything, fearing he might have pushed too far.
However—
"I-I'm going to give you... h-half," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "Half of everything I own. The property, the assets... all of it. I want you to know how much I love you, Dapper. H-how much I care."
Dapper stiffened in her hold, his ears practically twitching like a startled cat. His brows knitted in confusion. This wasn't the reaction he expected.
"I don't expect you to believe it right away," she whispered near his ear. "But I'm not doing this to prove anything to anyone... except you."
Ruth pressed in even closer, her heartbeat pounding against his chest—and so were her massive jugs, which made Dapper go still for a different reason. "Even if you hate me... I want to give you anything you ask for. Because I love you."
Dapper said nothing. Her body was warm, soft, and sincere, but his mind churned cold with suspicion. He had pulled off all sorts of scams in his past life—stolen, lied, manipulated. But this…This kind of devotion? It didn't add up.
Still, he gave a faint nod, just enough for her to notice. She sighed into his shoulder, and the room fell quiet.
---
Later that evening, Dapper stepped into a room he'd never entered before.
It wasn't the cold, sterile chamber his predecessor had used—the one purposely picked to avoid Ruth. No, this was different. This room had been crafted for him and Ruth together. It was warm, luxurious... intimate.
Golden candlelight flickered across velvet drapes and polished furniture, casting dancing shadows that made the place feel like the private quarters of some lust-drunk noble. Though this world had electricity, powered by mana crystals, Ruth had lit candles instead—either for ambiance or romance.
It was a place made to mate.
Dapper sat in a cushioned chair, several feet away from the king-sized bed. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and his eyes darting around the room like he was trying to predict the next move.
His mind wandered.
'Maybe I should pin her to the farthest wall over there,' he thought darkly, 'and ram into her mercilessly while she screams "Daddy!" with those thick legs wide—'
Then, just as he was getting into the fantasy, the image of the old man who sent him to this world flashed in his mind. He was holding a grim reaper scythe with a twisted grin plastered on his face.
'Dammit, old man. Let me think with my dick for once,' Dapper groaned inwardly, brushing the thought aside and glancing over at Ruth.
She was seated calmly on the bed. White silk lingerie wrapped around her curves. The light fabric clung to her full hips and exaggerated the sheer size of her bust. Her breasts which were massive, heavy, begging for attention, rose and fell slowly with each breath.
Dapper swallowed hard.
His gaze lingered longer than it should have, then jerked away—though not before she caught it.
Still, Ruth said nothing at first. She stared at her hands, then slowly lifted her head.
"I didn't mean to force myself on you," she said, her voice barely audible. "That wasn't what I intended."
Dapper didn't respond. If she knew the truth, that he wasn't the real Dapper, just a lecherous thief occupying the body, she might not be so soft with her words. Unaware to her, he had also been eyeing the jewelry on the dressing mirror more than anything else when he walked in.
"You took it the wrong way," she continued. "Maybe I didn't explain myself well. Maybe I was selfish. But I swear... I wasn't trying to hurt you."
She shifted slightly, the silk sliding with a hush against her skin.
"Your parents saved my life, Dapper. I was just a child, running from men sent to kill me— they were rivals of my family who felt I was too young to take over my family's business after my parent's death. I was bleeding, terrified...ran into the slums. And then your parents found me. They didn't hesitate. They took me in."
Ruth's voice trembled as she remembered.
"They kept me hidden. Safe. Fed. For weeks, they put themselves in danger just to protect me. And when the threat finally passed, I made a vow that I would repay them someday."
She looked down.
"Then they died not long after. And you... you were so small. And I had just inherited the family business. I couldn't raise a child. But I couldn't abandon you either. So I pulled strings. Got my butler to bring you to the best orphanage I could find. Paid for your food, your education... everything."
Dapper's brow twitched, his expression hardening.
"I watched from afar at first," she continued. "It was duty. Gratitude. But as you grew... it turned into something else. Something I tried to fight. But I couldn't. When you came of age, I saw the man you became... and I married you. Not out of obligation. But out of want because in the end I am a woman."
She bowed her head deeply.
"I was selfish. I know that. But I never stopped caring. I just... didn't know how to love the right way. I'm sorry, Dapper. I want to fix everything I did wrong."
Dapper stared at her, speechless.
Everything he had seen before in his predecessor's memory, the stories, the warnings about Ruth—painted her as a controlling manipulator. But now... she seemed like a woman who'd been broken and confused, tangled between guilt and desire.
'That's why she was willing to give me half of her property,' he realized. 'There's more to this than I thought.'
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. 'Maybe this life isn't so bad after all.'
But as Ruth looked at him, he wiped the smile from his face and stood up. He crossed the space between them and sat beside her on the bed. Then, gently, he pushed her down onto the soft sheets.
'Let's taste this woman now.'
Just as he leaned in to kiss her, Ruth pressed a finger to his lips.
"Y-You're acting strange," she said, concern flickering in her eyes. "It is like... you've changed. Not that I mind if we have sex together—I want it too—but... you forgot something."
Dapper blinked, realizing that he had been acting suspiciously the whole time. "What?"
"Your awakening ceremony. You haven't gotten your system yet. You turned eighteen and still haven't gone. You skipped it last week, remember? But if you don't do it soon, you'll—"
Her words froze him.
A sudden rush of memories slammed into Dapper's mind. In this world, everyone received a system at eighteen. If not awakened within one month... they died.
And he had less than a week left.
'Stupid predecessor! What the hell were you thinking?!' Dapper screamed inwardly, panic twisting in his gut.