Chapter 152: Possession
Kael gave her a confused look and asked honestly, "Huh? See what exactly?"
She blinked once before touching her temple lightly, 'Ah, right… I keep forgetting that he truly doesn't know anything. How careless of me.'
Tilting her head just a little, her voice softened into something calmer as she spoke again, "Nothing. But… how much longer do you intend to lie there like that?"
He remained silent for a moment, then a slow grin spread across his face as he spoke in a deliberately dramatic tone, "Not much. Well, since earlier you sounded so confident while saying I wouldn't be able to see anything anyway, why don't you grant me the privilege of witnessing those sacred things, hmm? That way you can prove your statement, and you would not lose anything either. Sounds fair, doesn't it?"
Seraphina clenched her fists at her sides, fixing him with a murderous gaze as her thoughts churned violently, 'Forget it... I am quite sure by now that this bastard knows everything there is to know, yet he keeps acting like he is completely clueless. I am already having a hard time maintaining my composure, and now he pushes even further. And he did not even seem surprised earlier, or could it be that he truly did not notice anything at all? What an idiot.'
Taking a slow breath, she spoke flatly, "I don't want to."
He tilted his head a little further before sighing deeply, "Are you perhaps afraid that I might actually manage to see them, by any chance? You're not, are you?"
Seraphina froze for a brief moment, genuine disbelief flickering across her face as she asked in a cold tone, "Them? What exactly are you pointing at?"
Kael was slightly taken aback by the sudden question, his thoughts spiraling as doubt crept in. Did she truly not understand what he meant, or was she deliberately testing his intentions to corner him? Which one was it really?
Before he could even make a proper guess, something lightly struck against his shoulder, prompting him to look upward, only to meet two blue, gleaming eyes that looked sharp enough to pierce him at any moment, causing a faint shiver to run down his spine before he could stop it.
Of course, he still said nothing at all, because there was absolutely no way he was going to reveal his dream to her this early, otherwise she might end up hanging him from the ceiling or doing something even worse. And if he tried to avoid her questions altogether, she would probably give him a shock at best or a few kicks without holding back.
But nothing really happened.
By some strange stroke of luck, she touched her forehead once again, this time covering her face completely as she let out a quiet breath, "No need to tell me."
'Ah... I really must be out of my mind to think that far ahead already. He still looks like that kind of innocent person... but not entirely. He is so unpredictable sometimes, honestly, it's hard to guess.'
Suddenly, she shifted her gaze toward the window and stared at it for a brief moment, then, noticing something important, her expression subtly changed, after which she leaned forward slightly and extended her hand toward him.
Watching her hand hover just above him, Kael blinked several times in surprise as a strange thought crossed his mind, 'Is she trying to help me get up? How sweet of her! I never thought I would get to experience holding her hand once again.'
With that thought, he slowly extended his hand toward hers, intending to take it without much hesitation. However, just before he could touch her fingers, she slapped his hand away, though the force behind it was not particularly strong.
Kael stared at her in slight disbelief as he asked in a confused tone, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Why did you do that for?"
She leaned forward even more and smiled darkly, her eyes glinting with amusement as she said, "I never offered my hand so that you could stand up by relying on it. Now shut up and... give me five gold coins."
Kael gave her a strange look, clearly unable to process what he had just heard, "Huh?"
She tilted her head slightly, a cold expression appearing on her face as she repeated herself, "I said… give me five gold coins. Are you even listening to me?"
He raised an eyebrow, clearly annoyed, "Why? Why should I give you any money? Are you a beggar or what?"
She remained silent for a brief moment before lifting her hand and pointing toward the window, "You tore apart that curtain over there for no reason at all... and that thing costs at least five gold coins. You have to repay the loss. Those items do not come for free. I have to spend quite a lot on these things, you know. Now then, what are you waiting for?"
He turned his head toward the curtain that was hanging on the wall in complete disarray, its upper part clearly torn apart from the rest, which made him pause in slight disbelief. Who would have thought his wish would come true before he even had the chance to properly wish for it?
'I mean... I did want to tear it apart... but damn, not like this.'
He then forced out an awkward smile and spoke in a rather strange voice, "Hey, who asks gold from her husband over something so trivial? You have really become stingy these days, it seems. Anyway, I think I can fix it somehow, so I am not giving you any gold."
She shot him a dark look as she straightened her posture once again and spoke in an even colder tone, "I see. Then I will simply deduct it from the gold I gave you to spend. But if I do that... then it will be multiplied several times, something like fifty gold or so."
Hearing that, Kael sat up abruptly, then hurriedly searched through his pocket until he found a small pouch, which he threw toward her. Though just before doing so, a strange expression appeared on his face, "Here, take it. That is all I have right now."
'Ah, I am broke once again...' he thought bitterly.
Catching the pouch with ease, she spoke in a cold tone, "I'll overlook it this time. Make sure you don't damage anything in the house again, or you'll have to pay an even higher price."
'Overlook it, my ass? You took everything I had and called it mercy. Wait... that doesn't even make sense... because that money was originally hers, which I was using anyway, meaning she simply took back what belonged to her. Then what was the point of all this? She would have to give it back to me sooner or later. Huh? Right? I think I get it now... she... she was joking with me again. She actually dared to do that to me?'
Kael turned toward her and scratched the back of his neck, preparing to complain, "You sure are—"
The moment his eyes landed on her properly, his words died in his throat as he froze completely, his lips parting in pure disbelief, "Are? W-what the hell? Why are you wearing that? Could it be that I am dreaming?"
He pinched his cheeks hard enough to hurt, yet the scene before his eyes did not disappear at all, proving that this was not a dream in any sense, but something undeniably real.
But why did his nose suddenly feel slightly strange and warm at the same time? Wait… was he… was he actually about to get a nosebleed just by watching her like this?
Why would that even be surprising, though?
Just a little ahead of him, standing there with calm confidence, was his wife, her beautiful silver hair flowing down behind her like a silky silver waterfall, and the gleaming Love Blossom resting against it only made the sight more breathtaking. Her mesmerizing cold blue eyes seemed as if they were ready to pierce straight through his heart at any given moment. However, there was something undeniably different about her this time, something that immediately caught his attention.
She was not wearing her usual elegant gowns. Instead, she was clad in a black dress paired with a white apron layered neatly above it… a maid outfit. Not the common kind with short skirts worn by tavern maids like Eska or guild receptionists like Celeste or even ordinary household maids, but rather the old-fashioned type he had seen worn by the head maids in her estate, long and proper, modest and traditional... a maid outfit nonetheless.
'It makes sense… she prefers long and thick dresses that reveal nothing at all. But why is she wearing something like this now? Is there some sort of occasion I do not know about, or did something happen while I was away?'
That was when he suddenly remembered what Arwyn had told him earlier with that infuriatingly smug tone of hers: "If you stay here any longer, you will miss a scene you might've never imagined could ever come true, so you should go. I worked hard to make it happen, after all."
'So that was what she meant back then… I really am glad I didn't choose to let her die. Thanks to her, I am witnessing something so impossible.'
Seraphina brought her hands together and rubbed them lightly, a small and subtle movement that felt oddly out of place coming from her.
A faint pink hue colored her pale cheeks now that he was finally close enough to notice it clearly, 'I will make you pay me back for this later, Kael… I swear. Still, what exactly is wrong with his reaction? It is not as though it is impossible that I would wear something like this.'
He did notice her strange behavior, subtle yet impossible to ignore once seen. She had always been noble, confident, and dignified to the core, so wearing something like this had to be uncomfortable to her, or at the very least it must have dealt a blow to her pride. Had Arwyn forced her into doing this somehow? Just how much influence did that woman have over his wife to make something like this even possible?
He brushed his hand against his nose cautiously. Thankfully, it seemed he was not suffering from a nosebleed just yet.
Pushing aside those pointless thoughts, he stood up quickly, albeit awkwardly, knowing full well that she would not be helping him anytime soon, not that he wanted her help anymore.
As he stepped forward, his eyes wandered briefly and he noticed a long box placed behind her, something he distinctly remembered seeing her carry around before without ever knowing what was inside it.
'Now that I think about it, why is this still not opened? I am pretty sure I saw her with it almost a month ago.'
Stopping right in front of her, he leaned forward slightly and let out a chuckle, dragging out his words far more than necessary as he spoke, "Um… so what's the sudden occasion behind this rather dramatic change of heart, huh? Someone like you wearing such a strange outfit of all things was definitely unexpected, to say the least. Surely there must be something to gain from it, right? So why wear it, hmm? Tell me… dear. Is it perhaps meant for me?"
'I have to tell him something… anything. But what?' she thought, irritation clearly surfacing in her mind.
Seraphina met his eyes and held his gaze with an intense stare, remaining silent for a brief moment before finally speaking in a calm and controlled tone, "No, it has nothing to do with you. I merely lost a bet with Arwyn. Since she can observe us, I had no choice but to wear what she ordered me to. That is all."
Kael studied her expression carefully, finding it far more unreadable than usual and strangely stiff. He raised a finger and pointed it toward her face, waving it playfully in front of her as his grin widened, "A bet, you say. Are you sure you are not lying, dear? Because this beautiful face of yours is clearly telling me that you wore it solely to impress me. Just… for… me. How thoughtful of you, honey."
Seraphina caught his hand mid-motion and pushed it aside, fixing him with a long and sharp look as her annoyance became unmistakable, "Tch… as if I would ever do something like that for you, you idiot. Keep dreaming as much as you like."
Feeling her soft and warm fingers wrapping around his wrist, he let out a quiet chuckle and spoke in an amused tone, "Is that so? Then would you mind telling me… why do I see food has already been served on the table? Oh, of course, I get it now. Those must be leftovers, prepared by mere coincidence only, which is honestly quite tragic."
Seraphina tightened her grip just enough to make him let out a low groan of pain, after which she released a slow sigh filled with clear annoyance, "Stop mimicking me like that."
Leaning slightly forward, he put on an exaggeratedly sorrowful expression that looked almost unnatural, then waved his fingers lazily in front of her as he said, "That is not happening. But don't you feel that something important is missing here? I mean, what meaning does it have when you wear such an exquisite maid outfit and even serve the meal as one would, yet you refuse to truly act the part truthfully? It feels terribly off."
'He is definitely planning something again. Does this guy even understand the concept of stopping?' she thought with clear irritation.
Without releasing his hand, Seraphina tilted her head slightly and looked at him with narrowed eyes, "What do you mean?"
'Even if you wear a maid outfit, I am not someone who would be satisfied so easily, and I want more, and I intend to take more,' he thought as a dark glint passed through his eyes.
Then he tilted his head as well, a wide grin slowly spreading across his face while his eyes gleamed with mischief, "Just look at yourself. Without that outfit, nothing about you has changed at all. No matter how hard I try, I simply cannot imagine you as a maid serving under me, taking care of me, scrubbing my back during a bath, or even feeding me with your own hands. All of it feels impossible to picture since it is you. On top of that, you are still giving me those same cold shoulders, which makes it even harder. So why not make it a little spicier by adding more ingredients, hmm? Since you forced yourself to wear it anyway, you might as well act the part. Otherwise, the impression you wanted to leave does not really come through. You understand what I am saying, right?"
'I think… I may have said far too much this time,' he thought belatedly.
Seraphina fell silent for a moment, her brows slowly furrowing as a cold smile curved her lips, "Ah, so that is how you usually imagine me inside that ridiculous head of yours? How unpleasant, Kael."
She stepped forward until she stood directly in front of him, then tilted her head slightly and continued, "No wonder you start moaning whenever you fall asleep out of nowhere. You bastard…"
Her fingers curled tightly into a fist as she thrust her arm forward at a terrifying speed, her punch aimed straight at his face and carrying enough force to crush every bone in his skull without mercy.
She snarled, "…How dare you think of me in such a perverted way?"
However, at the very last moment, he tilted his head just enough to the side, making her strike miss his jaw by no more than a hair's breadth, her fist cutting through empty air instead.
Even so, the sheer force behind it was unmistakable, strong enough to ruffle his hair slightly as it passed.
Kael let out a low chuckle, his eyes glinting with amusement, "How does it feel, sweetheart? Getting your attack dodged by a weakling like me, and by the very technique you taught me, no less."
Seraphina pulled her hand back and released a cold sigh, clicking her tongue in irritation, "Tsk… I never should have taught you that. You have become far too slippery lately because of that sense."
He fell silent briefly, then spoke in a neutral tone that carried no hint of apology, "You already did it, so there is no point complaining now."
She gave a small nod, her expression returning to its usual calm, "Indeed."
He covered half of his face with his hand and looked upward toward the ceiling as if pondering something deeply, "Anyway, am I really supposed to enjoy you like this? No, no, I refuse to accept that. Why not grant this poor husband a single request, hmm? It would not truly hurt to act like a maid just this once, would it?"
Seraphina touched her chin thoughtfully, her eyes drifting away as she considered his words in silence, before finally answering in a tired voice, "It seems you have no intention of letting this go so easily. Fine, I suppose I can act like one, but only for a moment, understood? And no indecent things are allowed."
'Why does she always assume that I intend to do something indecent?' he wondered inwardly.
He smiled faintly, "That's more than enough."
She was silent for a moment, then crossed her arms over her chest and asked, "So, what do you want me to do?"
A crooked smile slowly crept onto his face as he leaned forward just a little, his posture relaxed yet irritatingly confident, "Nothing much, really. As I mentioned before, just act like a proper maid does and I'm all satisfied."
She raised a brow at him, unimpressed, "And how should I do that?"
He touched his temple and spoke in a strange, almost mocking voice, "You don't even know that. Well, for starters…"
He pointed at himself and continued, "…address me like a maid usually does. Or rather, call me… master."
Seraphina froze where she stood, her mind going blank as his words echoed inside her head again and again, refusing to fade no matter how much she wished them to.
How daring could he be to ask such an insidious thing of her? How was she supposed to call him by such a humiliating name? Master, of all things. Master?
'How shameful!'
Yes, it was true that young maids usually referred to their masters in such a way, and from an outside perspective it sounded like a natural request, yet she was not someone who could simply lower herself to that level. She had pride, and she was not willing to throw it away, especially not for him. If she addressed him like that even once, he would gain the upper hand in this ridiculous battle between them, and worse, he would never stop repeating it in front of her, teasing her endlessly until she lost her mind. How was she supposed to endure that kind of humiliation?
'No, I refuse. I would rather call him honey than that insidious thing. I am not his slave.'
When no response came from her for far too long, Kael began tapping his foot against the marble floor, his impatience growing with each passing second, 'Ugh... does it really take this long to decide something like this? It is not as if I asked her to kneel in front of me or anything, so why is she taking so long, damn it?'
Unable to restrain himself any longer, he extended his hand toward her and grinned, his expression infuriatingly gentle, "Now, now, Sunshine... don't be shy."
Sunshine, really? Was there any nickname left that he had not already used on her? But something felt different today, something she could not quite put into words. Was his voice always like this? Why did it sound so strangely genuine, as if he truly meant it this time?
Whenever he called her by other nicknames before, his tone was always playful and teasing, as though he did it without any deeper reason, and one could tell immediately that he was joking. But now... it felt sincere, almost earnest. Why did he say it that way? What was his reason?
'Curious! I have gathered so many questions about him, but I cannot ask him at this moment. Let me find my answers first, then I will ask you everything, Kael.'
Before she could sort out her thoughts, his voice rang out again, carrying a strange urgency that made her heart skip, "What are you waiting for, huh? Just say it already... I know you can."
No, really, why did he sound so desperate just to hear it from her?
'What should I do?'
Perhaps she had already made her decision, even if she refused to acknowledge it outright. How could she avoid that desperation in his voice when it wrapped itself around her so tightly?
He was the source of all her frustration, and since he refused to stay put, she decided that she would tame him by using that very desperation against him.
Why was she the only one struggling in this strange relationship of theirs? Why was she the only one trying to build something meaningful while he went around flirting so casually with other women?
How could he act so freely while she was haunted by the memory of that witch almost kissing him, a nightmare that refused to leave her mind? How dare he toy with her desires, not that she had any for him.
Then again, he had slept beside her for years, sharing the same bed night after night, so how was it possible that she was the only one facing this turmoil alone?
He was average-looking at best, while she was undeniably beautiful, so wouldn't it make sense that his average face affected her like this, and that her beauty should have made him burn with desire in return? Then why was he not struggling the same way? How could any of this be considered fair?
She had enough of it.
She was no longer willing to let him walk away unscathed. He had to struggle too. No, she would make him struggle from now on. She would drown him in his own desire, until all he could see was her and her alone.
Taking a few slow steps forward, she looked straight at his stupid face, then gently touched his chin, and the sudden intimacy made him give her a startled look as she spoke in a low voice, "You want me to say it, right? Fine, I'll say it. But in return… you have to remember something for the rest of your life, Kael. It's not a request but an obvious order… can you do that for me?"
'What's gotten into her so suddenly?'
Feeling her soft, cold, slender fingers brushing along his jaw, he found himself caught in a strangely intimate situation, then nodded with a faint smile, "You bet I can. So, what is your order, honey?"
She suddenly grabbed his face, slowly curling her fingers against his skin before pulling him closer until his face was right in front of hers, making his breath almost hitch as she demanded in a cold, commanding voice that still carried an oddly sincere tone, "You're mine, Kael. You solely belong to me. Your hair, your chest, your lips… every part of you belongs to me. So, you are not allowed to kiss anyone else. I know I was against it before, but from now on… I forbid you to sleep with anyone else… except me."
---
(Chapter Ended)