"Who... are you? Where is this place...?"
Blinking her large eyes, March asked with innocent curiosity, her voice soft and sweet, carrying no trace of vigilance.
Due to her limited angle of view, March had not yet noticed Himeko 'working hard' beneath his crotch.
However, Lucian's suddenly stiffened back, along with the sharp sound of him sucking in a breath, instantly froze the atmosphere, causing the entire room to fall into an almost suffocating silence.
Terrified out of her wits, Himeko abruptly pulled her head back, but because the movement was far too large, she accidentally bumped into Lucian's knee in her panic.
"Mm!"
Himeko winced in pain, yet she did not dare cry out loud and could only let out a muffled whimper.
Her cheeks burned a deep crimson as embarrassment overwhelmed her, making her wish she could dig a crack in the floor with her toes and crawl into it just to escape this unbearably awkward room.
Fortunately, Lucian reacted with astonishing speed.
Pretending to remain completely calm, he subtly shifted his body to block March's view as much as possible before speaking in an even, unhurried tone, as though nothing unusual had happened.
"You're awake? How do you feel? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
As he spoke, Lucian lightly pressed a hand against Himeko's head, gently signaling for her to continue and not panic, silently reassuring her that everything was still under control.
March seemed to have only briefly regained consciousness, and her mind was still extremely hazy as she stared blankly at Lucian's back for a moment, blinked again, tilted her little head in confusion, and before long, her eyelids gradually began to droop once more.
"So sleepy... so dark... who are... you..."
Before March could finish speaking, her head slowly tilted to one side, and she drifted back to sleep once more, her breathing soon becoming steady, gentle, and rhythmic, as though she had never awakened at all.
Lucian and Himeko immediately let out sighs of relief at exactly the same time.
However, although the immediate crisis had passed, the atmosphere between the two of them had completely changed.
Lucian lowered his head and looked at Himeko, whose beautiful face was filled with embarrassment, indignation, and lingering panic.
"Alright, the crisis is over... wanna keep going?"
A mischievous smile slowly curled across his lips as Lucian leaned down and whispered teasingly into her ear.
Himeko slowly raised her head, her beautiful golden eyes glistening with moisture as she stared at him in disbelief.
"Continue? We almost got caught!"
Both embarrassed and annoyed, Himeko shot him a reproachful glare before silently mouthing her protest, not daring to raise her voice for fear of waking March again.
"Didn't she fall asleep again? It's fine."
Lucian appeared completely unconcerned, as though what had just happened was nothing worth worrying about.
"Don't quit halfway, Himeko."
As he spoke, the way Lucian gently called Himeko's name carried an especially soft, intimate, and teasing tone, making it almost impossible for her to maintain her resolve.
As a result, Himeko's body gradually softened beneath his teasing, and the determination she had struggled to maintain rapidly weakened. Even though the embarrassment remained, it was no longer enough to completely suppress the emotions quietly welling up within her.
Now that she thought about it carefully, it actually hadn't felt bad at all.
On the contrary, despite how shameful it was, Lucian genuinely seemed to enjoy it, and seeing the anticipation in his eyes made it unexpectedly difficult for her to refuse him outright.
Blushing furiously until even the tips of her ears turned red, Himeko glared at Lucian once more in mock annoyance before finally letting out a quiet, resigned sigh and giving in.
Satisfied, Lucian comfortably leaned back against the headboard of the bed and casually took another sip of the coffee that had already gone lukewarm.
'Mm... the slight bitterness of the lukewarm coffee, mixed with Himeko's warm mouth, really had a flavor all its own... a combo unlike anything else.'
===
A long while later, Himeko finally fled Lucian's room in a rather disheveled state, her face still flushed a deep crimson as the door quietly slid shut behind her.
Needless to say, this experience had been a complete first in her life, and strangely enough, it had truly been a thrilling experience, so much so that even now, her heart was still pounding excitedly inside her chest, refusing to calm down.
Every time she recalled the shameless things she had done with Lucian beside a sleeping girl, the heat on her face seemed to intensify, and she could not help but feel both embarrassed and inexplicably delighted at the same time.
Fortunately, Lucian had been happy, and seeing him genuinely happy had made her happy as well, causing the lingering embarrassment in her heart to gradually be overshadowed by a quiet sense of satisfaction.
'If this can make him happy... it actually seems pretty simple...'
Himeko felt as though she had finally uncovered the secret.
Evidently, Lucian really was susceptible to that sort of thing, which was, honestly, only natural.
After all, for Lucian, seeing his beloved willingly put forth so much effort for his sake, carefully considering his feelings and doing everything she could to make him happy, how could he possibly not feel happy in return?
===
Only after cleaning up the remaining traces of what he had done with Himeko did Lucian turn his attention back to March and carefully check her breathing once again.
It was steady and rhythmic, and nothing appeared to be wrong.
However, when Lucian reached out and touched the pulse at March's neck, he immediately discovered a strange force resisting his touch. Before he could examine it further, a thin layer of ice suddenly spread outward from her body, instantly freezing the tips of his fingers.
'Hm? Is this some kinda self-defense mechanism? Or... is Evernight causing trouble?'
As that thought crossed his mind, the corners of Lucian's lips slowly curled into a faint smile before he deliberately pressed his entire palm against March's smooth collarbone.
As expected, the ice rapidly spread over his hand before stopping there, refusing to advance any farther.
Evidently, it seemed to be issuing a silent warning, telling him not to touch March's body any further.
'Alright. I'll play with you.'
Lucian's competitive spirit was immediately stirred.
Originally, he had not intended to investigate March's secrets, considering that Himeko was the current script's protagonist. Besides, Evernight was definitely not one of the script's completion conditions.
Nonetheless, after hearing Evernight's response, he became genuinely interested and intended to find out just how fierce and troublesome March's other personality really was.
"Evernight, come out and see me."
Lucian calmly called out toward the sleeping March, his voice remaining perfectly composed, but there was no response whatsoever.
In the end, he reached out to touch March once again, only for the icy frost to immediately reappear and freeze his hand again.
However, this layer of ice was clearly different from the previous mass of mysterious ice, as he could melt it away with barely any effort.
"Alright, I don't mind using a different way... to wake you up."
Lucian spoke just as calmly as before while slowly lowering his fingertip until it hovered above March's soft pink lips, a subtle hint of threat gradually entering his otherwise tranquil tone.
Yet there was still no response.
In the next moment, his fingertip continued downward at an unhurried pace, lightly tracing the air above her slender neck and exquisite collarbone before finally stopping above the gently rising and falling chest of the sleeping girl.
At that instant, a playful yet dangerous smile appeared in Lucian's eyes as his finger continued moving even lower.
"If you still won't come out... I'm gonna take your virginity."
Just as his fingertip moved farther downward and was about to reach her crotch, March suddenly opened her eyes!
At this moment, the clear and innocent pink-blue eyes from before had completely disappeared. In their place was a pair of cold crimson eyes overflowing with violence, hostility, and intense vigilance, as though they belonged to an entirely different person.
"Get away from me!"
As she exclaimed, she reacted like lightning.
*Whoosh!*
Her long, jade-like leg shot upward with explosive force, carrying a fierce gust of wind as it kicked straight toward Lucian's chest without the slightest hesitation.
Lucian could clearly see that the power behind the kick far exceeded that of an ordinary person, yet he appeared to have anticipated her attack from the very beginning.
*Thud!*
He raised an arm and accurately caught her slender ankle, the tremendous force behind the kick vanishing into his grasp like a stone sinking into the sea, instantly neutralized without causing even the slightest ripple.
"Evernight? I really had to threaten her before you'd finally listen, huh?"
Holding her ankle and feeling the smooth skin beneath his fingers, along with the icy chill radiating from it, Lucian spoke with a faint, knowing smile.
Just as he had expected, threatening March's life or innocence would cause someone else to log in and take over.
Needless to say, Evernight could be considered March's other account.
Under normal circumstances, Evernight would never appear, and it was almost impossible for anyone to even notice her existence. Only under special circumstances, when March herself was placed in genuine danger, would she switch accounts and emerge to protect her.
If he had not known the original story, he would never have discovered her existence either.
In the Amphoreus storyline, Evernight had only appeared when March was facing imminent death and had fallen into complete despair. If he remembered correctly, she had intended to format everything in Amphoreus and restart everything from the very beginning, a decision that had thoroughly enraged Lygus.
Of course, that was a story for another time.
"You filthy scumbag driven by nothing but lust! You're playing with fire!"
Realizing that her first strike had failed and that she had been subdued with ease before she could even react, the crimson light within Evernight's eyes intensified as she glared at Lucian and angrily cursed at him.
At this moment, she was both shocked and furious.
How did this shameless pervert know she existed?
And how did he know exactly how to force her out?
It was as though he could read her mind, seeing through every one of her thoughts and intentions.
Faced with Evernight's furious insult, Lucian remained completely unconcerned, the faint smile on his face never wavering in the slightest.
"So what? You gonna burn me to death or something?"
Hearing his nonchalant words, Evernight wanted to continue attacking, but her body felt somewhat stiff and unresponsive. Having remained sealed within the Six-Phased Ice for far too long, March's body had yet to fully recover, leaving her unable to unleash her full strength.
In the end, Evernight could only glare at Lucian.
"Don't hurt her, or else—"
Before she could finish speaking, Lucian's eyes suddenly turned ice-cold as his other hand shot forward like lightning, seizing Evernight by the throat and instantly cutting off the rest of her threat.
"It's best not to threaten me."
Lucian's fingers tightened ever so slightly around Evernight's slender neck as he spoke in an icy, oppressive tone that left no room for negotiation.
"Otherwise... I can't guarantee you'll be able to keep staying peacefully inside her body and protecting her."
Evernight struggled to breathe under his grip, instinctively trying to pry his hand away. However, no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free in the slightest. It was as though the hand around her throat was an immovable iron shackle, firmly suppressing all of her strength.
In an instant, shock filled her heart.
'How can he suppress me?'
One should know that even without fully recovering, she still possessed power at the level of an Emanator. Yet despite that overwhelming strength, she had been captured with effortless ease and rendered utterly unable to resist.
Among the several possibilities she could think of, there was only one explanation: the perverted man standing before her was even stronger than she was.
If that were the case, she had no doubt that if she continued to resist, March would inevitably end up suffering greatly.
Evernight did not dare to gamble with March's safety.
"Speak... Why were you so determined to see me?"
Evernight questioned Lucian, her crimson eyes remaining as cold and sharp as ever despite the hand gripping her throat.
It was obvious from her calm and composed reaction, even in such a disadvantageous situation, that she belonged to someone who had long since walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
"You froze me with your ice... shouldn't you come out and apologize?"
Lucian answered calmly, his expression remaining completely indifferent.
"...?"
Evernight froze for a moment.
'Huh, that's it? He went through all that trouble just to get an apology?'
Originally, she had assumed he was like those people from the Garden of Recollection, the type who were always obsessed with uncovering secrets and digging into the truth behind everything.
"Who told you to touch my body? You deserved it."
"Your body? Hahaha..." Lucian let out a teasing laugh. "Don't be delusional. It belongs to March 7th—the only girl I recognize."
At that claim, Evernight let out a cold sneer, her eyes filled with disdain.
"Heh, what's hers is mine too. If you've got the ability, separate us then."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones]
[Support and get early access to upcoming chapters at: patreon.com/VALRRR]