Although she felt an inexplicably intense sense of danger coming from her beloved Elysia, for Lunelle to say she wasn't enjoying being held tightly in her dear wife's arms—well, that would be a lie.
In fact, Lunelle was more than happy to take every bit of advantage she could get.
Hehehe, my darling Elysia… so beautiful, so sweet…
What Lunelle didn't realize, however, was that while she thought she was scoring a big win, the gaze Elysia was directing at the girl trapped in her embrace was burning with intensity.
Especially the overly vivid pink "❤" shimmering deep in her eyes—even from a distance, it felt like it could scald you just by looking!
If little Seele ever became aware of this terrifying possessiveness aimed at her, Elysia herself didn't dare imagine what she might do to the girl once she truly let the desire in her heart run wild.
Like right now, for instance—just by holding this adorable little Seele in her arms, Elysia felt her heart doing somersaults, practically short-circuiting with emotion.
Hehehe, Seele, my adorable little Seele… how can you be this cute?!
Thankfully, even though Lunelle had been subjected to an abrupt, face-full experience courtesy of her dear Elysia, she had strictly followed her survival instincts.
She never once tried to lift her head and break through that delicate "window paper." In the end, she didn't give Elysia a chance to go "completely crazy."
After all, this was "for the future of human civilization," wasn't it?
So Lunelle could clearly sense Elysia's initially uneven breathing gradually calm down over time.
It wasn't until that excessively fervent "❤" in Elysia's eyes completely faded and cooled that Lunelle—who had nearly been smothered into a daze—finally regained the right to breathe freely.
Having made such tangible, close-progress with her beloved Elysia, and completely unaware that she'd only narrowly preserved her… well, her simulated virtue through sheer luck, Lunelle still felt a bit unsatisfied, wishing it could've lasted longer.
Elysia was, after all, the wife Lunelle coveted second only to her own great wife, Dark Seele.
But even though being snuggled by Elysia had felt pretty darn good, thanks to the lingering aftereffects of the earlier "beating" her consciousness had taken from Dark Seele, Lunelle soon found she didn't have the mental energy to dwell on much else.
With the dizziness in her head growing stronger, all Lunelle wanted now was to find a quiet place to rest and recover.
"Mmm… Elysia-oneechan… I… I really don't feel so well. Can we go now?"
"Mhm~ Of course we can."
"Though I know little Seele probably wants to find a place to rest quickly, we really should report to the Australia branch first. After that, we'll have time to take you somewhere to rest. So, could you hold on just a little longer for me?"
Having temporarily suppressed the terrifying urges deep within, Elysia allowed little Seele to look up at her again, resuming her usual lively, adorable maiden demeanor.
But to prevent another loss of control, Elysia didn't dare press the little cutie tightly against her chest for another round of intense cuddling like before.
Instead, she restrained herself, merely supporting the unsteady girl gently through her clothes as the two slowly exited the aircraft.
Fortunately, Elysia and Seele were on an official Fire Moth express flight.
So even though the two had lingered onboard for quite a while, and were technically late, no one dared make any snide remarks about Lunelle in front of Elysia, the organization's ace warrior—nor did anyone ask whether something… untoward might have happened during their delay.
Her mind still foggy, little Seele only vaguely registered being ushered off the plane and quickly tucked into a vehicle.
If she guessed right, Fire Moth was in a hurry to escort her to their Australian branch.
Still woozy, and led the whole way by her dear Elysia, Lunelle soon completed the handover procedures at the branch.
Finally, she could lie down on the small bed in the dorm room [cell] Fire Moth had arranged for her and recover her rather rough mental state.
The only regret was that after the earlier hug, her dear Elysia had returned to keeping a deliberate distance, just like at the start.
Lunelle could only sigh helplessly.
Bound by the simulator's strict "no lewdness" rule, she couldn't actively flirt with her beloved Elysia.
And it wasn't just a recent thing—Elysia had been keeping her at arm's length like this for a while now.
That's why Elysia's sudden, intimate hug earlier had come as such a surprise and delight.
But after that brief joy, Lunelle couldn't help but recall another of her wives—the Snake—who was always so proactive toward her.
Just thinking about how her Snake wife would abuse her authority even during work hours, insisting Lunelle use her lap as an office chair… now that was what you called initiative!
The difference between wives really showed, didn't it?
If Lunelle weren't so clear about Elysia's genuinely consistent nature, she might have started wondering if Elysia was trying to… manipulate her somehow.
But precisely because she knew Elysia was true to herself, seeing Elysia deliberately create distance—even seeming reluctant to look her way—always left Lunelle feeling a little hurt.
Didn't that mean her dear Elysia truly didn't want too much contact with her?
As for the truth—that Elysia might actually like her, even love her so much she feared losing control and genuinely… going too far—well, Lunelle, who deep down felt she wasn't quite "worthy" of Elysia, naturally didn't dare entertain such a "self-important" idea.
It was like a star-struck fan who shouts "wife!" at their favorite idol every day—how could they ever imagine that the idol might genuinely like them back from the bottom of her heart?
Speaking of idols, as Lunelle drifted into a hazy sleep, she had no idea that her seemingly unloved, humble self actually had quite a number of fans within the simulation!
Before being taken into custody by Fire Moth, Lunelle had, after all, made her living as a writer—a talented one at that. [Her identity as a young girl hadn't been exposed at the time.]
And because "Seele's" writing was exceptionally skilled, anyone who got into her books instantly became a die-hard fan.
During her time in Fire Moth custody, even though Lunelle had, in a way, started "eating official rations" and no longer needed to worry about basic necessities, she still instinctively set aside time amidst her studies to keep her novels updated.
However, due to her identity as a Herrscher, she couldn't personally submit manuscripts like before.
Even if she tried to have someone else deliver them, the moment her manuscript pages reached Fire Moth's hands, they were immediately treated as hazardous materials and quarantined.
After all, they were items that had been in contact with a Herrscher—who could guarantee these pages weren't dangerous objects that could kill on touch?
Fortunately, while Lunelle's original manuscripts couldn't be sent out, her good wife Elysia faithfully transcribed the contents each time, copying them out by hand.
Though Elysia was, in essence, also a Herrscher, her identity hadn't been exposed.
Through Elysia's covert help, Lunelle's serialized novels were still being published even after nearly a year and a half of confinement!
Lunelle, who had long given up hope that her novels would continue, was completely unaware that during her custody, her works had accidentally—and rather famously—taken off.
The reason for this sudden fame?
One of her loyal readers had turned out to be a "slightly" influential "big shot"!
In a way, this strange surge in popularity was also due to a small oversight on Elysia's part.
It happened right after Elysia finished transcribing the latest manuscript.
Before she could arrange for its submission, her dear friend Eden happened to drop by Fire Moth for a visit.
Naturally, Elysia was delighted and gladly welcomed her.
During their long-overdue tea gathering, believing good things should be shared, Elysia decided to show her good friend Eden the works of her adorable little Seele…
…her novels, that is!
Even setting aside the "love is blind" filter, the quality of "Seele's" early works was exceptionally high.
And after accumulating a doctorate's worth of knowledge, little Seele's writing had ascended to a truly formidable level.
What had once been a somewhat literary, slice-of-life style had evolved into a masterpiece—a veritable work of art!
That's why Elysia felt confident recommending a "novel"—something often considered rather lowbrow—to Eden, who usually favored more "refined" high art.
When Miss Eden first heard Elysia wanted her to review a "novel," her reaction was like most people's: she thought such works, hardly fitting for dignified appreciation, weren't really worth looking into.
But out of respect for Elysia, she figured she'd skim two or three pages and offer some polite, neutral comments—that would be enough.
However, once the usually composed Miss Eden started reading, she first noticed, with some surprise, that the novel felt unexpectedly comfortable to read.
After two or three pages, she found the prose smooth and the logic coherent—worthy of a few more glances.
After seven or eight pages, she realized the plot development was quite gripping—worth finishing this subplot.
After a dozen or so pages, she observed the careful word choice and well-rounded characterizations, and a particularly intriguing character had just appeared, making her curious to read further.
After several dozen pages…
Miss Eden soon reached a minor climax in the story. Engrossed, she instinctively tried to turn to the next page—
…only to find she'd already finished all the manuscript pages Elysia had given her.
"Huh? It's over!?"
The ever-graceful, noble Miss Eden showed a flicker of astonishment.
She had just lost herself in this unexpectedly refined and sophisticated literary world, but the abrupt cliffhanger left her feeling strangely unsettled and burning with curiosity about what came next.
Though the handwriting bore rather obvious traces of "Elysia," somewhat diminishing its artistic flair, even by the stringent standards of Eden—a true top-tier artist of the Previous Era—she had to admit: even accounting for the less-than-artistic penmanship, if the quality remained this high, this novel could undoubtedly be considered a high-grade "work of art" in the literary field.
Having reached this judgment, Eden, only now realizing her throat was dry, picked up her teacup and took a sip of black tea.
But the moment she registered the clearly cooled temperature of the tea, her hand stilled slightly.
Did I really get so distracted during a tea gathering with a friend? How improper.
"Elysia? Did you write this novel? Um… are there… any more drafts?"
Eden, itching with curiosity after that cliffhanger, naturally wouldn't start cursing about "cliffhanger dogs" or the like.
With her genuine, top-tier grace as an artist and international star, she wouldn't utter a single crude word!
But she couldn't help hoping that through her good friend Elysia, she might find a way to… encourage faster updates.
After all, she truly wanted to know what happened next—and who the author behind such artistry was.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.