Chapter 82: Of Cloth, Kingdoms, and Uncrossable Lines (Elyn Isn’t Into Women)
Chapter 82: Of Cloth, Kingdoms, and Uncrossable Lines (Elyn Isn’t Into Women)
Elyn’s POV
Vaelory gasped in shock. The sound filled the office.
Her hand flew to her chest as though Seraphielle had physically struck her.
"That—!" Vaelory exclaimed, her voice shaking with outrage. "How dare you?"
Seraphielle blinked.
Once.
Then again, slower this time, as though she hadn’t expected Vaelory to react like that at all.
Well, I would have said I didn’t expect Vaelory to react that way either—especially because Seraphielle was a demon—but then Seraphielle had insulted her dress from Aelthryn, so... yeah, it was expected.
Morthen, who had been standing there like a stone statue—sometimes I wondered if perhaps he and Marrok should switch places—shifted.
His head turned slightly toward Vaelory, his expression sharpening, like he too could not believe that Vaelory had reacted that way.
"Did you just question me?" Seraphielle asked her. "Rather rudely too?"
"Pardon me, my lady," Vaelory told her. "But I cannot stand here while you insult everything about my people."
"A dress signifies everything about your people?" Seraphielle asked.
Vaelory straightened her posture, spine stiff with pride, as she nodded.
"This dress," she said sharply, gesturing down at herself, "is made from the greatest material produced in all of Aelthryndivoryssalindria. It is a maid dress that every high-ranking maid wears in Aelthryndivoryssalindria. And the king makes sure it is of the finest material."
"So you’re telling me that this," Seraphielle gestured toward the dress like she was having difficulty understanding what Vaelory had just told her, "is the best material your kingdom could come up with?"
"It is the best you will ever see," Vaelory told her, beaming with pride.
At this point, I wanted to hide behind a wall and tell Vaelory to stop talking. That material was only broadcast as one of the finest materials in Aelthryn—but it wasn’t. It was one of the worst, and the best had been reserved for my father, sewing dresses that would compete with his bulging stomach.
"The whole thing looks cumbersome. The material itself looks like it’ll be itchy," Seraphielle said to her.
"It’s not very itchy," Vaelory said, scratching her hand.
Well... she just debunked her statement with that action.
"What kingdom is even Aetl—"
"Aelthryndivoryssalindria," Vaelory corrected.
"Right, that. Where is that? Are you trying to play a joke on me?" Seraphielle asked her.
"I’m not joking. Aelthryndivoryssalindria is the greatest kingdom to ever exist."
Seraphielle let out a soft, amused breath.
"The greatest kingdom to ever exist? One that none of us know about—or do you know about it, Morthen?"
Morthen shook his head. "No, I do not. I know of the three great human kingdoms, but none by the name of Aet... whatever it is she said."
Vaelory clicked her tongue. I knew that sound. She was not impressed at all.
"Of course demons wouldn’t know of it," she said with a sniff. "Ignorance suits you all after all."
That earned her a brief, dangerous look from Seraphielle—but Vaelory pressed on, emboldened now.
"We," Vaelory continued, lifting her chin, "come from Aelthryndivoryssalindria. Her Highness and I."
She gestured toward me with an open palm.
Every eye in the room shifted to me.
Seraphielle’s gaze lingered longer this time, slow and deliberate, as though reassessing something she thought she already understood. Then she looked back at Vaelory, unimpressed.
"And do people from... Aelt-whatever-you-said," she drawled, "all dress the same way you do?"
"Yes," Vaelory replied without hesitation. "This attire represents our culture."
Seraphielle scoffed at that.
"Then your culture," she said plainly, "is trash."
The words hit Vaelory like a slap, while I gave a small nod because it was the truth. The culture in Aelthryn was trash, and it was misogynistic to the core.
Vaelory’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, knuckles whitening, but she didn’t step back. If anything, she stood firmer.
Seraphielle turned her attention away from her then—back to me.
Her eyes traced me slowly, from the cut of my clothing to the way it hugged my form, the materials darker, richer, more aligned with demon fashion than anything human.
Then she glanced back at Vaelory.
"If you’re from the same place," Seraphielle asked idly, "why does the queen have better fashion taste?"
Vaelory inhaled sharply through her nose.
"Because Her Highness chooses to dress this way," she said coolly. "Her clothing reflects her preference, not the limits of her birthplace."
Seraphielle hummed.
"A good choice," she said with a nod.
I know.
Seraphielle then turned her attention to me, having dismissed the conversation she had been having with Vaelory like it didn’t matter anymore.
"You see," she said softly, "this is why I am attracted to you."
I stiffened.
"You dress like us," she continued. "You move like us. Even your energy..." She inhaled slowly. "It resonates with the demon realm."
Her gaze burned into mine.
"You look like one of us," she said. "You belong here. I’m sure your dressing like us was a sign that you belong with us—and right next to me, or maybe on top or under me," she said with a smirk.
"You’re perfect with demons, my queen," she told me.
I crossed my arms immediately, grounding myself as I gave her a disgusted look.
"No," I said flatly.
Her brows lifted slightly.
"Even if," I continued evenly, "I did fit in with demons—which is highly debatable—I am still not going to let you have a taste of me. Nor am I going to be over you or under you."
"I don’t mind being the one over you—"
I gave her a sharp look, and she shut up immediately, though she made a move filled with excitement, like the look I gave her was doing things for her libido.
"Seraphielle, there’s something you need to understand," I told her.
"What is it?" she asked me.
I gave her a look and made sure my voice was calm and level so she would not get other ideas. "I am not attracted to you. I am not attracted to women at all."
She nodded. "Well... that doesn’t matter, my queen," she said as she stood up from the chair. "How about we just explore everything together? I can show you what it means to like not just a woman, but a demon woman. What do you say?"