Chapter 35: See you tonight
"It’s just that this time, I agree."
Elowen looked at Erik. The distance between them was only a few centimeters. She was still sitting sideways on his lap, both legs pressed together to one side, one arm wound around his neck, the other resting on his broad chest. Through the combat suit, Elowen could feel the strong heartbeat pulsing beneath.
The moment the words "I agree" entered her ears, the last trace of hesitation in her eyes vanished completely.
Elowen leaned down, letting her soft lips touch Erik’s. The first kiss was only very light, like a confirmation. But when Erik’s hand tightened around her waist, pulling their bodies closer, her breathing quickly fell into chaos.
She had waited for this moment far too long.
Not just since the kiss on the fifth floor was interrupted, but from the moment Erik stepped out of that rest room and left her behind alone.
Elowen had watched him stand before the monster pack, watched claws strike the combat suit, and watched him get slammed into a wall. Then the feed had suddenly vanished.
During that time of waiting, her mind had ceaselessly produced the worst possible outcomes. There were moments when she even wanted to activate the Teleportation Talisman, ignore the wound, and go back to find Erik herself, even though she knew she couldn’t re-enter the area he had already passed through.
Now he was right in front of her, his body warm, his breathing steady, his arm still firmly holding her waist.
The fear that had been building inside Elowen finally found a place to pour out.
The kiss quickly grew deeper. She wound both arms around Erik’s neck, practically pressing her entire body against him. Her full chest was squeezed between them, each breath carrying a feeling of tightness, yet Elowen had absolutely no desire to pull back.
Erik’s breath swept across her cheek. The familiar scent of his body blending with a faint trace of blood still on the combat suit made her heart beat even faster.
Elowen broke away from his lips to breathe. But the moment she drew in a single breath, the hand behind Erik’s nape had already unconsciously pulled down again. He didn’t refuse either, and their lips met once more.
A small breath escaped from Elowen’s throat. Her body heated up very quickly, the skin from her neck to both ears turning a faint red. The fingertips behind Erik’s nape trembled slightly, yet held him tighter and tighter.
’Don’t stop.’
That thought nearly consumed her entire mind.
Before, she had always felt that simply finding a man who could accept her would be enough. After seventeen failures, that standard had dropped even lower. As long as the other party didn’t dislike her, was willing to sign a Contract, and occasionally gave her a bit of vital essence so her body wouldn’t be tormented by hunger.
But after truly having Erik, Elowen discovered she couldn’t be as easily satisfied as she’d thought. She wanted him to look at her, wanted him to hold her, wanted to hear him call her name, and wanted this hand to hold her waist forever, just like now.
Right as Elowen had nearly forgotten where she was, the hand on her waist gave a sudden gentle squeeze. Erik separated from her lips and held her shoulder, stopping the Succubus who was unconsciously chasing after him.
"Elowen."
"Mm..."
Her voice was so soft that even she startled. Elowen hurriedly pressed her lips together, but the jade-green eyes veiled with a thin layer of mist along with the flushed face had already given everything away.
Erik looked at her slightly swollen lips and laughed helplessly. "I need to make a trip to the commercial center."
The words landed like a basin of cold water dumped over Elowen’s head.
"Huh?"
"There’s something I need to take care of." Erik reached up and tucked the few strands of silver hair clinging to her cheek behind her ear. "See you tonight."
Elowen sat motionless on his lap. The heat in her body still hadn’t fully faded, yet a sense of loss was already flooding in.
"Right now?"
"Mm."
Erik nodded but didn’t explain further. Elowen’s lips parted slightly, and in her heart there were a great many things she wanted to ask.
Had she been too forward? Did he feel uncomfortable? Had she done something wrong just now?
In the end, she swallowed them all back down.
In this world, if a man wanted to stop, the Succubus naturally had to listen. Even being allowed to take the initiative and kiss your partner was something many Succubi wouldn’t dare dream of. Elowen had heard of more than a few cases where a woman was given the cold shoulder for months simply because she had touched her partner at a time when he wasn’t in the mood.
She didn’t want to become someone who made Erik feel she was a nuisance.
Elowen slowly slid off his lap. "Alright."
Her voice was still very obedient, but the hand that had just left Erik’s neck unconsciously gripped the hem of her dress.
Erik didn’t notice that small change. He only gave her silver hair a gentle pat. "See you tonight."
Elowen nodded. "Mm."
...
Close to an hour later, the garden behind Meira’s villa was quieter than usual.
The evening light had shifted to a pale orange, stretching long tree shadows across the lawn. A few small birds perched on the rooftop, letting out cries now and then before flying to nearby branches.
Elowen sat alone on the long bench beside the pond. She had already changed out of the combat suit into a simple white dress, her silver hair only loosely tied behind her. Both hands rested on her knees, her jade-green eyes staring down at the water’s surface without so much as a blink.
A leaf fell, creating small ripples on the surface. Elowen still didn’t react.
She had replayed the scene in the car at least several dozen times. At first Erik had still been kissing her back, then he was the one who stopped and almost immediately wanted to leave. The more she thought about it, the clearer the unease became.
’Was I too hasty? Or was he just going along with me because he didn’t want to make things awkward?’
Elowen pressed her lips together. Right at that moment, footsteps came from behind.
Sarna had just walked through the corridor when she spotted the familiar figure by the pond. She was still wearing her usual neat black outfit, her long hair tied low behind her back. After watching Elowen for a few seconds, Sarna knitted her brows and walked over.
"What are you doing sitting here?"
Elowen lifted her head. "Nothing."
Sarna looked at the slightly reddened eyes along with the dazed expression. "You’re a terrible liar."
Elowen was silent. Sarna sat down beside her and asked in a low voice: "Did something happen with Erik?"
"No."
"Then something between the two of you?"
This time Elowen didn’t answer right away. Two of her fingers unconsciously twisted around each other. A long while later, her voice came out so small it was nearly swallowed by the wind.
"I think... I made Erik unhappy."
Sarna’s expression immediately turned serious. "What happened?"
Elowen lowered her head. The evening light reflected on the surface of the pond, but in her jade-green eyes there wasn’t a trace of brightness.
"In the car, I kissed him first."
Sarna faltered slightly. A few images from what had happened in a different car immediately surfaced in her mind, making her ears grow warm, but she quickly pushed the feeling down.
"And then?" She looked at the face growing redder and redder, then lowered her voice. "You didn’t just kiss him once, did you?"
Elowen pressed her lips together. "We kissed for quite a while."
Sarna was silent for a few seconds, then asked: "How did Erik react?"
"At first he was still kissing me back." A spark of happiness had just flickered across Elowen’s face before quickly vanishing. "After that he suddenly stopped, said he wanted to go to the commercial center, and that he’d see me tonight."
Sarna knitted her brows. "That’s all?"
"Mm."
"Did he get angry or say you made him uncomfortable?"
Elowen shook her head. Sarna was about to continue when Elowen looked up. Her jade-green eyes were already wet.
"Sarna, was I too forward?"
Sarna was silent.
If this were a different world, perhaps she would say Elowen was overthinking it. But here, that worry wasn’t entirely unfounded.
Sarna had met a great many men. Pampered by the Succubi around them since childhood, accommodated, deferred to, and doted on. A portion of them even viewed a woman touching their body without permission as disrespectful behavior.
"Maybe."
Elowen’s face instantly turned white. Sarna realized she had been too blunt and hurriedly added: "I only said maybe. Erik is very different from them."
"But a man is still a man." Elowen lowered her head.
Sarna thought, then said: "I once heard about a Succubus who, after signing the Contract, was so hungry that on the first night she was more forward than her partner wanted. That man gave her the cold shoulder for four months."
Elowen whipped around. "Four months?"
"Mm." Sarna nodded helplessly. "There’s also someone who lived with her partner for over ten years but was only intimate a few times a year. That woman had money, had a high level, and fought and supported the entire family herself, yet she still had to use Energy Crystals to suppress her hunger because her partner felt the whole thing was too much of a bother."
Elowen’s face grew paler and paler. By that point, Sarna realized her way of comforting seemed to be pushing things in a worse direction.
"But Erik is definitely not like that."
"Right." Elowen nodded without the slightest hesitation. Both hands also clenched on her knees. "He’s very good."
No matter how frightened she was, she would not allow anyone to put Erik in the same category as those men.
Sarna looked at the serious expression on her best friend’s face and broke into a soft laugh. "I know."
She herself knew that better than most. That day, also inside a car, Erik had allowed Sarna to come close, allowed her to touch him, and from beginning to end had never once looked at her with contempt.
Merely recalling a few images made the skin along Sarna’s neck grow warm. She gave a light cough to cover her discomfort, then said: "Perhaps he really did have something he needed to do. But if you’re still worried, tonight when Erik comes back, just apologize to him."
"Apologize?"
"Mm. Tell him clearly that you were too emotional at the time. And that from now on, if he doesn’t give permission, you won’t touch him without asking."
Elowen’s body stiffened slightly. Just the thought of having to keep her distance from Erik in the future, of having to ask permission even before she could hug him, already made something uncomfortable rise inside her.
And yet, Elowen still nodded. "I’ll tell him."
Sarna looked at her. "You’re sure?"
Elowen lowered her gaze to her own hands. A teardrop fell onto the back of her hand, and her voice grew small.
"As long as I can keep him by my side... I’ll do whatever it takes."
The evening breeze blew through the garden, making Elowen’s silver hair sway gently. Before Sarna could think of something comforting to say, Elowen continued:
"I also made him have to fight alone in the Trial."
"Elowen."
"I know Erik said it was fine." She shook her head faintly. "But I’m still scared."
"Scared of what?"
Elowen looked at the surface of the pond, her lips trembling slightly. "Scared that he’ll find out... that actually I’m not as useful as he thinks."
Sarna looked at her best friend for a very long time. She wanted to say that Felyn was only Rank F and Erik had still brought her out. She wanted to point out that Erik clearly didn’t choose the women beside him based on strength alone. But at this moment, no amount of reasoning could erase the fear that had built up inside Elowen.
In the end Sarna only reached out and gently put her arm around her shoulder. "Call Madam."
Elowen was silent for a few seconds, then took out her phone. Her finger hovered over Meira’s name for quite a while. In the end she still pressed call.
...
At the private hospital, Meira was standing beside Felyn’s examination bed when her phone buzzed.
A female Healer was using a magic device to examine the area around Felyn’s eyes. The old bandage had been removed and replaced with a cleaner, thinner sheet of medical cloth.
Meira looked down at the screen.
[Elowen.]
She knitted her brows slightly. "Why is she calling at a time like this?"
Meira stepped aside and answered. "Elowen?"
A few seconds later, the expression on her face gradually changed. The smile vanished, and her green eyes slowly turned cold.
"Say that again."
Elowen’s choked voice came through the phone. Meira raised a hand and rubbed between her brows, listened to everything her daughter had to say, then let out a slow sigh.
"I understand."
Felyn, sitting on the bed, tilted her head slightly. She couldn’t hear the full conversation, but Elowen’s voice coming through the phone was enough to tell the other woman was crying.
Meira turned to look out the window. The evening light had nearly faded, darkness slowly settling over the hospital grounds.
"Alright, stop crying." She paused for a moment, her voice growing more certain. "I’ll handle it."