Chapter 18: Don’t, Onyxia

“If she were truly unwilling, given her skills as a Dark Elf and our understanding of her strength, she would have at least ten methods to refuse this arrangement.

But she didn’t, did she?”

Onyxia turned her gaze toward Ilyas.

“Sometimes, not refusing… is a form of tacit consent. Especially for matters like this, for people with certain personalities. Our Celia might just need a bit of clear guidance and a logical reason to cross that hurdle in her heart.”

‘Is it really… like that?’

“Of course.”

Onyxia’s answer lacked even a hint of hesitation as she lowered her voice.

“What kind of race are the Dark Elves? Haven’t you seen it in the books? Celia might be special in some ways, but what is in the bloodline does not change. So, don’t overthink it.”

She straightened up, her tone returning to its usual effortless playfulness.

“Go on and change out of the rest of your clothes. I’m heading in first.”

With that, she stopped looking at Ilyas and turned away to continue removing her remaining garments.

Her movements were composed, and the sound of fabric sliding down was exceptionally clear in the quiet Stone House.

Soon, she was completely unclothed.

She casually draped her discarded clothes over the back of a chair and then stepped forward with her long legs, walking straight toward the Hot Spring Pool.

The hot spring water rippled with a *splash* as she stepped in.

She chose a spot neither too close nor too far from Celia and slowly sat down, letting the slightly scalding spring water submerge her shoulders as she let out a satisfied sigh.

Her red hair spread across the surface of the water, and the dense mist blurred the exquisite lines of her collarbones and shoulders.

She didn’t look at Celia immediately; she simply tilted her head back against the pool wall and closed her eyes, appearing as though she truly was just enjoying the comfort of the hot spring.

Ilyas stood where she was, watching Onyxia’s back as she entered the water, then glanced toward Celia, who remained motionless at the furthest edge of the pool.

Onyxia’s words circled in her mind.

‘Could it really be as Onyxia says?’

Finally, she took a deep breath, and with trembling fingers, she began to undo her final layer of restraint.

Her clothes slid off one by one.

The slightly cool air brushed against her exposed skin, making her shiver involuntarily as small goosebumps surfaced.

She wrapped her arms around herself, her cheeks burning hot.

She moved with hesitant steps, entering the Hot Spring Pool as quickly as she could.

The warm current instantly enveloped her, dispelling the chill.

She buried her body deep in the water up to her chin, revealing only her shoulders and collarbones, which were red enough to bleed.

The Stone House fell completely silent, leaving only the natural *gurgle* of the flowing water and the breathing of the three of them, which seemed to melt into the steam.

Celia maintained her initial posture, half-hidden behind the mist like a stone statue trying to dissolve into the hot spring.

The rising white fog blurred her silhouette, yet it could not hide that excessive stillness.

“Celia, you aren’t usually like this,” Onyxia’s voice pierced through the mist, speaking at a leisurely pace.

“Could it be that our Miss Dark Elf is… shy?”

“W-where did you get that idea… It’s, uh, it’s just that this hot spring is too comfortable.”

Onyxia was not convinced by this defense.

Instead, she laughed as if she had heard a particularly amusing answer.

That laughter mingled with the steam, making Celia even more embarrassed.

“Oh? Just the hot spring being too comfortable?”

She repeated, savoring every word.

“Comfortable enough to make our usually unflappable Miss Dark Elf unable to speak properly?”

While speaking, she naturally adjusted her posture, her body unobtrusively moving a bit closer toward Celia’s direction.

Highly tense and with her senses amplified, Celia noticed the moment she made a move.

“Don’t come so close,” Celia’s voice was more hurried than before.

“It will… it will be very hot.”

“Hot?”

Onyxia’s voice trailed off, as if it were a novel word.

Instead of stopping, she walked over even more directly and leaned beside Celia.

“But I feel,” her voice dropped lower, carrying a lingering tone as she breathed almost directly into Celia’s ear, “it’s because it’s hot that I want to be closer to you.”

“Let me feel it too,” Onyxia continued, her gaze falling on Celia’s tightly bitten lower lip and the straight, stiff line of her back visible beneath the water.

“Just how far… your so-called comfort has reached.”

It was too close.

So close that Celia could clearly perceive the heat of the other woman’s body.

‘This can’t continue; I have to get out of here.’

That thought overwhelmed everything else.

Disregarding her attempt to remain calm, she suddenly turned around, bracing her arms against the pool wall to push herself up and escape this dizzying encirclement.

However, while Celia’s movements were fast, Onyxia’s reaction was faster.

Just as Celia’s wrist exerted force to lift her out of the water, a hand reached out with precision from beneath the surface and firmly gripped her wrist!

“!” Celia gasped in shock, but the hand pulled with the momentum.

The sudden tug completely shattered her balance.

Her movements, already hurried from her desperation, instantly deformed.

With no leverage on the smooth bottom of the pool, her center of gravity shifted uncontrollably backward.

Water splashed as her body lost its balance.

Celia didn’t hit the hard edge of the pool as expected; instead, she met a soft warmth.

She had fallen into an embrace.

Onyxia was now leaning steadily against the pool wall, while Celia’s back was pressed tightly against her chest.

The water undulated around them.

What made Celia’s entire body go even stiffer was Onyxia’s hand, which was currently wrapped around her waist, slowly stroking the skin.

Celia’s breath hitched.

A dense sensation of electricity seemed to crawl up her spine and spread through her entire body.

“L-let go of me!”

Celia’s voice trembled.

She instinctively tried to break free, but she was weak all over due to her extreme sensitivity.

Onyxia acted as if she hadn’t heard her.

The arm around her waist tightened slightly, and her fingertips even brushed against the soft flesh of Celia’s side, feeling her toned abdominal muscles with a hint of deliberate provocation.

“D… don’t do this.”

Celia’s voice grew more chaotic.

The body heat coming from behind left her mind in a haze.

Then, Onyxia tilted her head slightly, bringing her moist red lips close to Celia’s pointed ear, which was already a translucent red.

Warm breath brushed against it first, carrying damp steam that made Celia shudder violently.

Then.

A warm, soft sensation gently enveloped her earlobe.

Celia’s breathing stopped abruptly.

It didn’t end there.

Onyxia’s teeth nipped down with moderate pressure.

Then, a bit of wet softness slid over the skin that had just been bitten — it was the tip of her tongue, slowly licking the point of her ear…