“Why? Although Senior Hei Shen seems cold, she’s fair in handling matters and should be willing to help.”
Faced with Celes’s somewhat panicked reaction, Aetin was puzzled.
“I… just… don’t want to trouble Senior Hei Shen anymore.”
Celes lowered her head, avoiding Aetin’s gaze, her voice faint and hesitant.
Last time, Hei Shen Akane hadn’t executed her on the spot—that favor had been exchanged by Aetin’s promise and freedom.
She had almost lost him…
This time, if she went to Hei Shen Akane for help again, who knew what terrifying conditions that senior might demand?
She was so scared… scared that Hei Shen Akane would use this chance to completely snatch Aetin away from her…
“If you say so, then let’s think of other ways.”
Aetin looked at Celes, whose expression was clearly contradicting her words but remained stubbornly insistent.
Although he didn’t fully understand what exactly she was worried about, he respected her wishes.
“But you have to promise me, if it ever comes to a desperate and dangerous situation, you must ask for help. Don’t get stuck in your own head or try to be tough and prideful. This is a matter of life and death, understood?”
“Mm, I understand.”
Feeling the concern in Aetin’s voice, Celes obediently nodded.
“The enemy just failed tonight; they probably won’t attack again immediately. Get some rest early. I’ll stay in the living room to keep watch. If anything happens, just shout loudly for me.”
Seeing that Celes had taken it to heart, Aetin finally relaxed a little.
He glanced out at the night sky before standing up, preparing to leave the bedroom.
“Wait!”
This time, Celes didn’t hesitate or silently accept like before.
Almost immediately, she reached out and hugged Aetin tightly from behind, pressing her cheek against his warm back.
Her voice trembled slightly, tinged with subtle dependence.
“Aetin… please don’t go… I—I’m still really scared…”
“Alright, then I’ll do what I did before—bring a chair and sit here with you.”
Feeling the warmth and slight trembling from behind, Aetin stopped in his tracks, helplessly compromising.
He tried to gently pry Celes’s arms off his waist to get the chair.
However, instead of loosening her grip, she held him even tighter.
She buried her burning cheeks deeper into the fabric of Aetin’s back and, in a barely audible voice like a mosquito’s hum, shy but summoning courage, whispered:
“You can… sleep on the bed… sit on the chair… it’s uncomfortable…”
Huh?
Hearing Celes’s quiet but unmistakably suggestive words, Aetin froze, his whole body stiffening instantly.
What kind of invitation was that?
Too straightforward.
His mind momentarily failed to process the sudden information.
At this moment, Ruby flapped her little wings and deliberately circled around Aetin, her tone teasing with a hint of schadenfreude.
[Wow! Didn’t expect our usually cold and shy Celes to have such a surprisingly bold side~]
Now Master, you’re truly caught between a rock and a hard place, aren’t you?
You have no choice but to comply, right?
[Cut the schadenfreude, will you.]
Aetin rolled his eyes inwardly at Ruby’s remark.
Yet, the reality stood right before him: a pitiful girl was hugging him tightly from behind, extending an invitation to “share a bed.”
Suddenly, Aetin felt his heartbeat uncontrollably accelerate, unsure how to respond.
Sharing a bed between a boy and a girl… this was clearly far beyond just good friends.
Seeing Aetin hesitate for a long time without reply, Celes couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
A surge of anxiety and shame washed over her, her cheeks flushing a deep red as if bleeding, and uncontrollable wild thoughts began swirling in her mind.
Did Aetin dislike her now?
Think she was too frivolous?
Surely he must think she was a loose girl who casually invites boys to bed…
Overwhelmed by panic, Celes quickly spoke up, her voice urgent and aggrieved.
“Aetin! Don’t misunderstand! I… I’ve never invited anyone else… never before!”
“Then why…” Aetin instinctively pressed.
“Because… because Aetin is special… If it’s you… I… I don’t mind at all…”
Celes pressed her burning cheeks tightly against Aetin’s back, her voice small but filled with a desperate honesty.
Aetin swallowed hard.
The soft, warm body pressed against his back, faintly scented with a subtle fragrance, stirred something deep inside him.
Any other normal boy would probably have lost all reason and self-control by now.
But Aetin was different.
He carried burdens and missions no ordinary person had.
He knew clearly that one day he would leave this world and return to where he truly belonged.
If he gave in to Celes’s feelings now and agreed to her request, how would he take responsibility when he left?
Wouldn’t that be an extremely irresponsible act?
If he left and abandoned her to endure the emotional damage alone, what if she blackened again because of it?
Wouldn’t all his previous efforts have been for nothing?
That would be putting the cart before the horse.
With this thought, Aetin took a deep breath and prepared his refusal in his mind.
He gently turned around to face Celes, ready to say the carefully chosen words—
However, when he saw Celes’s current expression, all the words got stuck in his throat, and no sound came out.
Before him, Celes looked up, her clear blue eyes like a tranquil lake filled with pitiful longing.
Long lashes glistened with unshed tears, trembling like butterfly wings in morning dew.
Her pale cheeks glowed with a tempting blush, her pink lips slightly pursed, showing a hint of unease and expectation.
Her eyes were misted with a film of moisture, as if gathering all the starlight and pleas in the world.
She simply looked at him with those eyes and softly asked, voice trembling:
“Is it not okay?”
Those three words were like a spell with magical power, instantly shattering all of Aetin’s psychological defenses and rational thoughts.
Such breathtaking beauty and earnest pleading could melt any man’s reason.
The torrent of words he wanted to say finally boiled down to a silent sigh.
Aetin could only nod reluctantly, resigned.
“…Alright. But… tonight is special.”
Forget it.
He’d take it one step at a time.
Celes’s face instantly bloomed with a radiant smile like a snow lotus in full blossom.
She didn’t even wait for Aetin to fully react before pulling him down onto the bed with strength, then like a little animal finding its home, nimbly snuggled into his arms, clinging tightly.
Her entire body radiated an indescribable sense of security and uncontrollable excitement, as if she had found the safest harbor in the world.
Aetin sighed helplessly at the octopus-like grip Celes had on him and adjusted his position to lie more comfortably, letting her lean against him more securely.
“Sleep now.”
“Mm.”
Celes nodded firmly in Aetin’s arms, letting out a satisfied hum like a kitten before obediently closing her eyes.
Feeling his steady heartbeat and calming presence, her tense nerves finally relaxed completely.
***
Not far from the apartment, atop a clock tower, moonlight outlined a slender figure.
At the edge stood a girl with long black hair, dressed in an exquisite black Lolita Dress.
Layers of lace and ribbons fluttered gently in the night breeze.
In her hand, she held an intricately decorated Black Sun Parasol, its dark rose patterns contrasting sharply with the deep night.
As the umbrella’s edge slowly lifted, the moonlight spilled over a face strikingly similar to Olivia’s, yet clearly more mature.
She looked about Celes’s age, but her deep eyes held complex emotions beyond her years.
The girl quietly gazed toward the vague glow from the apartment window, as if she could see through the walls and into the two entwined inside.
She sighed softly, her voice drifting in the night wind, filled with a hint of helplessness and complaint.
“That old stubborn fool… always causing trouble for me…”
Then, tilting her head, she revealed a thoughtful expression, muttering to herself.
“So my leaving… caused Celes so much pain? Was I… too hasty back then? But there was nothing I could do; after all, it was an unavoidable force.”
Her tone paused, as if making up her mind.
It grew lighter but carried a hint of finality.
“Sigh, I’ll help you one last time… but after this, it really will be goodbye. No more second chances.”
After deciding, Olivia’s gaze returned to the window, resting on the figure nestled in Aetin’s arms.
Watching Celes sleep peacefully, a trace of envy flickered across her face—an expression even she hadn’t realized she had.
“Looks like… Celes, you’ve met the one destined for you…”
Her voice was soft, tinged with subtle melancholy and release.
“Viewed this way… it’s indeed quite cunning…”