A few months before retiring and stepping into Shio-ram…
For fun, Liana visited a department store and witnessed a scene.
– “Mom! Please buy that!”
– “Hmm… When’s our son’s birthday? It’s still at least three months away…?”
The child’s eyes sparkled at the bright toys in the flashy box.
The parents, however, were shocked by the price tag underneath.
– “Boohoo… Please buy it for me…!”
– “Oh dear…”
With the first round of negotiations failing, the whiny child pulled out the tantrum card while the parents desperately tried to reason with him.
It wasn’t a situation Liana empathized deeply with.
She couldn’t quite relate to the child’s feelings. As a kid, Liana played with the spirits gathering around her instead of desiring toys.
Playing with spirits brought her joy far beyond plastic trinkets or fancy magic-enhanced toys.
She also couldn’t empathize with the parents’ worries. Having never raised children herself, and having little experience caring for younger siblings, she felt out of her depth.
Understanding the panic over toy prices? By that time, Liana was already raking in piles of cash from her adventures in the Magical Warfront. She just couldn’t grasp what it felt like to pinch pennies over a toy or two.
[Nooo… Buy it for me…!]
“W-Well…”
Liana finally started to understand the parents’ frustration with the crying child.
But there was a key difference.
The whiny child was adorable, but he wasn’t hers; the place he was clinging onto wasn’t her legs but her arms.
And what he wanted wasn’t just a toy but Liana herself.
– Squeeze…
Two arms clasped tightly around her waist, the warm breath seeped into her chest. Ha-yul buried his face in her bosom, shaking his head back and forth.
[It’s mineee…!]
“M-Mine, you say…?”
Liana felt a mix of embarrassment wash over her at the sight of Ha-yul throwing a fit in her arms.
In fact, it wasn’t the first time Ha-yul had been this clingy.
Even without reaching the end of his wits like during the incident in Chipnaha, Ha-yul often threw tantrums.
Especially at bedtime.
It was a well-known fact that Ha-yul struggled with sleep. The negotiations to share a bed with him didn’t just happen for no reason.
Though the main winners were either Hong Yeon-hwa or Seo-yul, Liana often found herself falling asleep while cradling Ha-yul.
Each time, she would find comfort in the adorably whimpering Ha-yul nestled against her.
But he had never shown such sticky, clingy possessiveness like today.
– [I’ll take responsibility…]
Suddenly, a terrible memory from a drinking party surfaced in Liana’s mind.
– [Stay with me]
– [I like you, professor…]
– [Let’s stay together forever…]
Sweet, tender feelings that seemed to resonate in a way similar to now.
Thinking back, Ha-yul had expressed possessiveness toward Liana even then. While it wasn’t as blatant as now, he had a history of playing with her as though she were his toy.
‘…He won’t do the same thing as back then, right…?’
The current situation was somewhat similar.
Wrapped in Liana’s arms, Ha-yul was acting on pure instinct rather than rational thoughts.
Casting a wary glance at Ha-yul’s arms wrapped around her waist, Liana considered the implications.
Right now, those arms felt calm, but it wouldn’t be strange if they suddenly lunged upward to grab her…
‘I can’t break free, can I…’
His arms held firmly to her waist, the artifacts wrapped around her didn’t seem to leave room for escape.
Would she even have the strength to push him away? She shook her head inwardly at the question.
Whether she wanted to resist was one thing, but escaping was already near impossible.
Recently, Ha-yul had begun to surpass Liana in physical abilities.
These days, he had been seriously sparring with Atra. It was only natural that a spirit magician like Liana would feel physically overpowered by Ha-yul.
After all, technique was also at play.
Liana lacked the combat-focused abilities expected for close-range fighting. Even if their physical abilities were similar, she would ultimately be overwhelmed by Ha-yul’s superior technique…
[Don’t gooo…!]
“Ugh…”
Had Ha-yul sensed Liana’s inner thoughts? The grip tightened suddenly. It was not harmful to her body, but the sense of oppression and possessiveness was noticeable.
Thanks to that, she was struggling to breathe. Glancing at Ha-yul’s hand, Liana’s mind raced.
How on earth was she supposed to resolve this?
She couldn’t think clearly, likely due to the lack of air.
The snug warmth, plus the honey-like scent wafting from her surroundings, surely didn’t help her cognitive abilities either.
While rolling her eyes, Liana locked gazes with Aurora, who was floating nearby.
Still managing Ha-yul’s healing, Aurora subtly averted her gaze.
Liana felt a flutter in her chest at the unexpected intimacy with a spirit she had shared her life with from a young age.
“Yes, I’m Ha-yul’s.”
In that moment, she also heard another voice whispering in her ear, filled with betrayal.
Liana wasn’t the only one feeling trapped.
With her own artifacts holding her down, Elia was also briefly taken aback but enjoyed the steady pressure and lingering possessiveness aimed at her, smiling as she gently patted Ha-yul’s back.
[Elia’s mine…?]
“Yup, I’m already Ha-yul’s.”
[Yes, it’s mine…]
“That’s right, even without these things, I wouldn’t go anywhere. So, could you loosen up just a little?”
With a playful glint in her eye, Elia whispered sweetly as if soothing a child.
The gentle caresses on Ha-yul’s back shimmered with healing light, and her soft voice was utterly comforting.
As a result, the tension holding Elia released slightly.
“Good boy, our little baby! Thank you!”
[Ugh…]
“Oh…”
Liana let out an impressed gasp.
That’s right. Ha-yul was currently in a state close to emotional exhaustion. It was more appropriate to calm him down with gentle words than to try and reason normally.
She had behaved that way before, but this time, in her moment of panic, she had forgotten to do so.
“I-I’m also yours… So could you loosen your grip just a little?”
[Ugh…]
Liana, belatedly patting Ha-yul, acknowledged her own stake in the matter.
It felt quite peculiar to express the notion of ownership over her own being, but in reality, the pressure she felt was starting to ease.
‘……’
Once she could breathe more comfortably, her expression relaxed for a moment, before she felt an unexpected hint of disappointment.
The suffocating pressure wrapping around her entirely, the intense yearning from the grip around her waist, the perilous thought of those hands possibly squeezing her at any moment…
“Cough! Well, let’s move to another spot.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Clearing her throat and shaking off the strange ideas, Liana stood up.
– Oh my…
Unfortunately, the thoughts Liana tried to suppress unintentionally transmitted to Aurora, who had been by her side since childhood.
Twisted, caught up, groped, squeezed, and sucked on…
– Huff, huff…
Aurora gasped at the dreadful and inappropriate imagery she had received.
*
As evening approached on the streets…
“Phew… Seriously!”
Dodging pedestrians left and right, Hong Yeon-hwa hurriedly stomped the ground. She had just received a text regarding Ha-yul.
Ha-yul had run into another issue. The moment she received that message, dizziness washed over her, but thanks to years of overwhelming experiences, she managed to keep herself upright.
Even though she was quite a distance away, her physical prowess allowed her to arrive at the mansion swiftly.
– Bang!
“What the…?”
With a powerful push, she swung open the front door. Without hesitation, her feet moved forward until she was halted abruptly by a sea of colorful puppies filling her vision.
‘Spirits…?’
For a moment, she was captivated by the dog-like appearances, quickly realizing those vibrant little creatures were spirits.
Though she lacked spirit affinity, she could at least sense something.
Didn’t Ha-yul mention he was going out to level up the spirits today? It seemed he might’ve succeeded.
…But why were there so many puppies? Hadn’t they all looked different from the mid-tier spirits?
Or perhaps trouble had arisen in that process…
Nervously biting her lip, Hong Yeon-hwa cautiously navigated her way inside, ensuring the puppies wouldn’t get stepped on.
Once she entered the mansion, in the lobby, she spotted Liana and Elia sitting on the sofa.
And nestled comfortably in Liana’s arms was Ha-yul.
“Phew…!”
Sighting that, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a sigh of relief.
Given that they were in the mansion, not the healing room, she assumed he hadn’t turned into a half corpse.
Furthermore, they all appeared relatively fine on the surface.
Her gnawing anxiety ebbed slightly.
But worries still lingered.
With mixed feelings, Hong Yeon-hwa stepped forward.
“Yeon-hwa…”
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Just as her concerns lightened, Ha-yul’s voice was tinged with moisture and apprehension, causing her heart to plummet.
Rushing closer, Hong Yeon-hwa found Ha-yul turning away to face her, whining and extending his arms.
Reflexively, she scooped him up. Even though dozens of spirit wings flitted about, wrapping around them, she didn’t mind.
“Heeyyy…”
Snuggling into her embrace, Ha-yul nestled against Hong Yeon-hwa’s waist, burying his face in her ample bosom.
Warm and soft, the sweet, inviting scent filled her nostrils.
Rubbing his face against it, he pressed his ears close to her soft flesh.
– Thump! Thump! Thump!
She could hear his heartbeat resonating within her, distant yet inviting, and couldn’t help wishing to confirm it closely.
The rhythmic sound seemed unproblematic, and she sensed no issues when scanning for mana.
Finally assured, Ha-yul relaxed in her arms as Hong Yeon-hwa, who remained oblivious to the situation, anxiously cradled him, rubbing his back.
“Little one, are you hurt? Huh?”
Her gentle touch on his back, with wide-open eyes resting on her chest, causing her concern to cascade down her face as their eyes met.
“Pout…”
Yearning to comfort him, she pressed her lips to his.
Instantly, Ha-yul’s eyes went wide, but seemingly relieved, Hong Yeon-hwa let out a sigh and began gently patting his backside.
“Now, what happened this time? Huh?”
After a brief moment, calming her worries, Hong Yeon-hwa plopped down on the sofa, looking curiously at him.
“Ugh… Not much…”
Ha-yul turned his eyes aside, then pouted his lips again.
It wasn’t anything serious, really.
Just in a moment of panic, his soul had nearly torn free from his body.
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