Chapter 154

Chapter 152 – Confrontation

In the end, the departure schedule was pushed back by a day.

If it were just the knights going, we could leave right away, but with Aurora tagging along, there were quite a few things I had to take care of.

Even if the carriage Aurora rides in isn’t something we need to prepare, we still needed to replan the escort for the carriage, the marching speed, and the schedule, which naturally added to our tasks.

Of course, it wasn’t my job to do. It was Laksia’s job.

She told me that it was much better for her to take the initiative rather than seeing an incompetent superior messing things up, and requested that I just stay quiet.

The incompetent superior she referred to must mean the commander of the Golden Dusk Knights, but I felt a bit uneasy since I was completely clueless about management or leadership.

Still, it was definitely better than being under that idiot. At least now, there wouldn’t be any self-destructive decisions being made regarding things that were already running smoothly.

I left the deputy knights to heatedly discuss who would go on the expedition and returned alone to Aurora’s mansion. I had heard that she wanted to speak with me privately.

As I stepped into the mansion, Lana guided me to another room of Aurora’s on the top floor as if she had been waiting for me. It was decorated almost similarly to the usual room she used.

It was slightly smaller, though.

Aurora, as always, was sitting in front of a grand window, with an elegant desk and chair set up in front of her, dressed in a black neo-city mislook dress as usual.

Upon noticing my entrance, Aurora pushed aside the documents she had been looking at to one corner of the desk.

“You said you wanted to talk about something, what is it?”

“First, take a seat. This isn’t a conversation to have while standing.”

“But there’s nowhere to sit?”

I looked around. Besides the elegant chair Aurora was sitting on, there wasn’t really anywhere to park my butt. The only other option was the bed, which was too far from the desk.

“I know. You can sit here.”

Aurora stood up and pointed to the object next to her, which was the chair she had just vacated.

“…Are you serious?”

“Do I look like the kind of person who would joke about this?”

Aurora plopped herself down on the edge of the desk and motioned to the chair in front of her with a nod. I approached with a hesitant expression.

The chair was still warm.

“What kind of grand conversation are we having that requires me to sit here?”

“Various things? It’s not like I called you here for a specific reason. I just wanted to pass the time until we leave. You won’t have much to do at the castle, right? Since you’re here, why not share some fun stories?”

A slight uneasiness crept in. It seemed like she was talking straightforwardly, but I could see her subtly avoiding eye contact since earlier. She could hardly look me in the eyes.

It felt like she had some other motive for calling me, rather than just passing the time.

“Well, I don’t really have any interesting stories to share.”

“Why not? You’ve got plenty! For instance… that time you got intimate with Lize.”

Cough! Cough! I suddenly sputtered as if I had choked on something.

I knew that Aurora was straightforward like her aunt, but I had never expected her to drop such a word right in front of me!

“Why would that come up here?”

“I actually found that story really entertaining. It was more thrilling than most adventure tales. Or should I say it was an adventure unto itself? Exploring places no one had ever ventured before—”

“……”

Noticing the incredulity plastered across my face, Aurora smirked and clammed up. However, she was still unable to look me straight in the eye.

This was even more uneasy. Everything seemed the same, but if she was avoiding my gaze like that, there must be something more to it.

“Okay, okay. I understand. So you should get some rest soon so you can wake up early to prepare for our departure. I’ll head back now.”

“But it’s only 4 o’clock now? You want me to go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night?”

I stole a glance at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. It was indeed only 4 o’clock—no, not even quite 4 o’clock yet. It was way too early to be suggesting going to bed now.

“So, are you planning on continuing those jokes instead of sleeping?”

“Jokes? Of course not.”

Thankfully, she didn’t seem intent on putting me in an even more awkward position. She just wanted to pass the time a bit—

“But now, we’re going to have to do it outright.”

“…What?”

My dumbfounded questioning slipped out between my lips.

Was this a misunderstanding? But looking at Aurora’s expression, it was clear I hadn’t misheard. Do it outright? What precisely?

‘No way.’

A brief moment of panic crossed my mind. My head started to cool quickly. Yeah, given Aurora’s obsession with being out with me, I had somewhat expected this. At this point, it’s basically saying we’re on a date with just a different label.

There had been times in the past where I felt an emotional undercurrent in her gaze when she looked at me, and each time, I had to brush it off due to worrying about Lize. Was this finally the boiling point?

Perhaps my reaction was unexpected, as Aurora’s eyebrows arched slightly.

“You don’t seem surprised. You’ve had that worried look on your face for a while now; what’s going on?”

“…Can I say exactly what I’m thinking?”

“Sure, go ahead. I already have a rough idea of what you might say.”

“I had somewhat suspected that the lord had feelings for me. I didn’t really think about it until recently—just a guess until now.”

“That’s pretty close to what I expected. But you know, Delta, actually hearing that from you is a bit ridiculous, right?”

“I won’t deny that. It means I ignored your feelings after having some idea about them.”

“Wow, that’s some real trash talk.”

Despite the harsh words, Aurora’s expression was one of genuine amusement. It was clear she wasn’t serious; it seemed just a ritualistic jab.

Or perhaps she was genuinely happy to know that I had some inkling of her feelings.

“But tell me, why have you become so proactive all of a sudden? Just a few days ago, you were using a pseudonym.”

Aurora flinched slightly as if I had struck a nerve before regaining her composure.

“I saw a possibility.”

“Possibility, you say?”

Aurora didn’t respond right away. Instead, she firmly placed her hands on my shoulders and began to climb up my thighs, kneeling.

It felt vaguely familiar, similar to when Lize had pinned me down. The only difference was that back then, I was lying on a bed, and now I was seated in a chair.

Aurora spread her legs while kneeling and wedged my thighs between hers. The chair was large enough that even in this position, there was still some space left.

As expected, Aurora’s genitalia came into contact with my groin. She pushed her waist in closer. Her knees rose to just near my pubic bone. It was clear she was purposely pressing against me.

‘…It’s not like I can’t get out of here.’

When Lize pinned me down in the Holy Kingdom, I had genuinely been too weak to escape, but now, as soon as I decided to resist, I could easily push Aurora off and stand up.

But I didn’t do that.

Or maybe it could also be said I couldn’t make myself do it.

After all, my lower half was slowly reacting to this situation. Half of me felt I couldn’t bring myself to cruelly shove Aurora away, and the other half was simply overwhelmed by my desires.

It felt like my self-justification was just growing stronger as the days went by.

“Right. The possibility. Since the moment I met you, Delta, you’ve been anything but ordinary, haven’t you? The first thing you said to me was a question about whether I wanted to be a lord, and then you followed it up with asking if I wanted to kill that filthy pig. Who could say such things?”

“……”

“Back then, all I had was my body and a sprightly pride, so I blurted out some meaningless crap about not trusting you… But just to ask, you’re not angry about me saying that, are you?”

Aurora’s face flushed slightly as she glanced my way, looking for cues of my reaction. It seemed my words from our first meeting were still on her mind.

Of course, I remembered it just as it was from the game without giving it much thought. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand why she reacted that way.

A rope came down right in front of me; it was essential to test whether it was a rotten rope that would snap as soon as it was grasped or a sturdy one that could hold me.

In fact, this was a rather shameless way of questioning, but had it not been a scene I had witnessed hundreds of times in the game, I would have felt a little stirred rather than just simply annoyed.

As I shook my head left and right, Aurora exhaled in relief.

“…I’m glad to hear that you’re not angry. In the end, you succeeded, didn’t you? Plus, you took revenge on that pig quite well. To be honest, I’ve had feelings since that time. But it felt a little awkward to insert myself, so I just kept circling around it, especially since Lize was taking charge beside you.”

Our heads drew a little closer. Aurora turned slightly and buried her face in my left shoulder, pressing her head tightly against my cheek. I could feel the warmth of her cheek brushing against mine.

Our upper bodies touched, and I felt the softness of her chest against mine. The hand that had been gripping my shoulder moved behind me, pulling me into a warm embrace.

“But listen, you’ve defeated a dragon, right?”

“For now, yes.”

I answered with a slightly reluctant tone. I had no idea how far this misunderstanding would lead because of that one dragon.

“If you’ve defeated a dragon, then you certainly qualify for one more woman, don’t you think? Am I wrong?”

“Um… I don’t think that’s true?”

“No. It has to be. I just decided that.”

“Can you just decide something this important at your leisure, my lord?”

I fussed, wondering where to put my hands, and then in a moment of recklessness decided to pull Aurora into a hug as well. The moment my palm brushed against her back, she twitched. Her legs came together slightly.

As expected, it seemed she wasn’t wearing any underwear; there was nothing obstructing my palm as I slowly caressed her bare skin. Just the soft sensation of unadulterated skin.

“Delta, this is bad.”

“Is there something worse than this situation right now?”

“You made me a little wet with that hug; what do I do about this?”

“…I’ll act like I didn’t hear that, so please, continue with what you were saying.”

I tightened my embrace on Aurora. She shuddered for a moment, and after seeming to gather her composure, she began to speak in fits and starts.

“So, I’m also taking this chance to do this.”

“What about the time you and I wandered around the city pretending to be Aurora?”

“That….”

Aurora buried her face in my shoulder and mumbled, almost like a whisper.

“I felt embarrassed for doing it.”

“Embarrassed? What do you mean?”

“You see… I originally intended to do this on the first night after we returned from the Imperial Palace. When you called me to the mansion, I wanted you to come by even late at night.”

I tried hard to keep a composed expression, but I could not suppress how tense my grip on Aurora was becoming. The softness of her chest felt even more pronounced.

Somehow, she had wanted this all along, even hinting at coming over that night.

“So you called me and then felt embarrassed and chickened out?”

“…That’s right. Plus, pretending to be someone else while wandering around with you, I was just so terrible at this kind of thing that I felt like I was making Lana die from frustration, so she suggested I might loosen up a little if I acted different.”

“But then that—”

“Got interrupted by some witch.”

The visit from Nix had truly been unexpected. I never imagined she would show up with such bizarre quirks.

If Nix hadn’t dropped by at the timing she did that day, could it have been that we’d be heading to bed instead today?

“To be honest, I’m still mortified. I’m mortified, but I don’t want to miss this opportunity. So I’m really just persevering to get through this.”

“You, who are so typically bold, turn out to be so shy about anything related to me. That’s surprising.”

“You just said the exact same thing as Lana, you know?”

“Did I?”

If I’d said something that made no sense to the head maid either, it seemed Lana had quite a bit of trouble with me as well.

“If you have any complaints about what’s happening now, feel free to say them. I just won’t listen.”

“You won’t listen? You’re not going to give in?”

“What do I care? If you don’t like it, just push me away. You could easily do that, right? This is my own action, so I won’t care if you do that.”

“Really?”

I released my grip on Aurora and slid my hands under her armpits, pushing her body back. With my strength stats all boosted, it was easy to push her back just like that.

Aurora recoiled, her upper body lifted, trapped as I held her under her arms, her eyes wide with surprise as if she never expected me to do that.

“You really don’t care?”

I leaned back against the chair’s backrest, still holding her beneath her armpits as if I could lift her at any moment, while I simply watched Aurora.

“……”

And then, seeing tears beginning to well up in Aurora’s eyes, I pulled her back into a warm embrace. She tentatively began to stroke my back, and this time she wrapped her arms around my neck.

“See? Those are words you shouldn’t say.”

“Hey… You… you surprised me… I thought you were really just going to walk away…”

Her voice was trembling. It seemed her heart had truly skipped a beat.

“My lord.”

“…Yes?”

“You know I already have Lize, right?”

“I know. I know everything. If anything comes up, I’ll take full responsibility.”

I pulled away slightly from Aurora and cupped her cheeks, wiping the tears that had gathered in her eyes with my thumb.

“I don’t mean to say it’s your responsibility.”

“…Then what?”

“I’ll try my best. It’s not impossible for one guy to marry multiple women.”

“Delta, you…”

Aurora’s eyes widened. She stared at me, completely in shock, as if she had never expected to hear such a thing.

After all, by the time I defeated all the bosses, reputation and achievements would follow naturally. I didn’t want to hesitate by bringing up worldly common sense in this situation.

After all, I was embedded in Brightest Darkness 4; was there anything conventional about that?

“And besides, since I’ve already committed once, it’s not impossible to commit again.”

I pulled Aurora into a hug again, and as she reflected on my words, her astonishment escaped her lips.

“What? Wait. You’ve already committed? Did you mean to say there’s another woman besides Lize? Seriously? Am I not your second but your third?”

“Well, maybe.”

I grinned playfully. Aurora wiped her tears with the back of her hand and stood up straight, her posture exuding confidence as if to say I’d better watch out.

“Damn… You should’ve said that much earlier. Just you wait.”

“What do you intend to do?”

Aurora pressed her body even closer to mine.

“I’ll make sure to get more out of you than that other woman.”