Chapter 255: Aestrea Against The World (XXXII)

“Haah…”

After a while, the only sound left in the room was the soft hum of magic flickering in the walls… and their slow, steady breathing.

Eleonora rested against Aestrea’s bare chest, her body curled in his lap like it belonged there.

Her dark purple hair was a mess, clinging to her damp shoulders and the hollow of her back.

Their skin stuck together slightly from sweat, warmth radiating between them.

His arms were wrapped around her gently, one draped over her waist, the other resting just beneath her thighs.

They hadn’t bothered to reach for their clothes.

Her fingers traced slow, absentminded circles along the side of his chest, and every now and then, her legs would twitch slightly, still sore from how hard he’d held her down.

But her expression now wasn’t teasing.

It was quiet and thoughtful.

“…Did you really come here because you missed me?” she asked after a long pause, her voice coming out soft.

For a second, she thought he wouldn’t answer. That maybe the heat of the moment had passed, and he’d slip back into his usual coldness.

But instead, he nodded without any hesitation.

Then lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck.

“Chu…♡”

Warm lips against sensitive skin.

Her breath caught.

“…You never say things like that,” she whispered, still not looking at him.

“You never… act like this.”

Aestrea didn’t reply with words.

He just shifted slightly, adjusting her in his lap, then kissed her shoulder. Then her upper arm. Then again, near her neck.

“Chu… chu… mm…”

Each kiss was slow and gentle, and that somehow made her feel like her heart was being squeezed.

“I thought you’d forgotten me,” she admitted quietly, almost in a breath. “When you stopped coming. When I realized that you had more women with you… I thought I’d just… been one more body.”

As soon as she said those words, Aestrea’s arms instinctively tightened slightly around her, and his lips parted softly.

“You were never just a body.”

Eleonora’s lips trembled.

And then his hand rose… brushing her hair back behind her ear, his fingers stroking softly over her cheek.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Not for the kiss.

Not for what they’d just done.

But for letting her think she didn’t matter.

Eleonora finally turned her head, resting her cheek against his shoulder.

“…I want you to miss me more,” she murmured, smiling faintly despite the warmth behind her eyes.

“I will,” he answered with no hesitation.

Just that simple truth.

And then he kissed her again, softly, on the lips this time.

“Smack~♡”

Their lips parted shortly after, so Eleonora nestled a little deeper into his lap, her bare skin pressed close, as her lips brushed against the curve of Aestrea’s throat.

“Muah~”

She left a soft kiss there, then another, just under his jaw.

“…You really did miss me, didn’t you?” she whispered, her voice sweet with mischief now.

“To the point you couldn’t keep your hands off me… mmn~♡ how bold of you~”

Her fingers danced lazily along his chest.

“You didn’t even let me tease you properly this time,” she added with a pout, though her tone was anything but disappointed.

“You just… pushed me down and ruined me like a beast… ahh~ so unlike you~”

Aestrea raised an eyebrow, his hand calmly stroking up her bare back.

“…Should I apologize?”

“Only if you’re going to do it again,” she purred.

He stared at her for a moment, unreadable, then leaned forward and kissed the top of her head.

“Mhm…”

She hummed happily, clearly satisfied with that, but just as her fingers began to sneak downward again, toward his abdomen…

Knock knock.

They froze.

Her body stiffened.

Aestrea’s crimson white eyes flicked toward the door.

They exchanged a glance.

And in the same breath…

Fwap!

Clothes snapped into place as if they’d never left the floor.

Aestrea was fully dressed, calm as ever, already rising from the chair as the bed and floor cleaned themselves in a burst of silent mana.

Eleonora’s long hair shimmered into place, her uniform perfectly pressed, not a wrinkle in sight.

She walked toward her desk, casually adjusting her collar and smoothing her skirt as if nothing had ever happened.

With an elegant sweep of her hand, she gestured.

“Enter.”

The door opened.

And standing there was none other than—

“Headmistress…”

Lucas.

His golden eyes blinked once in surprise, but he quickly recovered, stepping inside with his usual calm grace.

Eleonora smiled with perfect poise from behind her desk.

Aestrea, now seated quietly on the sofa nearby, said nothing, his gaze meeting Lucas’s only briefly before flicking away, unreadable.

Lucas hesitated for just a moment.

“…Aestrea, you’re here…” he said, looking a little guilty.

‘…Don’t tell me this guy is still guilty because he didn’t trust me during that time?’ Aestrea rolled his eyes inwardly.

But then, his gaze sharpened. His smile faded.

‘…Wait a second.’

His eyes narrowed just slightly as he examined Lucas again.

‘How the hell… is this guy at the peak of SS-rank? That doesn’t make fucking sense.’

And if that wasn’t enough, three more figures stepped into the office.

Rose… and Iris.

And that made Aestrea’s eyes widen a little.

‘…The three of them are in the SS-rank as well…?’ he finally frowned.

Honestly, he knew that he wasn’t the main character of this world, but it still surprised him nonetheless, because if he didn’t have the Dragon’s Heart, he wouldn’t have reached the SS-rank so easily.

“Aestrea…” Rose murmured softly.

Their eyes met, and so, Aestrea gave him a small smile.

And that somehow made Rose lower her head, but it didn’t look like she did that in embarrassment.

“…What happened, Lucas?” Eleonora inquired directly.

At her question, Lucas straightened up immediately, all hesitation gone. His shoulders squared.

“…We found Ella,” he said. “But—”

At that, Aestrea’s interest stirred visibly. He leaned forward slightly.

He’d been wondering about her. Ever since she disappeared without a word.

“But?” Eleonora raised an eyebrow.

Lucas didn’t hesitate this time.

“…She became a Vessel.”

He paused slighly.

“…For the Goddess of Obsession and Destruction.”

‘…Goddess of Obsession & Destruction…?’ Aestrea repeated his words inwardly, and surprisingly…

[She’s one of the strongest true gods currently, even stronger than Elohim himself.]

The system actually replied to him.

“Ahh…” Eleonora’s eyes widened, her breath catching as she heard the name of the Goddess Ella was a Vessel off.

“…Yenneffer,” she murmured under her breath, brows slowly knitting together. Her gaze dropped for a moment, thoughtful.

Then it sharpened again.

“If she really became her vessel… she probably changed her name,” Eleonora muttered aloud, voice slow and steady, though her mind was already racing.

“But the real question is… who’s the target of her obsession?”

She asked it casually.

But the silence that followed was not.

Because in that one moment, all eyes in the room, Lucas, Rose, and Iris shifted.

And turned…. straight at Aestrea.

He blinked.

“…Me?”

Lucas nodded solemnly, his expression tight.

“Yes. She mentioned your name more than five times in the only two sentences she said to us.”

Aestrea let out a long, low sigh, dragging a hand through his silver hair.

“Of course she did…”

He leaned back into the sofa slightly, as if the weight of the world had casually been tossed onto his shoulders again.

“It seems I’ll need to meet her,” he said calmly, tone more resigned than determined.

“Where is she—?”

“Don’t!”

Rose’s voice sliced through the air like a whip, interrupting his words. She sounded panicked as hell.

Everyone turned to her, and even Aestrea’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Rose stepped forward, her fists clenched at her sides, breathing just a little faster than before.

“You can’t go to her,” she said, almost pleading now.

“Not like this.”

“And why not?” Aestrea asked.

Rose bit her lip for a second, as if trying to find the right words. But they came out cracked, uneven.

“She’s not herself anymore,” Rose said.

“It’s not just that she’s obsessed with you, Aestrea. It’s… It’s something else entirely… much more violent than anything else.”

Her voice trembled slightly at the end.

Lucas gave a single, grim nod. Even Iris, always quiet and distant, lowered her eyes and didn’t speak.

“And…” Rose’s voice broke again.

“Gulp…!”

She swallowed hard.

“She said… if any woman came close to you…”

Her fists trembled.

“She’d kill them.”

Fwip!

Without warning, a spatial ripple exploded into existence midair beside Rose—a dark tear in space, wide and blooming like a flower.And from it—

Black petals burst out.

Thick, swirling, fragrant with a strangely sweet, cloying scent… and sharp edges.

They moved straight for Rose’s throat.

“Stop!”

Eleonora’s voice rang out as she flicked her hand with a flash of magic.

Fssh!

In an instant, the black petals evaporated into smoke and vanished, but the room was already drenched in a choking pressure.

And then…

She stepped out from the spatial tear.

The black rift closed behind her like a sigh, leaving only the figure that emerged.

She was gorgeous, stunning, in the most dangerous way imaginable.

Long legs wrapped in sheer black stockings that shimmered faintly with strange sigils, her steps were graceful yet predatory.

Her dress clung tightly to her curves, pitch black and low-cut, leaving almost nothing to the imagination.

The fabric was velvet, obsidian in color, hugging her hourglass frame like it was stitched by shadows themselves.

A neckline that plunged scandalously deep revealed the swells of her ample breasts, the skin beneath flawless, pale like moonlight drowning in ink.

Her hair spilled down her back like silk, jet-black, flowing endlessly past her waist.

It shimmered with the slightest undertone of violet, as though darkness itself was alive within every strand.

Her eyes were crimson.

Not red… but Crimson.

Like dried blood under candlelight, burning with madness, obsession, and something… far worse.

They shimmered with raw divinity.

A twisted, beautiful madness swirled behind them.

She looked like a goddess of sin, her beauty so sharp it hurt to look at her.

If Ella had once resembled a delicate snow-white flower…

Then this woman was the poison-tipped rose blooming beneath the grave.

“…Why hello~~” she whispered, her gaze falling on Aestrea with haunting gentleness.

“…Darling~♡”

Her lips curved into a smile, but there was no warmth at all…

Only hunger… love…

Only…

Him.

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