Chapter 256: Aestrea Against The World (XXXIII)

“Ella…”

Aestrea muttered slighly, but at that name, the woman’s smile widened as if savoring the sound of his words.

Or the way he used to call her…

“Ella?” she repeated in a strange yet confused tone.

She tilted her head slightly, and a strand of her ink-black hair slid forward, brushing against the curve of her pale neck.

Then her lips parted, and the correction came with a seductive purr.

“Please… do call me Yennefer.”

Her smile was light, but it was the kind of smile that didn’t reach her crimson eyes, where obsession swirled like a whirlpool ready to pull him under.

The sound of her new name seemed to sink into the air itself, lingering like a sweet perfume.

She took a step forward.

Click…

The click of her heels echoed in the still room.

“You see… Ella was such a fragile thing….” Her gaze sharpened, almost cutting.

“But Yennefer…” She spread her arms slightly, as though presenting herself like a masterpiece.

“Yennefer is perfect for you, Darling.”

Her voice softened again, like velvet running over a blade.

“Everything I was… everything I am now… all of it, I became for you.”

She took another step, getting closer to him now. The faint scent of dark flowers curled into his senses, intoxicating and almost suffocating.

“I could never go back,” she whispered, the faintest tremble in her tone, whether from excitement or madness, it was impossible to tell.

Her crimson eyes locked onto his with such unblinking intensity that even the air seemed to tighten.

And without looking away, she added almost sweetly:

“…and I won’t let anyone take you from me.”

“Hah….”

Aestrea scoffed softly, the corner of his mouth curling upward as he shifted in his seat.

Slowly, he crossed one leg over the other, his gaze never leaving her.

That faint, knowing smile lingered as though he were speaking to an unruly pet rather than a dangerous enemy.

“Then… Yennefer…” His voice was calm, almost lazy.

“Tell me… are you currently with the Dark Order? Or… by yourself?”

He let the question hang in the air for a breath before his tone sharpened, cutting clean through the atmosphere.

“If it’s the latter…” His vertical-slit pupils thinned, and his smile turned colder.

“…I don’t mind killing you myself.”

“Hehehe~”

Yennefer’s response was a soft giggle, the kind that made Rose shift uncomfortably and Lucas tighten his grip on the hilt of his sword.

Even Iris was prepared to raise a barrier at any moment.

“Kill me~?” she cooed, tilting her head just slightly, the glow of her crimson eyes intensifying slightly.

“Darling, I’m sorry, but currently…”

She was gone before the sentence finished, vanishing in a whisper of black petals.

“…I’m much stronger than you,” she murmured sweetly into his ear from behind, her warm breath brushing the shell of it like an intimate caress.

The others moved, startled, but Aestrea didn’t flinch. If anything, his calmness made the moment more unsettling.

“Mhm…” He lowered his head slightly, leaning back into her proximity. “…you still didn’t answer my question.”

His voice was quiet, but there was something strange… almost serpentine about it, the kind of sound that could coil around someone and squeeze.

Boing~

In that slight movement, the top of his head pressed against her chest, burying just enough for him to tilt his face upward, meeting her gaze from below.

His vertical pupils locked with her crimson eyes, a predator looking into the reflection of another predator.

Yennefer’s smile only widened at the intimate action, her fingers sliding through his hair with an almost loving touch.

“Currently… I’m alone,” she said finally.

“But the Dark Order did make quite an interesting offer…”

Her voice dipped, sultry yet poisonous.

“And I do still owe them a favor, so~”

Before the last note of her playful tone could fade, her hand shot forward.

Shhk—!

Her black nails pressed against his cheeks, the sharp tips biting into his skin like tiny, sharp knives.

She tilted his face toward hers, forcing him to look up fully, their eyes instantly meeting each other.

Creack!

Across the table, Eleonora’s chair scraped back sharply as she stood, her hands glowing with the faint shimmer of magic.

“Enough—”

But Aestrea lifted his hand without even looking her way, palm outward as if telling her to calm down.

He let the pressure of Yennefer’s claws remain on his skin, his faint smile never leaving his lips.

“Will you try to kill me?~” she purred, raising an eyebrow.

Aestrea held her gaze for a long moment, his eyes remaining terrifyingly calm, even with her nails pressing into his cheekbones.

“Ahaa…”

A faint sigh escaped his lips, and he gave a small shake of his head, the movement brushing lightly against her hand.

“Not really…”

“Honestly, I’d only care if the Dark Order tried to do something that could hurt someone… or damage something I care about.”

He paused for a moment, the air between them warm with her closeness.

“Other than that…”

His hand lifted slowly, the movement unhurried, almost lazy.

His fingertips brushed gently across her cheek, a touch so light it barely grazed her skin, yet it was enough to make a faint color bloom there.

“I wouldn’t really kill you…” His lips curved into a small, charming smile.

His eyes narrowed just slightly, as if studying her more closely than before.

“Your look… is very close to my type right now…”

Yennefer’s crimson eyes lingered on him, a faint glimmer of pleasure hidden beneath the heat in her gaze.

His words seemed to melt into her, the corners of her lips curling upward in slow satisfaction.

“Oh?~” she murmured, her tone playful but edged with something darker.

Her nails loosened just enough to stop digging into his skin, instead tracing lightly along the line of his jaw as if savoring the feel of him.

“I thought you’d try to push me away… but instead, you’re saying things like that…” She tilted her head, her black hair spilling over her shoulder like a curtain of midnight, brushing against his bare arm.

She leaned in even closer, her breath warm against his cheek, her voice dropping to a softer, more intimate whisper.

But the words that she said immediately changed the atmosphere.

“But sweet words won’t save your lovers, Darling~.”

The change in Aestrea was instant. The faint, teasing smile on his face vanished as if it had never been there. His eyes lost all warmth, his gaze sharpening like frost forming over glass.

“…Do you dare to repeat that again?”

His voice had dropped, turning even colder than ice, and even Eleonora’s eyebrows rose slightly in shock.

She had never heard him speak like that before; the tone carried no bluff, no jest, only the heavy weight of a real, merciless threat.

But far from being intimidated, Yennefer’s smile only widened.

Her crimson eyes glimmered with something unhinged, a faint and dangerous light playing in their depths.

“I said…” she whispered, her lips curling upward into a faint, almost serene smile that was tainted by madness.

“…Your sweet words won’t save your lovers.”

『 ✯ Winter Series ✯: Chains of Eternal Winter! (✯ 7th-level Spell ✯) 』

Wrap!

In the blink of an eye, countless brilliant white ice chains burst out of the air, twisting and snapping into place around Yennefer’s body.

They locked her in place in less than a second, their frozen glow reflecting in her crimson eyes.

But she didn’t even flinch. Instead, her lips curved into a teasing smile.

“Tying plays? I didn’t know you were into that, Darling~” she purred seductively, blinking at him with a suggestive gaze.

Aestrea’s frown deepened.

The very next moment, the shining chains shattered, not into shards of ice, but into a swirling storm of black petals.

They whirled around her like an ominous wind, brushing against her skin and fluttering past Aestrea’s cheek before fading into the air.

“I told you before…” she murmured as she spun in place, her dress lifting slightly with the motion, revealing the smooth line of her leg for just a second.

When she stopped, she stood with one hip tilted, one hand resting on it as she struck a deliberately charming pose.

“I’m stronger than you, Darling~”

Her tone, so casual and confident, pricked at something inside him.

’Output… to nine.’

『 ✯ Time Stop ✯ (✯ 9th-level Spell ✯) 』

The world froze.

The drifting petals stopped mid-air, frozen in place like ink stains in water. Even the faint sound of her breathing vanished.

Only Aestrea moved, his boots clicking softly as he stepped closer to her unmoving figure.

Up close, he studied her face for a moment, squinching his eyes with an unreadable expression.

“…She really does match my ideal type…” he murmured with a small yet thoughtful nod of his head.

But then…

Crack!

Her head twisted toward him in a sharp, unnatural motion. Her lips curled slowly, almost lazily, into a smile that was both faint and chilling.

“Really~? Do I~?“

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