After finishing lunch (Well, kind of), both Xara and Aether walked with a hurried pace from the dining room, their footsteps echoing faintly in the hallway.
Xara just kept dragging him, her hand wrapped tightly around his wrist as if afraid he might slip away, tugging him straight into his room without a word.
And then—Thud!
Xara slammed—no, she furiously slammed the door behind them, locking it with a jarring clack before spinning around to corner Aether between her and the cold wall.
“Do you have any idea what you were doing there?” Xara asked, her voice quivering with restrained fury, frustration, and something much deeper—something dangerous and forbidden. She was barely holding herself together.
Aether blinked at her, a picture of innocence painted across his face as he tilted his head. “What do you mean?” he asked, lips parting just slightly, as though he were genuinely puzzled.
Xara’s lips twitched, trembling with emotion as her hands curled into fists. “Don’t try to act smart with me… You damn well know what I’m talking about,” she growled, her voice husky with a mix of anger and shame.
Still playing the fool, Aether placed a finger against his lips, putting on a thoughtful expression. “I know? Huh… I don’t recall doing anything wrong,” he replied with confusion.
Xara gritted her teeth, her whole body tensing. She knew…. She damn well knew he was teasing her, pushing her buttons on purpose, playing this slow and delicious revenge on her.
Xara gritted her teeth before, she knew… she damn knew he was getting revenge on her!!
But… was she really wrong back then?
She had tried to be a good, responsible mother for him—firm, composed, gentle. She had been trying to guide him, to reason with him, protect him from things he wasn’t ready for.
That time, it was pure.
But now…
“N-Now everything is d-different…” Xara muttered under her breath, cheeks flushing a delicate pink, her words hitching as the weight of the moment cracked her composure.
Aether leaned in slightly, still playing innocent, his voice smooth like honey, “Different? How so? Explain to me… M.O.M?” he asked with a sly grin, dragging out the last word.
Her face twitched as veins popped on her forehead. Xara lowered her head, voice shaky and small. “I… I hate it…” she whispered.
Aether’s grin widened, eyes gleaming like a predator slowly closing in. “Oh? Hate what exactly? Hearing me say ‘Mom’?”
Xara drew in a deep breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her cheeks flushed and burning with unspoken emotions. Her lips parted. “Hmm… sigh… I… Don’t call me Mom anymore… It feels… weird. Too weird. And…” Her voice broke slightly as she added in a quieter tone, “It’s annoying… makes me feel things I shouldn’t…” and something else she muttered was no longer clearly audible.
Still, Aether smirked even more. He was sure he had seduced her, but for whatever reason, his Log wasn’t accepting… Was he missing something? But look at the woman before him… she was literally shy and madly in love with him!!!
He stepped closer, “Then what should I call you?” he whispered, closing the distance between them with slow, dangerous grace.
Xara let out a shaky sigh, her pulse fluttering as she nervously raised her head. Relief flooded her expression—she had expected more teasing, more torment. But instead, he asked her gently, almost sincerely…
But before she could speak—
She gasped and stumbled back, eyes wide in shock.
Aether stood barely an inch away in his original form, his divine and ethereally dark aura overwhelming her senses.
She nearly fell, but before gravity could betray her, Aether caught her with effortless ease, sweeping her into his arms like a prince out of a forbidden fairytale. One of his arms curled protectively around her waist while the other ran through his long, silky white hair in a sensual motion. He tilted his head, voice low and seductive, “Tell me… What should I call you?… Darling?~ Or something…?”
“!!!”
Xara flinched, her body trembling like a leaf caught in a storm. Her cheeks turned beet red, and an unbearable heat flooded her chest and lower belly, as if her blood itself had caught fire.
She tried to push against him, to escape, to regain control—but her limbs felt like jelly. Her hands were too weak. Her will too shaken.
“A-Aether…” she murmured, but that was all her lips could manage.
Aether leaned in even closer, his breath warm against her ear. “Tell me…” he whispered again, his tone thicker, heavier, more demanding.
Xara bit her lip, her fingers weakly pressing against his chest. She lowered her gaze, heart pounding in her ears. “C-Come on…” she whispered, trembling.
But Aether shook his head slowly, his grip tightening ever so slightly. “No. I’m not letting you go unless you tell me what you want me to call you…” he said, his voice velvet, dripping with lust and longing.
Xara’s lips trembled, her soul twisting with guilt and desire, the lines between wrong and right blurring faster than her racing heartbeat. “H-How about… Xara?” she offered weakly, voice barely audible.
“Xara?” Aether repeated, tilting his head again, eyes narrowing with disappointment. “Nah… too common. Too easy. I want something that’s only mine. A name that no one else would dare call you.”
Her breath caught in her throat. She knew exactly where this was going.
Her heart wasn’t ready—yet at the same time, it ached for it. She had already accepted the feelings between them… already surrendered to the madness.
But this? This was a step deeper into a love too sinful to speak aloud.
Her ears turned a fiery red. Aether bit his lip as he watched her squirm. ‘Damn this woman… she’s really testing my patience…’ he thought, clenching his jaw. She was so adorably flustered that he wanted to devour her.
Just one taste.
Just one bite.
He was barely restraining his draconic instincts. If he let go for even a second… he knew he’d be fucking her senseless, leaving nothing untouched, nothing sacred.
Xara’s mind was spinning… Her thoughts raced wildly, searching for something—anything—she could give him. Something secret. Something precious. Something only he could own.
After a few seconds, with her body trembling and her face burning brighter than the sun, she finally muttered, “W-Wifey?”
The word dropped from her lips like a secret spell, trembling and uncertain, but real.
Because those were words only he could say… right?
She didn’t know the latest trends or what kinds of nicknames couples used nowadays. But she knew one thing—husbands loved to call their wives “wifey” with affection, with love, with pride.
Aether froze for a moment. He was actually taken aback. He hadn’t expected that answer. He’d thought maybe she’d say something light—darling, cutie, sweetheart.
But wifey?
Hell, he never imagined she’d be the one to say it first.
And now he couldn’t stop the fire building inside him.
Aether grinned even wider as he leaned in closer, his lips dangerously close to her ear. His breath fanned over her sensitive skin as he whispered, slow and deep, “Wifey~”
Xara’s entire body tensed. Her ears flushed a deeper red, her head still lowered, trembling with embarrassment. She couldn’t look at him. Not now. Not when he was this close, this seductive, this… real. It was all too much.
Too intimate.
Too overwhelming!
Too deliciously forbidden!!
Aether softened his smile, his playful smirk morphing into something more tender. His eyes studied her lowered face, her delicate blush, the slight tremble in her lips. Damn, she was something else. A woman filled with chaos, beauty…. madness?
She was truly lovely.
Beautiful.. Wild… Irresistible!!
Aether was thankful—deeply thankful—that he hadn’t let his old, judgmental human morals turn him away from her. If he had… he would’ve missed this wild, addictive love.
This danger was wrapped in soft curves and trembling lips.
Still…
His smile slowly faded. A shadow passed over his face.
His grip around her waist tightened, fingers curling into her soft flesh.
His voice dropped, low and possessive. “What’s with that signal you made with Velc, huh?”
His tone was calm—but underneath it, a storm was raging.
Aether couldn’t forget the way Xara and Velc had exchanged that silent look during lunch. That unspoken communication—like they knew something, like they shared something. A single glance that spoke volumes.
And he hated it.
He loathed it.
It was a signal, yes. But in truth… it had only been Velc’s subtle plea. A desperate, silent cry for help.
But in Aether’s eyes?
It looked like betrayal.
And the jealousy clawed at his chest like fire.
Wrong!
Too dangerous!!
So dangerous that for a brief second, Aether thought he might not be able to stop himself from killing Velc.
Xara flinched at the sudden shift in his tone, the edge in his voice so sharp it cut the air.
She finally lifted her head—the first time since being pinned in his arms.
But the moment her eyes met his…
Those dark, stormy, possessive eyes…
Her breath hitched. Her heart thumped violently in her chest.
Something flickered inside her—a heat, an ache, an uncontrollable yearning that shot through her body like a wildfire.
Her lips parted, a soft gasp escaping.
Her cheeks turned impossibly red.
Her thighs pressed together subconsciously.
Her core… it throbbed.
God, those eyes…
Oh no!!
She was falling again.
Those possessive, jealous, furious eyes—why did they make her feel so good?
She was supposed to be scared.
But instead, she felt something completely wicked blooming in her chest.
A wicked little grin tugged at the corners of her lips as her face burned hotter.
“H-Hehe~ Aether~” she whispered, voice breathy and laced with sinful delight. A thin string of drool slid from the corner of her mouth, “S-So… possessive~”
Before he could respond, she leaned up and kissed him.
Soft.. Wet… Warm…. Her lips brushed his with surprising gentleness, but the heat behind it was unmistakable.
Aether blinked, startled.
Xara giggled softly against his mouth, her eyes fluttering shut for a moment before she pulled back—just a heartbeat later—and slipped from his arms like a teasing ghost.
And then—she walked off.
Without saying another word.
Her steps were fast, light, almost bouncing with joy. Her whole face glowed crimson, and her heart was hammering out of control.
If she had stayed another second and looked into those eyes again, she knew—knew—she would’ve stripped herself right there and begged him to ruin her.
‘Fuuuck! I totally lost control there!’ she thought, face still steaming.
Meanwhile, Aether stood alone in the room, blinking slowly.
Her kiss lingered on his lips, confusing and warm.
He touched his mouth absently… That’s the first time she kissed him.
“…Possessive? Me?” he echoed, face contorting in confusion and disbelief.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He stared at his reflection in the nearby mirror.
He was the calm one. The sane one. The normal one!
He wasn’t a crazed yandere.
He wasn’t!
“I’m a good man,” he told himself, nodding with growing insistence. “I’m reasonable. I’m balanced. I don’t act on emotions like that…”
He clenched a fist and declared aloud with deep seriousness, “Nope. Not yandere at all!!”
Totally.
Completely.
Sane.
Believe him!!
[…😐… 😑]
Meanwhile, Xara, still flushed with girlish happiness, had reached the hallway.
Xara walked with light steps, her face glowing with delight, her heart still fluttering with a storm of emotions. She grinned to herself, biting her lip to suppress the wicked smile trying to break out.
She had just witnessed Aether’s possessiveness again.
Not just playful teasing or casual affection.
But raw, hungry, obsessive possessiveness.
And gods… it felt good.
Sure, she had seen glimpses of it before—those dark eyes, those firm hands, that jealous tone—but now? Now it wrapped around her like a drug, intoxicating and forbidden, sinking into her bones like sweet poison.
Her heart fluttered just thinking about it.
Aether’s gaze… it made her feel claimed. Wanted. Desired in a way no one had ever looked at her before.
‘It almost feels like… like I drank something dangerous and delicious… like thick, warm, powerful blood…’
Her fingers brushed her lips, still tingling from the kiss she stole from him.
“Hehe~” she giggled to herself, her face glowing in a dreamy haze, flushed with the heat of maiden-like love and sinful desire. Her mind was swirling in fantasies.
She was falling harder than she had ever expected.
But just as she turned the corner—her heart dancing, her body floating—
“Mother-in-law.”
Xara froze mid-step.
Slowly, she turned toward the source of the voice.
There, standing like a queen in shadowed grace, was Vesperine—arms crossed under her ample chest, her eyes glittering with amusement, and a smirk curling at the edge of her lips.
Her gaze raked over Xara knowingly, almost like she had read every thought that had just passed through her head.
“Shall we have a talk?” Vesperine asked softly, but her tone carried weight.