"Mei..."
As Lucian called Acheron again by the name 'Mei,' the atmosphere in the room grew thick and sticky.
Lucian looked at Acheron, whose eyes no longer contained the cold emptiness and instead looked as though they were filled with stars, dazzlingly bright.
At this moment, the cold, distant, and nonchalant Self-Annihilator and Emanator of Nihility from the daytime seemed to have vanished, and the one standing before him now was his beloved wife, Raiden Bosenmori Mei.
Acheron also stared fixedly at Lucian.
In her violet eyes, emotions intertwined, like the relief that came with newly recovered memories and the nostalgia for warmth from the past.
Aside from those, however, there was also a faint, barely perceptible... longing.
Lucian, understanding it at once, raised his hand and gently brushed her cheek, and in that instant, the warmth of his fingertips caused Acheron's body to tremble slightly.
Acheron did not avoid his touch and, almost instinctively, like a cat seeking comfort, rubbed her cheek softly against his palm instead.
However, her tiny movement ignited something within Lucian, whose gaze suddenly lit up.
In the next moment, Lucian's fingers slid along Acheron's face to the area behind her ear, lightly caressing that sensitive patch of skin. Her breathing noticeably quickened before she lifted her eyes to look at him.
In that moment, their gazes tangled in midair.
Both of them could see how close they were, close enough to feel each other's breath brushing across their faces, carrying the same warmth.
Eventually, the atmosphere grew heated.
As if invisible threads in the air were pulling them closer and closer, Lucian lowered his head, and Acheron closed her eyes, not resisting his advance at all—only her faintly trembling eyelashes betrayed the unrest in her heart.
In the next second, their lips finally met.
At first, their kiss was light and tentative, but soon, it became affirming and certain, deepening with unspoken emotion, lingering with a quiet intensity that conveyed everything neither of them dared to say aloud.
Lucian could feel that Acheron's lips were a little cool at first, but soon enough, they quickly warmed, thanks to their kiss.
Just like that, the room was left with nothing but breathing and faint 'wet' sounds.
However, just as their kiss began to deepen—
"Ah! Sorry!"
A surprised, flustered cry suddenly sounded from the doorway!
Lucian and Acheron quickly separated as if shocked by electricity, then turned their heads toward the door, only to see that Robin and Serfina were standing there side by side, having arrived at some point without them noticing.
Evidently, because the door had not been closed, the scene just now had been clearly seen by them.
Lucian saw Robin wearing a soft white nightdress, her hands clasped awkwardly in front of her, her fair cheeks flushed red. He also noticed that she was biting her lower lip lightly, wanting to say something yet holding back.
Serfina stood beside Robin, dressed in a black sheer nightdress, her face adorned with a gentle but helpless smile as her gaze swept between Lucian and Acheron, full of understanding.
"Looks like… we came at a bad time?"
Serfina spoke first, her voice soft as she broke the awkward silence—she did not question them, merely stating a fact.
Heat instantly rushed to Acheron's face, and she awkwardly pretended to be busy, tidying her clothes.
Robin lifted her gaze toward Acheron, her long lashes fluttering.
"Miss Acheron, you said in the pool that... you didn't feel that way about Lucian..." Robin said in a gentle tone, but it carried a hint of jealousy. "How did it turn into this now…?"
Even though she did not finish her words, the meaning behind them was obvious: 'You lied, you sneaky little fox.'
"In the pool, you were playing the role of a pure and detached Self-Annihilator in front of us, and now you couldn't wait to offer Lucian a kiss?"
Serfina quipped, her gaze sweeping over Acheron's awkward face and her slightly disheveled clothes like a searchlight.
"My, is this what you meant by 'there will absolutely be no relationship of the kind we are imagining between Lucian and you'?"
"Miss Acheron, the statements you made… are being expressed quite intensely now, aren't they?"
Hearing Serfina's rather sharp yet teasing words, Acheron froze.
"I... I'm not... there's a reason for this..."
Acheron, feeling her mind buzzing nonstop, tried to explain, but her voice lacked confidence and was completely devoid of conviction.
Clearly, she was caught in the act!
In the pool earlier, she had been so aloof and composed, and now she was seen being so intimate in Lucian's arms.
What would Serfina and Robin think of her?
Wouldn't they think she was a hypocritical and shameless woman?
It was over.
Her image was completely shattered.
Given that she still retained her original memories, Acheron naturally knew that Robin and Serfina had come first, and that she herself had arrived later.
And just like Serfina had said in the pool before, she had once declared with complete confidence that she had no interest whatsoever in matters between men and women, and that she would never be in any kind of relationship like the one Serfina and Robin had with Lucian.
Truthfully, she wanted to explain her new memories—to explain what she had experienced with Lucian in Izumo not long ago in her 'second life,' and to explain the feelings that now filled her heart.
However, she didn't know how to begin, especially since she was well aware that all of this would sound utterly absurd to anyone who heard it.
As Acheron panicked inwardly, thinking about how to explain everything properly, Robin, feeling a faint bitterness as she gazed at her, let out a soft sigh.
Tonight, she had planned to come find Lucian late at night, hoping to have another steamy night with him, but Acheron had gotten here first.
Seeing the two of them kissing so intimately made her feel unwilling to accept it and deeply unhappy.
One of the reasons was that she had not yet received a kiss from Lucian today, while the other was that Acheron had been so adamant in rejecting him before, yet had now suddenly become so intimate with him, to the point of sharing such an intimate kiss.
Meanwhile, unlike the jealous Robin, Serfina calmly looked at the silent Acheron, her gaze turning gentle and understanding as she noticed her panic.
"Well, does it really matter?" Serfina said kindly, gazing gently at Acheron. "Seeing that you were actually willing to accept my earlier proposal honestly makes me very happy... It's just that... Miss Acheron, you don't seem quite the same as you did before..."
Serfina paused for a moment before continuing.
"Did you also... go through another life?"
As soon as she heard this question, Acheron's eyes widened and lit up, as Serfina's question went straight to the very core of the matter.
Needless to say, the question meant that Serfina evidently understood her circumstances, most likely because she herself had experienced the same thing.
"Yes!" Acheron exclaimed hurriedly, nodding vigorously. "That's why I have to take back what I said in the pool!"
Robin, upon hearing her mother's question and Acheron's answer, instantly understood what had happened and immediately resonated with Acheron.
It was only natural, because she herself had experienced the very same thing before, and because of that, she now completely understood why the cold and nonchalant Acheron had suddenly become so intimate with Lucian, to the point of kissing him so sincerely, so closely, and so hungrily.
Understanding this, Robin sighed again, but this time it was a helpless sigh.
Getting slapped in the face was nothing—they could simply pretend that Acheron had never said those things in the pool, just so as not to put her in an awkward position.
"I see..." Robin said as she stepped forward, took Acheron's hand, and smiled softly. "If that's the case, then there's no problem. From now on, we're all one family."
Her shift in attitude was so natural and swift that it felt almost seamless.
"..."
Acheron stared at Robin blankly, clearly able to feel that Robin truly did not mind her being in a romantic relationship with Lucian.
'What a kind and gentle mother and daughter pair...'
Acheron thought with relief, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
Seeing that the awkward situation had finally been resolved, Serfina sighed softly, then spoke again.
"We only came because we were worried Lucian might be bored, but since Miss Acheron is here to keep him company, we'll head back."
Serfina, without any reproach, spoke frankly about the intention behind her late-night visit.
Lucian, who had remained silent from beginning to end, looked at the three women before him, sensing a subtle tension lingering in the air despite the awkward situation having already been resolved.
Showing up in his room in the middle of the night, wearing semi-transparent nightwear—anyone with a working brain could guess the meaning behind their visit without thinking too hard.
'Is Serfina playing hard to get?'
Lucian was not completely oblivious.
Even though the three women before him had distinct styles and personalities, all of them had hinted at the same thing.
"Well, since you two are already here…"
Lucian finally spoke, his voice carrying a hint of teasing as his gaze swept over the three of them.
"Don't leave."
===
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