As the first light of day arrived, Reynard opened his eyes, remembering the previous night he had spent with Eleanor. Thinking about it, he looked to the side, finding a figure sprawled beside him on the bed.
Her appearance now bore the evidence of their sinful night — tousled brown hair and limbs delicately spread apart, as if asking for more even in sleep.
Reynard looked at her one last time before getting out of bed, grabbing his clothes and dressing, wanting to leave the room without waking her.
"Where are you going, Master Reynard?"
A lazy voice sounded suddenly, making Reynard turn around. He found Eleanor propped up on one elbow, her eyes narrowed with the lingering haze of last night's passion.
"Mmm…" She stretched sensually, the sheet slipping to reveal more of her full body.
"It seems we made quite a mess yesterday…" Eleanor admitted softly, a hint of embarrassment in her tone.
Just remembering how she had been acting at that hour made her cheeks burn. She felt possessed, acting as she never had before.
The scenes flashed back in her mind, every moan, every sound making her blush slightly.
Not wanting to dwell on it, Eleanor got out of bed, looking to compose herself.
Reynard laughed at her expression, casting a few glances at her body. On some areas of her pale skin, it was possible to see red marks, mainly across her full behind.
He liked this fresh feeling of marking her.
"Does it hurt anywhere?" Yesterday, he had really gone too far, and now he felt a little guilty for making her look so pitiable.
Eleanor paused, looking at him as she noticed his concern. "A little… but I'll survive." She chuckled softly, trying to minimize the physical results of their intense night.
"That's what happens when you don't hold back," she added with a giggle. Her tone was a mixture of shyness and provocation, though remnants of joy could be found in her voice.
"You can't blame me. You provoked me too." Reynard adjusted his own clothes as he faced Eleanor.
She cast a playful, yet appreciative, glance over her shoulder. "Fair enough… I did ask for it, didn't I?" she admitted with a smile, attempting to fix her own hair, only to fail miserably.
They were tangled, some rebellious strands sprawled across her cheeks.
"I guess this means I'm yours to punish whenever you want now." She added with a mixture of bravado and submission, still adjusting to their new relationship.
She feared things might become awkward after yesterday, but it seemed they could maintain things even better than before. In fact, she felt more at ease with him.
It was as if he had seen everything. That is, he really had seen everything. It was just that it felt different now. She felt more comfortable, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Reynard laughed at her words, finding this side of her endearing. It was something that made his nose tingle and his blood boil just imagining subjugating this new Eleanor.
Perhaps the flames had some role in this, and he wondered internally if his actions were justified. However, if the flames were truly responsible, then he had found something truly... particular.
Of course, Eleanor could have this side on her own, and the flames merely intensified it the night before. He didn't want to think he was manipulating her for his pleasure.
It was more like he was giving the necessary kick-start… right?
"Get dressed. If we delay any longer, Lydia will come to your room and find us." Saying this, he picked up the crumpled dress she was wearing the night before and tossed it in her direction.
Eleanor bit her lip as he threw the wrinkled dress at her, pouting coquettishly. "We can't be discovered, can we?" She purred in approval, putting the dress on slowly under Reynard's watchful eyes.
As she adjusted the dress's straps and smoothed it over her hips, Reynard's gaze followed every graceful movement. The fabric slid over her thighs as she tied it securely, accentuating the curves he had intimately explored without mercy.
She leaned over to smooth out the edges, offering a glimpse of her butt framed by the tight dress, before straightening up. Gathering her hair, she twisted it into a simple, elegant knot at the nape of her neck.
There was no time to comb it, much less to clean up. Not when they risked being discovered by her daughter. She could clean up later, anyway.
A final movement of her hands confirmed she was presentable again, although the blush still lingered on her skin and she felt a little... sticky.
Once fully dressed and composed, she walked towards the door, casting a shy glance back.
"Ready when you are…" She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, a gleam of complicity shining in her eyes between the two of them.
"Then let's go." Reynard, who had been watching all this with an appreciative look, nodded, following her out of the room.
But.
"Mister Reynard?"
As they left the room, they heard a faint voice.
Turning their faces, both were surprised to find Lydia waiting outside with flushed cheeks, looking at them with curious eyes.
Eleanor was startled, her expression changing for a moment, but she quickly recovered her composure, acting as if nothing were out of the ordinary, despite having been reduced to Reynard's plaything the night before.
"Good morning, dear…" She cleared her throat, trying to dispel the embarrassment of being caught doing something wrong.
"Good morning, Mother. Good morning, Mister Reynard." Lydia greeted them both, bowing politely. She still had that fresh aura around her body that exuded vitality and innocence.
Her brown hair cascaded over her shoulders as she wore a white linen dress that matched her skin.
But her pure eyes kept staring at the two of them. She parted her lips a few times, wanting to say something, yet finally fell silent.
Lydia clearly seemed to have something on her mind.
Reynard noticed the strange atmosphere and looked at Eleanor. The latter looked away, seeming afraid of exposing herself too much. He smiled maliciously, finding the current situation amusing.
He didn't know if Lydia had listened to the things they did last night, but it didn't matter anyway… After all, he was the master here. Wasn't it natural for him to do such things with the only woman in the castle?
Thinking about it, Lydia was also a woman...
He shook his head.
There was nothing wrong with her; she just wasn't his type.
Oblivious to Reynard's thoughts, Lydia herself was struggling to deal with her internal confusion.
'What is Mister Reynard doing in Mother's room?' She thought mentally, some indecent ideas arising in her mind, making her blush.
Her mother is a woman, and Mister Reynard is a man… they… maybe… maybe…
'What are you thinking, Lydia? Mister Reynard is not that kind of person!'
She felt guilty for imagining indecent things happening between the two, but yesterday she thought she heard strange noises coming from her mother's room.
Lydia even thought she heard a voice similar to her mother's saying, 'please, don't stop…'
For this reason, when she came to her room this morning, she blushed upon seeing Mister Reynard coming out of it, corroborating her vivid imagination.
What if she hadn't been imagining things?
"Did you sleep well, Lydia?" Reynard asked casually with a smile when he saw that she was still silent, stunned by something. Her face was turning as red as her mother's had been last night. This brought memories to Reynard.
Lydia looked away, her fingers twitching as if unsure what to say.
"No… sorry, erm… yes. Ah! I'll prepare breakfast… Yes, that's right! Breakfast is ready!" She spoke hastily, bowing politely to Reynard before fleeing the place with her thoughts.
"Do you think she found out?" Eleanor murmured, watching her daughter's retreating figure.
"Perhaps. And even if she finds out, it doesn't matter." As he said this, Reynard's hand flew towards Eleanor's proud behind, giving it a light slap, the sound echoing through the empty corridor.
"Don't do that in front of my daughter, Master Reynard. What if she sees us?" Eleanor rolled her eyes, warning him with a smile, but her tone didn't sound annoyed at all.
"All right, all right." He nodded superficially, releasing her buttock after squeezing a couple of times. "I have things to do today. If you need anything, you know where to find me."
What happened yesterday was just an interlude. The night before had been wild, but Reynard hadn't forgotten his purpose or his duties.
The flames above Eleanor's head hadn't given him any further insight beyond what he was imagining. He could only speculate on their function, while planning to test them more times in practice until he was sure of his hypotheses.
The only certainty he had so far was that these flames seemed to represent the women's feelings toward him, or at least that's what he could assume with Eleanor and Lydia.
Lydia's flame was a pale blue, and seemed to represent something like Lydia having a good… opinion of him? He couldn't classify these feelings, but it was the same color Eleanor cultivated at first.
Lydia didn't seem to harbor any romantic feelings toward him, so he thought this more likely.
Since Eleanor's flames were the same color at first, this seemed quite probable… It ended up progressing to another color after their relationship became more intimate, especially after what they did last night.
If there was something to note about it, it was that the flames seemed to make Eleanor more inclined to his wishes.
But that was all.
When he arrived in this world, he was already resigned to the idea that it would just be him, without any advantages or abilities, so he was satisfied with the functionality of the flames.
'This might have some utility…' He could think of a few ways to use the flames to his advantage. After all, having something was better than having nothing.
And if they could indicate the state of women towards him…
Perhaps he would become someone who relied on several women to get things done? Could he seduce the wives of other men and use that to his advantage?
At that moment, building an army of women to serve him wouldn't be impossible…
'Thinking about it this way, the possibilities seem quite pleasant.' Just thinking about seducing and stealing other men's wives, and using it for his own benefit, Reynard felt a despicable smile growing on his face.
'Calm down. You're not that kind of man.' Hiding the smile with his hand, Reynard mentally reprimanded himself.
He didn't want to go down that path.
While he hadn't found a real use for the flames, he could just enjoy what they had to offer with Eleanor. Besides, he would have a special visit today, so he wasn't idle enough to spend the whole day thinking about this matter.
This was a slow burn.
The mysterious figure from the Shadow Cult was going to visit him tonight, and he was a little tense. He still hadn't had much contact with the members of the shadow cult.
His meetings were brief, but he felt very uncomfortable in the presence of this person.
Furthermore, he wasn't sure how his former castle staff had died.
If it was the original Reynard who had killed them for some reason, that would be fine, but if it was the figure from the Shadow Cult, it was only a matter of time until Reynard was targeted again.
And he wouldn't get a second life like now, so he didn't want to risk letting someone else steal this opportunity from him. He was happy to be living a new life.
Even if it wasn't what he expected, it was still a new life. He wanted to try to live peacefully in the future, but his plans had been altered.
The mysterious figure's questions were becoming increasingly incisive. Since the messenger had reached his castle to warn about the meeting of nobles that would take place at Baron Alderan's mansion, it was likely that the information had reached their ears by now.
'First, I need to check if the figure tried to kill me, or if Reynard killed himself. If it's the second situation, I won't have problems, but if it's the first…'
Reynard opened the drawer, retrieving the 'Beginner Knight's Manual', a cold smile appearing on his lips.
'Don't blame me for using some means…'