“N-no! There’s nothing! What are you talking about?! What game?!”
Seraphina denied it with mortified fury, then used the moment to casually roll over and hide the evidence beneath the blanket.
Movira said nothing. She simply lifted one corner of the quilt and took in the scene with a single glance.
“Er… th-that’s just… sweat! It’s too hot, that’s all!”
“Sweat?”
Movira’s fingertip brushed lightly, almost insultingly, across the damp fabric.
Seraphina’s body jerked violently shuddered. Humiliation and shame instantly drowned her.
But Movira went further. She brought the finger she had touched the stain with to her nose, sniffed it with exaggerated seriousness, then revealed a profoundly meaningful smile.
“Mmm… this ‘sweat’ has quite a special scent, doesn’t it? A little sweet…”
“You—! Shameless! Disgusting!”
Seraphina was truly on the verge of collapse. She bolted upright, grabbed the nearest pillow, and swung it at Movira—only to have her wrist caught first.
Movira used the momentum to lean in close. Her warm breath grazed Seraphina’s ear as she spoke.
“It seems the ‘lesson’ this afternoon was far from enough. To think Seraphina still hasn’t fully learned…”
“Or perhaps… you felt curious and unsatisfied, so you had to secretly ‘practice’ on your own?”
Her gaze swept over Seraphina’s flushed cheeks again, voice dropping low like a conspiratorial whisper.
“Or are you… hinting in this way that you want more?”
Faced with Movira’s all-seeing eyes and the irrefutable evidence, Seraphina opened her mouth but no excuse came out.
She could only bite her lower lip hard and, under the crushing shame, instinctively scoot backward.
Movira finally took pity on the girl who looked ready to die of embarrassment. She gently stroked the burning cheek.
“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.”
Her tone returned to normal, soft again.
“You have to face these ‘needs’ openly. It’s perfectly natural. Next time you feel them, just tell me. It’s much better than fumbling alone and only managing to soak the sheets, isn’t it?”
Those words left Seraphina with no room for denial. She buried her scarlet face in her knees and let out a mortified whimper.
“…Fine…”
Dinner was brought directly to the bedroom. This time Seraphina had recovered enough to refuse being spoon-fed.
“How… how is Lina?” she asked softly after finishing the meal. “Is she still in Asma?”
Movira turned her head. “Mm, still there.”
“The chaos has only just settled. Someone who can hold the place together and who understands you well enough is needed to take charge. So I temporarily made her the new city lord of Asma, responsible for restoring order.”
“Huh?”
Seraphina’s face instantly filled with shock. “You made her city lord?! In a place that chaotic?!”
Movira stared at Seraphina’s violet eyes for a moment. Her voice suddenly carried a sour note.
“Oh? Now you’re worried? Who was the one who insisted on running off to that hellhole without a care, nearly getting groped by a drunkard? I put the person you care about most there precisely to follow your wishes and let her shine, didn’t I?”
She deliberately emphasised the word “care,” her gaze pricking Seraphina like a needle.
“I-I didn’t mean it like that…”
Anyone could see it now—Movira’s vinegar jar had been thoroughly overturned.
“I just thought… the responsibility is too heavy. It’ll be really hard on her…”
“Indeed. You always worry whether she’s suffering.”
Movira cut in, dragging out her words, the jealousy growing thicker.
“How come I never see you worry about me? The one cleaning up messes for you, fretting over your safety, removing every obstacle in your path—that’s not her.”
Seraphina was rendered speechless, lips pressed tight.
“You’ve been getting close to her all this time. Now you’ve definitely won her heart. What about mine?”
Movira clutched the quilt tighter, but Seraphina remained silent.
Seeing this, Movira seemed satisfied with her little bout of jealousy. Her tone softened again, as if mentioning it in passing.
“As for that little Bloodborn Ailinuo—you don’t need to worry about her at all. She’s been extremely obedient. She gathered every decree you approved over the past year and more, studying them like her life depended on it—practically trying to swallow the scrolls whole.”
Seraphina blinked, stunned. Ailinuo was that studious?
Movira took in her reaction and let the topic drop.
She lifted the quilt and patted the empty space beside her. “Enough about others. Time to sleep.”
Though reluctant, Seraphina still crawled under the covers.
Yet she kept a large distance from Movira, as if avoiding something dangerous.
She even wrapped her nightgown tightly around herself, wishing she could cocoon on the spot.
She could feel the aggressive gaze Movira cast her way.
“My love,” Movira’s voice finally rang out after a few minutes of silence.
“How about… taking off your clothes? You’ve been bundled up like this for days. Aren’t you tired?”
At those words Seraphina instantly hugged herself tighter, pulling the blanket over her head.
The muffled protest came from inside: “…No!”
Movira had expected the refusal coming. “Why not? Is there any part of you… I haven’t seen?”
She leaned closer, fingertips lightly brushing Seraphina’s exposed shoulder, feeling the skin visibly tense beneath them.
“We’ve already done the most intimate things. Which inch of you am I not familiar with, hm?”
Her voice deliberately slowed, giving Seraphina plenty of time to react, toying with her nerves.
“Feeling shy only now—don’t you think it’s a little late?”
“That… that was different!”
Seraphina’s cheeks burned. She turned to glare at Movira, eyes glistening with both anger and embarrassment.
“You forced me that time! And this is sleepwear! Isn’t it perfectly normal to wear sleepwear to bed?”
Movira had no interest in debating the purpose of nightgowns. She steered the conversation straight to the place that would embarrass Seraphina most.
“Forced? True, that’s how it started… but toward the end? Weren’t you… secretly responding too…?”
“Shut up! Don’t say it!”
Seraphina’s fur bristled like an angry cat. She looked ready to leap up and clamp Movira’s mouth shut.
But with what little dignity she had left, she could only grit her teeth and glare.