Myths Reawakened

Wayne opened the door to the young lady’s mansion, humming a tune as he walked to the living room. Seeing the trio of girls huddling together on the sofa, his heart skipped a beat.

Something’s wrong!

Veronica clenched her teeth, and Vera had a look of schadenfreude on her face. When Wayne looked at her in confusion, she paled and slumped back on the sofa in a sickly manner, as if she had been severely abused.

Confused, he turned to Kristen for an answer. His caring senior would surely tell him why things were awkward.

But she didn’t.

His gentle, kind future wife let out a meaningful sigh and turned away, preventing him from seeing anything but her icy side profile. The look only appeared when Kristen was feeling extreme emotions.

So...

Wayne raised an eyebrow and turned to leave. “It seems that I’ve come at the wrong time. You girls obviously have something to discuss. I won’t bother you.”

“No, you came at the right time!” Veronica rushed to him and grabbed his collar, dragging him to the sofa. “Speak. Did you and Senior do... do...”

What was there to say? He had to have done it!

Veronica didn’t want to listen to his excuses, afraid that she would believe him and even more afraid that Kristen would. Dragging Wayne to the window, she punched the hateful face with fine white scales surfacing her arm.

Bam!

As the window shattered, the human cannonball streaked through the sky and fell into the grove.

“Wayne!”

Vera was going to run after him, but Veronica stopped her and bit out, “Neither of you is leaving today. Stay the night with me.”

Kristen decided it was for the best despite her frustration. She was easy to persuade and would sooner or later forgive Wayne; it was better to let Veronica take charge than to allow Wayne to talk his way out of this.

Even so, she wasn’t sure how she should face Veronica. The two of them had slept with the same man. There was no turning back from that.

The room fell silent. Vera looked out of the window for a while. When no one said anything, she raised her hand and said, “Let’s play cards!”

Meanwhile, Auston stood before the window in his study, peering out in confusion. Why was Wayne suddenly sent flying? And he had flown quite far.

Nice flight! That’s perfect!

***

“It seems like I’m exposed...”

In the grove, Wayne picked himself up while rubbing his face and mumbling, “Didn’t expect karma to find me so quickly. As they say, a perfect crime is a crime that’s never committed... Hiss, that punch hurt. It’s not a reward.”

He glanced at the young lady’s mansion and agonized over whether to ask for a few more punches, but ultimately decided against it. Today wasn’t the right day for that. Even if he sought Veronica out now, he wouldn’t get the chance to defend himself.

Before leaving the grove, he spotted Monica strolling around while shaking its head and erect tail, patrolling its luxurious litter box in preparation for the actual act.

“Hehe...” Wayne dashed to Monica and scooped it up, lifting it high. “Up, Monica!”

Startled, the black cat kicked around in an attempt to escape the human, but it couldn’t even break through Wayne’s thick skin. He took that as Monica playing hard to get to attract his attention, holding it and giving it a good petting.

He had a good time, and Monica, too. Although Monica resisted, it soon succumbed to his masterful fingers, purring like an engine.

Eyes narrowed, Wayne held its head and opted for his most powerful petting technique, giving it an out-of-body experience.

“Good kitty, the Nature Knight has run into a great difficulty in the Frozen Land, and the Sun Knight is in a rush to recover his full power. What about the Darkness Knight? Still going to wait and see?”

Monica looked like it was reaching nirvana with its kitty face reshaped like a dough, but it didn’t seem to understand Wayne’s words, as if it was nothing but a regular black cat.

After some more petting, Wayne let Monica free to roam the lawn. Instead of running away immediately, Monica rubbed against his leg with its tail erect before continuing its search for a nice litter spot.

***

High Reverend’s manor.

In the living room, Filomina lay on the sofa on her side, dressed in a silky bathrobe. Her flushed, fair legs rested on Wayne’s lap.

“Bastard, leaving as soon as you’re home? What does the Church of Sun’s affairs have to do with you, the Nature Knight?”

Filomina complained incessantly. “Don’t use the Life Alliance as an excuse. Only children believe that lie. You never pay any attention to matters of the Church of Moonlight. Have you ever swung by my office after its completion? You don’t care about me!”

Wayne didn’t dare to argue against any of her many grievances. Lifting her beautiful legs like the greatest treasure, he applied slices of cucumbers to the skin for moisture and nutrients.

Given Filomina’s magical expertise, she would be forever youthful without the need for additional skin care. Absorbing water and wind elements would be more effective than any skin care routine.

But she loved the process, and Wayne loved the way she looked as she took care of herself.

With her routine done, the cucumbers were also eaten. Filomina rolled her eyes at Wayne, spreading her arms so that her young boyfriend could carry her to the bedroom.

“This won’t be a good idea.” Wayne rubbed his side with a troubled look. “I’m heading out the day after tomorrow, so I need to conserve my strength until then.”

“Hmph!”

Filomina stood up and hopped onto his back, grappling him tightly like an octopus. He made it sound like she was desperate when he was the one who refused to stop every time; even if he exhausted himself, he only had himself to blame.

Resigned, Wayne reminded her again to be gentle with him before carrying the beauty upstairs.

The next day, Wayne excused himself from the High Reverend’s manor, claiming that he needed rest. He drove to the detective agency and then the library, first writing multiple entries in the diary and then telling Mona and Ottilia to hold down the fort while he was away on the mission.

Regina had returned to Prussia out of concern for her older sister. Wayne had only given her so much free time; she would be back in a few days.

In the afternoon, Wayne returned to his residence and told Veryl to pack light for him. While he was busying himself, he spotted the black car of the Lando family taking Kristen home.

That’s it?

Wayne had thought that they would give him the silent treatment for much longer, but the alliance of the trio had fallen apart quickly due to a lack of common ground. He rushed to the door with visible excitement and bowed down to welcome Kristen home.

His shameless behavior both amused and infuriated Kristen, but every time she got angry, she would remember how he had shielded her from a legendary mage. That deflated her anger in three seconds.

Vera was right. She was done for; never would she break free of Wayne’s influence.

Sighing, she broodingly dug into the nutritious dinner. It was so tasty that she still wanted more after setting down her spoon.

“Mistress, would you care for more?” Veryl bowed and asked.

He called me ‘mistress’!

Kristen’s heart fluttered. As expected of the butler, he had a way with words. His simple line sounded ten thousand times better than anything the irritating bastard had said.

Wayne gave Veryl a look, who shook his head to suggest that this wasn’t the time for a non-verbal conversation. It would spell trouble if Mistress Kristen noticed.

None could be more professional than Veryl. He had to have played mediator for Auston and Silvia before. Flattering Kristen with an expressionless face, Veryl extended the olive branch bit by bit, and Kristen, whose rejection had been hesitant, grabbed it.

She found herself pulled into Wayne’s arms.

In the master bedroom, Kristen bit into Wayne’s shoulder and said angrily, “Veronica’s unhappy, and so is Vera. I’m also dissatisfied. It’s all your fault.”

“Still dissatisfied? Wasn’t the last time good enough?”

“Bastard, I’m not talking about that.”

A faint red dusted Kristen’s cheeks as she buried herself in her beloved’s arms, hooking her arms around his neck tightly. “I don’t intend to move out after moving in. You mustn’t hurt me from now on.”

Wayne tilted his head with a smile. “Even if you wanted to move out, I wouldn’t let you. Since you’ve settled down here, don’t ever dream about leaving. I’m never going to let go of you.”

“Yeah.” Kristen closed her eyes, remembering how Veronica had walked away while crying silently. Heart aching, she said in a sad voice, “You’re leaving tomorrow. Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Veronica?”

I’d have to be a real monster to walk away now!

Wayne tightened his embrace and said in a low voice, “You’re too kind-hearted. That’s not good for you and will end up hurting you. You have to learn to be harsher to me. Don’t be afraid of everything spiraling out of control. I deserve all the punishment.”

Kristen huffed. He didn’t know if she had taken his suggestion to heart.

“How did you know I’m leaving tomorrow?” Wayne asked.

“Today, Mr. Dick called the Lando Estate for Vera, and she left in a hurry. After a while, she called and said that she received news about her parents, and that she was heading somewhere extremely dangerous...”

Kristen opened her eyes. “I’m guessing that you know everything and will leave tomorrow with Vera.”

“More or less.”

Will you shield Vera, too?

The answer was obviously yes. Kristen huffed and said, “Don’t give Vera a chance, and don’t let her hold you. If I learn that you do it, I’ll—”

Wayne silenced her threat with a kiss and flipped over to pin her down.