Myths Reawakened

June twenty-first.

Manor of the Holy Maiden of Darkness.

In the living room, Wayne picked up a cup of black tea and blew at it, taking a sip. Filomina was too weak. There was no carrying her. Even with Anastasia and Vichy covering for her, she had failed to clear her name.

She was catching up on sleep in the master bedroom and probably wouldn’t get up until the afternoon.

“B-boss, could you please focus on your tea?” Vichy pushed his hand off her backside again.

“Why are you worried? There’s no outsider around.” Wayne lowered the cup and grabbed Vichy’s hand, pulling her into his lap.

What do you mean there’s no outsider around? Sukra thought. There’s a slacker sitting right here!

Vichy sat on Wayne’s lap with her hands against his chest, her icy face blushing beautifully. The first time she did it, it was a threesome, and the second time, a foursome. The new car had barely hit the road before it went on the highway. She felt her moral standards decline in real time.

Did a woman like her still have the right to serve her two superiors as a knight? It might be a disrespectful thought, but she believed she did. When she looked down at the moral rock bottom, her superiors were right there.

Wayne buried his face in her shoulder and took a deep inhale, making her blush even harder. Fine beads of sweat formed on the tip of her nose. She was about to steam like a kettle.

“Why are you so shy? Last night, you were—”

“Boss, I’m working right now!”

Vichy sprang up and took a deep breath to suppress the flutter in her chest, barely regaining her icy composure. Unable to take Wayne’s teasing gaze, she took several steps back and said with lowered head, “Work is work, and life is life. Please allow me to stay far away from your life while I’m working.”

“Got it. I should turn off the light, is that it?”

“...”

Just kill me!

Vichy swallowed a wail, overwhelmed with shame and indignation. She remained rooted to the spot, unsure what she should do.

“Come sit on me. Your job right now isn’t just to protect Anna, but also to be my bodyguard. Do you know what a bodyguard is? Should I explain it to you?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Vichy shook her head rapidly. She had a feeling that Wayne’s explanation would make her cry.

“What are you waiting for? Come here!”

“...”

She dragged her feet, glancing at Sukra and seeing her munching on snacks with her back to them. Vichy carefully sat down on Wayne’s lap.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and smoothed his other hand along her leg. “You’re stunning, Vichy!”

It was a familiar line that this superior of hers had said to her other superior. Usually, a kiss would follow.

“Hm...”

A moment later, Wayne pulled back and arched an eyebrow at the blushing knight. “I’m giving you a day off today. You don’t have to protect Ana. Go out with your boyfriend. We’re going shopping and then to a movie.”

“I-I don’t have a boyfriend,” Vichy said weakly. “I understand what you mean, but this isn’t right. I’m your knight. I’m more than satisfied to receive your favor... Mmm...”

A few deep kisses left Vichy dazed. When she realized it, her arms were already wrapped around Wayne’s neck.

∠(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄) (눈_눈)

Boss, has anyone ever told you that your face is missing a fist print? Or a handprint.

The thought had barely formed before Vichy felt guilty for her disrespect. Just because her superior favored her didn’t mean she should get ahead of herself. As a knight, she should keep her station in mind at all times, never letting the affection get to her head.

“Hm...”

“So, are you going to go shopping and go to a movie with your boyfriend?”

“Boss, I must not—”

“I’ll give you one chance to reconsider.”

“...”

Vichy nodded stiffly.

She kept reminding herself to maintain proper conduct, but she still couldn’t stop her heart from racing, and some part of her wanted to lean in for another kiss.

Bam!

The front door was kicked open, and Darienne, dressed in all white, charged into the living room. The moment she saw the tangled pair on the sofa, she froze in shock, sucking in a sharp breath.

“You-you...” She pointed a trembling finger at Vichy. “You’ve fallen.”

Getting caught in such a compromising position by someone she disliked embarrassed Vichy. She struggled to break free from Wayne’s embrace, but he kept her trapped. She had no choice but to bury her face in his shoulders and shut her eyes, pretending that she didn’t exist.

“Tsk, what a pure Darkness Knight. I almost bought your lie.” Darienne stepped forward and poked Vichy on the shoulder. When she didn’t react at all, Darienne burst out laughing with glinting eyes, poking at her head with both fingers.

Smack!

Wayne swatted Darienne’s hand away and pulled Vichy into a protective embrace. “What do you think you’re doing? If you want to poke someone, poke yourself. Don’t trouble my girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?!” Darienne’s lips twitched. “I should be congratulating Vichy for finding a boyfriend, but if it’s you, she’s truly unlucky.”

Laughing, she patted Wayne on the shoulder, urging him to go harder and humiliate Vichy in every possible position.

When he didn’t bother to respond, she leaned in and whispered to Vichy, “Ha, serves you right for bullying me. Now, you’re getting bullied by my student. This is karma for you. You should’ve foreseen this day back then.”

Vichy kept her face firmly hidden in Wayne’s shoulder, playing deaf. If possible, she would like to die now.

“Enough harassing my girlfriend already. Why are you here? To play cards?”

Wayne waved Darienne away. Vichy was too easily embarrassed. The exposure therapy could wait. This was enough for today.

“Cards!” Darienne lit up with renewed spirit.

“Did you really come for cards?” Wayne asked with a frown.

“Of course not. I came with Galen...” Darienne pointed at the empty doorway. After a moment, she said, “There’s Galen. She’s soft and has terrible stamina. She’ll be here any second.”

The innocent words meant something different to Wayne. He nodded to himself. Kristen and Filomina were both members of the Church of Moonlight, and both had trouble keeping up with the demanding exercise. With or without teammates backing them up, they couldn’t endure for long.

They were hopeless.

That begged the question: why was Darienne always energetic?

Darienne waited thirty seconds before she got so bored that she started teasing Vichy again. Wayne blocked her and kept Vichy shielded in his embrace, refusing to let Darienne land more pokes.

“Tsk, I know this woman. Her heart is cold, so you’d never get her through normal means. Even if you do, you could only have her body...” Darienne came to a conclusion. “How shameless of you to pressure her with your position. She only gave in because she couldn’t resist.

Vichy looked up then, staring daggers at Darienne and urging her to take back the offensive accusation.

Darienne glared back.

The two knights were both dressed in tailored suits, their long hair tied into ponytails. One was mainly black, and the other was mainly white. Their contrast was pronounced.

Wayne gulped, his mouth dry.

Oh, no. My moral compass is malfunctioning further!

He shook the thoughts away and remembered Darienne’s antics at the card table, quickly regaining his composure. He no longer felt the creeping desires.

“You’re wonderful, Darienne.”

“Huh?”

Darienne didn’t know what he was talking about, but she could tell that he was thinking something rather rude. She was about to give him a scolding as his archery and card teacher when Galen finally arrived.

Galen sat down on the sofa, panting hard, having desperately run after Darienne. She almost ran herself into hypoglycemia.

After catching her breath, she looked over awkwardly at Wayne, who still had Vichy in his arms. “Um, could you let go of the Darkness Knight? She looks troubled.”

“No!” Darienne vetoed.

“Since she says no, I guess I’ll let go.” Wayne patted Vichy on the backside, knowing that Galen had come here for business. He told Vichy to calm herself down in her room. Once the conversation was over, they would head out for shopping and a movie.

Vichy looked as though she had been pardoned from a great punishment. She stopped after taking two steps, then stood behind Wayne with a cold poker face, resuming her duties as his bodyguard.

It was Darkness’s task for her and a duty she could not shirk.

Such loyalty!

Not to be outdone, Darienne stood behind Galen and stared at Vichy.

By now, Vichy had fully composed herself. Work was work, and life was life. She would never let her life bleed into her work, so she kept a poker face in response to Darienne’s provocation.

“You slept with Wayne,” Darienne said.

Vichy’s composure crumbled instantly. She glared back at Darienne, once again dragged back into a petty conflict that was Darienne’s forte. Lacking in experience, she lost the staring contest badly.

“Darienne, what are you doing?”

‘Galen’ looked at her own knight in exasperation, unable to fathom what She had ever seen in the woman. If Darienne had been slightly more normal, Vichy wouldn’t be the one being held in Wayne’s arms.

Siluk had descended!

While both were chosen knights, why was Ines’s knight so capable, while Hers seemed to have a screw loose in her head? Siluk grumbled silently. It wasn’t just the knights. Even her subordinate gods fell behind Ines’s. Darkness’s subordinate gods never gave Her any trouble, while Hers...

One moment of inattention, and they made trouble for her.

ε=(´ο`*)))

Life was hard. The goddess sighed.

“Why are you here, Goddess of Moonlight? And you brought so many—”

Wayne trailed off when he saw Siluk extending a hand toward him. He swallowed the rest of his words and took Her hand, receiving today’s greeting gift.

“My goddess, given your status, you only need to call if you want to see me,” Wayne said in a friendly tone. “You don’t have to make the trip. Mina can help arrange things.”

“Filomina didn’t show up at the church today, Wayne,” Siluk said. “She’s not at home either. Do you know where she is?”

Wayne glanced upstairs, breaking into a cold sweat. “Do goddesses personally check the work record? The Church of Moonlight runs a tight ship... Um, do you want me to wake Mina up?”

Better not. She should move as little as possible in this state.

Siluk rolled her eyes prettily, getting straight to the point. “This morning, Tyrol, my subordinate god, reported to me that there might have been some unpleasant misunderstanding between you two.”

“That’s an understatement, Goddess.” Wayne pointed at his own face. “Do you see this? You called me an ally, yet you allowed your subordinate god to beat me up. If you don’t want an alliance, just say so. You don’t have to go out of your way to humiliate me!”

He continued to rant about his tolerance leading to escalating violence, about stepping back only to end up inviting more beating. The pushover felt wronged.

(는_는)

For some reason—perhaps it was just Her imagination—Siluk suddenly noticed the uncanny resemblance between Wayne and Ines. They were a match made in the Void.