Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1470: A Ring that meant... Past, Present and Future.

After the intense workout, both Delphine and Aether lay on the bed beneath the quilt, their bodies still warm as they curled into each other. Aether held her close, his arm secure around her waist, while he quietly told her everything that had happened to him and why she had been feeling so different than usual.

When she heard the details, Delphine lifted her head slightly and stared at him, her expression sharp and incredulous.... as if a question written plainly across her features... Are you even normal?

Aether squinted at her, lips pressing into a thin line as he read her expression without her needing to say a word.

Delphine shook her head and let out a soft, amused sigh, her fingers curling lightly into his chest.

”I honestly don’t even know what to say anymore,” she murmured, half-baffled and half-overwhelmed by everything she had just heard.

Aether blinked, then pulled her tighter against him, whispering near her ear.

”Even though you liked it that much?”

Delphine’s cheeks instantly turned beet red as she glared up at him, ”I am not a pervert,” she snapped.

Aether smirked, clearly enjoying her reaction. ”Of course, of course...” he said softly before leaning down to press a tender kiss to her forehead, a simple gesture that somehow made her even more annoyed, though she could not explain why.

Delphine sighed again, shaking her head as if trying to clear her thoughts, then snuggled closer to him. Her gaze drifted down to the ring on her left hand.

”So... I am married... ah?” Delphine muttered quietly, her voice soft and uncertain, as though saying it aloud made it suddenly real in a way it had not been before.

Aether smiled gently and nodded, his thumb brushing along her cheek, ”Yes, but...” he paused, ”I will marry you in front of the whole world.”

Delphine raised her eyebrows, her face heating up once more as she looked away shyly. ”That... would be embarrassing,” she admitted, though there was a hint of happiness hidden beneath her flustered tone.

”Hahah,” Aether chuckled, as he pulled her closer again and kissed her forehead.

His embrace felt protective, almost sacred.

Delphine did not understand why, but her heart settled deep within her chest, sinking into a calm she had never known before. It felt as though she had reached a place where nothing could hurt her anymore, where fear and doubt simply faded away.

She wondered what this feeling truly was, yet part of her already knew the answer without needing words. She wanted to hold onto this warmth for the rest of her life, never letting it slip away.

As she smiled softly, her eyes traced over the ring once more, lingering on its surface.

Plop~

Her vision suddenly wavered instead of remaining steady.

Her eyes began to sting as her vision turned hazy and muddy, the world blurring before her. Then, without warning, the same image split into two, overlapping like reflections trying to exist at once.

Plop~

Her breath caught when she realised there were three visions now, arranged in a strange circular form.

Her ring in the first vision looked pale, dull, and raw, while the second appeared polished, pristine, and beautiful, just like how Aether presented her and... The third vision unsettled her the most, the ring glowing faintly?... almost as if veins of light pulsed inside it!

She blinked hard and rubbed her eyes, her movements quick and anxious as she tried to force the strange sight away.

Confusion and unease twisted together in her chest as she struggled to understand what she was seeing.

”Del?” Aether called softly, his brow furrowing as he watched her sudden distress. He lifted himself slightly, ”Are you alright?”

Delphine continued rubbing her eyes, her voice strained with discomfort. ”My eyes hurt... I don’t know why,” she said, wincing slightly. When she finally opened her eyes again, everything had returned to normal, leaving her blinking in confusion.

Aether studied her eyes closely, searching for anything out of place, but found nothing wrong. ”Maybe dust got in them,” he said quietly.

Delphine blinked slowly... Could dust really cause someone to see three visions at once? She did not know, and the answer slipped through her grasp, no matter how hard she tried to reason with it.

In the end, she let the question fade, convincing herself that maybe it truly was nothing.

Her vision had returned to normal now, steady and clear, and she looked at the ring once more, this time with focused intent.

As she studied it deeply, her eyes widened in mild surprise. ”What’s inside?” she asked softly, noticing a faint, thread-like structure embedded within the ring. It was not easy to see, hidden beneath the deep black colour, but the closer she looked, the more certain she became that something was there, concealed yet undeniably present.

Aether raised his eyebrows slightly before giving a weak, knowing smile. ”And here I thought no one was going to find it,” he said, his voice carrying a quiet hint of pride.

Delphine glanced at him, her wordless expression demanding an explanation.

Aether gently took her hand and stared at the ring as he spoke. ”With Lyirrs’s help, I managed to cut the material and shape the ring,” he explained calmly. ”Then I made a few designs and adjustments... all for you.” His fingers tightened slightly around hers.

”Design?” Delphine blinked, looking back at the ring with confusion. ”I don’t see anything like that.”

Aether chuckled quietly, his eyes fixing on a particular portion of the ring as he muttered, ”Yes, there is a design. I carved it for you, just for you, using my own hands... well, Lyirrs’s claws, actually.” He laughed softly as he remembered the process, recalling how he had used Lyirrs’s dragon-formed claws to carve the ring while she grew increasingly irritated at being treated like a carving tool.

Hearing that, Delphine’s heart warmed further, a gentle heat spreading through her chest. She rubbed the ring slowly, trying to feel the design or even the faint structure beneath the surface.

”Was it meant to be like the palace?” she asked quietly. ”Glowing in the dark?”

After all, the material absorbed light during the day and released it softly at night, right?

Aether let out a soft sigh. ”That’s what I thought too,” he admitted. ”But for some reason, it doesn’t glow at night. We tried other sets, but everything looked the same, and since it was the darkest raw material we found, we couldn’t change its colour composition.” He paused, drawing a slow breath before adding in a quieter tone, ”So... I added our love.”

Delphine frowned slightly, ”What do you mean?” she asked.

Aether lifted her hand toward the soft lantern near the bedside table. His movements were careful and deliberate as he tilted the ring at a precise angle, as though he had rehearsed this moment many times in his mind. When the light pierced through the dark surface of the ring, Delphine gasped softly as she saw the veins she had noticed earlier.

”Our hair?” Delphine muttered in disbelief.

Inside the ring, she could clearly see a single strand of aqua-colored hair intertwined with white.

Aether nodded, his expression filled with quiet pride. ”I braided our strands together carefully,” he said.

”Not just my white hair, but my black hair as well.” His voice softened, growing more sincere.

”Both my past and my present... they belong to you now. Braided with yours, leading into the future of... us.”

At his words, Delphine’s eyes grew teary as she stared blankly at the ring. The braiding inside was tight, firm, impossible to untangle, no matter what force might try.

The meaning behind it struck her deeper than she expected.

She nodded slowly, her voice trembling with emotion. ”It’s... ah... it’s creepy,” she said softly, even as a single tear slipped down her cheek. The moment her words left her lips, she hugged him tightly, burying herself against his chest.

Aether chuckled gently and kissed her forehead. ”I know,” he replied, his tone warm and affectionate.

”Hmm~”

Delphine lifted her head and kissed his lips, slow and tender. Neither of them moved afterwards. They remained there in silence, sharing each other’s warmth, letting the moment stretch on far longer than either could measure.

As much as Delphine wanted to sleep, and as clearly as she felt the exhaustion from the intense workout weighing on her body, her eyes remained wide open. No matter how hard she tried, they refused to close, her mind lingering on the warmth, the ring, and the quiet certainty that something profound had just bound them together.

Aether noticed the eagerness flickering in her expression, the way her body leaned into him without her even realising it. With a quiet chuckle, he softly patted her ass and leaned closer, his voice low and teasing.

”Come on... if you have something to say, just say it,” he whispered, his breath warm against her ear.

Delphine smiled at that, a little sheepish, a little fond.

”It’s not like I have something important to say, but...” she hesitated, her fingers brushing the ring as her gaze softened. ”After everything that happened, you know how much the Principal supported me. We ate together all the time, went shopping together, and she even took me to a playground once,” she laughed quietly. ”It felt like... I don’t know... like I was her child or something. Haha...”

As she spoke, she slowly unravelled the story of her life after they had been separated, her voice gentle and reflective. Her eyes never left the ring, her expression glowing with a happiness so pure it almost hurt to look at.

Each memory spilt out naturally, one after another, as if she had been waiting a long time to finally share them with him.

Aether simply held her and listened. The more he heard, the more surprised he became, especially when she spoke about how often Dora had helped her and stood by her side.

He had allowed Dora to stay close to Delphine at first only because he thought she might help stabilise her, but he had never imagined she would care this deeply.

’Looks like I really underestimated the fox,’ he thought quietly, his grip tightening just a little as he continued to listen without interrupting her.