Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1095: I promise on my soul

”Letʼs end this, Aether.”

”...” Aether blinked. For a second, everything around him seemed to stop. The room, the air, even time itself. His breath hitched in his throat. His chest tightened. His heart felt like it had been pierced by a quiet blade as her words echoed again and again in his ears, louder than any scream.

It hurt more than he imagined.

Aether finally let out a soft hum, a sound that trembled with sorrow and a broken kind of acceptance. A quiet surrender.

”I see--” Before he could truly acknowledge her words, when—

”Start again.”

”Huh?”

Aether blinked, startled, confused. His eyes widened as he looked at her with a puzzled, almost dazed expression.

Helena smiled softly. Her lips trembled faintly, but her eyes had turned warm—so warm it made his chest ache. She was no longer cold or distant. She had never looked more gentle. With a slow motion, she stepped forward and revealed the beautiful flower bouquet she had hidden behind her back. She moved from the bed with trembling knees, then knelt before him on the floor, a woman laying her heart bare.

She said with a tender, vulnerable smile, her voice barely above a whisper, ”Letʼs start again, Aether... This time, I donʼt want anything forced between us. No masks. No chains. No reasons or excuses. Just feelings... real feelings. I want you to fall for me... for who I truly am... just me... with all my flaws, my fears, my heart that only beats for you.

Can you... can you fall in love with me again?”

Her voice cracked at the end as she blinked through her tears, trying so hard not to cry. Her fingers clenched the bouquet tightly, and her shoulders shook ever so slightly.

She hadnʼt come up with this on a whim. This moment, this confession... it was born from days of pain, nights of tears, and countless hours of doubt. She had spoken to Sera—her mentor, her guide, the woman who had once walked the same path, the woman who was also someone Aether had once touched in his own twisted way.

She knew Sera wasnʼt just another girl... No! She was someone who had seen the depth of Aetherʼs world, just like Helena had.

Helena had asked questions. She had begged for answers. She needed to know what she was missing... what made her feel like she was never enough.

And Sera... Sera had told her the truth.

A truth so raw that it left Helena speechless for a moment.

After all, Aether had asked Sera to be honest with her. He wanted no more lies between the people he loved.

Sera told her everything—how at first, she hated it. Hated being pulled into Aetherʼs world. Hated the lies, the manipulation, the shame. How she felt betrayed, used, lost...

And yet... above all that pain... her love remained.

Her love didnʼt shrink.

It grew.

Sure, he lied.

Sure, he tricked.

Sure, he played with hearts like toys.

But if there was one thing—just one thing—that wasnʼt a lie... it was that he loved her.

And Sera... Sera loved him too. So much, too much... it broke her. It shattered her from the inside.

It wasnʼt some sweet, pretty love. It was messy, complicated, and painful. But it was real.

She knew deep in her soul that without him, she was nothing. She was empty. She was incomplete.

She wanted to feel alive again. To feel her heart beat with meaning. To feel his touch. His warmth. His voice. His love.

So what if there were other women?

So what if she had to share a piece of his heart?

That didnʼt make her love any less pure.

And even if there came a day when Aether no longer loved her...

”I will kill him,” Sera had said with a dark, emotional intensity in her voice, ”And kill myself.”

The words chilled Helena. They scared her.

But Sera wasnʼt being dramatic. She meant it.

Sera told her thatʼs what Aether wanted—that intensity, that obsession, that devotion that burned even when everything else turned to ash.

He had whispered it to Sera on the day they became one. The day they gave in to their deepest desires.

Helena didnʼt understand all of it. She didnʼt know how love could be that dangerous. That wild.

But one thing she knew without a doubt—Sera wasnʼt joking.

Sera was dead serious.

Still...

”But I know... he wouldnʼt,” Sera had muttered afterward, her voice soft, laced with affection and calm certainty... just like Helenaʼs voice used to sound once, long ago.

It wasnʼt just a belief. It wasnʼt just hope.

There was truth in her tone. Something deeper than words.

And thatʼs when Helena realised the real reason behind her torment. The thing that had been gnawing at her heart all this time.

It wasnʼt the other women.

It wasnʼt even betrayal.

It was fear... A childhood fear.

She was afraid Aether would leave her.

Afraid heʼd forget her.

Just like her mother had.

She was terrified of being left in the shadows... Of fading into the background... Of becoming just a forgotten name in his long, chaotic story.

Her lips trembled. Her voice barely came out.

”C-Can you love this not-worthy woman?” she asked, not to test him—but because she truly doubted herself. Her voice was so small, so broken. As if she didnʼt believe she deserved love anymore. As if his words had pierced her too deeply when he once said... he was forced to love her.

Who wouldnʼt crumble after hearing that?

Aether looked at her with such softness that it felt like time slowed again.

He smiled—weakly, but with truth in his eyes. And slowly, he lowered himself onto his knees before her.

His hand gently took hers. His other hand reached out and accepted Helenaʼs bouquet.

”If anything,” he said softly, his voice raw and real, ”itʼs you who should be thinking... Can you love this not-worthy man?”

He stared into her eyes, refusing to look away.

”Because every part of me… every shattered, broken part of me… only wants to be whole again… with you.”

Helena bit her lips as fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. Her voice trembled like a fragile thread, ”N-N-No more tricks?”

Aether slowly nodded, his eyes locked with hers, ”Never. Not again. I swear.”

”N-No more lies?” she asked again, like a scared child desperately needing to hear the truth this time.

”I would never lie to you,” he said firmly, almost pleading, his voice trembling with guilt and longing.

Helena hiccupped like a heartbroken little girl as her tear-soaked face crumpled, her fingers twitching against the bouquet, ”N-No more... leaving?”

That broke him.

Without thinking, Aether leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a deep, desperate embrace.

”I would never abandon you... never ever,” he whispered into her hair, his voice shaking with raw emotion. ”I promise on my soul, Helena. I swear it on everything I am.” He hugged her tighter, as if he feared sheʼd vanish if he let go.

And just like that, Helena collapsed into his arms.

Like a dam that had barely been holding itself together for days finally gave out, she burst into a sobbing wail.

”Awwwwweeeee!!” she cried out as she clenched his shirt tightly, burying her soaked face into his shoulder.

”Y-You know... you know how lonely I felt when you didnʼt talk to me!” she wailed, her voice cracking as emotion surged out of her like floodwaters.

”How could you be so cold to me!! Awwweee!!”

”A-And then you acted like I didnʼt even exist anymore... Awwweee... how could you do that to me!?”

Aetherʼs heart twisted with every word. He hugged her tighter, gently rubbing her back as her sobs echoed through the room.

He pulled her gently from his shoulder and cupped her cheeks with his trembling hands. When he looked into her teary, flushed face, his heart skipped a beat—and for a second, it felt like he bled inside.

Her crying face... the pain she held... it shattered him.

”Iʼm sorry... Iʼm so, so sorry!” he choked out before leaning in and kissing her cheeks.

~Chu~

”Iʼm sorry.”

~Chu~

”Iʼm sorry.”

~Chu~

”Iʼm sorry.”

~Chu~

”Iʼm sorry.”

~Chu~

”Iʼm sorry.”

~Chu~

”Iʼm sorry.”

~Chu~

”Iʼm so sorry, Helena...”

He whispered between every kiss, his lips moving across her tear-stained cheeks, her temples, her nose—everywhere his regret could reach.

Helena sniffled, still crying, but a tiny laugh escaped her lips. ”Hah... it t-tickles,” she murmured as she smiled—genuinely, for the first time in what felt like forever.

She saw his face—his worried, relieved, tender expression—and her heart finally settled. This week had been frantic. Her mind, her body, her heart had been restless since the moment he left.

But now that he was here...

Now that he returned to her...

Everything inside her calmed down.

Not just her tears. Not just her fears.

Her soul settled.

”I... I really do love you, Aether,” she whispered with the purest, most innocent tone—like a girl confessing for the first time.

Aether couldnʼt stop himself.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

”~Hmm~”

Helenaʼs eyes widened at first, but then slowly, gently, she smiled into the kiss and returned it with all the warmth in her heart.

”I really love you too, Helena,” he murmured softly as their lips parted. ”You have no idea what I was going to do if you rejected me... I almost panicked when you said that... I almost lost myself...”

Helena grinned as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand like a child. ”N-Now you feel it? H-Ha... Thatʼs exactly why I told you that!” she said playfully, as if sheʼd done it on purpose, even though her tears said otherwise.

”Oh?” Aether blinked, surprised, then chuckled. His eyes glistened, tears forming in the corners again as he whispered, ”Iʼm sorry.”

Helena reached up and gently wiped the corners of his eyes with her fingers.

”Y-You idiot...” she whispered, smiling through her tears. ”I would never leave you... even if you left me first.”

After all, her mother did leave her when she was a child, and yet she searched for her mother, right?

Not for revenge or anything... just to see her mother doing well.

Thatʼs... Helena!

She leaned forward and rested her forehead gently against his.

Aether smiled deeply, ”Excuse me, miss, youʼre not allowed to leave—and neither am I. You belong to me, and I belong to you. Forever. You should never, ever think about escaping from my love, dear~” he said in a low, possessive tone that sent shivers down her spine.

Helena blinked, caught off guard by that voice. Her face turned bright red.

”Hahaha...” she let out a breathy laugh, her heart fluttering in her chest. Then, with a whisper, cheeks flushed and eyes lowered, she asked softly, ”If so... then... c-canʼt you mark me? Like you d-did with the A-Archpriestess?”

”...”

Aether raised an eyebrow, mildly stunned. His eyes slowly widened as he looked at Helenaʼs beet-red face, her watery eyes shyly avoiding his gaze.

Her request wasnʼt just flustered—it was filled with longing. With desire. With love.

She was ready.

And she wanted him to know it.

__________

[Authorʼs Note:

Okay guys, I really need your thoughts on this part…

I know—I ended up reuniting them in the next chapter. I get it. What Aether did was obviously wrong—he played with Helenaʼs heart, and no matter the reasons behind it, it hurt her deeply. And yeah, maybe I forgave him a bit too fast?

But hereʼs where Iʼm unsure…

Was I right to bring them back together this soon? Or should I have shown a longer, harsher separation? Maybe I shouldʼve broken Aether down more—made him suffer for what he did, made his redemption feel earned instead of gentle?

I really need to know—did this emotional reunion feel right to you?

Tell me honestly. Iʼm listening. ❤️]