How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 468: A Morning you want to last Interlude

”Good morning, Liyana…” I greeted, doing my best to keep my tone casual. ”Yes, I slept well. Did you just get here? Itʼs still quite early, no?”

Liyana smiled, that ever-gentle curl of her lips betraying nothing… and everything.

”Fufu~ Not at all,” she said sweetly. ”Iʼve started waking up earlier these days. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with my sisters during your brief winter vacation, so… here I am~”

She tilted her head ever so slightly, her silky white hair shifting softly over her shoulder as she leaned to peek through the doorway behind me.

”…Are my sisters still asleep?” she asked, her tone light, almost teasing.

I paused for a moment, choosing my words carefully.

”Well, sort of,” I replied, rubbing the back of my neck. ”They woke up around the same time as I did, but… letʼs just say they were a little too tired to get up. So I let them rest for now.”

Her crimson eyes gleamed, narrowing with faint amusement.

”Mm~ I see, I see~” she hummed, nodding to herself with deliberate slowness. The implication in her words lingered in the air like a smirk she didnʼt voice.

It didnʼt take a genius to understand she already knew what happened.

I sighed quietly and gently tugged the sulking, trembling figure on my shoulder forward.

”By the way,” I said, holding Lavine out in front of me, ”Did you do this to my familiar?”

Lavine, upon hearing that, immediately panicked and flailed her little arms as she darted behind my back like a terrified squirrel hiding from a predator.

”N-Nope! Noooo, Master! Sheʼs terrifying! I was just existing, I swear!!” she cried, clinging to my shirt as if her life depended on it.

Liyana chuckled softly, placing a hand to her cheek in mock embarrassment.

”Oh my~ Silly me,” she cooed, tilting her head again. ”It seems I couldnʼt quite hold myself back a little while ago, darling… I may have gotten a tad too excited and ended up taking it out on your adorable little familiar~”

Her tone was sweet, but Lavineʼs visible trauma said everything I needed to know.

”Is that so…” I muttered, giving Lavine a small pat of reassurance as she peeked out from behind me with teary eyes.

Liyana stepped a little closer, her gaze drifting toward Lavine with curious intensity.

”Her energy is quite peculiar, though,” she said thoughtfully. ”I noticed it yesterday, but I paid it no mind at the time… Now that Iʼm really looking, sheʼs quite the unique little fairy. Where did you find her?”

I raised an eyebrow.

”Well, she is unique, yeah. But does that really matter?”

Liyanaʼs eyes twinkled. ”Of course it does. Iʼd love to form a contract with something similar someday.”

Lavineʼs entire body tensed at that.

I gave a slight shrug, offering a half-smile.

”Then Iʼm sorry, but I donʼt think youʼll have much luck. Being… like that is her own unique trait. As far as I know, sheʼs one of a kind.”

There was a pause. Liyana didnʼt seem disappointed, per se—but she gave a slow, resigned nod.

”I see… What a shame~” she murmured softly, her voice light with amusement, as if she were already moving past the idea.

Then, with a quiet grace, Liyana tucked a stray strand of her white hair behind her ear.

Her crimson eyes, as sharp as ever, flicked past my shoulder and lingered on the doorway behind me.

”She seems to be quite the prankster as well, Darling~” she murmured, her voice smooth and lilting, like she was teasing something obvious.

I turned to glance over my shoulder, then back at her.

”Prankster?”

She nodded slowly, stepping just a little closer.

”Yes… I mean, look at all this,” she gestured vaguely toward the room with her hand, her fingers tracing invisible lines in the air. ”There are faint magical sigils scattered all around. Theyʼre subtle—most wouldnʼt even notice—but for a mage like me, theyʼre practically glowing.”

Her smile deepened, half-amused, half-mischievous.

”Fufu~ I know fairies have a reputation for mischief, but I wasnʼt expecting your little one to prank even her own Master. Now all my efforts last night have been wasted…”

She tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing with mock concern.

”I hope you werenʼt too harmed by whatever happened inside the room, Darling~”

I raised an eyebrow.

”Sheʼs not really the prankster type, to be honest. Even among fairies, sheʼs always been a bit different. Kind of well-behaved, actually. Now that you mention it, the room did feel kind of… magical last night, but I didnʼt notice anything harmful.”

I paused, then glanced down at Lavine who still clung to my back like her life depended on it.

”My familiar doesnʼt really do anything that might hurt me in the first place. So, itʼs all good.”

Then, with a quirk of my brow, I added,

”…But what exactly did you mean by ʼyour efforts were wastedʼ?”

Liyana let out a tiny, melodramatic gasp, placing a hand to her lips as if sheʼd just realized sheʼd slipped.

”Ah~ Oopsie me,” she said with a soft giggle. ”I suppose I forgot to mention it to you yesterday. It was meant to be a surprise, you see…I actually placed a few runic enchantments around the room—simple ones I learned recently from my private tutor. They were meant to help you and my sisters have a… pleasant night.”

She looked at me meaningfully. ”To make the atmosphere a little warmer… the experience a little more connected.”

I stared at her.

She just smiled.

This damn liar.

There was no way whatever she planted in my room last night was simply to ”help” me have a better time with her sisters.

Knowing her, those runes probably had more to do with interference than enhancement—maybe something like making sure I couldnʼt perform too well, or twisting the mood just enough to leave her ʼsistersʼ less satisfied than they could be, maybe even just straight up prevents anything from happening.

She mightʼve been acting more composed lately—more complacent, even—but I knew better.

Liyanaʼs obsessive streak wasnʼt something that just vanished overnight.

No matter how sweetly she smiled, no matter how calm she appeared on the surface… beneath it all, the same possessive lover was still there, watching, calculating, staking her claim.

Lavine seemed to realize it too, because she was trembling slightly behind me.

I let out a quiet sigh, choosing not to press the matter—for now.

”I see… sorry about that,” I said, casting a glance toward Lavine still nervously fluttering behind me. ”I guess her antics ended up overpowering your secret gift.”

Liyana let out a soft, musical chuckle, the kind that always carried just a bit too much sweetness to be completely innocent.

”Fufu~ Itʼs fine now, Darling. It does look like you had a rather enjoyable night regardless~”

Before I could respond, she leaned in without warning once again, closing the already short distance between us.

Her crimson eyes locked onto mine for a heartbeat—then, all at once, she inhaled.

”What are you doing?” I asked, blinking.

”Smelling you, of course, Darling~” she said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, her voice low and amused. ”Your scent is quite pleasant this morning… fresh, clean, with just the faintest hint of warmth.”

She tilted her head slightly, inspecting me like a rare flower sheʼd cultivated herself.

”Your hairʼs still slightly damp too… did you just take a bath?”

”Yeah, I did.”

”Mmm~ That explains it. No wonder you smell so good—thereʼs no trace of unwarranted impurities lingering on you.”

Her fingers reached up gently and brushed the side of my neck, trailing over the skin with a delicate touch far too calculated to be innocent.

She nodded to herself in quiet satisfaction, like someone checking off items from a mental checklist.

”No red spots… no strange itching… it looks like no bed bugs bit you either. Good~ Very good.”

I raised a brow, wary of where this was going.

”Bed bugs?”

”Yes, Darling. I was a bit concerned, you see. One of the runic spells I placed around your room was meant to cleanse minor pests and disturbances in the surrounding area.”

She smiled a little wider, her gaze flicking for just a moment toward the door behind me again.

”But since Lavineʼs mana overrode my enchantments, I feared the spell mightʼve only half-activated… who knows what sort of little nuisances mightʼve slipped through. But it seems your familiar was quite diligent in protecting you in her own way.”

She tilted her head again, her voice softening.

”You really are blessed to have such a loyal little creature, Darling~ Though I do wish sheʼd learn not to interfere with my surprises.”

I chuckled faintly, trying to play it off.

”Haha… is that so?”

Liyanaʼs cheerful expression lingered for a moment longer before it softened, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

The change was subtle, but I caught it.

She was looking at me with a hint more focus now, something more deliberate in her gaze.

Then, with that familiar, singsong tone, she asked:

”So anyway, Darling~ did you do it?”

I blinked, slightly caught off guard by the sudden shift in mood.

”Do what?”

She tilted her head with an almost innocent smile, though the glint in her crimson eyes said otherwise.

”Making love, of course. Did you do it with my sisters?”

A strange stillness followed her words, like the wind itself paused to listen.

I hesitated for just a moment, wondering if there was any clever way to sidestep the question. But there wasnʼt. She already knew. She wouldnʼt have asked otherwise.

So, I simply nodded.

”…Yes.”

That single word lingered between us like a drop of ink in clear water.

”...…”

”...”

Liyana stood silent for a breath.

Then another.

Her smile had vanished—but only briefly.

The stillness was cracked by the soft clap of her hands together and the sudden brightness that returned to her face, as though nothing at all was amiss.

”Hmm~ I see. Iʼm glad, Darling~ Hehe~”

I blinked again.

”…Youʼre glad?”

”But of course I am!” she said, her voice high and cheerful as if she were discussing the weather. ”Now my sisters and I can relate a lot more to each other, donʼt you think? After all, weʼve all experienced the same love you gave me~”

She clasped her hands at her chest, as though talking about a sacred shared memory, her eyes shimmering with an almost religious devotion.

”Now we can officially call ourselves one big happy family, no? United under you, our beloved Darling~”

Then she giggled, and that sweet laughter echoed a little too long in the air.

”After all, their bellies are probably swelling with the same juice you gave me, hm~?” she whispered almost dreamily.

She closed the distance in a single step and wrapped her arms around me in a sudden, tight hug, her body pressing against mine as though trying to imprint herself into my skin.

”Since I so patiently left you alone with my sisters last night… donʼt you think I deserve a little reward too, Darling~?”

She looked up at me then, her crimson eyes half-lidded, her breath warm against my lips.

”Kiss me, Darling~”

I sighed softly and leaned in, meeting her halfway.

Our lips met in a kiss that was far too long for something so casual, far too intense for something so public—but then again, Liyana never played by those rules.

When we parted, she licked her lips ever so subtly, satisfaction blooming across her expression like a rose in full bloom. She giggled again—lovingly.

Then, tugging at my hand, she began to lead me down the hallway like an excited child.

”Come now~ Mom and Dad are waiting at the dining table, hehe~ Sister Alice is also there. You donʼt want to be late, right~?”

”Yeah…” I murmured, walking alongside her.

But as cheerful as she sounded… I noticed it.

That tiny twitch in her left eye when she said she was glad.

That infinitesimal tightening at the edge of her smile.

The slight pressure in her grip, just firm enough to remind me of her strength beneath the affection.

To anyone else, she looked completely normal.

A radiant, devoted lover.

But to someone like me, who knew her better than most… it was obvious.

For better or worse—

Liyana was not okay.