A Public Display and a Ruthless Reckoning

“Smooch—”

“!?”

Feeling a sudden, soft warmth on her lips, Iqiyah’s eyes snapped open.

“No, Seraphina, not here… there are others around,”

Blushing crimson, Iqiyah frowned, a look of reproach on her face.

Yet, deep within her eyes, a faint glimmer of anticipation, or perhaps the joy of a wish fulfilled, could be seen.

“So what? Don’t tell me what’s allowed and what isn’t.”

Seeing through Iqiyah’s inner awkwardness, Seraphina firmly grasped her small head with both hands, preventing her from escaping even a step.

“Didn’t you want me to look at you more?”

“Why bother with so many rules? I’ll satisfy you right now.”

“Well, well, I only wanted you to look at me, not to kiss me in public… Eek!”

Before she could finish speaking, Seraphina pulled forcefully, drawing Iqiyah’s head towards her own cherry lips.

“Mmph!”

The sudden control startled Iqiyah. Instinctively, she tugged hard at Seraphina’s arms, trying to make her release her head.

But as her outer defenses were easily breached, her body suddenly went limp, her hands falling naturally, and her gaze growing hazy.

“Mmm…”

Faced with such tenderness, Iqiyah, whose head was already hot, instantly succumbed.

Following her instincts, she began to respond to Seraphina’s fierce assault, even mimicking her attacks—fierce as a tiger, biting like a wolf, launching a counterattack.

Overwhelmed with excitement, a surge of exhilaration coursed through her.

Compared to their previous ambiguous, mutual yielding, this kind of heartfelt, affirming demand was clearly more stimulating, more dreamlike.

Thus, they clung to each other for an unknown duration, until both felt dizzy from lack of oxygen. Only then did they reluctantly release their “prey” and cease their entanglement.

Their connection, however, remained unbroken, like fibers of a lotus root.

“You rascal.” Seraphina wiped her lips, a wicked smile playing on them. “Seeing your unwilling expression before, I thought you had social anxiety. Yet, didn’t you easily do such a shameful thing in public?”

“Well, wasn’t it you who dragged me into it…” Iqiyah was clearly still immersed in the warmth of the moment; both her body and voice revealed a deep, inherent softness. “And even though your ‘attack power’ is so strong, I can tell you were also shy, right?”

“Oh, no, not at all…”

Seraphina touched her own cheek, feeling the fiery heat at her fingertips.

****

Meanwhile—

“…Shulk.”

Abruptly, a voice devoid of any will to live drifted up from beside Seraphina’s feet.

“When you’re being affectionate, can you please mind the occasion? There are other people present…”

It was Ailur, seemingly unable to bear the sickening sweetness of the pair. Her forehead was now lined with exasperation, her face filled with despair, clearly tormented beyond endurance by the two.

Hearing these words, Seraphina’s eyes, as if gaining a will of their own, began to unconsciously glance around.

It was then that she noticed the peculiarity of her surroundings.

Around them, men and women, young and old alike, without exception, remained silent. Only pairs of curious eyes looked with a hint of amusement at the two at the center of attention.

It seemed this impromptu comedy had satisfied their appetites, as many faces wore “oh my, oh my” auntie smiles.

‘Ah, to be young.’

Someone seemed to have said this. Whether it was a hallucination, Seraphina didn’t know, nor did she dare to delve deeper.

‘Tsk tsk, truly… I can’t casually use this trick again,’ she thought.

“What? Do you have an objection?”

At this moment, facing the surrounding crowd, and especially the gaze of the s*ave at her feet, Iqiyah’s courage, paradoxically, grew bolder.

While Seraphina was still speechless from her belated shyness, Iqiyah had already impatiently declared her ownership.

“Seraphina likes me, and I like Seraphina. We are expressing our love for each other. Does that bother you?”

“No, no…”

Degraded from a noble to a s*ave, Ailur no longer possessed her former arrogance. She only dared to lower her head, secretly observing Iqiyah’s expression with mouselike eyes, silently begging for her forgiveness.

‘Ah, indeed, after crossing that shameful red line, girls are generally bolder than boys.’

Watching Iqiyah regain her vitality, Seraphina let out a long breath.

Though it cost her eight hundred to defeat a thousand, there was no doubt this move was exceptionally effective.

Speaking of which…

“Ailur, stand up.”

It was time to deal with this one.

The s*ave contract activated, and Ailur’s body once again exhibited that strange, mechanical quality, as she stood up stiffly.

“That woman named Sevilya, you hired her to kill me, right?”

Seraphina’s tone was utterly cold.

“Yes.”

“If we’re counting, you tried to kill me twice. Once you succeeded, once you failed… Ailur, you truly are ruthless.”

…

But this was not the reaction Seraphina wanted to see.

“Do you know how I dealt with that Knight after I caught her?”

“I pierced her head with the tip of my staff.”

“And then, I used resurrection magic to revive her, and pierced her again… and again, until she knelt and begged for mercy.”

‘Ah, she was lying; she had only pierced her once then,’ she thought.

“Do you know why I treated her like that?”

“No.”

“Because she called me a country bumpkin, and said I was worse than a rat.”

Hearing this, Ailur’s body began to tremble.

“She despised me for my origin, discriminated against my race… And you, Ailur, you spoke such words for two whole years.”

Seraphina laughed—she was doing it deliberately.

“Tell me… Ailur, how should I punish you?”

“Seraphina, I beg you…”

“Stand up. You are not allowed to kneel.”

Just as Ailur was about to kneel, Seraphina uttered a soft command. The s*ave contract activated, forcibly straightening Ailur’s half-bent knees.

“Rest assured, Ailur, I am not like you dirty nobles. I have no intention of killing you; that would only stain my hands.”

“My hatred for you has surpassed ordinary hatred. Even if you are my s*ave, I will have no interest in you whatsoever.”

“Moreover, I know that without this s*ave contract, you would never be so submissive to me—you could never be a good s*ave.”

“Not only that, but most importantly, you hurt Iqiyah, and Iqiyah dislikes you very much, very much.”

Hearing Seraphina mention her name, Iqiyah’s eyes immediately lit up.

“Since Iqiyah dislikes you, and I hate you, and you cannot be loyal to me, then I naturally have no reason to keep you.”

“Get out.”

Seraphina pointed towards the door.

“Go as far as you can.”

“And tell my teammates that it’s best if we never meet again.”

“I believe they will be sensible enough.”

“No, I won’t.”

Suddenly, a figure appeared where Seraphina was pointing.

“Shulk… I know you are no longer human.”

“But when you let us go, I thought you hadn’t completely lost your human conscience.”

Clinking and clanking, accompanied by the sound of colliding armor, the figure gradually approached Seraphina.

“However, I never expected you would resort to kidnapping, such an atrocious act.”

The armor was old and covered in grime, clearly a defective piece.

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have held onto illusions about you.”

At this moment, the lights in the ice cream shop flickered on. The yellow light cast on her golden hair, making it gleam with oil.

Roughly estimated, she hadn’t properly washed in about a week, but compared to her armor, she was slightly cleaner.

Her face had also thinned considerably, and her figure no longer seemed as full as before.

Yet her voice remained just as resonant and powerful.

“Shulk, both physically and psychologically, you are no longer human.”

With unhurried steps, Avril, head held high, walked directly in front of Seraphina, looking down at her from above.

“Hehe, Avril, long time no see.”

Like a villain in a drama, Seraphina wore a playful smile.

“Your armor and boots reek of filth. Did no one help you wash them?”

“It’s none of your business. I have no time to waste words with you.”

In full view of everyone, Avril pressed her hand to her sword hilt, then swiftly drew her iron sword, pointing it directly at Seraphina’s brow.

“Now, release Ailur, quickly.”

“Otherwise, do not blame me for showing no mercy.”