Chapter 6
Even If You Pass Out, I Won't Stop~
Ximilita had a bizarre yet......wonderful dream.
In the dream, she finally caught Veiloria, and then with the most unbreakable chains, she imprisoned her master in a place that belonged solely to her.
She was her prisoner, her possession, and also her long-lost......light.
The Veiloria in the dream was no longer powerful and graceful, no longer the "Veilo" who had taught her with such gentleness—she was firmly held in her grasp, utterly unable to escape.
A dark and fervent emotion gradually filled Ximilita's heart: the manic joy of recovering something lost, the satisfaction of finally seizing what she had spent years pursuing, and the twisted possessiveness that had fermented from years of being deceived and abandoned.
"Master, aren't you so fond of running?" The her in the dream gently stroked the other's face, voice soft yet spine-chilling. "You've run so many times, deceived me for so long......where could you possibly run to now?"
Heedless of the other's struggle and tears, she punished her, tormented her, claimed her—confirming that this person was truly right here and would never disappear again.
She would erase the blank of these ten years of separation, branding this person anew with her mark in the most direct, most intimate, and most ruthless way.
"Stop struggling, Master......" She leaned down and whispered softly into the other's ear, "Even if I......you into unconsciousness, I still won't stop. This is what you owe me. Understand?"
Just at the moment she was about to succeed—just as her master was about to belong to her and her alone forever—Ximilita's eyes snapped open.
Her mind went blank for an instant, the lingering dream images still assaulting her senses.
Then touch revived before sight: beneath her palms was warm, supple skin, and hovering at the tip of her nose was a faint, elusive familiar scent that unsettled her heart.
And......there seemed to be another person pinned beneath her.
She stiffly looked down.
What met her eyes was the delicate face of "Lia," now flushed with an unnatural crimson, eyes shut tight, brow faintly creased.
Her own two hands were propped on either side of the other's body, knees pressed between the other's legs—an unmistakably aggressive posture.
"!!!"
Ximilita's mind let out a thunderous buzz, as though struck by a heavy hammer.
Every fragment of the dream retreated in an instant, and reality came crashing down cold and merciless.
This was not her master. This was not Veiloria.
This was the server from last night at the club—the one who had been harassed, whom she had casually saved!
She......she had nearly......
Like someone scalded by fire, Ximilita wrenched herself off the other person in a single violent motion, practically rolling and scrambling off the bed, staggering backward several steps until her back slammed into the cold wall.
Overwhelming shame and panic drained all color from her face, even the tips of her fingers trembling faintly.
She looked down at her own clothes—slightly rumpled but still intact—then looked back at Veiloria on the bed, who seemed to have been startled awake by her sudden movement and was now blinking open dazed eyes, the flush on her face not yet fully faded. For a moment, she could not find a single word to say.
Veiloria had in fact already woken the moment Ximilita pressed down over her, her breathing ragged as she murmured those dream words.
But......that posture, that breath so dangerously close, and those murmured words—blurred yet enough to make her heart lurch—had frozen her completely. Her mind had gone utterly blank, with no idea how to react, and she could only instinctively feign sleep, even as her face burned entirely beyond her control.
Now, watching Ximilita's chalk-white expression—like someone who had seen a ghost—she too felt her heart in absolute turmoil, so mortified she could die.
But the performance had to go on.
"You......you're awake?" Veiloria sat up and tugged at her own slightly disheveled sleepwear, working hard to make her voice sound as if she had just been startled from sleep. "Um......guest, are you—are you alright? You seemed......like you were having a nightmare just now?"
Hearing the word "guest," the taut wire in Ximilita's nerves seemed to ease, just barely—but the crushing embarrassment and guilt still left her wanting to sink into the floor.
She drew several deep breaths and barely managed to suppress the chaos in her chest. Head lowered, her voice came out dry: "I'm—I'm sorry......I......I just......it wasn't on purpose. I think I......had a terrible dream......"
She truly could not bring herself to speak of the dream's contents. They were far too shameful, far too monstrous.
And yet—it was something she had always desired......
But the scene before her, and what she had very nearly done to someone who was practically a stranger, filled her with a wave of intense self-loathing.
"It's—it's alright......" Veiloria also kept her head lowered, cheeks blazing, fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. "You got drunk at the club last night and passed out......I saw you were a girl on your own, and you'd helped me before, so I was worried something might happen to you. I—I brought you back here......this is, is where I live......it might be a bit run-down, I hope you don't mind."
She explained in a stumbling, scattered rush.
Only then did Ximilita have the presence of mind to look around. It was an extremely small room, simply furnished, with only the bare necessities.
The air carried a faint feminine fragrance, laced with a trace of something familiar she could not quite name.
Yes—fragments of last night came flooding back.
She had ordered those 3 rounds of strong liquor, and then......and then she must have passed out drunk.
After that, someone seemed to have supported her as she left the club, walking through cold streets......and then, in some dim alley, there had been the sounds of a struggle, and a silhouette—familiar enough to make her heart clench......
That silhouette......
Ximilita gave her head a sharp shake, trying to fling those hazy, dreamlike images away.
It was a dream. It had to have been a dream.
Her master......how could she possibly appear in a place like that, and happen to save her of all people? And even less likely—appearing under the identity of an ordinary server called "Lia."
With that thought, a deeper desolation and hollowness surged up, instantly dissolving the awkwardness of moments ago.
"Thank you......Lia, is it?" Ximilita raised her head and made a deliberate effort to restore calm to her expression and voice. "Last night......I caused you trouble. I'm sorry for that. And......just now—I sincerely apologize."
She paused, her gaze returning to Veiloria's face, this time carrying a faint note of scrutiny.
"By the way—have you just started working at the club?"
Veiloria's heart lurched, and she let an expression of timely surprise cross her face: "Eh? How—how did you know?"
"People who've been in a place like that for a long time gradually take on its atmosphere." Ximilita's tone was flat. "You......are too clean. None of that world-weariness or gaudy aura."
‘Not bad,’ Veiloria thought inwardly. ‘A soldier I trained myself—sharp eyes as ever.’
On the outside, she only lowered her head, flustered, and tugged at her hem. "Y—yes......less than a month. I couldn't find a suitable job for a long time, and mainly......the pay there is higher."
"The club is no place for you." Ximilita's voice softened slightly. "To be honest with you, I'm from the Silver Radiance Holy See. Thank you for helping me last night, and for taking me in today. If you're willing......"
She leaned forward slightly, gaze fixed intently on Veiloria. "Why not come back to the Holy See with me? I have some standing there—I could arrange a stable position for you. The benefits and security the Holy See offers are far better than anything you'd get in a place like that."
Veiloria was absolutely dumbstruck.
Go back to the Holy See with her?! No way—was she joking? How was that any different from a mouse voluntarily leaping into a cat's den?!
"No—no thank you!" The words burst out of her almost before she could think, hands waving in frantic refusal, head shaking like a rattle-drum. "I'm truly so grateful for your kindness! But—but......I have no real skills, and I'm clumsy besides. If I went somewhere as sacred as the Holy See, I'd only embarrass you! And besides......I've gotten used to things here. I'm not planning on going anywhere else for the time being......"
She refused so quickly and so emphatically that she almost came across as rude.