Chapter 95: Self defense

Stefan's POV

I woke up to the sharp blast of a whistle cutting through the air. And I had nearly cursed who was disturbing my sleep before discovering it was morning already.

For a second I just lay there on the furs, staring at the low wooden ceiling of Jonquil's cottage, waiting for the usual post-sex heaviness to hit me.

It never came. My body felt light, loose, completely recovered. No soreness. No leftover ache from the night before. Whatever that Pleasure Device had done, it had cleaned up after itself perfectly.

I smiled at the ceiling.

"I am going to keep using that item. Permanently." I muttered.

Jonquil was already awake and moving. She stood near the small wooden stand where she kept her training wraps, pulling the short fabric into place with the same efficient motions she used for everything. Her dark hair was still slightly messy from sleep and from my hands, but her expression had already settled back into the calm, unreadable warrior mask.

I pushed myself up on one elbow.

"Babe...," I said, keeping my voice low. "What if you stayed? Skip whatever morning torture they have planned and spend the day with me. Just for today."

Jonquil didn't even pause while tying the wrap. "No."

I huffed a quiet laugh. "Yeah. Of course not."

Before I could say anything else, the System chimed.

[INCUBUS BOND MISSION]

Purpose: An Incubus intentionally keeps his women.

Mission: Do something that makes Jonquil feel good throughout the day.

Reward: 200 AP, 10 EXP

Penalty for failure: –200 EXP

Failure is not recommended.

I smirked. Jonquil actually deserved to feel good throughout today. After last night? Yeah, she deserved that from me.

I stood up, still naked, and crossed the small space between us. Jonquil turned just as I reached her. I pulled her into a firm hug, one hand sliding up to the back of her neck so she had to look at me.

"You remember the agreement?" I asked. "About showing me what you're feeling when we're together?"

She nodded once.

"Good." I held her eyes. "Then tell me. What can I do that would make you feel good for the rest of the day?"

Jonquil blinked. She actually thought about it for a few seconds, which was longer than she usually needed for most decisions. When she finally spoke, her voice was as blunt as ever.

"I would feel good if you leave this space without any of the other Flowers seeing you. And if you come back tonight to stay with me again."

I felt the smile spread across my face before I could stop it. Direct. Practical. Completely her.

"Okay, I'll make it happen." I promised her.

I kissed her, slow enough to remind her of the night before, firm enough to make it a promise then let her go. Jonquil finished adjusting her wrap, gave me one last look, and walked out of the cottage without another word. The door closed softly behind her.

I stood there for a moment, still naked, running a hand through my hair as the possibility of what I just promised crashed on me.

"Sneak out of Bloomhold without any of the Flowers noticing?"

"Definitely not going to be easy!"

I looked around the small cottage. There was only one door. Narrow windows set high in the walls. No convenient back exit. No piles of laundry large enough to hide under. The place had been built for warriors, not for men trying to avoid them.

I sat down on the edge of the furs and stared at the door, thinking.

There had to be a way. In the old camp the Bounds had come in every morning to clean. If Bloomhold worked the same way…

I waited.

Time stretched. I counted breaths. I listened to the sounds of training starting outside - feet on packed earth, the occasional bark of instruction, the distant clash of practice weapons. My window was getting smaller by the minute.

Then the door opened.

A servant woman stepped in carrying a bucket and a bundle of cleaning cloths. She was middle-aged, broad-shouldered, the kind of servant who had clearly been doing this work for years. The moment she saw me she stopped dead, her eyes going wide.

She was scared having found someone in the room which was supposed to be empty.

I raised both hands in a placating gesture and kept my voice calm.

"I need something from you. And I'm willing to pay for it." I said.

Her gaze flicked from my face to the heavy pouch I had already pulled from the pile of my clothes. Interest warred with caution on her face.

"What does the Alien want?" she asked.

"I need to leave this cottage and the warrior yard without any of the Flowers seeing me."

She shook her head immediately. "That is difficult."

I raised an eyebrow then opened the pouch, and started counting coins into my palm. I let her see every one of them. When the small pile looked convincing enough I added a few more, then a few more after that. Her throat moved as she swallowed.

"…There is a way," she said at last.

She set the bucket down, stepped back outside, and returned less than a minute later with a folded bundle of dull-colored fabric. A long servant's gown, plain and shapeless.

"Put this on," she said. "Keep your head down. Walk behind me. Do not speak."

I stared at the gown for a second, then let out a quiet breath of reluctant admiration.

"Clever."

I pulled the rough fabric over my head. It hung on me like a sack and smelled faintly of soap and dust, but it covered everything that needed covering. The servant woman gave me one sharp once-over, nodded, and stepped out of the cottage. I followed with my eyes fixed on the ground, matching her pace.

We walked straight through the edge of the training yard.

Flowers moved all around us. Some glanced at the servant woman. None of them looked twice at the second figure in the same dull gown walking half a step behind her. My heart was beating harder than I liked to admit, but the disguise held. By the time we passed the last of the ranked cottages and stepped beyond the main warrior compound, the tension in my shoulders finally loosened.

I waited until we were well clear before I stopped and stripped the servant gown off. My own silk clothes felt almost decadent in comparison. I started to ball the dull fabric up to throw it away, then paused.

"Might be useful again."

I folded it properly and tucked it under my arm instead, smirking to myself.

Only then did I remember the unopened chest from the previous night's mission.

I pulled up the System interface, found the random chest waiting in my inventory, and opened it.

A soft glow spilled out. An old, tightly bound roll of parchment floated into the air in front of me, the surface covered in faded ink. The title was written in clear, sharp characters:

**Basic Self-Defense Technique Skills**

I actually felt a spark of genuine interest. Something practical. Something I could use. The System had finally given me a tool that matched a real need at the right moment.

I reached out and took the roll.

The moment my fingers closed around it, the compact scroll expanded with a heavy, almost mocking weight. What had looked like a slim journal unfolded into a thick, dense textbook that nearly made me drop it. Page after page after page. Thousands of them. Diagrams. Footnotes. Entire chapters on stance alone.

I stared down at the massive thing in my hands, face twisting.

"…You're joking."

The book sat there, heavy and silent and completely unapologetic.

I looked up at the empty air where the System usually hovered and asked, completely deadpan,

"How exactly am I supposed to learn anything from this?"