Chapter 2250: Rainy Afternoon

Chapter 2250: Chapter 2250: Rainy Afternoon

Droplets slid continuously down her cheeks, and Bella Belindel could be said to look somewhat stubbornly at Shard, who was almost ready to submerge half of his head into the water again.

"Do you not like me?"

"Didn’t we already answer this question when we were at the pasture outside the city? Yes, of course, I like you. But can you wait until I get out of the tub and have put on my clothes to talk about this? I’m not avoiding it, but this really isn’t the place for such a conversation..."

"Was your reaction just because of that mermaid when you held me on the rocks earlier?"

She could say "mermaid," so she must have had contact with [Desire] before Shard arrived, rather than just passing out directly.

"That was an instinctive reaction; I’m a healthy person."

She pouted while looking at Shard, and Shard could clearly see his reflection in her golden eyes.

"Yes, sir, I’m also responding instinctively now; I want a kiss, right now."

She stood beside the bathtub with open arms toward Shard, making it obviously clear she wanted him to embrace her. Shard knew exactly what she wanted to do, but he had to make the witch understand:

"I need to remind you, I’m currently... un... undressed."

"I know."

The Countess looked down at him:

"The matters of the morning are important. I feel like there’s a flame burning in my heart that even the Unicorn’s Blessing can’t... "

Blushing, she pouted but finally spoke:

"I need to confirm your gender one last time before they arrive and finally confirm your intentions. Without the morning’s events, perhaps I would never have said it, but now the situation is different. Since fate arranged all this, I can’t defy fate. Of course, I’m not doing this just because of fate; you... you are worth it."

Looking at her expression, Shard felt his heart as if struck by an arrow:

"You want to..."

"Don’t misunderstand; I’m a proper girl. I haven’t decided to... I just want to inspect the goods in advance."

Shard looked at her in surprise. After confirming she wasn’t joking and noticing her stubbornness coming from deep within her golden eyes, he attempted to reach out and hold her hand, gently pulling—

Whoosh~

The water in the tub splashed outwards, quickly spilling over the rim. The sound of water covered up other noises, and after a few seconds, the soaked robe was casually tossed onto the carpet, she laughed, hugged Shard’s neck, and kissed him again, completely lost in the warm embrace...finally satisfied that Shard wasn’t sent by other witches just to joke with her.

The gloomy weather always dampens one’s mood, and this hazy drizzle became icy at noon, almost turning into a small hailstorm.

The air was suffocating, making it hard to breathe. But at least inside Belindel Estate, it was bright, warm, and dry, which still made people feel joyful.

Shard and Miss Belindel arrived at the dining room for lunch a bit later than scheduled. Both had already washed up and changed clothes, but time was short, and Miss Belindel hadn’t put on makeup, not even drying her hair.

She seemed in an exceptionally good mood, and even the aftermath of the morning’s incident seemed to have completely disappeared. After sitting at the main table in the dining room amidst the sound of rain, she first batted her seductive eyes at Shard beside her, then smiled and asked Emilia what she had been doing at the estate this morning. She then told Shard and Emilia that tomorrow, Saturday, her mother and sisters would be coming back to stay for a day. The young Miss Belindels didn’t like staying outside the city all the time; they too needed social engagements within the city.

"Got it, I’ll keep an eye on Little Liana and make sure she doesn’t run outside."

Emilia said, carefully observing Shard and the Countess, knowing something was off between the two.

However, at least during lunch, Miss Belindel did not express any excessive intimacy with Shard beyond previous standards. After lunch, Shard invited Emilia and the witch to the study:

"Have a seat first."

He took out the black Raven Feather from his pocket, which the Countess first checked before handing it over to Emilia. The Little Unicorn immediately issued a warning sound, advising Emilia not to touch such a powerful cursed item.

"So, the owner of this feather cursed me?"

The elf girl asked uneasily, and Shard nodded:

"Today it has already sought out me and Miss Belindel. My situation is special; the Misfortune Curse was neutralized, and Miss Belindel encountered some trouble but managed to resolve it temporarily."

Since the crow had actively sent a doppelganger to appear, it was time to inform Emilia of some truths. Naturally, Shard still did not plan to disclose everything to Emilia now, he couldn’t expose how much he understood the other party.

"The main body is suspected to be a black crow with a very strong Misfortune Curse ability. The actions around Belindel Big Bell remain unchanged, Emilia, you just wait for my notice."

He took the black feather back from the elf girl’s hand:

"I need to apologize to you, Miss Belindel, I didn’t anticipate it would come to seek you out as well. Today’s events are all my fault."

The Blonde Countess gently pulled Shard’s hand, shaking her head softly:

"I don’t care about that, and I don’t need your apology."

In fact, she somewhat wished Shard would just call her "Bella," but worried that the witches arriving on Sunday might detect something prematurely.

"Actually, it’s all my fault for bringing misfortune to you."

Emilia whispered, trying hard to conceal her inner turmoil and dejection, then asked Shard:

"Is there anything I should be aware of lately? I don’t want to cause you trouble... I also want to do something."

The witch sitting with her gently wrapped her arm around Emilia’s shoulder as encouragement. She could see what Emilia was truly thinking at that moment—the "I can’t do anything" sentiment is one everyone experiences.

Shard’s face still held a confident expression;

"There’s only one thing you need to remember: trust my arrangements. Aside from that, nothing else matters."

Emilia nodded heavily, then turned to look out at the rain outside the window, still carrying worry in her eyes. She had a very bad feeling.

The three of them sat together for a while longer, and seeing that Miss Belindel had some private matters to discuss with Shard, Emilia then took the little unicorn and left. Even Miss Matilda was asked to leave the study with the maids. Once the door was closed, she immediately stood up and smiled as she hugged Shard’s neck, sitting in his embrace.

"Vanessa asked you to come to Moon Bay to help me, and now you’re helping me deal with... desire. Will Vanessa be angry when she finds out?"

Saying so, she also kissed Shard’s cheek, and Shard looked at her:

"They will arrive the day after tomorrow, and I will handle this matter by then. They... shouldn’t be too angry. I also hope that when they learn my true identity, you won’t blame me too much for keeping it hidden all this time."

Miss Belindel gently nodded, pressing her red lips together as she looked at him:

"We’re like this now; what should I blame you for? Even if you have ties with other witches, can I, who came later, make you drive Vanessa away?"

She affectionately hugged Shard’s neck:

"Before lunch, I was just focused on being with you... and didn’t have time to ask, that mermaid was really...?"

Talking about this, she shivered instinctively again, and Shard reached out to stroke her golden hair:

"Unclassified Level Relic. Actually, even if you don’t know what she truly is, a single word should naturally come to mind."

The witch nodded quickly but didn’t dare say the word "desire."

"What has happened to Moon Bay? Until today, I thought dragons were the most dangerous thing. But compared to... what do dragons count for? Besides deities, I can hardly think of anything else that could challenge such an existence."

Saying this, she buried her head once more in Shard’s embrace, pressing her ear close to his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

"I am somewhat acquainted with her, at least for now, there’s no need to worry excessively. Don’t think of reporting, and in the future, avoid any further contact with Countess D’Armanin. Just seem as if you know nothing. Though saying this might be a bit pessimistic, the Church likely has no plan to deal with her either."

"Will that thing always be in Moon Bay?"

She asked worriedly, and Shard nodded:

"It will, but whether she is here or not, it won’t really affect this city. Because whatever she does, we scarcely notice. She virtually equates to that word, and none of us can defy it. I’ll ensure she promises not to bother you or those around you, forget about this, it has nothing to do with you."

"This is our city..."

The witch said softly but had to accept having such a dangerous "neighbor."

Grumbling, she intertwined her left hand with Shard’s right, her fingers slipping into Shard’s:

"It’s not for me to understand about that thing. If it weren’t for encountering it, I’d never want to discuss such existence with you. I know you are always very capable, but promise me, don’t have too much contact with that thing, okay?"

"Hmm... that’s within my control."

Saying this, he remembered the very beautiful mermaid oil painting hanging at home; if not related to "desire," Shard actually quite appreciated its artistic standard. The witch sighed softly, taking Shard’s left hand and holding it over her legs:

"Can you stay with me this afternoon? After this morning, I’m still a bit scared. Stay with me, please? Just for this one afternoon, otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep tonight."

Saying this, her watery, golden eyes looked at Shard.

She said so, of course, Shard would not refuse. However, Shard felt that besides really being scared of [desire], there were other reasons too, but he also had to admit, with the siwa wrapped around her long tui, the shougan was indeed quite nice.

"Vanessa wasn’t wrong when she said you’re really handy."

"Miss Benanis probably didn’t mean it like that... Can I kiss you?"

"Of course, do you even need to ask? Haven’t you done more outrageous things?"

"Hmm... I mean, can I kiss the birthmark on your forehead?"

"You’re quite the pervert, aren’t you~"

Of course, she didn’t actually refuse.