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Chapter 291 - Ch 290: This is something I have to sort out on my own
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*Omniscient POV following Alessia*
"NO, NO, NO, NO, I WON'T TELL YOU ANYTHING!"
"Huh, what's wrong, Emir, Delia?" I say, sitting up abruptly in bed and looking around disoriented, when I'm violently woken up by screams.
"HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO SOMEONE ELSE? NO, PLEAS- NOOO!"
Then I see that Master is not in bed with us, and that Delia is in a ball as her body shakes violently and her face is a mask of the purest terror.
"DELIA! WAKE UP, DELIA! IT'S ONLY A DREAM. YOU'RE SAFE..." I scream as I lift the fox girl's body and wrap it tightly in an embrace.
"....You're with me. You have nothing to worry about."
'This is my fault.'
As I hug my friend, tears begin to stream down my face.
"I... where am I?" asks Delia in a weak voice.
"You're home, Delia. You're with me. You're safe..." I say, as the guilt I feel begins to turn to self-loathing for not being there for Delia when she needed me.
'I will never ever ever ever forgive myself for this... Delia... She trusts me, and yet I... how could I let her go alone?... but not anymore... from now on I will never leave her alone again. I will dedicate the rest of my life to protecting her. They'll have to kill me to take me away from her.'
"...it was just a nightmare. A nightmare, that's all. You are safe."
"A-Alessia? Why are you hugging me so tight? y-you're hurting me" says Delia's voice in my ear, breathless.
"Sorry!" I say, releasing her abruptly, whereupon the sleepy fox girl's body lays back on the bed for a few moments, before she can steady herself and sit back up.
'What's wrong with me lately? Can't I do anything right?'
"It's okay, don't wor- are you crying?..." asks Delia, suddenly concerned about my damn tears.
"... Are you okay?"
'And on top of that I make her worry about me.... I'm a basket case.'
"It's nothing..." I say, rubbing my eyes and cheeks irritably to get rid of the tears, which won't stop coming.
"... Don't worry about me. More importantly, how are you feeling?"
"Me? I'm fine. Why are you asking me?" says Delia, with a guilty look that reveals to me that she is not being completely honest with me.
"Delia, you were screaming in bed, so don't pretend everything is fine. You can tell me whatever you want; I'll always be there for you..." I say, as I try to hold back the tears as the guilt I feel for what happened stings my chest again.
'I promise, I'll protect you until the end of my days.'
"...You know that, right?"
"I'm fine, really...it's just that...." she says, as she pouts.
"...I didn't think anyone from the Solus temple would be capable of something like that. I just don't understand it."
Then her false calm breaks as a shudder runs through her body, and this time she's the one who hugs me.
"It's okay, Delia. Don't worry. Everything's fine. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out..." I say, as I lean my body to lie down on the bed, dragging her with me.
"... I will never leave your side again, and Master may have some flaws, but I can tell he loves you with all his heart. There's nothing we can't work out if the three of us are together."
"Yes, you're right..." says Delia shyly as she kisses me softly on the lips.
"... and speaking of Emir, where is he?"
"I don't know. But don't worry, he'll be back. Master always comes back..." I say, and this time I'm the one kissing her.
Then I start to gently caress her body in a poor attempt to make her forget the content of her nightmare.
"... Don't worry. You're with me, and you're safe. Only we matter right now. You don't need to think about anything but that."
***
*Omniscient POV following Emir*
After the discussion that was generated by mentioning my more than justified desire to rid the capital of the buildings of the rotten religion responsible for what happened to Delia, we went to bed.
Then we had a few rounds of vanilla sex, soft and gentle so as not to overexert Delia, and went to sleep.
Or at least, I tried to...
But the fact that I had consumed an energy potion a few hours ago, combined with the accumulated frustration and stress from what happened with Delia, plus the knowledge of Alessia's complicated situation, didn't allow me to sleep.
So I went to the Altamira labyrinth, to the no man's zone, to clear my mind a bit and not disturb my girls' rest with my worries.
Given what transpired today, I believe they both require a significant amount of rest.
Now, after a few hours of killing several dozen monsters, I already feel a bit more relaxed.
It's not much, but it's better than nothing.
My head still hurts quite a bit, but that has become a normal part of my day-to-day life.
It's almost time for my girls to wake up, and I'm beginning to consider going home.
I still don't know what to do about what happened to Delia.
I know I can't do anything against the Solus temple people if Delia is against the idea.
But I can't leave things as they are either.
And there is also Alessia's situation, where it is only a matter of time before she is recognized by someone.
If what Beatrice told me is true, Alessia looks a lot like her mother physically, and that makes it very likely that some nobles will eventually recognize her.
I don't know how Yair didn't recognize her at the time, but I suppose it's due to the fact that he's as young as I am, and Alessia's mother disappeared from the political scene of the Drial Cenit kingdom at a time before we were born.
'I should seriously start thinking about the possibility of leaving the capital....
I know Delia is very happy with her clinic, but our situation is just too complicated....
Hmm... maybe things will change once my parents arrive to help me....
I don't think I've ever in my life needed to have her lucky bubble around as much as I do now....
Today I'm definitely going to go see the three annoying beauties and try to hire them to take care of Delia and Alessia....
That's going to give me a little more peace of mind and freedom...
I can't be with my girls 100% of the time, but I don't want to leave them alone again....
It may be that, once my parents arrive in the capital, I won't need the services of Miria, Zia, and Irina...
But I don't think so...
Considering the mess we're in, the more people there are looking after my girls, the better.'
"Space travel"
As I walk through the illusory door, I appear in the room of our house.
In front of me are Alessia and Delia.
Both are peacefully asleep.
Delia is resting her head on Alessia's breasts, while the blonde hugs the fox girl against her body protectively, wrapping her arms around Delia like a mother would her child.
'Agh...
Most of my body feels like it's been hammered to dust....
I should get some rest...
How I wish I could sleep peacefully among my girls....
I hate having to be responsible for the three of us...
But it's better this way...
I don't want to burden them with the weight of the truth...
This is something I have to sort out on my own.'
Behind me, the light of dawn filters through the balcony and slowly begins to illuminate the interior of the room as I linger for a few minutes, reveling in the beautiful images of my two sleeping beauties.
'Hmm... Should I make them breakfast and bring it to bed for them?....
Actually...
I wouldn't even need to prepare anything...
I have plenty of food in my inventory....
Agh... this perpetual headache is really annoying...
No, I think it's best if the three of us go downstairs for breakfast...
But I don't want to wake them up...
I think... I think I'll lie next to them for a few minutes until they wake up...
Yeah... that sounds good.'
As soon as I lean my weight on the bed, Alessia suddenly opens her eyes and looks at me with a tense look.
"Master?..." she says, realizing it's me, and the tension disappears from her gaze.
"...Where did you go?"
"Alessia? Who are you talking to? Did you just say Master?..." says Delia's voice from somewhere between Alessia's breasts.
"... Emir! Where did you go? You didn't do anything bad to the people of the Solus Temple, did you?"
"Of course not!..." I exclaimed indignantly.
'Does Delia no longer trust me?'
"... I just went to the labyrinth to distract myself a bit."
Delia sighs in relief but says nothing.
However, Alessia refuses to drop the subject.
"At this hour?" asks Alessia skeptically.
"I couldn't sleep... okay?..." I lie, as I don't want to continue this topic of conversation.
"...I had a lot of things to think about."
"Yes. You weren't the only one who had trouble sleeping..." says Alessia in a sour voice as she releases Delia to sit up in bed. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"...Delia had nightmares, and it would have been nice if you had been here to comfort her when she woke up startled."
"Delia?" I ask, looking at the fox girl.
"I didn't... It was nothing, Emir. Don't worry," Delia says coyly, as her eyes shy away from my gaze.
'It's obvious that she's lying to me....
Wasn't it that Saints couldn't lie?....
Haa....
I guess she couldn't heal all the wounds she received from those fuckers....
There are wounds that were hidden in her mind....
And the bad memories of what happened yesterday will take a good while to lose strength....
How hard it is to obey Delia's wishes not to take revenge on the Solus temple....
I would love to be able to vent out on someone for the frustration I feel at not being able to do anything to help her.'
"No, Delia. Don't lie to make it simple for him..." says Alessia, who already seems to be fully awake.
"...I've had enough of this, Master. I've noticed for days that something strange has been going on with you. You go to and from home at odd hours and never tell us completely the truth about where you're going."
"That's not-" I start to say, but Alessia interrupts me.
"Don't lie! I know you, Emir. I can tell perfectly well when you're hiding something..." the blonde says irritably, looking at me with narrowed eyes, a frown and tight lips.
"...You're not as much of a liar as you think you are. If it weren't for Delia and I trusting you, we would have confronted you long ago to tell us what's going on."
"Nothing is going on. Really" I say, as I begin to feel cornered.
'I thought they hadn't noticed anything... I should have been more careful.'
"Emir... is it that you don't trust us?..." says Delia, in a hesitant voice.
"... lately you seem... very nervous and depressed... also... you have bloodshot eyes and huge dark circles under your eyes... and many times your movements are somewhat erratic. It's obvious that something is bothering you. Why don't you want to let us help you?"
'Agh... and now Delia too... what do I do?'
Delia looks up at me pleadingly, pouting from the bed, her huge eyes wide open and her pupils completely dilated from the lack of light.
'Hey! Pouting with that expression is not fair!... shit... I have to think of something to distract them.'
