NOVPUBThe rooms were immersed in a cozy gloom, where only soft candlelight flickered on the linen curtains and the books scattered on the shelves. Kael was sitting on the sofa, his head resting against Eleonor's chest, wrapped in her gentle arms. She entwined his fingers in hers, as if holding on to an ancient promise. Their breathing was calm, even.
"It's been a long journey..." Kael said, his voice muffled by the warmth of her lap around him.
Eleonor smiled, stroking his red hair with her fingertips. "But you got here all right. That's all that matters."
Kael looked up, meeting her eyes. "I was beginning to miss your lotions. Even surrounded by wonders and teachings... none compare to yours... that school is so boring."
She laughed, soft as a lullaby. "New languages, new races, materials, friendships, different teachers... and yet you think of me?"
"You damned fox, don't make me say that." He squeezed her fingers a little tighter. "Of course I miss you and Mom. That school is awful."
Eleonor sighed and leaned her forehead against his. "Fufufu, your mother must be mad with you away from her, you should go visit Elion," she said laughing.
"I know, I wanted to be here just to visit, but you must have heard about the events" Kael said and Eleonor nodded,
"It would be good to hear about the whole situation from you, Kael," she commented.
Kael then began to explain everything that had happened to him, and to Sylphie, as well as, of course, the whole dungeon story, avoiding talking about what had happened between him and Professor Erika, and about Yggdrazil.
"Hmm... I see..." She murmured, playing with his hair, "So it really is as I was told..." She murmured.
"What did they tell you?" Kael asked curiously.
"An organization tried to enter my kingdom a few days ago, but they were blocked immediately. Our magical sensors are the best in the world, the slightest manipulation of corrupted energy automatically alerts them and almost kills the target." Eleonor said.
"These drugs are exterminated the moment they enter my realm," Eleonor said with a firm tone, her eyes scanning the magical reports floating before her. "That's why we rarely have problems here. But... the other kingdoms, and even Azalith Academy, are another story. There... measuring the damage is almost impossible."
She sighed and glanced at Kael, assessing his calm but attentive posture.
"Besides... it looks like they sent you here for a very specific reason."
Kael tilted his head slightly, already anticipating the answer. "I figured as much. They want to evaluate me. To see if I'm... clean. And of course, to get me out of the way of the main investigation, to make sure I don't interfere."
Eleonor let out a dry chuckle, crossing her arms with a half-smile.
"Actually... I think they sent you here because they were afraid you'd end up killing someone else... or becoming an easy target. Considering that a Corrupted Berserker left you bedridden for days."
Kael looked away, the crooked smile growing on his face like a silent confession. "Yeah... that could be it too."
She moved closer, her eyes softening and her hardened tone giving way to affection.
"But it's okay," she repeated, her voice lower and softer now, like a whisper between memories and desires. "I have all the time in the world to spend with my grandson now..."
She leaned a little closer, her fingers slipping from his shoulder to his hand, still entwined with hers. A comfortable silence hung for a moment, until she arched an eyebrow.
"Although..." she began in a mellifluous tone, her gaze slipping down to his lips. "I'm still waiting for a real kiss from my dear grandson." Her voice sounded like a whisper shrouded in honey and mystery.
Kael choked on air, his posture rigid for an instant. "B-kiss...?"
Eleonor laughed softly, as if savoring his reaction. "Of course. Elion's probably already taken courage and enjoyed hers. You know what she's like - an overprotective mother... So, when her training was over, I held back." She tilted her face slightly, a few centimeters from his, her eyes half closed. "You remember, don't you?"
As if a curtain had opened in his mind, Kael saw himself again in that instant frozen in time... their farewell after the arduous training, the intimate moment interrupted, and her soft voice telling him:
"I can't steal your first kiss..."
Returning to the present, he looked at her in silence, his heart - or what was left of his reincarnated soul - beating in strange echoes inside his enchanted chest.
Eleonor smiled, but there was a dangerous, almost predatory glint in her eyes. "Ah, Kael... You didn't think I'd treat you like that just because you were my student, did you?" Her hand rose slowly, fingertips tracing the line of his jaw. "Of course I'd be interested in a genius like you... Someone with an old soul as hungry as mine."
She moved closer, her lips almost touching his - a calculated, fiery provocation that was impossible to ignore.
"You just have to say yes," she whispered, like a curse disguised as a promise. "And I'll be completely yours..."
Her smile was now that of a goddess clothed in sin - warm and dangerous, like sacred fire hidden beneath silken veils.
"Are you sure about this?..." Kael murmured, his voice low, almost a hoarse whisper as his golden eyes locked onto hers, searching for something - certainty, truth... permission.
Eleonor stared at him for a long moment. Her smile softened, but did not lose its dangerous glint. There was something ancient in that gaze - an old love, shaped by secrets, unspoken promises and silent nights on the edge of the abyss.
"Kael..." she said, and his name seemed to dance on her tongue like a prayer and a temptation at the same time. "I'm a thousand-year-old archmage, I've been through wars, seen kingdoms crumble and raised empires with a word." She slid her fingers down the side of his face, gentle but firm as silk stretched over steel. "Do you really think I'd hesitate now?"
"B-well," he stammered, "spoken like that..."
"Don't tell me you're afraid, my grandson..." She said, smiling teasingly. That was enough. "Oh, come on..." He said before throwing himself on top of her.
Kael pressed his lips against Eleonor's with a hunger that surprised even himself. His tongue demanded entrance, parting her soft lips as he delved into the moist heat of her mouth. He could taste the sweetness of her tongue, feel its silky softness as it danced with his own.
Eleonor moaned softly, a needy sound that sent shivers down Kael's spine. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling him closer as she returned the kiss with equal fervor. Their lips moved in a sensual rhythm, sloppy and moist, while saliva mixed between them.
Kael's hands roamed Eleonor's body, caressing every curve he had admired from afar for so long. He held her breasts over her blouse, feeling their weight in his palms. His thumbs brushed the nipples, hardening them.
Eleonor gasped into Kael's mouth, arching her back to press herself deeper into his touch. Her own hands slid down to grasp his hips, pulling him against her. Kael could feel her heat through her clothes, could feel the evidence of his own arousal pressing insistently against his belly.
He kissed her harder, deeper, losing himself in the taste and feel of her. His mind clouded with lust, all thoughts of decorum, right and wrong dissipating in the face of his overwhelming desire.
"Kael," Eleonor whispered breathlessly against his lips. "Should we go... somewhere else?..."
