For soone who has never danced in his life, Mark was suddenly filled with the urge to get on his feet and throw so moves. An unexpected developnt. He was prepared for a long battle, for months without a single step forward, and he didn’t mind any of it.
The cold Lara was cute as well, and his feelings for her hadn’t reached a place where he would want a relationship. The slow approach suited him just fine. It was for that reason that he hadn’t expected to get anywhere so soon.
’Calm down asshole.’ He told himself as his grin spread. ’This is just to deal with her bite.’
"Does this an we’re now married?"
The red had yet to leave Lara’s cheeks as she continued to glare at him.
"Master, why do I have the impression that you misunderstood the whole matter?"
"? No no, I didn’t misunderstand anything." Mark said with a shake of his head.
"Then why do you appear so... happy?"
"Why wouldn’t I?"
Just hearing that she’s open to being with him was enough reason to celebrate.
"I believe we should make everything clear before any mistakes are made."
"Sure." Mark nodded. "Setting boundaries is very important for the success of a relationship."
Lara let out an exasperated sigh.
"First of all..." She paused and heaved another sigh. "To preserve both our reputations, we will state that the two of us are husband and wife."
"So we are married!" Mark jumped to his feet and raised his arms in celebration.
"On paper only!" Lara quickly shot him down.
"Yes yes, on paper only."
Once he sat down, the maid held up the index finger on her right hand.
"You are not allowed to touch without permission."
"That goes without saying."
She raised a second finger.
"You do not have any right over my body."
"Obviously..."
Mark was starting to feel that there was sothing odd about the rules his maid was stating. It wasn’t that there was a problem with the rules themselves; they were perfectly understandable considering what they were attempting to do. They simply sounded a bit too obvious.
The odd feeling got stronger when she raised the third finger.
"You cannot ask to bear your children."
No sooner had she said those words than Mark’s gaze turned sharp and a single word left his mouth.
"No."
The sudden change in expression startled Lara, leaving her petrified for a few seconds. That was an opening Mark wasn’t about to waste.
"How can we say we’re married if we don’t have children?"
"But-"
"I want at least two."
"That’s-"
"More is fine. You should be fine since you have high endurance and regeneration capabilities."
"Stop!"
If she hadn’t held both hands to his mouth he would’ve kept going. His goal had been achieved, however. Lara was beet red and she couldn’t even turn in his direction.
"Master, y-you should not jest about such matters."
"I understand." Mark slumped his shoulders and pretended to be defeated. "I will wait until you feel like having children."
"I... You can wait for all you want. It will not happen."
"I’m a very patient man." Chuckling, Mark heaved a sigh. "But seriously, you don’t have to worry too much."
A doubtful look told him how his maid felt about that statent.
"What I ant is... well, I don’t get why you have to state the obvious. It’s not like I can demand that you do anything you don’t like just because we’re married."
"It is so you do not have any expectations," Lara replied. "Our... our marriage will be for appearance alone, so we can handle the vessel’s needs without feeling ashad."
"That is perfectly understandable."
"I do not believe you understood anything, Master."
"Would you like to do it now?"
Silence perated through the room. Lara’s cherry lips parted to say sothing only for her to draw them into a line.
"More than two days have passed, I believe," Mark said. "The cravings should have returned by now."
"It is... it is not a problem... for now..."
An unexpected developnt. Mark had been prepared for a long battle, for months without a single step forward. Things wouldn’t progress without a reason, and though he would’ve loved to believe the alluring maid manifested feelings for him overnight, logic told him it wasn’t sothing possible.
The reason wasn’t too difficult to figure out. The last ti she went days without getting his blood ended with her almost draining him by mistake. The cravings might not have reached a point where they would cause a problem, but their effects beca prominent enough for Lara to notice them and so she was taking steps to deal with them, allowing her to overco the displeasure of what needed to be done.
In short, the only reason she bothered with the arrangent they were discussing is because she could feel her limits nearing and nothing else.
"Lara, you don’t have to hold back."
A protagonist would have placed his hand on the heroine’s, reassuring her that everything would be fine. For all his talk about being one, Mark knew he didn’t have it in him to make such a move. He already had one strike and didn’t know how many before he was out. Words were the only tool he was allowed to use.
"I know! How about we go with the solution I ntioned before?"
"Solution?"
"The one where I pass out and let you take care of the rest. Actually, you should’ve done so earlier."
"I... I couldn’t do that."
Watching the maid’s reaction made Mark even more confident in the conclusion he had reached. So far, Lara only bit him twice. The first ti he almost died because of blood loss. The second he was kicked into the ceiling. A third ti was all they needed for there to be a pattern for them to notice.
’A pattern...’
Mark’s mind suddenly froze. His eyes fell on the maid. She glanced in his direction and their eyes t only for her to look away. Her face was still red, adding to the natural charm she always had. Observing her should’ve made his heart flutter, but Mark’s entire body had gone cold.
He had already noticed a pattern.
"Y-you take your ti to decide."
Lara seed a little confused when he suddenly got up. He scratched the back of his head and smiled wryly.
"I rember sweating quite a bit since we got to the city. You wouldn’t want to bite like this, right?"
"Ah..."
Seeing her eyes widen a little, Mark smiled and continued to the door.
"Let’s continue this later."
~[ ]~
The door closed behind him with a faint click and a long sigh escaped his chest. Mark stood at the sa spot for a few seconds, his eyes taking in the surroundings even as his mind wandered to a different place.
He was still inside the shelter, that much beca clear when he noticed that the room he walked into matched the living area of the suit his friend was kept in. A part of him expected Ramsay and the rest of Squad Four to be waiting for him there but no one was there.
Making his way to the bathroom, he pondered what had just occurred and compared it to what he had noticed before.
’I wake up. An event that involves Lara happens. We fight weaker enemies. A powerful one shows up. I use a flashbang. I get saved by a powerful ally. I pass out.’
Those were the distinct points that represent the loop Ramsay had pointed out before. It wasn’t a ti loop in the sense that the exact sa events keep repeating themselves, but one where the sa sequence of events keeps happening even when things appear to be progressing.
It was nothing more than a coincidence when the sergeant brought it up the first ti, but now that it had occurred four tis in a row Mark didn’t know if he could dismiss the idea.
’My talk with Lara on the truck.’ He tried recounting the events of the last loop. ’Fighting the Red Hoods in the city and shelter. The robed man showed up. I used a flash-bang on him. I passed out...’
Since Lara ntioned it, Mark knew that he had succeeded in using the Lunar Arts ability. It was the likely reason he passed out as well, and since he passed out in the middle of a battlefield, his squadmates saved him. All the events were accounted for, which ans the loop was closed and a new one was starting.
’... C’mon...’
His reflection ca into sight as he passed the bathroom sink and the expression he wore sumd up how he felt about the whole matter. The fifth loop was about to start, if it hadn’t started already. The conversation he had with the silver-haired maid could be considered the first event, and if he had allowed her to bite him, there would have been no doubt about it.
Just thinking about it caused his anger to swell. What should have been a joyous occasion and an opportunity for him to get closer to his maid was suddenly boiled down to being a scheduled event.
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