Yur arrived at his destroyed mansion with Xia. "Hey, what are you doing?"
Landing on the ground, she finally let go of him.
"What do you an?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Marriage this, wife that..." Despite her embarrassnt, she was now very frustrated. "I haven’t even said yes!"
"You don’t need to." Yur didn’t walk toward her, instead, he headed toward Quin, who was still healing. "Get up now. Help find a new place. The King will pay for it."
"What do you an I don’t need to?" Xia stomped her feet, anger rising. "Doesn’t my opinion matter?"
Yur sighed. "The reason this is happening is because your opinion matters." He shook his head. "I know you like ."
"I’m simply interested. I haven’t developed a real liking yet," she replied.
Sure, Yur was handso and stirred her restrained desires, but she didn’t truly like him, not yet.
Quin glanced at the situation and said, "Master, I’ll go look around then," and quickly disappeared.
Yur ignored Quin and stepped toward Xia.
With each step he took, she retreated. "Yur, stop coming closer."
"Fine, I’ll stay this far," he paused, looking at her. "Xia, I’ll give you a choice."
"Choice? What do you an?" she asked, puzzled.
"I’m not planning on staying in Freau for too long. It was never my idea, I only ca back because Renri invited ." He explained, "Although I’m now tangled in this, once it settles down, I will depart."
"Where to?" she asked, surprised by his talk of departure.
"Who knows," Yur shrugged. "I only have so ideas, nothing set in stone."
"I see," she nodded.
"Not ’I see’—rather, do you wish to co with or no?" he pressed, remaining motionless.
"I can’t just decide sothing like that right away," she protested, frustrated by his impatience. "Why can’t you just wait a little?"
"I don’t have ti to wait," he said, shaking his head. "Ti is the most important thing to . And yet, I’m putting you over that."
She fell silent.
Seeing her silence, he sighed. "Alright. If you don’t desire it, I shall remain simply as your guard."
"That’s not what I an!" As he began to turn away, she took a few steps forward. "Just listen for a second."
Yur turned his head and looked at her with his dull eyes.
"I just... this is all so much at once... like..." she struggled to articulate, "to leave everything behind and be with soone I barely know... it’s overwhelming."
"I’m not asking you to leave anything behind," he sighed. "If you decide to be with , we can stay here a while longer and leave when you’re ready."
"It’s still..." Before she could add more, Yur suddenly stepped close, his eyes locked on hers.
"If you’re indecisive, let decide for you," he whispered. "It’s not hard. Be mine, and trust —you’ll be fine."
She bit her lip, searching his emotionless eyes, unable to fathom his true thoughts or feelings.
"M-master..." a voice suddenly ca from behind.
Yur grunted before turning his head. "Yes?"
"I found a place," Quin trembled.
"Lead ," Yur ordered, grabbing Xia’s dainty hands and pulling her along.
————————————————————————
The trio quickly arrived at the new location. Though not as grand as the mansion, it was still a very large ho.
"Quin, go start a bath," Yur commanded.
"Yes," she replied, quickly disappearing.
"How is the place?" he asked Xia.
"It’s nice," she answered, still feeling his large hands holding hers. Her eyes lifted from below to et his face—despite her hesitation, she found him extrely attractive.
"Why don’t we find our room?" Yur suggested.
"You an rooms," she corrected.
"Nope. You and I should share one," he said with a smile.
"Yur, we just discussed this," she complained, exasperated by his impatience.
"And there was no conclusion," he remarked. "Enough arguing." He then pulled her toward one of the rooms. With his essence, he could easily sense the largest one.
They found the room quickly.
"I’ll have Quin grab clothes for you and . From now on, you will stay here," he said.
"No," she protested.
"Yes," he repeated firmly.
"Yur, co on," she complained, though she held his hand, unwilling to let go.
"Just get yourself accustod to this room," he said, releasing her hand. "I’ll be right back."
"Where are you going?" she asked, confused.
"Nowhere, I just need to do sothing."
"What about the assassins?" she asked, a trace of worry in her voice.
"I’ll be nearby. Nothing will happen." He patted her head and smiled. "Relax. When I’m around, no one can hurt you."
Hearing his words, she felt a asure of relief. She placed her hand on his and nodded. "Thank you."
"You’re mine. This is only normal," he said with a confident smile, then left the room without waiting for her response.
"Idiot," she muttered, a small smile tugging at her lips despite herself.
————————————————————————
Zul, has the quest not completed yet? This is getting frustrating!
Yur stood in one of the rooms, his face a mask of exhaustion. With all the extra emotions he was forced to act out—and the actions he was copying from Mal’s moirs—he felt ntally drained.
Even though his emotions were dulled, boredom and frustration were intensifying.
[Host is making progress! Quest can likely be completed tonight!]
Once I complete this quest, I will begin the marking! he thought in annoyance.
Velmira, status on your side? he inquired, curious about her progress. She was one of his biggest helpers in this.
I am done here. Aside from a few Luminous Heart elders, there should be no more Essence Forge cultivators in the vicinity.
With that update, Yur rubbed his chin. Alright, I want you back with .
Yes, ca the quiet reply.
Yur then contacted Jisvruul. I have a small task for you.
Master, say the word, ca the response.
Renri... Yur continued, explaining his plan.
"Master, the bath is ready."
He heard a knock on his door. Walking toward it, he pulled it open, stepped out, and gave Quin an indifferent stare before heading toward his room.
After a mont, he shifted his expression to sothing more emotional. "Xia," he called, pushing the door open and entering.
"Yes?" she replied, still wearing the robe Julian had given her.
"The bath is ready. Let’s go," he said as he began to remove his shirt.
"Wait, wait," she protested quickly, covering her eyes. "The bath is for you, it has nothing to do with ."
"Now, now," Yur said, already shirtless and moving toward her. "Look at this."
Through her fingers, she saw him pointing at a large cut on his chest.
"What happened?" she asked as her hands dropped, examining the wound that had just stopped bleeding. It was deep, though not bone-deep.
"You think defending against the surprise attack of a rank-four is easy?" he sighed.
"This was back then?" she asked in shock. "Why didn’t you say anything?"
"Why would I say anything in front of everyone?" he replied, raising his eyebrows. "You’re here, so you can take care of it, right?"
She lifted her hand hesitantly.
Seeing this, Yur gently grasped her hand and wrapped her fingers around his wound. "Don’t worry, you can touch."
Rolling her eyes slightly, she stroked the cut. "This is really deep."
"Then you should help ," he urged.
"What does a bath have to do with this wound?" she asked with a frown.
"It’s a dicinal bath," Yur explained. "It will help heal , but I need soone to help with my back as well." He turned around, revealing several large wounds on his back.
"Yur!" she gasped. "These are serious!"
"If you know that, then co on," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room.
"Let help you rub ointnt, there’s no need for another bath," she weakly protested against his pull.
"No, no. Only a bath will help. Trust ," he replied with a smirk.
"Yur, I can’t go into the bath again," she tried to wriggle free, though she wasn’t completely resisting.
"I want to, though."
They argued until they finally reached the steamy room. The fragrance was both calming and invigorating.
Xia flushed and fidgeted nervously.
Yur turned around and looked at her. Without a word, he stepped closer. "Listen..." His lips neared her ear. "I’ll give you a choice now. The door is behind you. You can leave, or—"
Before he could finish, her soft lips suddenly pressed against his.
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