Tangential Amours

A dark figure stealthily moved within the shadows. Swiftly, he disappeared into the inconspicuous corners and carefully bypassed the cameras within the vicinity. He made his way through the patrolling guards, like a wind, remaining unseen.

He arrived at the marked place he had reviewed on the map and climbed the wall to the designated room.

Entering through the opened window, what welcomed him is a lovely sight.

A lady is slumbering, lying defenseless, on a white mattress, as if buried in snow. The soft, yellow glow coming off the nearby lamp enveloped her cast in a golden light.

He smirked and chastised himself for acting like a flower picker.

The visitor of the spring boudoir is none other than the ghosted villain- Xaphael.

It took a moment for Xaphael to garner his spirit, and with cautious steps, he approached the person while studying her profile.

He then sat by her bedside, focusing on her cast.

Xaphael has not noticed it before, but Eve has delicate features.

She has long lashes naturally curled at its end, a dainty nose, and lips that seem to inherently curve on one side as if she is constantly in a good mood.

His gaze went back to her shut lids, which enclosed her pair of cunning orbs.

He couldn't help but raise his hand and lightly stroke her face.

Xaphael has been too frustrated concerning Eve.

He is annoyed by her neglect yet also longed to see her.

He wanted to demand why she had behaved as if he does not exist after provoking various emotions within him but, at the same time, doesn't want to deal with it.

He desired to see her badly but somehow doesn't want to see her.

He wanted to punish her but, he doesn't want to hurt her.

He is constantly torn between conflicting sentiments, putting his heart and mind in chaos.

He nearly believed he's gone mad.

" ...you."

" What have you done to me?" He murmured.

Eve seemed to be stirred by his touch that she suddenly opened her eyes.

Xaphael, caught off guard, sat still, unable to take his hand off her face.

He could only stare at her vibrant orbs, which lacked focus.

She seemed to be half-asleep.

Eve glimpsed at him, touched his face, and mumbled;

" I like your face."

Her voice got softer as she spoke and uttered such words in a broken manner as she slept once again.

Xaphael could only discern the first three words that sounded more of a confession, which stunned him.

Eve had constantly conveyed she wanted to bed him, with the utmost directness and solemnity, as if afraid he won't get the message. He took it as a joke or nonsense coming from a mentally unsound person. At most, he acknowledged that Eve might have been coveting him physically because he has never heard her admit she liked him.

But, maybe, she really and truly is in love with him?

If the evil seeding duo hears his contemplation, they would be growing question marks on their head and ask, "When did she/ the host ever say she loved you??"

Xaphael, nonetheless, continued his musing.

It turned out that she likes him that much. That even in her waking moment, she yearns for him.

That recognition made him smile.

Warmth bloomed uncontrollably in his chest that his mind has gone haywire.

Impulse over rationality, Xaphael's lifelong self-control got swallowed by the overwhelming emotions he couldn't comprehend.

All he can see is Eve's alluring face and her pink lips. He was pondering that despite accidentally "kissing" that day, he has not genuinely tasted it.

He began to lower his head but, when he was about to meet Eve's lips, she...

turned sideways and found a more comfortable position.

Xaphael: ...

The slumbering girl might have felt pestered by the warm breathing against her skin that she even swatted the nearby creature off.

The slapped Xaphael: (- -_ )

Though that slap was akin to a pathetic move from a person with combat power of 3, it was his first time to be slapped, alright.

He let out a low chuckle after heaving a heavy sigh.

[ Forget it.]

Xaphael is quite forgiving for the "Acts of Man" especially if that person is Eve.

Then he remembered something.

He moved to the end of the bed and proceeded to lift the quilt.

Unscrupulously, he took Eve's foot while his other hand reached within his pocket. After wearing the gift on her ankle, Xaphael stopped moving, seemingly at a loss. He did not notice that a certain someone has long woken up and is watching him.

Eve was exasperated to have her rest disturbed but, when she saw that the culprit was the villain, she kept quiet and anticipated his next move.

She's surprised by his unexpected appearance but is more interested if he had a change of heart. Maybe he changed his mind regarding waiting for adulthood before doing some adult things.

Talk about thirst has no curfew.

She did not even question how the villain could successfully come to her chamber or how he passed through the airtight security at home.

Of course, Eve would only presume that the villain is different because he's the personification of "If there's a will, there's a way".

Currently, Eve is becoming moldy of waiting for Xaphael to take action. He just remained unmoving, holding her foot in his hand, making her ponder about some things. It seems she discovered something about El or perhaps misunderstood him.

" El."

Xaphael was pulled back from his reverie with her call.

A vivid image of her stepping on a bleeding mouth flashed his mind that he got momentarily distracted a while back.

" Eve?" He met her curious eyes that made him a little flustered.

Before he could explain, he heard her ask;

" You have a foot fetish?"

She got it wrong. El isn't stimulated by violence or letting Ada kiss her shoe but is captivated by her feet.

Xaphael: ... huh?

Seeing her ambiguous eyes, he hurriedly explained;

" No, I just put this on you." He tapped the small, sun-shaped blue sapphire charm dangling on a minimalistic silver anklet. The simple design looked exquisite on her fair skin, accentuating her limb.

[ Well, her feet are beautiful too.] He momentarily reflected.

Eve, seeing the proof questioned anew,

" Is it your gift for me?"

" Well," He wanted to say he is the gift but seeing her vibrant eyes full of delight, he opted not to speak further.

And, uttering those words while gazing at those serene orb seemed so... shameless, he realized.

His ears burned, contemplating why he had said so before. He could only cough to hide his gaffe.

" Though it's my first time seeing this kind of shackle, I like it. Thank you, El."

"...it's not"

Now thinking of it, it's figuratively a kind of shackle, Xaphael deemed.

" It seems you have a very peculiar fetish, huh, but I don't mind."

"..."

" Can it be used to track my location?"

"..."

Should he be happy or be ashamed that she saw through his intentions?

In fact, it does have a tracking device. Now, Xaphael couldn't recover himself from the pit he has dug. How could he reveal that it's his way of secretly monitoring her location?

You know he is still upset from her ghosting activities, coming and going without saying anything, leaving him hanging. Though he could investigate where she is, it's still best to know her location first hand.

" To be honest, I thought you changed your mind and wanted to give yourself to me but, it's okay. I can wait until that day."

Her words successfully reminded Xaphael of important business.

He sat upright and, with a stern look, met Eve's clueless expression.

" Eve, let's settle the account." His voice, low and magnetic, soothing Eve's auditory nerves.

She sat up, following his example, pondering if she owed him something.

" I wanted to ask, after eating and wiping me clean that day, you left just like that?" There were no ups or downs in his tone, like merely stating a fact.

Recalling that she did bit his bun and wiped the traces clean, Eve responded with a guiltless conscience,

" Yeah." She nodded.

The last time she pinched the bun, her butt was sent to kiss the carpet when he shut his door. Truly stingy, she mused. It wasn't even five seconds that time. Could this be the account to be settled he mentioned?

"...you, really. Ha ha " To think he was waiting for her valid reason, Xaphael let out a wry chuckle.

[ And, we haven't settled your black-listing actions yet.] He once again smirked, wondering how to punish the ruthless girl.

Watching him laugh in a dissonant manner, the three endangered brain cells responsible for Eve's EQ prompted her that something is wrong.

" What's wrong?" She can't comprehend why the villain was upset. She covered him with a quilt and even kindly gave him the antidote, letting him attend the banquet that day. She also asked Balin to let him have ample rest. Was her course of action incorrect?

" What's wrong? Eve, we haven't even rectified your heartless action of blocking me, you know?" Xaphael cupped his chin and watched the girl become more confused.

" I did? When did I?" Eve wondered upon hearing his accusation. She doesn't recall committing such an act.

Seeing her deny irked Xaphael that he directly fished his cell, presenting the evidence before her.

Their gazes met- one was upset and complaining, the other- oblivious.

Eve, at this moment, consulted the popcorn eating system guide and learned the truth.

( You're saying that he did it as an act of retaliation?)

( Yeah, host. You know he was dissatisfied you won against him so when you were not looking he twiddled your phone, and when your cousin saw the contact named "Mine" he surmised it was your boyfriend and went to block him.) Halfsie spilled the beans about that day.

( Why didn't you tell me?)

( Well, host, you didn't ask?) Naturally, the furball has a tiny abacus in its heart. Stumbling the villain means more chances to steal the hero.

Eve furrowed her brows, noting "x3" on Halfsie's Death Bingo card. This donkey really wanted to bet its degenerate life away.

And, the second cousin, huh. It seems she needs to teach her mischievous cousin a lesson.

A particular mischievous cousin, who is presently playing his mobile while lying down, felt shivers down his spine, causing his phone to plop on his face.

When Xaphael assumed she wasn't going to say anything, he heard her speak,

" That wasn't me. That was Patricia." With a sincere appearance, as if proclaiming that she doesn't lie at all.

" Who is Patricia?" He asked.

" My cousin."

Black lines instantly formed on Xaphael's forehead, not knowing if he should be annoyed or laugh because of her excuse.

" Eve, you don't have a cousin named Patricia. " He knows that fact because he investigated everything about her prior.

" When Lyka lost the bet, he became Patricia." Eve did not elucidate but, Xaphael grasped the circumstances.

He laughed dryly. It turned out everything is a misunderstanding? He felt ridiculous.

Eve found Xaphael's behavior interesting. One second he giggles, then, the next, he is serious. Maybe he had gone mad? It doesn't matter to her, though, because she likes that face of his.

So when Xaphael calmed his turbulent inner self, he noticed Eve's unabashed orbs ogling at him. That gaze reminds him of when he first met her. This time, however, he doesn't feel irritated but is pleased.

It also made him realize that he has never been this ambivalent.

Since he fancies, then, just take it. He'll figure it out further in the future.

With that understanding, his turbulent sentiments evoked by his previous frustration whirled into calmness. His attitude, nonetheless, found a direction, becoming firm and unstoppable.

" Shouldn't you make it up to me?" His silvery eyes flashed with a cunning light as he smiled enchantingly.

Eve almost couldn't help but pounce on the villain exuding his fatal charm. Damn, the blatant seduce made her want to disregard his choice of waiting for adulthood, alright. But, she respects his decision and won't do anything without his consent.

" What do you want?" She could give him everything, except her snacks.

" Promise me."

" Promise what?"

Xaphael moved towards Eve, who is leaning languidly against the headboard. She could only watch the person shrouded by a dangerous yet fascinating aura approach.

Xaphael extended his hand, placed his fingers on her chin, and slowly lifted her face upwards to meet his gaze and continued,

" Yourself to me." His thumb caressed her skin, feeling its softness beneath his fingertips.

[ Eve, I don't fully comprehend what I feel for you, but I'll tie you beside me until I figure it out.] A wicked grin formed on his handsome face. Eve could only sigh and contemplate that when a villain unleashed his fiendish aura, his evil charm level is over 9000.

***

MINI THEATRE

Jacea Castle:

Carlaeon: Sup, cousin Eve. Why did you call?

Eve: I called to solicit my birthday gift.

Carlaeon: Heyyy, didn't you receive the parcel? Or maybe it's still on the way.

Eve: It doesn't count because it's not here yet.

Carlaeon: Haha Eve, you're really shameless, worthy of the Cross blood. So, what do you want?

Eve: Twenty percent of Patricia's hair

Carlaeon: Huh?

Eve: I want you to uproot it. The more conspicuous, the better.

Carlaeon: HAHAHAHAHAHA. [ That fool did something? ]

Carlaeon: Consider it done.

That day, everyone in the Jacea castle collectively trembled because of the third young master's demonic laughter.