6-73 Night of many (R18)

The seasons were beginning to change. That much was evident. Crops were ripe for sowing and flowers were in full bloom. The air was getting chilly. The chill breeze turned freezing cold once night fell. The cold was akin to poison, even though snow had yet to fall. Anyone without a source of warmth or heat would not survive the night. The nights had turned harsh and unforgiving, more than ever before. However, the capital city was spared from such a plight, all thanks to the mighty tower that stood tall and proud behind the royal palace, the King’s Tower. The first and last line of defence for the capital. It was because of the tower that the capital and the nation had survived many disasters and wars. It was also the reason the kingdom had yet to become a plaything for high-level individuals.

Erin was deeply fascinated with the tower. She was intrigued by the role it played. A mere tower was responsible for the peace of the entire nation. She wanted to observe the tower up close and that chance was close, extremely so. At the foot of the tower lay the royal court, where the king and the most important nobles conducted most of their affairs that required an audience. At the dawn of the morrow, she would be escorted to that place and testify against William Marsh and his suspected collaborator, the crowned prince, Leorick. Though it wouldn’t be her first time being in the presence of royalty, she never could get used to it. It was always a suffocating experience. One wrong move or word, and you might be sent to the gallows, not that this notion had ever dulled her tongue.

Even from afar, from the balcony of her own room in the Fae Embassy, Erin still had to crane her head slightly to take in the full view of the King’s Tower. The tower was indeed huge, but much of its scale was propped up by the fact that it was built upon a hill, along with the palace and the court. The choice of location wasn’t purely for aesthetic reasons, but also for strategic ones. Enemies would certainly have more trouble taking a palace on a hill than one on the flatland. As fascinated as she was, such a subject had never been a topic of this much interest to her before. This newfound fascination of hers was a result of her current circumstance.

Not long after she had returned from the Dark Elf’s Grove, she was apprehended by the officials and placed on house arrest. Trapped in a room with no company or any meaningful literature to keep her mind occupied, she could only admire the view outside the room. There were books in the room, but all of them were fiction and fairy tales. The tower and the palace just so happened to fall in her view. With no other distraction in reach, she could only contemplate the sole object of fascination in her vicinity. She recalled what Aedan and Iris had told her, though the tower and the palace could only hold her interest for so long.

The final moments of her friend, Katya, kept repeating in her head. She reconciled with her, but their moments after their reconciliation lasted much too short. Erin had so many things to tell her, and so many things to do for her, but alas, it was all too late. The chance was long gone from the start. But at the very least, she got to apologise for how she treated her friend, and she was there in her friend’s last moments. She wished she could have held a funeral, but there was no time, and those pompous cunts in the court weren’t so compassionate with her loss.

“This seal will not hold. An anchor and a catalyst are needed.”

These words surfaced in her mind whenever she closed her eyes. These were the words of Sylvie, the Dark Elf. As compensation for her work, Erin requested that Aedan’s seal on his powers be repaired. Sylvie had given the instructions and incantations for the seal, but two main ingredients were ultimately absent. These two ingredients were not easy to come by. The silver lining was that these two were attainable within the city.

As she was returning to admiring and assessing the central structure of the capital, and also contemplating how she would acquire those two ingredients, her attention was tugged away by strange noises and scent. The noise was faint, but it couldn’t escape her hearing. It sounded like an argument. It was quiet, but it was also loud. She turned around and looked up.

“…Hi?” Lyra greeted with an awkward smile.

Erin frowned. “What are you doing?” she asked, completely baffled by the fact that Lyra was hanging on the shallow ledges of the wall above her.

“I was sneaking out of my room?” she answered with a hopeful smile.

“You should be resting. You lost an arm. Your body was cut open in a severe manner.”

“And I’m all fine now, Erin.” Lyra swung her arms around. “It doesn’t hurt anymore at all. Thanks to the Saintess. She thinks she owes her life not just to you, but also your friends. Thereby, me and the others. Such a sweet girl she is. Look at me. Not even scars remained. This is simply… incredible. She even asked if I wanted my… body to be changed.”

“She can do that?”

“I’m not sure if she was just jesting or not, but regardless, I decline.”

“Decline?”

Lyra sighed. “Yes, I decline. I wish for them to be bigger, but I also want the process to be natural.”

Erin smiled wryly. “Understandable. So, where’s Nivia? I heard you two shared a room due to the lack of bedrooms here. Surely, she wouldn’t have just let you sneak by yourself, right, Nivia?” Erin’s gaze moved.

“You are so absurd,” came Nivia’s words from beside Lyra, even though no one was there.

“I can still smell you.”

“I have concealed my scent.”

“Not well enough.”

Nivia sighed and revealed herself, as if an unseen veil was being lifted off of her. She was also in the same ridiculous position as Lyra.

At Erin’s behest, the two quickly climbed down from the wall and made their way into Erin’s room. Erin quickly closed the door behind her after they had all entered. “Just what were you two doing?” she questioned the two with her hands firmly on her hips like a parent reprimanding her children.

“We… wanted to see you,” Lyra answered. She was sitting on her knees, kneeling, much like a child who was being reprimanded. “But they wouldn’t let us, saying something about how you were under probation and whatnot.”

Erin turned to Nivia. “And you?”

“M-me?”

“Yes, you.”

“W-what other reasons would I have?”

“What reason is that?”

“Same as Lyra, of course!”

“And what would that be?”

“Y-you…! You know exactly what that is!”

Erin’s lip curled into a smirk. “I don’t know unless you tell me, Nivia.”

“Oh, come on, Nivia.” Lyra nudged the Elf. “Just be honest. No one will laugh at you.”

“I don’t care if someone laughed at me! It’s just…”

Still smiling, Erin knelt down in front of Nivia and took her into an embrace. “Silly girl,” she whispered into the Elf’s ear. “Why can’t you just be honest?” She tittered.

Nivia shivered intensely with her face turning beet-red. She wanted to push Erin away but the latter’s warmth and affection made Nivia melt in the Fox-kin’s arms. “It’s… embarrassing,” she retorted in a hush voice that was barely audible. She also returned the embrace.

“Thank you, Nivia… Lyra… I need this.”

“We know,” said Lyra. “Which is why we’re here. You just lost a close friend, and those nobles couldn’t be bothered to let you grieve first. The main culprit’s already dead. He certainly won’t be going anywhere. Why even rush?”

“Marsh may be dead, but he has accomplices in high places. The testimonial is most likely for that reason, to lure them out.”

“How will they do that?”

Erin shrugged. “I don’t know. What did Aedan say?”

“He didn’t say anything.” It was Nivia who answered in a huff.

“What’s wrong?”

“Aera, that’s what’s wrong.”

“I still don’t see it.”

“Aera is hogging Aedan to herself, and so is Lilian.”

“Ah… I see.”

“I see? That’s all you will say?”

“What else do you want me to say?”

“That damn lizard is taking those two away from you! He should know his place!”

Erin chuckled. “He’s not taking anyone away from me. He’s mine. By right, so are Aera and Lilian. He is addicted to me. Besides, those two can’t satisfy him. I can.”

“I still don’t like him,” Nivia snorted.

Erin sighed with a wry smile. “Enough about him, Nivia. What about you?”

“Me? What about me?”

“What do you want to do?”

“Huh? What do you mean? I don’t—”

“She means this,” Lyra said and took the initiative. She knelt down beside Erin and Nivia, and pulled Erin’s lips to hers. Their lips instantly locked together and their tongues collided with one another, desperately seeking each other’s warmth and affection.

Nivia’s eyes went wide and her face turned even redder than before once she realised the meaning behind Erin’s question. “W-wait!” she yelled.

“Nope,” Lyra smirked and continued the deep and passionate kiss with Erin.

Feeling left out and indignant, Nivia lunged forward and forcefully pushed the two away from each other. “Hold it right there!”

“Oh, come on, Nivia,” Lyra grumbled. “Don’t be such a prude now.”

Nivia snorted and pounced on top of Erin, smacking her lips into Erin’s.

“What the— Oi! That’s not fair!” Lyra cried.

Nivia ignored Lyra’s complaints and continued deepening her kiss with Erin.

“You damn Elf…” Lyra growled. “Get off of her!” She tried to pry Nivia off of Erin—

—but Nivia resisted by wrapping her arms tightly around Erin. She even clamped down her thighs on Erin’s hips.

“Fine. If this is how you want to play, I’ll play to your tune,” Lyra said and began stripping Nivia down. The Elf was wearing the usual adventurer’s garb, consisting of trousers, a blouse, and a vest. Lyra slid Nivia’s trousers down low enough to reveal her entire posterior.

Nivia shivered and froze when she realised what Lyra was doing. She tried to turn around, but Erin locked her face against hers with her arms thrown around the Elf. Smirking, Erin gave Lyra a nod.

“E-Erin, wait! I’m—”

“No waiting,” Erin said and shut her up with another bout of deep and passionate kisses. “This is your punishment for being dishonest.”

“Be grateful that your punishment is just us giving you the ultimate pleasure,” Lyra whispered into Nivia’s ears as she slid Nivia’s underwear to the side to allow her digits’ entry into the Fae’s dripping honeypot.

“No, please. I don’t— Eeeek~!” Nivia couldn’t get her words out completely before the ecstasy began surging from below. Ever since she learned about the pleasure of sexual intimacy, she could never stop thinking about it. Every day, every night, she would think back on her first experience and try to relive that very experience. And she would have done exactly that if she hadn’t been placed in the same room as Lilian for the entirety of her stay in the embassy. She could endure it no longer. Her words might be refuting and rejecting, but her body told a different story. Only a few seconds had passed after Erin had kissed her and Lyra had stuck her fingers inside her; Nivia was already melting in her arms. She would jerk and shudder whenever Lyra’s fingers grazed that one spot in her holy cavern. She would moan loudly.

Lyra stopped and looked to the door with a terrified expression of realisation. There were guards standing just outside the room. No way they did not hear that loud moan just now.

“Don’t worry,” Erin said. “They won’t hear us. A spell has been cast on this room to prevent any noises from leaking out. It is the least they could do for my privacy.”

“Aren’t they concerned about you sneaking out?”

“I can’t sneak out. They will know the instant I leave this room. Well, their generosity has turned out well. So, don’t stop now. Keep going.”

Lyra grinned and leaned forward for a kiss. She also resumed moving and twiddling her fingers inside of Nivia. The kiss with Erin was shallow but there was plenty of affection and passion in the light exchanges. Shallow the kiss might be, but the intent behind it was anything but shallow. Their eyes closed whenever their lips touched, but they opened whenever their lips parted, as if to gauge the love and reaction from one another. They continued this gesture until the Fae below them cried out loudly and Lyra’s hands were drenched in the Elf’s fluids.

Nivia slumped into Erin’s lap as her orgasm waned.

As for Lyra, she rose to her feet and stripped herself bare. “My turn,” she said and approached Erin, who was still kneeling on the floor, with her cunt bared open for her lover to taste and maul.