Chapter 50 – The Past Incident

After the night, Miria woke up first, still in Ast’s arms. She smiled to herself while enjoying his warm, morning embrace and stayed close to him for a few minutes more, just basking in this pleasant and comfortable sensation.

She finally decided it was time to get up and tried to escape Ast’s grasp without interrupting his sleep, but unfortunately, she failed at quite the early stage of her plan and watched as Asterios softly exhaled and opened his eyes in front of her face.

“Good morning.”

Miria blushed slightly. “Good morning, Master.”

She pulled herself closer and left a soft peck on his lips. Asterios moved his hand from Miria’s back to her head and started petting her fluffy ears as he returned the kiss. She began slowly melting under the caresses of his fingers, releasing quiet purrs of satisfaction.

Ast didn’t intend to imprison Miria in this vicious cycle of pleasure so he stopped playing with her ears and switched to gently scratching her back as they lay on the bed. She allowed herself to be spoiled for a moment longer before backing away and raising herself on the bed.

Just then she noticed that the top of her negligee was still off and Asterios could admire her figure in full view, which naturally caused Miria’s cheeks to turn a shade more crimson as she hid her chest behind her furry arms.

He chuckled while also getting up and turned around to not embarrass his timid partner more. Miria felt happy from his consideration, but also a little bit disappointed, mostly in herself for still not being able to act casually even after the things they did together already.

She removed her arms from her chest and hugged Asterios from behind. A warm and soft sensation unexpectedly hit his back and two slightly bushy limbs hung over his shoulders. He tilted his head to the side just to be met with a slightly embarrassed face of Miria there.

“Thank you,” she whispered and pecked his cheek before hastily moving away and jumping through the dark red portal to take a proper bath after the night.

Asterios also walked to the small toilet area adjacent to his room and wiped himself clean with the help of some basic spells available in Livelihood Magic's repertoire. The inn in this village didn’t have full-sized, personal baths, but a bowl with a few towels was enough for now.

He checked out and went to eat a quick breakfast around the main square, grabbing a few fresh buns and a roasted lizard from the available stalls. After half an hour, Miria joined him already back in her full gear and they resumed their journey home without any further delays.

The path back was calm and uneventful. They passed two caravans going the opposite way, but other than that, nothing much has happened. Miria chatted with Ast along the way, explaining to him more about the topic of the previous night, which was how exactly did the Beastfolk race's bodies work under the full moon.

He accepted her suggestion of playing it safe and taking care of Miria’s libido during more idle moments instead of letting it build up until it would start making her noticeably uncomfortable, possibly reaching inconvenient levels during undesired situations, like unexpected fight, quest or inside a dungeon.

Ast was a bit amused how after being able to deal with one recurring and periodic aspect of a woman’s body, using a little bit of magic specifically invented for that purpose, they somehow managed to encounter a different yet similar situation, where instead of waiting for a proper moment to embrace their partner without any risk involved, they had to actually do it before a specific day came, to avoid another risk and inconvenience. And he wasn’t sure if magic that would reduce Miria’s ramping up desires existed in the first place.

She felt a little bit apologetic, but Asterios again reassured her that it wasn’t something she should worry about as it was just the natural way of things. And besides, he would always be happy to spend some time close with her so she shouldn’t hold back unnecessarily.

Selene kept listening to the duo talking mentally and couldn’t help but wonder how her next full moon would go. Thankfully, or not, due to the intense pain that usually accompanied those events, she didn’t have to worry about the issue of her going into heat as it was completely mitigated by the suffering and there was no way for her mind to be affected by hormones her body was still releasing even in her anguish.

Additionally, Spiritual Foxes weren’t going through heat as heavily as Pantherkin tribes or other clans. But, thanks to Ast’s help, her pain should be at least a level or two lower during the next full moon and that was what she was the most worried about. 

She didn’t want to get her hopes and expectations up, but it was just impossible. What was going into a bit of heat when compared to finally not experiencing excruciating pain. She couldn’t wait for the day, or rather night, to come, almost as much as she didn’t want it to ever happen, scared that it would only become worse.

Asterios and Miria arrived back in Rosewind around mid-late afternoon. The town was bustling as usual and not much has changed since they left its premises for their quest to escort Ast’s mom transport. 

Miria switched back to her humanoid form and jumped to her realm shortly after they entered the city, mustering enough courage to give Ast a quick hug in the middle of the street before running away into the crimson mist. She had to keep taking small steps like these if she wanted to one day be able to show her affection in public without struggling.

With a smile, Ast walked towards his house. He planned to pay a visit to the Guild and let Ellie know he was back after he met with his mother, who was obviously a priority. Not that much time passed, less than two weeks, but he was wondering how Tina was doing in the academy and if she found herself in any trouble because of him. He didn’t want to come back there this soon, but it would be better to check on her just in case.

Finally arriving at the cosy building, he opened the door with his own key and went in. The moment he stepped inside, two distant voices reached his ears. The owner of the first one was obvious, his mother, but he wasn’t so sure about the other one as he couldn’t think of any reason why they would be here.

“Listen… I really can’t take this... It’s too much... I’m really grateful for your generosity and help, but…”

“Please don’t say that, Miss Kindra. It’s been over a week now. Just look at it as a small loan. I know you will return it with interest as soon as everything gets resolved.”

“You shouldn’t involve yourself in this or you may get in trouble too… They’ve already seen you come here a few times… If they learned that you gave me money while under investigation…”

“Oh, please, we both know it’s a ruse. And they can’t keep this on forever. There will certainly be enough evidence and testimonies to prove that the claim is unjust. I won’t tell anyone and I believe you definitely wouldn’t too, so just please, accept it for now. I don’t want Miss Kindra to start selling her belongings… or his…”

“I would never get rid of As—”

Asterios reached the guest room on the main floor and walked into the open. The two women noticed that and turned their gazes towards him. He furrowed his brows. His mother was sitting in an armchair on the left while Tina was seated on the couch. A not-so-small pouch of money was lying on the wooden coffee table.

Kindra quickly brushed her right eye with her sleeve and showed a warm smile.

“Asti! You are back! I’m so glad you are fine—”

She stopped after seeing Ast’s eyes widen. With her previous motion, he noticed how red and irritated her eyes were. It was clear as day as to why and that it wasn’t only just a recent case. His hands clenched into fists involuntarily and he stared at her intently.

“Who.”

Kindra got chills from the sudden, cold tone and piercing gaze Asterios assumed. She immediately understood the meaning behind his question and felt like she shouldn’t tell him. Met with silence for longer than he was willing to wait, Ast spoke once more.

“What happened while I was away?”

She rubbed her hands and kept smiling. “It’s nothing. Just some issues at the shop. It will all be resolved soon, so you don’t have to worry about it. Mom will take care of—”

Ast raising his hand in a motion signalling that it was enough, instantly silenced her. She didn’t feel any threatening intent behind it as he would never act malevolently towards her, even when angered, but somehow, she felt like she had to listen to the gesture.

He moved his eyes onto the other woman. Tina was wearing her academy uniform. She liked it very much so she kept using it even outside of it. Their gazes met. From its intensity, Tina understood he was intending for her to talk instead of his mother.

She glanced to the side at the woman and saw her worried expression directed towards her. Looking back at Asterios, she started wondering what was the correct choice in this situation and what she should do. She didn’t want to upset him, but also didn’t want to worry—

“Tina.”

“It’s Richte—”

A powerful shiver ran through her spine shortly after she opened her mouth. Tina’s eyes widened to the brim seeing Ast’s hair quickly change from black to white in the motion of a passing tide, and his eyes turning from calm blue into furious, gleaming crimson. A noticeable wave of powerful spiritual energy quickly made the air in the room heavier.

“Tell me everything. Now.”

Tina didn’t know if she should feel charmed or overwhelmed with those beautiful crimson eyes which were piercing through her very being with an unspeakable might. She was stupefied. She didn’t know what was happening even though she spent so much time observing Asterios. And judging by the reaction of his mother, neither did she. The mana pressuring her body got more intense as Asterios squinted his eyes a little. 

“Eight days ago… The town’s guards came to the shop where Miss Kindra works with a search warrant… They locked the place under the charge of smuggling unregistered goods under the cover of a jewellery shop… They supposedly found unmarked gold in one of the storages belonging to Miss Kindra’s branch and it’s now under investigation… They also locked her account and froze all assets as she is suspected as the mastermind due to being the manager of the place so she had only some of her savings left to survive and that’s why I came to help…”

She explained the situation as good as she knew and waited for Ast’s reaction. The presence of spiritual energy that leaked into the air kept increasing but she felt like it somehow didn’t keep pressuring her more and more and wondered if it was Asterios who controlled it. 

Tina stared at him hoping that she told him enough, but he kept staring back, unmoving. She sighed. She shouldn't have mentioned the Richtensteins at the beginning. He wouldn’t let her off the hook until she spoke about them too.

“Around a day after that happened, I wiped the floor with Ross since he was nagging one of the girls in the gardens and he started cursing me and swore that my little, viscount family would be next if I kept interfering with him… When I heard about Miss Kindra’s troubles… I couldn’t help but feel like it’s his doing…”

Asterios clicked his tongue and lowered the hand he was keeping in the air. Two dark red gates arose from the ground, one on each of his sides, and two beautiful girls walked out of them. The shorter one, with black hair and cat-like ears, showed a worried expression while glancing at his face. He sighed and patted her head as he turned around and started walking away.

“Asti! Wait! Where are you going?” Kindra quickly stood up from her chair.

He stopped by a cupboard on his way out of the guest room, looked at the fruit basket on top of it and picked up an orange.

“I apologize, mother. It seems I forgot to take out some spoiled trash before departing. I’ll take care of it now before it rots even more.”

He looked at her over his shoulder and Kindra again was hit with shivers after meeting Ast’s cold gaze. Without any other words, Asterios left the room and they soon heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. 

After the weird pressure disappeared, she fell back onto the chair, put her elbows on the coffee table and supported her forehead with her hands.

“Ummm…” Tina moved a bit closer to the edge of the sofa now that she was also able to control her own body. “Miss Kindra… You shouldn’t worry too much… Asterios isn’t someone who would do something rash, even though he looked a bit angry—”

“He called me mother...” Kindra mumbled.

Tina felt the nervousness in the woman’s tone but was confused as to why she would be this concerned with that. Tina was aware that she wasn’t Ast’s real mother but also knew that he never viewed her as a stranger, knowing the truth for a long time.

“Isn’t it normal?”

Kindra shook her head. “You don’t understand… He always calls me mom, no matter when or where… The last time he called me mother was… seven years ago when he was twelve…”

She leant back and joined her hands on her hips, starting to rub them together.

“We went shopping around the market together on that day. Somewhere in the middle of our trip, a cloaked person threw their arm around my neck, pointed a dagger at it and covered my mouth, telling me to quietly follow them to the nearby alley or he would gut my kid in front of my eyes. I saw Asterios being focused on some gadget and left without him noticing. In the alley, the man threw me against the wall and ordered me to bring out all the money and valuables. I didn’t have much on me and he got angry, gripping my throat and pushing me against the wall again. He cut my cheek and shouted to not lie to him or he would completely waste my face.”

Kindra stopped her story for a moment to calm down from recalling the past events. Tina was clenching her teeth when listening to it and even the knowledge that nothing had happened to the two of them since they were here right now, couldn’t ease her worries. She also felt guilty for accidentally bringing this up.

“Then… Asti’s voice reached our ears as he said ‘Don’t you dare hurt my mother, scum,’ and both I and the person looked down to our side to see him standing there with a cold yet furious expression. I screamed as the thug threw himself at Asterios, but he somehow missed and Asti grabbed his arm, ran to his back and broke his elbow in one motion. Then, Asterios grabbed the dagger from the ground after it had fallen from the robber’s hands and cut his tendons, tackling the person down afterwards.”

She sighed heavily and picked up her coffee with trembling hands to moisten her lips and throat a little.

“The next moment, I saw the knife going down and piercing the thief’s throat. The man stopped thrashing a few seconds later, after Asti stabbed him again but in the chest… And when I looked at Asterios at that time… one of his eyes was red like today and it also had this cold and piercing gaze… It soon changed back and he staggered, clutching his chest, and I ran to him... Perhaps from all the shock, I assumed or chose to believe that it was just my imagination...”

After hearing Kindra out in full, even Tina was now starting to get worried. It appeared that she knew Asterios even less than she assumed, which already wasn’t that much considering that she mostly stalked him on the campus. 

She turned her gaze to the side and glanced through the window, praying for him to not do something impossible to revert. Killing a noble, no matter if they were good or evil, could spell trouble for him and that's what miss Kindra was worried about. The other thing that couldn’t stop bothering her was the sudden appearance of these two women. She felt like she was familiar with the black-haired one, who showed great concern for him and looked quite close to Ast, but she couldn’t remember even a single moment where she could have seen her. It was a truly weird feeling.