Chapter 62: Her uniform
Only Leon could wipe off that impression from her heart.
Celes had felt that numerous times, but tonight's events were the key to her heart, opening it before him. She'd realized that her past held her back too much, seemingly not letting her go. Moreover, Celes knew she wanted to start anew and live differently from her past self, but knowing was one thing, achieving was another.
Even now, after so many days and nights with Leon and Louise, Celes had only recently started treating Louise with more warmth, despite seeing similarities to her dear sister from the start.
She'd also hidden most of her past from Leon, sharing only what she could offer and liked with him.
But deep inside, she knew that drinking together with him was much better than ceremonies with Her Highness. As for her time with sisters, Celes didn't even bother comparing it to them as those were too precious, and Leon and his status were much different than theirs.
He was a man, too.
"I've made a blunder… I… Her Highness… She left such a stamp on me that I've followed her rules and taken away all bats to eat the black asura alive." Celes couldn't properly voice out her thoughts, but when she found proper words, she started talking about her feelings and her impression of Her Highness.
Leon gestured for her to sit next to him, then listened attentively while gazing directly into her eyes.
He couldn't help but recall himself in Celes' place. He'd confessed a lot of his problems to Athena back then, as he needed professional support. Though the setting differed, Leon could relate much to the vampiress.
He swore to help her the best.
"Well, it's like being a fan." Leon started and had already received an odd stare from the vampiress. "I'll speak from the experience. I had a lot of talks with my fans. Basically, a lot of them wanted to become pro players and took inspiration from me, only to realize that pro play is impossible for them. Their images of themselves sitting at the top changed into me lifting up trophies, and they genuinely kept supporting me to break the records.
"Aren't you in a similar situation? You take inspiration from Her Highness. And that's fine. I can't properly describe how it felt to hear that someone wants to be like me. It's like one of the best praises. That's why, now that you're free and on your own, it's fine to take what you think was the best in Her Highness.
"If someone disagrees with me, I'll have a talk with them," Leon told her, not bringing Her Highness' name even though he included her in that, too.
Celes seemed to catch that and warmly smiled.
She didn't doubt that Leon would be able to match Her Highness' peak and go beyond — it was the important reason that pushed her to open her heart to him.
"Her Highness rarely drank blood from the source." Celes described how Her Highness didn't want to sully her teeth and used bats to transfer blood. "I feel like biting off my enemies' necks and munching on their flesh, sucking their blood."
Leon squinted his eyes, looking oddly at her. "Just don't bite off Louise and mine's necks."
Celes carried on, knowing she'd never be able to do that to him, for Leon induced many different feelings in her. "Her Highness also didn't like alcohol."
"So you girls were smuggling it into the royal court? Bold." Leon jested to brighten the mood, achieving it, as Celes chuckled and nodded.
Then, she rattled off her impression of Her Highness and what she found cool in her. Of course, Leon couldn't joke around as he listened about the woman whose principle was to be as pristine as possible. He even thought she suffered from severe OCD, with how much Celes mentioned about staying pure.
The vampiress conveyed all of it to him so that she could take a real and bold step toward her new future.
But for that, Celes also needed a test. "Could you look away for a while, Master?"
Leon didn't mind complying with her request.
He looked to the side, finding his reflection in the window. Perhaps, it was a fortune, for the window gave him more than a glimpse of what Celes was doing.
Thus, Leon saw her taking off her shirt. Her bare tits sprang free, jutting out with appealing red pearls, shaking. Because of Celes' large areolae, her ample breasts seemed like blossoming flowers, with her nipples screaming for someone to tug and eat them.
It was such an enticing sight that Leon didn't close his eyes.
Even though it was what he should do.
He only did that when Celes donned a new uniform.
"Master…" Celes called him out, drawing his attention back to her. "How do I look?"
Her new uniform was black, with red stripes going across her sleeves. Leon ran his eyes from down to the top as though counting red buttons, momentarily stopping on Celes' chest, then going up to her face, which became vivid again. With new feelings coursing through her, kitted out in a new uniform, and faint red patches on her cheeks, Celes became even prettier, stunning Leon.
Or perhaps, he'd been too tempted by her.
"You look gorgeous." Leon blurted out as Celes slightly tilted her head, his voice slightly husky and laced in a tone he'd reserved for his precious fiancée from another world. "It suits you."
"Thank you, Master."
Overwhelmed by her nerves and past, Celes couldn't think of what Leon had peeked at and the change in his voice. She was genuinely relieved and ecstatic that the uniform suited her, for it belonged to Her Highness.
Now that she owns it and her master approves it, Celes shall start a new life.
She'd take the best of the best from Veronica and pave a new path to the top.
Knock! Knock!
Louise knocked on the doors, then stepped inside.
When she noticed Celes in a new item, her eyes widened. "Where did you get it from? Did you receive a quest?! It looks good on you!"
Approved by the scarlet fox, Celes curved her lips widely.
Leon already knew what she would say next, looking away from them.
"I got it from the master."
"Huh?"
Louise shivered from jealousy, then simply pouted.
She learned the truth later and hissed at the vampiress.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om