’Damn it.’
His jaw clenched, his fingers tightening into a fist.
Anger, frustration, and guilt surged through him in a violent storm as he heard her voice, already knowing the humiliations he would have to face while submitting that document in the archive.
His grip on the bed frame tightened, his knuckles turning white.
Crack
’?!’
A sudden sound snapped him from his thoughts.
His eyes widened as he looked down.
The wooden plank where his hand had been resting was crushed.
Aleriana tilted her head, her sharp gaze flickering toward the broken wood as she turned, about to leave the room.
Kyle blinked, stunned.
’How?’
His body was still that of a weak mortal.
There was no way he should have been able to do this.
And yet...
He had.
"Did I just—?"
Kyle looked towards his palm, gripping his hands, noting that there was no scratch, trying to process how he had been able to break the wood, which was clearly hard.
Realizing that indeed he had, even though in anger, he acknowledged that he would not have been able to put forth that much strength.
[Host, your strength stats have been boosted slightly.]
’Huh? What?’
Suddenly hearing the system’s voice, he blinked, trying to process how his strength could even increase when it was clear that the system didn’t have such a feature to begin with.
"Pfft—you seem cute while surprised, hubby," Aleriana said, breaking him out of his thoughts, unable to help but find his expression, shifting from guilt to surprise, amusing.
Indeed, she could see that he was guilty while signing the document for some reason.
As if, more than attraction, there was some ulterior, hidden reason pressuring him to sign it.
Though it could just be her imagination, she clearly saw his surprised expression as he broke that rule.
"What?"
Kyle, clearly taken out of his anger and previous state, heard Aleriana’s chuckle.
He lifted his gaze only to meet hers, as she looked towards him intentionally, as if already knowing the reason.
"Hm, it’s just the effect of my physique.
Don’t ponder about it," Aleriana said before turning to leave the room.
It wasn’t surprising for her that Kyle possessed minimal strength or saw a rise in his strength, given that it was due to her physique, which had the ability to boost her partner’s physical state after intimacy, albeit very slightly.
Something which was fixed to a proportion of her overall strength, with a margin of 0.2 percent, giving that much strength to her partner with each session—at least that was what her mother had told her.
’Heh?’ Kyle, on the other hand, looked towards her back as she made her way out of the room and remained seated there.
For him, who thought that everything was filled with darkness and that there would probably be no hope for him except for possessing this instant death ability to raise his strength, sitting there seemed to reveal a light.
His previous emotional turmoil vanished as he, looking towards Aleriana, inquired of the system, ’Show me her stats.’
[Aleriana Vandreat, Moonlit Seraph Bloodline, Heavenly Lotus Rejuvenation Physique, 280 years of cultivation, Celestial Bloom Qi, Radiant Lotus Crescent Spear artifact, Middle 6th layer.]
’....’ At that moment, Kyle realized that he had never checked her status since the moment he arrived here, only her qualifications, and did not pay attention to her.
This prompted him to slowly stand as he found his mind gaining clarity about exactly what he needed to do.
"Wife, stop!"
He called out as he hurled in her direction, sprinting before arriving beside her, as Aleriana too stopped in her way and gave him a curious look.
"You can call me something else too," she teased, looking at him now, appearing in a good mood, as there was a mild smile on his face, with his eyes not appearing downcasted as they were before.
’!’
But suddenly, she felt him holding her hand, entangling his fingers, which stunned her for a moment as she unexpectedly noticed him slowly leaning down as he knelt on one knee while holding her hand.
"?!—Wh-what happened? Please stand—"
Taken aback, she did not understand such a gesture and was about to help him stand, believing he should not lower himself like that in front of her.
But instead, she met with a kiss on her palm.
"Listen, Miss Aleriana, I am slightly shameless, so let me say this outright."
Kyle’s voice dropped, his grip firm yet gentle, his lips brushing over her skin with a teasing smirk.
His eyes, now filled with something deeper, locked onto hers as he kissed her hand, which had a few calluses due to sword training.
"I may marry many women."
His words were unhesitating, bold, dripping with an almost sinful confidence.
"But when I love, I don’t love in halves.
I will love you in ways no one else can.
In ways that will make you forget there is anyone else but me."
Aleriana’s breath hitched.
Her fingers trembled slightly in his grasp.
"You..."
Her composed mask wavered as she felt the warmth of his lips still lingering on her palm, his words slipping into her heart like a venomous whisper as she felt hurt by him mentioning something so blatantly.
Kyle didn’t stop.
He leaned closer, lifting himself slowly while kissing through her palm, wrist, and shoulder, arriving closer with each passing moment to her lips, his voice a husky promise.
"Every glance, every touch, every moment—we will be ours.
No matter how many names are attached to me, you will never be just one of them.
You will be Aleriana—the one whose name I will always call first."
Aleriana’s lips parted slightly, her heart betraying her with a rapid beat.
"...You’re too shameless," she murmured, trying to steady her breath, but even she could hear the slight quiver in her voice as he halted a few inches away with those fake promises, looking directly into her eyes.
Kyle grinned, his thumb gently brushing over her jawline and then chin, holding them in place as his eyes looked down at her lips, quivering and pink, with his thumb stroking them.
He leaned closer.
"Oh, you haven’t even seen the worst of it yet."
And sealed her in a kiss—but this time just a small peck to assure her that a man who desires many must be strong enough to carry them all together.
[Memory formation 91/100 --⟩ Creating the chances of having strong and healthy offspring with each rise in value up to 95.]
’Shut up,’ Kyle thought, ignoring the system’s notification as he slowly distanced himself, clearly observing the crimson blush now unhidden adorning her face as she bit her lips, appearing too adorable, and he chuckled before saying, "Where is your training room?
The personal one; let’s head there, my love."
He was in love with her—though far weaker, maybe even puny in front of her—but he would strengthen it with each passing moment.
Thump thump.
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"Umh, if you want, we can just do it here... th-there is no bed in there," Aleriana said, having her eyes deviate from him, embarrassed, as she knew what he wanted to do, her heart crashing with each second.
"Huh? What are you even..."
Kyle, who had his hand on her cheek, suddenly saw that expression and heard her refer to a bed.
He realized this woman was clearly misunderstanding everything.
As he was about to clarify himself, he saw her blush and felt his sadistic side emerging.
He leaned in and nibbled on her ear before whispering, "Oh, I see, so my wife has such a hidden perverted side to her..."
’!?’
"N-no—!?—wh-what!"
Kyle just lifted her up in his arms, clearly knowing the right time was suitable, unlike the last night where everything was controlled by the moment.
This time, he would control the moment, and it would not be random as he held her in a princess carry—a carry that a princess like her deserved—while exiting the room to visit her training area.