Chapter 264 263: A Strange Dream
"What a... formidable little girl."
Himeko muttered a low curse, though whether it was directed at Robin or her own lack of self-control was unclear.
She tipped her head back and downed the strong liquor in one gulp.
The fiery liquid slid down her throat, bringing a scorching sensation that burned like fire, yet it did nothing to suppress the escalating, sweltering heat building in her chest.
Finally, as if admitting defeat, she let out a heavy sigh and decisively severed the connection with the stigmata.
The world instantly returned to silence.
She placed the glass carelessly on the windowsill, quickly fled back to her bed, and dove headfirst under the soft velvet covers, wrapping herself up tightly from head to toe.
In the darkness, all that remained was the continuous rustling of fabric, a sound that lingered for a long time without stopping.
The night was dark as ink, and the moonlight piercing through the grand windows of the Palais Mermonia stretched across the messy bedroom like a sheet of cool silk, silent and sprawling.
The air still held a faint, ambiguous, and sweet aroma—a mingling of Robin's lingering ethereal voice and the subtle scent of ambergris from Aiden.
An intense "battle" had just come to an end.
The discarded silk nightgown at the foot of the bed and the men's dress shirt tossed carelessly onto the carpet spoke silently of the wild, passionate symphony that had played out just moments ago.
On the large bed, Aiden had already fallen into a deep slumber; his arm maintained a fiercely possessive grip, holding his treasure tightly against him.
His even, steady breathing showed that both his body and mind were thoroughly satisfied following his uninhibited release.
In his embrace, Robin was curled up like a lazy, contented kitten, her face buried deeply in his chest.
Her silver-purple hair, normally styled impeccably, now cascaded over the snow-white pillows like a waterfall, with a few playful strands still entangled around Aiden's fingers.
Her beautiful face, which always wore a perfectly poised smile, was currently dusted with an enchanting, unfaded blush, and the corners of her lips were turned up in a sweet, satisfied curve.
Her long, butterfly-like eyelashes cast quiet shadows across her eyelids.
Even in her sleep, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
However, Aiden's sleep was far from peaceful.
Deep within his subconscious, he felt his soul slowly sinking.
It was an irresistible pulling sensation, as if an invisible, giant hand had reached out from an endless, pitch-black abyss, grabbing his soul and trying to drag him down into eternal darkness.
In his daze, the surrounding scenery violently warped and changed.
The warm, soft bed vanished, replaced by the cold, hard, faintly glowing rock walls of the Dungeon.
—He had appeared inside the Dungeon.
Before he could even process what was happening, hair-raising, bloodthirsty, and violent roars erupted from all directions.
He whipped his head around, his pupils shrinking violently.
Surrounding him were endless swarms of monsters surging forward like a tidal wave.
Almost entirely out of instinct, he reached out, drew a longsword, and launched himself into an endless, bloody slaughter against a monstrous horde terrifying enough to plunge any adventurer into absolute despair.
Meanwhile, in another equally quiet room of the Palais Mermonia.
Himeko lay on her side in her spacious bed, panting heavily in a languid posture.
Her wine-red silk nightgown was now completely disheveled.
The neckline hung wide open, exposing a vast expanse of snow-white, delicate skin and the breathtaking curves heaving violently with each breath.
The hem of her robe had been pushed up to the tops of her thighs, and her long, shapely legs were trembling faintly, uncontrollably.
Her face was covered in a bright, unnatural flush, and a lingering, hazy mist still clouded her blood-red eyes.
Sweat clung to a few strands of red hair across her forehead, sticking to her cheeks and adding an even more soul-stirring, seductive charm to her already stunning, mature face.
—Having succumbed to the urge after eavesdropping on Aiden's "live broadcast," she had just thoroughly "rewarded herself" once.
However, just before the intense afterglow could completely fade, Himeko's expression abruptly changed.
She frowned deeply.
As a Spirit bound to Aiden by the tightest, most inseparable contract of the soul, she could clearly sense every fluctuation of his spirit.
And just a moment ago, she felt a bizarre, unnatural disturbance rippling through Aiden's soul.
It felt as though some unknown, malicious entity was forcibly tearing at his soul through means she couldn't comprehend, trying to summon it out of his body.
At this, Himeko could no longer sit still.
Completely ignoring her own disheveled, intimately exposed state, she focused her intent; her entire body instantly broke down, transforming into a sky full of blood-red light particles reminiscent of burning rose petals, which soundlessly dissipated from the room.
The next second, in Aiden's bedroom, the flaming rose stigmata on the back of his right hand flared up without warning, emitting an eerie, blood-red glow.
Countless crimson light particles flooded from the stigmata, rapidly gathering and taking shape beside his bed as if possessed of their own life force.
As the light faded, Himeko, dressed in her wine-red silk nightgown with her graceful curves on full display, appeared silently at the bedside.
When she took in the sight before her, even with all her worldly experience, a flush of color crept onto her cheeks.
The rumpled sheets, the clothes scattered across the floor, and the thick, ambiguous scent still hanging in the air... all clearly signaled what had just transpired here.
But she was Himeko, after all.
After a brief moment of shyness, she boldly and curiously turned her gaze to the man and woman sleeping in each other's arms on the bed.
Aiden's sleeping face was nothing to write home about—or at least, she didn't care to dwell on it.
But the silver-purple-haired girl curled in his arms was as beautiful as an elf walking out of a myth; even as a fellow woman, Himeko had to acknowledge her staggering allure.
She even let her eyes linger with a hint of critical appraisal on Robin's body, whose exquisite curves were still visible beneath the thin blanket.
"Hmph, lucky bastard."
She mumbled quietly.
But she quickly snapped out of it.
Now was not the time to be distracted by this.
Once again transforming into a flurry of blood-red light particles, she merged directly into the stigmata on Aiden's hand without a moment's hesitation.
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