Chapter 26: The Concert Lullaby
On Sunday morning, Tessa opened her eyes in a daze.
The moment she did, three huge shadows loomed over her tiny bed from three different directions like mountains, surrounding it so completely that every escape route was sealed shut.
“Time to get up, my dear little Tessa!”
The leader, Vanessa the “demon queen,” was still wearing her signature black lace nightdress, which was almost the same as wearing nothing at all. In her hand, she held up a brand-new “decisive battle weapon” that shimmered dangerously in the morning light. The wicked smile on her face made Tessa’s scalp tingle on sight.
“Today is the special private date that belongs only to you and Seraphina. How could I let you go into battle wearing those ‘elementary school T-shirts’ you bought yesterday?”
Chloe and Iris stood like loyal left and right guardians, one holding a makeup bag, the other holding a curling iron, blocking every possible route of escape.
“Exactly! Tessa, today is your first official date with Seraphina! We absolutely cannot let Room 407 lose face!” Chloe waved her little fist, looking even more excited than if she were the one going on the date.
Tessa’s sleepiness was instantly obliterated by this terrifying pre-battle atmosphere. She instinctively clutched the blanket around herself and made one final, weak, futile struggle.
“N-no need, Vanessa. I think the new T-shirt I bought yesterday is fine… If it’s too formal, it’ll scare Seraphina…”
Smack!
Vanessa slapped the “winning weapon” in her hand onto Tessa’s blanket. It was a black high-slit slip dress with so little fabric it was practically outrageous. The skirt was barely long enough to cover the curve beneath her hips, and the side slit ran all the way up to the waist, almost revealing the full outline of one leg.
“Baby, listen to me.” Vanessa bent down, her astonishing curves pressing closer with the motion. She leaned beside Tessa’s ear, her breath fragrant and her voice wickedly sweet. “Put this on, and I promise Seraphina’s eyes will be glued to your tempting curves all day.”
“I won’t! I wouldn’t wear that even if you beat me to death!” Tessa stared at the dress, which was basically lingerie in disguise, and the straight-man dignity buried deep in her soul erupted with unprecedented resistance. She shook her head like a rattle, her tone firmer than ever.
Seeing her righteous, death-before-surrender expression, Vanessa burst out laughing.
“All right, all right. I won’t tease you anymore, my little maiden of virtue.” As if she had predicted this result from the start, she pulled out another dress from behind her. It was an elegant pale-lavender dress. “What about this one? This should be fine, right? Pure and cute, perfectly suited to our little Tessa.”
Tessa looked at the normal dress and finally let out a breath of relief before nodding hesitantly.
However, she was still too naive.
Just when she had changed into the dress and thought she had finally escaped disaster, Vanessa crouched in front of her with a wicked smile, holding a small item that made Tessa’s hair stand on end.
It was a black garter band edged with delicate lace.
“Vanessa! What are you doing? I don’t want to wear that!” Tessa panicked and tried to pull her leg back.
“Don’t move!” Vanessa grabbed her slender ankle, allowing no argument. With decisive movements, she quickly slipped the cool garter band up around Tessa’s thigh.
The strange sense of restraint from that circle of lace made Tessa uncomfortable all over. She instinctively wanted to press her legs together, and her face instantly burned hot.
“Baby, this isn’t an ordinary accessory.” Vanessa admired her “masterpiece” with satisfaction. Her fingertip lightly hooked the lace as she smiled like a successful temptress. “This is a charm I’m giving you. If Seraphina turns into a beast later and can’t help reaching for you, just quietly and ‘accidentally’ show her a tiny corner of it. Use it to tempt her and make her go soft. Got it?”
“…”
Tessa’s face was hot enough to fry an egg. Her brain gave up on thinking entirely.
At exactly nine in the morning, a low-key yet luxurious black sedan stopped outside the dorm right on time.
As Tessa walked stiffly toward the car amid her roommates’ shouts of “Good luck! Take her down!”, the window slowly lowered, revealing Seraphina’s perfect side profile, beautiful from every angle.
However, when Seraphina saw Tessa’s appearance today, her clear eyes, always filled with a gentle smile, lit up instantly. An undisguised flash of amazement crossed them.
Today, Tessa wore a pale-lavender dress. Her black hair had been carefully styled and fell over her shoulders. She wore no makeup, but that pure-yet-alluring face was already enough to steal the soul. Beneath her innocent air, her extreme nervousness and shyness added a helpless, lovely charm she did not even realize she had.
She was simply a tender flower bud waiting to bloom.
“Get in, Tessa.” Even Seraphina’s voice carried a faint tremble from the sudden acceleration of her heartbeat.
Soft, elegant classical music played inside the car. The air was filled with Seraphina’s refined, cool perfume.
“Here. Drink some water to moisten your throat.” Seraphina handed over a bottle of warm water with the cap already loosened.
She looked at Tessa, who was so nervous that both hands were tightly clutching the hem of her skirt, her knuckles almost white. Inside Seraphina’s mind, her private theater was already overflowing with comments.
[Tessa really is nervous. Her face is so red… This is our first real date. She must have been looking forward to it for a long time too… She’s so cute. I can’t help wanting to pull her into my arms.]
Just as Tessa was nearly suffocating from the ambiguous, quiet atmosphere inside the car, the familiar, shameless chibi devil UI appeared again in her mind with a cheerful “biu.”
[Ding! Detected an excellent date atmosphere! Limited-Time Quest issued!]
[Quest Name: Concert Lullaby~]
[Quest Objective: During the upcoming concert, “accidentally” fall asleep on Seraphina Frost’s shoulder and remain there for at least ten seconds.]
[Failure Penalty: For 24 hours, your body will develop an extreme craving for sweets. You will uncontrollably ask anyone nearby for candy while making pitiful kitten-like begging sounds~ Meow~]
The moment Tessa saw the failure penalty, she could immediately imagine the hellish scene of herself chasing after Riley, tugging at the hem of her clothes, and crying in a syrupy voice, “Riley~ I want candy~ Buy me candy, okay~ Meow~”
[No! Absolutely not! I can’t fail even if I die!]
The sedan finally stopped in front of the magnificent Halewick Grand Theatre. Seraphina led her through the crowded lobby, ignoring countless looks of envy and jealousy from around them, and went straight to the top-floor VIP box with the best view and the most privacy.
Inside the box, the two of them sat down.
The concert soon began, and the graceful sound of the violin echoed through the quiet private box.
After being fussed over by her roommates all morning, and then spending the entire trip tense to the point of exhaustion, Tessa began to feel an irresistible wave of sleepiness under the soothing, hypnotic music.
Her eyelids felt as heavy as lead and began fighting each other uncontrollably.
No! I can’t sleep! I absolutely refuse to be manipulated by this damned system!
Tessa screamed inside. She used every bit of strength to hold on, even secretly pinching her thigh to stay awake, but the tide of exhaustion rising from deep within her body still dragged her consciousness back and forth between clarity and haze.
In the end, her resistance failed.
Her head tilted. Her soft, faintly fragrant hair brushed gently against Seraphina’s smooth neck. Then her entire little head settled steadily onto Seraphina’s thin but unbelievably reliable shoulder.
The instant she leaned over, Tessa’s consciousness sank completely into darkness.
Seraphina’s body froze the moment Tessa rested against her.
She remained stiff for more than ten seconds before carefully adjusting her posture just a little, making sure Tessa could lean more steadily and comfortably.
[Ding! Gained [Satisfaction] from Seraphina Frost. Affection Points +20!]
[Ding! Gained [Cherished Love] from Seraphina Frost. Affection Points +20!]
[Ding! Limited-Time Quest [Concert Lullaby~] completed! Gained [Happiness] from Seraphina Frost. Affection Points +30!]
When the final note fell and thunderous applause filled the concert hall, Tessa woke with a start.
She jerked her head up. When she realized that she had actually fallen asleep on Seraphina’s shoulder, and that Seraphina was still holding her hand tightly, her brain exploded with a boom.
“I-I’m sorry! Seraphina! I didn’t mean to! I was too sleepy…” Her face instantly flushed all the way down to the base of her neck. She stammered in a panic, apologizing incoherently, so embarrassed she wanted to crawl into a crack in the floor.
Seraphina looked at her flustered, deer-like cuteness and only smiled with indulgence. Not only did she not let go, she gently rubbed the back of Tessa’s hand with her thumb to soothe her.
“It’s all right. I know you were tired.”
She gazed into Tessa’s watery eyes, her voice so gentle it could melt. “And I’m very happy that I can be the safe harbor Tessa feels comfortable leaning on.”
After the concert ended, Seraphina took the still soul-detached Tessa to an elegant rooftop revolving restaurant.
Bright sunlight poured through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows and fell over Tessa, surrounding her whole body in a holy glow. Seraphina’s gaze grew even softer as she watched.
During the meal, Seraphina once again took an exquisitely wrapped gift box from her bag and pushed it in front of Tessa.
“For you. Consider it a small reward for Tessa, who has been working so hard on her studies.”
Tessa opened it and found an elegant, expensive fountain pen inside.
“N-no, Seraphina, I can’t. This is too expensive…”
“No refusing.” Seraphina’s tone remained gentle, but it carried that unarguable force again.
Tessa had no choice but to blush and reach out for the gift box.
However, just as she made that movement, beneath her skirt, the “charm” she had forgotten about for the entire day, the lace garter band, suddenly slipped down a little because of the motion of her thigh.
That strange, humiliating sensation made her expression change at once. Panic flashed through her eyes, impossible to hide, and even her outstretched hand froze for a second.
In Seraphina’s eyes, however, that reaction was perfectly interpreted as something else.
[She’s so moved by the sudden gift and the romantic atmosphere that she doesn’t know what to do. She’s so shy she doesn’t even know where to put her hands.]
And so, Seraphina’s smile became even more indulgent.
At the end of the date, the sedan stopped outside the dorm.
Seraphina leaned over to unfasten Tessa’s seat belt. The distance between them instantly shrank to the extreme. Tessa could even see Seraphina’s long, thick eyelashes clearly.
Just as Tessa grew so nervous she almost stopped breathing, Seraphina leaned beside her ear. In a voice only the two of them could hear, warm breath brushing against her skin, she whispered softly.
“I had a wonderful time today, Tessa.”
That warm breath and those ambiguous words made Tessa’s heart skip another full beat.