Chapter 50 - Side Story: A Loving Couple
When Elenoa was returned to her bed, she eagerly pulled the bedding over herself.
Louis, sitting beside her, stroked her hair as if cherishing it. As the two of them settled down, the heavy, oppressive air that had filled the room gradually faded.
Bathed in the soft sunlight, Elenoa was invited by drowsiness, and Louis, who was watching over her, gave a wry smile.
"There is one more thing I need to tell you..."
As he began, Elenoa reacted dramatically.
She did not have many good memories of the 'talks' he gave her.
Her sleepiness vanished, and she looked at Louis, making no attempt to hide the confusion on her face.
"Is it... something bad?"
"It will be bad for you. For me... honestly, it is not bad, or rather, precisely because it is not bad, my guilt is tremendous... I am prepared to be hit by you. Please, hit me."
"Understood. I will hit you, so just say it."
It seemed he had done something so bad that Elenoa was demanding violent measures.
—I do not remember raising her to be like this.
—Mother is very sad.
—Weren't you such a gentle child?
Elenoa prepared reproachful words that Louis would surely dislike, and waited for his words. Whether he knew her intentions or not, Louis seemed hesitant to speak. He averted his eyes with an attitude more solemn than the previous 'Miracle of the House of Stylus,' so Elenoa naturally gripped her bedding tightly.
"Does your body hurt, or do you feel any discomfort?"
"...Both."
"That is exactly the point."
"What do you mean?"
After a pause,
"...Last night, through physical intimacy, we performed a half-contract."
—Eh?
Elenoa's heartfelt exclamation echoed in the white room.
"...Huh?"
"Well, that is the expected reaction. I understood your response."
"Eh? We mingled... eh? ...So, this pain..."
Elenoa rubbed her stomach area restlessly under the bedding.
Louis looked at her shocked face with painful eyes and nodded with a sigh.
Suddenly confronted with such a confession, Elenoa could only manage incoherent responses like "Ah! ...Ah, ...eh, ah...?" and simply stared at him. She wanted to look away, but she was frozen, unable to do even that. Hugging her own body,
"You saw, various things, ...did you..."
"I did see. I saw various things. I did do it."
At his response, which made no effort to sugarcoat anything, Elenoa was in tears. Her ears turned red, and she dove into the bed.
"...Uuu."
A bundle of cloth was formed. It moved occasionally with a squirm, but she would groan "Nngh" and shudder, letting out low moans of "...Nn, u..." The pain in her lower abdomen was harsh.
Giving up, she returned to her original posture.
Louis placed his hand on her forehead and checked her temperature.
"For a couple's first night to end up like this, it is a miserable feeling."
"...Yes..."
Louis truly felt regretful.
Louis did not know at all what women thought of that night, but it was surely something important. Even Louis had wanted her to allow him her body with her own will, while she was conscious.
Would last night's actions also be considered a form of betrayal?
Feeling the weight of his 'betraying' character role, Louis gave a helpless wry smile at himself. He did not know that she was watching that moment.
"You will need time to process this, so I will take my leave."
As Louis tried to leave, Elenoa gently pulled at his clothes.
She looked straight at Louis, appealing for something.
Was it a request? Before Louis could open his mouth, she forced out a trembling voice.
"Are you busy after this?"
"No, I have taken the afternoon off."
"I am, your wife, right?"
"...Yes."
To Louis, who looked as if he wanted to say 'Isn't it a bit late for that?', Elenoa, on the verge of tears from shame, killed him with a voice as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.
"Can I... rely on you?"
Louis, who had fallen into a momentary state of petrification from the surprise attack, smiled at his wife, who looked up at him anxiously.
"By all means."
Meltingly, sweetly, sweetly.
When it was her, he became like that; he could not suppress it.
Louis readily agreed to become Elenoa's body pillow until dinner time.
He did not regret in the least that he had ended up using her as a body pillow instead.
The Demon Lord the next day was apparently in an unusually good mood.