Ludmint stared at her fiancée, unable to stop her amused smile from revealing itself. Her plan to embrace her fiancée with the warmest, tenderest hug failed because of one sleeping beauty.

“You always give me a surprise, Honey,” she said. “What did you do to her this time?”

Iris carefully handed her sleeping maid to her girlfriend while showering her with a sense of bright adoration. “Am I such a devilish schemer?”

“Tender yet aggressive, shy yet passionate, if not an angel, then a devil.”

“Please settle her first. Our business can wait.”

While Ludmint disappeared to take care of Antina, Iris undid her outer clothes and degloved her sleeves. She smelt a whiff of savoury food, of dried fish mixed with secret sauce. Once again her Ludmint prepared a luxurious feast.

Iris had the honour of using the central seat. Though everything was ready, she only happily observed the plating and food, waiting for her fiancée.

“Haven’t I told you?” she said. “Spoiling me too much will only lead to my apathy.”

“The care you received will only increase.” Ludmint manifested behind her fiancée. “The more I get to know you, the better I may love you.”

“Have you not loved me fully, wholeheartedly?”

“The whole is greater than its parts. Your touches open my sealed heart, open the region I never know exists.”

“Is it merely a gap between two mountains, or a vast unexplored ocean?”

“You’ll have to reach in to find out.”

The late dinner commenced. The candles decorating the dining table slowly melted, shortening the time Iris and her Ludmint set for their knowing, permeative silence. They ate what they enjoyed, feasted with their eyes their beloved, and immersed themselves in the familiar scents that soaked them in their embrace.

“How has work been?” Iris said. “You’ve gotten so busy, yet you still come home earlier than me, cook me grand dinners, and pamper me as if you were my maid.”

“I do not mind buying a collection of those lovely uniforms.” Ludmint looked up. “If she could become your maid and receive so gentle your affection, why couldn’t I?”

Iris pouted. Her Ludmint was teasing her; she could not choose between all her partners, all who gifted her parts of their hearts. She could only store them in the deepest reach of her own, keeping them warm and cosy within her slimy, melting body.

And no answer she gave. Ludmint beamed at her, showing the most amused smile. “The research is tiring, the paperwork even more so. But helping you is no work. It’s relaxing, satisfying . . . and fulfilling.”

“Are you waiting for my reward?”

“The privilege of being your fiancée.”

“The price of keeping my heart.”

“I believe it’s a prize, an endless reward.”

“You must’ve struck it rich then.” Iris placed down her tableware. The candle had burned out, extinguished as faint smoke. She got up from her seat, looking at her Ludmint. “You still have yet to answer my question, Honey.”

Ludmint sighed. She raised her right hand. The empty plates and leftovers floated to the kitchen, where they cleaned themselves anew. Although she could use magic to accelerate the process, she preferred to let time pass, to let her mind unwind, to let her heart ruminate.

“The investigation is processing at a reasonable pace. In a few weeks’ time, you will be able to return to work undisturbed.”

“How long is my sick leave?”

“As long as you need, Dear.”

“Nepotism will only attract unwanted eyes. An illness of this calibre needs no more than a week of rest.”

“A curse from a Solidification Phase Monster Girl, one that affected even you, whom The Founder so fondly blessed?”

“Please don’t ridicule me, Ludmint.”

“Please don’t say that.” Ludmint held her fiancée’s hands. “You should give yourself more time, time to rest, to recollect, to relax. Allow this wife of yours to help.”

“As your wife, I cannot burden you.” Iris chuckled before she paused. A hint of dizziness brewed in her eyes, which blinked and dispersed everything unsightly from her expression. “Today was an exceptionally long day. Would you be mad, if I were to retire so early into the night?”

Ludmint seized her fiancée’s hands. She leaned closer, too close for two ladies in a sealed room. Her gaze peered through that façade, finding the fatigue beneath the mask, and yet still a hint of turbulent emotions.

“You’re too clever, my Dear. That’s why you’re so predictable.” Ludmint smiled.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Will you forget everything, if I whisper you love and kiss you goodnight?”

Iris’s fingers pried open her fiancée’s grip. They intentionally stroked Ludmint’s arms, reaching for her shoulders. They danced around, slowing and speeding up in an unpredictable rhythm.

Ludmint grabbed those naughty hands. She refused to let them escape while she gave her fiancée a solemn look. Iris moved her face in. She could taste those candy-like lips, but she shifted away before the nectar could drown her heart. The urge to lick her lips was maddening, but she mustn’t give in.

“There is an unfamiliar scent on you, Iris.”

“I’ve been a terrible lover, Dear. She . . . looks like me, yet so innocent and passionate.”

“I’m not so forgetful, Dear, that I would misremember the scent of your guide.” Ludmint pulled her fiancée closer, so closer. She closed her eyes and sniffed airily. “Although there is her scent mixed within yours, there is another . . . foul scent, a scent of hostility.”

Iris kissed her fiancée’s nose, giggling. “A demonic eye stalked my dear guide. It tried to meddle in our intimate moment.”

“A mere minion cannot leave such a scar on your soul.” Ludmint opened her eyes. “Must I spell out everything so you cannot deliberately drift away?”

Iris tilted her head. “Is that not my charm?”

“You have no idea how much effort it takes to hold back.”

Ludmint’s expression pinkened, glowing warm and stuffy. She pressed herself onto her fiancée, feeling the stickiness, the fogginess that blurred her mind.

Iris bit her lips, but she still dragged herself away. Her body dissolved as slime and restored itself slightly out of her fiancée’s reach. She donned a pair of shameful eyes, a face of subtle thoughts, and a posture innocent.

“How can you forgive me every time I lie?” she said.

“You’ve already answered that for me. Now you must answer my question.”

Iris looked away. If she refused to speak, if she answered with silence, her Ludmint would concede, although reticently. Those worries would manifest elsewhere, waiting for the day which may never materialise.

When Ludmint almost gave up, Iris gave an exhausted sigh. She distanced herself from her fiancée before she gave a detailed record of her journey, from her meeting with her guide, to the encounter with Elanor, and to the infiltration into the Broken Mirror.

“What a curious Evil Cult. I’d like to see it myself.” Ludmint’s voice gained the subtlest tremble, revealing no hint of her fury. “Dear, please introduce me to your new friend. The Court will take delicate care of her people.”

“You’ll see each other soon.”

As Iris contemplated, Ludmint hugged her. Her instinct did not resist but returned a tenderer hug, one that seemed to diffuse her love into her fiancée.

Her breathing grew rough, her mind chaotic. Ludmint’s smell permeated her body, crumbling her human disguise, turning her slimy membrane pink and purple. A blissful smile crept onto her face, and her hands could no longer keep to themselves.

“Your condition . . . is worse than I imagined.” Ludmint turned into a puff of smoke. “You were too reckless, again.”

After breathing in and out, Iris settled her rising desires. Her body reverted to her human appearance. “A lofty dream requires a lofty price. You all are worth everything.”

“That includes you too.”

“There . . . won’t be a second time.”

“Promise?”

“My confidence stemmed from a reward from the Saintess of Pure Mind. Without her help, I would never dare to risk my life.”

“Still too reckless. At least told me first!”

“Then you would’ve rushed over. You would’ve abandoned your duty, bringing suspicion, and blaming yourself for what you couldn’t control.”

Ludmint couldn’t refuse. “Yet you still . . .”

“I’m simply more shameless than you, Dear.” Iris looked up. “But . . . I’m still your fiancée. I cannot hide from you forever.”

She had to be more honest, more open to those around her. Everything was for them, and they were everything for her.

“That tone of yours worries me,” Ludmint said.

“Have all those dangers ever managed to strike me down? I’ll be by your side for a long, long time, Ludmint.”

“I just need you to be by my side right here, right now.”

Iris hmphed. “Would you rather not listen to my final confession?”

“No one could ever refuse your invitation, not when you wear such an expression.”

Iris pressed her right hand on her chest. Her fingernails pierced her skin, which morphed as if alive and screaming. Crimson veins manifested on her flesh, gaping maws on her shoulders, and eyes on her torso. The atmosphere twisted along with her silhouette, overwhelmed by a shadowy sea of fleshy tendrils.

Silver light flickered around Ludmint, creating spears and pillars that protected her from the terrible aura. She frowned, surprised by her instinct, and dispelled her power.

She reached for her fiancée, whose darkened expression hid beneath a veil of blackness. She could not recognise her appearance, but she could still sense the airiness that followed her everywhere.

Ludmint held Iris’s hands, and the oppressive air vanished. The mutated eyes and sharp teeth and bloody flesh disappeared traceless. Everything reverted to the cosy world designed for a couple.

“What . . . happened to you?” Ludmint said.

“A gift from beyond, a price for my presence.” Iris flashed a profound smile. “Everyone would like to have a piece of me, but everything about me is costly.”

“Will my heart suffice?”

“A special discount for you.” Iris blew at Ludmint. “I’ve already gotten your heart; you no longer need to give me anything.”

“Is it painful?”

“This . . . is a reward from the Supreme Ones.” Iris’s eyes glimmered drearily. “Is it not wonderful?”

Ludmint paled. She’d like to hug Iris but had to restrain herself. “What did you do? What did you sacrifice? You mustn’t sell your soul, Iris!”

“Haven’t you examined my heart? I’m still me, am I not?”

“No one may doubt you, Dear. But whatever power you received, a terrible price is sure to follow.”

“Our Dark Lady bestowed us the greatest freedom, yet you fear a gift from her equal?”

“We . . . are her daughters, her inheritors. This Supreme One, I . . . cannot be sure of their intention.”

“Our goals align; she will not let me fall now, not until I’ve served my purpose.”

“What, then?”

Iris clapped her hands. A muffled gasp echoed from upstairs. She looked upwards, smirking. “My maid will wake up in her lonesome. That won’t do.”

Against such a blatant misdirection, Ludmint couldn’t do anything. She only followed her fiancée to her bedroom, where Antina was sleeping, arousing from her light slumber that stretched on for too long.

Iris carefully undressed herself and, while Antina was still half-awake, got on the large bed, laying beside her drowsy maid. She gave Ludmint an inviting look, a look so mischievous, filled with trickery, yet a look still irresistible.

Ludmint asked no question. She gave up finding a reason to refuse. Her naked body touched her fiancée’s. She blew a whisper and traced Iris’s curve.

But no moans or trembles followed. Iris was motionless, eyes closed, mind slipped into the world of her consciousness. She was defenceless, fragile, and exhausted beyond suppression.

“How come you always worry me?” Ludmint mumbled.

“That’s Mistress’s charm,” Antina said. “She brings with her surprises, always.”

The maid and the fiancée stared at each other. They couldn’t help but sink into the bed, lying beside their most precious Slime Girl, who could only rest so carelessly by their side.

Sleep well, Iris.