Chapter 551 - 551: Night

The Catgirl's warm breath brushed across Bell's cheek.

In the instant the illusion vanished and Chloe threw herself at him, Bell's thoughts raced.

Despite all the women he had met, this was the first time he had ever faced a situation like this.

What Chloe wanted was not a confession between lovers. She intended to skip that step entirely and reach straight for the forbidden fruit.

The Catgirl's way of thinking was undeniably twisted, but the activation of Argo's Ship proved that Chloe's feelings for him had already reached an unimaginable level.

She had been suppressing her desires all this time. Only after something pushed her forward had Chloe finally done something this reckless.

Bell had no idea what had caused it.

If Chloe truly liked him, then why had she deliberately said that she had no intention of confessing her feelings?

The Catgirl should have known that Bell genuinely cared for her. If she confessed, he would respond to those feelings and tell her how he truly felt.

Once they became lovers, no matter how embarrassing things became, everything afterward could develop naturally.

Yet Chloe had deliberately closed off that path. She apologized even as she pushed Bell down.

The only explanation Bell could think of was that the Catgirl was about to face some ordeal she did not believe she could overcome.

She could not let go of the feelings she had carried for so long, yet she also refused to drag Bell into her troubles. Chloe was probably thinking along those lines, intending to bring everything between them to an end through a single act of indulgence.

"Chloe-san, I like the way you look. I like your voice. And I like your personality, how no matter what happens, you can always laugh it off with one of your playful pranks."

Bell did not resist.

Whatever the Catgirl might be thinking, the affection and passion between them were real.

Bell did not want to run away or push her aside and leave Chloe heartbroken.

If the Catgirl truly was being driven by something that threatened her life, if that was why she had abandoned her usual restraint and openly revealed her desires, then Bell was the one thing she still longed for.

If he was the last light before the edge of a cold abyss, what would Chloe feel if he forcefully rejected her?

Bell allowed the Catgirl to bind his hands and feet while continuing to pour out everything in his heart.

"The different shades of black in your outfit remind me of the night sky. It's mysterious, impossible to fully understand, yet so beautiful it makes my heart race. Chloe-san, I really do like you, so..."

Bell gazed at the Catgirl's beautiful face and paused for a moment.

Chloe did not answer. She merely continued what she was doing, securing the boy to the soft, comfortable bed.

Just as she had once said, what was about to happen in this room would not be some beautiful confession of love. It would simply be a feast of desire.

Even so, Bell still wanted to reach Chloe's heart.

"Can you tell me what happened? Whether it's Chloe-san's past or whatever you're about to face, I want to know everything about you."

Bell asked with complete sincerity.

Ever since they first met, he had understood that the girls working at the tavern were anything but ordinary.

Chloe had never spoken about herself, yet she was highly skilled with poisons and daggers. Back when Bell had only just begun his career as an Adventurer and found himself in trouble, she had offered exactly the help he needed at exactly the right moment.

Then, after what happened at the Golden Casino, Bell became convinced that Chloe was none other than the infamous assassin, [Black Cat].

Despite being someone who had lived in the shadows, the Catgirl often wore a sly grin while pulling ridiculous pranks.

Chloe would get punished by Syr whenever she got carried away, and she would openly hint at her desires toward Bell without caring who might be watching.

That personality, so utterly different from the terrifying [Black Cat], was exactly where Chloe's contradictions lay.

Bell had seen through that. He wanted to understand everything about the Catgirl, including the twisted desires she carried inside her.

"You figured out that much... Bell really is smart, nya... But I'm sorry. This is my own problem. I can't drag you into it, nya."

Chloe's emerald-green eyes trembled for a moment.

The boy's words were filled with genuine affection. If she accepted his feelings, she could not only indulge her desires, but also cling to him as his lover and ask Bell to accompany her on the dangerous journey into the unknown that awaited her.

But Chloe could not do that.

To her, Bell Cranel was a treasure of the world, the object of desire she had always dreamed of. Chloe could never accept the possibility of him being placed in danger because of her.

No matter what she chose, Bell would be hurt.

What Chloe intended to do now was already the best solution her twisted mind could come up with.

Since Bell was attracted to her body too, then she would simply become a kitten in heat.

If she returned safely, she could apologize and confess her feelings afterward.

If she never came back...

Then at least, at the very end, Chloe would have experienced what it felt like to finally give in to her desires. Perhaps then she could let go of her lingering attachment and accept whatever awaited her.

"I've never done anything like this before, and I've never felt this way about any other boy, nya... I asked Syr about the details. I'm sorry, Bell, but I'm going all the way, nya."

Chloe avoided answering Bell's question and gave him those final words instead.

The ropes were secured, and the dam holding back her desires had already burst.

This was the girl's first time.

And it might also be her last.

"Actually... even if Chloe-san untied me, I'd still push you down right here."

Bell spoke honestly, hoping to ease the Catgirl's guilt.

Magic reflected the heart of an Adventurer.

The phantom Chloe summoned possessed no real combat ability. The slightest blow was enough to make it disappear.

That showed what she truly wanted.

She did not want to hurt anyone. She simply wanted to be an ordinary girl, curled up in her cozy little nest and enjoying its lazy warmth.

But that wish was just like the phantom itself, insubstantial, fragile, and forever beyond her reach.

At the tavern, Chloe had surely found a small piece of that dream and held it tightly in her hands.

Yet it was only a temporary shelter from the rain, nowhere near enough to fulfill everything she wanted.

The phantom was both Chloe's wish and the weapon she used in battle.

She had used it to protect herself, taking on the identity of [Black Cat] as she endured a hell beyond anything Bell could imagine.

Bell knew Chloe carried twisted desires within her. For an assassin, perhaps those desires were the last sanctuary she had left.

Girls of different races expressed love in completely different ways. And judging from the rumors surrounding the Black Cat, the Catgirl also carried a tragic past intertwined with life and death.

Did Chloe's twisted personality alone mean that her love was somehow worth less than that of the elf girls?

No.

The fact that Chloe refused to drag Bell into her troubles was proof enough.

And so, even knowing that what was happening between them might be wrong, Bell still answered the Catgirl's desire with his own.

"Nya..."

Chloe listened to the passion in the boy's words, cast aside every remaining hesitation, and stepped across the final boundary of love.

The long night had only just begun.

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