Chapter 435: Assassin
"Tessa, meet Zenith." Elion gestured lightly between the two women, "Zenith, meet Tessa Crimson."
He grinned sheepishly, "I suppose you can say you two are sisters now."
Tessa and Zenith were both seated on the bed, while Elion stood in front of them like a man presenting two perfect pieces of art to each other.
Tessa had already dressed herself at some point; now, however, her curious gaze was fixed almost entirely on Zenith. First of all, Zenith’s blue skin was unlike anything Tessa had ever seen.
Even among all the Beastmen and foreign races she had encountered, she had never seen someone with such a strange yet beautiful complexion. But even putting her unusual skin colour aside, Zenith was easily the most beautiful woman Tessa had ever laid eyes on.
Her features were simply too perfect. Tessa stared for a few seconds longer before finally looking back at Elion, "What do you mean by sisters?"
She already suspected what he meant, of course, but she wanted him to confirm it himself. And, naturally, she completely ignored the fact that Elion already seemed to consider her thoroughly won over.
Elion grinned like a fool, "I mean exactly what you think." He crossed his arms over his chest, looking far too proud of himself, "Both of you are my women, no? And also my future wives, soon to be misses Novas, we just need to make it official."
He declared it boldly without hesitation or shame, and Tessa’s face turned red almost instantly. She looked away and began playing with a lock of her hair, suddenly finding the floor very interesting.
Zenith, on the other hand, chuckled happily, her eyes gleaming with open delight.
Tessa was embarrassed by the extremely bold declaration, but she found neither the need nor the courage to refute such a shameless claim. After all, as far as her mother had always told her, only a husband and wife should do the kind of intimate acts they had been so engrossed in a few moments ago.
And since she had already chosen to take that step with him, then in her mind, she had more or less given herself over to him. Perhaps not officially, but emotionally, at least, the decision had already been made.
That realisation made her blush even harder. Elion noticed, of course, his grin widened.
Tessa immediately pointed at him, "Do not say anything."
"I said nothing. I was only admiring how cute you look when you are embarrassed."
"Elion!"
Zenith laughed softly from the side, clearly enjoying the exchange. Tessa glanced at her with a flustered look.
Zenith’s smile was warm. Acceptance, perhaps, or possessive affection extended not only toward Elion but toward the women connected to him as well.
Zenith leaned slightly closer to Tessa, "It is nice to meet you, Sister Tessa."
Tessa’s blush deepened again, "S-Sister..." The word seemed to tilt her world upside down.
Zenith smiled sweetly, "If Hubby has chosen you, then you are already important to me as well."
Tessa looked at her, and even Elion was startled by Zenith’s sudden heartfelt declaration. For all of Zenith’s terrifying strength and unsettling habits, there were moments when she could be unexpectedly sincere.
Tessa lowered her gaze, "I... see."
She did not know what else to say; everything was happening too quickly.
One moment, she had been alone with Elion. Next, a blue-skinned beauty had appeared in the room, only to be introduced as one of Elion’s women. And now she was being called sister.
Tessa placed one hand against her forehead, "Elion," she muttered. "Your life is far too complicated." How had he managed to find yet another woman in a single month?
And such a beautiful one too. Not only that, but something told Tessa that Zenith was unbelievably powerful.
The feeling was instinctive.
The way Zenith carried herself, the way she appeared without warning, the way she spoke of killing the intruder as though it was nothing more than brushing dust from her sleeve, all of it made Tessa’s skin prickle.
Zenith, however, seemed entirely relaxed, "I seem to have disturbed your intimate time," she said, finally addressing the obvious issue. Her smile curved playfully, "Should I leave you to it, or would you prefer I join you instead?"
Tessa’s face immediately turned scarlet when she considered the implications of such a suggestion.
Elion chuckled and shook his head, "Sorry, Zenith, I will have to pass this time. I think Tessa’s first time should be special, no?"
He looked toward Tessa, who, at that point, was redder than a tomato. Tessa nodded quickly, "Uhm... about that," she said in a small voice. "C-Could we maybe wait a bit before going all the way?"
Elion raised a brow. That came as a surprise to him since he had assumed she was already prepared, but he had no problem with it. "That is all right," he said gently. "You can take as much time as you need."
In truth, Tessa had been more than prepared to give herself completely to him earlier, but after being interrupted like this, she doubted she could return to that mood so easily.
She also felt nervous now, and a little scared, too. As long as she could delay things for today, she could use this as an excuse and dedicate the time to prepare herself properly mentally and physically.
After all, she suddenly realised that it had been a while since she had shaved herself down there.
"So, Zenith," Elion said, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. "Who do you think that person was?"
"An assassin," Zenith answered calmly.
Tessa’s expression darkened.
"I do not know their reason for targeting you," Zenith continued, "but everything about them pointed toward assassination. Their presence concealment skill, the way they approached, choice of dressing, and even their movements. Perhaps it would have been better if I captured him alive." She paused and blinked, as though only realising that now.
Elion nodded. It was tragic that she had only thought of that after killing the intruder, but capturing him alive would indeed have been an easy matter for Zenith, "I am sorry," Zenith said, lowering her head slightly. "I failed to act with proper discretion."
Elion waved it off, "It is fine. You did well killing him."
Zenith did not seem satisfied, "I will do better next time, Hubby," she said with a determined expression.
Tessa stared at her. The casual way Zenith accepted that there would be a "next time" made her feel a little cold.
"It must be one of the bounty hunters the Duke hired," Tessa said. "Or someone who thought they could claim the bounty themselves."
Elion nodded, "So you were right to be worried."
"Well, I told you."
Zenith, of course, knew what they were talking about; she wouldn’t say such a thing out loud, but she had never once taken her eyes off Elion, even if she was far away, which also meant she could hear his conversations if she wanted to.
"The question is, how did he find me so quickly?"
"Perhaps they received a portrait of you for easy identification along with the bounty itself," Tessa suggested.
"Maybe." Elion frowned, "But this is going to be troublesome."