Chapter 45 - Guilt And Departures

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 - Guilt And Departures

- The next day -

Vincent slowly blinked his eyes open, greeted by the warm rays of dawn filtering through the curtains of the master bedroom.

The first thing that caught his vision was a crimson ruby, shimmering faintly over smooth skin right in front of his face.

As per usual, he found himself lying with his head resting comfortably upon a bare chest. Although, the breast this time was considerably smaller than the ones he’s used to.

’This is... Nat...?’

Looking up, Natasha was already awake. Her crimson eyes were soft as she stared down at him, gently running her fingers through his brown hair.

"Oh, hi there. Good morning, Nat."

"Good morning, V," Natasha whispered back.

He leaned up and pressed a tender kiss against her lips. Turning to the side, he noticed the cool silk on the other side of the bed was completely empty.

"Hmm? Where’s Mama?"

"She got up early to make breakfast. Apparently, she wanted to prepare what she called a ’warrior’s feast’ for Deina and I before we leave for Earth."

Excited, Vincent started to get up. "A warrior’s feast? Hell yeah, what are we waiting for? Let’s go eat!"

Before he could even swing his legs over the edge of the mattress, Natasha grabbed his shoulder and forcefully pulled him right back down, flipping him flat onto his back.

"Nat–? Whoa! What are you doing?"

"You’re not going downstairs like this."

"Like what– Hey, where’s your hands going?!"

She reached beneath the covers and firmly wrapped her fingers around his morning wood.

"W-What the–I’m hard again?!"

"Hehehe~ It’s been poking into my hip for the last ten minutes, V. It’s what woke me up in the first place."

"Really? God, I’m sorry. I can’t help it..."

"Don’t apologise. I’ll help you take care of it."

She slowly slid down his torso, trailing over his stomach, and past his waist. Moving in close proximity to his full length, she held his cock, leaned down, and took him deep into her mouth while swirling her warm tongue greedily around the head.

Vincent threw his head back against the pillows, his hands instinctively holding on to her redhead as she took control of his morning heat.

...

Nearly an hour later, they finally descended the grand staircase of the mansion, fully and properly dressed.

They walked into the dining room where Maribelle and Deina were already seated around a massive banquet table, loaded full of all sorts of foods.

Both Deina and Natasha had swapped out their normal white dresses for comfortable, casual wear clothes suited for Earth.

Natasha wore sleek black leather pants, a black crop top that showed off her midriff, and a crimson jacket that matched her necklace, while Deina wore a simple violet blouse and cream-coloured trousers.

"Well, it’s about time you two made an appearance," Deina remarked dryly, taking a sip of her tea as they walked in.

Deciding it was best not to explain what had consumed ninety percent of their time upstairs, Vincent pulled out a chair for Natasha before taking his own seat beside her.

"V is a deep sleeper."

Deina gave Vincent a sly, knowing smile. "Oh, tell me about it."

*Ahem!* "Hey... Dee. Are you okay? You kind of just took off yesterday."

"Haha, of course I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be? I just... suddenly remembered I forgot to water my plants back home, that’s all!"

Vincent stared at her for a second, obviously finding her fake laugh and excuse to be untrue, but he decided not to press the issue.

Instead, he changed the subject. "Anyway... I didn’t get a chance to thank you properly for volunteering to go to Earth for me. So... Thank you, Dee. Truly. It means a lot."

"Of course, Little Bird. I’d do anything to help you."

Maribelle, who was sipping her coffee, suddenly locked onto the sparkling ruby hanging over Natasha’s collarbone. "Nat, what a gorgeous necklace! You were never one for jewelry; where’d you get it?"

Natasha’s stoic expression melted into an adorable, blushing smile as she touched the ruby with two loving fingers. "V got it for me during our date yesterday."

BANG!

A loud thud echoed from under the table near Deina’s side, shaking the silverware.

"Ah! Sorry... my knee slipped. I’m just... a little nervous about traveling to Earth, that’s all. Haha..."

"Speaking of Earth... Do you girls actually have a plan for where you’re going to stay once you arrive?"

"Mama, what are you talking about? They can just crash at my place on Earth and sleep in my bedroom."

""Really?"" Both Natasha and Deina turned to look at him with keen interest.

"NO! Anywhere but there!"

"Holy shit! M-Mama? What’s wrong?!"

Maribelle clasped her hands over her mouth. "I-I’m sorry. I’m just scared they’re going to fall in love with my Dusty..."

Natasha and Deina both gave her a completely blank, unblinking stares.

"Haaa... Mari..." Natasha pinched her nose. "We’re not going to fall for your husband."

"You don’t know that! Dusty is just so cool! And strong! And handsome! And lovely! What if you can’t resist his charm?! Scratch that! I know you won’t be able to!"

"We won’t fall for him! Besides, I already love V!"

Deina crossed her arms, shaking her head. "Honestly, Mari, don’t you trust us? We’re your best friends. Besides, I’m far more interested in meeting Vincent’s famous little sister, Kathy. Hehehe~ I want to see what a younger, female version of Little Bird looks like. Maybe score some points in her good books..."

Maribelle sniffled softly, looking between the two powerful goddesses with watery, pleading eyes. "You... you promise you won’t try to steal my Dusty from me?"

""We promise, Mari."" Natasha and Deina said in unison.

"Okay... I trust you girls. You can stay at his place."

......

They finished the rest of their breakfast in cheerful spirits. Once the plates were cleared, the four of them took to the sky, flying gracefully through the golden clouds toward the Golden Gates of the Divine Realm.

Upon arriving, they noticed a stark change. Standing at the podium was a brand-new Way-Guide – a tall, stern-looking woman holding a strict ledger.

"Well," Natasha whispered, landing beside Vincent. "It’s understandable why that old man isn’t here today. He definitely got fired."

"RIP, old man." Vincent shook his head slowly.

"Good morning, everyone. You must be the ones going to Earth. Step into the transportation circle, please. I have precisely five minutes to complete your dimensional dispatch before I must process an incoming lost soul."

"Excuse me, ma’am... are the time streams between Earth and the Divine Realm fully synchronized?" Vincent asked.

"Yes. Word arrived from the inner palace at the break of dawn. Her Majesty has bound the temporal flow between both worlds. One day on Earth is now exactly one day here."

Nodding in relief, Deina and Natasha stepped into the glowing runes of the transportation circle.

"Good luck, guys."

"Thanks. And don’t worry, V. You’ll be back to your family in no time."

Suddenly remembering something, Vincent called out.

"Wait! When you see my Dada, please tell him to call my university and inform them I’m taking a small leave of absence. It’s a shame I’m going to miss the first day of the semester, but it is what it is."

"Will do, Little Bird."

"Initiating dimensional coordinates. Three... two–"

"WAIT! WAIT FOR ME!"

"–Urgh. What now?"

Everyone looked up to see the former way-guide flying down erratically.

"The hell?! What are you doing here, old man?"

"V-Vincent! Let me join them! Please!"

The old man dropped to his knees, tears welling in his bloodshot eyes as he pleaded. "I heard about the permission slips! I know you have one left! I beg of you, young man... give me the remaining slip! Let me go to Earth with them!"

Natasha’s face contorted in rage. "Why the hell should we let you come?! Everything that went wrong in V’s life is all your fault!"

Surprisingly, Deina said otherwise. "Let him come, Vinny."

"WHAT?! Deina, are you crazy?! Why?! Why should we let this drunken old fossil come with us?!"

"Because... Because he deserves a second chance to fix his mistake."

"No, he doesn’t! V, tell him to fuck off! Hey, new Way-Guide, ignore him and send us away!"

"Wait!" Vincent cut in. "Old man, are you really being sincere about this?"

"Y-Yes! I am! I haven’t been able to sleep a single wink! The guilt of what I did to you and your family is eating me alive from the inside out!"

Natasha scoffed sarcastically. "You sure that isn’t just severe alcohol withdrawal?"

"I gave up the bottle! I threw every flask I owned into the cloud abyss! I am stone-cold sober, and I will stay that way till my dying breath. Please... let me make things right."

Vincent looked into the old man’s bloodshot, desperate eyes for a long, silent moment.

Then, he reached into his jacket, pulled out the third golden paper slip, and held it out to him.

"V?! WHY?! Why would you do that?! He ruined your entire life!"

"Yes, he did. But... It was an honest accident. And my parents raised me better than to hold onto bitterness and revenge."

He turned to look back at his mother. Maribelle gave him a proud smile, nodding her in approval.

Deina smirked, nudging Natasha’s shoulder. "He’s right, you know. If Vinny was a bitter person, he never would have tolerated your crazy, volatile behavior all these years, Nat."

"Wait... you just called me ’Nat’?"

"What? Can’t I call my friend by her cute nickname?"

Natasha swallowed her lingering anger, letting out a heavy sigh. "...Fine. Get up, old man. You’re coming with us."

The old man’s tears poured down his face as he scrambled to his feet, taking the golden slip from Vincent’s hand with trembling fingers.

"Thank you... thank you so much, young man! I promise you on my very soul... I will fix this!"

He stepped into the transportation circle alongside Natasha and Deina.

"All coordinates confirmed," the new Way-Guide announced flatly. "Departing now."

Deina, Natasha, and the old man offered one last wave. A pillar of golden light erupted from the magic circle, engulfing all three of them before vanishing into the sky, leaving the platform silent once more.

As Vincent watched the light fade into the cloudscape, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from behind. Maribelle rested her chin on his shoulder, hugging him tightly.

"I am so, so proud of you, baby."

"Thanks, Mama... We should probably head back so the new Way-Guide can do her job."

"Mmhm."

They unfurled their wings and took to the sky, flying side by side back through the golden clouds toward the estate.

As they glided peacefully through the air, Maribelle kept her eyes fixed on her son. Her proud smile slowly faded, replaced by a melancholy expression filled with quiet concern.

"Vinny...?"

"Yeah? What’s up?"

She hesitated for a brief second before speaking. "... I want to ask you something. It’s about Dee."