Chapter 923 A Sin?
Chapter 923 A Sin?
Rain has never flirted with him before in a nonsexual manner. However, even now, Arthur does not feel her lust. Her words came from a place of affection rather than desire, and her touch was innocent.
For some reason, this made Arthur more guilty than being approached sexually. Even if he one day does sleep with a woman other than Diana, which he would never do, it would still be better than being intimate with someone else. At least, he could attribute it to desire, not love.
"I see that you are feeling better," said Arthur with a smile before looking at his hand, his meaning obvious. He wanted her to let go. "Are you not going to let me go? I have a war to participate in and cannot be the last one to rise."
"You are right," said Rain with a smile without further protest, and she let go of him before rising from her bed. Her silver hair resumed its color in the morning sun, which seeped through the tent's curtains. "You need to get dressed."
Arthur let out an agreeing sound before rising from his bed and walking toward his shower room. Then, he stopped and looked at Rain suspiciously, but she said nothing about him going into the shower. Instead, she walked toward the kitchen and started preparing food.
This tent was a spatial artifact that could be activated to let out of this building. It had a shower and running water supplied with runes and a full kitchen filled with food. It was one of the essential supplies for an army commander to rest.
Because of the previous two nights, Arthur did not get to shower. Although his body never produced a smell because of his metabolism and mana, he still liked the feeling of being clean. Thus, the hot shower came in handy.
The scars on his body were different in this world, too. Some were from his fight against Amelio, where he almost broke every bone. He had gone through battles he did not remember, and as he traced them, Arthur wondered what had remained from the previous Arthur.
His memories never returned, and Arthur attributed this to his soul overriding the previous Arthur. After visiting the Spirits Realm, his soul underwent bigger changes than the one in this world. It might be the reason that he retained his memories from Alka.
Arthur did not overthink the subject since it would be futile and bring nothing but harm. The previous Arthur might return one day, but he did not care, even if that erased him. He aimed to find out what happened to Diana and heal his mother.
If he managed to achieve that before he lost his memories or his new memories appeared, he would be fine with it. However, if his old memories resurfaced and his feelings toward Diana faltered because of Emma, he would lose his mind.
Emma was close to Alexie Linan of this world and even closer to the previous Arthur Silvera. Although his trip to Alka made him lose a year's worth of memories with her, Arthur still treasured her existence.
The cold water allowed him to calm down his boiling blood. Whenever he thought about her being imprisoned under the hands of that family, he wanted to rip them apart. Arthur has grown used to these thoughts, which appeared after Eragon awakened.
Although the intrusive and brutal thoughts changed him, Arthur sometimes felt this change was necessary. Alka made him ruthless, but returning to Earth made him soften. Eragon was the sharp edge of his sword, which would kill his enemies in the end.
As soon as he left the shower, Arthur saw Rain sitting on the table beside his bed, and breakfast was on top. She was waiting for him and smiled when she saw him in his new clothes with a fresh shave.
"You look handsome," Rain said before patting the chair beside her. "Let me return the favor of last night. Given your feeling for Diana, I know how hard it was for you."
Arthur stood there in silence as he studied her face. She was still not lustful, making him doubt her for a second. Rain was the Sin of Lust, so how could she act as if she had forgotten about it? Was there something wrong that Arthur did not know?
"Don't stare at me as if I have drugged the food with aphrodisiacs," said Rain, glaring at him. Arthur raised a brow as if doubting her for real this time. Rain was enraged and furrowed her brows. "Sit down and eat!"
"…fine," said Arthur before walking to sit opposite her. The food smelled great, but Arthur could not taste it. However, he stopped after a few mouthfuls because Rain was not eating with him. "Why am I the only one eating?"
"Because I want to watch you eat," said Rain, resting her chin on her palm. Arthur could see her smile reaching her eyes, making her the happiest he had ever seen. "Keep eating!"
Arthur never said he could not taste food and decided he would never say that he could not taste how delicious it was. However, Arthur knew her food was cooked with great care and effort just from the smell.
After he was done, Arthur felt full. He placed down the last platter and turned toward Rain, whose smile was from ear to ear. Seeing her act this way was weird, and she even leaned over to wipe away a smudge on his lower lip.
"There is no need…" said Arthur as he leaned back away from her, expecting her to get upset. However, Rain did not care and cleaned his mouth before placing the napkin. Then, she started gathering the dishes while humming with happiness. "Rain… about last night…"
"There is no need to shoot me down, Arthur," said Rain as she placed one dish over the other. "I know full well the kind of man that you are. You are the sun, and people will fall in love with you every single day. However, you will never fall for anyone else other than Diana."
"Then, why are you doing these things?"
"Because I am an idiot," said Rain as she rose from her seat and carried the dishes to the sink. "This is the first time I cooked for anyone other than myself, and I cannot help but feel overjoyed. Is that a sin?"
Arthur could not answer, and he could not say that he did not want her to get hurt. That would hurt her anyway, so he let her feel her joy for as long as possible. The happy calamity returned to the kitchen, and the tent got quiet.
It would be a lie to say that Arthur did not feel cared for or loved by her gesture. She has been trying for so long to make him reciprocate her feelings. However, Arthur could not move on. He could not do that to the woman who sacrificed two lives for him, even though she knew their meeting was planned.
Women have begun to show him affection in recent years, and he did not know if this was a coincidence or caused by his growth. In either case, he did not know how to handle it. Most men would jump on the chance to have multiple women, but Arthur knew it would make all his relationships meaningless.
"May I come inside?" called a voice from outside, and Arthur recognized it. He distracted himself from his spiral of doubts and rose from his seat to welcome his guest, who had been recovering until now.
"Come inside, Major," said Arthur with a smile. After a few moments, Ilia Perli walked inside in casual clothes. Seeing him without the uniform was a surprise, but it was a welcomed one since it made him look more relaxed. "I see that you have recovered well."
"All thanks to you, Arthur Silvera," said Ilia Perli before he bowed. Arthur was surprised to see someone so dignified bow his head without hesitation. "Your kindness has spared me."
"It was not kindness but justice," said Arthur with a smile. "You have done nothing wrong over the years. Time after time, you proved yourself to be a man of principles and justice."
"Principles and justice did not get me far, and I failed to retain them. I should have abandoned my position when I saw what happened in Kera. However, I was torn between loyalty and justice."
"The past is behind us, Ilia Perli," said Arthur and changed the way he addressed the Astra-ranker. It made him smile in gratitude. "You have a new life now, where you can pursue whatever your heart desires."
Ilia Perli was surprised by the encouragement as if he did not expect Arthur to permit him to leave. Then, without saying a word, Ilia Perli fell on one knee and placed his hand over his heart.
"I expected to be asked for my service, but you proved to be a bigger man than all the ones I met," said Ilia Perli, closing his eyes and bowing his head. "You are the sole person who has shown me true heroism and justice. Thus, please, let me serve as your commander and become a member of your guild."