"Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yep. Nothing wrong here." Seraphine shot him a clueless look.
'Nothing, huh.' He watched her rapidly blinking eyes. She was genuine, he could tell. 'Is it something that only surfaces later? Do I have to wait?'
That didn't sit well with him. It was too passive.
"What exactly are you looking for, Ashen?" Now it was her turn to ask.
"Ah, fuck it."
"Huh?"
He decided to tell her. 'Screw preserving the timeline.' He had enough faith in himself to guard against the threat now that he knew it existed.
Or maybe he was just getting impatient.
"What I'm about to say is going to sound fantastical, but it's absolutely true. I'm completely serious."
"...Ookaay?"
"I'm a time traveler."
"Hah. That's outlandish." She laughed.
"..."
"...wait, for real?"
"I've never been more serious."
Seraphine was the kind of woman who trusted her partner completely. If he told her he was an alien, she would probably believe him without hesitation. Some would call that naive. That was simply who she was.
And so, she believed him. Just like that.
"...Alright." She took a slow breath. "I don't know how, but if you say so, I'll take it as the truth. Your strange behavior… It's because you've experienced something in the future?"
"Yes." He nodded, expression hardened. "I went back three—no… now it's two and a half months into the future. And the last thing I saw was an illusion of your death."
"An illusion?" She tilted her head. Who would cast something like that, and why?
"What matters more is the final month," he continued. "You started acting strangely around then and refused to tell me why. I think it's connected. So I wanted to ask you about it now."
Seraphine's brows drew together in confusion. "But I really don't feel anything out of place… maybe we should wait until that last month? If something changes, I'll tell you. I promise."
He sighed.
"Alright. I'll hold you to that." He let it go. It felt like a dead end anyway.
'Then we wait.'
"Now that I think about it…" Seraphine murmured, half to herself, before looking at him. "If you came from the future, you've already lived through all of this once. Which means… you've been pretending this entire time?"
Her tone was far too innocent to be anything but dangerous.
"…Uh, I can explain—?"
"Ash! You meanie." She lunged at him.
"No nails!"
…By the time he escaped, he had a couple of bite marks for his trouble.
⛧ ⛧ ⛧
Time moved swiftly after the confession, and without the need to deceive her, Ashen visibly relaxed.
Their days passed almost exactly as before, save for one difference. Ashen had turned into a paranoid warden, hovering over Seraphine like a nervous hen guarding its one chick.
The castle maids weren't spared either; one by one, most were quietly dismissed under his watchful paranoia.
After two months of this, Seraphine felt like a princess locked away in a demon lord's castle.
And yet she never complained. If anything, she basked in it.
To her, his behavior didn't feel overbearing. Just oddly adorable.
'Bathed, fed, tucked into bed… cuddles, kisses, sweet words.'
'Being held captive like this isn't so bad at all~'
"You're up."
He caught the shift in her breathing and greeted her before she could speak.
"G'morning, huam…" She slowly opened her eyes, gaze soft with tenderness. "You stayed up all night again?"
"Yeah. I might need a snack."
Seraphine didn't bother replying. She climbed onto him and bared the pale curve of her neck in offering. "Eat up~"
Ashen didn't hesitate. He bit down gently, careful not to let the intoxicating taste push him past what she could give.
"Hnng—! Good boy… more…" Her fingers slid through his hair, guiding him with encouragement, her expression melting into bliss, like she wouldn't have minded if he took far more than he should.
When he finished and had tended to the wound, she stayed in that position rather than pulling away.
They remained still for a while, sharing warmth in comfortable silence.
Eventually, Seraphine hesitated, then sighed in quiet resignation. "...Ash. I think I might know why you saw what you saw."
She felt him go rigid for an instant before he relaxed again. His arms wrapped around her, and he asked in a low voice, "Tell me."
"..."
She really didn't want to do this. But she'd made a promise, and she couldn't watch him look that anxious without honoring it.
"Promise me you'll stay calm first."
"I'm calm."
A lie, but she continued anyway. "What you saw… it wasn't an illusion."
Grip—
She felt the air leave her lungs from the force of his embrace, but she didn't ask him to ease up.
"I must have died for real, because for a while now, I've been feeling something strange. The body I'm possessing…" She hesitated. "I think it was already dead."
"I don't know how I'm still here, but I can feel it clearly. In less than two weeks, it will revert to what it actually is. Each day the feeling gets a little stronger. Like a premonition of something that was already decided long ago and nothing can undo."
"—Stop." His voice came out hoarse. "You will not die. Don't say that again."
"Alright…"
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Do you trust me so little?" Anger edged in, and he was already moving off the bed with her still attached to him.
She didn't want to tell him that the sensation had felt like being already dead… that each day felt like a small window of stolen time. She could see from his face that the mere mention of her death was driving him insane.
"...I wanted to spend the last few days happily with you. I didn't want them filled with sorrow."
"Sera." His voice went cold.
"...Sorry."
"You. Will. Not. Die." He said it as if she hadn't spoken. "I won't repeat myself."
"...Okay," she nodded quietly.
His expression softened. He set her on the sofa, stripped the skimpy dress from her without ceremony, and moved to the nearby closet. Seraphine cooperated obediently as he clothed her in a proper gown. Then he took her hand and pulled her toward the throne room.
"Regina."
The head maid was already waiting in her usual bow when they arrived.
"Yes, my lord. What are your orders?"
"Bring me every accomplished healer and physician in our territory. Leave no one out."
"Your command shall be accomplished." She didn't question it or ask when or why, and simply obeyed.
Ashen watched her go, though his thoughts had already moved past her.
'Die? Did I allow it?'
Hell itself would descend before he permitted any of his women to die before him.
⛧ ⛧ ⛧