Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

“Hick… I-I really don’t want him to go… hick… T-This… isss… not what I wanted,” Delphine slurred, her voice soaked in alcohol and heartbreak. Her cheeks flushed a deep red, and her vision wobbled as she stared across the table at Dora, who watched her with an unreadable calm expression.

“So… you don’t want him to go then?” Dora asked casually as she brought the cool glass to her lips, sipping slowly, her tone composed, almost detached.

Delphine blinked, her eyes glossy and unfocused. She tilted her head, squinting. “Well… Hmm…” she mumbled, then suddenly shook her head, sending her messy hair swaying,

“Fuck… off him… who the fuck cares! I’m gonna leave him first! Yeah… yeah, tha’s right! I’ll leave his sorry ass and… and… I’ll make that bastard beg—beg for me to come back!” Her voice rose as she slammed the now-empty wine glass on the table, her hand shaking slightly. “He’ll be on his knees… crying… like a little bitch.”

Dora’s lips twitched, a faint trace of amusement in her calm eyes. “Can’t you just pick one side, girl? First you’re crying, then you’re threatening vengeance,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “Anyway, you’ve had way too much to drink. Let’s end this here.”

She reached out to take the glass, but Delphine yanked the entire wine bottle toward herself, ignoring the splash as it sloshed over her fingers. She brought it to her lips and drank messily.

“Don’t touch my bottle, bitch,” she growled, swaying. “You don’t tell me what to do. Who even the hell are you?…hick Some therapist now? Huh? Acting all calm and wise, just ’cause you ain’t the one bleeding inside—”

“…” Dora’s lips twitched again, suppressing a sigh.

Delphine narrowed her eyes, her voice dark and shaky. “You know what… I figured it out.” Her tone suddenly dropped, lower, bitter. “I know a way to make that asshole feel what I’m feeling… I’m gonna rape him.” She giggled, eyes unblinking, teeth bared. “Yeah… I’m gonna break him… pin him down, fuck him till he screams, till he cries and begs… I’ll mark every fucking inch of him so those other whores know he’s mine. Mine!” She burst into a wild, broken laugh, eyes swimming with both tears and madness. “I wanna see that fear. I want to see that regret on his damn face… when he realizes he broke the wrong girl.”

Dora blinked slowly, giving her a sidelong look. “…Honestly, I think he’d just ask for another round.”

Delphine paused mid-drink, the words hitting her. A faint blush crept over her alcohol-warmed cheeks. “W-Whatever!” she snapped, flustered. “You don’t get it! I’m tired, okay!? I’m fucking done with that bastard… he… he promised… he said things… and then he just… just walked away like I never mattered… like I’m just trash… I…” Her words fell apart into hiccups as her head drooped, eyelids heavy. “I need… I just… need…”

And just like that, she passed out mid-sentence, her body slumping sideways, barely upright.

Dora stared at her for a moment, deadpan. “She’s completely a mess now,” she muttered softly.

Behind her, Aether stepped into view, silent as a shadow.

Dora turned slightly, watching as he moved toward Delphine. Without a word, he gently scooped her into his arms.

“Hmm…” Delphine hummed faintly in his arms, curling against his chest like a kitten seeking warmth. A strange, almost innocent smile flickered across her flushed lips, as if her heart found comfort even in her sleep.

“Look at her…” Dora whispered, her voice soft. “She’s still so damn happy just being in your arms.”

Aether looked at her quietly.

“You owe me one, you know,” Dora added, arms crossed.

“I know,” Aether replied with a low voice. “You really helped me back there.” And with that, he vanished, taking Delphine with him.

They reappeared in Delphine’s room. Aether gently laid her on the bed, but as soon as she felt the separation—

“No…” she whimpered, her voice barely audible but soaked in emotion. Her hands clung weakly to his shirt. She didn’t want to be let go.

Aether smiled, his gaze tender. “You haven’t slept since yesterday, have you? Be a good girl now… sleep,” he said softly, kissing her forehead.

Delphine’s body finally relaxed, breathing easing as he tucked her in.

Aether carefully removed her clothes, his movements gentle and respectful, until she lay naked under the warm quilt. He covered her up and gave her another kiss on the forehead, whispering near her temple, “Unlike what I saw in the Heart game… You took everything too calmly now… I wonder why?”

He took her glasses off gently and stared at her peaceful face, touched with hints of dried tears and leftover anger.

He turned to leave.

But then—

“D-Don’t… leave me…” she murmured in her sleep, her voice cracking, her brows furrowed as she gripped the blanket tightly. Her body trembled as if clinging to the last thread of safety.

Aether froze. His eyes softened, and he knelt by her side. He gently brushed her eyebrows with his fingertips, easing the stress from her face.

“I would never… leave you,” he whispered, possessiveness dripping from each word. “No matter what happens… even if I have to destroy everything… even if it means killing myself… I’ll never let you go. You’re mine, Delphine. Always will be.”

As if hearing his vow through her dreams, her expression relaxed. The pain smoothed out from her brow, and her lips curled ever so slightly in relief.

Aether sat there in silence, just watching her. One hour passed. He never moved.

And then, without a sound, he disappeared.

Meanwhile,

“I… I finally f-finished,” Kaelen muttered in a broken voice, panting heavily as he crawled toward the door, his limbs trembling from exhaustion after finishing the long, brutally hard exam.

He had barely made it through. The exam had drained everything out of him—his strength, his sanity, and his will to live. His body felt like a deflated balloon. Even his cheeks had sunken in, like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. He collapsed near the doorway, gasping for breath.

Just as he tried to lift his head, his blurry vision landed on a pair of feet—elegant, poised, and cruelly familiar. Slowly, his gaze travelled upward until he saw her.

Aria.

She stood before him, hands on her hips, chin lifted with that same haughty expression she always wore when she smelled victory.

“I hope you at least pass,” Aria said, her lips curled into a wicked grin that screamed mockery.

Kaelen’s face twitched violently as a growl bubbled from his throat. “The exam isn’t the only thing that decides the outcome… There are other trials too! Other tests! I’ll prove it to you!” he snapped, his voice raw but filled with stubborn fire.

Aria almost burst out laughing but held it in just enough to sound smug. “Well then… I guess I’ll just crush you in those other tests too, Puppy~”

A thick vein throbbed on Kaelen’s forehead. His jaw clenched so tightly it looked like it might crack, but he didn’t say another word. He didn’t have to. He would prove it—all of it—to everyone, especially her.

Just then, Liora, who had been calmly counting and organising the answer sheets at the side, suddenly flinched. She glanced at the tense duo before calling out, “Kaelen, it seems your father wants to meet you.”

Kaelen blinked. “Who, me? He’s asking for me? Not… this woman?” he asked, pointing at Aria, whose glare could have melted metal.

Liora blinked at her son, then glanced at Aria with a hint of amusement before nodding. “Yup. He said he wants to meet you first.”

Kaelen froze for a moment… and then, as if infused with divine energy, his withered body regained strength. His cheeks puffed back up, his eyes sparkled, and he slowly stood up straight with renewed pride. He turned toward Aria with a cocky smile that screamed revenge.

“Oh dear… so Father wants to see me? First me?” he said with theatrical shock, placing a hand on his chest. “After that long, torturous exam, the first person he asked for was me? Oh wow… Oh my gods…”

Aria’s eyes slowly turned to ice. Pure, frigid, soul-freezing ice.

But Kaelen wasn’t done.

He leaned in with that same sly grin. “Must be painful… being the second one~”

Veins exploded across Aria’s forehead.

Kaelen, still glowing with smugness, added with exaggerated sympathy, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Aria, the second candidate. I’ll speak with him… let him know he doesn’t need to consider me over his… wife? Oh~Oh~Oh…Ohhhh~”

Snap.

Something inside Aria snapped.

Ssshhhhhh!

Kaelen flinched as he felt a sharp sting on his cheek—an arrow had just grazed past him, cutting a thin line across his skin. Blood trickled. His eyes widened in disbelief as he turned to face Aria, who was now smiling with a terrifyingly dark expression, already nocking another arrow in her bow.

“Looks like someone’s gotten a little too full of themselves,” she said sweetly… murderously.

“W-Wait! WAIT—!”

BOOOOMMM!!

“Invigilator! HELP ME!!”

Liora casually shrugged, not even looking up from her papers. “I’m not the invigilator anymore, my son and… You kind of deserved it.”

“MOTH—!”

BOOOOMMMMMMM!!

Meanwhile,

Aether stood at the edge of a tall cliff, the wind brushing past his white hair as he gazed down at the distant villages and cities below. His expression was serene… calm, yet unreadable.

Behind him, a large, panting wolf suddenly raced into view. Its form shimmered and shrank as it transformed into a human. It was Kaelen—his clothes torn, patches of dirt on his face, and a few fresh wounds across his arms and chest.

“S-Sorry for—huff—being late, Fath—” Kaelen began, but the words got stuck in his throat mid-air the moment he laid eyes on his father.

His breath caught.

His heart skipped.

Aether… had changed. Not just his looks—but something deeper. His presence. His energy. His everything.

The way he stood—the air around him—it was overwhelming. Almost divine. Almost… terrifying.

Aether turned slowly, his gaze softening.

“It’s been a while, Kaelen,” he said gently, his voice calm like a stream in spring.

Kaelen stood frozen, eyes wide, cheeks flushing red.

He… actually blushed.

[+6000 AP]

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