Jane had been crying for over a minute, but Rudy couldn't give her a shoulder to cry. Still, he tried.
He moved his hand and placed it on Jane's shoulder, but she slapped his hand and yelled, "Don't touch me!"
The emotions Jane put behind those words stung RUdy's heart more than a thousand needles would. It wasn't hatred or anger as one would expect; it was sadness and pain, which Rudy had a first-hand experience with.
Of course, Rudy could feel the pain by seeing Jabe bellowing like that.
'What happened so suddenly? Everything was going well, and she suddenly had a mental breakdown. Did I trigger some awful memories? I don't know, and I will never know until I ask her. And that's… not happening."
Despite Jane's aversion, Rudy hugged her tightly.
"It's okay. I am here," he said calmly.
At first, Jane tried to resist and break free, but she eventually stopped and cried on Rudy's shoulders.
'If I ask her now, that will probably make her more sad. I will wait for her to calm down and then try it. I won't force her to tell me if she doesn't want to share it with me, but I want to help her.'
'I may not have known Jane for long… well, I don't know anything about her or Rias, to be honest. But what could break Jane so badly that she was reduced to this state?'
'It's always the emotional trauma making the strong weak. Even though they are physically strong, no one can be mentally strong. Everyone has a weakness, no matter how strong they get. But that's not a bad thing. Having a weakness is a sign of being alive and having emotions. If one doesn't want them, then they are nothing but a mere walking doll.'
A few minutes later, Jane calmed down, but she still refused to talk.
"You can have my shoulder as long as you want," he said calmly.
"Why are you being so kind to me? Is it because I slept with you?" she asked in a raspy and muffled voice.
"No. I act kind with kind people and evil with evil. It doesn't matter if I know them personally or not. And I know you are kind," he replied honestly.
"So I am kind to you because I slept with you?"
"That's one way to say it. But hey, listen. Even if I hated you or you hated me, it doesn't make you an evil person. Hate has nothing to do with evil. One can hate someone freely and still be a kind version since there is always a reason to hate, but there is no reason to be evil; they become evil because of an excuse, not a reason," he asserted solemnly.
"What would you do if I said I hate you?" Jane asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"I will accept your hate."
Jane's ears turned red after hearing that. She finally looked at him with a flushed face and gritted her teeth in flustraion before saying, "Don't get all cheeky because I let you spend one night with me!"
Rudy smiled widely at her and said, "I am glad you are back to your usual self. Tears don't suit you, princess."
"Shut up!" she hissed.
Rudy bumped his forehead on Jane's forehead and tried to hiss her, but Jane placed her hand on his lips and asked, "What do you think you are doing?!"
"Good morning kiss?" he said with an innocent look on his face.
"Not happening!"
"Hmm? I thought you loved kissing me," Rudy teased her with a grin.
"I…" Jane removed her hand from Rudy's lips and closed her eyes before puckering her lips as though she was waiting for Rudy to kiss her.
"But before I do that, I want to tell you something."
Jane opened her eyes with a little furious look on her face and asked, "What?"
"Do you regret what we did last night?" Rudy asked with a serious look on his face.
"I…"
"As for me, I don't regret it, not even a single second of it," he said nonchalantly.
"Wh-What are you saying?! I am your sister-in-law!" she yelled while stuttering.
"Now, it's your turn. Do you regret our last night?"
"I… don't know. It felt good and all, but what we did was wrong, and it shouldn't have—"
"Forget about all that. Forget everything else. Just focus on yourself and your feelings." Rudy lowered his eyes with Jane and once again asked, "Do you regret what we did last night?"
"I don't." Jane shook her head and said, "And I never will. In fact, you can use me again if you want to. I will be happy to help you."
"Jane…" He placed his hands on Jane's shoulders and said, "It's okay."
"Thanks…"
Jane hugged Rudy and asked, "I didn't want to ask this question, but I am inquisitive to know the answer."
"Hmm?"
"Who was better? Me or Rias?"
"Are you talking about who is better in sex?"
Jane nodded meekly in response.
"Well… you might be surprised to know this, but Rias and I never went that far…" Rudy said with an awkward smile on his face.
"What?!" Jane exclaimed.
"In fact, we never even kissed…"
"What?!" she exclaimed again.
"Yup…"
"Wait! Does that mean I stole you from her?!"
GASP!
She covered her mouth and said, "I… I stole you from her? Oh my Lord, what have I done? What would she think of when she finds out about this? Not only did I drink… wait…"
Jane gulped down nervously and asked, "Had she… had she drank your blood?"
"..."
"Surely, she would have, right?"
"...."
Rudy's silence was enough for Jane to know the answer.
"I have committed a major sin. I stole my innocent sister's lover from her. I drank his blood before her. I kissed him before her. And I… I slept with…"
Jane couldn't bring herself to complete her sentence. She felt disgusted and guilty after knowing that she had betrayed her sister and stolen her lover.
However, what Rudy told her after that vanished all of Jane's guilt and disgust.
