The sound of flowing water faintly echoed in the surroundings as Lux cleaned Aina's naked body in the underground river.
They had just finished making love for the third time, after which the Half-Elf decided to stop.
Aina had been a virgin before him, and he didn't want to push her body too much on her first time. He took it upon himself to pause their intimate bonding, allowing her body to recover.
After cleaning her every nook and cranny, the Half-Elf held her close to him, and the beautiful Dwarf snuggled into his chest.
The two didn't say anything to each other and simply enjoyed the afterglow of their lovemaking.
The beating of their hearts was calmer now, and the flames that had erupted after coming to know about each other's past lives had been doused by their passion and lust.
Several minutes later, Lux lifted Aina in a princess carry and walked toward the bed. He had already changed the bed sheets and replaced them with a clean one.
The droplets of water disappeared from their bodies after Lux used a spell to dry both of them completely.
Gently, he laid Aina down on the bed before laying beside her.
The young lady hugged Lux as if she was afraid that once she woke up, she would find out that everything that happened was just a dream.
"Don't worry," Lux whispered softly. "I won't go away. So rest for a while, okay? After that, I will have a talk with your family."
"…Un," Aina replied before closing her eyes.
Although she didn't show it, she was actually quite exhausted. The battle of the Beast Tide had just ended, and she had fought on the front lines until everything was over.
After that, she made love to Lux three times, which drained the last of her strength.
The Half-Elf looked at the beautiful Dwarf in his arms as she breathed softly.
The doll-like beauty, whom many had admired, was sleeping peacefully.
Her petite and sensual body clung to his skin, sending faint ripples of emotions in his heart. But Lux endured it and simply held the love of his past life in a firm embrace.
Lux loved Iris and Cai. This much was true.
Because of that, he also understood that the feelings of love he had for Aina were just as strong, if not a little bit stronger than his two fiances.
For him, love was love. It didn't matter who he loved most between his lovers. For him, all three of them held a special place in his heart.
Soothed by Aina's warmth and softness, Lux found himself falling asleep.
He didn't resist and allowed himself to fall into sleep's embrace, knowing that when he opened his eyes, Little Falling Star would still be in his arms.
A few hours later inside the Royal Palace of the Xeno Kingdom…
Due to Lux's and Aina's sudden disappearance, the King of the Xeno Kingdom, Victor, couldn't help but feel anxious.
Since it was his daughter who dragged Lux away, he couldn't call it kidnapping. In fact, if he insisted that it was a kidnapping, wouldn't that make his daughter a criminal?
Colette, who was always supportive of Lux and Aina, was also feeling anxious. That was the first time she had seen her sister suddenly have an outburst, and it took her completely by surprise.
Of course, she knew that her kind, gentle, and understanding sister wouldn't do anything to hurt her Big Brother.
However, she couldn't help but be worried that there might have been some kind of misunderstanding that might hinder her plan to make the two of them get married.
Queen Felicia was the only one who seemed to not be too worried about her daughter running away with the handsome Half-Elf.
She was the one who raised Aina and knew that her daughter had a good head on her shoulders. Surely, the latter wouldn't do anything that would harm their benefactor.
At the end of the day, without Lux's help, their chances of surviving the Beast Tide weren't that high.
Even if they survived, the casualties would have been too great, and their kingdom's army would have definitely been weakened.
This would've led to their neighbors taking this opportunity to conquer them and force them to become their vassals.
When they decided to migrate to Elysium and cut ties with the Dwarven Royal Family back in Solais, they knew that they were taking a big gamble.
Even so, the state of the Dwarven Kingdom in Solais didn't look optimistic.
The miasma was spreading past their borders, and they knew that in two to three years, the Royal Family would have no choice but to order its citizens to evacuate to Elysium.
Victor wouldn't have minded one bit if the people of the Dwarven Kingdom were to migrate to his kingdom.
However, the Royal Family and the other High-Ranking Nobles wished to suppress him and wrestle away the kingdom that he had built from scratch over the course of many years.
How could he possibly agree to such a thing?
This was why he moved before others could even touch his bottom line, cutting himself and his people off from the reach of the Dwarven Royal Family, who wished to take the kingdom he founded as their own.
Just as the sun was about to set on the horizon, they sensed two familiar presences headed in the direction of the Royal Palace.
When Victor saw Lux carrying his daughter in a princess carry, with the latter having her arms wrapped around his neck and her head resting on his chest, he felt as if he had lost something very dear to him.
Colette, who saw this scene, happily jumped in place and was even shouting, "Big Brother!", repeatedly.
Queen Felicia, who was looking at her daughter, narrowed her eyes. As a woman, she could tell that something was very different about her daughter.
Although her face was still as expressionless as ever, it had a softness to it as she looked at the man carrying her in his arms.
This expression was something that Aina had developed in her past life after she discovered that she had a tumor growing in her brain.
As the years passed, this expression had become her default expression, which she had somehow carried over to her next life.
Even though her face was like that, her eyes were a different matter.
They were filled with emotions, and one could see the love and affection in her gaze as she looked at the handsome Half-Elf, who had just landed on the balcony of their Royal Palace.
Lux helped Aina stand on her own before gazing at Victor with a smile on his face.
"Father…" Lux said. However, before he could finish whatever he was going to say next, Victor cut him off with a glare.
"Who are you calling Father, you bastard?" Victor shouted.
Although Lux was taller than him, he still looked down on him with a vengeance, hovering in the air as if to make his point known.
Lux, who could tell that Victor didn't want to talk to him, shifted his attention to Queen Felicia.
"Mother, I have come to ask for your daughter in marriage," Lux said with a smile. "Please give us your blessing."
Colette's eyes widened in shock after hearing Lux's words. A moment later, the adorable Dwarf jumped into the Half-Elf's arms in happiness.
"Finally! Big Brother is going to be part of our family!" Colette shouted with a big smile on her face. "I'm so happy right now!"
"He's not going to be part of our family," Victor growled, almost making Colette jump back in fright. "Over my dead body!"
At that exact moment, Blackfire appeared between Lux and Victor. A few seconds later, several rows of text appeared on the surface of the coffin.
———————-
< That can be arranged. >
< Do you have any preference as to how you would like to die? >
< Do you have any life insurance? If not, I am offering one plan as a limited time offer. I will even throw in a plaque for your tomb free of charge.>
The corner of Victor's lips twitched after reading the Black Coffin's reply. However, before he could smash the coffin to pieces, Felicia's words caught his attention.
"Stand down, Victor," Felicia ordered before shifting her attention to her daughter, Aina. "Aina, do you want to marry Lux?"
Aina nodded and answered without hesitation. "I do."
"Do you love him?"
"With all of my heart."
Felicia frowned before shifting her attention to the Half-Elf, who was holding her daughter's hand firmly.
"How about you, Lux?" Felicia asked. "Do you love my daughter?"
"I loved her even before she was born in this world," Lux replied in a heartbeat.
Colette's eyes opened wide as she looked at her Big Brother.
The corner of Victor's lips twitched repeatedly after hearing the Half-Elf's reply.
How could someone love a person before they were even born in this world? Did that even make sense?!
Queen Felicia also had the same thought, but a single glance toward the Half-Elf was enough to tell her that he was serious.
"Very well, our family will seriously consider this matter," Queen Felicia stated. "I hope that you can give us time to discuss this properly."
Lux nodded. However, before Victor could even say anything, Lux said something that made the Goldenslayer family look at him in disbelief.
"Aina and I have already made love to each other," Lux said without batting an eye. "Please add that to the list of things you'd take into consideration. Thank you."
Aina's father almost spat a mouthful of blood after hearing Lux's revelation.
Victor, Felicia, and Colette, all looked at the Aina at the same time, as if trying to confirm if what Lux said was true.
Although there was no change in her expression, a tinge of red was starting to spread from her neck, up to the tips of her ears.
This only confirmed the Half-Elf's statement, which made Victor almost wish that he could tear the Half-Elf apart, limb by limb.
They had raised Aina with great love and care.
None of them could've expected that the Half-Elf would eat her up just like that after the beautiful Dwarf had swept him off of his feet, right under their very nose.
