Chapter 37: I'll Be Back

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"Awful...these maids..they're all disgusting.." Ivery narrowed her eyes and all she felt was rising frustration

"They all are...every single one of them.." Luther looked all around him and saw all of the crying children chained up

"They shouldn't be allowed to do this..." Ivery looked at Luther

"Then what shall we do about this?" Luther waited for her to speak

"....." Ivery looked at him

....

"I...can't do anything right now...since this wasn't the objective for coming back here, right now my status as Crown Princess is inactive so what I can do at the moment isn't much...." Ivery looked down at the ground

"If I were to free them all....where could I possibly take them without making a mess of everything?" Ivery clutched her black dress in her hands in deep frustration

"They'll be free soon...I assure you, as soon as Xia and the person helping her is dealt with" Luther grabbed her hand and held it tightly, giving her his reassurance

Ivery nodded with her head held down, she felt extremely upset that she couldn't do anything for them right now...

....

Ivery laid down face first on her bed, basking in her failure and incompetence.

Luther sat next to her, gently consoling her as he rubbed her back.

"Luther!" Ivery's eyes widened and her head lifted as she just remembered something important

"What's wrong?" He looked at her with confusion

"Goddess Hecate told me who's aiding Xia" Ivery said as she sat up with a stern look on her face

"Who is it?" He asked, wondering why it took her so long to tell him

"A fallen God called, Eos" Ivery told him

"Eos? Fallen God?" Luther's expression displayed a bit of surprise

"She wants revenge on Hades and Hecate and she's using Xia as a way to get try to get rid of us since we are connected to both of them" Ivery said

"Because Xia has a grudge against us?" Luther asked

"Yes" Ivery nodded

"But wouldn't that mean Xia's kind of like us...favored by a God...but not exactly an infinite attribute holder but possesses powers from a God?" Ivery asked

"I doubt it, it's more like she's been pitied by a fallen God and was most likely given temporary powers for revenge" He laughed

"This God and Xia have something in common...it's most likely the reason that she's so taken to Xia" Ivery said to him

"And that something in common is?" He raised an eyebrow

"Both of them were cast aside because of another woman, by the one they deeply loved....and that same woman stole everything they've ever wanted" Ivery concluded and shared it with Luther

"You and Hecate are 'the' women, and Hades and I are the ones who cast those two aside because of the two of you, correct?" Luther put the pieces together and it all suddenly made a lot of sense to him

"Correct, I stole and have everything Xia had and wanted, including you" Ivery lightly tapped his chest

"That's not true, you stole nothing that was hers...you simply just claimed what was always yours from the start, including me" Luther reached his hand out to her and caressed her soft cheek

"Luther..." The frustration in Ivery's eyes subsided

"I'm serious" His smile caused her heart to throb

What was this feeling...?

..

"We still don't know what Xia's capable of now.." She said

"I know, I suppose it's best not to underestimate her now" Luther shrugged

"Luther, she's going to try to find you too....just like she found me.....she's obviously not going to find you in Fresia since you're here" Ivery felt worried

"Hm..." Luther had a strong feeling that Ivery was right

"Then...I'll have to go back to Fresia until I receive the unfortunate visit, I don't want to lure her here to you, if she finds out that you and I are together then she'll find out that everything was faked" He sighed

"You'll be alright without me for a few days, right?" His fingers slowly ran through her hair

"I can take care of myself Luther, I already told you" She proudly smiled

"Oh, you can? So how did you end up like this?" Luther pointed at her with a smirk

"Miscalculation.." Ivery quickly responded

"Miscalculation? I'm certain it was because you decided to wander off by yourself" Luther sarcastically stroked his chin

"Hold on, I found the flower of youth and we weren't even in the Forest of Everlight for too long, that at least counts for something.." Ivery tried to save herself

"Sure you found it but you were affected by it because you wandered off, now I might have to stop bringing you on missions if you're going to keep getting into situations like this" Luther deeply sighed

"Aww, Luther don't do that.." Ivery frowned, looking at him with sad eyes

"Nope, not going to work" Luther shook his head

Ivery batted her eyelashes and her big red eyes started to water.

"....." Luther started to feel as if he was giving in to her obvious ploy

"Not working" He refused

She tapped his shoulder.

"Hm?" He turned his head down to look at her

She unexpectedly kissed the tip of his nose.

"////" Luther's cheeks and ears turned red

She planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Ivery.." Luther felt hot, unbearably hot

...

"Still not working" Luther smiled

"You're hard to budge" She sucked her teeth and crossed her arms

"It's not like I didn't like that though.." His finger touched his cheek

"...." Ivery turned her head away from him

"Prove to me that you can handle yourself, and I'll consider letting you go on another mission" Luther slid his finger down the bridge of her nose to the tip

"Fine." She nodded

"I'll be back, be good while I'm gone" Luther leaned forward and kissed her forehead

His body disappeared into a black mist.

Suddenly the room felt cold without him...and a sudden sense of loneliness overtook her.

...

"Be the last person telling me to be good..." Ivery sighed

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