Call You by Your Name

'W-What do I do now? Should I just let it happen, or is my fate not locked?' Artie suddenly felt faint the more she heard the sound of shifting fabric. Since the archduke was wearing heavy clothing on the surface, it was easy to hear his movement. 'W-Why am I in this situation again?!

'Wait...' She then frowned as she ceased all her other thoughts. 'I can't be like this! If I continued regarding Larkin as someone who always has a bad plan, wouldn't that increase my Apostasy points every time? That thing will overtake my Veneration soon!'

She didn't think too much about the route meters before, only seeing them as guides to see whether her actions were acceptable to the System or not. Now that she triggered her first Apostasy surge, she became wary of gathering Apostasy points. Who knew what would she do the next time it triggered?

Artie shook her head and used both hands to lightly pat her face. 'I have to relax and focus. I am a venerable angel; I will be a venerable angel...'

"Will you stare at the water all night, Lady Shen?"

Larkin's voice echoed from her side, and she turned in his direction. Even if her heart stopped upon seeing his bare chest, there was a slight—albeit denied—tinge of disappointment when her eyes descended. He had a towel wrapped around his hips, protecting them both from Apostasy points.

Artie sucked in air discreetly before looking away and getting to her feet. Well, if she was allowed to have a towel on, then it should be very safe. Moreover, when she was removing her clothes, she kept on looking as if Larkin was sneaking a peek. How relieving was it to think that he wasn't.

She then wrapped a towel around her and walked to the edge. With such water, she was so tempted to actually dive, but the bath was too shallow for that. 'Such a shame…'

She only kept the excitement inside her as she put her foot inside, instantly feeling the warmth and relaxation that came with the dip. Artie proceeded to sit down, submerging into the water until her neck. Seeing that her body was lighting up like a firefly, she couldn't hide her soft squeal.

"Whaaa, it's so beautiful!" Artie kept on playing with the water as if she was playing with bubbles. "Can I go here every time? I can't take a bath in the castle baths now that I've seen something way better!"

"…"

'Oh, crap...' Artie's excited face froze. What was she saying? Wouldn't it be akin to asking if she could share the archduke's room as it would be more convenient than coming from her room? If ever she did get the consent to do so, wouldn't that mean they would have to bathe together sometimes?

She then turned sharply towards him. "I-I-I—!" 'I don't want to take back my words. I can't lie… I don't want my Apostasy to get a point higher anymore.'

Larkin made another of those elusive innocent-looking laughs. "You may, granted that you would surrender the right to evict me from my own room, Lady Shen."

"That���s a little expected." Artie pouted before she scooted closer, wary of accidentally pulling down her own towel. "Larkin, Larkin… say… you actually want me to continue calling you by your name? If so, why aren't you calling me by mine? Is Artie that hard to say?"

"…not exactly." Larkin turned to her, shifting his weight as if welcoming the talk and even placing his arm on the rim to encourage her to get closer. "Customs had long dictated the way of address in the kingdom. Given names are quite guarded in devildoms."

Artie twitched and hummed. She didn't say anything, but she had moved to a spot he could physically reach with his idle arm. The way she looked at him made him continue speaking.

Larkin only hummed as he took the cue. "It was once spoken that only blood relatives older than one were allowed to address you with your first name. Let me finish.

"Names were very important to demons as if they could be vanquished by those who knew their real names. The demon emperors would normally hide their real names as well, as well as the ancestors of the land. However, as humans perish not under the same circumstances, the practice did not remain.

"The strictness of the practice had only influenced most of those born in the nobility. Only parents were allowed to address their children using their first names. This had caused rifts and distance to couples married for politics so the Grand Duke once asked the nobles to be sensible.

"Given names were shared to people, but the only ones allowed to speak it were parents and spouses. Soon, it had already loosened to older friends with close ties to the owner of the name." Larkin hummed. "This practice had already dissipated in the common folk so the nobles took pride in it."

Artie nodded… "But it doesn't explain to me why you don't call me Artie. I mean… are you only allowing me to call you Larkin because you think I am a thousand-year-old angel?"

A sigh came from Larkin that Artie did not miss. However, since the man was still having a small smile on his face, that sigh was excusable. 'Is this why he said 'let me finish'? He didn't want me to feel offended by saying that he thinks I am old?'

"...I had mentioned 'spouse', did I not? However, we are indeed yet to marry." Larkin only brought his eyes at her face, and then a hand reached out to stroke at her face. "I allowed you… for I accepted the terms. Have you, Artie Shen?

"Only by then will I be obliged to speak your name."

Artie's eyes widened. She didn't think they wouldn't just simply call people by their names. A hand then came to her chin as she remembered something. "Oh, my… so it's very improper for me to keep on calling him 'Miel'. He should've told me..."

Larkin only looked at her in amusement. Flirting with women to make them speak of secrets was part of his past that he needed not to revisit. However, noticing how strange Artie Shen was…

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Artie twitched as she realized that she had been murmuring about another person while they were supposed to be having a moment—even if it was one-sided. She then looked up at his unchanging expression and forgot the words she was supposed to say.

"Will you let me call you by your name… Artie?"

Larkin used a thumb to caress her face, gently rubbing the skin. Artie paused and stared deep into those silver eyes and felt her face heating up from embarrassment. It didn't help that she was actually very close to him right now.

Her lips moved to purse as if she was hesitating to say something, but the archduke chose to place a kiss on them.