[51.1] A Real Walk of Shame

Mmmmn…

Is it morning already?

Ugh…

My legs are so sore.

I feel like I've done far too many squats…

Whatever.

Let's just go back to sleep.

I snuggled into my pillow and found that it wasn't as fluffy as usual.

In fact…

Did my pillow gain muscles?

I groped the pillow with my eyes still closed.

Wow. So defined.

So firm.

I like this kind of pillow.

It's so warm and-

My eyes snapped open to reveal a full muscular chest in front of my face.

No shirt.

My eyes trailed down.

…Oh yeah. Now I remember.

The blood rushed to my face as I quickly checked to make sure Cyrus was still asleep. Luckily, he was fast asleep and breathing evenly.

What…

What did I do?!

Did I really give in to temptation?!

Ugh… At least he isn't awake.

The people in this world take this kind of thing very seriously…

How am I going to face him now?!

Should I just own it?

Run away?

Well… For now, let's run away until I can figure out what I want.

I slowly crawled out of his embrace and replaced my body with a pillow so he wouldn't notice my escape. His eyebrows pinched together in his sleep and I froze like a deer in headlights. Seeing he was content to cuddle the pillow, I slipped out of bed taking extra care not to wake him up.

When I determined I was safe, I ran over to my dress and picked it up.

It was completely in shambles.

There's no way I can wear this unless I want something to slip out!

My room is just down the hall, but I can't walk there half-naked!

What if there's someone in the hall?! It's a palace! There has to be several servants if not visitors!

Well… He won't notice his shirt missing, right?

I struggled to pull up my dress, then covered my top with his shirt to avoid any slips.

…Why do I feel like I'm being watched?

I quickly spun around without warning, but Cyrus was still asleep.

Am I just imagining it?

I slowly turned around and grabbed my shoes before scurrying out of the room. I gently closed the door behind me and silently stepped away from the door.

My back bumped against another person's, "AAAH!"

The person I bumped into also screamed and we turned around at the same time.

Zephyr and I stared at each other in confusion before speaking simultaneously:

"What are you doing-"

"What are you doing-"

"I'm not doing anything-"

"I'm not doing anything-"

"Wait! I'm the one talking-"

"Wait! I'm the one talking-"

"SHUT UP THEY'LL HEAR US!"

"SHUT UP THEY'LL HEAR US!"

I covered his mouth and held my finger up to my lips. I whispered, "What are you doing out here?"

I removed my hand and he whispered back, "Nothing! What are you doing out here?!"

"Also nothing!"

He looked me up and down, "Liar! You're covered in kiss marks and bites!"

I returned his look with one of my own, "So are you!"

He quickly covered up his neck with his hands, "Mind your own business!"

"You mind yours first!" I paused and shook my head, "Why am I arguing about this?! I need to go find clothes!"

I walked down to the hall to my room and Zephyr followed behind me. I glared at him, "Why are you following me? Your room is the other way!"

Zephyr snickered, "I put my things in your room. You know I don't sleep alone."

I snickered, "Obviously."

Wait…

I turned to him in surprise, "Who did you sleep with?!"

Zephyr trembled with his mouth shut before finally bursting out, "IT WAS ALORA, OKAY?!"

My mouth dropped, "Alora?! You mean… H-Hazel?!"

He hid his head in his hands, "Yes! Hazel! Her! AAACK! I'm so ashamed!!"

"Why are you so ashamed?! I thought men usually bragged about this sort of thing."

He shouted in frustration, "I just slept with my ex!!! I have every right to be ashamed!"

"Eh. Yeah, good point."

"Ugh… I just remember drinking too much without stopping and then searching for- Wait… Which room are YOU coming from?"

My expression turned taut.

He gasped dramatically, "You slept with my son, didn't you!?"

My lip curled in disgust and I flicked his forehead, "Shut up. Stop calling him that, he's not your son."

"Ow!" He rubbed his forehead, "Wait. So you actually did sleep with that golden-haired brat?"

I ignored him.

"Huh."

I glanced at him, "What is it?"

He shrugged, "I didn't think you were into younger men."

"...What are you talking about?"

"Aren't you like 50?"

I felt my heart get stabbed.

He continued, "He's more than half your age."

I felt another stab.

He chuckled, "You slept with a child."

"Hold on!" I interrupted quickly, "I did NOT sleep with a child! I wasn't even attracted to him until he was an adult by standards in this world AND my world! Okay?!"

He snickered, "Okay, but you're still a cougar."

I wanted to smack his smile off of his smug face. Instead, I just used my words, "At least I didn't sleep with my ex whom I claimed destroyed my family."

"...Low blow, Reika."

"You did it."

"And you're overcompensating for your old age by sleeping with a younger man."

"..."

We both continued our walk of shame silently to my room with our heads hung low.

Chief Gonza was standing in front of my door just about to knock when he turned to look at us, "Ah! Reika. I was just going to check on you. Your parents said they couldn't find you and had to leave for their honeymoon without saying goodbye-"

I pulled Zephyr to a stop and we both straightened up as if we were just caught stealing.

Chief Gonza looked at both of us skeptically, "-Why do you two look like that?"

Zephyr panicked, "We weren't having one-night stands-"

I covered his mouth quickly, "We passed out on the balcony!"

Chief Gonza pressed, "Then what are those marks on both of your necks?"

Zephyr squeaked, "Mosquitos!"

Chief Gonza blinked, "Mosquitos?"

I nodded, "That's right. They were going all crazy biting us."

Zephyr nodded fervently, "It's because we are so tasty!"

I gave him a look.

Really?

Tasty?!

"I didn't think the palace could get mosquitos because of the barrier that surrounds it…"

I forced a laugh, "Well someone wasn't doing their job because there were certainly mosquitos."

Chief Gonza thought about this and nodded, "I will have to bring it up to the King."

I can't believe that actually worked…

Thank the gods Chief Gonza is a naive workaholic!

Seeing him turn to walk away, I panicked and reached out to grab him, "Wait!"

Chief Gonza looked at me in confusion.

I turned to him with a sly look, "Is there a marriage in your future?"

His expression grew dark, "No! There is no marriage!"

I pursed my lips in disappointment, "So you found the ring first?"

He let out a sigh, "No. Neither of us found the ring. You still don't remember what the person looked like? Male or female?"

I rubbed my fists into my temples to bring out my memories but came up empty.

I shook my head, "Nope. Whoever it was, they didn't have much of a presence because I don't remember."

"Hmm… I will first file a report with the M.I.B. and see if I can find it at any pawn shops. It will be hard to sell since it's an heirloom."

Zephyr and I both nodded obediently.

"Oh by the way. Since your parents are gone, I am supposed to be in charge of watching you two."

Our mouths dropped open, "What?! We aren't kids!"

He smiled, "I know. Which is why I will only check up on you randomly. I have a lot of work to do, so I'm afraid that you two will be alone for the most part."

Zephyr jumped in, "But what about our meals?!"

He laughed, "Can't you two cook for yourselves?"

Zephyr muttered, "Not unless you want the house to burn."

I flicked his forehead, "Oi. I can make simple meals."

He looked at Chief Gonza pitifully, "Please feed us. Her meals are either tasteless or she adds so much spice I'm on the toilet for days."

Chief Gonza chuckled and ruffled his hair, "Don't worry. I will be there to feed you both and when I'm not, you can ask Caldwell to feed you. He's already volunteered when I can't."

I caught something interesting and smiled slyly, "You discussed this with Caldwell?"

His expression darkened and he turned to leave, "I will see you both after I finish my work."

Zephyr and I rushed into my room and pulled out our outfits. He started to strip without shame.

I glared at him, "Don't change in here with me! Go to your own room!"

"Why would I do that when I can do it here?!"

"Well I don't want to see your bare butt! It's disgusting!"

"Then face away! I'm not leaving! You leave!"

"Why would I leave?! This is my room!"

"I don't care!"

"UGH!"

In the end, I stomped to the bathroom to get changed.