"I see that you like the food I made for you," Alex heard a voice say behind him, just as a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his torso and waist. A heartbeat later, he felt the unmistakable warmth and softness of Freya's bare breasts pressing directly against his back.
"I see that you are not wearing your shirt anymore," Alex said, glancing over his shoulder with a half-smile as he finished the last plate on the cart.
"I was feeling a little hot. Why, does it bother you that I'm topless?" Freya whispered in his ear in a sultry tone.
'She's really becoming more comfortable around me,' Alex thought, his smile widening. "Even in the impossible case that it bothers me, does it matter? I mean, we're currently in your mansion. By all means, you could walk around naked if you so wish."
"That's true, I could," Freya cooed, her voice playful. "But that would mean anyone allowed inside might see me in such a graceless state. I'd rather it be you and only you who gets to see me like this."
"What are you talking about? There's nothing graceless about your body—quite the opposite," Alex replied, shaking his head with an amused snort. "But you're right. I'd prefer to be the only man who sees you like this."
His eyes drifted down to the empty plates once more before lifting back to her with a curious grin. "Coming back to what you said—were you really the one who made all this?"
"Yes," Freya nodded, placing her cheek on Alex's shoulder. "Why, is it not good?"
"What are you saying now, it's absolutely delicious!" he exclaimed in an enthusiastic tone. "When did you have the time to learn how to cook, though?"
He was asking because just yesterday, he had followed Freya around the city as she completed one task after another, and if he could say anything, it was that her schedule was particularly charged. He often caught himself wondering if she even had a life beside her work.
"I haven't always been the matriarch of the Drazen family, you know," Freya spoke, her cheeks forming into something that looked like a pout.
"Who taught you to cook then?" Alex asked. "As I remember you saying, you weren't close to your parents, so it can't be your mother. So, who was it? Was it maybe that witch, Kizzarae?"
"Gods forbid," Freya chuckled. "Kizzarea cooking—if she ever managed to cook something without burning down the kitchen—would send you straight to the afterlife, and I'm not even joking. Unless it's a potion, never eat something Kizzarea cooked."
Alex wanted to joke about that, but seeing the serious expression on Freya's face, he gulped and nodded. "Then who taught you to cook?"
"Would you believe it if I said that it was thanks to an ability I once woke up with?" Freya said with a mysterious smile, tracing slow circles on his stomach with her fingertips.
"What kind of ability would help someone become a better cook?" Alex asked with a puzzled expression. However, as he thought about it, he realized that there was a chance an ability like that might actually exist.
Abilities came in all kinds of forms and shapes. Not every ability was meant to boost one's strength or turn someone into a deadly fighter. That was the reason why abilities were separated into categories and further divided into different tiers.
'Imagine someone wanting to be a fighter and awakening this ability—that would be hilarious,' he thought to himself with a chuckle.
That wasn't to say the ability was useless, though. The job of a cook was actually well-paid in Imperion, and who knows, perhaps this ability could even help the one who had it to immerse into the world of potion-making, allowing them to create potions without being a witch.
That was how abilities worked. There wasn't really a ceiling to what one could do if they invested time into learning and training their abilities.
In any case, whether an ability that made one a better cook—or taught one to cook—could help someone become a potion maker or not, the previous Alex would have still chosen to trade this ability over his [Soul Linkage] ability. Of course, now he knew better and wouldn't do that, but that just went to show how useless he had once thought that kind of ability to be.
As he remembered the other things Freya had told him about her "curse" and how it affected her though, Alex found himself thinking more and more that her mark wasn't a curse at all, but rather, a blessing.
Looking down at her arm, Alex spotted the bracelet that cast the illusion over it. Without giving her a chance to react, he reached out and tore it off.
"What are you doing?" Freya jolted, immediately reaching for the bracelet, a solemn expression settling on her face as the mark on her cheek slowly became visible.
"Stop," Alex said, gently grabbing her wrist to keep her from reclaiming it. "I remember telling you not to wear this around me, didn't I?" he asked, his eyes fixed on Freya—who, despite everything, still had her cheek resting on his shoulder.
Freya sighed and nodded. "Yes, you did say that," she admitted. "But I've worn this bracelet for years... it feels strange not to have it on. Like I'm missing something."
"I get that," Alex said softly, bringing a hand to her cheek and caressing it with care. "But you don't need to hide anything from me. Besides, I think you look even more beautiful with the mark. It makes you look like some kind of badass warrior."
Freya raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean 'look like' a badass? Just so you know, I am a pretty good fighter," she replied, a playful smile creeping onto her lips.
Alex was about to answer when he suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath them. It was subtle, barely noticeable—but not to him. And judging by the way Freya's expression turned deadly serious, she felt it too.
"Let me guess—this isn't something that normally happens around here, is it?"
"No. Not at all," Freya replied, shaking her head.
The ground shook again, more forcefully this time, and Alex let out a sigh. 'Guess the night won't be as peaceful as I hoped.'
Soon after, Freya stood up and began to get dressed, already preparing to head out. All the while, the tremors continued, growing in intensity, rhythm, and frequency—like distant footsteps approaching.
"Wait," Alex called, stopping her just before she rushed outside. "I'm coming with you."
He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, his smoke mantle materialized around his shoulders. "But not before this."
He pulled Freya into his arms and kissed her, slowly and tenderly.
They stayed like that for a moment, savoring the quiet before the storm, until they finally pulled away from each other.
"Now we can go," Alex said with a grin.
Freya nodded absentmindedly, her mind a little foggy from the kiss they shared.
As Alex opened the door, both of them—especially Freya—were taken aback to find Maya standing right behind it, her hand raised mid-air, just about to knock.
The door had swung open so suddenly that Maya flinched in surprise. But that shock was nothing compared to what she felt when she saw her mother standing behind Alex.
'Mom? What is she doing here of all places, in the middle of the night?' the young heiress wondered, her expression riddled with confusion.
Then all of a sudden, a certain suspicion began to crawl its way into Maya's mind. 'Wait… no. Forget it. That can't be,' she thought, frowning as she shook her head with conviction—almost violently, as if the more forcefully she rejected the idea, the faster it would vanish.
"W-What are you doing here in the middle of the night, Mother?" Maya finally managed to ask, though her voice trembled slightly.
Despite the initial shock she'd felt when Maya appeared, Freya had already regained her composure by the time the young heiress spoke. "I brought food to Sir Arcanor here and took the opportunity to discuss some important matters with him." As she said this, Freya stepped aside, revealing the cart now stacked with empty plates. "I was just about to leave."
At that moment, Freya silently thanked Alex for having ripped her pants earlier. If not for that, she wouldn't have changed into the more formal dress she now wore. Had she still been in her previous clothes, the situation would have looked far more suspicious than it already did.
"What are you doing here, kiddo?" Alex asked, changing the subject before Maya could ask another question.
"Actually, I was looking for you. We've been trying to find Mother," Maya said, suddenly recalling the urgency of her visit. Her eyes widened. "Quick, Mother—the city is under attack!"
Alex and Freya exchanged a tense glance. This sounded awfully familiar.