NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28: Chapter 25
(This chapter was uploaded on Saturday 15/February/2025 3:00 PM, timezone GMT+3)
('1), ('2), ('3), etc. means that there is some explaining for the thing in the chapter's footnotes.
"..." small moment of silence.
"Talking"
[Different Language Dialogue (Different from the language of the PoV)] (What language it is: Accent if necessary)
"He-" Someone was interrupted.
'Inner Monologue'
{Skills' names, chanting, spell keys and spells' names}
(PoV)
(Flashback, including the text)
Don't shy from commenting on typos and/or inconsistencies. That and/or suggesting a modification to certain things that didn't make sense to you.
I hope you enjoy reading this chapter.
(Line Break)
(Friday, 16/10/1058)
(In The Twilight Manor's Library (Again))
(Riveria's PoV)
Now that they are gone, I should prepare all the materials I can find in the library on human anatomy. I should test him first before believing his claim of knowing some revolutionary knowledge on non-magical medicine.
(3rd person PoV)
Henryk returned to the library as promised and was not at all surprised to find question-filled papers spread on the table. Riveria was scribbling further on yet another paper, not being done with adding questions.
"Am I supposed to come inside now? Or...?" Henryk wondered aloud whether he should come in now.
"Come in. Start solving the questions on the papers I was done writing first. I will continue writing questions until I am satisfied, to verify the extent of your knowledge" Riveria got another stack of papers prepared, startling some of the onlookers. Some of the hostile looks Henryk got earlier in the day, especially from the elves, became pitying glances. Everyone but Henryk stepped away, hiding behind the nearby bookshelves. They wanted nothing to do with Riveria, who entered a very focused, studious mental state.
"Heh, weaklings" Henryk sneered, noting how it made him feel a dreadful cringe. "Sorry, I wanted to feel how it is to be Bete. It felt horrible" He wilted into his chair, grabbing a paper from the stack to solve.
'This paper has questions about the numbers of bones, glands, muscles and their groups. This one is simply mentioning their names' Finishing the paper at an astonishing speed, he grabbed the next one.
'This one is about the functions of each muscle group and their individual contributions within that function' He solved this one with flying colors.
(Sometime into the session)
'Papa~ Fey wants to sleep with Tiona tonight~' Fey made a ridiculous request.
'I'll make sure of some things before approving of that' Henryk sent back to her.
'Just how did this come to be?' He wondered. As he did, he put the pen down.
"What? Remembered something important to do?" Riveria raised her head from the papers.
"I remembered that I need to ask Loki about Tiona's personality, her true personality" Henryk said.
"I could tell you now that she is who she appears to be at first glance. Tiona isn't one for deception, she could not pull an act if she wanted" Riveria said as she continued writing, assuming that Henryk would return and resume answering her questions.
After asking around, Henryk went to Loki's current location, Finn's office. He knocked on the door and was allowed in.
"Do you wish to ask something?" Finn said attentively.
"I wish to ask something of Loki" Henryk said.
"What is it, Henryk?" Loki asked, lowering the paper she was just reading.
"Fey wants to sleep in Tiona's room tonight, but I need to make sure of her true character before allowing her to" Henryk took a breath in as his features hardened. "Is Tiona Hiryute the same inside and out?"
"... That's an odd thing to ask, understandable though" Loki debated if she should make it cryptic or not but decided against it on a whim. "She is. Your daughter's safe sleeping with her" She said that to test Henryk's attitude towards her. To her pleasure and shock, he simply accepted it calmly.
"Does she destroy her bed regularly?" Henryk deadpanned.
"No, almost never. People of her level learn to passively control their strength at all times, even while sleeping" Loki said, replying with her own deadpan.
"Thank you for your time, Loki. Now, if you'll excuse me" Henryk said as he was starting to turn to leave.
"Wait" Loki stopped him, eyes slightly open. "Why did you take my words for granted? From the moment you came in, you came in as if knowing for a fact that I'm a deity of deception and lies"
"Let's say that I want to try believing in other people's words once again, and a person who got this many people carefree around them couldn't be an unrepentant liar. With that in mind, it also wouldn't benefit you to lie to me about this subject, so I chose to believe you" Henryk said, completely disregarding the atmosphere.
"..." Loki looked at him, stupefied out of her mind. "WHY!" She exploded humorously, only to have her face shoved into a sofa by Henryk.
(Dusk)
(AN: For your knowledge, they started sometime around 11AM and were done sometime around 8PM. They were here for 9 hours straight, not eating or drinking anything during this whole time, totally focused on being thorough with the evaluation process. Well, except that mini episode of allowing Fey to sleep with Tiona)
"Are you satisfied yet?" Henryk asked, much to Riveria's amazement.
"Your answers are all either correct or in need of verification. But, for now, nothing is confirmed wrong" Riveria said, finally putting down the pen in her hand. "But I have to ask, what do you know that we don't?"
"Do you know what cells are? Bacteria? Viruses? Do you know the finer parts about the genetic material and its composition?" Henryk asked. He started recollecting all that he knew about biology after seeing Riveria's intrigued expression.
'We have grasped some basic concepts on what cells are, but nothing about the other three. Bacteria, viruses and genetic material, was it?' Regardless, she did not ask him about them here.
"Let's go to Loki. She could be the definitive proof of your answers' validity" Riveria suggested.
"Lady Riveria, can that be done tomorrow? I need to go out for something" Henryk said, keeping a composed and respectful attitude. He found reason to respect Riveria as she sought out the truth thoroughly, and to also avoid the elves' wrath. Constant provocation leads to escalating conflicts.
Riveria, for her part, did not show her dissatisfaction at the shift in treatment. She felt refreshed when she finally met someone who treats her as an equal in status, seeing as she wanted to abandon her life as royalty. But when his mannerism suddenly became that of a non-royal towards royalty, the suffocating feeling she thought would not be between them settled back in.
"Why did you suddenly change how you call me?" She asked without showing a hint of her inner thoughts.
"I normally act and talk the way I want, that is unless I have a form of respect towards the other party. In your case, lady Riveria, I started feeling respect for someone who seeks the truth and is thorough in doing so. I hope I can hold onto that respect for as long as I live" Henryk said.
"If you feel respect, then show it properly!" An elf suddenly burst out, forgetting himself.
"And to that, I say shut up. This matter is between us two, not a place for the likes of you to stuff your nose into" Henryk retorted before calmly turning to face Riveria again, indirectly asking her to allow him to leave.
"You should go now if it is urgent" Riveria said. She wanted this matter not to escalate and allowed him to leave. 'That was a smart move. If he asked for my permission to leave, and I allowed it, not many elves would dare cut him off. Did he think that far?... Of course he did. He planned far ahead, enough to defeat an inattentive Bete. Someone who did that should also be able to realize the dynamics between us elves and work around them' Riveria started seeing him in better light. But a sense of worry started worming its way into her mind. 'But could we really tie down such a person? We should find ways to tie him down. I will need to talk with Finn and Gareth before someone does something hasty'
(Streets of Orario)
(Henryk's PoV)
'Fey should be sleeping by now. Her mind's having some serious gymnastics, something that happens while dreaming'
I walked to a bakery I saw on our way to the manor. On my way, I had some time to think about the day. Something very unnerving cropped up.
'Wait! Where did Bete go? As a high-ranking member, even if he was demoted, I'd still see him around. Where did he go in the morning? Why didn't he attend the obligatory breakfast gathering?'
Hearing a ringing sound, I realised that I had reached the baker and entered while lost in thought. Of course, I had to duck down as the doorway was low for my height.
"Greetings" I didn't call the woman at the reception with any formalities, attempting to avoid calling her with the wrong word.
"Greetings!" She replied energetically.
"Do you have strawberry cakes here?" I asked as I looked left and right while walking to the counter.
"We do those on order, since the strawberries tend to wilt and spoil quickly when exposed to normal temperature for any amount of time" She said. "Would you like to order one to be ready by tomorrow?"
"Thank you. I would like a small cake that's enough for me and my wife to eat together" I said.
Although she said that it was supposed to be ready tomorrow, she might have changed her mind as I ordered something small. It was evident on her face.
"If it's a serving for only two people, then I could whip it up quickly!" She said before storming into the kitchen, leaving the shop unattended.
'Really? Isn't she too trusting? Or is there some advanced magical defense that I don't know about?'
'Anyway, I need to arrange my plans with heavy lessons for Riveria. That will help me adjust my body modifications that I want'
As I thought over what I wanted, time flew by. It was almost an hour later when the young woman came from the back room covered in flour and sweat. A very disgusting combo under normal circumstances, but something I could appreciate in this instance. It meant that she hurriedly made it with my time in mind. Not to mention, the cake looked and tasted well. Her thoughtfulness in giving me a sample is appreciated.
"How much is this?" I said as I prepared my bag of coins.
"This is on the house! This time!" She said with a flush on her face.
'Is it because of me saying that it was for my wife? Is she one of those that wish well for couples? I can't leave her store without paying anything at all'
I sighed as I pulled out what amounted to a few thousand Valis and put them on the counter. Her reaction amused me as her eyes widened. She then pushed the coins back at me.
"I can't take these! I already gave the cake to you as a gift! And gifts aren't paid for!" She insisted.
"Then expect me to return. Good night" I said my goodbyes before turning to leave.
"Bring your wife with you the next time! Alright?!" She said. I merely raised my hand silently as a reply.
'So, as I thought, it was a marketing scheme. Rather, I think it's fair to use it. And if this is as delicious as the sample, then it's worth returning for'
(In Henryk and Shira's room)
(3rd person PoV)
When Shira woke up at night, she found the letter. She opened and read its contents.
(Henryk's letter)
Shira, know that I simply returned you to our bed. When you wake up and I am not in the room, I will most probably be either in the library or the kitchen. If not in either, I might have gone out to search for a blacksmith to be contracted with. Maybe I'll bring the strawberry cake that you love.
With love,
Henryk
Ps. Think about something to ask of me when I return. I'll do my best to accomplish it within my power.
(End of the letter)
She shed a tear as she squished the paper closer to her chest.
Sometime later, she heard the door opening.
She jumped at Henryk as he entered through the door, clinging to him. He managed to keep the cake safe and sound.
"Did you sleep well, my wife?" Henryk said.
"Stop teasing me" Shira said candidly. After a short pause, she added something. "I like the way you called me your wife, though" Her face still squished to Henryk's shoulder.
Sighing, Henryk walked to their bed. He placed the cake box on the bedside table as he sat down on the bed, sinking in. 'I don't like it. I would've liked a rougher mattress. But I need to surrender this so Shira could sleep in a mattress so soft'
"Shira, I have something to confess to you... Make them two things" Henryk said. He wanted to pull Shira away, to talk to her while looking at her beautiful amethyst eyes. But he didn't. He was considerate of her emotional state. He instead wrapped her in his arms and brought her head deeper into his shoulder.
"What are they?" She asked coolly, in complete contrast with her actions.
"The first is that you can act like yourself. There isn't anyone who'd treat you like a child here, not when our captain is a short, child-like man over 40" He said. When Shira shook for a split second, he tightened his arms around her. "Don't worry. Rather, it'll feel liberating to not act at all, even if for a moment"
"Can I? Even if I was a child inside?" Shira asked fearfully. Her emotional state was a wreck from earlier in the morning, and she still did not completely recover.
"I saw that child in some of your actions, suffocated, struggling against others' opinions and expectations. Release that child, Shira. Children grow by experiencing things freely, not by following others' expectations of them" Henryk said with the warmest tone of voice he could manage.
"What will others say about me then? A married woman! A grown up! Thoughtlessly acting like an inexperienced child!" Shira's voice cracked multiple times saying that.
"You could always signore them. I'll protect you. I'm your part of your family, after all. A family's there to protect each other in all forms and ways" Henryk laid on his side, letting Shira lay on her side as well.
"Henryk, what did you expect when you agreed to marry me that night?" Shira asked him with a muted, almost choked voice.
"Not much. I just expected you to stay by my side for the rest of our lives" Henryk said. By now, the hand on the back of Shira's head started rubbing it gently.
'Is it a hormonal instability response? Is her skill responsible for this? Are there any more changes that it's bringing?' Henryk started theorizing.
Shira's hold of him became much tighter, with so much strength that it might have snapped a normal person's back in half. It felt desperate. After a while spent in silence, Shira calmed down a bit.
"Thanks, Henry" Shira said, embarrassed of herself. "But what is that other thing you wanted to say?" She wanted to shift the subject of their conversation from her to something else.
"The other thing is how we should eat this strawberry cake before it becomes stale. Stale cake isn't gonna taste good, not at all" Henryk whispered in Shira's ear.
"Can I really act like myself with no constraints?" Shira asked.
"Yeah, you always could" Henryk said. "Though, as we eat the cake, did you think about what you want from me?" Henryk asked her.
Shira unwrapped her arms from around him. She went to wash her tear-stained face, only noticing that she walked on her own after reaching the sink. She looked at her body and saw nothing wrong. That was until she felt goosebumps running up her spine, stimming from a place that should not be. Her ta-
"WHAT?!" She screamed. She then rushed out, throwing her gown to the side. She held her tail out for Henryk to see with disbelief clear in her eyes. She forgot, however, that she was naked under the gown.
"Shira..." Henryk pointed at her, making her run back to the bathroom in a hurry to fetch her gown. As she ran back in, Henryk got a very good look at her new limb, her tail.
"Hernyk!" Shira fumbled Henryk's name, not noticing it from her hyper-focus on her tailing matter. ('1: I must guiltily admit that I regularly write Hernyk as Hernyk.... WHY! wHy diD iT hAPp'N aGA- (No, that one wasn't intentional, and I lost my fuse laughing at it))
"I don't know who this Hernyk is, but I can relay the message to him, that you're concerned with your growing tail as well" Henryk was barely holding a laugh, visibly shaking. Shira's ears pulled back as she snapped and jumped at him.
"Don't laugh!" She tried sealing his mouth with the palms of her hands.
After a hissy fit, coming from Shira of course, they settled a bit as they started eating the cake.
"Shira, I must say, your skill seems to be slowly transforming you into a more feline creature with a human as its base" Henryk said as he silenced whatever argument she had with a bite of the strawberry cake, deliberately choosing the part that had more strawberry.
'Unfair...' Shira pouted as she munched on the cake, silently judging Henryk with her eyes.
"What I want you to consider's that your body may keep changing. Try to embrace it. Consider it a form of growing up that you didn't see coming" He wiped a bit of cream off her cheek and ate it.
Shira swallowed what remained in her mouth then made her opinion apparent.
"I... am scared, Henry. I fear becoming something other than myself" Shira looked down, unconsciously growling.
"Fear not. I can almost guarantee you that none of your family members cares that much if you change appearances. And if you changed your personality as well, then that's just a part of the process of growing up" He finished his speech by stuffing another bite of the cake into her mouth, making her disgruntled.
"Wo-" "What makes you fixated on my affection? Don't get me wrong, I'll give it to you. I just don't get the fixation" Henryk cut her off, not wanting her to wallow in her negative thoughts.
"Are you seriously asking me that? Is there something wrong with a wife desiring her husband's affection? I want all the cuddles and kisses I could get from you" Shira remembered something that made her dissatisfied. "That's not to mention, other girls my age probably already had at least one child, maybe two if they were lucky!" She sighed. "But some part of me tells me not to make one now. And so, I'm willing to settle it with simple kisses and cuddles for the time being" Shira didn't know, but her mannerism while saying that triggered something deeply rooted within Henryk. Something primal, something very possessive, his desire to protect. Maybe, just maybe, it also triggered a more carnal part of him that he didn't let out.
"Right, I want to ask about something" Henryk asked.
"Go ahead" Shira said curiously.
"Why are all marriage vows in Preblica made under Grysia's spring blooms?" Henryk wondered why it was done that way ever since he saw his first spring in the village.
"That goes back a few centuries, when people noticed that people making vows under Grysia's spring blooms almost never divorce, even if they had a severe conflict beforehand. As for the torch! It became part of the tradition to further cement the point of swearing to die before even thinking of a divorce!" Shira enthusiastically said, brimming with energy.
"Say, Fey's sleeping in Tiona's room" Henryk said as he pushed Shira down, not being forceful just in case. Seeing as she did not resist, he continued. "I actually attempted to stop her, but she insisted. And seeing as Loki described her as a forward and transparent person, I have reason to believe that Fey's safe sleeping with her new friend" He then whispered into Shira's ears. "Do you want to do it?"
Shira's brain almost short-circuited and chose immediate agreement. but her reason held up just for long enough to realize something.
"This is a test, right?" She said through a flushed face that rivaled the strawberries she ate a moment ago.
Henryk laughed as he took himself off her, making her feel very disappointed. She got pouty.
"You're right!" Before she got the chance, he kissed her on the lips.
"What kind of test was it?" Shira pushed him aside, frustrated that he used this situation as a test. They sat up to face each other properly.
"Don't be angry. This is only a one-time thing. I won't test you with that again. As for the purpose, it's to see if you were gonna fall into some over-reliance on it. You passed by catching on, and I'll give you yet another unconditional thing" Henryk said.
"What about this? Tell me a bit about your past, how you got near the village out of nowhere" Shira said. She expected him to become more defensive or lash out. But instead, he stretched his hand out for her. When she put her hand in, he dragged her into an embrace.
"Can we stay like this as I tell you?" Henryk asked.
"Henry, I won't run away just because of this!" Shira giggled. "Everyone in our village agrees that as long as the person causes no problems, not a soul should ask about their origins and how they got to the village!"
"And you want to know for the sake of knowing?" Henryk said before he brought her closer within his embrace, as if wanting to trap her in forever. 'I can't avoid this forever. I can't keep on ignoring it. I... will gamble sharing it with Shira. Whatever happens, it'll be a hallmark of our relationship' ('2)
"You're embraced by a dead man, Shira" He said.
"That's... shocking to hear. I won't lie about that. But what does it mean?" She took it in stride, thinking that he was either joking or leaving some very important context. Lucky her, she guessed right as he left out some very important context.
"I died and came back to life. You remember that bear I killed? The one I brought up as a joke?" Henryk said, keeping silent to let the information sink in. "That thing cut open my throat. I bled to death under its weight" He started shaking slightly after saying that. "At first, my eyes stopped working from the shock. Then, after a while, my senses of smell and touch disappeared. My senses of balance and time were a mess.... My body progressively felt very cold and unresponsive as I slowly lost feeling on where my arms and legs were in relation to my body... I lost feeling of the tips of my limbs first, gradually losing more of my body until the encroaching death reached my neck, where all that I was remained..." His voice cracked. "Shira..." His arms unconsciously went to wrap around her shoulders and upper back, fearing that this little comfort of having someone close disappear again, like how he lost even himself.
He finally opened up about something traumatic he experienced. His own death, it haunted him and made his nightmares worse. Remembering the feeling of his throat getting cut open, he also remembered the feeling of his senses fading out one by one, until his sense of self faded with them. That was the scariest part, he thought. He felt as if... he was an insignificant being. As if the sky collapsed and its entire weight came down bearing on him, crushing him between it and the earth. It was the worst feeling one could experience while progressively getting paralyzed.
'Henry...' Shira did not know what to do. She simply defaulted to hugging him. "I am here and will do my best to remain with you" There were no more words between them as Shira cautiously rubbed his back as she kept a hand on one of his shoulders.
That night, some part of Henryk felt better as he slept.
'I should avoid bringing it up again' Shira thought, not completely understanding what Henryk had just said to her. She thought that he hallucinated parts of it in a near-death scenario, that it was completely made-up by his mind playing tricks on him. She thought so because the proof was right beside her, Henryk being alive.
(End of Chapter)
'1:
It was already explained up there.
'2:
Hallmark (British origin): "A mark stamped on articles of gold, silver, or platinum by the British assay offices, certifying their standard of purity."
Take it as a mark of purity for their relationship, what Henryk meant by his thoughts.
(Line Break)
Greetings again, dear readers
Although it appears longer because I went on a lunch break, this only took yet another hour... Is inspiration coming back now of all times? My brain doesn't feel as jammed up as it usually does as of late! Can I take this positively?!
I even thought of a way to make it easier to write things going forward. Since this is a slice-of-life type of story, why should I not write each day's diary first, then convert it into a full chapter if I saw that it has the potential? Give me your opinion on this. It is important going forward.
Now, this is a bit of an awkward chapter to write. I had to be very careful and I know that I still missed some things. Tell me, what do you think I should do to improve it?
That last part with Henryk gambling and telling Shira about him having died and came back to life, do you think I should remove or alter it? And if yes, how? I see no way forward from there.
Something I forgot to ask about is the whole deal with Henryk having the private lessons with Riveria. Do you think it is actually in character for Riveria to agree to them? If not, why? And how do you think I could improve it?
Stay well, ladies and gentlemen.
Ps. It's hard to come up with titles for these chapters 😥