My Servant System

Chapter 223 222: From The Heart (Extra)

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Had a headache today, so here; can't write too well lol, dunno if I'll get anything else out today.

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Ria PoV

Getting up from my seat, I rolled out my aching shoulders before glancing over at the empty desk, sighing.

Where the hell was she..?

Moving over to the desk, I stared down at the empty chair with complicated feelings; I was happy for the break, but annoyed and worried that she was gone.

Ever since Jahi left, Chordeva and I had been much, much more active; both of us wanted another child, and while Julie having twins was something that overjoyed both of us...

I myself wanted another child; to raise a son or daughter that didn't need to worry about being a fighter or killer.

When I had been given the choice as a young girl about who I was to marry, I had chose House Asmodia with that in mind, but still...

Knowing my daughter would have to risk her life and stain her hands with blood...

It didn't sit right with me, not now.

Not after I myself had waded through scorched battlefields littered with hundreds of dead soldiers.

Not after I myself had reaped the lives of men and women fighting for a cause they themselves didn't believe in.

After that, I didn't want my child to have to experience that, but...

I married into House Asmodia.

As such, our eldest, Jahi Asmodia, would go through the same harsh training Chordeva did, forging her from that raw, yet deadly self into one of the most proficient killers this Empire had ever produced.

Jahi would eventually find herself under the tutelage of one of the Knights of Cinder, or even the Empress herself.

However, that isn't going to happen for a few years; she needs to graduate from the Academy first.

Sighing, I exited the office and walked through the large, yet empty estate.

It had been like this ever since I had visited the first time a decade and a half ago.

Asking a few of the maids and butlers about Chordeva, I frowned again when none of them gave me a straight answer; each one would look away and lie through their teeth to me.

Annoying...

Stalking through the halls, I searched every nook and cranny for my wife; leaving her alone for long never was a good idea.

My face darkened as I recalled how I had learned that lesson.

Back at the Academy, before the first dance of our first year, I had left Chordeva alone too often; I was worried about my studies more than her, even though my free time was dedicated to being near her...

However, after I had watched her invite a random bunny bitch to the dance alongside me...

Well, even now I felt like skinning the girl in front of Chordeva, letting her know that she was MINE and MINE alone...

Sure, we both loved Julie, but...

Chordeva belonged to me; I belonged to her.

Till death do us part, no?

However, back than, we had made no such vow; Chordeva had found herself inside the beds of many women, and that bunny was just one of a growing list.

After watching her invite her to the dance, my heart had felt like someone had sliced it to pieces and ground it to dust.

I just... couldn't understand what I was doing wrong.

I was strong.

I was, by the whispers and words of our classmates, beautiful.

I was loyal.

I was devoted.

So why..?

I was meant to be her wife, and yet she seemed to be reluctant to claim me.

And that dance had almost done it in completely for me; I was ready to go home and beg, plead to my mother to cancel the marriage.

Julie was the reason I hadn't; that was why I had accepted her offers years ago.

I let her believe it was of goodwill and for our past friendship, but...

It wasn't; it was settling a debt, one that I wanted gone.

Sure, I was glad that I had accepted her offer, as I found myself loving the Dogkin and her daughter quite a bit, but...

If it wasn't for that night, where she convinced me to go all out, to convince Chordeva that I was the one for her...

My life would be much, much different right now.

Continuing my rounds of the estate, I grew more frustrated at the lack of my tall Demoness.

"Where the hells..."

Finding myself on the roof, I stared over our rolling lands with a narrowed gaze, trying to spot her somewhere out in the fields or gardens.

Frowning more, I was tempted to go out to town and buy a custom set of chains, but I'll wait till after her explanation...

Hopping off the roof, I resumed my search of the estate, slowly falling back into my memories.

Before the Academy, I had, surprisingly, been a relatively normal girl.

I liked dressing up, I read romance novels, hell, I even tried my hand at writing one...

They were the stereotypical girly things, but...

"I like woman who stand up for themselves and take what they want."

That line that Chordeva had said to me while she was busy training had stuck with me.

I knew it was true; the women she showed an actual interest in, not just one of lust, had been more feisty or independent women.

So, when I had went home after that trip, I pleaded to my mother to teach me how to fight; how to make Chordeva look my way and pick ME.

Her response had been to toss a sword my way and mutter "About damn time...", instantly throwing me into a grueling regimen and shaping me from a normal noble girl into a fighter.

My Lightning Mana had been honed with help from my aunt, my swordplay and footwork had been been from my mother, and my father had taught me the finer things of nobility; etiquette, financing, organizing...

Yeah, my father had been a peace-loving, calm, laid back elf, while my mother had been a proficient assassin and warrior elf...

How the two managed to get together and have no troubles their entire marriage is still beyond me; Chordeva and I are similar enough in many aspects, and yet we're at one another's throats over some of the smallest things.

Reaching the large hall that we had used to host one dance, I opened the doors to find Chordeva waiting, a smirk on her lips as she adjusted her suit.

Stepping inside with a frown, I looked around at the clean hall in mild confusion, before returning my eyes to my wife.

"What is..?"

Gesturing around, I raised a brow as she just continued to smirk at me, before stepping forwards and kneeling in front of me.

"Ria Haniel, may I, Chordeva Asmodia, have the pleasure of a dance?"

She gently lifted my hand to her lips, and I stared at her in silence for a second.

If this had been the me of the past, I would be blushing and stuttering over myself, but now...

"You have three separate papers that required your immediate attention, you know that right?"

Sighing, Chordeva stood up and took a deep breath, closing her eyes before staring down at me.

"Ria... hah..."

Reaching forwards, she grabbed my hands and dragged me forwards, placing one of them on her shoulder while the other remained on hers.

"Just... dance."

Giving her a curt nod, I swiftly fell into the rhythm of a waltz, wondering what had come over her.

"So... you remember how I brought up that bunny girl?"

Glaring at her, I reminded silent, waiting for her to continue.

"Well..."

She bit her lip, a small smile on her lips as her ruby eyes grew soft.

"I still feel terrible for that night... I realize now how... badly I had treated you up to that point."

I nodded, still glaring at her.

She knew what she had done; how much she had hurt me, how close she had been to losing me.

I reminded her at every point of our marriage; whenever she irritated me, I reminded her.

Was it healthy?

Probably not.

However, it was my way of getting back at her; to let her taste an ounce of the pain I had felt during our early youth.

"And while I was thinking about it... I realized that we had never danced; just the two of us, with no need to change partners for etiquette, no drunkenness clouding our vision... just... us, in this moment."

Nodding again, I continued to stare at her, making the Demoness cough.

"So..."

Sighing, I leaned up and kissed her lips, before saying "So you decided that NOW would be the time to do this? When you have documents requiring your attention?"

She pouted at me, muttering "I thought women liked this sort of... spontaneous, romantic thing?"

Rolling my eyes, I said "Not when the entire motivation of it was 'I bedded some random woman when I was betrothed to you, and after recalling her I decided to do said romantic thing'..."

Seeing her freeze, I rolled my eyes again before grinning at her, releasing her before cupping her cheeks.

Pulling her down, I kissed her hard before saying "If you must know, I was preparing to go have custom chains forged..."

That made her smile, only to freeze as I continued, whispering "So that I could chain you up so I would always know where you were at..."

Keeping her face near mine, I kissed her again, only releasing her after I said "It's appreciated, Chordeva, and I can tell that, in a twisted way, this comes from your heart. I can, really."

Watching as she pursed her lips and nodded, I added "Really, I do appreciate it, but we have work we need to do; if we can keep a month to two in advance, we can create time to go visit Jahi or allow ourselves a week with the twins when they're born. That's why I'm adamant about getting this done..."

Seeing her face brighten, I turned and made my way to the door, glancing over my shoulder and smirking as I said "Besides... if you want to show your appreciation for me, you should get all that work done so we can retire early tonight, my love~!"

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12/07/2022

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