The Demon Queen's Royal Consort-Chapter 73 - Etiquette and Good Manners - II

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"Glenn!?" Selene asked, startled.

'Holy shit, what did I just do?!'

Selene's eyes locked onto Glenn's.

Everything around me turned dark. My vision trembled, and all I could see were two volcanic gemstones staring back at me. My muscles locked up, my hands still resting on her back. My breath stopped, and my heartbeat raced like mad.

My body shuddered, as if I were falling into an endless abyss. Every hair on my body stood on end, and my mind desperately screamed danger signals.

'Am I going to die?' That was the only thought in my head.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... I... I wasn't thinking... Of course I wasn't, if I had been, I wouldn't have done this... I just acted on impulse... I don't know what happened, before I realized it, my body moved on its own... I didn't mean to..." Glenn desperately tried to explain.

"Hihihihi..."

Selene's laughter pulled me out of the abyss I'd fallen into. Light returned to my vision, my heartbeat calmed, my breathing steadied, and my trembling body stilled.

Selene buried her face back into the pillow.

"Lower!"

It took me a moment to process what was happening.

"What?" I asked.

"Lower," Selene replied, gesturing for me to massage the middle of her back.

"Phew..."

'Looks like today isn't the day I die after all.'

As if nothing had happened, the overwhelming dread and sense of impending death vanished, returning the atmosphere to its previous relaxed state.

Glenn, still uneasy, focused intently on massaging Selene's back, making circular motions with his thumbs, using the pressure of his palms and wrists to work out the stiffness. At this moment, all his concentration was devoted solely to this task.

"Glenn!?"

Selene's voice startled him.

"Yes?"

"Harder!"

"I'm trying, but the position... is a bit awkward," he said, still bent at an odd angle beside the sofa.

"Sit."

"What?" I asked, exasperated.

"I said sit. If you're going to give a massage, do it properly!"

I gulped at Selene's commanding tone.

"Alright!"

Carefully, I placed a pillow over her legs and hesitantly sat on it.

"Continue."

Our bodies touched, an electric sensation running through my skin, agitating my cells, driving my neurons wild. But I steeled myself, focusing solely on the task at hand.

"Right, right!"

I resumed applying pressure to her back with my hands.

Massaging Selene felt... strange. How could a body so beautiful and seemingly delicate, with milky, flawless skin that looked forged within a star, be this tense?

It felt like I was trying to knead iron with my bare hands. My internal energy had been surging nonstop to strengthen my muscles since I entered the room, but I hadn't truly exerted my full strength until now.

You know what? Back on Earth, I suffered a lot from being bedridden in hospitals for too long.

Muscles naturally deteriorate, burns appear on the skin, untreated nerves atrophy, and fibers grow increasingly fragile.

But I came from a wealthy family and always had access to the best masseurs in the world. It was one of the few good memories I carried from Earth.

Recalling that same feeling, I began pressing the spots I remembered as the most relaxing and pleasurable during my own massages. My fingers glided over her skin, though her blouse got in the way a little.

Applying enough force to crush a large rock, my fingers began leaving slight indentations on her skin. I could feel knots of tension loosening behind her ribs, traveling up to her trapezius.

Her muscles were rigid, as if she'd been holding up thousands of kilos without rest.

Seconds turned to minutes, and every now and then, she let out a relaxed groan, encouraging me to keep going.

"Glenn?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you upset?" Selene asked sweetly.

"Upset about what?"

"You know. The whole combat ordeal, the royal decree, and everything with Elian."

"Phew... I'd like to say no, but..."

"I see."

Another brief, awkward silence settled between us.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Can't I?"

"You can, it's just... There's no point now that it's all over."

"I just wanted to hear it from you!" Selene admitted. "I know you understand why I did it, but... I'm sorry."

Her words momentarily destabilized Glenn's emotions.

Of course, I knew why everything had happened. Status, fame, power, prestige, evolution, these were the minimum requirements to become Selene's royal consort.

If there was one thing Glenn understood well, it was the power of narrative. Narrative fueled legends, which in turn dictated the course of history. And clearly, the royal decree and the duels against this generation's prodigies, so early in my awakening, were the perfect, unprecedented narrative in the demon kingdom.

The perfect narrative to one day secure the position I knew I couldn't escape.

'You're mine!', a phrase that constantly echoed in Glenn's mind.

"I know... It's just, you could've warned me beforehand. It might've been easier to accept... I think."

"Do you really think you would've accepted if we'd asked for your opinion?" she countered. "Would you have believed you could achieve what you did?"

"I think..."

"Glenn, the truth!" Selene pressed.

"I think... it would've been impossible."

"Point to me, then!"

"Point to you? Since when was this an argument competition?" I asked bluntly.

"Since right now, since I won, of course!" Selene replied even more shamelessly.

"Phew..."

A light, relaxed atmosphere settled over the room. Glenn, though annoyed, knew he had no right to question things he'd already come to understand. And of course, Selene was the queen, she could do as she pleased.

"You did very well. Far better than any of us thought possible."

"Thanks, I guess. Would've been better if I could've just kicked those warriors' asses with my sword," I grumbled. "Pretending to be a fragile mage all the time is a pain."

"Hihihi... Some things are better left hidden. Like, say, using your third affinity in an official duel, something I distinctly remember forbidding you from doing."

"Cough... Cough..." I choked on my own saliva at her reprimand. "Uh... That was just once. You know, I didn't want to lose with the queen watching from the stands."

Selene slowly lifted her head, glanced back slightly, and fixed me with a questioning look.

"So your excuse was to flatter the queen?"

"Yeah, sure. The epic final duel between an early-stage awakener and the heir of a renowned champion-rank family. Where the queen's pawn pulled off a magnificent last-second victory," I said sarcastically.

"Hihihi," Selene laughed freely, resting her head back on the pillow. "Fine, one point to you."

'That point came fast.'

"Glenn..."

"Yes?"

"Never use that term near me again," she said imperiously.

A shiver ran down my spine. The coldness in her voice was palpable. This time, she seemed genuinely angry, not at me, but angry all the same.

'Why is she so upset?'

"Sorry, it won't happen again."

"Good. Higher up."

"What?"

"Your hands, higher up!"

"Ahh..."

Selene guided me, and I realized my hands had unconsciously drifted to the upper curve of her backside. My eyes widened, and I quickly returned to working on her arms and shoulders.

"Why are you so tense? I thought people at your level didn't need to worry about things like this."

"We don't. I can go months without sleep, food, or water. I can stay in the same position for years, maybe decades. Losing a limb isn't even considered serious damage to my body."

"Then why are you like this?"

"Phew..." Selene sighed. "I'm still the queen. I have duties. You know, the most important thing in the cultivation world is ensuring your mind keeps pace with your body, and vice versa."

She stretched slightly before continuing.

"There are some situations that require my personal attention. I was in a dungeon," she admitted.

"A dungeon? One that needed your direct involvement? How dangerous was it?"

"Very dangerous. The most troublesome kind there is."

"Calamity-class?"

"That too. But the real complication was temporal dilation."

"Temporal dilation?" I murmured.

"They're not common. Most dilate time by one to five times."

"Five days in the dungeon equals one day here? There was nothing about that in the library."

"Correct. And we're still looking for a librarian for your pavilion."

'My pavilion?'

"So, how long were you in the dungeon?"

"Nine months!"

My brain short-circuited at the news. My hands faltered, and disbelief washed over me.

"You spent nine months inside a dungeon with a team?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes... But not with a team."

"Then who with? Master Elian and Lesley?"

"No. The queen doesn't work with teams. Meanwhile, only five days passed here."

My throat went dry. Understanding dawned on me, and I felt deeply ashamed.

I came here with all my arguments ready, prepared to confront Selene about the injustice I'd endured over the past thirty days. About how things could've been more transparent, how she hadn't even shown up to half my battles, and especially about that damn banquet I wasn't even informed of.

And look at me now, swallowing my pride in front of perhaps the strongest person in this world.

"A fifty-five-fold dilation," I choked out. "That's why you're in this state," I concluded.

"Yes."

'Phew... I'm pathetic.'