"Will you tell me what you were crying about now?"

  Despite everyone else having gotten up to leave the bedroom for various reasons, Shiela even bringing Celia and Rou breakfast to share, the two remained to simply spend time together. Affection naturally got food from Shiela too. Just a taste, as she didn't /need/ to eat.

  "You'll have to wait until after."

  Celia smacked Rou's chest lightly, "Don't go too far with the teasing. I know you don't want me to treat the time limit like it's there, but don't… at least humor me?"

  Rou sighed and pressed a soft kiss to Celia's mouth before admitting, "Someone I knew, that I don't believe you ever met, died." she was silent as he reached into a nearby aethernode and pulled out a pair of swords - ones that were designed based off his own idea. Long, curved swords with a handle enough to use with two hands, and a grip he could slip his fingers through like knuckle guards and get more force. Or at least so he thought. They weren't as heavy as one might think, especially as he sat them down beside the pair. But when Celia went to lift it, she wasn't able to. Even with both hands and trying as hard as she could.

  This surprised even Rou before he heard in his head a response that made sense.

  "It's the souls. Silly as it sounds, those swords are only for you and nothing can change that. Perhaps a high-dimensional being might be able to manage but soul-laden objects are somewhat special even for us."

  "As Affection has explained… it would seem the friend of mine who died? He and his friend put their souls inside. They were blacksmiths and decided they were going to make one last piece of art before their time was gone. Selfish bastards…"

  The tone in his voice made clear he was still sore about it.

  Celia listened and nodded, wondering if he would feel just as upset once she was gone.

  If she was gone.

  That faint hope hurt, but also brought a warmth to her that she hadn't felt since she was a child.

  Painfully hopeful at this point.

  Closing her eyes, she leaned against Rou and hugged him rather firmly before asking, "Did you have any plans for today?"

  "Besides you? Not yet."

  That got a laugh out of her before looking over. "Do we need to ask for privacy somehow?"

  The thought that had crossed her mind got a small laugh out of Rou who thought about it and realized he didn't have a good way to do just that. "My family aren't the type to barge in, me and Millet are… fairly close as well, so they've gotten used to at least peeking first. And her younger siblings know by this point to stay out of the room without permission."

  Celia nodded and took the opportunity to lean in for a kiss, not hiding what she wanted.

  –

  Naturally, later that evening the two of them had finally left the house and Rou allowed Celia to dictate what she wanted to do with their time together. Only really chipping in when she asked.

  This was the same process day after day for them. Days turned to weeks and before long a month had passed, and then two. Dinner was finally had with Celia's mother and she'd even asked if her parents could move in with Rou's and they could all be a big happy family.

  Though Rou had never quite shared Celia's time limit with his own family they all, siblings aside, kind of got the impression and didn't really ask. Of course, the Millet siblings were as happy as ever to have new people about to enjoy being around.

  Celia's parents were a bit odd about it all but happy to see Celia enjoying herself.

  It was… pretty much Celia's fairy tale dream come true. Especially as she got to feel like perhaps she was actually in a relationship for the first time instead of just relying on hookups and insisting she didn't want to be in a relationship, lies to get by.

  Rou hadn't actually looked at the countdown timer for how long Celia had left, letting her live her life so far at her own pace. At least for the moment, even if the worst came to pass, Rou couldn't bear the idea of taking that away from her.

  Soon though, the timer ticked down and Celia's fairy tale life began to wane. Not because anything had changed, but as the weeks turned into days, and days turned into day, both Celia and Rou were a bit more listless.

  As with the start, Celia really just wanted to live the illusion she was in and Rou didn't have the heart to bring it up with her that she might have a way out. Because she didn't want a way out right now, she just wanted the fantasy. The fantasy that just maybe she could have a happy, normal life, with a family, maybe have a child one day, or learn magic and be a hero. Rou had been trying to help her with that, of course. The magic part.

  And certainly helping when her mood struck towards risking offspring as Celia got /really/ clingy once she started living this fantasy of hers.

  An enjoyable perk for Rou.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  But eventually when the Sage finally noticed Celia was starting to crack under the pressure, he reached into the aethernode nearby and got Affection to hand him the paper from Borgain.

  It was then that he realized the days had gone to hours and there was perhaps only a few hours left.

  –

  That, and Celia had vanished. Excusing herself to use the restroom or something of the sorts, no one thought it strange until they realized she was gone. Realizing what day it was, her mother cracked as well and was inconsolable, father quite upset as well as they both ran off outside and didn't intend to come back.

  "Where is she?" Rou asked towards Affection as he put on what accessories and such he had to help him move around easier, and quickly began to try and figure out where she went.

  "Rou…"

  "Just answer me, damnit! I don't have time for this nonsense, you probably know exactly where she is, I know you watch everything!"

  It was the first time Rou had actually yelled at Affection, leaving her overall rather upset but didn't argue, letting him know. He couldn't understand why the Gods were so hands-off with Borgain and those associated with him. Especially Celia as she certainly didn't deserve to be ostracized they way she was.

  When Rou learned she had a title, [Beloved by the Gods] , he had felt a furor like he hadn't known before. Celia had finally confided in him all of her past problems and why she was the way she was. No one would answer. Not Creation, not Aether and not even Affection.

  And it was driving him mad. The gods had always been some of his closest companions and now, yet again, he was being walled off and no one would answer him. They make their own rules, was it fear of Creation?

  What was it with Creation and all of this…

  –

  When Rou finally found Celia, she was near the edge of town by the port district, on a bridge over a river. Leaning quite dangerously close to falling over the edge of the railing as she was basically balanced on her stomach with legs in the air. Not trying to end it all, but very much risking things for the worse.

  Instead of yelling for her or trying to talk her out of it, he used wind magic with his adventuring boots and quickly sped down, grabbing her by the scruff of the neck and her nearly see-through white slip of a dress and jerking her towards the grassy bank on the far side.

  "Aaah, shit, Rou what are you–"

  So taken by surprise at the moment, Celia didn't even try to fight, she simply looked terrified of him. Fear in her eyes, covering her face as if she expected him to attack her. But he didn't. Which confused her and she looked up, hesitating.

  "Why would I hurt you? What is wrong with you, Celia!? I've never hurt you before!"

  As much as Rou wanted to complain about the nonsense on the bridge, at the moment, as he stood over her… the way she hid from him like that freaked him out a bit.

  Celia, of course, realized how she had reacted and looked quite embarrassed before confirming, "When I was young, I wasn't as… content to live how I wanted until then. The first time I ever saw Borgain I shrieked in terror and… attempted to jump off a bridge. My father jumped in and… after he pulled me safely out he beat me senseless. I'm sorry, it was… it was reflexive, I think."

  Rou sighed and knelt down over Celia, hugging her and causing her to tense up. "As much as I might want to smack you for the bridge just now, I don't think it'd do any good. It's your life, if you… do that, I can't stop you. I'm not going to put you in chains and force you to live, it wouldn't do any good if I became your next Borgain."

  Naturally she felt confused and demanded to know, "Then why stop me?!"

  "Because, damnit, I gave you two choices and you didn't choose. I told you what that meant and you thought I would forget! I gave you the chance to ask me for my hand so you can play it yourself but you chose this fantasy life with me and I gave it to you, happily, because I wanted it too damn you. But now that you've only got a couple hours left, I am doing things my way."

  Out of frustration Celia began to wail at Rou with her fists, hitting him on the chest in frustration and even smacking at his face, but he simply took the 'abuse' from her because they both knew it didn't hurt at all. And when Celia tired herself out, she began to cry, leaving Rou to lean down and hug her, the two laying there on the grassy shore of the river.

  –

  "I just want my last bit of time alone. Please, go away… for once, please, just listen to me. I'm not lying."

  "Fleas to you, I know damn well you're lying."

  "I'M NOT LYING! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

  "You've never realized it have you? …Celia, every time you lie, your whiskers droop because you know you are lying. I've seen you lie to others and not bat an eye, but every time you lie to me, you can't hide it. What is it with me that's got you so worked up for all this time? If you don't tell me now, you might not have a chance."

  Celia of course, once she was called out, reached up to touch on her face to see what he meant and she hadn't even come to realize her own expressiveness had given her away. She couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, a rather ugly display as she laid on her back and didn't even try to argue any more.

  It was only when she finally calmed down that Celia whispered, "It's because you're so damned happy all the time. You are everything I ever wanted to be. You have everything I wanted to have. And if can't have you, have it… I would rather at least not ruin it. I don't want to make you sad, ever, I like seeing… seeing you happy. I don't love you, Rou, I never have. I love the idea of you. I would go so far as to say I want to be you."

  Hearing that honest confession, it hurt Rou a little as he thought perhaps she did have those feelings for him, but it made sense and he couldn't blame her.

  "Well, we only have a little under two hours. Fleas to you if you think I'm going to leave you alone. You wanted control before the end, and I want to save you, so I'll just do it after. We both get what we want. Think that works for you?" The sage tried to offer an idea that worked out, only to let out a soft yelp as he was suddenly pulled down by his collar and kissed by the emotionally desperate friend of his.

  –

  It wasn't long until they were both undressed and as the timer ran down on the contract, Celia very well made use of the time exactly how she wanted to. Very, very vigorously and very very directly.

  But when they had only about five minutes left, Celia had at some point rolled off top of her dear Sage of Fluff and was laying beside him, holding hands, staring at the sky and neither really caring if others saw them in the disheveled state.

  But what Rou hadn't expected as he had trusted Affection to let him know when it was getting close, was nothing strange went on.

  10…

  7…

  3…

  "I'm glad… I met you."

  1…

  "Rou…"

  Celia's voice fell off, eyes going blank only for Rou - thanks to his magical perception being where it was - noticed her soul simply pull right out of her body. Instinctively he tried to grab it but his hands passed through and he got quite the fright as Celia jerked up like a marionette and looked around with those lifeless eyes of hers.

  The eyes Rou adored, a pale brown in tone, were lidded and droopy and her hair fell over her face. Having realized in horror that her body wasn't her own anymore, Rou did the only thing he could and lunged at her, physically tackling her to the ground. But rather than restrain her? He grabbed her dress and forced in over her head.

  He cared for her too much to let her be humiliated after her time was up from her body and soul being controlled from afar.

  But what Rou most certainly didn't see coming was a blast of magic that shot him backwards, stumbling tail over head as he rolled and felt a bloody taste in his mouth. Nearby was another group of beings, who much like Celia, had lifeless eyes and seemed to be reacting on instinct.

  Borgain's, likely.

  One of them had clearly just blasted him ass over head and before he could respond, Celia had her hands taken by two and they were off, flying straight towards Borgain's manor in the royal district.

  –

  "Please, don't… don't go."

  Affection tried to beg her partner not to, but clearly he wasn't going to listen this time. He almost always did. But she could tell, nothing short of getting maimed would likely prevent him from trying to confront Borgain over Celia at the moment.