Date a Witch: Reborn as the Witch of Lust! (GL)

"Assassination hit?"

Mel frowned, her hands clutching the blanket for their naked frames, casting a confused, almost betrayed look at Maria.

Maria, however, only pursed her lips in silence, ignoring Mel to put a flat stare at Wrath.

"It's a misunderstanding." Maria shrugged. "A hit only meant they were too afraid to face me directly. More an empty threat than an implicit warning."

"Yet that assassin came along... or rather came before the Elven Delegation."

Wrath frowned, her hand patted gently on Mel's hunched shoulder, almost as if the gesture would ease the burden.

"You know full well what this means." Wrath sighed before turning away. "The Cult and the Elves were no longer tied together like before, but they aimed for ultimately the same target."

The grey-hooded Witch strode to the exit before giving a slight wave. "Be careful, you two."

And as Wrath turned a corner, the silence returned to the Church except for the sneaky patterings from the broken window.

Mel smiled a little; Wrath was always a blunt, dry Witch, coming and going as she pleased.

She should ask for a kiss again next time.

Yet taking a deep breath, Mel shot a stern stare at Maria, though the narrowing eyes suggested more disappointment than frustration.

"Mel." Maria met Mel's glittering, still-innocent eyes head-on. "You know I-"

"The Elves were not just after you, but also after me. Or at least investigate me, weren't they?"

She embraced Maria; the cold breeze glided across their bare skins as the blanket fell with an indifferent plop.

It made sense; the Shadowy Fisherman was always a powerful spy capable of 'using' even the Witch of Sloth within the Elven faction.

Connected with Nyria's capture, he must have guessed Mel and Maria's relationship from simple suspicion alone, thus immediately sending a delegation to investigate.

"...not quite."

Maria cupped Mel's cheek with a soft smile.

"Remember the Former Pope? The current Leader of the Cult? With his leadership, the Cult's tie with other Pride's Familiars, including the Shadowy Fisherman, will be limited."

She continued with a bated breath.

"After Nyrel's capture, the Former Pope and his subordinates struggled for power. Should the " Elf Delegation" variable, one that was tied to the Fisherman, be introduced to... test you, the Pope's further, unpredictable move would be delayed."

"...and the Assassination hit..."

Mel caught Maria's sad smile; was the Saintess upset that her father was her opponent?

Carefully, the Witch of Lust murmured. "The Assassination Hit was a counter-move from the Former Pope, wasn't it?"

"Exactly." Maria nodded.

"With the Cult still looking to recruit you, Mel, they couldn't afford the Elven Delegation to harm you in any way."

"Still looking to recruit... me?"

"Yes. I ensured it." Maria's brows lowered.

"The romantic performance between you, Lila, and me back in the inn only forced the Pope to view you as a necessary 'deterrant' against me. Win your support, and I myself will be bound too."

So that's how it was.

Mel almost shuddered at Maria's layers of planning as she readjusted the sequence of events.

After the capture of Nyrel, the Fisherman, who was suspicious of the circumstances surrounding it, turned his attention to Mel and thus convinced the Elves to send a Delegation to investigate.

Following the event, the Former Pope, looking to earn Mel's support, had to protect Mel at all costs.

Thus inciting the incident between both factions, which should have been allied for the same goal from the start!

"And the assassination hit was the Pope's response, having deduced what I was doing."

Mel concluded with a heavy, buzzing head.

"He could tell you're setting him and the Elves up for conflict, so he, in turn, made a hit against you as well."

Yet she held her chin. "But it seemed a nonsensical move that couldn't have achieved anything. Why would he..."

At the moment, Maria is distracted by Mel's contemplative look; the slight ire from before is distracted by the need to reassess the situation.

Her arms hovered mid-air, then returned to Mel's embrace.

"Assassination hit didn't need to succeed. It merely needed to send a message that 'this figure hid something, and thus needed monitoring not just as a warning but as insurance from a certain individual.'"

And Mel's brows, almost too reluctant just now, rose suddenly with a brimming realisation.

"You couldn't mean-"

"Shh..."

Maria chuckled as she tapped Mel's lips with her index finger.

"You see why we need to provoke the Duke earlier? Though even I must admit his stalking of my disguised form was... almost too ideal of a result."

Mel's thoughts lingered, accounting that the Former Pope must have earned trust from certain people before he was exiled.

"Oh my god..."

So only a possibility remained.

"Was..." Mel clutched her chest; the pounding, suffocating heartbeat was almost hurting her.

"Was... Rosana's Father... here for you?"

Now the pieces really connected, even why the Duke suddenly travelled from the North to the capital.

An unexpected, almost cruel request from the Former Pope; yes, this would've done it.

"..."

Mel pursed her lips, arms hanging at her side, unsure what to think.

Even expecting this world to be initially a dark fantasy from the game, Mel couldn't have anticipated one of the targets she would save to be after Maria.

"Is that why... You almost sounded reluctant to divulge the Duke's information?"

Closing her eyes, Mel fell to Maria's chest, nuzzling into her soft shoulder for an unspoken reprieve.

As Maria's palm smoothed her hair, Mel could only ask further.

"I shouldn't tell this to Rosana, right?"

"No."

Maria shook her head.

"I'm unsure what the Former Pope divulged to the Duke, but I'm sure it was enough to convince him to come to the capital himself with the Assassination Hit."

A breath hitched in Mel. "And the Duke really will..."

"Don't worry." Maria chuckled.

"Notice how your interaction with Rosana distracted him from the task? The former Pope couldn't have predicted the Duke's movement changing at the whim just because of Rosana."

Maria's grasp of Mel tightened firmly.

"I suspect the Duke didn't take the hit seriously. Rather, he would only share the information he gained from the investigation out of obligation."

And again, it served more as a warning from the Former Pope.

'I know what you are planning. Just as you know me as well. Try again with your scheme, and I will not hesitate to turn your people against you.'

The implication hid at the tip of Maria's tongue, though she withheld the true warning behind the Former Pope's action and his influence.

Mel didn't need to worry about complex, political maneuvers. She just needed her dear harem life!

"Maria."

Yet as the Witch of Lust sprang back, her stance was straightened with a resolute gaze.

The slight frown from her lips was so low that Maria parted her lips, almost letting a slip of her surprise.

"Thank you."

Yet Mel's expression melted again; the warm light sprinkling from the broken window enveloped her frame tenderly.

And she tiptoed to peck a kiss at her lips; small and short enough, yet full of untold gratitude.

"But please take care of yourself."

Knitting her brows together, Mel smirked with a tease. "Don't always prioritise me over anything else. Always be more selfish. Because..."

Her voice trailed off, mixed with a burden Mel couldn't quite confess.

"Because I didn't like anyone who I liked hurt. Please. Maria."

Mel's smirk remained, yet her arms hid behind while fidgeting with a downward gaze.

Sensing Mel's unease, Maria only cupped Mel's cheeks firmly.

Their eyes, like many other times, met again.

This time, one pair of golden eyes bared a tinge of uncertainty, while the other was steady yet contained an unbearable heat.

Thus, Maria again bit into Mel's lips.

"Mm!"

With her yelp muffled, Mel stabilised herself as she leaned into Maria, hoping not to fall as Maria tilted her head forcefully with every angle.

Unlike last time, it's a kiss of pure want; a violation representing only Maria's selfishness.

With a wet 'pop', Maria pulled away with a damp string attached to their lips.

But before the blushing Mel could regain her calmness amid shame, Maria's thumb slipped in the wet string into her lips.

"Mmm...."

"Mel..."

With heaving shoulders, Maria breathed out.

"Stop seducing me..."

Biting her lips, the Saintess merely turned back, her grasp immediately leaving Mel.

Not like this. She controlled well yesterday, compared to their first night when she hurt Mel.

Mel could only clutched both her hands on her chest, the feeling of submission burning into the core of her being.

Maria. Maria. Partner.

She never reflected well, but even after today, Mel, for the first time, wished more and more to give in to the dark urges from Maria.

To be owned by her solely. And to own a harem.

When were these two separated ordeals? Why can't the ever-selfish, unreasonable her piece two together?

Mel shook her head silently. This time, she wished to seek the answer herself.

But first. Rosana.

"Though I still am going to do something, Partner."

They were Partners first. And everything else? Also first.

They could be equal or unequal, for this is Mel's trust in Maria.

As Maria turned back with a curious glance, Mel only grinned.

"I don't ever plan to sit still and do nothing but burden you, Partner."

So the first step to Maria's secrets and true desires?

Mel wished to pry them open through this incident and their true cooperation.