Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 539: A Sleepless Night

"This is already the second time tonight that a woman has kissed me forcefully."

Looking at Luviya, Shard touched the corner of his mouth and then said with a smile. Although tri-colored moonlight entered his eyes, only silver moonlight reflected back.

"The other one, was that the Duchess?"

The girl with purple eyes asked softly, but she seemed completely indifferent to it.

"Yes, it was Miss Galina."

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me these things."

"But I like you."

Somehow, under the moonlight, as he looked at Luviya Fiocchi Annette who stood against the moonlight, the words slipped from Shard's mouth.

Luviya's expression seemed to change for a moment, and yet it seemed not to change at all. Her purple eyes stared into Shard's eyes, as if they could see into his soul.

The clothes she wore now were not the ones Shard had encountered her in within the Dark Realm. A white shirt with golden buttons and ruffled cuffs, a simple black skirt, simple yet dignified. Her shoulder-length brown hair was loosely scattered behind her head, with only a few wayward strands passing over her ears:

"Yes, I know."

Her voice was very soft.

"I don't want to lie, I like you, and them."

"As long as it helps in finding the thirteen Chosen Ones, I don't mind."

She continued to speak in this manner, still with a smile on her face, but Shard felt a profound sadness. He couldn't imagine what Luviya had gone through, what she carried, what she had come to know, to be able to say such words.

"I..."

"I'm glad I can still see you tonight. I really thought you'd end up in the bed of the Witch or her Maid."

Her voice slightly rose, her gaze still locking with Shard's:

"Will you really stay with me till the end?"

"Yes."

Shard nodded and then, as if remembering something, held Luviya to sit at the foot of the bed while he himself knelt on the carpet in front of her. Both were sideward to the moonlight, which illuminated their profiles.

Shard took Luviya's hand and looked up at the girl with purple eyes:

"Please ask again."

His expression serious, Luviya pursed her lips into a smile and nodded:

"Shard Suren Hamilton, will you accompany Luviya Fiocchi Annette to the very end?"

"Yes, to the very end, until my soul dissolves into this world."

He kissed Luviya's fingers.

Looking up, he suddenly reached to his neck, removing the silver pendant that Luviya had given him to carry when they parted at the estate. It was a lucky charm made by Luviya herself, containing pictures of her deceased parents.

The pendant handed to Shard was intact, but now, lying in his palm, it was cracked. Alchemical Items do not possess the indestructible nature of Relics, and it had shattered during Shard's fierce battle with Daknis.

Placing the pendant in his palm, the moonlight outside the window made the silver decoration sparkle. Shard closed his eyes and then took a slow breath. A subtle air flow, almost unnoticeable, moved from the pendant into his nostrils. It was as if time reversed, and the pendant restored to its original state.

Shard motioned to the astonished Luviya to lower her head, as he intended to help her put it back on.

"It's not yet midnight, still this month, and you are using your life to cast spells."

"Yes, but it's just going back four or five hours, and the lifespan I lose is less than half an hour, which is worth it."

Luviya held the pendant, in her purple eyes, the man under the moonlight was so handsome. Shard, not slim, had fair skin not overly pale due to his vagabond root and was not the kind of man typically deemed handsome by women's standards.

Luviya seemed inclined to laugh but knew it wasn't the right moment. She wanted to speak, but Shard cut her off, his tone very formal:

"Luviya Fiocchi Annette, then do you also wish to accompany Shard Suren Hamilton to the very end, regardless of how many girls he likes?"

"Of course, you flirtatious man."

She forcefully pulled him up, lifted her head, and her eyes carried a smile as if a burden had been lifted:

"Stay here tonight."

Her voice was soft, yet it was not abrupt, and it was very clear.

"What is this about?"

The standing Shard hesitantly asked.

"You..."

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The purple-eyed girl sitting by the bed looked at him seriously:

"...really don't know what I mean?"

Before Shard could say something inappropriate, she preemptively spoke:

"I just want to have a taste before the witches of various eras devour you completely."

Her tone carried some laughter, which at least indicated she was in a good mood now.

"She" laughed for some reason, not knowing whom she was laughing at.

"Actually, I have nothing to do with them, at least for now."

Shard looked down at the girl by the bed.

"Is that so?"

Luviya lifted her head, slightly curling the corners of her mouth:

"Then could you tell me, Knight, exactly what did you do with that maid with dark hair and a big chest before you came to this room?"

"Um..."

Shard took a step back, Luviya reached out and caught him, and Shard pointed towards the doorway:

"I'm going to lock the door and toss Mia out in the meantime."

The purple-eyed girl's cheeks reddened slightly and she let go of him.

Watching Shard's back, she used the shoe on her right foot to kick off the shoe on her left foot, then with the two toes of her sock-covered left foot, she pinched the back edge of her right shoe and slipped it off too.

Luviya sat sideways at the edge of the bed, watching Shard go out, call the maid, hand over Mia for them to take care of, then walk back into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Moonlight shined on the canopy bed, illuminating her white neck and the pendant around it. The purple-eyed girl, with her white shirt buttons undone, bathed in the moonlight, both bold and shy, extended an invitation to the outlander:

"Shard, let me see the effect of the legendary Unclassified Level Relic 'Desire' on you. Not every girl gets to taste a man like you."

"Wait a moment at the end."

Shard, leaning against the door, spoke very seriously, then muttered to himself:

"In a moment, definitely don't..."

"Do I need to say something at the right time?"

The murmuring voice still carried a hint of laughter.

"No, I meant, just don't interrupt me later."

"I thought you would be pleased, after all, the 'other me' across there is fully female."

Shard didn't respond to her, took off his coat, and tossed it on the carpet with his right hand. He walked over to the bedside and grasqued Luviya's extended hand with his left, their arms smooth and gleaming in the moonlight like a divine statue's.

She forcefully jerked him, and before he knew it, Shard was pulled into the bed, which had its curtains mysteriously drawn down.

The cool tri-colored moonlight shone on the curtains. Tonight, at least, these two could not sleep peacefully.