Chapter 772: Chapter 772 - A task like this...
Erik grinned at her declaration. Somewhere, he wondered if leaving her like this was the worst thing he’d ever done to someone. And yet... the prospect excited him.
In the end, he decided not to think about it too much. Yes, it wasn’t the most honourable thing to do, but Leia made this choice herself, and his bond with her told him there wasn’t any repressed unwillingness either.
If he actually loved Leia and wanted her as his wife, he would have wanted her to work on herself, but as it stood, he refused to feel bad about something she wanted herself.
So, to show his appreciation, he removed the hand around her throat, which Leia had used to underscore her point, and instead gently cupped her cheek. Leia continued clutching his hand and now pressed it harder against her cheek with a small, subservient smile.
Using this hand, Erik slowly pulled her into another gentle kiss. "I’m amazed at the good girl you’ve become in such a short time, Leia," he meanwhile told her through their bond.
Despite her surprise at hearing his voice in her head—this being the first time—a rush still shot through her body at his words. Having already known the bond would allow them to talk, she quickly figured out how to respond.
"I feel the same way, Daddy..." she whispered back, their lips still locked together. "I’m amazed at how good it feels, and how easily I slipped into this role. But now... I wouldn’t want to be anything or anywhere else."
"Heh, good," Erik chuckled, his eyes looking at her as they kissed deeply. "You will always belong to me, but if you do ever want to work on your traumas, don’t hesitate. I’ll know if you’re unhappy, and I won’t accept it."
"Yes, Daddy!" she answered brightly, revelling in his kiss. Erik suddenly felt a swelling emotion inside her that made him smirk inwardly. He’d known she was starving for romantic love, but she latched on to him even faster than he’d expected.
Unfortunately, her feelings would go unanswered, but they would certainly make her even more devoted.
Suddenly, a yawn interrupted their intimate kiss and mental conversation. "Yawn, hey!" a sleepy voice grumbled next to Erik. "If you’re going to wake me up with all your moving, at least kiss me, too!"
Smiling, Erik released Leia, much to her disappointment, and turned to barely awake, somewhat grumpy Naeku. "With pleasure," he answered warmly, and dived in. Grinning, her morning daze quickly evaporating, Naeku leaned into it and wrapped her arms around his neck.
After her disappointment faded, Leia watched them with a bright smile and a complete lack of jealousy. Suddenly, Erik’s voice sounded in her mind again: "About what we discussed... I don’t want to lie to my family, but let’s not volunteer the decision you made, either."
"Hihi," Leia giggled cutely. "I know, Daddy. They wouldn’t understand..."
Erik’s mind paused a second... Suddenly, this felt like something else entirely...
But he quickly discarded and purged those thoughts before Naeku even noticed his absentmindedness.
After Erik and Naeku separated, they cuddled, with Erik still leaning against the bed’s backrest. Naeku then glanced nervously at the kneeling Leia next to them. "H— Hey, Leia..."
"Good morning, Mistress!" Leia grinned widely, unconcerned. She clearly knew why Naeku was nervous, and had no problem teasing her a little.
Naeku squirmed and pouted in Erik’s arms. "You— You don’t have to call me that now..."
Erik, meanwhile, had closed his eyes and leaned his head back fully. He did not intend to mingle in this conversation, although he was curious about what would happen.
"Hihi," Leia giggled playfully, gently covering her mouth with one hand, while her other arm was folded beneath her naked breasts. "It’s too late for that, Mistress. Actions have consequences, you know?"
Naeku groaned, burying her head deeper into Erik’s chest, not knowing exactly how serious Leia was. "That— That was just... I— I’m not sure what came over me, but— but I don’t want to lose my aunty..."
Losing her playfulness, Leia looked genuinely touched. "There’s no reason you can’t be both my niece and my mistress," she smiled genuinely, now leaning closer a little until she was on her hands and knees. Her modest breasts swayed slightly. "Just like I can be both your aunty and servant. In fact, I’d love that, Mistress."
Naeku looked at her strangely. For a moment, the absurdity of this situation flashed through her mind... but then the excitement she felt at such a prospect wiped out her hesitation. "A— Alright then," she grinned with hesitant optimism. "I’d like that, too!"
Comfortable silence followed as all three of them thought back to the events of last night. Finally, however, Erik knew it was time to move on.
"Alright, girls. There’s too much to do to laze about all morning," he sighed, first turning to look at Naeku. "We need to go meet with Nobuntu and Kudzai, and then I think you’ll want to end seclusion, right?"
Groaning, Naeku rolled out of his arms and nodded. "I don’t suppose we could just skip to the second part...?"
"You’d regret that, Mistress," Leia grinned. She knew exactly how much Naeku truly cared about this, even if her niece tried desperately to avoid it.
"Ugh, not you, too?" Naeku grumbled, glaring at Leia. She barely noticed how natural their new relationship already felt.
"Hehe, Daddy and Aunty know best," Leia chuckled playfully, her eyes twinkling with happiness.
Naeku flinched slightly at her wording. Referring to Erik as Daddy and herself as Aunty conjured images of Ankhur in Naeku’s mind, and that was the last thing she wanted to see right now.
Her reaction caused Leia to giggle. "You’ll get used to it, Mistress."
"Alright," Erik interrupted them with a smirk, then first looked at his wife. "Naeku, we should talk about how we’re going to handle this." Then he looked at Leia, more warm than stern. "As for you, you can either go join my mother, or..." A playful smirk spread across his lips as he raised one foot at the end of the bed. "You could give my feet some attention."
An excited blush spread across Leia’s cheeks. "Runes is probably still asleep, Daddy..." she answered, knowing her friend liked to sleep in. Without another word, she crawled to the foot of the bed, took one of Erik’s feet in her lap, and started massaging it.
Erik felt a stronger wave of relief than he’d expected as soon as she started. ’Perhaps I really have been neglecting my feet,’ he chuckled to himself.
Naeku looked at her strangely, still not used to the new Leia. "You really will do practically anything he tells you, huh...?"
Smiling, Leia’s hands focused on her task while she looked at Naeku and shrugged. "I understand it’s not for everyone... But I enjoy it far more than my previous life. Some people like stress, or simply prefer it to the alternative..." she looked back down at her task. "But I like a simple life, surrounded by people I care about, with someone else to make most decisions for me."
"Besides," she then grinned as Naeku turned thoughtful, "a task like this, I’d do out of my own initiative."
Naek blinked. "What do you—"
Before she could finish, Leia suddenly lifted Erik’s foot and started suckling on his toes, while looking playfully at Naeku.
"Eh?" she muttered, then looked at Erik with surprise. "Did you—?"
"No, I didn’t order her to do that," Erik smirked. He somewhat enjoyed the feeling, but didn’t care that much, either. "She just likes doing it."
Dumbfounded, Naeku looked back at her aunt again. She was learning quite a lot about Leia in a very short time...
"Anyway," Erik interrupted her thoughts with a smirk. "Let’s talk about Nobuntu and Kudzai..."
***
A little while later, Erik and Naeku walked through the palace halls, on their way to the guest rooms.