Beast Gacha System: All Mine-Chapter 247: Intimate Interlude

The carriage had stopped rocking. That was something.

Bedo, coachman for the Dawnoro family for thirty years, sat on his box and stared straight ahead at the queue leading to the teleportation gate. He tried very hard not to think about the muffled sounds he’d heard. The rhythmic creaking. The gasps.

Inside, the young lord was... occupied. With that beautiful blonde girl.

The queue moved forward. Ten minutes until the gate, maybe fifteen. Bedo had a decision to make.

Option one, proceed normally. Deliver them to the Athenaeum. Pretend he noticed nothing. The young master would appreciate the discretion.

Option two, stop now. Knock. Ask with professional neutrality whether they wished to continue by carriage or cross on foot. Give them privacy for whatever came next.

Thirty years of driving for the Dawnoros, and he had never been in a situation quite like this. He had heard fellow coachmen for other families telling him similar stories, but... well...

It was silent now. Were they asleep? ...Exhausted?

He too, would be tired after doing it with his wife—

Bedo closed his eyes briefly.

Ten more minutes, he decided. If we reach the gate and they’re still unresponsive...

A soft knock sounded from behind. Bedo flinched.

"Young Lord?"

"Please steer out of the queue." Arkai’s voice was controlled. "I’ll go with the miss on our own from here."

Bedo flicked the reins, guided the carriage gently, and the carriage eased out of the line, drawing to a stop in a small clearing beside the queue. Far enough for privacy, close enough that no one would question it. He climbed down and bowed low as the door opened.

Arkai stepped out. In his arms, wrapped in his coat, was the girl, the beautiful blonde. She was curled against his chest, her face hidden, her body still. It was unknown whether she was asleep or awake.

"Young Lord."

"I left money inside. You can choose whether to tell anyone." Arkai paused. "But perhaps my father would. Do what you think is right."

Bowed low, Bedo understood. Do what you think is right meant, ’Protect yourself. Protect me. Protect the house. Choose wisely.’

"I understand, Young Lord."

Arkai turned and walked toward the gate, the girl cradled against his chest.

Bedo watched them go, then climbed back onto his box and guided the empty carriage toward the Dawnoro estate.

Do what you think is right.

He already knew his answer. He would shut up. Never mention this. Not to servants, not to staff, not to the lord himself. Telling August Dawnoro would only create problems between father and son, problems for the house. Problems a simple coachman had no business creating.

He’d let this memory fade into the place where all secrets went to die.

Unless... if that miss actually became the future lady?

The young lord had never looked at anyone the way he looked at her. That meant something.

If she became Lady Dawnoro someday, today wouldn’t be a scandal to hide. It would be a story. The kind servants whispered with knowing smiles. The kind that became family legend.

That was the day it all began.

Bedo would keep his silence regardless. But if the future brought Cecilia Araceli into the Dawnoro family as its lady?

Then he would have a very interesting memory to treasure.

***

After some reflection, Arkai felt that Cecilia’s sudden approach in the carriage might have been triggered by something other than desire or ambition.

As they waited in the queue, passed through the gate, and as the miles fell away beneath them, Arkai replayed the interaction over and over again in his mind.

She had said she was sad. She had asked him to make her feel better.

Was it sincere?

He might still not know what her goal was, but at the very least, he knew Cecilia Araceli wasn’t a bad person.

Bad people didn’t save entire conference halls. Bad people didn’t lift thousands with their power and then collapse from the strain. Bad people didn’t look at you with wet eyes and whisper I was sad.

Or perhaps he was just... biased.

She had said she wanted him to make her feel better. He didn’t know if he had helped at all.

She collapsed after their second climax. Just gone, her body slack against his, her breathing deep and even.

It was almost sunset now.

And today had been crazy.

The fire. The water. The portal. The disaster. Then his father’s summons, the carriage ride north, whatever had happened in that office, and then—

And then her on top of him. Her voice in his ear. Her body wrapped around his.

She had been through so much. Even without knowing what she had discussed with his father, it must have been significant.

The expression on August’s face when the door opened... deeply thinking. But what? Would he ever find out?

Now, circling back to Cecilia, perhaps her behavior was triggered by something related to him. Or Sienna. Or his father. Some combination of all three.

Despite all that, he wanted to hold her a little longer.

Still, they had arrived at the teleportation gate. They had to queue, had to cross and return to the Athenaeum. Tomorrow was another day. The world continued.

He didn’t want to let go.

So he didn’t.

He held her through the gate and the crossing. Held her as they emerged on the other side, as the city’s energy gave way to the quiet of the school’s surrounding town. Instead of turning toward the dorms, he carried her to the student council office.

The building was empty. Of course it was. Winter break, and after today’s incident, everyone who had attended the conference was either at their accommodations recovering or already headed home. The halls were silent, abandoned, theirs.

Not many saw him return with Cecilia in his arms.

Well. Even if they had looked, Arkai almost couldn’t care less anymore.

He had crossed the line, after all. Several times. In several ways. There was no going back from this, no pretending it hadn’t happened, no hiding from the truth of what he felt.

He couldn’t let go.

So he sat on the office sofa, Cecilia still cradled against his chest, and simply... held her.

The light through the windows shifted from gold to orange to deep, soft blue. Shadows lengthened, then swallowed the room. He didn’t move or speak. Didn’t do anything but breathe with her and exist in this moment.

She let him hold her.

She let him have her, feel her, taste her...

He knew that this couldn’t last. That eventually she would wake, would pull away, would return to whatever complicated web of relationships and responsibilities she navigated. That whatever game this was, whatever this meant, it would end.

After all, Arkai knew there was no reason for her to continue this if her real purpose wasn’t wealth or power or influence. Those were the things schemers wanted. Those were the reasons women threw themselves at heirs.

And this was the first time Arkai truly hoped she was that shallow.

Because if she wasn’t... if her reasons were deeper, more complicated... then he had no idea what to do. What leverage did he have?

But for now, in the dark, with her warm against his chest, he didn’t have to know.

He just had to hold on.

That was when someone knocked on the door.

Arkai’s heart seized. His arms tightened instinctively around Cecilia.

Then the door opened.

CREAK.

Light from the corridor spilled into the dark office, painting long shadows across the floor. And from his vantage point, Arkai saw Lazuardi standing in the doorway.

The Headmaster’s eyes took in the scene. Arkai on the sofa, Cecilia curled against his chest, intimate and exhausted. His expression didn’t change and all this happened in just a split second.

Until he yelled.

"CURFEW IN TEN MINUTES! BRING HER BACK TO HER DORM!"

Cecilia flinched awake with a gasp, her body jerking against Arkai’s, her eyes flying open.

Arkai froze completely. His mind went blank. Every rational thought evacuated his skull, leaving a boy caught doing something he absolutely should not be doing.

Lazuardi stared at them for a long moment.

Then he grumbled and turned to leave.

"Tomorrow morning. You two. Come to my office."