As Thirteen lay napping with his head in her lap, Princess Xynalia happily hummed and lightly patted his chest.
When she asked him to stay for one more day, the teenage boy agreed without hesitation.
His answer boosted her mood significantly, so she did her best to spoil him in her own way.
Roland and Princess Laventia almost puked sugar at the sight of the two being excessively sweet to each other like newlyweds in their honeymoon phase.
On the other hand, Lady Ristella was somehow unfazed, even instructing the servants to give her niece and Zion some quality time with each other without being disturbed.
The succubus princess naturally welcomed this assistance since she wanted to ask Thirteen many things that shouldn’t be heard by anyone.
Earlier, she asked him if he had met any of his Hosts in Pangea.
Thirteen then told her that Tiona, Vincent, Hugo, Prince Xylen, and Princess Aracelle were all his former Hosts, which made her eyes widen in shock. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ N0veI.Fiɾe.net
Since Princess Xynalia already knew that he was a System in the past, he was more open to telling her about his former Hosts, all of whom she knew were very important to him.
’This is too much of a coincidence,’ Princess Xynalia thought as she gazed at Zion’s sleeping face. ’What are the chances of him reuniting with so many of his Hosts in this world?’
A part of her felt jealous since, from what she knew, she wasn’t one of Thirteen’s former hosts. But to think of it positively, it was not entirely bad since she didn’t want to add to his heartbreak.
Her expression softened as she studied his sleeping face.
Even in rest, there was a faint crease between his brows, the mark of someone who carried too many burdens that did not belong to a boy his age.
She traced that small line with her fingertip, her heart tightening.
"You’ve done so much already," Princess Xynalia whispered, her voice barely audible. "You deserve to rest, even if only for a day."
Zion murmured something in his sleep, his lips curving faintly. It was as if he were answering her without words.
The sight made Princess Xynalia’s chest ache with warmth.
She didn’t understand why, but being beside him made her feel both safe and fragile, as if she was allowed to be something she had never been before.
Simply a girl who was in love.
Thirteen’s eyelids fluttered, a sign that he was about to wake up.
And a few seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Did you have a nice nap?" Princess Xynalia asked.
"I guess," Thirteen answered. "I dreamed about something, but I can’t remember what it is."
"Perhaps you will see the continuation of it tonight," Princess Xynalia commented. "Sometimes, dreams work that way."
Thirteen slowly rose up, and allowed himself to be hugged by his lover.
"You like to cuddle, huh?" Thirteen smiled, and returned the hug.
"I do." Princess Xynalia sighed, enjoying her closeness with him. "Why are you so perfect, Thirteen? You fit me perfectly. It’s like you were born for my sake."
Thirteen blinked. He was tempted to say that Zion Leventis was only a vessel where his soul core resided.
But hearing his words might make the princess upset, he decided to just stay silent and hugged her tighter.
"How many babies do you want to have?" Princess Xynalia asked. "I’ll give you as many as you want."
"You’re like Erica." Thirteen smiled faintly. "She said the same thing."
"... Did any of your lovers tell you to not compare girls to other girls?"
"Mmm. I’ll forgive just once."
Princess Xynalia pouted playfully and poked his cheek, as if trying to leave a mark of her own on him.
"But next time," Princess Xynalia added softly, her tone half teasing, half serious. "You’re only allowed to say my name in moments . No other girl’s name should exist between us."
Thirteen nodded, letting her rest her forehead against his. "Understood, Your Highness."
The two stayed like that for a while, listening only to each other’s breathing, feeling the quiet rhythm of the other’s heartbeat.
As if remembering something, Princess Xynalia pulled back slightly.
"Thirteen," Princess Xynalia said, looking him straight in the eye. "Do you... ever regret being who you are? A System once, and now, something else entirely?"
Thirteen didn’t answer right away.
His gaze met her own as if trying to see why she asked him such a personal question.
"Regret?" Thirteen closed his eyes. "Sometimes, yes. There were moments when I wished I could have stayed ignorant about human emotions. The feeling of having a hole inside your heart because you were so heartbroken was a very profound feeling.
"But knowing what these emotions truly represented allowed me to understand what my Hosts had been through. Although this might sound contradictory, becoming a human made me feel alive.
"I am happy to be loved and to love others back. Although my love may not be perfect, I am learning more about this powerful emotion. And now that I know what love is, I realized something important."
Seeing the serene peace of his faint smile, Princess Xynalia felt her heart skip a beat.
"I now know that my Hosts also loved me... and the feeling I have for them is also love," Thirteen said firmly.
There was no shred of doubt in his words.
He was merely stating a fact.
Whether his Hosts loved him as a Friend, as a God, as a Tool, as a Miracle, or as a Family, the important fact was that they had loved him in their own way.
"Thirteen, please win." Princess Xynalia kissed his cheek. "Not only for your sake, but for my... no. For our sake as well."
The succubus princess knew that if Thirteen died, she wouldn’t be the only one who would be devastated.
Erica, Sherry, Shana, Princess Aracelle, his family, and his friends, as well as those who depended on him, would all be heartbroken if something bad happened to him.
"Don’t worry," Thirteen replied. "I’ll win."
As Thirteen closed his eyes, the fleeting dream he had briefly appeared in front of him once again.
"I finally found you."
The voice was cold and belonged to a man.
A voice that wasn’t familiar to him.
Within the rivers of hell, a red-headed Half-Elf glared in Thirteen’s direction.
It took him a while to get the full story of how his daughter, Stella, got injured.
But now that he understood that she did it to save Thirteen, Stella’s father was now itching to talk to the young man and give him a piece of his mind.