Chapter 311
Chapter 311
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 311
Chapter Title: Closer to My Disciple Than to Love Afar
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Siu greeted Eloa with an incredibly warm smile the moment he saw her.
As if he'd been waiting just for her.
Even if he had no idea about Eloa's secret naughty escapade, it was still Siu who had dragged Sharon into it and let her hear those sounds anyway.
"It's great that you've come, Master. It would've been even more fun if you'd arrived a little earlier."
How could he act so innocently after something like that?
Eloa couldn't help but feel flustered by Siu's behavior, which seemed so different on the surface from what lay beneath.
The Siu she remembered was more steadfast than anyone.
Could it have been some kind of mistake or misunderstanding?
That thought began to creep into her heart.
At Siu's suggestion, the two set out for a walk.
There was no proper walking path on the sandy beach.
But strolling leisurely along the night sea where waves crashed rhythmically made for a perfect route.
"The moon is so beautiful."
"It... is, isn't it."
"It seems even prettier with you here, Master."
"......"
What should she say?
What expression should she wear when facing him?
She had no idea.
That's why she'd holed up in her room for two whole days, avoiding Siu.
There was something she needed to say, something she had to say.
Even as those thoughts swirled in her mind, Eloa could only trail behind Siu, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.
No matter how stiflingly hot Gehenna's coastal region was compared to other areas, the evening brought a seasonal chill to the wind.
Should she say it?
Or just bury it all away?
As she agonized over the dilemma repeating in her head hundreds of times, something suddenly draped over Eloa's shoulders.
"The wind is cold. You're still recovering, after all."
"T-Thank you."
Siu had taken off his cardigan and handed it to her.
Eloa fiddled idly with the cardigan he'd placed over her.
And she steeled herself with a big resolve.
She had to say it.
Tell him everything and return to their original relationship.
Wrongs needed to be righted.
With her determination firm...
"Siu, there's something I want you to hear."
"What is it?"
Siu, who had been walking ahead leisurely as if nothing had ever happened between them, turned back with a gentle smile.
His refined features gleamed under the bright full moon.
Eloa didn't judge people by their looks, but she couldn't deny that Siu was handsome.
No.
This wasn't the time to admire his appearance anew.
If she didn't speak up soon, she'd never say it tonight.
"I..."
As Eloa stammered to begin, Siu suddenly closed the distance between them.
The words that had risen to her throat slipped right back down into her stomach.
She was startled.
Until now, aside from sparring, Siu had always kept a subtle physical distance from her.
"Before that."
Today, Siu seemed somehow different.
The slight shyness and deference toward Eloa were gone.
He appeared utterly relaxed and composed.
"Master, I have something to say to you too. Will you listen?"
"What is it?"
Was he about to apologize first, before she could bring up her own words?
It was an incredibly tough topic to broach, so Eloa's attention snapped to him.
If Siu opened the floodgates, it would make resolving things much easier.
"I've thought about it for a long time. How I should treat you, Master."
It was just as she'd expected.
The dilemma of "how to treat you" was something Eloa had wrestled with regarding Siu as well.
It was what had left her so conflicted amid her deepening anguish.
"I-I was just about to bring up something similar..."
"Then this conversation might take a while. Shall we walk a bit more? There's a good spot to sit and talk."
At that exquisitely timed interruption, Siu cut the dialogue short.
Eloa nodded slightly.
Siu led Eloa to the twins' carriage parked by the beach.
The spacious vehicle, warped with spatial magic, could pass for a mobile camping trailer.
Siu courteously offered his hand to escort her, then promptly pulled a bottle of liquor from the minibar.
"Have a glass."
"Thank you."
They always had drinks when talking, so it wasn't anything new.
Eloa took the glass Siu poured and downed it in gulps.
The alcohol soothed her parched throat, easing her breathing a little.
"Shall we continue?"
"I've sorted my thoughts too, so this should go quickly. Perfect."
Eloa had a strange intuition.
The topic Siu wanted to discuss overlapped with hers.
Thank goodness.
If she'd had to bring up something embarrassing alone, she'd have been completely stuck.
"Then why don't we say it at the same time?"
Eloa responded to Siu's playful smile with an awkward one of her own.
No matter how she looked at it, today's Siu seemed a bit different.
Was it the joy of the trip making him this way? Or had the alcohol loosened him up just right?
Either way, the mood felt quite soft.
"Sure."
Eloa straightened her posture, sitting up tall with her back rigid.
Siu, meanwhile, lounged comfortably, grinning as he swirled the ice in his glass.
"Siu, I know your walls are unique..."
Eloa squeezed her eyes shut and recited the lines she'd prepared in advance.
Or tried to.
"I want you, Master."
Until Siu's bolt-from-the-blue words hit her.
At first, she thought she'd misheard.
Lifting her head sharply to meet his gaze, Eloa saw Siu's eyes staring straight back at her, without a hint of deceit.
Her own wide-eyed reflection stared back from those pupils, round as could be.
And Siu didn't stop there.
"Since the day I held you, Master, I haven't been able to forget it for a single moment."
Siu rose and approached Eloa naturally.
He cupped her chin, lifting her face in shock.
"I want your body, your heart, your very soul, Master."
Eloa's mind went blank.
She'd run through hundreds, thousands of simulations to reach this point, but this scenario had never crossed her mind.
A firm palm dug into her stiff neck.
Siu pulled Eloa to her feet and carefully drew her into his arms.
As if handling a soap bubble that might burst at the slightest touch.
Eloa could part oceans, yet the moment Siu lifted her, her legs went weak and wobbly.
His hand gripped her waist as she nearly collapsed, holding her steady until their noses nearly touched, eyes locked.
"Si... Siu..."
Her heart began to pound wildly in that instant.
Dizziness from sheer bewilderment overtook her, nearly making her faint.
Now Eloa knew everything.
She could instantly grasp what Siu's words and this atmosphere implied.
It wasn't just his bold actions that shocked her.
The shift in his feelings they revealed was far from what she'd imagined.
His pure, honest desire to "have his master," transcending the bounds of master-disciple propriety and rules.
She was glad.
Deep down, she was thrilled.
She shouldn't be, but she was.
That Siu wanted her.
That he expressed his feelings so openly—it filled her with joy.
Being held in his arms.
Their skin touching.
Sinfully, unbearably delightful.
"This... won't do..."
But it wouldn't.
This wasn't why she'd come.
It would only drag her deeper into the mire.
Just repeating the same mistake.
"For someone saying that, you're not pushing me away at all."
"Hik...!"
Yet Siu grew even bolder despite her refusal, reaching out further.
His hand slipped under her dress like a snake, wrapping around bare skin.
Eloa's hips trembled as she swallowed her breath.
As he'd said, she couldn't push him away.
In truth, from the moment he'd embraced her, strength had drained from her body.
Where his hand touched her skin, heat rose scorchingly, her breath turning ragged.
"You feel the same way about me, don't you, Master?"
Eloa summoned superhuman willpower, clenched her teeth, and shoved Siu back.
"Stop this!"
She bellowed and deliberately scowled.
She wasn't angry, really.
No rage at all, just bewilderment.
She was just flailing against the inexplicable pounding in her chest.
"Si-Siu... This... this won't do... I... I vowed to be your master..."
As proof, the moment she pulled away from Siu, emptiness hit her like a piece of herself had been torn off.
A sense of loss.
Ignoring it desperately, she clung to proper doctrine.
"You're my disciple, even without inheriting my stigma, aren't you? Don't you call me Master?"
"......"
"A master and parent are one and the same. Just as a child serves their parent, a disciple serves their master—and the master loves their disciple as their own child! This is the sacred realm of heavenly principles, where lust between man and woman has no place!"
Eloa strung her words together rapidly, like excuses.
"Master."
Siu took a step forward.
Eloa stepped back.
With every step Siu advanced, she retreated a little more.
The realization that getting swept up here would make it irreversible forced her back.
But she couldn't use force against him.
It was Siu.
Her disciple, whom she loved and cherished more than anyone.
Clunk!
Even in a spatially warped carriage, it was still an interior space.
She couldn't just keep backing away blindly.
Eloa's back hit the wall, and Siu closed in.
Instinctively rising on tiptoe, she pressed flat against the wall.
What should she do?
How could she navigate this situation well?
As she racked her brain desperately, one person's name popped into her head.
A name that could stop Siu—and stop Eloa herself.
"Moreover... moreover... doesn't Siu have Sharon Evergreen by your side?"
Yes.
Siu already had a lover at his side.
A woman with whom he shared such an intimate bond that one could easily believe they were engaged.
This should make Siu hold back.
Thud!
But Siu's actions defied her expectations.
Pinning Eloa to the wall, he slammed his arm beside her head, blocking any escape.
Swallowed by his shadow, Eloa looked up at him with trembling eyes.
"Right now, there's only you in front of me, Master."
Eloa gulped.
Siu reached out, stroking through her pink hair before gently grasping her flushed ear.
Her small hand weakly pushed at his chest.
But the force was far too feeble to create any real distance.
She'd told herself a thousand times already that this was wrong, yet she couldn't shake him off.
Why?
Why couldn't she?
Was it because his unwavering gaze felt like it would devour her?
Or because deep down, Eloa herself wanted this?
"Stop... please..."
"I won't."
Siu's lips drew slowly closer.
He held her firmly in place, inescapably narrowing the gap.
"I'm done hiding it."
Eloa's body plastered itself to the wall.
As if trying to merge with it and flee.
Just before their lips met, she whipped her head aside.
If they kissed here, she really wouldn't be able to stop—that sense of crisis gripped her.
With drooping eyes pitiful to behold, Eloa stammered on.
"No matter how I think about it... this doesn't feel right... Siu. Let's calm down a bit... and talk... rationally..."
Sensing Siu pull back, Eloa cracked one eye open to peek at him.
She wasn't unwilling to give him what he wanted.
Nor could she flatly say she desired none of it herself.
Was that why?
Seeing disappointment fill his face made her chest ache strangely.
"Is it because we're master and disciple?"
"Haven't I said it over and over? You and I..."
"Eloa."
Siu's low voice pierced her ear from very close.
Not "Master."
A sweet, forbidden name that crossed lines of taboo and impropriety.
Siu's knee forced its way between her legs.
A gentle yet firm hand supported her neck again.
Their lips neared once more.
"No more lies."
Siu's lips pressed against Eloa's.
His soft tongue slipped between her tightly sealed lips.