Chapter 43: 42—Lies and Secrets

My thoughts were churning as I entered my room, but my heart was light and I had a smile on my face.

Said thoughts were blown out of my head as I beheld what—or rather, who—was inside, but my smile only widened.

Aina was sitting on the bed, looking down with a crimson face, wearing only her undergarments of a similar color. Seeing the red fabric reminded me of our activities the previous night... but I quickly sealed those thoughts away. Our life couldn't just consist of doing that all day.

My will was tested, however, as Aina said, "Um... Ray, could you... help me put the armor on?"

I clenched my fists, fighting to calm down my... mind, and hurried to grab Aina's leather-reinforced pants, swiftly sliding them up her legs while looking anywhere but at them.

I then did the same with the upper garment, and finally relaxed, knowing I wouldn't become aroused immediately anymore just by looking at her.

To my surprise, Aina immediately hug-tackled me as I rose up, my strength and instincts making me unconsciously backstep to cancel the momentum and stay on my feet, and she nuzzled her head into my chest, something she seemed to love doing, as she murmured, "Thank you... could I... help you next?"

I nodded, gulping in excitement and fear of what would become of me in the future, living with this temptress-in-the-making.

The following minutes were a true test of fire for my willpower and self-control, but I managed to power through in the end.

After we were ready, I picked Aina up in a princess carry, which she also seemed to love, and jumped down from my window, my adventuring pack slung over my shoulder.

As I was setting Aina down, however, she suddenly clung to me, and shyly said, "Um... Ray, could you carry me? Please...? I'm still a bit... weak from last night."

I chuckled a bit at the obvious lie, since she'd been just fine earlier in the morning, going to the dining room without an issue, but happily indulged her nonetheless.

But, as I began walking again, Aina's face suddenly turned aghast, her eyes wide, hands clasped against her mouth. I was too startled by the sudden change to even ask "What's wrong?" as she shut her eyes and, moving her hands away slightly, said;

"I–I'm so sorry, Mast–Ray. I–I just lied to you, even though I promised to never do so again, I selfishly—"

"Aina," I spoke over her, stopping her from talking. I knew her well enough by this point to recognize when she was going to start one of her self-deprecative, one-sided monologues, which I did not like one bit.

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So I cut her off before she could even begin.

"Is this about you telling me to carry you because you were tired from last night?"

She nodded despondently. I continued, relieved that it wasn't anything serious.

"Then there's no reason to be sorry, Aina. I knew what you were saying wasn't true, and you probably knew I knew, too. Plus, I very much like carrying you like this, too." I gave her a reassuring smile. I was getting pretty good at it.

"What was the real reason you wanted me to carry you, though?" I asked, as we crossed through the mansion's gate and I gave the guards there a brief greeting.

They were squires, knights-in-training that our family hired for a decent sum so they could pay for their tuition at the knight academy, or whatever it was called. They often ended up working for us even after becoming full-fledged knights, and never worked in groups smaller than three people, so there were normally no issues regarding loyalty.

"Well..." Aina's shy, hesitant voice broke me out of my musings, as she responded to my earlier question, "I... I guess I just wanted you to hold me even more..." She averted her eyes, though I could see the blush reach her pointy ears.

I held her slim form tighter, her thin arms wrapping around my chest.

"Man, how can a girl possibly be so adorab–" I stopped myself, realizing I was thinking out loud, then tried to recover. "A–ahem. Anyways, Aina, although I would prefer if you didn't lie to me or keep secrets, that isn't an absolute rule. For example, you can keep something a secret if you want it to be a surprise, or if it's something that wouldn't affect me anyways; especially if it's painful or embarrassing to tell me."

Aina just nodded, not making a comment on my earlier slip-up. She was truly too good for me, and to me.

"Lies are more complicated, but in instances like this one, where I can tell it's a lie, they're fine. But, since I can guess that'll just stop you from telling any... alright, how about this; if you want to tell me a lie but for some reason want me to know it's a lie, just use my full name, Raynold, in the sentence. That sound good?"

Aina nodded, raising her head to smile at me, then said, "Okay. Hmm... then, you're not the only thing that matters to me in the whole world, Raynold."

I snorted at the unnecessarily convoluted sentence, but my heart swelled with warmth nevertheless. If we weren't in the middle of the crowded streets, I would be crazily making out with Aina at this point.

I sighed. 'Let's just hurry up and get to the forest as soon as possible. We'll be able to get some proper kissing done, there.'

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