Maids VS Apocalypse

Once Lara was done listing the three cases that would lead to the contract ending, Mark repeated them in his mind a few times. His brows came together in a contemplative look, and a hand reached up to cover his mouth. Lara found his reaction a bit overboard, and as his eyes turned to look at her she got a dreadful premonition.

"So... If I got this right..." He looked her in the eyes and spoke with utmost seriousness. "We’re stuck together until death do us apart?"

The answer was yes and that’s what she was about to say when the meaning behind the question revealed itself, causing her eyes to widen for an instant before lowering into an icy glare.

"That is absolutely false." She replied.

She sent chills rolling over his skin and Mark almost apologized for misinterpreting what she said. But he didn’t do it. He didn’t give up on the joke no matter how scared he got.

"Hey, all I’m saying is that this contract makes it sound like we’re married."

"We are not," Lara replied.

"Why not? I mean, you said it yourself." Mark kept pushing despite feeling the growing danger. "Our souls are connected! And we will stay together until either one of us dies!"

"Master, if you keep spewing such nonsense I will terminate the contract."

Mark got on his knees and bowed his head.

"Please don’t divorce me!"

"We are not married."

Whether she realized he was messing around or not, Lara seemed to admit defeat, sighing as she looked away.

"Well, we might not be married," Mark returned to his seat. "But we’re halfway there."

He could feel the gold glare fall on him once more, but that didn’t deter him.

"We already signed a contract, and I have already agreed. All that is left is to convince you."

The quick retort he expected didn’t come, but Mark didn’t have to wait for long.

"Are you sure you want to be married to me? Even though I’m not your favorite?"

A lightning bolt descended on him along with that reply. More followed right after.

"Master, you intend to summon more maids in the future. Do you intend to marry them as well?"

"That’s-"

"If I remember correctly, you prefer that well-endowed woman with the long ears." Lara’s words came out as daggers that stabbed right into his chest. "Would it not be wiser to wait for her instead of putting your sights on me?"

"I-"

"Master, are you a lustful man who targets any woman who happens to be nearby?"

The last one hurt pretty badly, so much that Mark couldn’t take it lying down.

"I’m not!"

In his sudden outburst, he ended up leaning too much in the maid’s direction, forcing her to lean back. Thankfully he was quick to notice his mistake and backed away before any mistake could happen. For a moment there, his face was so close to the maid’s, causing his heart to almost shut down.

He glanced at the silver-haired maid and saw that she was no different, with the tips of her ears having gone red. It was sometime before either of them recovered enough to say anything, though Mark was a little faster, having wanted to explain himself.

"Lara, you might not know this, but... you are the first woman I took interest in."

Until recently, Mark had always put some distance between himself and everyone else, especially members of the opposite sex, to ensure no one discovered anything about the voices in his head. He kept some acquaintances as a part of the act, but other than that there was no one who got close enough for him to be interested in them.

’Wait, did I just say something truly pathetic?’

He tried to gauge the maid’s reaction and was met with a doubtful look.

"That does not change anything." She ignored his defense and resumed her attacks, placing a hand on her chest. "Lara Becker, the story she originates from, is it not one where the protagonist engages in relationships with multiple women?"

"That’s..." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Fatality. He had no comeback for that.

"Master is a lustful man after all." She looked away from him and harrumphed. "To desire many women at once, that is truly shameful."

Mark could only hang his head in defeat. It was true, all of it. He was a lustful man. He looked forward to the day Celestia was summoned, and he was sure the other maids would appeal to him as well. Even if their personalities changed due to other-dimensional entities residing in them, their appearances, at the very least, would be exactly as he wished them to be. The contract would be an obstacle to his desire to build a maid harem, but he wasn’t about to give up just like that.

"... You are right. I am a lustful man."

He raised his head and felt the weight on his chest fall. The admission might turned out to be the final nail in his coffin yet he didn’t feel like caring. It was shameful, and depending on the person it might be outright despicable, but to him it didn’t feel wrong.

"Lara." He met the maid’s ruby irises and didn’t look away. "I will make it clear now: I want you, and as long as we’re together, I will keep trying to get you."

Lara returned the look and didn’t budge.

"How can you say you want me when it has only been a few days since we met?" She asked, her brows furrowed.

"Does it matter?" Mark raised an eyebrow. "Your beauty alone is enough to captivate any man’s heart."

Something about what he said caused the maid’s frown to deepen.

"So it is the vessel’s appearance that caught your interest?"

The rhetorical question dealt an unexpected blow, but Mark wasn’t about to fall.

"I’m interested in the you that’s in front of me." He said. "Your nature, as well as your origin, both are a part of you. They aren’t a boundary that separates the current you from your previous identity."

Lara Becker was a fake identity the other-dimensional entity took on upon her summon. It was nothing more than a mask she donned for her job and would discard once that job was done. Still, there was a likelihood that she would go on living as the silver-haired maid for a long time. Could she truly disassociate herself from it, especially with her memories of the events prior to the summon sealed away?

"The vessel might be beautiful, but without you, it would be no different from the lines of text I wrote. Without you it’s incomplete, that’s why I will never be able to see the two of you separately."

Though the words came out of his own mouth, Mark felt it was a little weird. His desire for the maid didn’t go beyond the basic desire a man has for a beautiful woman. He couldn’t say with certainty that he loved her, and because of that everything he said felt a little hollow.

’Should I be saying these things when I don’t feel that strongly about her?’

Mark fell silent after that question came to his mind. It was a little late by then as he was done saying what needed to be said. Nevertheless, he had an inkling that everything would be fine as long as he was rejected again. There was truth to what he said, of course. That’s why he planned on reexamining his thoughts and feelings before attempting to court her again.

"Master... I understand what you are trying to say." Lara drew her lips into a line and let the silence linger. Once she spoke again, her voice contained none of the scorn she previously held. "I... I will try to keep an open mind."

"It’s alright. You don’t have to-" The words got caught in Mark’s throat and he almost choked on them. "What... did you say?"

She was blushing. Lara was blushing. To the tips of her ears. She was blushing so much that she had to turn away from him.

’... huh?’

"Does this mean..."

Just then, she abruptly turned to him with her usual glare, though with her pale skin taking on a bright shade of red, the coldness it exuded before was lost.

"To make myself clear, this does not mean I will be more forgiving of unsolicited advances."

Mark snapped out of his daze and nodded his head.

"That is completely understandable."

He waited for her to clarify more, and after a deep breath, she did just that.

"It is as you said; we might be stuck together for a very long time." Mark nodded along, earning himself a side glance. "Considering the... needs of this vessel, the only appropriate way to deal with them is... well..."

Everything seemed to click without her having to say the rest. A dhampir’s bite was a sexual act. A pure maiden wouldn’t want to engage in things of that nature with just anyone, but her body has its needs and she wouldn’t be able to resist them forever. The solution would be to find a way for her to satisfy them without feeling ashamed, and what better way to do so than to have a husband who is willing to share the burden with her?

"I will say it again." As if she had read his thoughts, Lara once again tried to hammer in the point. "This is strictly to deal with the needs of the vessel and nothing more."

"Understood!"