"If you keep groping around, get out of here!"
"Alright, alright, I won't touch, I won't touch anymore."
Herbert, barked at by Ophidia, sulkily raised both hands and backed up a few steps, but he didn't actually leave the Half-Plane.
If he really obediently left right now, that would actually be when the real problem started.
A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.
Ever heard of "welcoming yet refusing"?
If Ophidia genuinely wanted to drive Herbert away, she wouldn't just threaten him with words; she'd have already taken action personally.
She just didn't want Herbert making trouble; she didn't truly want to kick him out.
"You go on with your work, I'll just stay right here, I promise I won't make trouble again."
Herbert only tactfully retreated to a corner of the Half-Plane, leaving enough "safe distance" between himself and Ophidia for that wary snake tail of hers to relax.
"Relax, I really won't come over."
