"Actually, now might be a good time to clear the air between us. There are things we have to make clear."
At his words, both Lilith and Ana visibly tensed. Lilith frowned slightly as her brows furrowed a little in displeasure at the topic. Ana's reaction was much the same, except there was none of Lilith's willfulness, and much more panic.
But whether it was Ana's shifting eyes that seemed glued to the floor, or the faux show of displeasure on Lilith's face. Nevaris could read the true emotion buried deep within their eyes and tense shoulders.
Fear.
Not a fear of exposure per se, but a fear that Nevaris was used to seeing everyday back on Earth. A fear that drove his generation to do stupid asinine things in full view of the public for a few digital clicks and likes.
A fear of rejection.
Sensing that, Nevaris knew that he had to nib that fear in the bud right away. While he accepted and viewed fear as a necessary emotion and not one to shy away from, a fear that stems from being isolated or abandoned was a weakness he would not allow.
Especially from women he wished to marry.
Without beating around the bush, Nevaris said, "Let's be transparent first. You both were engaged to me due to one reason, and one reason only. To embarrass me, and by extension, embarrass my mother."
He spoke as if he was talking about someone completely unrelated to himself. They felt like they should have been uncomfortable–angry even, at his words. But strangely, they felt a flicker of something else.
Not quite the same calm, but a growing sense of release as he spoke. After all, they were both aware of the truth of their engagement. One of them was an outcast, an anomaly to her own people.
While the other was scorned as a useless princess by her people, and worse yet, was seen as a failure, and as nothing more than a tool by her own family. Seeing his straightforward, raw honesty made them feel safer than any words of comfort and assurance ever could.
"As you have no doubt heard from your own families, or from the gossip on your way here. I am a useless prince. A descendant of the Dragon Emperor that couldn't even be considered a dragon, someone whose own people mock him as little more than a worm."
As he spoke, an almost nostalgic smile graced his lips. His expression stunning the other two seated with him.
"And those rumors–those words–are all true. I was a worm. An insect that would crawl at the feet of the strong. A parasite that only survived to this day due to the reputation of his lonely, tired mother. That is the type of man you were sent to marry."
Ana seemed like she wanted to protest, but the words died on her lips as she lowered her head once again. Lilith's fists beneath the table clenched as she tried to maintain a calm facade, but her agitation was clearly displayed by the slight ticks of her spider scythes.
Just then Nevaris let out a low chuckle, his expression shifting into a look of amusement neither could understand. Until he began to speak again.
"But that version of me…that 'Nevaris', is dead. His cowardice, his weakness, his existence–I devoured it all. He will never appear again. Ever."
For a second a faint, almost imperceptible crack appeared at the corner of his eye as the mercury in his eyes seemed to swirl like to black holes. The two were captivated by his words, feeling a taboo sense of thrill and heat at the pull of his gaze.
His words seemed off somehow, as if he wasn't speaking figuratively…but as if he had truly done what he said. But neither of them cared about that right now, the only thought that filled their minds was a burning desire to unwrap the mystery of this abandoned fiancee of theirs.
"How the world views me doesn't matter. Whether it be dragons, elves, vampires, or even the gods. I can not be bothered to care about their views. It's not that I'm too arrogant to believe it is beneath me or any bullshit like that. It's simply because I can't be bothered to waste the energy on something that matters so little to me. I want to live a carefree life with my family. Create a world where only we matter, where only our happiness and contentness give meaning to our days. To me, that is a dream I have held in my heart for as long as I could remember. And if anyone gets in the way of that…"
The smile on his face was horrifying, yet Lilith and Ana felt a familiar heat like the night before.
"Well, then they would be worth my effort. I give them the attention they so desperately crave. And then there will be silence once more. If you two are to be my wives, then know this. I am a selfish man. I want the best for my family, but I always want my family to be the best themselves. You will be my eternity. My very reason to seek more from this life. So if you wish for me to be your husband, you must respect me and yourselves enough to be worthy of that weight."
As he finished speaking, Nevaris rested back into his seat with an expressionless face as he watched the reactions of the two women around the table. While he seemed calm on the outside, internally he was going crazy.
'What the fuck was with that cringy ass possessive MC monologue!? Ugh, I wanna die. I wanna die. Kill mee! They probably think I'm crazy, o-or gross, or both! Whatever! Bullets' been fired, whatever happens, happens, and can't happen any other way!' he resolved himself mentally.
His gaze was still impassive as he watched them. After an unknown period of time, Lilith finally spoke.
"I knew what this "engagement" was the moment my mother and sisters told me who I would be marrying. And I won't lie, I was planning on either poisoning you or killing you outright to escape from here." Lilith's tone was calm, but the faint tremor beneath it showed how nervous she was.
"I'm not good at expressing myself in any other way besides lashing out. I don't like people–no–I hate people. I hate the masks we all wear around each other every damn day. I grew up learning that if you don't scheme first, you die first. We are all just food to the strong. So I was taught to latch onto a man strong enough to keep me safe, to turn him into my obedient dog and wring him dry until he was no longer useful.
My mother taught us these things as her twisted way of helping us "survive". Hahaha, and she expected me as her eldest daughter to emulate everything she believed in. To show my sisters, my people, that the only way for an arachne to survive in this world was to be nothing more than a self-glorified whore."
As she spoke, the pain, hatred, and loathing in her eyes was almost tangible. But when her gaze locked with Nevaris', the darkness in her eyes shifted into something else.
Something deeper, something raw.
Her pupils began to form those familiar hearts. Their depths seemed to want to drown him within them.
"But I refused. I denied her ideology. Her disgusting way of life. And for that, I was sold off to be the wife for the "Worm Prince" of the dragon race. I vowed then and there that I would run. That I would free myself from these chains around me no matter what. But then, I met you. And you…"
The black hearts in her green irises were pulsating now, her breathing becoming ragged and labored as her gaze on him intensified. But Nevaris didn't flinch away this time, he held her gaze calmly despite the intensity of her own.
And that reaction seemed to drive her deeper into her crazed episode. She stood, walking slowly toward him under his quiet gaze before sitting directly in lap. She sniffed him softly, his intoxicating scent almost sending her into an euphoric trance.
"You were perfect. Every single part of you seemed born–crafted, for me to a tee. I knew the second I saw you. You were mine. I will have those bitches butchered for their betrayal and mockery. But I will stay by your side for all eternity, I will never let you get away~! My man! My husband! My love! My darlingg~~"
As she spoke, her hands reached out and grabbed his face. Bringing his face level with hers as her obsessive gaze threatened to swallow his soul whole. Nevaris returned her gaze in silence before he broke out in a gentle smile.
The sudden attack of handsomeness stopped her heart for a solid minute as the hearts in her eyes started pulsing even faster.
"Then, I accept your love and devotion. My words from last night hold true. Whatever you desire shall be laid at your feet. You are tied to me for life, and I will never let you go. My honeyed poison~"
At that, Lilith's psyche fully crashed as she froze in his lap like a statue. Seeing this, Nevaris let out a laugh as he leaned down and placed a kiss on her catatonic forehead.
He then turned his gaze to the silent Ana. Since the moment he had met her, he had felt a strange closeness to her. As if they were two people cut from the same cloth. Even now, he felt that he knew her choice before she even said it.
Ana, who had had her head lowered since earlier, now raised it to look at him. And her gaze was different now. He had noticed earlier that she seemed like a completely different person compared to the shy, stuttering girl he had first met yesterday.
And now, under her determined, steady gaze. He definitely knew something had changed in her.
'She is taking off her mask.'
The realization filled him with a palpable excitement as he waited for her next move. But her following action shocked even him.
After a deep breath, she raised her trembling hand and placed it on her actual mask.