While I was panicking trying to figure out what the hell happened while I was passed out, my movements shifted the only blanket in this absurd situation. And that small tug was enough to wake Aria up instantly.

I looked at her and it was the most beautiful sight I had seen in a long time. How her rumoured scary princess face was nothing like it sounded right now. She was laid here with a cute, vulnerable face. Just like a baby. Just like Anastasia when she was deep in her sleep.

A face that could stop wars if anyone saw it.

And what made it even more adorable was how she slowly opened her eyes. Blinking once. Twice. Then finally opening them fully to reveal a confused face that hadn’t yet registered the situation.

Then it registered.

And the confusion turned into something that looked like it was one second away from a scream.

I watched it all like some wholesome movie being played in front of me. All her stages of adorableness one after another. And I was watching with a smile on my face which she clearly didn’t appreciate.

She screamed.

Then went red and said. "Don’t tell me you did something!"

I was totally confused. Was I possessed by someone? Did some entity take over my body and do something with her? Because no other possibility was coming to mind.

So I said. "I can explain..."

But then my eyes betrayed me. They darted downward to her chest where her juicy, tempting tits had slipped out completely due to her sudden panic. Those vulnerable cute eyes from a moment ago were nothing compared to the new eye which was her pinkish nipples that were staring right at me as if saying pat me.

I wanted to but she caught my gaze and instantly yanked the blanket up to cover herself.

Worst move possible.

Because in pulling the blanket to her side, she ripped it completely off me. And in the very next moment my buddy was standing tall. Morning wood at full attention. And what made it even worse was the fact that seconds ago I was mentally pinching her nipples and squeezing those tits.

I was late to cover my perpendicular situation because her gaze had already traveled down and found it.

She froze for a second. Scared. Then her face twisted into the most disgusted expression I had ever seen on a human being. Her lips were moving with curses that she was keeping inside because saying them out loud would be beneath her.

Then she got up from the bed, wrapping herself in the stolen blanket. And raised her hand.

The moment she raised it I understood what was about to happen. The most painful and terrible death imaginable. And for what? I wouldn’t even know the reason because her dark energy was already swirling in the air and that concentrated beam of destruction was pointed directly at my lower body.

Precisely at my rock hard cock.

She fired.

"Wait..."

FWOOOSH.

I rolled off the bed the instant it left her palm. The beam scorched through where my crotch was lying a split second ago and I hit the floor hard on the other side.

The grim reaper had to reschedule.

She looked at me on the floor. Naked. Tangled. Pathetic. Her face was carrying a mixture of disgust, rage and something that said she genuinely regretted whatever led to this moment.

"You disgusting pervert. I shouldn’t have saved you."

Saying that she turned and walked out of the room without another word.

I grabbed the curtain from the window, ripped it down and wrapped it around my waist. Then chased after her.

"Wait, Aria! That wasn’t me, I swear! It was the dem..."

But the moment I stepped out the door I ran into someone else. Angelica was standing right outside.

She said. "What just happened? Why did she run like she saw something..."

Then her eyes traveled down my body and found the very obvious bulge forming underneath the curtain.

She looked at it. Then looked at my face. No surprise. No blushing. Just a completely expressionless stare.

"So I guess that was the reason."

I needed allies right now. Desperately. "Hey, Angelica. You said you consider me a friend, right?"

Her expression shifted. Her eyes actually glistened and she looked genuinely happy for a moment. "Yes. Of course."

"Then tell me. Will you believe me?"

"That depends."

"Hey, there should be trust between friends!"

"I’m listening."

I clicked my tongue and said. "I know this sounds ridiculous but I am telling the truth. I didn’t do anything wrong with Aria. Whatever happened with her wasn’t me. It was a demon."

I nodded to myself gaining confidence in this brilliant theory.

"Yes, it has to be. He controlled me and did something with Aria to frame me. I am sure it was the same one that controlled Dorian. They want revenge on me."

She looked at me with suspicious eyes. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Don’t tell me you are doubting my words! I swear on the gods that I don’t know a single thing about what is happening! All I remember is last night and that last moment when I passed out after the demise of Dorian!"

Angelica tilted her head slightly and made a face that reminded me of a detective who just caught a crucial detail.

"You mean the day before yesterday? It’s been two days since then."

My heart dropped. "What? Two days?"

There was no way I was passed out for two whole days while some demon took over my body. What did I do? What was done to me? What was done to Aria?

Angelica said with a dramatic voice that was building dread. "I knew it. Someone was controlling you. I knew the Deculein I know would never do something like..."

She gulped. Dramatically.

I was losing my mind. "What have I done?! You will protect me, right? You believe me? Because I am a saint! I would never do such a..."

Then she burst out laughing.

"PFFT... AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Full blown, gut-clutching, tear-forming laughter. The kind that made her face turn red and her body fold in half.

After what felt like an eternity she wiped her tears and said between gasps. "Oh dear gods..."

"Hey! We are friends, right?! Don’t tell me you are enjoying your friend’s misery!"

"Deculein, you are really a fool."

She laughed more. Clutching her stomach and wheezing until she was completely out of breath. Then she slowly composed herself back into the princess I knew and said.

"I was just teasing you. Nothing happened. Not even close to what you fantasized."

I stared at her.

"And as for Aria, I think you misunderstood some things. But before I explain, first tell me exactly what happened when you woke up."

I recalled everything and laid it out. "When I woke up she was half naked on the same bed as me. She panicked and pulled the blanket which exposed my... morning situation. Which I swear was not from some perverted thought but just a regular morning wood. And then she cursed me like I had committed some unforgivable sin."

Hearing that she laughed again. Even harder this time. Until she had to hold the wall for support.

"I can’t recall when I laughed this much in my entire life." She was wiping fresh tears. "Or rather, did I ever?"

"Don’t make fun of me when my entire life is on the line here!"

She held up a hand trying to compose herself again. "Fine. Fine. Let me start with what actually happened."

She took a breath.

"After the fight, all of us were brought back to the town healers and got patched up. Everyone except you."

I listened.

"They healed your internal damages from the fight but they were unable to cure the corruption overload."

"Corruption what?"

She gave me a look. "Are you doing this on purpose? Corruption energy. The demon’s source of magic. During the fight with Dorian you foolishly charged at him and stayed within his range while he was leaking tremendous amounts of corruption energy. Your body absorbed too much of it and your condition was getting worse with each passing minute."

She paused.

"That’s when Aria stepped in. She said she had a way to cure it. Apparently her body can absorb demonic energy just by being in close contact with the source. So for the past two days she stayed by your side. Didn’t even leave the room once."

I blinked. "But why the hell was she naked then?"

"Maybe it was more efficient to let her body absorb the energy without any obstacles in the way."

And just like that everything clicked into place.

When Aria said don’t tell me you did something, she wasn’t accusing me of violating her. She was asking if I touched her or saw something while she was in that vulnerable state. That’s what she was worried about.

Not what I thought. Not even close.

I let out the longest sigh of relief my lungs had ever produced.

"Now I can start plotting again to save this stupid world without worrying about a huge bounty on my head."

Angelica caught that murmur and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. But before she could question it she shifted to something else.

"By the way, Deculein. It would be foolish to ask you this right after you just woke up from an injury. But I really need to find some answers."

Her tone had changed. The playfulness was gone. Whatever she wanted to discuss was serious.

"So will you come with me for a while?"