NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 38. Laying the Groundwork
Ultimately reaching the conclusion that it was better to be considered a hooligan who knew moderation than one out of control, Ophelia lifted her face from Kara's chest, trying to bury the shame of being caught in a very compromising situation under a mask of indifference.
However, after seeing Kara, who was sitting quietly in her lap with a bashful expression and wrinkled clothes that could make anyone think she had suffered a great injustice, Ophelia couldn't help but curse in her mind.
'Why is she acting all innocent now? Isn't she the one who started this?'
"Kara, I think it's time for you to go back to your seat...", Ophelia said with a bit of impatience in her voice, then gestured to the young waitress to start serving the food.
"...But why, mistress?... Did I do something wrong?", Kara asked with a trembling voice, her eyes wide as if an affirmative answer from Ophelia would mean her death sentence.
"!!!!!!!"
Hearing Kara's words, Ophelia didn't even have the courage to look at the waitress, certain that she would see nothing but condemnation in her eyes.
'As if being a hooligan wasn't embarrassing enough, now I have to be seen as a bastard who enjoys exploiting the emotions of innocent girls...'
The situation wasn't actually as bad as Ophelia thought, since the young waitress didn't think it was such a terrible thing to be the plaything of a woman as beautiful as Ophelia. She, at least, wouldn't have minded being in Kara's place at that moment.
However, Ophelia had no way of knowing the thoughts of the blushing waitress who was placing the plates of food on the table and was swallowing hard every time she looked at them more or less accidentally, so she continued to search for a way to get out of that situation as quickly as possible.
'Well, I don't think I'll be able to calm Kara down unless I resort to extreme measures...', Ophelia thought to herself after a few seconds during which her brain was working at full capacity. She then brought her mouth as close as possible to Kara's ear and whispered in a very seductive tone:
"Tell me, Kara, what's more important to you: continuing this charade or having sex tonight?"
It seemed that Ophelia was willing to go down with Kara if her gamble didn't pay off, as she would have to spend the night without releasing the arousal that had built up from the dozens of passionate kisses until then to punish Kara if she chose the first option.
Fortunately for her (and for those who enjoy reading scenes not suitable for minors), it seemed that Ophelia won the bet because, as if her words were filled with magic, Kara shed all her shyness in less than a second. After quickly giving Ophelia a goodbye kiss on the cheek, Kara got up from her lap and walked towards her chair, brimming with confidence and elegance, passing by the waitress who had witnessed everything with her mouth agape.
'Damn... These girls really know how to have fun...', the waitress thought to herself, believing that everything she had seen was just a game between the two to spice up their relationship.
...............................
"It's not like I didn't try to warn you that someone was coming...", Kara said after the waitress finished her job and left.
"Heh, as if you couldn't have escaped from my arms whenever you wanted...", Ophelia retorted, convinced that Kara's goal was to tease her as revenge for not fully cooperating with her plans.
"Well, you were really very aggressive... And, I didn't have the heart to interrupt your fun...", Kara defended herself in a tone full of bitterness. Why was she blamed in the end, even though her intentions were unquestionably good?
"Cough! Cough!", Ophelia almost choked on her food. She couldn't deny that she had had a very good time, but she didn't want to let Kara use that to get away with it.
'But what can I do? How can you win a debate when your opponent can bend and stretch without a hint of shame?', Ophelia wondered, unable to find any way to make Kara admit that she had bad intentions. She would have brought up the fact that Kara started acting very timidly as soon as the waitress came with the food, but she was sure that Kara had a ready excuse for that, like genuinely panicking because she had never been in such a situation before.
'Ugh! It's really exhausting to deal with someone so stubborn. Besides, it wouldn't bring me much satisfaction even if I managed to make her admit that she wanted to put me in an embarrassing situation...', Ophelia ultimately decided to abandon the fight to prove Kara's guilt, consoling herself with the thought that there would be future opportunities to get back at Kara in the same way.
'Yes, it would be wonderful if I could sometimes make her genuinely as timid and submissive as she pretended to be at the beginning in front of the waitress...'
Hiding her dangerous intentions towards Kara, Ophelia directed her attention to the delicious dishes in front of her. Since she had been trying to use her money as frugally as possible in recent months, she had avoided entering such luxury restaurants, so it was no surprise that the food in front of her seemed very attractive at that moment.
"The fact that Kara knows how to pamper me makes up for her sins...", Ophelia told herself as she brought a piece of pheasant steak covered in truffle sauce to her mouth.
Thinking about her recent financial situation, Ophelia remembered that she and Kara still hadn't divided the money obtained from the mission, with Kara having given her all the money to keep before they left the Adventurer's Guild.
'Considering that most of the money was obtained for the diamond-clawed bear and that Kara didn't need any of my help to complete the mission, I think everything should go to Kara...'
Ophelia began to tell Kara what she was thinking, but Kara didn't want to hear it.
"Well, I didn't give you the money just to hold on to it, I gave it to you so it would be yours..."
Ophelia didn't know what to think about Kara's decision. It was true that she needed to save a large sum of money and that it would have been almost impossible to do so without Kara, but there was a difference between earning the money with Kara's help and having it given to her by Kara. Wouldn't it seem like she was taking advantage of Kara if she continued to accept the fruits of Kara's labor without any hesitation? Moreover, Ophelia didn't want their relationship, which was already unbalanced because Kara was much stronger than her, to become even more unbalanced if she allowed herself to be financially supported by Kara.
"I don't think you should worry too much about this, Ophelia...", Kara began to say, seeing Ophelia's hesitation to accept the money. "If I had to work myself to the bone, I would understand that you would feel guilty about taking money from me, but since I am capable of earning a fortune as easily as snapping my fingers, I don't see why you would have any reason to refuse..."
"I don't know what to say... It's like I'm being kept...", Ophelia said, Kara's words failing to dispel all her worries.
"And what's so bad about that? It's not like I'm some lecherous old man...", Kara joked, but the result was not what she expected, as Ophelia gave her an angry look, so she immediately corrected herself: "Ahem, I meant to say that you are my wife. If I don't give you the money I earn, who should I give it to?"
Ophelia couldn't help but roll her eyes.
'As I concluded before, it's hard to argue with someone very shameless...', she complained to herself, but it was quite evident from her smile that she was pleasantly surprised by Kara calling her her wife. Moreover, Kara's words managed to dispel almost all of her worries. Yes, if they form a family, why should they keep track of how much money each earned? Shouldn't everything that is hers also be Kara's and everything that is Kara's also be hers? As for the imbalance in their relationship, it was once again confirmed to Ophelia that it had no influence on their interactions. Isn't just one frown from her enough to put Kara in her place?
As if wanting to test her powers, Ophelia decided not to let Kara off so easily, bringing up a topic they had only discussed once before she became Kara's lover.
"I don't know. Didn't you say you wouldn't stop until you've conquered all the beauties in the world? Maybe you should give it to one of them..."
Since all Kara's thoughts at that moment were about Ophelia, it took Kara a few moments to remember her intentions after leaving The Great Moonshadow Forest.
"It's true that was my plan... What can I say? After spending more than a year alone in the wilderness, it was expected I'd have all sorts of ideas... Probably because I lacked affection...", said Kara, who felt quite fulfilled being in a relationship with just Ophelia and didn't intend to have another lover anytime soon.
Moreover, if Ophelia were really against someone else joining them, she wouldn't regret spending her entire life with just Ophelia, even if her life would stretch on for eternity.
"Oh, so now the plan has changed?", Ophelia asked, genuinely surprised that Kara no longer seemed so determined to fulfill her dream of being surrounded by many beauties.
"Well, as long as you don't agree, I won't let anyone else get close to me..."
Although Ophelia was very satisfied with Kara's response as it confirmed that she already held a very important place in Kara's heart, she couldn't help but wonder if it might be wrong to try to keep Kara just for herself, because she didn't want Kara to feel chained by the love she had for her in the future.
'Besides, I think a considerate lover who accepts her as she is would be much more to Kara's liking in the long run than an extremely jealous one...', Ophelia thought, aware that Kara wasn't the kind of person who liked to control her greed.
"It's not entirely impossible for me to allow you to have other lovers...", Ophelia finally said, then brought another piece of pheasant steak to her mouth.
"Huh?"
Kara couldn't help but wonder if her hearing was playing tricks on her. Did Ophelia really say she agreed for her to be in a relationship with other girls? And if she did, wasn't she agreeing too easily?
"Ummm, Ophelia, what brought this on all of a sudden?"
"I thought it would be good to establish some things from the beginning, so there won't be any misunderstandings later. As I said, I can agree for you to have other lovers, but I won't accept anyone who wants to take my place in your heart. I don't intend to participate in all sorts of intrigues and plots like those between a king's wives and concubines, so if someone wants to be with you, they'll have to treat me as if we're part of the same family. Plus, they have to be someone I like as well, because I don't plan to interact every day with someone who annoys me...", Ophelia began listing the conditions that Kara's future lovers would have to meet.
"...."
"What happened? I expected you to be more excited...", Ophelia asked, seeing that Kara was just listening without saying anything, the expression on her face showing she was troubled by something.
"...How should I put it... it seems a bit inappropriate to discuss this on our first date... It's like you're eagerly waiting to see me with other girls...", Kara replied hesitantly, not wanting Ophelia to think she was insecure.
Ophelia felt like swearing when she heard the reason for Kara's unease.
'What the heck, I'm making an effort to keep my jealousy under control, but instead of being moved by my sacrifice, Kara starts doubting my feelings for her?'
Ophelia intended to reproach Kara for her emotional immaturity, but remembering that Kara didn't grow up in the same environment as she did, where you had to learn to control your emotions as soon as you started walking, and that Kara was a few years younger than her, she decided to act calmly.
"Kara, I really like you and I think I'm starting to fall in love with you, but I don't have the habit of letting emotions control me when planning the future. Anyway, that doesn't mean I won't be jealous if I see you flirting with other girls, and deep down I'll always want you to put me first, so for these reasons, I'd prefer to have a significant role in the courting process of your future lovers to make sure I'm not neglected and that I have a harmonious relationship with them."
Even though Kara wasn't an expert in intrigue, it wasn't difficult for her to understand that Ophelia wanted to monopolize her in a subtle way, trying to be as involved as possible in the relationships she might have with other girls in the future. However, Kara wasn't at all annoyed by this; in fact, she felt relieved because it showed that Ophelia was quite possessive of her, a clear sign that she had become important to Ophelia as well. Well, maybe that was Ophelia's goal, otherwise, she probably wouldn't have exposed her intentions so clearly.
Anyway, it seemed that Ophelia had managed to create an image of the perfect wife in Kara's eyes: one who doesn't restrict her freedom but intends to always be by her side to ensure she remains the most important to her, Kara avoiding to deeply analyze how much of this image illustrated reality and how much was painted by Ophelia. But what other option did she have to keep her peace? It's hard to be the lover of someone with great emotional intelligence and who is an expert in calculating the advantages and disadvantages of any decision made.
"I think I understand, but for now, I don't intend to let anyone else join us, so it would be advisable for you to eat well now to have enough energy for tonight because you won't have anyone to share my love with...", Kara decided to end this discussion that had deviated too much and, honestly, she couldn't even remember what started it (just as neither the author nor probably the readers remember), as she began to seriously eat from the plate in front of her, which was almost untouched.
