Chapter 323
He allowed Aldraya the space and time to observe, to absorb the reality of the solution he had presented.
Theo himself remained silent, holding his breath, realizing that this was a subtle turning point in their relationship.
This offering was not merely the act of handing over a hygiene tool.
It was the transfer of a deeply personal artifact, born from the deepest excavation of Aldraya's soul.
When the moment felt right, and Aldraya's gaze seemed to have finished its observation in quiet satisfaction, only then did Theo move.
With a movement that was extremely careful and respectful, his left hand—the one supporting the pad—shifted slightly forward, bringing it closer to Aldraya.
He did not force it into her hands, but offered it.
Then, very slowly, he began to withdraw his right hand from Aldraya's forehead, severing the physical contact that had served as the channel of creation moments before.
Theo left the act of wearing that profoundly intimate item to Aldraya herself.
"I'll wait at the end of this alley."
At the exact moment Aldraya's slender, pale fingers touched the surface of the white pad, and the miraculous object seemed to recognize the touch of its owner and ceased floating as it transferred into her grasp, Theo acted immediately.
Without waiting or looking any longer, his body turned in a decisive motion.
He turned his entire back to her, granting Aldraya absolute privacy.
His back, now facing the girl, became a living protective wall, a human barricade at the mouth of the narrow alley.
As he turned, his voice emerged, calm yet clear, carrying through the silence broken only by the hiss of the daytime wind.
He said—or rather announced—that he would wait from the far end of the alley.
The explanation was brief, yet served two purposes.
First, as a promise that he would not leave, that he would remain nearby, a reassuring presence amid this intensely vulnerable moment.
Second, and more importantly, his role shifted into that of a guardian.
By waiting at the end of the alley that opened toward a more public area, he would warn—or more precisely, block—anyone who might happen to step into this narrow corridor.
"Is there a problem, Aldraya?"
"Since I have existed, that restraint has already been attached to me. But now, there is no hand preparing it for me."
Hoooh!
"This object feels unfamiliar. I do not understand how."
'Is she indirectly asking me to put it on—and guide her?'
Theo had just taken two steps, his feet nearly leaving the immediate shadow cast by his turned back to Aldraya, when a touch stopped him.
It was not a strong grip, but a gentle yet firm restraint.
Theo's left arm felt light pressure from Aldraya's fingers, preventing him from moving any farther away.
He stopped, his body still facing away, then slowly turned his head back, his eyes meeting Aldraya with a questioning look.
In his silence, he asked whether there was a problem, a question hanging in the air between them.
Aldraya, still holding the white pad in one hand while the other restrained Theo, began to speak.
Her voice was flat, yet a clear internal logic resonated within her words.
She explained that since her birth, since the very beginning of her existence, she had always worn a pad.
It was part of her natural condition, a fundamental fact about herself, like the white color of her hair.
But this time, in this act of replacement, there was no one putting the pad onto her body.
The statement sounded simple, yet it contained both an operational dilemma and a veiled plea.
Deep within Theo's heart, a murmur of understanding immediately arose.
He processed Aldraya's words.
The message implied that Aldraya's sense of identity was bound to the idea that she had always worn a pad, since birth.
It was part of the package of her existence, not an accessory to be put on and taken off.
Repeated reincarnations and changes of form had not altered that basic fact in her self-perception.
But now, her former support—an abstract conception she had once relied upon—had collapsed and burned away, unable to withstand the ideological conflict between the dignity of a Supreme Angel and her belief that regarded her Lord as a shameful god.
That failure forced her to accept the need for a replacement that was tangible, crude, and worldly.
And here lay the problem.
She did not know how.
The concept that had clung to her since birth had never come with an installation manual.
The plea was implicit, yet overwhelmingly strong.
By saying that there was no one to put it on her, Aldraya was indirectly—yet also very directly—appealing to Theo.
She was asking him to put it on her, and at the same time, to teach her how to do it.
This was not merely a request for technical assistance, but a request to enter an intensely intimate ritual of care, an admission that in this state of total vulnerability, Theo was the only person she trusted not only to provide the tool, but also to guide her hands, to serve as the bridge between her abstract self-concept—always wrapped and protected—and the physical reality of her body, which was now in trouble and in need of direct care.
'What kind of tolerance is this, really? Calmly, she entrusts the sanctity and secrets of her body to me.
Is she unaware of the depth of intimacy in this act—or is it precisely that awareness that makes her choose to trust me completely?'
Busssh!
"Aldraya, wait—!"
A shock deeper than mere surprise struck Theo, rumbling in his chest and momentarily blanking his thoughts.
More precisely, it was a profound confusion over the level of tolerance and trust Aldraya was granting him.
The boundaries in his mind—so clearly drawn between help and violation of privacy—seemed to melt away before Aldraya's innocence or absolute surrender.
It felt as though the white-haired girl before him was not merely asking for help, but was literally handing over her "sanctity," a concept deeply sacred to her, to be touched—to be "handled," even in the most technical sense—by Theo.
Accepting this was both a burden and an honor that left him unsteady.
Yet Aldraya appeared entirely unaffected by Theo's inner turmoil.
Ignoring any opinion, hesitation, or embarrassment that might have shown on his face, she took action on her own.
With an almost ceremonial calm, Aldraya transferred the pad from her grasp into Theo's hands, a gesture that silently established him as the figure of ritual authority.
Then, with startling composure, her hands moved to her waist.
Aldraya began unfastening the buttons of her skirt.
Her movements were relaxed and efficient, as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
The sound of the clasp or buttons coming undone rang sharply in the silence of the alley, an undeniable signal of what was about to follow.
Theo, hearing that sound and realizing that he was still facing directly toward Aldraya, reacted with an almost panicked reflex.
Before his gaze could catch anything, before his imagination could form an image, his eyelids snapped shut.
He closed his eyes tightly, with a firm resolve not to open them at all.
"Please, put it on. Now."
'She isn't just embarrassed—she might actually get cold or feel extremely uncomfortable if left exposed like this for too long.
It seems there is no other choice.'
"I've set up barriers at both ends of this alley. No one will be able to pass through or see."
Bruuuk!
To be continued…