Chapter 326
Her crisp laughter vanished, replaced by something entirely different.
From between her tightly pressed lips came a groan.
It was not loud or dramatic, but a low, suppressed sound, rising from deep in her throat, heavy with restraint and an uncontainable ache.
The sound was clear enough to draw the attention of Ilux right beside her, and of course, of the vigilant pair observing from a distance.
"Erietta! What happened? What's wrong with you? Please don't make others panic like this!"
Ilux's reaction came with a speed and spontaneity that reflected their closeness.
The moment he saw Erietta bend over and heard that pained groan, everything else instantly lost priority.
The skewer of bird meat he had just bitten into without thinking was immediately set aside.
Not discarded, but with a quick motion he slipped it into the cloth tote bag they had happened to receive from one of the vendors, clearing his hands of any distraction.
Food, which moments earlier had been a source of pleasure, now became utterly insignificant.
Those newly freed hands moved at once, not toward himself, but toward Erietta.
Both hands landed gently yet firmly on Erietta's shoulders, forming a steady brace around her body as it curled in pain.
His touch was not a hard grip, but a support, an attempt to offer physical stability as well as calm.
Ilux's face, usually cheerful or theatrically expressive, was now filled with sincere and deep concern.
The furrow in his brow showed complete focus on Erietta's condition.
From his mouth, in a voice that sounded faster and higher than usual, poured a stream of questions.
They came out in quick succession, overlapping in his anxiety.
"Maybe… because we ate too much spicy food earlier, Ilux.
I… let me go to the restroom first, I think. Just for a moment."
With her face still twisted and her body half bent, Erietta tried to answer Ilux's barrage of questions.
Her voice came out strained, slipping between short breaths as she struggled against the pain spreading through her stomach.
She tried to offer an explanation, though she herself might not have been entirely sure.
The reason was simple and logical.
Most likely, it was a stomachache.
A predictable consequence after consuming so much spicy food excessively throughout the day, a culinary adventure finally demanding its price.
She mentioned Ilux in her explanation, acknowledging that this was a shared consequence, a risk they had borne together in their recklessness.
After giving that reason, Erietta immediately made a request.
Her voice was weak yet clear amid the clamor of the market.
She asked for permission, a small formality that showed either respect or reliance on Ilux in this situation, to go to the restroom for a moment.
It was a practical and straightforward solution, a hope that by relieving whatever was troubling her stomach, the pain would subside.
The request was also an acknowledgment of the urgency and private nature of the problem, one that required a pause in their adventure.
"Ah, of course! Go, don't hold it in. I'll wait here. Be quick, and be careful!"
The moment Erietta finished speaking, even before the strained tone of her voice fully faded into the air, Ilux was already moving.
There was no pause to think or consider.
The hands that had just been firmly supporting Erietta's shoulders immediately released their hold.
The motion was not a rough withdrawal, but a freeing one, allowing Erietta to head toward her destination at once.
The release itself was an answer, an approval faster than words.
Still, words followed.
They slipped from Ilux's mouth in a tone that sounded almost like reassurance to himself, or perhaps an attempt to ease Erietta's anxiety.
He said that even without Erietta asking, he would never forbid her from excusing herself to the restroom.
"Thank you, Ilux! I'll be back quickly!"
After hearing Ilux's unconditional reassurance and permission, a brief sense of relief appeared on Erietta's pained face.
She gave a small nod, perhaps accompanied by a hurried word of thanks from her lips, before turning away at once.
Her body, which had been bent, straightened briefly to gather momentum, and then she dashed off.
Her steps were fast and urgent, though still unsteady from the discomfort in her stomach.
She no longer paid attention to the crowd around her, her eyes fixed on a single place, a single goal.
The restroom door, conveniently not too far away, a sudden oasis in the sea of market pleasures.
Before Erietta completely disappeared from view, Ilux's voice was heard again, cutting through the air that was beginning to separate them.
It was loud enough to reach Erietta's ears as she half ran away, but not shouted.
He said, in a calm yet clear tone, that he would wait.
He would not follow, would not intrude on Erietta's privacy, but he also would not go anywhere.
His waiting place was specific.
Around this stall.
It was a promise of location, an anchor for Erietta to return to later, a marker that even if she had to face her discomfort alone, she would not be alone in the broader sense.
Someone was waiting.
'There's something fishy here. No doubt about it.'
From their concealed observation point amid light and shadow, Theo and Aldraya kept their focus on the lone figure left behind.
Ilux now stood alone in front of the skewer stall, a silhouette that suddenly looked smaller and more static than when he had been with Erietta.
His face, usually alive with expression, now appeared serious, his eyes occasionally glancing toward the restroom where Erietta had vanished.
His hands might have slipped into his pockets, or folded in front of his chest, a posture of waiting that was patient yet not entirely relaxed.
His solitary presence amid the flow of passersby created a striking contrast with the bustle around him.
While Aldraya might have been observing with the perfect objectivity of an otherworldly witness, Theo's mind worked through assumptions and conjectures.
As an observer who had followed them all afternoon, witnessing every spicy dish they devoured, the excessive laughter, and finally the sudden pain, Theo had certainly formed several hypotheses.
He was no longer just seeing the surface, but trying to understand the chain of cause and effect behind the scene before him.
'As expected, Erietta—'
Tuuk!
Tuuuk!!
"What is it, Aldraya?"
"This skirt is not completely safe yet—there is still a chance the traces can be seen.
I will go to the restroom to remove them.
If I do it here, I will instead become the center of attention, especially for men who look at my body with lust."
As Theo was weaving together various possibilities in his mind, ready to share his analysis with Aldraya, a touch diverted his attention.
Not an ordinary touch, but a measured tap.
Aldraya's right index finger touched Theo's shoulder, not once, but exactly four times, a deliberate and cautionary pattern.
The touch was light yet distinctly felt through the fabric of his clothes, cutting through Theo's rapidly spinning thoughts about Erietta.
By reflex, Theo's head turned toward Aldraya, his eyes lighting up with an unspoken question, asking what was wrong, while also reminding himself that his partner might have an observation or a need that was far more urgent.
To be continued…