A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing Chapter 704 - Convincing his wife

A small smirk spread across Erik’s lips as he regarded his first wife. She wore the outfit he’d given her, thus delighting his eyes, but her eyebrow was cocked incredulously, and her arms were crossed in front of her chest. The very real panther ears reaching up from her head trembled a little.

Erik, once again half-naked, walked up to her with wide arms. By now, his shallow wounds had healed almost completely—only so minor marks were left that would soon disappear as well.

"Is that your first question for ?" he asked with faked hurt in his voice. "I went through a harrowing battle last night!"

"Hmpf," Naeku snorted, pouting her lips. "You’re obviously fine!"

She glanced away from him, and Erik halted in his tracks, his smirk unwavering. After a few monts, Naeku looked back again. "...you are fine... right?"

Chuckling, Erik took his cue and swept Naeku up in his arms, planting a kiss on her lips. "I’m perfectly alright, my little princess," he whispered in her ear after separating. "You didn’t marry just anyone, you know?"

At first, Naeku leaned into his touch with a sigh of genuine relief. "I know..." she muttered contentedly.

Yet, it took her no more than a few monts to co back to her senses. She quickly snorted again before pushing him away. Of course, she was still a second-ranker, but Erik made it a point to stumble away, anyway—smirk still playing on his lips.

"A— Anyway!" she grumbled, shaking her head. After once again crossing her arms, she glared at him. "I’m glad you’re alright, and we need to figure out what happened, but we definitely have a little ti for you to tell what this religion business is about!"

Erik shrugged with a calm smile. He genuinely wasn’t worried about Naeku, being sure he could convince her. "I never hide anything from my wives, Naeku. Yes, Nora and Anne have founded a religion focused around among your people."

Before Naeku could respond, he turned to sit on the sa luxurious chair they’d used during their wedding night—then he waved her over and patted his knees. "Co on, sit. I’ll never not listen to my wives, even if, or especially when, they want to criticise ." His tone was gentle and genuine.

Although Erik would happily employ under-handed tactics to get them to see his point of view, he considered it important to never ignore their opinions. They were his beloved wives, after all. His partners, not his servants.

Naeku hesitated. On the one hand, she knew sitting on his lap would automatically put her in a weaker position... on the other hand, she liked sitting there, his words put her at ease, and she didn’t want to argue about where to have an argunt.

Finally, she steeled her mind and walked forward to put herself on his lap a little stiffly. The flowing linen around her body danced as she moved. "F— Fine... Why didn’t yo— Ah!"

Before she finished, Erik grasped her waist and pulled her closer to him. Now, she sat on the right side of his lap, with her legs curled up on the other side, and her side pressed against his chest.

"I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t an to interrupt you—I just wanted you to be more comfortable," he grinned cheekily. "You were saying...?"

Naeku glared at him. She could feel her body heating up and her thoughts becoming a little jumbled due to the proximity of their half-naked bodies.

Unfortunately, Erik looked back at her with nothing but innocence, so Naeku eventually felt forced to move on. Decided she might as well get comfortable, she draped an arm around Erik’s shoulders and relaxed her body a little. Her subconscious realised she’d already lost the first battle, but her conscious was far too relaxed to care.

Regardless, she did steel her mind again. Despite her comfort, she still wanted answers!

"Why didn’t you say anything sooner?" she first asked, her yellow eyes narrowed and focused on him. "You think I don’t want to know everything playing among my people?"

"Two reasons," Erik explained calmly. "First, I only tell my wives everything, not my fiances, and we’ve been a little too busy with other things in the short ti we’ve been married."

Thinking back to what happened with Nobuntu and Kudzai, as well as all the sex, Naeku could only reluctantly agree as a small blush spread across her cheeks.

"Second of all," Erik shrugged. "I really didn’t know much about it either. This was a Nora, Anne, and, a little bit, Elora’s project. Only yesterday did I find out how far it went."

"I see," Naeku nodded, her body still relaxed, but her gaze never wavering. "And you didn’t put a stop to it right then and there?"

Erik shook his head without hesitation. "No. Why would I? I’m obviously no god, but it doesn’t seem like Nora’s followers are all that convinced of it, either. They simply wish to emulate . They wish to live life in a manner similar to , and through this religion, they have both incentive and a guide to do so."

He cocked an eyebrow and looked at her. "Is that really so bad? Being nearly wiped out by the hunters rattled your people, Naeku. They want sothing to believe in again."

Naeku fell silent for a mont, seemingly conflicted as she bit her lip and looked away. "Your words make sense, but it still feels wrong..." she muttered softly, concerned for her people. "You are benefiting from this as well, right?"

"I won’t deny that," Erik nodded seriously. "Not only will this help solidify my rule in the long run and increase the people’s loyalty, but the church itself is essentially filled with agents willing to work for from the shadows."

He gently kissed her cheek. "They’re the ones who kept troublemakers from disturbing our ceremony, you know?"

Naeku sighed wryly. "Yeah, Enkai told about that as well. I’m still surprised... I suppose I did expect so unhappiness, but I’ve known so of those people my whole life!"

Shaking her head, she looked back at him with a frown again. "But that’s neither here nor there! Tell how you’re not exploiting my people’s shaken faith in themselves to your own advantage!"

Softly caressing her bronze skin, Erik looked at her warmly. He did love the way she cared for her people, and always preferred his wives to tell him their honest feelings. "Exploitation suggests they’re getting nothing in return, Naeku, but they do. They get purpose, a community, and my personal support to their organisation."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Plus, getting so encouragent to follow my path isn’t a bad thing. Did Enkai tell you how I convinced his son to give him another chance?"

Naeku’s eyes actually widened at that realisation, her body straightening a little. "You convinced Leki to do that?! I thought nothing could get through to him! I’ve tried to tell him that Enkai made mistakes but isn’t that bad..."

Calmly, Erik shrugged, and let Naeku make his point for him.

Silence fell for a mont as Naeku sank into thought, and Erik waited patiently.

Eventually, she looked at him again, having co to so kind of conclusion. "I want to see it for myself," she told him with a hard look, expecting no resistance.

And Erik had none. "Sure," he nodded, completely unconcerned. "As soon as Nora and Anne have set up at a new location, you can co and take a look. In fact, you can co there anyti you like."

Leaning forward, he kissed her again. "I have no secrets for my wives," he reiterated.

Sighing and sowhat happy with this conclusion, Naeku relaxed further into his chest with a smile. "Good..." she muttered.

They stayed there for a mont as Erik caressed her ears and Naeku murmured contently.

But, eventually, it was ti to get up.

"Co on," he whispered in her panther ear. "We have a city to explore."