"Mika...why are you smiling like that?"
But Mika’s smirk only deepened, his eyes glittering with the quiet satisfaction of soone who had already set the board and placed the pieces.
"I understand how much you like it, Yelena." He began smoothly, voice calm, almost coaxing. "You’ve always loved pretty things, bracelets, necklaces, earrings. You light up when you wear them. I know that."
His hand slid over hers, and for a mont she thought he was going to give in. But instead, he tugged lightly, prying at her grip until the tal shifted in her arms.
"But this..." He said, voice firr. "...is sothing I can’t give away. Not this one. You’ll have to forget about it."
"Huh? Why? Why not?...I an, co on, Mika, have I ever asked you for anything? Anything at all?"
Her face fell instantly, lips curving into a pout that was both childish and stubborn, her arms folding the artifact closer against her chest as if protecting it from a thief.
"And now, the one ti I do, you’re being selfish?" Her tone cracked with indignation, her eyes wide and pleading. "It’s just one piece of jewelry you called trash anyway! Why can’t you give it to ?"
Hearing this blatant lie, Mika’s smirk faltered. His brows knit together, and his voice sharpened.
"Don’t say that, Yelena. Don’t you dare say you’ve never asked for anything."
Yelena blinked, caught off guard by the sudden weight in his tone.
"You’ve always stolen sothing away from ."
Mika went on, his words firm, almost scolding.
"When I brought my projects or whatever I made in
school back, whether it was a drawing or a animal I molded with clay, you’d take them without asking."
"When I ate, you’d snatch food from my plate without a second thought."
"And don’t think I’ve forgotten last ti you ca to my place, you walked off with sothing you said was ’pretty’ and kept it for yourself, without asking at all."
His gaze was steady, unwavering.
"Persistent, that’s what you are, Yelena. Especially when you want sothing from ."
A guilty look flickered across her face, her lips pressing into a thin line, only for her to scoff dismissively, flicking her hand through the air as though brushing away his words.
"That’s nothing. Don’t make a fuss over such small things."
She then leaned in with a sly, almost mischievous smile, her voice softening.
"I just love you so much, Mika, that I want to share every part of you. Every project, every little trinket, every reminder. Keepsakes. mories of you."
"And also if I didn’t take them back then, my sisters would, so of course I had to keep them. Isn’t that just caring for you?" She laughed lightly, as though it were obvious. "So don’t exaggerate."
Mika stared at her in quiet disbelief, floored by how confidently she turned her shalessness into sothing righteous.
But she wasn’t finished. Yelena’s expression softened again as she reached forward and caught his hand in both of hers, her grip warm, imploring.
"But this, this is different, Mika. I don’t know why, but I really want this artifact."
Her voice dropped into sothing vulnerable, her lashes trembling.
"Please, Mika. Let have it. Consider it my gift for your return...and my apology for calling you a pig. If you give this, I’ll forgive you for everything. All of it."
Her pleading eyes searched his face, expecting, no, certain, that he would cave. He always caved when she looked at him like this.
But to her shock, Mika slowly shook his head. His hand slipped free from hers, his voice firm.
"No. Not this. I can give you many things. But not this...Definitely not this."
The refusal cut deep, the finality of it making her flinch as though she’d been struck. She stared at him in stunned silence, before her expression hardened.
Narrowing her eyes, her voice dripped with suspicion. "Why are you acting so differently, Mika? What’s so special about this piece of jewelry?"
He said nothing. His gaze slid away from hers.
Her suspicion thickened, sharp and accusing, until a spark of realization ignited in her mind.
Her lips parted, then curved into a scowl. She leaned closer, her eyes narrowing like a razor.
"...Is it a girl? That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want to give it to because it’s ant for another girl."
Mika remained silent to which her chest tightened, frustration burning through her, hotter and hotter with every heartbeat.
"So it is." Her voice trembled between fury and heartbreak. "You really were going to give this to so other woman."
Her words then ca out sharp, bitter, once again resorting to gaslight him just like every mother did.
"All these years I’ve raised you, spoiled you, loved you more than I loved myself, and this is how you repay ? Another girl shows up and you start giving her gifts, cherishing her, and I...I don’t matter anymore."
Her lip trembled, but her eyes glared at him, shimring with resentnt.
"So this is what it feels like, huh? For a mother to give her son away, to watch so woman pamper him with happiness, while she’s left behind...Abandoned."
But even though Yelena’s performance was good, Mika didn’t flinch. He sat there, watching her theatrics with that maddening little smile tugging at his lips.
Instead of shrinking beneath her glare, he tilted his head, calm as ever, and asked,
"Yelena, why are you getting worked up over another girl? Just a mont ago you were so confident, telling you didn’t care about my romantic life, that you wouldn’t interfere, that it wasn’t your concern at all."
"...And yet, look at you now. Just the thought of giving a gift to soone else has you boiling over."
Hearing this accusation, her head snapped down, eyes narrowing, her voice sharp, cutting through his words.
"Oh no, dear...Don’t misunderstand ." Her tone carried the pride of a queen scolding a child. "I don’t care who you date, who you love, or even who you marry."
"You could parade a dozen won in front of , and I wouldn’t bat an eye. You want to marry so random girl off the streets? Fine."
"You want to marry my own daughter? I wouldn’t stop you...Because your romance, your so-called love life, ans nothing compared to what we have."
Mika blinked, caught off guard. "...Nothing?"
"That’s right!" Yelena’s lips curled into a triumphant smile, her voice low, husky, carrying the weight of her conviction. "Because my place in your life is untouchable...Unshakable."
"No girl, wife, lover, daughter, stranger, none of them can take my place...I am not in competition with them. I’m above them."
"...Do you understand, Mika? Above them."
She lifted her chin, her pride radiating.
"I an, they’ll always be scrambling for the crumbs of your affection. anwhile, I’ll sit at the very top...Your number one. Always."
Mika gave her a look of disbelief, sowhere between incredulous and amused.
"You’re saying this so boldly, it’s like...you expect to treat you with more importance than my own wife soday. Like she’d be beneath you."
"And what if I am saying that?"
Yelena’s gaze sharpened, burning into him as she leaned closer, her voice dropping into sothing colder, sothing more dangerous.
"I do expect it...No matter what girl cos along in the future, even if it’s my daughter herself, I expect—no, I demand, that you treat with just as much attention, just as much love...if not more than you would your wife. And I will accept nothing less."
Her cold smile spread wider, with a chilly undertone.
"And if that woman ever dares to try and steal that position from ...well."
Her voice softened into a sweet, chilling lilt.
"Maybe one day she’ll head out to buy groceries and...simply never return. You’d be a widower, Mika. Forced to find yourself a new wife."
"...And I’d still be here, untouchable as always."
Her words made him shiver, a chill snaking down his spine despite the warmth of her body leaning against his. He knew she was joking but at the sa ti, he wasn’t convinced she was.
He swallowed, deciding it was wiser not to pursue that line of conversation any further.
But Yelena wasn’t done. Hugging the artifact tighter against her chest, her pout returned, raw frustration painted across her expression.
"And that’s why I don’t care about your romances. They don’t matter. I’m above them all...But right now? Right now you’re trying to prioritize another girl over , and that, Mika, I will not forgive."
She clutched the shimring waist chain with a fierce grip, pressing it protectively against her body as though he might rip it away from her.
"So give it back. I want it...No, I’m keeping it!"
Mika’s eyes narrowed as he watched Yelena clutch the chain to her chest with the kind of possessiveness one would show a child, or a treasure they’d kill to protect.
Her grip was tight, her body angled defensively as though at any mont he might lunge forward and snatch it from her hands and they was exactly what he wanted, elated that she was so fond of the trap that he had set.
...But now that the trap had been set and was in place, it was ti to prepare the lure.
He let out a long, tired sigh, shoulders slumping, as if all her dramatics had worn him down.
"Yelena...it’s not what you think. It’s really not that."
He said, his voice quiet but edged with exasperation. His gaze softened, and the smile that had teased her earlier faded into sothing far more serious.
"I never intended to give that piece of jewelry to another girl. That’s not why I’ve been so protective of it."
Her eyes snapped up, confusion flaring across her face. She had been so sure, so sure, that another woman was the reason for his stubbornness.
"Then why?" She demanded, brows knitting tightly. "Why won’t you give it to ? You never act like this. If there wasn’t a reason, you’d have handed it over the mont I asked."
"...So what is it? What’s wrong with it?"
Mika’s expression turned strained, like he was wrestling with whether to say the words aloud. For a long mont, silence stretched between them, filled only by Yelena’s impatient breaths and the faint clink of the chain as she shifted her hold on it.
Finally, he muttered. "I didn’t want to say this. It’s awkward, and honestly, I’d rather not explain at all...but the truth is..." He hesitated, his eyes flicking toward the artifact. "...just like certain artifacts, this one has conditions. Conditions for the person who wishes to wield it."
Yelena blinked, then tilted her head slightly, her suspicion giving way to curiosity.
"Conditions?" She echoed, as though tasting the word. After a heartbeat, she gave a small nod of understanding. "Right. That does happen. Artifacts sotis demand qualifications, a level threshold, or a certain mana flow."
"I’ve even seen so ridiculous ones, ’sing at the top of a mountain,’ or ’jump off a cliff and break all your bones’, nonsense like that." She scoffed lightly, though her grip on the waistband never loosened. "So what of it?"
"Exactly that." Mika ran a hand through his hair, letting out another sigh. "This artifact isn’t different. It has its own ridiculous condition, and unless you fulfill it...it won’t recognize you as its wielder."
Hearing this, a proud, confident smirk tugged at Yelena’s lips.
"Is that all? You think that will stop ? Mika, don’t forget who I am."
"I’ve fought horrors that would freeze the blood of lesser people. I’ve stood on the battlefield when death itself was breathing down my neck. I helped save the damn world."
She tapped the chain with a finger, arrogance glinting in her eyes.
"So tell , what’s one more silly qualification?...Whatever it is, I’ll do it."
But Mika only shook his head slowly, the corners of his mouth lifting into a humorless smile.
"You don’t get it. If the requirent was sothing like slaying a nine-headed hydra, you’d do it in your sleep...If it demanded a mountain’s climb or a river of lava crossed, it would be child’s play for you."
"...Almost everything in this world is within your grasp, Yelena."
His gaze lingered on the shimring band, then flicked back to her face.
"But this one...this one is different. Strange. Unbelievably awkward. Sothing neither of us can just...carry through with ease."
She scoffed at him again, though there was a flicker of unease in her eyes.
"You’re being dramatic. It can’t be that bad." She straightened her shoulders, her pride refusing to bend. "If you’re too embarrassed to say it, fine. I’ll find out myself. You said it reacts to mana, didn’t you? Then I’ll see for myself."
Mika’s flinched, but he didn’t stop her. Instead, he simply gestured toward the waistband with a resigned look.
"Go ahead. Check it. You’ll understand."
Yelena smirked as if he had just admitted defeat.
Without hesitation, she let a controlled stream of her mana seep into the artifact. The mont the energy touched its crystalline core, the waistband stirred, faint lights rippling across the tal, a hum resonating in the air.
And then, like a whisper threading straight into her mind, the artifact revealed its condition.
And the mont it did, her body froze instantly.
The proud tilt of her head collapsed, her lips parting as her eyes widened, pupils shrinking to pinpricks. For a long, harrowing mont, she didn’t move, didn’t breathe. Her skin drained of color, and the smug smirk was wiped clean off her face.
Why she was reacting in such a way when she was so confident before?
Well, because this was the condition that the chain and given her:
[To wield my mighty self, the bearer must be a woman—and her figure must be praised by another she deems fit, her body adored and described in such filthy, irresistible detail that the heat of those words alone leaves her flushed, trembling, and burning all over with sha and desire]
[Only when these conditions are t, will she be allowed to wear my divine self]
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