Cedric and Aurelia found themselves in the garden, deep in discussion concerning the recent attack committed by the Cardinals.
"Damage was minimal; however, they caused major panic." Aurelia leaned forward, her eyes focused on an incident report provided by the Angels.
Cedric crossed his arms as he leaned back. The incident was quickly taken care of by the first star, which impressed him greatly; however, it did not make sense for the Cardinals to send their elementals so blatantly.
"We can use this," Cedric said calmly.
Aurelia tilted her head slightly.
Cedric inhaled sharply before removing his helmet and placing it on the table. "We can exaggerate the damage they had done, and with that denounce them as enemies of Valar."
Aurelia put down the report before bringing her hand to her chin and gently scratching it, a quirk she had picked up from Cedric.
"Are you sure? I doubt many would believe us."
"That does not matter. As long as doubt is sewn in the fertile ground that is the recent incident, the collapse would be inevitable." He put his hands together as he leaned against them.
"We need to make them villains in the eyes of the public, which you are perfectly suited for." Cedric smiled.
"How so, darling~?" She said as she slowly shuffled her seat closer to Cedric.
Cedric placed his palm before her, "Not now, Aurelia. This is serious."
Her eyes widened for a moment before her face gained a serious look, "I understand. What must I do?"
"It's simple, speak to the public. Announce that the Church of Chrunus had betrayed Valar, and that it is considered a false faith." He stopped for a moment, his expression turning sour, "I understand that many will stick to Chrunus, but those who do can be purged; however, there will surely be many joining one true faith."
Aurelia nodded, she knew what she had to do even before her darling had explained it.
"I will send a cryer out, and make a proclamation. You needn't worry, darling. I will deal with everything." Aurelia grinned confidently.
Cedric nodded, "I know, you have proven yourself by now. We will talk tonight, but for now I have some business to attend to." He slowly rose from the seat, ignoring Aurelia's pleading face.
"Cedric... would you mind chatting with me a little longer..." She pouted as she grabbed his hand.
He stopped, his stern expression softening.
"Sure." He slowly sat back down.
As he sat down, her face beamed.
"So? What is it?" He smirked.
The reason she held him back was clear: she just wanted to spend more time with him.
While he surely would be against it before, it was different now.
She had grown in his heart, and he had truly enjoyed time spent with her.
He had thought about it recently.
In a way, he had even started to like this woman.
Not in a way he usually liked people, but she was able to move his heart ever so slightly.
He knew this was a feeling of budding love, but it was still far too soon for him to fall for someone.
He had to fulfill his mission to perfection, even someone as nearly perfect as The First Star had to wait; God's mission was the most important.
He stopped himself. 'Did I just call her nearly perfect?' He asked himself.
"I just wanted to talk more, nothing important. I just wanna drink some wine with you while we have a casual chat." She leaned forward, her hands wrapping around Cedric's gauntlet.
Cedric tilted his head, his smile widening.
No matter how much he thought about it, his heart was soft for her. "Would love to."
Aurelia moved her hand up, hiding her blushing smile.
Her legs rubbed against each other before she snapped her gaze towards the maids on standby.
"Girls! Can we have some wine?" Aurelia ordered.
"Right away, your majesty!" The maids bowed as they rushed away.
"So... about that promise you made." She leaned closer.
"Promise?"
"You don't remember?" She pouted cutely.
"Do remind me."
Aurelia sighed, "You said you would remove your armor and let me cling to you."
Cedric raised his brow, "I did, didn't I?" He chuckled as he rose from his seat.
His hand glided over his gauntlet before slowly removing it, revealing his fist.
Soon after, his hand slid under his shoulder armor, slowly unlasping it and removing his heavy shoulder armor. Soon, he reached the sides, unclasping the plate armor, finally removing it for the first time since coming to this world.
Meanwhile, Aurelia looked with widened eyes, her mouth watering at the sight.
Underneath his plate, he wore chainmail with a padded interior; the man was truly the definition of a heavy Paladin.
Soon after, he removed the chainmail, leaving only light cloth that acted as the base of his defensive arsenal.
He cracked his shoulder as he turned to Aurelia, whose mouth was agape at the scene.
How could she not stare and drool? Her hero was incredibly handsome.
His body was ripped with muscle, his arm was almost a tree trunk, and yet Aurelia wouldn't have minded sleeping on it.
She held the urge to lick her lips as she held her legs still.
"I'm wet..." She muttered under her breath as she averted her gaze.
Cedric sighed, but he decided to ignore her outburst this time around before taking a seat.
Soon after, Aurelia buried her face into his biceps, rubbing herself against her hero.
Sniff
Cedric rolled his eyes. he still found her strange, but in an adorable way.
"My hero~ You smell so good!" She giggled as she wrapped herself around his arm, her elated state overcoming even her lustful mind.
Cedric leaned back, after all he had promised to allow her this.
It wasn't born of lust but only a mere desire to be close to someone who fought by her side and helped her overcome hardship.
Who was he to deny her, even if the promise was never made?
So in a way to fulfil his promise, her would let her cling for an hour, but the mission could not wait a moment longer than that.
His other hand hovered over her head as he patted her head.