Chapter 12 - Seraphine's comforting words

[Re-Edited: 09/07/2024]

Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.

Demian's P.O.V.

"Anyway, let's go to your bedroom." Seraphine exclaimed while turning away from him. 'Is she actually blushing?' He wondered doubtfully, not quite believing his own eyes. What was even stranger for him was that seeing her reaction made his heart skip a beat. If he was still his previous clueless teenage self, without his past memories, he would have probably attributed his physical reaction to something else completely unrelated or even downright ignored it. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on what one thought, he was not. Thus, without needing much pondering, he instantly understood the reason behind his physical reaction. Not knowing whether to laugh or to cry, he thought. 'I've got feelings for my cousin, don't I? Goddamnit...' Out loud he replied. "Let's go, then." While walking a few steps, he continued pondering. 'Well, it's not like I hadn't thought of that possibility, but... Wait! Does that mean she's also...?' As many thoughts kept tangling inside his head, he fell into a daze, which ended up with him missing the woman's next words. Shaking his head to remove those random thoughts, he noticed that, unlike him, she had not moved from her previous location. He thus walked back to her and asked apologetically. "Sorry, I was daydreaming. What did you just say?"

While having a peculiar look on her face, she repeated herself. What was amusing to the young man was the effort she was making in trying to look unconcerned with her next words, despite her visibly fidgeting from stress. "I said that I need you to take my hand. I don't want to waste time groping my way along." Cocking his brow at the ludicrous words, the young man concluded firmly. 'Oh, she's 100% got feelings for me. With how familiar she is with the whole house, there's no way she would need anyone to help her find my room. To be honest, if I wasn't certain that her eyes were gone, I'd believe that she was just acting blind to mess with us.' Despite his inner complaints, the smile plastered on his face betrayed what he truly felt about her demand. "If it's to help you, then..." He retorted while taking her small hand in his. Holding her hand firmly, he could not help but gently squeeze it from how soft her skin felt to him. His action, clearly unexpected by the young woman, brought a small blush on her face before she whispered bashfully. "Can we go now?"

Her question made him realize that he might have overstepped his bounds. "Sorry! Yeah, of course." He exclaimed, a bit embarrassed at his impulsive action. At that point, he led her toward his bedroom before guiding her to his bed where she sat carefully. Despite being a bit reluctant, he let go of her hand while explaining. "I'll put on some clothes." What made him feel slightly better was the lost look that appeared on her face as he let her hand go. If he was not sure before about her feelings, he was pretty much certain now. 'I guess we're both weird for liking each other, aren't we?' After a short contemplation, the idea that two adults who were blood-related could be romantically involved stopped bothering him. His logic was pretty simple: Since reincarnation and souls existed, he believed that their current bodies did not really define who they were inside. It was more like a vessel for their soul to experience life in general. Thus, whether his lover was his blood-related cousin in this life, or someone completely unrelated did not really disturb him. That being said, the fact that he remembered his past life played a big part in that conviction and he would have probably thought differently if it was not the case.

'So, what should I do about it?' Many possibilities traversed his mind as his hands were busy grabbing his clothes and putting them on. With the summer heat in full blast, he chose to wear light clothes and thus did not take much time to finish wearing everything. Then, as he started turning back toward the woman, something caught his eye. Moving his head in that direction, his gaze fell on his reflection on the mirror hung on the wall. Feeling a bit absentminded, his hand went to his face as he wondered. 'Is it me or I'm getting more handsome as days go by?' It was not just crazy talk as he truly noticed changes in his facial traits. Nonetheless, it was not that he looked like a different person. Instead, it was more akin to 'refining' his facial features, improving them until he looked much more attractive. 'I was so focused on my muscle gains that I completely missed it... My Perk's effects are honestly ridiculous... Not that I can complain. Who wouldn't want to be more handsome if there was no price to pay? Although... I guess dying once could be said to have been the price I paid to get that Perk... I'm not sure it's worth it if you have any other choice...'

His inner ramblings were suddenly interrupted by Sera's voice. "Are you done?" Turning his head in the curious woman's direction, his mind suddenly remembered his previous inner questioning. 'Forget it! I'll just see how it goes. No need to force anything.' He thought before saying out loud. "I'm done. So... What did you want to talk about?" While gesturing him to sit by her side, she said. "Come sit here before I start." Following her instruction, Demian then exclaimed. "Alright. What's it about? I'm getting scared over here." His joke brought an amused smile to her face before she started explaining. "It's nothing scary, don't worry. It's just that Mom, Big Sis, and I, we've... Noticed some slight... Changes with you." She was clearly trying to be as diplomatic as possible, which amused him slightly. However, the amusement was not alone in his heart as a feeling of worry appeared alongside it. Indeed, the idea that the three women might resent him for hiding things from them scared him to an incredible degree. Despite trusting the three in his heart, his mind was filled with 'what ifs?', which started messing with both his thinking ability and body reaction.

Thankfully, she was quick to continue. "We can guess that something happened after what happened two weeks ago. Bryn seems to think that you've awakened some kind of superpower and Mom and I tend to agree." Before she could say anything else, he jumped to explain himself. "Look, I didn't, I mean, I..." The fear and worry that were starting to get out of control in his mind made him fumble his words, turning his words into incoherent ramble. At that point, the delicate woman suddenly exclaimed in frustration. "Demian! I wasn't blaming you, so let me finish, for God's sake!" Her unexpected outburst shut him up instantly and calmed his tempestuous emotions. "I'm sorry... Go on." He replied apologetically. Taking a deep breath, she resumed. "As I was saying before you cut me off..." Her words gave him the urge to say something to defend himself again. This time, however, he reined it in and listened to what she had to say without interrupting her. "...The three of us have noticed how different you've become. Not that it was really hard, mind you." His body subconsciously tensed up as he waited for her to finish what she wanted to say.

"Whatever the case, the three of us want you to know that we'll be there to listen to you when you feel ready to share... What you want to share... Anyway, in case you think that we would judge you: We won't! I promise. And even if you can't believe my words, just remember what we all went through together. After experiencing so much, there's no way we'd be petty about the fact that you didn't tell us about your powers right away." Her words made him realize that his attitude was frankly ridiculous, prompting him to explain himself. "I'm sorry, Sis. Everything happened so fast that I just didn't know how to react. I guess... I guess I was afraid of what all of you might have thought about me. I mean... I became so different..." His words made her giggle before replying. "You're really stupid! So what if you're different? Aren't you still Demian Mikhailov?" Nodding his head subconsciously, he then remembered that she could not see him and thus responded out loud. "Of course, I am."

With a small smile on her face, she asked another question. "Do you still love us?" Her choice of words amused him inwardly. Outwardly, however, he responded calmly. "Of course, I do. The three of you are the people I love the most in this world." Pausing for a brief moment, he then added. "Although, I don't have anyone else around me, so I might be biased." The small joke made the two of them chuckle a bit before she continued. "See?! It's not that complicated. it's just you who makes it so." While staring at the delicate woman's face which was illuminated by a delighted grin, the corner of his own lips rose slightly. He then responded warmly. "I guess I am guilty as charged." Letting out a deep sigh, he added. "The more time passes and the more I realize that I've been living in fear for most of my life to the point that I've started forgetting myself and the people who care about me... This is really ironic when you think about it..." He was not sure if those words were only for Seraphine's ears or if he was also speaking to himself. Whatever the case, they represented what he truly felt and that was something he wanted to share with the woman in front of him.

Tilting her head, she grinned warmly in his direction before saying. "As long as you're aware." Grunting in response, the young man added. "About everything that happened to me recently... I need a bit of time to sort it out in my head..." The slight look of disappointment on her face prompted him to explain further. "Don't misunderstand, Sis. It's got nothing to do with the three of you. It's just a problem of me with myself. Something that I need to come to terms with." Pausing for a second, he then added. "But yeah. I did awaken some kind of power. You all were right about that." As her mind registered his words, her apparent disappointment turned into relief, followed by slight embarrassment when he gently grabbed her hand and declared in a low tone. "Thank you, Sis... I'm glad you haven't given up on me. Even if I can be frustrating sometimes." While moving her head away from his general direction, she snorted. "More like most of the time." Spotting the satisfied smile on her face, he grinned as well while retorting. "Fair enough. I can be a real pain in the ass, can't I?"

Giggling at his words, she turned her head back toward him and replied while patting the hand that still held hers. "As long as you're aware." This time it was his turn to burst into laughter before finally regaining his calm a moment later. At that point, a mischievous grin appeared on his face before his other hand silently moved toward her own hand, the one in his grasp, and gently stroked it once while whispering. "I've never told you before, but you're an incredible woman." If it was just the compliment, the attractive redhead may have ignored it. However, coupled with his husky tone and intimate gesture, it made the woman freeze completely, while her face almost turned the color of her hair. Feeling satisfied with her reaction, Demian gently let go of her hand before standing up and exclaiming. "You seem tired, Sis. I'll just let you rest while I go do something else then." He then left the room accompanied by a flurry of harmless curses coming from the bashful woman, which made him strangely cheerful.