23 Chapter 23 - Natalia's Answer (I)

Foreword: Revised on December 22, 2020.

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Natalia was flustered by Merlin's proposal. It'd been one hundred years since her husband died.

After recomposing herself, Natalia closed her eyes and began contemplating. After a while, she opened her eyes and met the expectant gaze of Merlin. With a complicated look, she began speaking.

"I felt honored that you took a fancy of me, my Lord. But, I don't know if I'm ready for a committed relationship with a man." (Natalia)

Merlin was startled. He couldn't believe what he'd heard. He stared at Natalia with a frown.

When Merlin was about to speak, Natalia suddenly cupped his cheek with one hand and touched his lips with the index finger of her other hand.

"However, I will always accept you in my arms if you feel lonely and need company," added Natalia.

Merlin's frown lessened, but his heart still felt heavy. He wanted Natalia to be his, so he couldn't accept this outcome.

Merlin knew that he was being greedy, but he couldn't help it. He wanted Natalia, and he would do everything in his power that didn't touch his bottom lines to claim her.

'What mistakes have I made? Am I too hasty to propose to her?' Merlin pondered.

Merlin had presumed that Natalia would accept it. However, the reality refused to fulfill his wish, and Natalia politely refused to be his woman.

Natalia made her rejection sound like she didn't mind being his secret mistress without getting too involved with him. But, it wasn't what Merlin desired.

Merlin was aware of how he seemed to be obsessed with Natalia, and he wouldn't deny it. He was obsessed with her.

When Natalia was still a fictional character, he liked her. He wouldn't hesitate to admit that he used her character to relieve his sexual frustration sometimes. Now that Natalia was a real person, he wanted her to stay with him forever.

After thinking for a moment, Merlin realized that he had rushed into expressing his desire to Natalia. He'd been carried by the mood so far, and he looked at the women he liked as an object that caught his fancy. Thus, he wanted them to be his.

Either way, Merlin wanted all girls he fancied to be his like some kind of collectibles. He realized how messed up it sounded.

There was also another factor that influenced Merlin. This factor was the girls that accompanied him last night.

Those pretty and buxom girls, now young women, were too easy to give their bodies to him for whatever reason they had. It made Merlin have a subconscious belief that all women in this world were easy to be claimed by him.

'Shit! I should have waited until Natalia became hooked on sex with me before I expressed my desire to claim her. Then, we could have developed our relationship after I claimed her. But, thinking about that is pointless at this point. What can I do to fix this problem?'

"Lord Merlin," Natalia called Merlin, snapping him out from his jumbled thoughts. When Merlin turned to Natalia, he saw her complicated expression. "My Lord, are you mad at me?" Natalia inquired.

"I'm not mad. I'm just confused. Why didn't you accept, Natalia?" Merlin demanded her answer in the spur of the moment.

Natalia had a pensive expression for a moment and then gazed at Merlin's eyes with a solemn look. "You know that I am an elf and you're a human. I still have several centuries to live and may outlive you."

Even though she was flattered and honored to catch the Hero's fancy, she had to know how serious he was. There was a chance he confessed because of the heat of the moment.

In Natalia's perspective, youths rarely thought about the repercussions of their actions. Unlike adults who experienced life and knew their responsibility for their actions, youths did something on impulse and often found themselves regretting their impulsive behavior later.

Natalia had experienced the repercussions of her hasty decision in the past and regretted her hastiness. She'd fallen in love with her late husband without caring about their racial barriers, and his husband had died first, leaving her alone as a widow.

If she thought carefully and never let her emotions get better of her, she wouldn't experience devastating pain and heartache when her husband died. If she hadn't been too hasty, she would have kept their love platonic and wouldn't have suffered so much.

Despite her regret for falling in love with a human, she never regretted her time as his wife; every day seemed vibrant and fulfilling. However, she regretted that she had never thought through the long term repercussions of their relationship.

Natalia didn't want to experience that suffering again if she could help it!

Even though Natalia brought Merlin to her bed, she never planned to have a committed relationship with him. She only wanted to scratch her itch and released her pent up sexual frustration.

Perhaps, it sounded shallow and improper, and it made her look like a cheap and easy woman, but she was an adult who knew what she wanted and the repercussions; Merlin's look and status were just icing on the cake, metaphorically speaking.

Merlin felt hope after hearing Natalia's words. "So, the problem is the difference in lifespan between Elves and Humans? Well, that won't be a problem!"

Natalia was startled after listening to Merlin's exclamation. She stared at his excited expression in bemusement. "Sorry. I don't understand."

"I'll live long because of my power. I can even surpass the lifespan of Elves!" Merlin replied excitedly.

"Please don't joke about this matter, Lord Merlin!" Natalia propped her body up and stared at Merlin with a cold gaze.

Merlin replied in a hurry when he saw Natalia's reaction. He couldn't mess this up! "I wasn't joking! I was as serious as I could be!"

"But, aren't you a human? The previous hero that was summoned and lived before my birth was a human and he had the ordinary lifespan of humans!" Natalia couldn't accept his words. It sounded too good to be true. She thought he was lying to make her agree to be his woman.

"I am a little different than the previous hero; it's said that the previous hero can only unleash the latent power in women by having sex with them, and I have this power too. But, I can also empower myself when I have sex with a woman!"

Merlin paused briefly to regain his composure. All the while, Natalia was waiting for his next words patiently.