Toward evening, just as Aurora was about to arrive, Hans sat in the living room, his arm wrapped around Lilith's slender waist, occasionally sliding his hand a little lower to squeeze the soft buttocks of his beloved fiancée.
At that moment, her sister decided to show him photos of her friend. Stella, her so-called friend, was a girl from a rather difficult family background. Despite her gyaru-style appearance, she had gotten into this school on her own merits and was very intelligent.
Of course, they were friends only in name. Stella knew Lilith was a rich girl and didn't dare contradict her, so her sister brazenly took advantage of it.
And yet, Lilith saw her as a friend in her own way: she hardly spoke to anyone else and completely ignored them, considering them unworthy of her attention. Stella, at least, was interesting, intelligent, and had certain talents.
As for Sofia and Violetta, whom she had, so to speak, only met today, things were going quite well. Violetta really turned out to be an interesting girl, but she caught Lilith's attention not so much for that as for her temperamental nature. Usually, such stubbornness would only have annoyed her, since Lilith could be submissive only to her brother and ancestors; everyone else, in her opinion, was supposed to obey her and do as she said.
Don't let Violet's previous behavior toward Hans fool you—she really did have a strong personality. It's just that Hans was the first person who managed to tame her, and that submissiveness was reserved exclusively for him.
But since it was her brother's request, this time Lilith chose a different tactic—one without overt dominance and still managed to establish contact with this Violet.
As for Sofia, something was interesting about her too, and it wasn't just her height. Lilith could easily have put her in the same position as Stella, making her another of her "good friends." The only reason she hadn't done so yet was that this giant of a girl had appeared at the school a little over a month ago and had hardly interacted with anyone.
Lilith could help her make contact now, given her situation, but she was afraid that it might interfere with Hans's plans. She was sure her brother had already hatched something.
"So, what do you think of her?" Lilith asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked intently at her brother.
"Hmm, well, she really is very pretty, isn't she?" The girl really did look like a heroine: vibrant, beautiful, with a tan and dyed hair—a true first-class bombshell. However, Hans was more troubled by something else: girls like that often seemed too frivolous and not very reserved, and that sort of thing didn't appeal to him at all.
"Don't worry about it. She's never had much to do with men and actually has a mild fear of men that goes back to her childhood, so despite her looks, she's still just a little girl when it comes to relationships. You can rest easy on that front. She's more the type who likes to brag about what a heroine she is, but in reality, she's just afraid of men. Ha-ha-ha…" Lilith couldn't help but laugh, recalling a few scenes. Her friend really was quite a funny person.
Lilith even thought she should explain to that silly girl what men actually find attractive, otherwise she might miss out on a really good opportunity.
"Really? Well, then I'd like to meet her," Hans said with a twinkle in his eye. "She really does look great, and even if she's not the heroine, I'd still want to take her for myself.
Though if she is the heroine, that means a little hero is hanging around her who needs to be put in his place." Hans had already imagined how he would break the boy's arms and legs, gouge out his eyes, cut out his tongue, cut him open while he was still alive, and start pulling out his guts.
Seeing her brother's cruel smile, Lilith merely smiled back and actually recalled such a person.
"Actually... There's this one punk who's always trying to hit on her, but he's a pathetic, good-for-nothing loser," Lilith said calmly, feeling disgust for the person she was describing.
"That's literally the description of almost any son of fortune," Hans muttered. "I need to meet him in person somehow."
"Hmm…" Lilith fell into thought, and a cold smile slowly blossomed on her face. If this was indeed the so-called main character her brother had spoken of, then he must be destroyed at any cost. And in an instant, an idea formed in her mind of exactly how to arrange a meeting with him.
"I have a brilliant plan, ha-ha! My brother will let me handle all the arrangements. Tomorrow, the three of us—you, Stella, and I—will go on a date together," Lilith said happily.
Glancing at the mischievous sparkle in his sister's eyes, Hans nodded immediately. He was curious about what she had in mind, but knowing her temperament, he understood she wouldn't share her plans.
Hans brought his lips close to hers and kissed her tenderly. The kiss was long and passionate, conveying all their love.
"Ahem," their mother coughed. She had been sitting nearby the whole time, watching one of her favorite Korean dramas on TV. "Could you at least not do that in front of me?!"
"No!" the couple replied in unison.
She was seething with rage: what was wrong with her children? She was the only one in the family who still opposed such a relationship, but these two simply ignored their mother and even deliberately kissed in front of her often, just to annoy her.
She was exhausted by it all and tried to ignore it too, but they were so brazen how could she stand to watch it all the time? On top of that, in her dorama, it suddenly turned out that the couple everyone was rooting for was actually brother and sister. It was a conspiracy against her: was she the only one in this house with any common sense?
Besides, what was this about her daughter's friend? Since when had her daughter become so proactive that she took the initiative to introduce her son to a new girl? Something was off about this whole situation.
Her children were behaving completely irrationally: it felt as though they hadn't inherited anything from her character, but everything in them came solely from the Nightmers—their whole family was like that.
"Enough already!!!" their mother snapped, furious, and went to her husband to complain about the children and vent her anger.
The brother and sister just smiled at this they genuinely enjoyed teasing their parents. They didn't feel a shred of remorse about their father being about to get an earful from their mother.
When their mother arrived, they only intensified their kissing session; Hans's hands roamed over Lilith's body, allowing themselves to do whatever they wanted, occasionally slipping under her skirt and groping her bare thighs.
"I really want to keep going, but Aurora should be here soon, so we'll have to wait until tomorrow," Hans said calmly, pulling away from his sister.
"Does my brother really fear Aurora more than our parents? A couple of days ago, you were so bold in front of them and so timid in front of your fiancée," Lilith purred slyly.
"I'm not afraid of her; you know that perfectly well. All right, maybe a little. But if she catches us together by surprise, she'll definitely want to kill one of us. And, by the way, most likely you!" Hans smiled, glancing intently at his sister.
A chill ran down Lilith's spine. Who would she blame first: him, whom she loved with all her heart, or her—that wicked temptress?
Lilith knew the answer and didn't want to ruin her relationship with Aurora like that. She had always thought of her almost as a sister, so first she had to convince her, and only then could she openly reveal everything that was between them.
She hoped that Hans would not only convince her but also fuck her tonight, so that tomorrow, right after their brief meeting, she could climb on top of him herself.
Just then, her great-grandfather walked into the house, gave them a glance, and, without paying much attention, went to the kitchen to grab a snack.
Hans remembered that he still had to hand over the bottle of water from the Fountain of Youth, so he calmly got up and went to get it. To be honest, he wanted a snack himself.
Upon entering the kitchen, the two exchanged a silent glance and, without wasting time on trivialities like conversation, headed for the refrigerator. It stood before them majestically and somewhat defiantly, as if it knew that the fate of this evening would be decided right there. In an instant, they were rummaging through the shelves with such fervor, as if they weren't looking for food but for a secret artifact that bestows strength, happiness, and a sausage sandwich.
As he ate this sacred sandwich, Hans glanced briefly at his great-grandfather, as if trying to figure out where exactly to begin. Then he slowly took out a bottle containing a liquid that looked like water, but was far too clear, far too transparent. At its very depths shimmered a strange, unnatural glow that immediately gave it away: this was no ordinary thing.
"What is this?" asked the grandfather, examining the vial in Hans's hand closely.
"It's water from the Fountain of Youth. If you drink the whole vial, you can gain another twenty years of life," Hans said calmly.
The great-grandfather's eyes lit up immediately. Now that was something valuable. All this supernatural stuff was foreign to him, but he already knew his great-grandson's abilities, so he had no reason to doubt his words.
"It's truly a valuable thing, Hans, but you'll need it more once you reach my age," he quickly declined. "It's better if, in the future, you're the one who lives a few decades longer. I've already lived my life."
Besides, the thought of parting with his beloved, who was growing weaker and fading before his eyes with each passing year, tore at his heart. He understood: his wife would not be able to live as long as he would, and she had very little time left—maybe a year, or maybe two.
"Don't talk nonsense, great-grandpa. By the time I'm old, I'll have plenty of time to get my hands on plenty of these bottles, and maybe I'll even find the source where this water comes from. Just share it with great-grandma and drink it," said Hans.
He understood what the old man was thinking, but such a quick refusal still annoyed him a little: the old man could have shown at least a shred of greed after all; this was an elixir of life.
Such a thing wasn't just expensive, it was priceless, and it couldn't be bought with money, only obtained.
His great-grandfather, however, was thinking of him above all else. He was truly lucky to have such a family.
"Consider this my way of thanking you for standing up for my great-grandchildren when we announced our relationship," Hans added cheerfully.
"Well, since you put it that way, I won't pretend to be modest anymore and will accept this gift," he said, unable to hide his joy. If his great-grandson assured him he could get more, then he believed him. Glancing at Hans once more, the old man quickly went to look for his wife.
Hans made himself another sandwich and calmly continued eating. He was in a surprisingly good mood, and the tension he'd felt before meeting Aurora had already subsided. Over the course of the day, he'd managed to gather his thoughts and steel himself for the conversation with her.
"Brother, Aurora's here!" Lilith exclaimed happily, running into the kitchen.
Upon hearing these words, Hans flinched and choked on his sandwich. All his confidence quickly melted away, and he was torn between the urge to run away and the need to finally go meet his beloved fiancée.
But the latter desire was much stronger. He truly loved her and had missed her unbearably during these few months of separation. Despite all his fear, despite the tension and the foolish urge to vanish somewhere for a moment, the thought of meeting Aurora drew him to her much more strongly. It had been far too long since he'd seen her smile, heard her voice, or caught her gaze.
Calming his thoughts, which were swinging from panic to excitement, Hans finally pulled himself together.
Really, what was there to be afraid of? She was his fiancée, his beloved. He put on a confident smile, he couldn't show weakness in front of her. Hans had to convince her by any means necessary and hope that she wouldn't want to kidnap him, kill him, lock him up in some dungeon, and torment him every day. And, honestly, knowing her temperament, he was very curious to see what the system would reveal.
Hans glanced at his sister and headed to the living room, where his father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother were already sitting.
His mother shot him a sly look that seemed to say: someone is definitely going to get a taste of their own smugness today.
"I'll go make some tea," Grandma said languidly, getting up and heading into the kitchen.
"Thank you, Grandma," Aurora said with a sweet smile. Her cherry-red curls were, as always, stunningly beautiful, and her eyes sparkled with joy and happiness.
"Sister Aurora, I missed you so much!" Lilith quickly jumped into Aurora's arms.
"Now, now, Lilith, if you keep acting like this, no one will marry you." Everyone winced at this comment, which Aurora, of course, noticed immediately.
Hans screamed inwardly: "Can't you at least try not to give yourselves away? Now she's definitely going to suspect something." Although it was unlikely she'd think that deeply about it, still...
"I'm definitely going to find a wonderful husband, one even better than you," Lilith smiled to herself. Although, of course, it's unlikely he'll be better, but at least on your level—absolutely.
Aurora stepped away from Lilith and finally looked at Hans. Their eyes met, and there was so much emotion in them that words couldn't convey it. Hans's gaze revealed tension, joy, and love. Aurora's gaze, however, was completely different—filled with resentment that strangely and uneasily intertwined with obsessive infatuation.
Hans merely smiled and stepped forward to embrace his bride; she did not resist and embraced him in return, inhaling the scent of his body.
"You smell like another woman," she whispered softly into Hans's ear, but it sounded incredibly tense and possessive.
Hans didn't flinch, though the slightest sign of panic would have derailed his plans. Besides, it made sense that he still smelled like his sister, but that was normal: he could have hugged her earlier that day, and her scent might have lingered. Most likely, she meant someone else—Violetta? Well, he'd had a date with her the day before yesterday, and he'd showered several times; the scent shouldn't have lingered. Did Aurora's ancestors include dogs?
But he didn't care: he was ready.