Gardenia’s Heart

“So those two elves tried to sneak in while I was sleeping?”

Lily asked as she took a bite of warm bread, freshly obtained from the Star Dust Spring. A few crumbs slipped down onto the black robe that barely covered her chest.

“Yes! Those fools dared to disturb my beloved wife’s sleep! They got exactly what they deserved!”

Chuckling at how Nia puffed her cheeks in protest, Lily watched as the girl—now dressed in a maid outfit—carefully arranged an assortment of sliced fruits on a tray, balancing it with one of her tentacles.

The fruits, freshly purchased from a shop in Caligo, were cut into elegant shapes like stars and hearts, placed neatly before Lily for her to eat as much as she pleased. At the same time, a cup of hot coffee was placed in her left hand, while another piece of soft bread was gently set in her right.

“Being spoiled like this while eating in bed... You’re going to make me too accustomed to luxury,” Lily remarked with a smile, sinking into the countless plush pillows that surrounded her.

As she tasted the different kinds of bread and savored the sweetness of the fruit, Lily couldn't help but feel delighted at how much Nia had been showering her with kindness. The fact that her wife had gone out of her way to prepare such a breakfast before Lily even woke up made her heart swell with warmth.

Lily suspected that their recent serious conversation about having a baby had prompted Nia to find new ways to express her love. The metamorph wanted to take extra care of her, making sure she felt cherished. And while the extravagant meal might have been a bit much, it was so adorably sweet that Lily could never bring herself to stop her.

“Lily, try this fruit! It’s really sweet! The shopkeeper told me that eating citrus fruits helps when you’re trying to conceive.”

Peeling a tangerine, Nia climbed onto the bed and settled herself on Lily’s lap, bringing several slices to her wife's lips.

“Delicious~” Lily smiled as she tasted them, letting the juicy sweetness linger on her tongue.

With her ability to fully manipulate everything inside Lily’s body, Nia could have easily ensured conception by directly controlling the fertilization of her eggs. However, both of them had agreed to take a more natural approach, wanting to cherish this experience together.

“Thank you for all of this, my love. I adore you.”

After such a delightful breakfast, Lily couldn't resist planting several soft kisses on Nia’s face, her fingers gently combing through the strands of her violet hair.

As Nia trembled slightly from the affectionate touch, still nestled in her lap, Lily felt a pleasurable shiver run down her spine—realizing that, once again, she had grown hard. Her newly erect member slid between the curves of her wife’s soft thighs, pressing against her back beneath the maid dress.

“Mnhm... Lily... if you want to do more... I’m ready anytime, okay?”

Nia murmured shyly, feeling the warmth of Lily’s arousal against her. Her crimson eyes gazed at her wife with a mixture of anticipation and love.

Lifting the skirt of her maid dress, Nia made sure Lily had a perfect view of the space between her legs. The girl, who wasn’t wearing panties, had her vagina completely covered by a thick layer of semen, which slowly dripped out because it couldn’t fully fit inside her.

Seeing the girl act in such a way made Lily take a deep breath to calm herself.

Even though Nia had started using her penis on the last night, before they began eating breakfast, the girl vehemently claimed that she couldn't start her day without receiving her dose of love from Lily.

Although the silver-haired girl had loved the feeling of being filled by her wife and wanted to see Nia’s flushed face as she struggled to go deeper and deeper inside her, she knew this thought was mutual. Nia couldn’t stand going a single day without feeling her wife filling her intensely.

So, after completing their morning routine, which left Nia feeling completely full and satisfied with her wife’s love juice filling her vagina and butt, and dripping through the seams of her clothes, the metamorph finally recounted the events of the previous night.

"We’ll do more later; we need to deal with the elves now." Swallowing another piece of tangerine to calm her libido, Lily made sure Nia ate as well before asking, “Did you kill them?”

“No. Since they didn’t draw their weapons with killing intent and only tried to peek through the trees, I thought it would be best to ask for your opinion first. So I just froze them,” Nia explained, happily savoring the fruit while rubbing her back against her wife’s chest. “If they had shown any hostility, I would’ve killed them on the spot.”

“Good job~”

Receiving praise from Lily meant more to Nia than anything else. Her face lit up with so much happiness that a silly smile formed on her lips.

Once Lily finished the last bite of her delicious breakfast, she stood up and went outside with Nia, the gentle morning light welcoming them.

In front of the girl wearing a robe that barely covered her body and the sensual maid who, for some reason, didn’t want to put on her panties, two elves—a man and a woman—were frozen, absolute panic evident in their expressions.

Stepping closer to examine them, Lily placed a hand over her mouth as she observed, “Their ears really are pointy.”

After embarrassing herself before by mistaking a dragon’s appearance, Lily had taken the time to study how other races looked to avoid making the same mistake again.

The elves, who didn’t seem much older than young adults who had just come of age, were crouched down in a position that made it clear they had been attempting to enter the tree.

“I can’t say much about their magic or physical conditioning, but with mana-location, I can tell they have less mana than Cleomel.”

Pointing her index finger between the two frozen elves, Nia explained enthusiastically. While the metamorph had little personal interest in them, meeting elves—beings of another race—meant more opportunities to learn, which always excited her.

“Nia, I know we did this before with that bastard, but when they’re like this… does it hurt a lot?”

Lily asked, her face slightly hesitant as she crossed her arms, unintentionally emphasizing her chest.

When she had frozen Velmont Sunshard before, she had done it in a way that completely trapped him while making sure he suffered as much as possible from the ice pressing against his body. However, these two elves hadn’t done anything to deserve such punishment.

“Don’t worry, Lily, I thought about that too! I only froze them in a way that stops their movements and induces a sleep state. When they wake up, they won’t feel anything except some stiffness for a few hours!”

Placing both hands on her hips, the incredibly competent and undeniably sensual maid, Gardenia, proudly declared her accomplishment with a confident smile.

“Good job, my love.”

Stepping closer, Lily hugged her from behind, resting her chin warmly on Nia’s head.

Being praised again made Nia’s smile grow even wider. The luxurious robe she had chosen for Lily covered her arms and legs carefully, but it left her chest exposed just enough that when hugged, her bare nipples brushed against Nia’s back.

“Hihihi~” Giggling softly for various reasons, the metamorph rubbed her cheek against her wife’s before asking, “Should I unfreeze them now, Lily?”

As she embraced and stroked Nia, Lily tilted her head, considering a few things she should warn her about beforehand.

“When you unfreeze them, even if they talk back or act a little rough, don’t attack to kill, okay, Nia?”

Her tone was gentle, but it still made Nia puff her cheeks in a pout.

“But I don’t like it when people speak badly about you, Lily.”

Grabbing both of Lily’s hands, Nia pulled them around her chest, holding them tightly.

“Unlike bandits, they’re just trying to protect their home. So they might say some harsh words,” Lily explained, smiling at how much Nia cared. “Just like you protect me, they’re protecting what’s important to them. So we shouldn’t hurt them for that.”

Nia could understand everything Lily said, so she would try her best not to interfere. However, there were limits she would never allow anyone to cross.

"Alright... I won't attack them if they're rude, but no matter what happens, if they truly try to hurt you, I will show no mercy."

"I wouldn't want it any other way, my love." Pulling Nia in for a deep kiss, Lily held her close for a long moment before finally asking her to put on her black dress for her.

With a few adorable hops, Nia ran back inside the tree, undoing the bed and gathering the two stardust blades along with the other items she couldn't simply absorb.

"Nia, if possible, let's store the weapons somewhere safe and retrieve them when we need them," Lily suggested, thinking it might be wiser not to carry weapons if she wanted to show she had no ill intentions.

Nodding, Nia created a portal to the room they had used in Selene's mansion and carefully placed the swords there before returning to Lily's body.

Chuckling softly at how cute her wife looked while working, Lily placed both hands over her stomach. Even though they had done plenty during the night, there was no guarantee she would conceive on the first try. That was why she looked forward to advancing through the forest toward their goal—so they could try again.

She signaled for Nia to remove the black crystals from the elves' bodies. As they shattered, tiny purple and blue sparks spread through the air, accompanied by a sound like breaking glass.

From head to toe, cracks began forming and multiplying. Within seconds, the once-frozen statues twitched, and in an instant, both collapsed to the ground.

"Aaah... Aah..."

"Huff... Aaah..."

Both elves gasped for air, as if forcefully awakened from a deep slumber. Their lungs fought to fill with air before any coherent thought could form.

It took several moments for their breathing to steady and their exhausted arms to push their bodies upright.

Noticing they were nearly in a state where conversation was possible, Lily subtly cleared her throat. She was about to speak when a thought struck her—

How did one even start a conversation?

She couldn't remember.

Aside from her wife and those she had met in Caligo, Lily had never initiated a conversation with anyone who wasn't a merchant.

Should she start by introducing herself? Or maybe by offering them some fruit or water?

Her hesitation dragged on longer than it should have, giving the elves enough time to notice her before she could show them she meant no harm.

"A-A human!" the elven man shouted, his trembling hands reaching for the sword at his waist. "How dare you do this to us—"

"W-Wait, I don’t intend to hurt you," Lily stammered, still trying to think of how to prove she wasn’t a threat.

From her conversations with Abelia and Cleomel, she understood that, due to political agreements between nations, entering the forest wasn’t considered a crime in itself. However, since it was national territory, the elves had the right to defend their lands if they felt threatened.

The two elves before her had done nothing to deserve retaliation. Technically speaking, Lily was trespassing on land belonging to a people who disliked visitors. She wanted to avoid using force if possible.

Just as she was about to send out a tentacle to restrain the boy, who was already gathering mana for a desperate attack, a loud voice rang out.

"C-Calm down, Kelios!"

With all the strength she could muster, the elven girl threw herself at the boy, using her entire body weight to pin him down.

"If the human wanted to kill us, she would have already done so!" she said urgently. The act drained what little air she had managed to pull into her lungs, sending her into a fit of coughs. "T-The fact that we still have our weapons means she isn’t an enemy! Don’t do anything stupid."

Despite the pressure she was putting on him, the boy struggled to free his sword, the icy chill on his freshly unfrozen skin being burned away by the fury of attacking the human before him.

"Let me go, Zaylin! This is our only chance!"

Watching the two elves wrestling on the ground, Lily adjusted her dress and crouched down.

"So, you’re Kelios and Zaylin, right?" She called out to them, her index finger alternating between the two before pointing at herself. "My name is Lily."

Proud of her self-introduction, Lily’s lips curled slightly upward. Naturally, her flawless greeting was met with enthusiastic praise from her beloved, who watched everything with excitement.

Somehow, her completely out-of-place remark had the same effect as a bucket of cold water being thrown over them.

With the adrenaline rush from their awakening fading, what little strength Kelios had mustered drained away, causing him to release his weapon. Seeing this, Zaylin got off him, the tense expression on her face easing slightly.

Doing her best to sit up, Zaylin adjusted her messy pink hair, using the few seconds it took to study the situation.

Her companion seemed to understand that they couldn’t fight in this state and remained silent, glaring daggers at the human before them.

This wasn’t the encounter she had envisioned, but she had been given a chance to fix things.

"Miss... Were you the one who captured us?" the elf asked cautiously, watching the beautiful human woman in a black dress subtly shift her expression.

"That might not have been the best first impression, huh?" Lily stood up, lightly scratching her cheek. "The thing is, I used... a certain protection spell to secure the shelter I set up. It activated when you got too close. When I woke up, I defrosted you, and now here we are."

The words of the woman calling herself Lily made some sense—if Zaylin ignored the obvious trembling in her voice that hinted she was making things up on the spot.

Zaylin clearly remembered being attacked from behind before everything went dark and she lost consciousness. The voices didn’t match, making it clear that it had been someone else, but that didn’t matter.

Looking at the black, leafless tree, Zaylin knew she was in the right place.

"Miss... Lily? Could you tell us why you entered the forest?" As soon as she spoke, Zaylin felt Kelios' furious gaze shift from the silver-haired girl to her.

Her companion couldn’t understand why she was speaking so respectfully to a human, and she couldn’t blame him for it. However, his opinion was the last thing she needed to worry about right now.

"Before you ask, I don’t plan to invade your village... I am... an explorer... Yes, just an independent mercenary," Lily said, her expression shifting several times as if she were struggling to find the right words. "I heard rumors that the elves had discovered a labyrinth in their forest, so I came here to explore it."

Hearing the girl’s words, Zaylin had to try her best not to smirk.

"Shut up, human! We’re not stupid enough to fall for your lies!"

But with an angry shout, Kelios yelled at the human woman, finally managing to kneel.

"We know you’re not alone! We saw the destroyed nest of the emerald spider! Where are the other humans who helped you? What are you planning in our forest!?"

A spark of anger ignited within Zaylin, and she tackled her companion once more, once again questioning if he had more than a single functioning brain cell.

"W-We... We don’t know where the labyrinth is! Only our superiors have the location!" Zaylin shouted, one of her hands struggling to keep Kelios' mouth shut.

Hoping the human hadn’t been irritated by the elf, Zaylin turned her gaze, only to find the human girl lost in thought for a moment.

“So... could you take me to someone who might know where the labyrinth is? I give you my word that I have no intention of harming you in any way.”

Her blue eyes, reminiscent of the sky, lacked much emotion, yet held a subtle determination that Zaylin managed to catch.

“C-Could you allow us to speak in private for a moment?” the elf asked, her voice trembling as she still had to keep her companion restrained.

“… Oh, yes, of course.” Stepping several meters away, Lily leaned casually against one of the large trees, giving the elves space to talk in private.

As soon as there was some distance between them, Zaylin released Kelios, who immediately gasped for air, an unmistakably displeased expression on his face.

“Why did you tell her about the labyrinth, you idiot?” Kelios muttered, still out of breath, struggling to keep his angry outburst quiet enough so the human wouldn’t hear.

Smoothing her pink hair back into place, Zaylin let out a long sigh to calm herself before fixing her gaze on her companion.

“We're taking her back with us,” she said firmly, fully aware of the reaction she was about to receive.

“Are you insane!? You want to bring a human to the village?” Kelios’ eyes widened as he stepped closer, lowering his voice to whisper near the elf’s pointed ear.

“Her wanting to go to the city is actually to our advantage,” Zaylin began, her pink eyes locked onto his. “That human defeated the both of us without us even being able to resist. If we return, we’ll have support and won’t have to fight alone.”

The girl’s reasoning sounded absurd to Kelios, who quickly protested.

“I might be wrong by a little, but it’s been over ten hours since we broke schedule. If we stall that human for a while longer, I’m sure the general will send a squad after us!”

Kelios spoke with confidence, but Zaylin shook her head multiple times, unconvinced.

“That won’t happen,” she stated firmly. “With the alert status, we don’t have enough manpower to search for a team just because they’re a day or two late. Even if I told Maple to go back alone and get help, it would take at least a week for the general to send someone after us.”

Zaylin spoke with determination. She might have exaggerated in some parts, but she needed to make sure Kelios accepted her plan.

“Besides, you said it yourself—the human is lying and isn’t alone.” She whispered, her eyes scanning the surroundings with a sense of urgency. “The fairies told us there was at least one other last night, remember? If the other humans find us before another team does, what will we do!?” she pressed, her tone rising at the end.

Pressing his lips together, Kelios struggled to come up with a response to her argument. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find a solid counter. Staying here no longer seemed like the safest option.

Letting out a long sigh, finally conceding, Zaylin turned to Lily and stood up, clenching her fist tightly beneath her cloak.

“We will take you to our city.”