Alice blinked.
Then blinked again.
For a moment, she simply stared at him, expression frozen somewhere between disbelief and confusion.
"…What?"
"Lust," Ashen repeated, his tone steady. "I want you to take the Lust pathway."
Alice's face went through several micro-expressions in rapid succession. Shock, suspicion, anger, and finally settling on a cold look.
"Let me get this straight." Her voice was dangerously even. "You cheat on me with my best friend, who happens to be a Lust pathway user, and now you want me to pick the same pathway?"
She leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Are you insane, or just stupid?"
Ashen didn't flinch. "Neither. I'm being practical."
'Maybe a bit insane, though,' he added, jokingly, in his head.
"Practical." Alice's laugh was sharp, "Right. Because asking your ex-girlfriend to follow the same pathway as your mistress is practical."
"She's not my—" Ashen stopped himself, exhaling through his nose. "Alice, listen to me. I wouldn't ask this if it wasn't important."
"Oh, I'm sure it's very important to you." Her tone dripped with sarcasm. "What's next? You'll suggest we all live together in some twisted harem fantasy?"
"Alice—"
"No, seriously. Is that where this is going?" She stood abruptly, pacing to the window, arms crossed. "Because that'd be pretty low even for you—"
"I'm willing to go even lower if it means your safety."
Alice froze mid-step.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Ashen sighed heavily, palming his forehead. "Alice, stop beating around the bush… what's your highest compatibility?"
"…Lust," she answered bitterly after a short pause.
"And what's the difference between it and the second highest?" Ashen nodded noncommittally and asked once more, since he'd already expected it.
"…41.27%. Lust is 88.08% with Greed second highest at only 46.81%…" Alice answered truthfully, despite the information being potentially threatening in the wrong hands.
She had no qualms about it, though. It was Ashen who'd asked, after all.
"Why did you hold off on picking Lust until now?" Ashen fired again, even though he also knew the answer to this one.
Alice turned slowly, her face pale. "…I've seen the people who chose that path… what they have to do to advance on it…"
"I've seen it." Her hands clenched into fists. "And I'd rather die than do that with anyone else aside from you, no matter how powerful it would make me… Sadly, you weren't by my side then. You were only an ordinary man who knew nothing of this side, and I couldn't bear to make you come to such a dangerous world just to satisfy my lust for power."
Alice smiled bitterly. "I haven't chosen yet because I thought, if I earned enough merits, they might let you connect with the system without the usual obligations. But it seems that's no longer necessary, isn't it?"
He stood, closing the distance between them in two strides. "It's not. I am here now, so choose it. What are you hesitating for?"
Alice didn't back down, even as he got so close that there was barely any space between them. "Well, who knew that you'd come back as a disloyal scumbag, though?"
The sarcasm was obvious, but Ashen wasn't planning on giving up persuading her, not with the illusion of her missing heart glaring at him so close now, reminding him what was truly at stake.
"Hey! I might be a scumbag, but calling me disloyal is going too far!" His voice rose slightly.
"Oh yeah? So what do you call your cheating? Dedication?" Alice's usual serene voice rose to match his.
"Well, that's because I just express my loyalty in other ways, of course!" Ashen said, keeping a straight face, though the words already felt slightly off to his own ears.
Still, he pressed on, voice earnest. "Alice, I'll keep you emotionally happy, physically satisfied. I'll protect you with every fiber of my being. I'll be your shield when the world turns cruel, your voice when you can't speak, your strength when you fall."
His hand slipped to the small of her back, the faint tremor in his touch revealing to her how much he meant it. "I'll guard your honor. I'll die for your survival. I am loyal…" His lips twitched with a rueful smile. "Just a little unfaithful."
"…"
Alice felt their breaths mingle, her lips parting to speak, but the look in his eyes stopped her. For the first time, it truly sank in: the deadbeat shell of her lover was gone.
Still, pride clawed at her chest. She wasn't that much of a pushover to so easily melt from just a few tender words, so she forced a faint scoff and whispered, almost resentfully, "…So if I do those things for you too, does that mean I'm allowed to cheat?"
Ashen, close enough to feel every word on her breath, froze for a heartbeat. Then his eyes dulled; emotion drained completely from his face.
Alice only felt his hand slip lower from her back, trailing until it firmly gripped her round backside with possession. Before she could react, he drew her in, a sudden pull pressing her tightly against him.
His voice whispered, almost tender, but the coldness underneath it made her heart skip. "No."
His other hand rose, fingers brushing through her hair with gentleness. "For you, Alice, loyalty is faithfulness."
"Y-yes…" she whispered back, voice involuntarily turning meek.
"Even if I'm on the verge of death," he murmured, "I'd rather you watch me die and stay faithful… than save me through betrayal."
"…Yes," she breathed in surrender.
They stayed like that for a moment, letting it sink in before Ashen leaned back from the side of her face to look at her properly.
"So, can you pick Lust, please? You can't be this willful, love. C'mon." Ashen's expression and tone went back to normal, as if what just happened was merely an illusion.
Alice knew it was real, of course, but she chose to play along and also switch back to her previous demeanor. "…You think your hypocritical words would make me forgive you?"
"Hypocrite? That, I am," Ashen admitted with a grin. "But a man can't be perfect, and you're stuck with me, so? How about it?"
Alice froze at his shamelessness, but didn't have anything to retort with… It was really as they said, shameless people are indeed invincible.
That aside, she knew how utterly and hopelessly in love with him she was. She'd never truly leave him, in the end. So what she was doing was effectively a temper tantrum, because it was ultimately futile.
And… beneath all the hurt and the betrayal, she felt a little spark of pride that she couldn't even deny, even if it made her feel dirty.
The fact that Ashen, her man, was able to make that Seraphine—the woman who used to smile for men outwardly but inwardly look down on them, the one who had sky-high standards—fall for him, made her feel some twisted feeling of satisfaction.
'…Should I just stop the drama? The faster I choose my Sin, the faster I'll grow. And since he went and became such a hunk, it would be a waste not to use him.' Alice's mind spun, though her face stayed emotionless despite what she was thinking.
'…It's also been a while since we did it.' No matter how she froze her facial expressions, though, her body's reactions ratted her out anyway, since she was still in his hold.
Ashen, who was patiently waiting for an answer, felt the gradual heat and mischievously smiled. "…You don't have to forgive me for us to do it. Hate sex would work all the same, probably…"
His words snapped Alice from her fantasies.
"You should go," she said softly. "I have work to do."
Ashen slowly let go, not before leaving a light kiss on those plump lips.
"...I'll think about it," she finally said, as she licked the aftertaste of the kiss on her lips. "That's all I can promise right now."
"...Alright."
He didn't get a yes.
But there wasn't a no either.
And for Ashen, that was enough.
"Thank you," he said quietly. "That's all I'm asking."
Alice nodded once, then turned back to her holographic display, fingers already moving across the interface.
Ashen stood, hesitating at the door.
"Alice?"
"…Yes?"
"I meant what I said. About the file." He smiled faintly. "Every entry in it is true."
She didn't turn around.
But her fingers paused, just for a moment.
"…Get out, Ashen."
He left, the door clicking shut behind him.
And Alice sat alone in her study, staring at the holographic screens without seeing them, a single thought echoing through her mind:
'I'm so horny…'
The senseless act of opening her system status, moving to the Sins' choice table, and clicking on Lust was almost unconscious, as she felt her body burning in need.
[Lust Path selected. May your desires guide the way.]