Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 290
TL: Elphie / PR: Marm
On those mornings, the first thing she had to do was wash herself.
Because sweat wasnāt the only thing she had to rinse away.
āI had that dream again last night.ā
And this time, it wasnāt only him moving.
Hadnāt she been the one to seek out the deepest pleasure, moving atop him, rolling her hips all on her own?
That wasnāt all. With her chest and with her lips, she had taken him inā¦
The moment that memory surfaced, Irene ducked her head, mortified.
She frantically fanned herself, but the heat that had climbed up to the tips of her ears refused to fade.
The rest of the dream was hazy, yet those sinful, intimate moments were always seared into her mind with startling clarity.
Then, the words from the Hand of Appraisal resurfaced in her thoughts.
Countless repeated copulationsā¦
āNo.ā
Irene shook her head.
No, it couldnāt be. There was no way the ring was recognizing something from a dream.
She grasped the ring again, pulling at it with all her might.
It refused to budge. It clung to her finger as if it had no intention of ever letting go.
* * *
That night, the Hand of Appraisal sat alone in a sealed-off chamber.
Its unprecedented behavior had thrown the entire Fortress into chaos for the rest of the day.
A wailing, inconsolable staff member clung to the Hand of Appraisal, unsure of what to do.
Soon, a professor from the Continental Academy, one of the foremost authorities on artifacts, was urgently summoned to examine it.
Countless other staff members also gathered, putting their heads together as they scrutinized the artifact.
Yet, no one could determine why the Hand of Appraisal had suddenly displayed such bizarre behavior.
Then, as if irritated by all the commotion, the Hand waved dismissively and scuttled into a corner. The room erupted into further chaos.
“This is the first time the Hand has ever shown such clear intent!”
“Ask it questions! Try communicating with it!”
But after that, the Hand of Appraisal fell completely still, as though it had gone to sleep.
In the end, the staff reluctantly decided to leave the room, allowing the artifact to rest.
Of course, they didnāt leave without precautions.
Just in case, they installed numerous recording artifacts throughout the chamber.
On top of that, a staff member was assigned to check in every hour to ensure nothing unusual occurred.
And so, as the night deepenedā
Swish.
From beneath the large cushion where the Hand of Appraisal rested, a thin tentacle cautiously emerged. It was Chomp-chomp.
The little creature quickly scanned its surroundings, taking note of the numerous recording artifacts stationed throughout the room.
Then, forming a tiny finger-like shape with its tip, it gestured a sharp shh! toward the artifacts.
Understanding the signal, the recording devices obediently ceased their functions.
Satisfied, Chomp-chomp turned its attention to the Hand of Appraisal, still lying motionless atop the cushion.
[What are you doing? Get up.]
The Hand didnāt budge.
Annoyed, Chomp-chomp prodded it with the end of its tentacle. Hey, I said get up.
Then, without warning, the once-limp Hand sprang to life, seizing Chomp-chompās body and shaking it violently.
You littleā! I almost XXXXing died!
[Gack! Kekh!]
Just before Chomp-chomp lost consciousness, the Hand finally released its grip.
[Damn it, you almost killed me!]
Still wheezing, Chomp-chomp coughed a few times, peering at the Hand with wary eyes.
[So? What happened?]
Chomp-chomp had secretly hidden away and witnessed the entire scene from earlier.
And later, when it saw Her Majestyās shocked and flustered reaction, it became certain that the Hand of Appraisal must have done something right.
Thatās why Chomp-chomp had come to offer praise. But why was the Hand acting like this all of a sudden?
All it did was write a little something, and it almost died because of it?!
The Hand of Appraisal had experienced the terror of annihilation firsthand.
It had thought carefully about what to write.
Something like, You are the Kingās wife, and this world was built upon your very wishes, so hurry up and recover your lost memories and summon him backā¦ That wouldāve been ideal.
But the Kingās prohibition over this world was far too strong.
If the Hand had directly revealed information that shook the very foundation of this realm, it wouldāve been erased instantly.
So instead, it carefully selected only the safest facts, words that wouldnāt trigger its destruction.
The first act before the staff had been mere theatrics, but the second time? It had truly been on the verge of vanishing.
The moment it handed over the paper, its entire being shriveled, its consciousness blurred.
For the first time in ages, the Hand of Appraisal had relived the same overwhelming terror it had felt when its wrist was severed long ago.
The Hand of Appraisal shook Chomp-chomp again, rattling it back and forth as if venting its lingering frustration.
Only after a moment did it finally release its grip, seemingly a little appeased.
Then, it asked,
So? Do you think Her Majesty is starting to remember anything?
[Noā¦]
Chomp-chomp let its tendrils droop in disappointment. Since then, Irene hadnāt shown any particular reaction.
And more importantly, there were no further signs of the world changing.
Chomp-chomp, still slumped over, slowly raised its tendrils again.
Then, in a grave voice, it declared ā
[Hand, letās do it one more time.]
It recalled something. Something it had stashed away deep in Ireneās quarters.
The Impossibility.
If that were to come into play, then surely, something would change.
Alright. Letās do it.
