As the North Island warship drew closer, Ivy smiled bitterly and said, "I no longer possess that glorious name. To my people, I am nothing more than a complete exile."
Looking at Evie's profile, Todd realized for the first time that inside this strong and fearless woman's body lay a soft and sensitive heart.
“From birth, I was given a noble responsibility. From childhood to adulthood, the sentence I heard most often was—you are Brunhilde, you should live up to the expectations of the gods.” The helmet in Ivy’s hand fell limply onto the beach: “Over the years, in order to uphold this sacred name, no matter what setbacks and blows I have suffered, I have always persisted and never given up.”
"In the soul realm of Asgard, I learned that the age of the gods had long since passed. At that time, I thought I was strong enough to get rid of Brunhilde's shadow, but I was wrong."
"It was only after becoming an exile that I realized for the first time that what I truly cared about was not the duties of the gods, but the loneliness that came with them. Once the name Brunhilde was gone, my body felt like it had lost its soul. My past efforts, my life's goals, the meaning of my existence—everything seemed to be drifting away from me."
Todd sighed and stared at the silver-haired woman in front of him.
She originally had a beautiful face, but she willingly covered it with steel; she originally had skin as smooth as brocade, but fate left her scarred.
Todd opened his arms and gently embraced Evie, whispering, "Do you remember what I told you? Life shouldn't be all about fighting and killing; learning to relax is more important."
Resting her head on Todd's chest, Evie whispered, "Learn to relax? Will doing that really help me get out of this pain?"
Todd looked up at the top of the woman's head and said with a smile, "Why not give it a try?"
Evie stretched out her arms and wrapped them around Todd's waist, closing her eyes as she said, "I'll try... but for now, please stay in this position. You smell wonderful..."
As the stars began to appear, Todd returned to the small building. Pushing open the door, the first thing he saw was Deirdre clutching her lower abdomen, lying on a recliner, looking listless.
Todd stepped forward and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you sick?"
Deirdre, her face flushed with embarrassment, whispered barely, "Last night..."
Todd instantly understood what was going on. In the past, it was always two against one, but last night it was just her alone. Plus, after a long separation, it was like a new marriage. No wonder Deirdre was so upset.
Todd gently stroked Deirdre's hair and said softly, "Tonight..."
Before he finished speaking, the latter, like a startled fawn, jumped up from the recliner and ran upstairs.
Deirdre's reaction made Todd smile wryly. He had meant to say, "Get some rest tonight," but she had misunderstood.
In the lobby on the first floor, Todd first tidied up his belongings, then washed up and went into his bedroom on the second floor.
The bedroom was pitch black, and Deirdre had extinguished all the candles early and hid in bed.
Todd shook his head and laughed, too lazy to even turn on the light, and simply groped his way into bed in the dark.
Crawling into the fine linen quilt, Todd reached out and 'touched' Deirdre's back.
Everything that touched was smooth.
Todd was taken aback. His first thought was, why is Deirdre completely naked?
My second thought was that the person in the bed wasn't Deirdre.
Just as he was about to jump out of bed to light the candles, a sword blade, reflecting a cold light, stopped beside Todd's neck.
"No candles allowed!"
A familiar voice startled Todd.
"Evie? What are you doing here?!"
Lifting the burlap sheet, Ivy sat up in bed, her voice completely devoid of its usual strength and resolve: "Don't ask me why I came, and don't even think about leaving."
Looking at Ivy's almost perfect upper body silhouette under the moonlight, Todd said with a wry smile, "But at the very least, could you please move this sword away?"
With the short sword at her side, Evie suddenly stood up, grabbed Todd's clothes, and pulled him back onto the bed.
Then, Evie grabbed Todd's arms, pressed him against the bed, spread her legs, and straddled him.
Finally, in the darkness, the two remained frozen in that ambiguous and awkward pose.
Looking at the somewhat bewildered woman, Todd tentatively asked, "Have you never...?"
Ivy rudely interrupted the other person's question: "I've seen those primitive and barbaric things before, of course I know!"
Todd said helplessly, "Evie, perhaps we should talk first..."
Before she could finish speaking, another figure slipped from the doorway onto the bed. She put her mouth close to Ivy's ear and whispered something.
Looking at the figure, Todd shouted, both amused and annoyed, "Deirdre! Was tonight's incident your idea?!"
Ignoring Todd's questions, the two women whispered among themselves and tacitly agreed on a division of labor and cooperation.
Todd was about to say something more when he found his lips were being bitten hard by Ivy, and he could no longer make a sound, while Deirdre was already skillfully untying his belt.
What happened next, perhaps only the moon that night knows, besides those involved.
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