Chapter 152: The Queen's Embrace, stunning

Celeste was roused by a faint, rhythmic rustling. Her consciousness was still a hazy fog.

When she finally managed to pry her eyes open, the first thing she saw was the enormous, extravagantly ornate bed, its frame woven from living tree roots. The space beside her was empty. Only a patch of wrinkled sheets, still holding a faint trace of body heat, silently testified that the events of last night had not been just a beautiful dream.

Celeste turned her neck with a wooden stiffness, her gaze drawn toward the source of the subtle sound.

Not far away, beside a round table carved from white jade, Elaniel had already changed into a solemn yet elegant silver-white court gown. Her flowing silver hair was neatly tied back by an exquisite moonstone diadem. She sat perfectly upright, a quill in hand, swiftly reviewing stack after stack of parchment scrolls.

The morning sun filtered through the lush branches of the garden outside, casting dappled light across her focused profile and outlining a scene of deep tranquility.

‘No way… She’s already started working?’Celeste’s brain was still booting up. Staring at the scene, the only thing she could feel was pure, unadulterated awe for the workaholic queen.’I just woke up, and she’s probably already finished handling the morning’s official business for an entire country. Is being an Elf Queen really this demanding? Is there no justice in this world?!’

She sat up, carefully swinging her legs over the side of the bed and trying not to make a sound that might disturb the woman lost in her work.

However, the moment she moved, Elaniel’s quill paused. The queen immediately turned to face her.

“Awake?”

Her voice still carried a trace of the cool detachment from her work, but when her gaze fell upon Celeste, that frost quickly melted into a gentle smile, as warm and welcoming as a spring thaw.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Uh, pretty well.” Celeste subconsciously scratched at her messy, sleep-tousled hair, her cheeks heating up slightly.

Sleeping in until mid-morning in the Elf Queen’s personal bedroom and then getting caught red-handed by the owner… the feeling was… incredibly awkward.

“Come, sit over here.” Elaniel beckoned to her, then whispered to the empty air, “Prepare breakfast.”

As soon as the words left her lips, two elf maids appeared as if from nowhere, silently bringing out a steaming breakfast. There was fragrant wheat porridge, golden and fluffy baked bread, and several small dishes of jam and fresh, crisp vegetables drizzled in a light dressing that exuded a refreshing scent.

Celeste sat at the table, glanced at the sumptuous spread before her, then at the mountain of documents at Elaniel’s side. She couldn’t help but ask, “Elaniel… did you not sleep at all last night?”

“I slept. I just woke up rather early.” Elaniel picked up a cup of clear tea, gently blowing away the swirling steam. “Handling this backlog of official business is the responsibility that comes with being the Elf Queen.”

She gazed at Celeste, a trace of longing hidden so deep in her eyes that even she hadn’t noticed it.

“However,” she added softly, “it was the most peaceful sleep I’ve had in centuries.”

Celeste’s spoon paused mid-air.

‘It’s over,’she thought, groaning internally.’The “humanoid comfort pillow” label is now permanently welded to me. I’ll never be able to pry it off.’

She complained frantically in her mind but had no idea how to respond out loud. She could only manage a dry “Oh,” before burying her head and attacking the porridge with vigor, trying to use the food to cover her discomfort.

Elaniel watched her, a faint smile curling the corners of her lips. She didn’t press the topic, instead changing it with a relaxed tone. “By the way, I’ve already given the order this morning.”

“Hmm? An order for what?” Celeste raised her head, her words muffled by the half-eaten piece of bread still stuffed in her mouth.

Elaniel smiled, gesturing with her eyes toward another part of the garden.

“The guest room next to this bedroom will be reserved for you. Forever.”

“Pfft—cough, cough, cough!”

Celeste nearly choked to death on the mouthful of bread. A series of devastating coughs wracked her body, and her face turned a shade of purple.

Shaking her head with a helpless sigh, Elaniel patted her on the back while waving a hand. A cup of clear water immediately flew to hover in front of Celeste.

Celeste snatched the cup and gulped down most of the water, finally managing to catch her breath. She stared at the queen, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“Forever… reserved? Elaniel, you’re not joking, are you?”

“I never joke about such things.” Elaniel’s tone was utterly serious. “Regardless of whether you come to stay in the future or not, this place is your home in Silvermoon City.”

That one word—home—was like a searing needle, piercing the softest, most vulnerable part of Celeste’s heart.

Ever since arriving in this world, she had always had companions by her side, yet a feeling of drifting, of having no place to truly belong, had always lingered deep within her. To her, everything here felt more like a hyper-realistic, full-dive VR game where she couldn’t save or reload.

But now, one of this world’s top-tier NPCs was telling her she wanted to give her a “home.”

The feeling was too surreal.

‘Wait, what kind of plot development is this?’she reeled.’I sleep over one night and get gifted a permanent property in the prime real estate of the royal palace? A top-tier, riverside flat right next to the Elf Queen’s bedroom?! Is this it? Is my life as a kept woman about to begin?!’

She looked into Elaniel’s sincere, wine-red eyes, and a powerful sense of reluctance suddenly surged through her.

That’s right. The day would eventually come when the Domain was cleared. Once the Shattered Covenant was completely repaired, they would all be teleported out. When that happened, the connection between this world and Blue Star might be severed forever.

Would she ever be able to come back?

Would she ever again see the Elf Queen who would act spoiled because of her loneliness, who would fall into a peaceful sleep just from an embrace, and who would smile and promise to “provide enough food”?

At the thought, Celeste’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, aching with a painful tightness.

Then, she suddenly remembered a piece of equipment she had obtained not long ago.

“Elaniel!”

She looked at the Elf Queen, her eyes shining with an astonishing light, as if entire constellations were burning within them.

“I have a way! Perhaps… perhaps it can allow me to come back at any time!”

“What way?”

Elaniel’s breath hitched. She shot up from her seat, her body leaning forward slightly in her excitement. A pair of crimson eyes locked onto Celeste, so focused that she didn’t even notice the quill slipping from her hand to clatter softly on the floor.

She had originally thought that once Celeste left, it would be a final farewell. That was the very reason she had been so uncharacteristically forward, making the absurd request to share a bed. She had just wanted to greedily grasp at the warmth that allowed her to sleep peacefully within the limited time she had.

But now, Celeste was saying she had a way to come back at any time?

Celeste didn’t answer immediately. Instead, with a simple thought, an ancient, unadorned black book materialized in her hands.

“This is…?” Elaniel stared at the book that had appeared from thin air, a flicker of doubt in her eyes. She could feel that it was surrounded by a power she had never encountered before, a power that did not belong to this world.

“This is a new piece of my equipment, and also my own unique ‘magic’,” Celeste explained. “One of its abilities is that I can set something called a ‘time-mark anchor’ at any location. Think of it like a permanent teleportation coordinate.”

She continued, her voice gaining momentum, “As long as the coordinate is set, I can use this book to teleport myself to the anchor point at any time.”

Elaniel’s breathing stopped completely.

Those wine-red eyes, which were always filled with wisdom and composure, now held nothing but a violent tremor, reflecting only Celeste’s figure and a brilliant light named “Hope.”

Celeste raised her hand, pressing it gently on the book’s cover, and flashed Elaniel an incredibly bright smile.

“As long as I leave a ‘time-mark anchor’ here,” she said, her voice soft but sure. “Then, even if the passage between our worlds closes in the future, I can still… come to see you at any time.”

“Whenever you miss me, I can come back to eat with you, chat with you, and even…”

“Sleep with you.”

The last two words slipped out almost subconsciously. The moment they left her lips, she herself froze.

‘Holy crap! What kind of insane thing did I just say?! It’s over, it’s over, my mouth is running way faster than my brain!’

But Elaniel couldn’t hear anything anymore. Celeste’s words had forcibly torn a crack in the centuries of her lonely, eternal night, and through that crack poured the brilliant light of dawn.

Come back… at any time?

That promise stirred her heart more than any oath or vow ever could.

The next second, Celeste’s vision blurred. A breeze mixed with floral fragrance and overwhelming warmth rushed toward her. Elaniel had already crossed the distance between them in great strides, completely abandoning the reserve and demeanor of a queen, and pulled her into a crushing hug.

“What the—!”

Celeste’s brain went instantly blank.

Elaniel was already taller and more curvaceous than her, and the strength she was using in her excitement was simply astounding. Celeste’s face was pressed accurately and unmistakably into a breathtakingly soft and elastic expanse.

The scent of food at the tip of her nose was gone, replaced by the unique, intoxicating fragrance of the Elf Queen herself. She felt like she had just plunged headfirst into a super-luxurious marshmallow trap.

Softness.

Sweetness.

…But she was about to suffocate!

This wasn’t a figure of speech. In a very real, physical sense, she was being smothered by an Elf Queen who had completely lost control, who was using her proud assets to block her nose and mouth. She was actually about to suffocate!

‘Help! A rich lady’s passionate hug is killing me with her chest!’Celeste’s mind, amidst the blankness and the rich floral scent, was scrolling with panicked thoughts like a Twitch chat on fire.’Is this the legendary suffocation of happiness?! My HP is dropping like crazy, but my soul feels like it’s ascending to heaven!’

“Elaniel… mmph… it’s so stuffy!” Celeste struggled, her protest muffled against the land of gentleness.

However, the Elf Queen holding her only pulled her closer. That body, which always maintained an air of elegance and majesty, was now trembling slightly.

Celeste could feel warm liquid dripping from above, soaking into her hair.

Elaniel pressed her chin tightly against the top of Celeste’s head, her voice a mixture of irrepressible sobs and laughter.

“It’s wonderful… Celeste… you don’t know… what this means… to me…”

“It’s really… wonderful…”

Just then, a series of system prompts began to scroll frantically through Celeste’s mind like a waterfall.

[Ding! Detected that your relationship with the key plot character “Elf Queen Elaniel” has undergone a major change! Friendship upgraded to “Inseparable”!]

[Because a deep link has been established with the source of “Embrace of Moonlight,” new effects for “Embrace of Moonlight” have been unlocked!]

[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story? Every single bit helps immensely: