Chapter 236: There would definitely be no next time!

Seraphina’s shameless gaze traced the shape of his broad, sculpted chest and traveled down across his abdomen, where muscle stacked upon muscle in a flawless ladder of definition.

Eight distinct ridges sculpted into a perfection that was only possible in theory.

She didn’t even remember when Vlad had taken off his T-shirt. She was already cursing herself for not noticing this heavenly view before her until now.

She gulped hard, but a strand of drool still leaked from the corner of her lips as she whispered, "E-e-e-e... Eight-pack..."

Vlad raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching in bewilderment. Her gaze contained none of the restraint expected of a dignified noble, shamelessly drinking in the view.

Her gaze drifted lower, lingering on the V of his lower abdomen before it disappeared beneath his trousers. Her brows furrowed in slight annoyance. How dare those cursed trousers hide her view?

Two arms appeared before his torso, finally covering his sinful body and pulling Seraphina back to reality.

"Pervert!" Vlad hissed, his judging glare narrowing at Seraphina as he tried to cover whatever his arms could.

Seraphina wiped the drool with the back of her hand, then immediately covered her face with both hands.

"Kyaa!!! You pervert, why are you naked!?" she exclaimed, still peeking through the gap between her fingers. "It’s too early for that."

Vlad wasn’t even mad at this point. He was just... speechless.

Seeing him silently staring at her with a narrowed, judging glare, Seraphina let go of her act.

"W-well, it’s not my fault if you sat naked before me with a body like that," she blurted out, her cheeks turning red. "Besides, it would have been more disrespectful if I didn’t look when you were deliberately asking for it."

"That’s what every harasser would say," Vlad scoffed, rolling his eyes. He would never let her know that he was absolutely enjoying those unfiltered compliments.

"I just had this really odd moment of déjà vu," Seraphina murmured under her breath while Vlad continued, "I took them off because my T-shirt was high-necked."

"Ohhh," Seraphina nodded with her mouth open, realizing the reason. Her gaze betrayed her actions, though, still fixed on his body.

"Now, little perv," Vlad continued, not even minding her gaze anymore. "If you may rise so I can dress myself."

She ignored the nickname. Not like he had said anything wrong.

"Do you really need to?" she asked with a frown.

"..."

"Hmph! Fine!" she retorted, rising from his lap and shifting to the bed at his side.

He rose from the bed and walked toward the t-shirt on the floor while tying his hair into a top knot.

The way his muscles shifted with his arms raised, without even putting any effort into it, made Seraphina’s breath hitch once again.

She moved to the edge of the bed and lay on her stomach, her chin resting on the pillow and her legs playfully kicking against the mattress as she looked at Vlad with a sly smile.

"Really?" Vlad sighed as he picked up the T-shirt from the floor.

"I really hit a jackpot," Seraphina murmured to herself, but Vlad clearly heard the remark.

He wasn’t sure whether to feel happy about her compliments or concerned about his perverted girlfriend.

For now, he decided to dress himself first.

He had only just put on the T-shirt when Seraphina already had her arms extended toward him.

"Come quickly," she called, a hint of impatience in her voice. "I’m cold."

"It doesn’t seem to be the case, though," Vlad gave her a sidelong glance as he reached the bed.

He ignored her raised arms and, with one hand, grabbed her by the back of her neck while his other caught the edge of her pink gown near her thighs.

"H-huh?" Seraphina gasped as he swiftly spun on his knees until her head reached the headboard.

"I-I’m not a toy—" Her words stopped mid-sentence as Vlad pulled the blanket from the edge of the bed, covering her and himself up to the waist as he lay beside her on the same pillow.

He extended his arms toward her.

"Aren’t you cold?" he asked in a gentle tone.

Seraphina’s face bloomed into a bright smile. She immediately moved toward him, resting her head on his arm and placing one leg over both of his as he lay on his back.

"Not anymore," she murmured, cutely rubbing her cheek against his arm.

’Oh god...’ Vlad gasped inwardly. ’My girlfriend is so cute.’

He raised his free hand toward the ceiling. "You wanted to ask about this, right?"

The nanoparticles from the ring on his index finger spread out, covering his arm.

Seraphina’s eyes widened in shock as she watched the small ring transform into an arm armor.

Before she could even ask, Vlad revealed, "This is called Black God Armor."

He explained the features of the armor, each one leaving Seraphina even more shocked.

As for where he had actually found it, he told her that he would reveal it in the future. Seraphina didn’t pester him about its location either. She trusted him enough to know that there must be a reason he wasn’t telling her yet.

"Would you like to see it change form?" he asked as the nanoparticles shifted around his arm.

The curious part of her mind wanted to see it change into different clothing styles, while the perv—Ahem, the other part wanted to stay in Vlad’s arms and cuddle him for the rest of the night.

She silently weighed the two options. Obviously, the second one won by a large margin.

"It will be morning in a few hours," Seraphina murmured. "I want you to hold me tightly until then."

Vlad couldn’t help but chuckle at her honey-dripping words.

The nanoparticles moved back to the ring as he lowered his arm.

"Wait," she grabbed his arm midway with both hands. "You aren’t thinking that I’m not matching your energy because you wanted to show me something cool and I didn’t respond with the same energy."

Vlad blinked. She was taking note of such small things that he himself hadn’t given a second thought to. Perhaps because they had just started dating, she was extra conscious about their compatibility and was afraid of not matching his energy.

"Of course not, silly," Vlad chuckled, slowly lowering his arm to her face, where he brushed her soft skin. "To be honest... I also wanted you to deny seeing its application."

There was a hint of awkwardness in his voice. He wasn’t so good at saying such things, after all. Still, Seraphina clearly understood what he meant. She wasn’t the only one who wanted to remain in the warmth of the other. The feeling was mutual.

"Oh my Vlad," she exclaimed, moving even closer to him, her head reaching his chest. "You are such a sweetie."

Sw-sweetie!? Now that was too much. He had to stop her right here, or she would become bolder with these ridiculous nicknames that definitely did not suit his masculine personality.

"Hug me, sweetie," Seraphina continued, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Right at it, Sera." He shifted onto his side, one arm tightly wrapping around her upper back while the other pulled her closer by the waist. "Good night."

He would only let it slide this time. There would definitely be no next time!!

"Good night, my Vlad."