Chapter 113 Rebirth Of The Ice Phoenix | The Lucky One

"Yes, Marilyn! Everything is fine, thank you!" Evalyn yelled to Kaze's secretary, half-naked behind her door, moments before the woman reached them.

Marilyn stopped and turned around. "Okay, miss. If there's anything you need, please let me know."

"Thank you!" The blonde replied, leaving the emperor chuckling.

Once the woman began walking away, she looked at Kaze and then back down at her chest.

"Can't you look away!?" Evalyn cried in embarrassment, turning bright red when she saw his stoic unwavering face.

"If you were worried about it, you wouldn't have pulled me into this room, yes?" Kaze asked, rolling his eyes, "I wish you would stop treating me like I'm ogling you."

He wasn't glancing at her breasts. That was the worst part!

Instead, he was treating her as if she were clothed, which was uncomfortable and attacked her self-esteem simultaneously.

Somehow he found ways of making it impossible to agree with him.

"Pink." Evalyn seethed, thrusting out the panty ball in her hand, unconcerned that her breasts were bare.

Kaze glanced at the panty ball, at her breasts, gave her a slight smirk, and then locked eyes.

She felt a shudder of a positive energy wave through her body.

He was reading her mind, which said she was annoyed he didn't address her body, so he gave her a small, charming smirk before reconnecting.

It sent shivers down her spine.

"Yes. Those are pink panties." Kaze replied charmingly, "Is there a problem with that?"

Evalyn's eyes trembled for a moment when he asked her a value proposition question.

What was she supposed to say? Yes, there was something wrong with pink panties?

Of course not! She only wore pink panties!

Her eyebrow twitched. "No. I get that you know I secretly like pink panties, but did you have to give me thirty pairs and not provide one black or white pair?"

Kaze laughed breathlessly, gazing into her eyes. It sent mixed signals through her body.

"The Evalyn I knew didn't own panties of any other color." He smiled, "I think it was her way of forcing herself not to be too relaxed in her surroundings.

So while I didn't need to give you them exclusively, it wasn't a slight."

Evalyn's eyes widened, and she looked down again. She didn't think of it from that perspective. "I… see. Do you just treat me like I'm the other me?"

"Not at all." Kaze smiled, shaking his head. "I gave you thirty pairs exclusively, so you couldn't stop wearing them in protest.

I don't deserve to act feminine; my smile insults good people; people like me don't deserve to have fun, rabble, rabble."

"Are you sure you weren't stal… listening?" Evalyn swallowed.

He gave her a mocking smile. "One doesn't need to know the future to know something written on your face."

She gave him a wry smile, averted her gaze, and looked down at the panties, her chest, and then at the corner of the ceiling.

"Be honest. Do you act this way around me to make it impossible for me to think about anything else?" Evalyn asked frankly.

"Oh, love." Kaze laughed with a hypnotic smile, "There is nothing so contrived between us.

I simply desire to be around you, and we have remarkably terrible synergy."

Evalyn smiled in forced amusement and turned away. "Well, I'm grateful.

You make it impossible for me to feel any emotion but embarrassment, annoyance, frustration, amusement, and… a strange variation of [good].

I only feel normal when I'm with you, and the periodic positive emotions I get feel like drugs."

He gave her a lukewarm gaze. While he enjoyed her smile, there was nothing positive about her statement.

"I'm glad my disagreeable demeanor has robust, positive qualities." Kaze smiled, putting aside his minor sadness.

Evalyn studied his gentle facial expressions with a shaky heart, trying not to look down at her chest. "Are you…."

Kaze raised an eyebrow at her nervous countenance. She wasn't sexually passionate, but she… had a similar desire. "Am I what?"

Her eyes glided to the left, thinking of what she wanted to ask. "Still unwilling to, you know…."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, listening to her heartbeat.

It was erratic, not passionate.

She swallowed when she saw he wasn't taking the initiative. He was usually quick-witted, so she immediately took it as a rejection and tried giving up, but he didn't let her.

"Evalyn, do you hope that sex will give you a brief respite from your woes?" Kaze asked frankly.

Evalyn's heart thumped painfully. His question struck her in the heart, exposing it and letting it bleed out on the floor.

"—Or do you just want an excuse for me to stay and hold you?"

A crashing wave of profound emotions slammed into her.

It occurred to her that she never considered what she wanted would be in consideration.

Yet he understood her.

Evalyn swallowed nervously and turned away from him. Her breaths became sharp as she tried to maintain her emotional balance.

Something about Kaze insinuating he'd give her what she wanted without strings attached or a trade cut through her emotions like a hot blade.

Kaze was charismatic.

Capable.

Charming.

Captivating.

Those qualities let him do whatever he wanted with whoever he wanted.

Yet he could also be cold.

Cruel.

Callous.

Conceited.

But now… he was being considerate.

Calming.

Cordial.

Caring.

Kaze's seemingly neverending strength made him capable of anything.

Yet he was there for her, even though she didn't do anything to deserve it.

Maybe she was likable, but he wouldn't be endlessly patient if she didn't have a past relationship with him.

She was lucky.

So lucky.

"I…." Evalyn choked slightly, blinking quickly to dry the tears welling in the corner of her eyes, "You won't reject me outright if I'm honest, will you? You have a habit of that."

"No, I will not." Kaze replied gently.

"I just want you to stay with me… for a while." She confessed, averting her gaze, "Ideally, laying down like the day after you got frostbite.

That was the last time I felt completely comfortable. I'd give everything to feel normal, if only for a few minutes before you have to leave."

He smiled and grabbed the top button of his shirt, unbuttoning it.

"As you wish." Kaze smiled mysteriously, "But can you put those down? They're detracting from the emotion and passion."

Evalyn looked down and found a supernova of pink shades and textures exploding from her fingertips.

Her brief moment of vulnerability instantly disappeared, and she developed a wry smile.

Even then, while Kaze undressed to ease her concerns, he somehow left her feeling frustrated.

She looked up and found Kaze giving her a relaxed, cheeky smile. It seemed he was making her flustered on purpose, which returned her positive mood.

The blonde walked over to her dresser and gently plopped that mass of textiles into the drawer.

After scanning the drawer for a second, her face scrunched up, and she began organizing it.

It wasn't her love for the panties but rather order that drove her action.

That desire for order was strong enough to start an army and take over a crumbling empire. Now, it was being used to organize bunched-up panties.

If people knew her history, they'd find it as humorous as the emperor did.

Evalyn turned to him once she finished and froze.

Kaze was already out of his shirt, which he neatly folded, and was unbuckling his belt. It made her blush, cringe, and get turned on simultaneously.

"I thought you didn't like double standards." He mused with a dastardly smirk.

"Double standards?" She asked in confusion, "What are….!"

Evalyn turned bright red and covered her breasts after realizing she was only wearing panties.

Kaze chuckled with a gentle expression and finished undressing into his black silk boxers. Then he laid on his back in the bed's center.

"Would you like me under the covers?" He asked, "Let me know.

I'll let you get comfortable and respond to your desires."

She swallowed in emotional confusion, unable to process the strange development.

His announcement made her realize she never expected he'd give her control of the situation!

"If you'd rather, I'll act based on what I think you want." He offered with a magnetic voice, "Or… I'll act on my desires if that's what you want.

All three are in accordance with your wishes, after all."

Evalyn blushed and thought about it seriously.

Despite her desire for control, the idea of explicitly telling him what to do like a human doll seemed inhumane and creepy.

She asked, expecting he'd act with her interests in mind, given his request was to give her what she wanted. However—

"What do you want?" Evalyn asked in curiosity.

"If I told you, I wouldn't be acting on my desires." Kaze countered with a slight smile, "I'd be negotiating.

I'd rather do what you ask than express my wishes and have them turned down outright—"

The blonde averted her gaze, embarrassed by his statement.

She didn't feel her ask was controversial, but she wouldn't question someone for not expressing their intimate wishes—when she avoided doing so.

"—However, as I've mentioned, I'd never do something a woman doesn't want." He continued.

"I always act consent and feel out consent in general.

You're not at risk of doing something you don't want."

Evalyn turned back to him with a nervous expression. It put her mind at ease but also made things awkward because she didn't know what she wanted.

The fact she had the ability to choose at that level was unbelievable. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. It felt capricious. Serendipitous.

"I…." She swallowed nervously.

The blonde sincerely wanted to say yes, but she seriously considered if she was willing to lose her virginity in her broken, emotionally destructive state if that was what he desired.

"I… just want you to do what you think I want." Evalyn requested hesitantly, "I'm not currently opposed to anything, but I'm certain my desires will become clear.

So… please get under the covers if we're doing this."