Oblivion (A Black Clover Story)

Thirty-Eight

I dreaded seeing Julius again. I fully knew that what William and I had done was horribly wrong. But if I was really happy in my relationship... I wouldn't have been inclined to do that in the first place. I sighed as I walked back into our- no, his room. The burning evening sun painted the walls and carpet. He was already waiting for me with his arms crossed.

"So? How did it go?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"It went just fine," I told, exhausted from the amount of physical activity I'd just endured even though I wasn't the one doing all the work. I was also mentally exhausted from everything too. If I were being honest with myself, I just wanted some time alone. There was so much on my mind and I held my arms insecurely, paranoid that the marks William left on me were visible. 

Julius looked me up and down, twisting his mouth to one side angrily. "Tch. He's all over you. You're fucking drenched in him. What the hell happened?"

I cleared my throat nervously. "Nothing happened, Julius," I lied, turning away and trying to go about my business. "We just spent some time catching up," I continued, using the same words he did to describe what happened to his bothersome knight.

"Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind explaining why he was against you like this," he snapped, grabbing me and pinning me against his desk, in almost the same position Will had me in. "It's like you were-"

"Hugging."

He lifted his body from mine. "Just hugging?"

"Is this not a good position to hug each other in?" I asked, putting my hands on his chest to push him away. "It was really good to spend time with him. It was nice to have an interaction that wasn't so hostile for once," I spat.

He sighed, stepping back. "Well... Why don't we have a non-hostile dinner together?"

"I..." I began, unsure of what I wanted my answer to be. After all that happened today... I think William is right. I need some time to think. "Not tonight," I said quietly. "I just want to bathe. I'll eat something later."

"O-okay. I'll join you-"

"No," I said firmly. "I want to be alone for a while."

He exhaled sharply. "Very well..."

Quickly, I grabbed my robe and left for the bath house. It was nerve-racking being around Julius after what I knowingly did. I felt incredibly guilty. It was even hard to look him in the eye. After undressing myself and seeing how torn up my stockings really were, I simply tossed them into the trash. Either way, it would be best to hide any suspicious evidence. I sighed, looking at my bare body in the mirror, which was only just starting to fog up a little.

Along my shoulders and collarbone were many marks that were left by William suckling on my skin. They were many different shades of red and purple based on how long or how hard he sucked on me. I bit my lip upon seeing a few purple, welted impressions of his teeth where he'd clamped down. My eyes lowered to my breasts, which were filled with the same marks, although smaller and less noticeable. And, as I thought, there was a bruise on my left thigh from him gripping me so hard. He certainly wasn't shy in marking me this time. Maybe he wanted Julius to see them. I wouldn't be surprised. It was obvious that the last time he left hickeys on me, it was so that Nozel would see them on purpose.

I took a deep breath in and lost myself in the steamy bath water.

Later on, as I laid in bed beside Julius, who'd bathed by himself after me, I could feel him trying to control his mana. He was upset. I wondered what it was and nervously curled up away from him. Did he find out? Did he see one of my marks? Did he hear something from somebody? Gods, I hate this. I think that maybe...