GameDev Reincarnated into His Own Creation

Vol 2 - Chapter 14.2: Binding

The girl had already settled herself on the edge of the bed, hands folded neatly in her lap. Her movements appeared practiced, rehearsed even, but Vel caught the subtle hesitation in her posture. The slight tremor in her fingers betrayed her inexperience. She was new to this role—her youthful features confirmed as much.

Vel felt his body betray him as a slow heat curled in his gut. Chemistry and biology waged war against reason—his mind screaming danger while his body responded with primal interest. For the first time since his reincarnation, the two parts of himself fought against each other.

His feet moved of their own accord, carrying him closer to the bed. He found himself sitting beside her, their faces mere inches apart. Her breath was warm, tinged with mint leaf. Up close, her features were delicate, almost ethereal.

"What's your name?" The words left his mouth before he could stop them.

"Hileya," she answered softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

His mind seized control again. The consequences loomed clear—scandal, manipulation, blackmail. Lady Halen's political game unfolded before him like a chess board where he was merely a pawn.

In the hearth's wavering light, Vel looked directly into Hileya's eyes. Wide and amber-flecked, they held the same innocent glimmer he'd seen countless times in Celia's gaze. Yet where Celia's eyes always sparked with determination and choices yet unmade, Hileya's remained fixed and distant. They reflected the flames but sought nothing, questioned nothing—windows to a soul that had learned not to want.

Her gaze didn't meet his but drifted somewhere beyond the wall, as if her mind had retreated to a safer place while her body remained. When she blinked, her lashes fluttered with practiced grace, yet no decision lived behind that movement. Each gesture seemed choreographed by unseen hands.

Those eyes told Vel everything. They weren't watching for his reaction or weighing options—they were simply waiting for commands, for this duty to be complete.

Then, a strand of silver hair fell behind her ear, Vel noticed. Her ears weren't rounded like a human's, nor were they pointed like a full-blooded elf's. They tapered slightly at the top—the unmistakable mark of mixed heritage.

A half-elf.

Hileya's hand shot up, quickly covering her ear the moment she noticed Vel's gaze lingering there. Her eyes widened with unmistakable fear, her breath catching in her throat. That single reflexive movement told Vel everything—she was hiding what many in this world considered a curse.

Half-elf. The living embodiment of a taboo both races held sacred.

Vel recalled the history he learned in Elnor. The border wars between humans and elves had lasted generations, particularly fierce among human nobles and elven royal bloodlines. Marriages between the races were forbidden, and children born of such unions faced rejection from both sides. To humans, such births represented a taint in their dignity and lineage. To elves, especially those of royal standing, they were a disgrace to their pure bloodlines.

Was this why Lady Halen fought so viciously for her political standing as an elf in human lands? To prove her superiority? The war might have ended on paper, but the prejudice clearly lived on in the shadows of society.

Hileya trembled slightly beneath his gaze, her eyes downcast. She wasn't afraid of him, Vel realized. She was afraid of being truly seen—of having her secret exposed to judgment.

Vel reached out slowly. Hileya flinched, anticipating his touch on the ear she was desperately trying to hide. Instead, he gently pulled her hand away, revealing what she considered her shame.