The Conquerors Path
chapter-719

"I came looking for a single solution, and I found my life..." Carmel muttered as she touched the soft hair of Austin, playing lightly with it as the spirit flame spoke.

"It's time for you to leave."

And with that, Carmel, along with Austin, was thrown out. The two of them appeared right back where they were taken from, with Austin on the floor and Carmel looking at him with her eyes filled with affection.

'This time, I won't let happiness leave my grasp. I will live the rest of my life making it up to you, one way or the other.'

As she said this, Carmel sat on the ground, lightly raising Austin's head as she placed it on her lap, her hands slowly playing with his hair as she took in each and every feature of Austin's face into her mind, the subtle happiness in her heart now being more than enough.

.....

Austin POV:

'I guess I can wake up now...'

It's been 15 minutes since the escape, and I've given her all the ample time she needs. Any more, and my instincts keep warning me that something bad will take place. Thus, my eyelids slowly started to flutter open as I enjoyed a bit more of the soft yet firm thigh I was lying on. My eyes first came to meet the hunched-over Carmel, whose eyes met mine.

"What happened?" I asked in a fully confused voice, as Carmel, with a smile, spoke.

"You slept well, B."

The sudden nickname made me flinch, as my expression turned into one of pure surprise.

"You remember?"

I asked, my voice a bit emotional, which triggered Carmel's guilt as small tears started falling from her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry that I didn't remember..."

The weakness in her voice was very present as she sobbed. Seeing this, I slowly raised my head from her thighs, making sure to sit straight as I looked directly into her eyes and spoke.

"The choice I made back then was mine; the weight of it is also mine. Moreover, after some time, you get used to the weight of responsibilities, making you numb to it. After all, I am pretty good at holding secrets."

My words only increased Carmel's tears as she started to cry faster. The thought of the pain I had to go through no doubt flashed through her mind as she started to speak in between her sobs.

"Sniff...why...did you still...sob...try...to...sob...help...me?"

Her voice was layered with certain emotions as she locked her eyes on me. My hands going forward, slowly started to wipe her tears as I spoke.

"Because I made a promise to the first person that had given me comfort at the lowest point of my life."

The words widened Carmel's eyes as she started to cry harder, lunging at me as she screamed.

"I'M SORRY!"

Her tears were very present as her head hit my shoulder, hugging me tight as her tears started to stain my shirt. Seeing this, I held her back, my hands slowly patting her back as I spoke.

"I might have been hurt and angry, but I have never come to hate you. The words I spoke about you forgetting were because of my anger back then, not because I had come to hate you. So don't be down too much, okay?~"

The light teasing at the end of my voice did not go unnoticed, as Carmel, chuckling a bit in between her tears, hugged me tighter as she started to cry even harder. Thus, the two of us sat there on the ground, with each of us reassuring the other that we were alright. Time flowed like that until half an hour had passed.

The current Carmel still stuck to me for all the wrong reasons. While embarrassment is a part of it, the main part is the desire to just stay in my hug. The warmth I am giving, along with the rush of emotions she can't fully place, is everything that she can't easily let go of at all.

"Feeling all better?" I asked, to which Carmel just gave a simple reply.

"Um..."

"Want to let go?"

I didn't get a response but felt a left and right shift of her head, as her hands just held me tighter, her chest pressing strongly against me as her scent started to dive deep into my nose. We just sat in the same situation for some more time as Carmel, understanding the situation, slowly started to let go of the hug, a small distance forming between our faces as we looked at each other.

The flashes and spark between us flew high as Carmel called out.

"Austin..."

"Sister Carmel, I always wanted to call that back to you..."

My reply seemingly took time for Carmel to process, but the moment she did, her eyes widened, her lips broke open, betrayal flashing through her face, while the expression was a mix of something that I couldn't place in full.

'And click and save, um...God, this feels good...'

The shock of the words fully registered in her mind as Carmel, with her eyes still wide open, asked.

"Di-Did you call me si-sister?"

She asked, the fear in her voice ever apparent as I looked at her with full confusion in my mind, nodding my head.

"Indeed you are like a sister to me, no? Didn't we call ourselves family? After all, with our family, we don't give up on each other."

My words only made Carmel's expression turn more and more strained.

'Click!...Click!...and...click!...Damn, this is a good feeling.'

"Wha...I...Um..."

Is all that kept leaving Carmel's mouth, seemingly her brain coming to a freeze. This whole situation was something she never in a million years would have expected to happen. My innocent eyes reflected in her pupils, even making me feel a sense of holy family connection as her expression and the aura around her changed, soon becoming a bit cold. Carmelia no doubt had taken control.

"Austin, you see us as just sisters?"

She asked, her voice a layer colder as I blinked my eyes innocently and spoke.

"Of course, didn't you yourself declare that in the past?"

My voice held genuine confusion that even an Oscar winner would shed tears for and clap for my performance. The result of my words caused Carmelia to bite her lips hard as she quickly lunged and pulled my head, placing it tightly against her soft yet perfectly made breasts, their milky scent filling my face as I got myself indulged in that softness.

My hands raised in surprise as I called out from within the gaps.

"Carmelia?"

My voice came out a bit muffled, but the judgment in it was still strong as my confused eyes rose up to her face, looking at Carmelia, who had a huge blush on her face as she bit her lips.

'I can tell the ideas running through her mind right now.'

No doubt she is planning to see if confessing now would be a good idea, not knowing what could happen. She would no doubt not want to ruin anything further after coming this far, and the cooler side of Carmelia would no doubt feel that it's better to take time and change my views with them sticking closer to me.

Thus, within seconds, she let go of the hug and placed a light kiss on my forehead.

"Carmelia?"

Once again, I called out in surprise, holding my forehead as I looked at her, who, with a light, small smile, spoke with a smug cold tone.

"Consider this a small gift from your sister."

Even as Carmelia said it, I could feel the strain in her eyes, no doubt the two of them cursing their older selves to death for the immature words they must have spoken back then.

"Okay," I replied as I turned to look at the sky and spoke.

"Shouldn't we head out now? The more we wait, the more of a problem it will be for your sister."

My words reminded Carmelia of the more important duty as she nodded to me, stood up with me following after her, and the two of us soon headed out of this dangerous forbidden area as we soon came upon the two anxious waiting Nix and Melvin, the temperature falling several degrees as we did so.