"Y-You’re supposed to meet my parents first before you ask for my hand in marriage," she mutters, turning her red face to the side while I simply sigh.

I calm myself and give her a moment to settle before speaking.

"You got the wrong idea. I wasn’t asking for your hand in marriage," I say with a soft sigh.

The moment the words leave my mouth, Aleena’s eyes widen before her face floods with embarrassment.

"T-Then why did you bring out so much money? Besides, why do you make it sound like you can’t ask for my hand in marriage?" Aleena says. Her attitude flips instantly from shy to angry, a scowl forming on her face.

Seeing her throw a tantrum like this, I know better than to argue and keep my voice calm.

"I didn’t say I can’t ask for your hand in marriage. I’m just trying to tell you I brought out the money for a different reason."

Aleena’s face softens and she exhales softly, her cheeks still faintly flushed.

"I misjudged because of the way you brought out the money. That manner is usually how elves present a bride price. That’s why I said you haven’t seen my parents yet. Since that’s not your intention, what is the money for?" Aleena asks, her demeanor finally returning to normal.

"That’s sixty gold coins. You told me you had a debt of two hundred gold coins and recently paid half. I noticed you haven’t been working lately, which means you’ve lost your sponsors and can’t buy materials. This should help," I say. Then I stand, pick up the pouch, and place it in her hands while she sits on the bed.

"J-Jacob~ B-But this is your hard-earned money. I shouldn’t take it," she says, shocked, pushing the pouch back toward me.

I push it gently back into her hands, lean forward, and guide her down onto the bed as I climb on top of her.

"You have to take it. I know you need it, and you would do the same for me. Besides, as your future husband, you should learn how to accept things from me," I say in a low voice, running my fingers through her hair and lightly brushing her ear.

"F-Fine... thank you very much. But you’re such a bully... Always putting me in this situation when you know I’m scared to do it."

I shift slightly and notice my hard erection pressing against her ass through my pants as I unconsciously raise her legs.

I smirk.

"Why are you scared to do it?" I ask in a teasing tone.

"First of all, elves are very strict about chastity, though it’s become more relaxed with the newer generations. H-However, my parents are real purity fanatics. They even disowned my older sister because she lost her purity before marriage. If I sleep with you before going home, they’ll know during the purity test. Still... during my sister’s situation, my parents said they would have forgiven her if she had brought her fiance home and received their blessing. They wouldn’t have been mad if the two of them had sex before the actual wedding," Aleena explains. Her hands clutch my shirt tightly as she looks at me with hungry eyes.

I glance down and see her nipples rock-hard through her shimmy dress. I feel the urge to touch her, but I don’t want things to escalate like they almost did that morning. I settle for teasing her instead.

I brush my hand against her ear again.

"When are we going to see your parents?"

"I already told them."

"So fast?!"

Aleena doesn’t reply at first and turns her face to the side.

"Yes. I already told them I have someone I want to marry. They said we should come see them next month," she replies, still looking away. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"W-Why didn’t you say this earlier?" I mutter, surprised.

"I’m sorry. I was looking for the right time to tell you. Besides, you don’t have to hide it from Lilith anymore that we’re dating now. She’s fully aware," Aleena says.

"Haa, when did you tell her?" I ask, slightly shocked, but Aleena flashes me a smile.

"Lilith is the one who encouraged me to confess to the man I love. She also noticed that you have feelings for me too," Aleena says, gently rubbing my cheek with her hand.

"If you look at me like that, I’m going to eat you up," I say with a satisfied smile, still positioned atop her.

Aleena is clearly enjoying this, but if we get any more intimate, we might actually end up doing it.

As I start to get up, Aleena rises too, clutching the pouch and giving me a small bow.

"Thank you for the money. I’ll make good use of it," she says smoothly with a smile. "I forgot to tell you—Baron Halver called today and asked me to remind you about the deal he proposed."

"Oh, that Baron is definitely up to something sketchy with that deal. I want him to stress over it a bit before I agree, so I can change some of the terms."

"As expected of my darling. You figured him out so quickly."

"I have a question for you, Aleena. What does it mean for someone to have profound control over Mana?"

"Having profound control over Mana is the same as mastery. Anyone with it wastes almost none while casting, unlike average mages who only use about thirty percent of the mana they spend while the rest is wasted. Achieving that level of precision is extremely difficult," Aleena explains.

"I see..." I mutter, rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. I decide not to mention the consumable that gave me profound Mana Control. This only confirms my System is anything but normal.

"Anyways, since you just got back from work, why don’t you take a short nap with me? When you wake up, I’ll make you something to eat and start teaching you the basics of magic," Aleena says happily. She jumps onto the bed with a loud thud. I follow and lie down beside her as she snuggles into my arms.

Thankfully, thanks to Lola draining my balls earlier, I don’t have a strong urge to take things further despite how close she is right now.