Lewd System: Every Scream and Moan is EXP Chapter 286 : Jax’s Life Isn’t His Anymore

Astrid secured the door after her and faced Jax.

Jax, who had confronted kings, popes, and vast armies without a tremor, truly feared the girl blocking his path to the sole escape.

The instant she spun around, her true feelings burst into view. Without spectators, the facade vanished. Jax beheld pure agony concealed behind furious eyes already moistening from his folly.

Before a word escaped him, she lunged forward. Seized his collar in both fists and thrust him back. His heels scraped over the marble till his spine crashed against the wall.

"You liar. You cheat."

Next, she threw her entire frame into it. Legs kicking out his balance as her grip twisted him aside and hurled him onto the marble surface.

By the time he struck the floor, she straddled him. Knee digging into his torso. Left hand clutching his collar. Her face mere inches away. Eyes blazing past the tears she battled to hold back.

"You scum. You promised me."

Her right fist pulled back, poised to smash his features, yet it lingered suspended. Stilled. Not from doubt. From the torrent of feelings surging through her beyond what her form could handle.

"You said you would trust me. That you would stop carrying everything alone. I asked you to let me in and you told me you already had."

Her voice fractured. "And after your promise. After our confessions. I was walking home grinning like an idiot. Replaying every word you uttered. Yet in just hours, you were risking your life out there for your dumb pride."

Jax parted his lips to clarify, but her words struck like a barrier. "Don’t utter another syllable from that deceitful mouth."

Her pitch lowered then. Rage began dissolving into a deeper wound. One no justification or regret could mend.

"It hasn’t even been a full day. And I learn something so grave about your life from another person."

Her lifted fist fell onto his chest. Not striking. Merely limp heaviness.

"Didn’t you realize how deeply that would wound me?"

Her digits clenched the material of his shirt. "All of you wounds me these days without you even noticing. Your deeds. Your falsehoods. You tossing your life like trash. Like it’s worthless to anyone."

Her tone shattered more. "You don’t mind dying since you’d respawn in your home world. But here, I’d remain burdened with the agony of loving you and naught more."

She gazed at him. "Tell me, Jax. Did yesterday hold no value for you? I can’t endure this. I can’t keep uncovering fresh deceptions you’ve hidden while acting truthful. Each moment I believe I’ve glimpsed your true self, another veil lifts to reveal something darker below."

Her shoulders shook.

"I’m exhausted, Jax. So weary of learning vital truths last among all."

Silence fell over her. Sobs emerged. Soft. Restrained. Yet undeniable.

In that quiet, Jax seized his chance.

He lifted his palm to brush her tears. She swatted it aside at once. Still, he voiced his thoughts.

"I admit my error here. And I acted wrongly. But please don’t phrase it like that. Don’t despise me for holding back from you."

His tone stayed firm yet cautious. Like someone dismantling a dangerous explosive.

"I can demonstrate you’re the sole soul in this world. No, better yet, across the entire cosmos who grasps me deepest. I’ll swear any vow you demand."

She snarled amid her tears. "Then why hide that you recklessly bargained yourself to that wench? Aware of the risks?"

Jax replied. "That wasn’t reckless, Astrid. But let me address the key issue first. The reason I kept it secret. So kindly compose yourself and reason clearly."

Her face signaled ‘proceed, I’m all ears.’ Yet her hold on his collar clenched harder, warning that any further deceit or cunning phrase would seal his final utterance.

Jax continued. "Tell me. What would your reaction have been if I revealed my pact with Matriarch Sianna?"

Astrid shot back instantly. "Kill her. Problem solved."

Jax responded. "Precisely. That’s why I concealed it. You’d have eliminated her using your influence."

Real bafflement crossed Astrid’s features now. "What? Wasn’t that ideal?"

"Listen, Astrid. I aimed to spare you from slaying a key political leader outright and gaining foes. Numerous rulers would view you as dangerous, leading to dire repercussions for you and your kin."

He paused.

"But that's merely the smaller picture. The larger issue revolves around the wager itself. The one you label as foolish. From the instant I agreed to it, I foresaw this exact turn of events. I realized it might ignite a war. I knew the chances were so tiny that everyone viewed it as utterly impossible."

Astrid pressed on. "Then why take it at all? Was it ego? Pride? Or your refusal to back down from any challenge tossed in your direction?"

Jax shook his head firmly. "No. It came from some mysterious force inside me."

Astrid found herself at a loss for words. Confusion briefly overtook the fury etched on her features.

Jax offered the briefest and most cautious explanation possible. "An entity gives me missions. Each one brings massive rewards that boost my strength. One mission required humbling Lady Sianna."

He intentionally withheld any details on the system's true mechanics. Doing otherwise would ensure he wouldn't survive until the tournament concluded.

Comprehension began dawning on Astrid's face. Her clutch on his collar eased just a touch. "That clears up plenty. Why you've acted suicidal right from the beginning."

Noticing her demeanor soften, Jax grabbed the moment to spin a bold lie. "Yup. Normally, I can't stand chaos or risks at all."

Astrid fixed him with a murderous glare that conveyed she caught his jest but found zero amusement in it. Then she seized his collar anew, jerked him upward, and smashed the rear of his skull against the marble floor.

"Still, you erred by staking yourself. Your life hasn't been yours to risk from the start."

Her tone rang with unyielding resolve. "You can't gamble away your life. Your freedom isn't yours to bet. Your body isn't for hurling into flames or blood oaths or any reckless deal the next fool dangles before your idiotic face."

She drew nearer. "You're already my slave. Every claim over you belongs to me. No other woman will seize ownership of what's mine."

Her eyes sharpened. "How dare you even imagine fleeing from me?"

Jax gazed upward at her expression. The tears. The rage. The fierce possessiveness that should terrify yet struck him as the cutest sight imaginable. This girl perched on his chest, vowing death to any who dared touch her belonging, was so outrageously endearing that his body lost all restraint.

Still sprawled flat on the marble, he encircled her with his arms and drew her into a tight embrace.

Before any objection could form or word escape, he pressed a tender kiss to her lips. Mere brushing. Hardly any force. Gentle enough to rob her of speech entirely.

Astrid's mind blanked out. Her cheeks flushed through every crimson shade a human face could muster in less than two seconds.

"Wh— you— that was— I didn't permit you to—"

She pulled away from him and planted her foot squarely on his chest. Looming over him, her face blazed so vividly red it could light ships through the night.

From his spot on the floor, Jax murmured. "I'm sorry, master. I figured a kiss might atone for my blunder."

She whirled around without delay. No chance of him glimpsing her face now. Standing with her back to him, her fingertips lingered on her lips, relishing the faint echo of the moment.

After a few seconds of mustering composure through raw determination, she finally spoke. Still turned away.

"You bastard. Don't you dare believe a kiss absolves your offenses. I'll return for your punishment once I sort out the chaos you've wrought."

Her voice hardened, resembling a commander barking out war commands.

"First, I'll thrash that senior once more. And even if I somehow lose, I'll take the very route you feared."

She balled her fist tightly. "Don't for one instant think I'll allow that woman to touch you. I'll obliterate her from reality before she can ever dub you hers."

-x-X-x-

[A/N: Huge Shoutout to Ordici_T for the lovely dragon❤️ and wbug for that motivating inspiration capsule ❤️ and thanks to per_andersson, Outsxder, BlackLanne, Charles_Nix, Ordici_T and tony_adams_4787 for the golden tickets

(づ*ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)づ♡]