Chapter 415 - Auldren's Ambitions
Axilia… has a twin sister? Lixi is the name… but why does that seem so familiar…
"That girl you were interested in, yes?" The king raised an eyebrow. "One year after you left this place, five years ago, she escaped to the Living Realm. Since then, she has not returned. I'm afraid… she did not want to marry you."
Wow, that must hurt. Having your crush escape to a whole other realm just to avoid being with you… yikes.
The prince, however, kept his poker face up and didn't appear mad at all.. Instead, he just laughed awkwardly and scratched his hair.
"Well, well… that can't be helped. I was hoping to marry her once I returned, too."
For some reason though, I was suspicious about this guy. I had a nose for sensing people who weren't actually as they appeared on the outside, and this so-called prince reeked of it.
As such… I decided to peer into his head to take a good look at just how dark his thoughts were.
Level Three Psychic Magic — Mind Read.
The prince's mental defenses were quite high — his poker pace was nearly unbreakable, and he remained calm in the most hectic of situations.
But even so… it cannot withstand the power of Chaos.
One by one, I pried away the walls to his mind without him even realizing, letting me get a good look at just what his true thoughts were.
That bitch… to think she'd run away while I was at war, before I even got to touch her… The prince thought in hatred, though his outside smile was as friendly and innocent as ever. Well, no matter. I still have Aucerina. I had been hoping to take both of those two beauties as my wives, but just one is fine as well. Now that she is back in the Death Realm… all I have to do is force her into submission, then take her first time! And then, she'll be mine! HAHAHA!
I closed my eyes and hurriedly canceled my spell, not wanting to see any further as things turned graphic. I definitely didn't want to see his fantasies of what he could do to Axilia, but I did manage to get a glimpse of the other girl's face inside his mind.
It was an image of her from five years ago, but there was no doubt about it. She was someone I knew well… and had control over.
Lixi… add an 'n' to both parts of that name, and I end up with Linxin. Separate that, add a silent 'g', and… tada, Ling Xin. Though the girl inside his mind was… less developed body-wise and shorter than what I was used to, but I knew Ling Xin when I saw her. But I thought she was titled Shadow Empress, with strong control over the Shadow Element… I never expected her to be from the Death Realm.
But that was a mystery for me to solve on another day. For now… I needed to find out about Axilia's past.
Speaking of, I should probably go check on her right now…
*****
While the prince entered the castle to eat the welcome feast prepared for him, I returned to Axilia's quarters and opened the door.
There, sitting on the bed, still in the lingerie she wore from last night, was Axilia. She was staring out the window at the forest where I had used to practice True Essence last night. Upon hearing the door open, however, she immediately turned around and pulled her scythe off the wall, arriving before me instantly.
"Wha-!" My eyes widened as I froze, the edge of her scythe at my neck. "I-It's me, Axilia…"
"Darling…" She slowly moved her scythe away, blinking her beautiful pink eyes, before dropping the weapon on the floor and suddenly going on her tippy-toes to kiss me deeply.
After a few seconds, we separated, and I shut the door behind me.
"… You fainted earlier," I lied. "How are you feeling now?"
"I'm feeling okay, darling~ but… how did I faint~?" She tilted her head cutely and innocently, confused.
"Uh…" I folded my arms. "Probably from us… you know, doing that too much last night. You didn't get much sleep."
"Oh… well, I am doing better now, so let's continue~!" She yelped happily and swung her arms around me.
"E-Eh?!" I cried, but it was too late.
"Fufu~ no running, darling~"
"W-Wai- Axilia, you need to res- ah!"
*****
"Hah… hah…" I glanced at Axilia, who now lay sound asleep on the bed. I told her she needed rest, and it turned out, she really did. After only four or five rounds, she just fell unconscious, whereas last night, we had gone for over twenty no problem.
She had incredible sex drive… but then again, since I was able to accommodate that, I guess that would mean I had an even more incredible one. Though she lusted after having sex, however, it seemed to be only with me. She may be a bit crazy, but she loved me wholly — I could see into her mind and read that. No other man would satisfy her, and no man could anyway, now that she's been cursed by the Chaos.
I guess this would mean I have to take responsibility for her as well, but… I've got a big enough harem already. Could I handle them all? I don't think the other girls would mind having Axilia join, but Axilia herself would definitely not be happy about having to share her lover, given how obsessive she was when it came to me.
But those were problems for the future. I would cross that bridge when I got to it. There was no sense in worrying about it now — as they say, worrying is suffering twice… oh wait, no, wrong mindset. If I say it like that, it's like implying something bad's going to happen once the other girls and Axilia meet one another…
With a sigh, I tucked Axilia's cute sleeping figure into her blankets neatly so she could stay warm, then stepped outside the room and glanced at the clock.
"Already 5 o'clock… hm. Guess I'll make some dinner."
I wasn't exactly a master chef, but I knew how to do basic cooking thanks to Qing Yue (her food was absolutely delicious, by the way). Heading down the stairs, I prepared to walk into kitchen, but-
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
"Hello, Aucerina. I know you are in there. Do you know who I am? Of course you do. Your elder brother… Auldren. Can we talk? You will probably not respond, but I'm afraid you do not have a choice. I am coming in, and you cannot stop me."
I froze.
… Oi, oi, oi… you've got to be kidding me!
I glanced down at my still-naked upper body, then quickly looked around for a place to hide. Then, I slapped myself.
I-Idiot, Xuan Kai… what are you doing?! You can turn invis-
Auldren opened the door. Before I could turn invisible… he opened the door.
Naturally, the first thing he saw was me. Me, with my chest, abs, and arms in full display, inside a girl's house. The two of us stared at one another in silence for several seconds, him trying to come to terms with what he was seeing right now and me trying to figure out a good excuse for being here half-naked.
"Uh… hi?" I waved hesitantly, kicking off the conversation.
The prince immediately drew his sword and swung towards me in the blink of an eye.
"…!" I quickly evaded and leaped back. Luckily, my vampiric agility was enough to let me get out of the way just in the nick of time.
The prince didn't expect me to be able to do that and slowly straightened his body once more, pointing his sword at me and narrowing his blue eyes.
"You… who are you?"
This guy… he's not that strong.
Just now, I wasn't actually trying to think of excuses. I was actually evaluating the prince, gauging his strength. If it came to a battle, I could win with ease.
Because of that, there was no reason to cower in front of him.
"You came here in search of Axilia — or rather, 'Aucerina', was it?" I smirked. "Well… I hate to tell you, but she's asleep right now. May I ask… what business do you have with my woman?"
At this, the prince's originally handsome face contorted into one of rage and disgust. He slammed the door shut so no one outside would be able to see or hear what's going on here, then tilted his head slightly.
"… Your woman? Who do you think you are, pest? How dare you… call my Aucerina 'your woman'?"
"Oh, my bad," I said, folding my arms and leaning against the wall casually. "I just thought… after taking a girl's virginity, that makes them your woman, does it not? Isn't that what you were planning on doing, 'Prince Auldren'?"
At this, his eyes widened.
"You bastard… you can read minds…!"
Level One Psychic Magic — Telekinesis.
I lifted my arm and pulled my cloak to me using psychic powers, then changed nonchalantly with a smirk on my face and an evil look in my eyes.
"I can do a lot more than just read minds… you disgusting scum."