Ryan turned to see a woman in a gorgeous blue dress with a blue veil covering her face.
However, from what Ryan could tell, this woman was stunning!
Her features were heavenly and made even Ryan's breath catch.
"I beg your pardon, miss. But I don't understand your meaning," Ryan said, acting the part of the true gentleman.
The woman seemed startled by the look of concern in Ryan's eyes.
However, instead of repeating what she had said or clarifying, the woman suddenly turned and flew away on a magical sword.
Ryan frowned. "Strange lady."
===
The woman, Aurora, felt a pang of sadness in her chest as she flew away.
Those emerald eyes were unique to two people whom she loved dearly.
The more she looked at that man, the more she was reminded of those two people, one her son and another a strange boy who constantly filled her dreams.
And nightmares.
When Aurora received the message from Leon that the mysterious raven-haired man boy had approached him and given Asmaya to him, she at first had been elated.
But the more and more she thought about it, the situation didn't seem right. 'If the Master behind this boy wanted to give me Asmaya, why didn't they do it right away? And why did he trick me with that boy's aura matching Velox's?'
Aurora didn't even consider that Velox could be Ryan, for just now, she tested to see if he genuinely possessed her son's aura, and they didn't match.
Aurora shook her head and was about to loop back around to talk with Ryan, as he could shed some light on the situation when she received a communication.
[We've been framed!]
===
Ryan shook his head as he watched the woman flutter into the sunset, unaware that he had just communicated with Aurora.
Ryan messaged Emily, asking where she was, but he saw Emily's bright green dress in the distance right before he could hit send.
Ryan scratched his chin and decided to have a little fun with the girl.
"Let's see just how loyal she truly is," Ryan muttered, putting on his cloak and activating a few of his abilities.
Walking up to Emily's group, which consisted of Emily, Velmuuth, and a few of her subordinates, Ryan suddenly stumbled into her path and fell flat on his ass.
Velmuuth frowned and stepped forward, but Emily stopped her from harming the man who only appeared to have tripped.
"Are you alright, sir?" Emily asked in a calm and patient voice.
"I think so," Ryan mumbled, not moving from the ground.
Emily suddenly felt an attraction towards the strange man on the ground.
An attraction that subconsciously wanted to make her step forward and reach out to him.
As she started to step forward, Velmuuth noticed her strange actions and stopped Emily.
"Emily, snap out of it!" Velmuuth said, sounding more like a mother than a soldier talking to her superior.
As far as harem ranks went, his harem members even stood above his generals, although he would certainly not think of his generals as less critical than his harem members.
Emily seemed to snap out of a daze, but before she could do anything, she was snatched by the man on the ground, and both Emily and the man disappeared.
Velmuuth stood there in shock but took only a second to snap out of it and begin frantically searching the area with her subordinates.
Holding Emily, Ryan ran a reasonable distance away before gently placing her on the ground and exerting his pleasure aura on her.
As Ryan was still cloaked, Emily couldn't see his face.
"What do you want from me?" Emily asked calmly.
Ryan was surprised. He had tied her up with a rope he had 'found' on a cultivator who attacked him on his way to the Holy Phoenix Empire.
The rope could temporarily bind anyone at A-Rank or below in cultivation, which meant that Emily couldn't use her energy or activate her heavenly screen.
Artifacts that could block heavenly screens were widely available.
They were also heavily sought after, for if someone could access their heavenly screens during a fight, it would allow the person to call for backup.
"What I want is to know who your Master is," Ryan said, altering his voice.
[You're really cruel for this Master. I like it,] Yoko teased.
[It's just a harmless prank. I'm sure she'll pass the test," Ryan replied.
"My Master is the most beautiful person in the world!" Emily said, huffing.
Ryan was stunned. 'She gave me up just like that! If anyone with eyes heard that, they'd automatically know it was me!'
'But in all seriousness, she did give up something without knowing it. I'll have to teach these girls better,' Ryan shook his head.
He had been to lax with his harem member's training and would have to get Hannah or Shade to train them on manipulation and deception.
While he would love to spread Aliza's holy teachings, he simply didn't have the time. 'I guess that's why they say a king needs his subjects.'
"Can you be a little bit more… descriptive?" Ryan asked, still keeping up his facade.
Emily turned away, but Ryan turned up his pleasure aura, it's new upgraded status breaking down Emily's defenses in a matter of seconds.
Emily was struggling to figure out why she was suddenly feeling a tingle in her crotch when she realized that she must have been drugged.
'Is this man planning on raping me?' she thought in horror.
Suddenly this wasn't a game anymore. She had thought about how she was currently the damsel in distress.
Emily knew Ryan had to be close to them, so she expected Velmuuth to contact Ryan immediately and that Ryan would come and save the day.
And although she knew the man in front of her had some tools that might be able to kill her, it wouldn't be a fast death, so she would have plenty of time for Ryan to arrive.
But if this man violated her, would Ryan still want her? Would her previous sins of betraying Ryan's trust come back to bite her?
"P-Please," Emily whimpered. "D-Don't do it!"