Chapter 270

After passing out earlier on, Aeria fell into a deep sleep. She laid in her bed silently.

“She’ll be fine after a bit of rest,” said Davey as he finished Aeria’s examination.

“Perhaps this is related to the disease that she had before?”

“That disease has already been purged completely. It will no longer harm the Imperial Princess,” Davey said firmly. He was sure that the earlier disease was no longer affecting Aeria.

Emperor Deorte nodded at Davey’s firm answer.

“But...” Davey trailed off before shutting his mouth.

‘Whatever this is, it is progressing faster than I expected...’

Davey had heard about a similarly extraordinary situation before. In fact, he had never witnessed such a rapid progression of symptoms even after applying the medicine that he had learned from Hypocria.

“But?” Emperor Deorte asked quietly.

“It’s nothing,” Davey said.

“You can go now. You can leave the rest to the Imperial Family.”

“Let me treat her.”

“What qualifications do you have to do so?”

To Emperor Deorte, it was Davey who had dragged Aeria into such a situation.

If he intended to shake Aeria off completely, Davey should not show contradicting actions right now.

“You’re still immature,” Emperor Deorte said calmly. He then headed toward the window before asking quietly, “Do you know how I met Aeria’s biological mother?”

Davey looked over silently, then answered, “Who knows?”

“Aeria’s mother is a beastfolk. A fox beastfolk.”

Anyone could infer that fact just from looking at Aeria’s ears.

“Among the fox beastfolk, Aeria’s race is a bit unique,” Emperor Deorte said calmly as he locked the window in front of him.

“A bit unique?”

“Nine Tails. Have you heard about them?”

“Nine Tails...” Davey murmured as he recalled something that had been said to him in the past.

[My wife? You want to know who she is?]

The man had said as he scooped up a bucket of alcohol.

[My wife has already entered the cycle of reincarnation. She died at an early age. It’s because of a chronic illness. And it’s all because of me.]

The man had said that it was a mental illness. His wife had died after the mental illness worsened over time.

“Let me tell you this,” Emperor Deorte said calmly as he approached Aeria. “Aeria’s biological mother was the scariest among all of my wives.”

Clack...

Then, Emperor Deorte took out a dainty necklace, hung it around Aeria’s neck, and headed toward the door.

“What the...”

“This is your fault for giving Aeria hope. I have definitely warned you before.”

Emperor Deorte had clearly told Davey that if he was going to refuse Aeria then he had to firmly refuse her. It was all about refusing the other’s feelings before they could fall even deeper in love. One could not afford to give them any more hope.

“You. You still have a little bit of affection for Aeria.”

Feeling a sudden wave of anxiety, Davey stood up from his seat.

However, the emperor had already reached the door. Then, he said, “For your information, a female Nine Tails will never show their tails to others. They only show them to their chosen mate. Do your best.”

Clack!

“Your... Your Majesty?”

Why did Davey never think about it? Aeria was a Nine Tails. If she truly was a Nine Tails, then...

“Ugh?!” Davey groaned, trying to move away from Aeria on instinct.

At that point, Davey turned to look at Perserque, who immediately avoided his scathing and crazed glare while whistling a soft tune. How the hell did it happen?! When the hell did it happen? No one else could see Perserque other than Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon...

[Davey, can you lend me Red Ribbon?]

[Brother, I’ll bring you with me to the empire.]

[Lyndis Empire’s invitation...]

Davey had been played. This situation had not been created by Emperor Deorte alone. Just how many people were involved in this scam?

Davey glared at Perserque, who simply smiled bitterly. She did not even try to deny anything.

—Enjoy.

The gentle smile that had always been on Perserque’s face disappeared after she waved her hands.

Davey lost the strength to struggle. With a blank expression, he looked up at the place where Perserque had vanished.

“Make your choice. Since you want to live as you please, then I will also live as I please. Of course, none of it is your business. I can just quietly disappear after being rejected.”

Aeria was still scared to say that she was going to die.

Davey slowly loosened his clenched palms at Aeria’s completely different behavior. He could tell that the princess was not lying. Also, even after being placed in this unpleasant situation, Davey still did not want the girl who was sitting on top of him to die.

“Let’s... Let’s talk about this, Imperial Princess.”

“Talk? But this will be the only talk that will happen between us though?” Aeria said as she gently caressed Davey’s chest. “It won’t hurt. You’ll definitely feel good. Talking with our bodies will be pleasurable and intense. Don’t be scared. You can just close your eyes and hold my hand.”

Davey thought that Aeria did not truly mean to say that.

Anyone who had been subjected to a special ability user’s mental suppression would obviously develop immunity. However, Davey had just been fully exposed to Aeria’s powers, which was why it had taken him so long to get used to it. Perhaps, just like what the people around him had said, he had developed a bit of affection for the girl in front of him albeit unconsciously.

“Who do you think I’m abstaining from these activities for, huh?! Damn!” Davey murmured as he looked up at Aeria. “Princess!”

“Huh?”

“Look over there.”

Seeing Davey gesture with his head, Aeria turned to look in the direction out of curiosity.

Stab!

Then, Davey deftly untied the tail that was pinning his arms to the bed and quickly stabbed Aeria’s pressure point. When the princess collapsed, the overwhelming power that had overpowered Davey completely disappeared.

“...”

Davey had subdued Aeria and put her to sleep. After the princess collapsed silently, Davey lifted her up and placed her back on the bed. He tidied up her messy skirt, where her tail had been protruding from. He watched the turquoise tail gradually shrink before buttoning up her loose top.

Davey murmured silently, “So, this is my karma...”

It seemed like his karma had already piled up to the point that it was coming to bite him back. However, it did not mean that Davey was stupid or inexperienced when it came to such matters. He just did not have the heart to reject Aeria firmly, which was how the situation had ended up like this.

—Davey.

“Quiet. I’m doing all of this because of someone,” Davey shot back in anger.

Perserque stumbled back at the fire in Davey’s voice.

—Don’t forget that I do not have a body, Davey. You won’t be able to hold me in your arms at all.

“Are you telling me that you want to be resurrected?”

Perhaps Perserque had forgotten that Davey was also a dark mage, a 9th Circle high-ranking dark mage.

‘Bringing someone back to life is not that difficult for me, you punk!’

—You should not think about resurrecting me. Just resurrecting a member of the demon race... Let alone the Demon Lord...

“Shut up. It’s up to me to decide what I will do,” Davey snapped back as he opened the door to stare silently at the waiting Emperor Deorte. Then, he took out a brooch and handed it over as he said, “Engagement ceremony.”

“Did you finally make a decision? It seems like that lady is right to say that you're very stubborn.”

“How many people have been involved in this farce?”

Emperor Deorte chuckled at Davey’s question. “Who knows? You’ll probably know the answer if you look at the people around you, no?”

“It seems like you have planned everything, huh?”

“Not at all. The promise that I made to the warrior is most definitely true,” Emperor Deorte said, looking completely satisfied.