Chapter 689: The Last Time

The vaulted ceiling of the bedchamber hung high, woven of gold thread and glazed crystal into intricate geometric patterns.

Moonlight filtered through the stained glass, casting dappled shadows upon the floor.

The air was thick with the fragrance of frankincense and rose essential oil, as a bronze censer burned in silence.

"Crack!"

The sound of marble flagstones shattering crystal cups came once more.

The two young handmaidens outside the tightly shut door startled, their shoulders trembling, heads lowered, too afraid to speak.

The usually genial and gentle Priestess tonight was a far cry from herself.

From the violent smashing sounds alone, one could feel the abnormal irritability and fury within.

Crash—

The great door suddenly swung open.

The Priestess's breathtakingly beautiful, world-enchanting face appeared along with the drifting fragrance that escaped through the opening door.

Her face was deathly pale, her brows heavy with resentment and fury that would not disperse.

"Go tell Pela that the person I had her find—no longer needs finding!"

"I-I'll go tell her at once."

"No! Have her castrate every man who shares that name!"

"Y-yes, my lady!"

Bang!

The heavy door slammed shut with a roar.

On the dressing table carved from cold, icy ebony sat the white porcelain vase that had once held the spirit seed, along with the sealed farewell letter.

Lady Lilian's fists were clenched white, her whole body still trembling with intense fury.

Her pale blue ancestral spirit magic could not be controlled, leaking out through her skin, crack-crack, spreading a layer of white frost across the floor.

Snow-white teeth bit through her lower lip; a thread of fresh blood fell.

"Bastard!"

She swept forward, and without the slightest hesitation smashed and tore it to pieces.

Moonlight filtered through the carved window lattice, casting vine-like dark shadows upon the wool carpet.

The shadows twisted and moved.

"Lady Lilian."

A man's familiar, gentle voice came.

Lady Lilian turned her head in mingled shame and fury, only to see the man sitting on the windowsill, she knew not when.

She forced a stiff, cold smile: "Oh my, Mr. Rod, what have you come to me for? Surely not to deceive me again as before?"

Rod adjusted the Charm Domain's 【Truth Deception】 to a permanent state, and the most devoted lover of the Dusk Hills made his appearance.

"I've been looking for you all along."

"So you found my daughter instead? Hmm?"

"I met Eve elsewhere; her appearance was so very similar to yours, I truly—"

"Enough! At this point!"

Lady Lilian cut him off, the anger fading from her face, replaced by bitterness and anguish.

She finally recalled that Rod had originally been the husband she had captured for Eve, and that the relationship between herself and Rod was the mistake.

And now, was this not also a return to the proper path?

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

"Does Eve know? About us."

Rod shook his head, lightly leapt down from the windowsill, and imperceptibly drew a few steps closer.

"Don't come any closer."

Lady Lilian refused his approach through gritted teeth. "What do you want now? What have you come to me for? I think we should simply forget everything that happened before. From now on, you are Eve's husband, and I will arrange your wedding as soon as I can."

Rod suddenly reached out and grasped her hand; Lady Lilian tried to pull free but he held her fast.

"Lady Lilian, there has never been a single day I forgot you. The moment I first saw Eve, I thought heaven had sent you back to me."

"Let go."

Lady Lilian said through gritted teeth.

Yet she felt a familiar current pass through their touching skin, her whole body tingling with numbness; the bodily dryness caused by her grave injury years ago seemed, at this moment, to return to those wondrous nights in the tent at Axehead Beach.

Something stirred in her lower abdomen.

"So what are you trying to say? That Eve is my substitute? Or that I am the substitute? Do you think it's appropriate to say that in front of me?"

"Neither—why must there be a choice? You are both wings upon my back."

The things he said.

Even Rod himself felt his face flush a little.

Over Lady Naga's shoulder, he saw Tally poking her head out in stunned amazement, raising an adoring thumbs-up at him.

"I think you've lost your mind!"

Lady Lilian grew excited once more, the magic spreading across her skin surging violently in an instant.

She had suffered grave injuries in her earlier years; her body was not only dry, but in fact harbored many lingering ailments.

That was also why Eve had to desperately draw energy from Rod, wanting to take charge on her own as soon as possible.

"Mm-hmm."

The surge of magic did not stop; on the contrary, it grew even more violent.

Lillian let out a muffled groan, and terrifying fresh blood seeped from every feature of her face.

Rod was also startled.

He hurriedly embraced her before she could fall.

The 【Green Vine Mutual Healing】 of the Green Grass Domain went full power, and he immediately fed her several bottles of healing potion.

"Go away."

"What's the point of saying that at a time like this?"

Rod sensed that Lillian's internal ailment had already run deep; it could not be solved by simple healing spells, so he immediately grabbed two Spirit Seeds and fed them to her.

Unexpectedly, she was every bit as stubborn as Eve, shutting her mouth and turning her head away without responding.

At this moment, Rod was no longer accommodating her.

Regardless of Lillian's wide, beautiful eyes, he simply delivered a domineering kiss.

As he passed the Spirit Seed orally, the effect of 【Charm Fluid】 simultaneously surged to the surface.

Lillian, who was in poor condition, struggled for only a short while before her eyes became seductive and lustrous.

They called it struggling.

In truth, our Young Lady Lillian was somewhat resisting while actually welcoming it.

When Rod removed his clothes,

clearly, the resentment in Lillian's heart was not very deep.

Rather, she had accumulated quite a bit of longing.

While calling out Rod's name in a daze, she clung to his bear-like waist, refusing to let him go at all.

The next morning.

Lillian covered her forehead; the lingering pain from her severe injuries was now extremely slight.

Beside her, the man, naked as a newborn, lay sprawled on his back, his arm wrapped around her slender waist, his hand idly patting the slight flesh on her lower abdomen.

The man opened his eyes; sunlight spilled onto his face, making him look impossibly handsome.

Lillian's heart pounded as she watched, yet regret arrived uninvited.

"Rod, we shouldn't have..."

"There is no shouldn't."

"No, no..."

Lillian pulled the quilt up to her chest, yet it failed to cover her overly imposing body; the contours of her drooping and expanding form were faintly revealed.

"I lost my composure last night; let's pretend nothing happened. Let's forget this, okay? From now on, you are still Eve's husband."

"I refu—"

"No refusing. Go quickly; I left in a hurry last night, and Eve will probably worry. You go back first, and I'll check on the Thousand Throat Grave later, alright?"

Her tone softened considerably; Rod knew the matter was more than half settled, so he stopped pressing and nodded.

But immediately afterward, he shook his head.

Lillian pleaded mournfully: "What exactly do you want, you little rascal? I have already done as you wished."

Rod pointed to the quilt propped up below; Lillian took one look and immediately panicked.

"It was like this last night, so why are you still... this early in the morning?"

Rod lazily crawled over, leaning into her embrace, inhaling the milky scent flooding his nostrils.

"Lillian is too beautiful; I couldn't help but do it one last time, really."

Lillian, steamed by his hot breath until she felt numb and tingling all over, became soft and unbearable; a pink hue climbed her beautiful cheeks.

She gently patted the back of Rod's head and couldn't help but chide: "You... I'm not like you young people; I can't withstand such torment. This is truly the last time; from now on, you must never seek me out again."

(End of Chapter)