Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

"Okay? You agree to let me kill Joyce?" Aaron said with a smile.

“No…” Christina’s tone was slightly reproachful. She looked up at Aaron and said, “I am willing to give you half of myself.”

"Are you sure? In my opinion, the price you're paying is greater than Joyce's life."

It's infuriating! You've been the one trying to take her body, yet now you're trying to persuade her. Christina was furious, but her body was weak, and her mind was exhausted. She didn't want to think about anything else. If the future was destined to be even darker, then she would let her body plunge into that darkness.

"I do..." Christina whispered again.

"Alright, as expected of Christina, whom I've chosen. In that case, let's make a contract."

Aaron gently stroked Christina's cheek, looked directly into her eyes, and finally, to Christina's surprise, kissed her lips.

"Waaah!"

Christina let out a surprised whimper, her eyes widening, but after a while, a look of submission appeared in her eyes. She closed her eyes and chose to accept it, even turning around and hugging Aaron's body to actively reciprocate his kiss.

This was Christina's first time kissing anyone. Before this, she had never been so intimate with anyone and always kept a certain distance from everyone. Therefore, her kiss was awkward. Her mouth was dry, her heart was pounding, and she whimpered, making sounds as if in pain. But she still tried her best to respond to Aaron, holding him tightly, as if using all her strength to respond to Aaron's kiss.

The pale blue mark on the tip of her tongue grew brighter and brighter, with countless pale blue light spots flowing across it. Finally, the pale blue light gradually formed a mandala flower mark, continuously gathering throughout her body. Aaron's primordial energy was imprinting a new mark on this body.

Christina clutched his chest, her chest heaving. As their lips parted, Christina tilted her head back, gasped for breath, thinking she could finally catch her breath, but Aaron kissed her lips again, mumbling, "It's not over...it can't end yet..."

With a beautiful woman in his arms, her sweet fragrance on his lips, and this icy beauty now so eager for him, even Aaron's heart fluttered. But after kissing for a while, he slowly pushed Christina away, looked into her eyes, and said, "By giving me half of yourself, you are declaring that you have given up my body. Therefore, we need to form a new contract, and this kiss is necessary."

Christina held onto his chest, breathing heavily, and said nothing. Her body was supple, and her face showed a weak expression, as if she would agree to whatever Aaron did to her, exuding extreme tenderness.

After the kiss, Aaron said, "Begin reciting the pledge of allegiance."

Christina covered her chest with her hand and slowly recited the pledge of allegiance. Her expression was calm, and there was no shame on her face. However, her eyes were very serious as she recited the words, as if she were reciting a divine oracle rather than a pledge of allegiance.

Indeed, from then on, Aaron's commands were almost divine pronouncements to her. She could hardly disobey Aaron's commands anymore, and half of her belonged to Aaron almost entirely.

At dawn, an old man stood in a curtain of light shrouded in mist and clouds.

In the fog, some early risers could clearly see the old man, but he seemed unable to see them. Among them, Song Yuqing began to observe him with great interest.

It was a burly old man with white hair. He stood in a cloud-shrouded light curtain, wearing a wide silver robe, and his eyes shone brightly.

No one knows where this old man came from or why he appeared here, but his appearance has a sacred feel to it, as if he walked out of the murals in the church. He gives people the feeling of a white-robed prophet, making them feel that he must not be an ordinary person.

When that golden pupil opened, they truly felt like they were being stared at. Christina and the fairy froze on the spot like frogs suddenly struck by a bright light.

But the golden pupil only glanced at them before looking away.

Chapter 266 Story

The celebrations of the Lussetian Empire are about to begin.

The Duke was having a headache over who to send to the celebration.

“I think it would be good for Aaron to lead the way, taking Sarah and Ottilia to the celebration,” the Duke said.

"Me?" Aaron was taken aback.

"Actually, I saw through your identity a long time ago," the Duke said calmly. "Don't you think it's inappropriate for you to attend the celebration?"

Aaron wasn't surprised by this; he and the Duke had always maintained a tacit understanding. But to everyone's surprise, Aaron raised his hand and said, "Can I refuse?"

Everyone was shocked by these words. Christina was probably surprised that Aaron dared to defy the Duke so much, while the others didn't understand why Aaron refused.

The Duke probably didn't expect Aaron to refuse. He paused for a moment, then asked, "You don't want to go?"

“It’s not that I don’t want to go… but isn’t this just like a business trip?” Aaron shrugged. “I’m already working myself to the bone at the Duke’s mansion. It’s one thing to not get any rest, but to have to go on a business trip is just too exhausting.”

The Duke seemed a little anxious: "Aren't you really going to reconsider? Tsk, how could a visit to the Empire be a tiring affair? This mission is not only not tiring at all, but it's also a very enjoyable one. Think about it, you're going there as the Duke's envoy. Once you arrive, they will treat you like a VIP, prepare the best accommodations for you, and treat you to the finest wine and meat. It's even more enjoyable than being a king. Whatever you want, as long as it's not too outrageous, they will fulfill it."

Seeing the Duke's anxious look, Aaron had no doubt that if they hadn't been there, the Duke would have directly said that they would try to seduce him with beautiful women...

Christina's face darkened. From her heart, she felt that the Duke was smearing the Empire, but when she thought about all the things that had happened, she couldn't help but waver and could only keep quiet.

"Let me tell you, the capital of the empire is famous for its art exhibitions, museums, and mansions. Their mansions are magnificent and have a rich atmosphere. Not only that, but they also have the most delicious food in the world, which is not easy to find even here."

Seeing that Aaron was still deep in thought, the Duke became a little anxious and looked at Christina beside him, seemingly wanting Christina, a local, to testify on his behalf.

Christina was extremely unhappy, but out of respect for the Duke, she said expressionlessly, "When the Empire entertains guests, it will definitely divide the major powers into different levels, and the level of the country will be treated with different standards. This is diplomacy. However, no matter what method they use to classify the levels, the Duke will always be in the highest level."

The Duke turned his head and looked at Aaron with an expression that said, "Am I right?"

Aaron seemed finally persuaded, and after a long pause, he said, "Then I have a few conditions..."

"What are the conditions?" The Duke immediately looked at Aaron expectantly.

Aaron glanced at the Duke, sighed, and said, "I need to take a few people with me."

"No problem, who do you want to bring? You can bring anyone except me." The Duke waved his hand and said magnanimously, "But don't try to bring an entire village. A certain high-ranking official did that last time and was subsequently banned from entering imperial territory. They probably won't ban you from entering, but we still have to save face..."

"I don't intend to bring the whole village, just two people will suffice."

Aaron closed his eyes and pointed at Ottilia: "First, I'll take Ottilia with me."

Ottilia smiled slightly, and the Duke waved his hand, saying, "No problem."

“There’s no rush…” Aaron turned his head again, his gaze sweeping over the group before finally settling on Sarah, and said, “Also, I want to bring Sarah along.”

The Duke nodded with a smile: "Sure, sure, but why bring Sarah?"

"Sarah has been busy with the Duke's affairs lately, to the point that she fell ill. Now that we finally have this opportunity, I plan to take her out for a break, like a vacation."

"..." Seeing Aaron's serious expression, Sarah was momentarily dazed, but when she heard the second half of Aaron's words, she still turned her head away proudly.

“But if Sarah also goes to Qishan, who will take care of the Duke’s affairs?” At this moment, the maid suddenly stood up and pointed out a key issue.

The Duke was taken aback, a bad feeling suddenly creeping into his heart.

"Isn't the Duke himself here?" Aaron smiled slightly.

The maid nodded and said, "I see. The Duke has been traveling and enjoying himself for so long. It's time for him to get back to his duties."

“Yes, yes, we’ll be away on business for a while. I think we can rest assured leaving things to the Duke during this time,” Sarah said with a smile.

The Duke felt like he had been wronged, but at this point, he could only smile bitterly.

*

The moon was bright and the stars were few. After seeing everyone else off, Aaron returned to the lawn and placed a pot of aged black tea, which he had just retrieved from the cellar, on the stone table.

Everyone else went back to sleep, but the Duke and he stayed behind. This was actually an unspoken understanding between them. Only after everyone else had left could they completely relax and talk about some private matters.

“I recently brought back a batch of good wine, bring it over,” Sarah said.

Aaron picked up the flask and handed it to Sarah, who was standing next to him.

Today was an exception, though, because Sarah couldn't sleep and kept tossing and turning in bed. So Sarah joined the conversation, since she was also going to the Empire. The conversation turned into a farewell party.

Sarah took out a magical object, put the wine jug inside to heat it, and then took out several wine cups and placed them on the stone table.

Aaron took a glass of wine from the stone table and gazed at the dark forest. In the night, the shadows of the giant sequoias around him resembled menacing monsters.

"Thank you, I don't drink..." Christina, who was sitting next to Sarah, also shrank back, because Sarah was too enthusiastic, and she could only reach out to block Sarah's toast.

As one of those heading to the Empire, she also attended the farewell party. However, compared to Sarah and Aaron, she seemed rather uneasy, because the Duke was sitting on a pile of stones not far from them, gazing at the sparse sky above, lost in thought.

"Is there anything you need to give me before you leave?"

"Things? I've already given you the Duke's two most important treasures, and you're still not satisfied?"

The Duke reached into his pocket and pulled out a snuff tube. Hearing Aaron's words, the Duke picked up the bamboo flute, wiped it on his clothes, and smiled as he put it back on his lap.

On the eve of dawn, a few people sat on a stone bench. A gentle breeze blew by, and tumbleweeds passed by them, their waves rippling around them. The starry sky seemed distant, and no one spoke for a long time. Everyone seemed to be immersed in a kind of lofty and leisurely atmosphere, until Aaron broke the silence.

"Why hold a farewell party? We're leaving tomorrow, we might as well go back and get some more sleep before dawn."

The Duke picked up the snuff from his lap and put it down again, then smiled and said, "I don't have any magical items, but I'll tell you a story about the Empire as a farewell gift."

"Do you remember that old man who suddenly appeared today? I'm not talking about me, but the old man with three eyes on his head. He's actually a big shot in the empire. They're not related by blood, but they're still like brothers."

"He seems to respect you a lot. He even wanted to kneel down when he saw you, and you couldn't stop him."

"Hehe, that's because I helped him before." The Duke licked his lips.

"Don't be fooled by their current success. They were very poor when they were young. The two brothers came from a branch of a powerful imperial family. Although the family was large, they were the least influential among them. Moreover, their parents died early, which further diminished their status within the family. They often couldn't even afford meat. They were nothing compared to the pampered children of the powerful imperial families. When I first met them, they were wearing tattered clothes and had nothing but youthful vigor. In the past, there were many children like them in Esgard."

“I know this better than you do,” Aaron said. “Things are different now. Today, he and his family are very different.”

"Indeed, now they are one of the most prestigious families in the empire. Their lineage has transformed from a collateral branch into a core member. Those who used to look down on them now have no choice but to rely on them."

"It sounds like a story of an underdog's rise to success. Adding a revenge plot would make it even more like one."

"How could there not be? Back then, they could only wear tattered clothes. Their brothers from the same family didn't want to sit with them because they smelled of sweat. When they ate, they would take the cold bread out of their lunchboxes and throw it at them, claiming it was to take care of their brothers."

“Oh, I get angry just listening to the adults talk about it. What are their reactions?” Aaron asked.

"They were naturally furious and vowed to take revenge once they gained superhuman powers. One of them, to show his determination, carved a bloody mark on his head with a knife, signifying that he would definitely rise above others."

"Oh, the other brother?"

"The other brother is having a great time; the more bread they throw away, the happier he is," the Duke chuckled.

"Wow, that's a good reaction. No wonder he's someone who's going to do big things." Aaron gave a thumbs up.

"So, how will they treat their brothers after they become successful?"

"When they finally got their due, we won't go into details about what he did, but as for the brother who ate bread, he only did one thing: he took in all the children in his family who had no one to care for them. From then on, there were no more children in his family who were hungry or cold, and no children from powerful families dared to throw bread at them."

"He gathered all the children who had no powerful connections, assigned them teachers, and made them all receive the same training and eat the same food. Those who excelled could obtain better resources and the favor of the elders in the family."

"The best among them received resources and training that were in no way inferior to those from aristocratic families. From then on, those children became the backbone of their families and became people who would later become famous. That boy was one of them."

"Wow, I didn't expect him to be so amazing."

"Nonsense, otherwise why would he be the head of the family now? I'm talking about a story from over a hundred years ago. A hundred years ago, the empire didn't even have a Mad King yet."

“Sir, you speak so truthfully, anyone who didn’t know better would think you saw it all yourself,” Aaron said.

"How could I not have seen it myself? Well, it's true that I didn't see it myself, but my father's father told me."

"Then how did you come to know them, sir?"

“Me? Back then, I considered myself a knight, and that's how I got along with them. Don't let their high status fool you; their temperaments were pretty much the same as before.” The Duke scratched his head. “Come to think of it, I even drank with them.”

"No wonder that old man, so there was another story behind it."

"Stop talking nonsense. That's not the point I'm trying to make. Do you know why that guy is so amazing today?"

"why?"