Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

He said that, but his feet showed no sign of leaving. Seeing the girl's chest heaving violently, Ryuka finally said with a mischievous grin:

"Now that things have come to this, you have no choice but to listen, whether you want to or not. Esther, your cousin, Princess Linor, she is a witch."

"Huh?" Esther blinked, making sure she heard correctly. This was completely different from what she had imagined. She looked at Ryūka in confusion and asked again to confirm:

"Witch?"

"Yes."

"Which witch? The kind from epic legends?"

"Yes."

In an instant, a flood of information exploded in Esther's bright little mind. Although she was reluctant to believe it, combining her own life experiences with those of Linor, it didn't seem impossible.

Is this what Ryūka wanted to tell me?

So what I just did...

Esther's face slowly turned from deathly pale to flushed, a dramatic change that made Ryuka chuckle inwardly. Embarrassment, shame, surprise, disbelief... a multitude of emotions swirled across Esther's face like a meeting, causing the girl's beautiful features to display a pained expression.

"I understand."

Esther sat down on the chair next to her, stunned. She seemed to accept it, but still found it hard to believe. She looked up at Ryūka and asked:

"Where's the evidence? I want to know if you're not playing me."

"Kanya is also a witch. If you want proof, you can ask her to verify it."

Ryuu shrugged. He dropped his previous frivolous smile, knowing that this was something Esther would likely find hard to accept. Especially since she had blamed him for her mother's death for years, and now she was slowly realizing there was another reason. And her own fate was also becoming clear at this moment…

Esther was a smart and strong girl. She didn't need his frivolous comfort; it was better to remain silent at this moment. Ryuka simply sat down on the ground, propped his chin up, and looked up at Esther.

When she's quiet, she's like a delicate porcelain doll; when she's lively, she's like a mischievous little devil.

After a long silence, Esther seemed to accept everything. Although it was unclear what she was thinking, she took a deep breath, raised her head, and earnestly said to Ryūka:

"You're such a bad thing."

"Thank you for the compliment." Liu Xia nodded.

"It seems like I have a lot to learn."

"Yes."

It's so reassuring to talk to smart people. After confirming that Esther was alright, Ruka slowly told her about the series of events that had happened.

"You now have two choices: me, or Princess Tipalotura, the thirteenth princess."

This is why Ryūka finally decided to tell Esther the truth today. Tipalotura can spot unawakened witches, and given that her witch army gathers intelligence for her, Esther's blood relation to Linor probably can't be kept secret. If she doesn't bring it up, Tipalotura might recruit Esther first.

Although Ryusha wouldn't be arrogant enough to consider Esther his own, he didn't want his hesitation to cause Esther, who was originally on good terms with him, to be pulled to Tipalotura's camp.

So why not tell her everything and let Esther choose for herself?

Esther hesitated for a moment, then looked at Ryūka and asked in a very strange tone:

"According to you, Princess Tipalotura can directly awaken my witch abilities, but you... have to come with me..."

Seeing her suspicious look, Liu Xia decisively shook her head:

"Don't overthink it, that's not what I meant. I just think you have the right to know these things. As for whether you have witch abilities, that's not that important to me."

Looking into the girl's emerald green eyes, Ryuka set aside her usual cunning and said frankly:

“As Esther Miller, you are important enough to me.”

Indeed, whether it was their business partnership or their joint fight against Adela and the Judgment Knight, Esther, even without her witch powers, remained a competent friend and a wise ally.

"Hmph..." Esther crossed her legs, crossed her arms, and said to Ryuka, "You're really good with words. You must have won over so many girls with that mouth, right?"

"To be honest, I think my words only account for one-third, another third is my ability, and the last third..."

Ryūka had said all he needed to say; Esther's disdainful look showed she understood. After all, how could one be a harem king without a good physique?

“Ha—” Esther sighed, jumped off the chair, patted her skirt, and walked toward the door that was sealed by Ryūka’s magic.

"I want to go back."

"Going home?"

“Go back to the dorm, you idiot.” Esther glared at him. “I’m already enrolled, right? I can leave the family matters to my unreliable old man. After hearing all that you’ve said, do you think I’m in the mood to go home?”

A soft finger poked Ryūka's chest, and Esther, hands on her hips, said:

"Besides, I can't entrust my entire fate to you. Whether you're planning to take action against the Bauhinia Kingdom, or building defenses and preparing an army in Linhu Territory to open the heretical ruins, you'll probably need manpower, right? Luckily, there's a clever lady here who can help you. So..."

Thump! A soft fist slammed into her chest. Ryuga looked at Esther's earnest promise to her:

"I can't decide which of your and Miss Kania's accounts, or Princess Tipalotura's, to believe right now. But if you need my help, feel free to tell me. You don't need my witch powers; I'm still very important to you, right? Don't go back on your word..."

"understood."

Ryuu smiled and nodded. So poor she stole silver cutlery, yet she resolutely partnered with him to revitalize the family business, always standing by his side during Adela's trap, and not wavering excessively upon hearing he was a witch… Esther Miller was truly an incredible girl.

Nevertheless, as a Heavenly Rank cultivator, Liu Xia could sense that Esther's breathing and pulse were unstable, and she needed time to process it. Without much intervention, Esther would make choices that suited her.

The magic was withdrawn, the barrier dispelled. Ryuka watched as Esther gently opened the door, her back to him, and softly said:

"Thanks……"

"Thank you... She really is a lovely person." As Ryuga watched Esther leave so calmly, a faint feeling of affection welled up inside her.

It seems like eating too much meat is bad; having something lighter occasionally is good for both your health and mood.

Back in the banquet hall, seemingly unconcerned by the suspicious glances of the crowd, Ryuga looked around and discovered that Tipalotura was nowhere to be seen. She immediately closed her eyes, allowing her consciousness to enter the Hall of the Leader's Proof.

"Melanie, Nemi, Yulina, have any of you seen where that princess went?"

The Consciousness Hall allows Ryuga to forcibly summon the consciousness of his followers there, but only when there is no danger. After all, he cannot guarantee that there will be no danger after the consciousness leaves the body, but when it is safe, it is much more useful than the communication crystal.

Not long after, a message came from the Hall of Consciousness.

Melanie: [At the academy gate, this princess is quite interesting. Let's go to the rooftop of the main teaching building and take a look.]

Upon receiving this message, Ryuuya couldn't help but wonder what Melanie had seen, and immediately rushed towards the place she mentioned.

Chapter 13 Rooftop Dialogue

On the rooftop of the main teaching building, Melanie moved a telescope used by magicians for stargazing, adjusted it to a suitable observation distance, and was looking into the distance with great interest.

Looking at the female mage's graceful back, Ryuka remembered the antics she had caused at the opening ceremony and couldn't help but slap Melanie's butt, her hands immediately starting to knead it.

"Stop messing around, it's still swollen there."

Melanie rolled her eyes immediately, her playful words brimming with charm. Liu Xia, not being particularly eager, embraced her soft waist and asked:

"What are you looking at?"

Just a few days after the dam was completed, a thin layer of fat appeared on Melanie's firm belly, making it feel comfortable to the touch again. It seemed she had been enjoying life these past few days; instead of her usual wine, she was holding a glass of iced milk tea, along with some desserts. Ryuka thought she was indulging in a bit of revenge-style eating and drinking.

"Looks like our princess is having some fun."

Melanie smiled, her icy blue eyelashes as beautiful as crescent moons. Just moments ago, she had keenly sensed a fluctuation of magical energy, and upon investigation, she indeed discovered that the source of the magic was the princess. Considering Tipalotura's special status as a witch, even Melanie dared not approach to observe her, fearing that she would be influenced by the witch's abilities. Instead, she simply moved a telescope here to observe.

At first, she thought Tipalottura had some kind of scheme, but it didn't seem to be the case. Tipalottura walked confidently toward the faculty members on the verification list, who immediately apologized in confusion after looking at the list and called a colleague to lead Tipalottura toward the office building.

"In my opinion, she must have used some kind of bewitching spell. I didn't dare get too close, so after she left, I used the communication crystal to contact the faculty and staff at the door, and guess what?"

Melanie kept everyone in suspense, but after Ryūka groped her all over, she laughed and began to tell them:

"They said there was a female student whose name was on the enrollment list, but her registration at the school was missing. They're arranging for someone to take her to get it reissued. I asked him what the student's name was, but he couldn't remember. Haha!"

"Enrollment?"

Ryusha was quite surprised. Tipalottura's residence was a quiet villa within the academy, and it was generally open to her except for the secret magic and magical engineering laboratories. So, Tipalottura wanted to experience school life at Sochi Academy?

"This princess is quite interesting. She was so eager for you and Anyaberg to open the heretical ruins before, but now she's having fun by herself. Poor Hetia and Anyaberg, they're busy building fortifications and forward laboratories around East Lake, while their former master is having a good time."

Melanie took a satisfying sip of her milk tea, thinking about how she'd worked hard for almost half a month, and now the heavy lifting had finally fallen to Hetia. That red-haired girl hadn't even made it to the opening ceremony today, enduring the ache in her waist, hips, and legs from being exhausted by Ryusha last night, and had gone to Linhu Territory to carry out the next phase of her plans. Just thinking about it made her happy.

As for Ryūsha, although he was concerned about Atina, who had been in the Heretical Ruins for several months, Tipalotura's description made him feel that the Heretical Ruins were like Pandora's box; opening it would lead to terrible things, pushing the entire world into an unknown phase. Therefore, he had to consider things carefully. According to Linor, the power of the Demon Sword far exceeded his imagination, second only to the gods and witches. Atina had already gained the power to rival Grand Master Hinatil within a year of obtaining the Demon Sword, and this was while she had been hiding her identity. Presumably, Atina would not be in any danger in the Heretical Ruins.

However, when she thought of that introverted and taciturn girl next door, Liu Xia still felt that her choice to play it safe might be a bit heartless.

This made him pinch Melanie hard twice in annoyance, venting his inner frustration.

"If you laugh again, I'll send you to keep those two company. Dongtian Lake is a high-altitude snowy region, and no one is better at staying there than you, the ice and snow magician."

To be honest, Melanie in her work clothes back then had a certain charm. Now she's transformed into that refined magician, and while her skin feels cool and smooth to the touch, it lacks that special kind of excitement.

Melanie wasn't afraid of Liuxia's threats. She turned her beautiful eyes to her younger lover and smiled, "What, you don't want me to go to the Bauhinia Kingdom with you anymore?"

Indeed, this is Ryusha's next plan. Hetia will handle the local affairs on her behalf, especially making various preparations in the Linhu Territory. She herself will lead a group of people to the Bauhinia Kingdom under the name of Tipalotura. The Bauhinia Kingdom is a country that reveres magic, and Melanie's Snowfield family has some connections with the magical and aristocratic circles there. Furthermore, she herself has some understanding of the southern magician world, so bringing Melanie along seems like a good choice.

Tipalotura had already prepared a pretext for her trip to the Bauhinia Kingdom. The Bauhinia Kingdom was a vassal state of Otus, and naturally, the new king's ascension to the throne required notification to the suzerain state. However, due to the involvement of a coup plot and the Papacy's intervention, the news reached Otus somewhat late. Meanwhile, Ryūsha had learned some inside information beforehand through Linor.

Considering all these factors, after reaching an agreement with Ryukyu, Tipalotura immediately wrote to the capital, suggesting that she herself serve as the ambassador to the Kingdom of Bauhinia. Her reasons were that Sochi was closer to the Kingdom of Bauhinia than the capital, and her status was high enough. In particular, she mentioned in her advice that the Kingdom of Bauhinia was an important vassal state of Otus and a source of magical materials; the recent changes there could potentially turn the Kingdom of Bauhinia into a puppet state of the Papacy. Therefore, Otus needed to take this seriously and send a sufficiently influential person to impact their internal structure before the Queen Mother of Bauhinia could secure enough support from the nobles.

A good explanation is crucial; after all, the important thing isn't just to convince her father, but to make the whole world believe in the legitimacy of the princess's trip abroad. Tipalottura's reasons seemed perfectly reasonable to both the Queen Mother of the Bauhinia Kingdom and those from the Papacy. These various factions were already trying to weaken Ottus, especially now that the southern kingdoms were unstable and border skirmishes on Ottus's borders were escalating. Therefore, sending a princess on a visit was perfectly 'reasonable' for Ottus.

Especially this princess, who will also be accompanied by a powerful bodyguard!

That would naturally be Ryukyu. The Empire wouldn't care if a border governor left his territory for a few months on official business—it might even be a good thing—but it would never allow a princess to suffer any mishap while traveling abroad. Although Tipalotura has witch guards, that's only a covert operation; without sufficiently powerful, overt guards, suspicion would arise. Not to mention, if the Bauhinia Kingdom had significant Papacy influence, the witches would find it harder to operate.

As adversaries, Otus and the Papacy are well aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses. However, according to Tipalotura, the Papacy is unaware that the fragments of order within Otus no longer reside in her father but in her. Therefore, to the Papacy, she is merely an ordinary princess. The one they should truly be wary of is perhaps Ryūka, a person notorious for disregarding the Papacy and faith.

However, from the perspective of the Otus Empire, it would be more reasonable to send Liuxia as the deputy envoy in order to deter the restless southern countries and the Bauhinia, which had deep ties with the Papacy.

Excluding the eleventh Heavenly Rank, Gerberi, who is kept secret, the existence of Ryusha can be announced to the world that Otus has gained another rising star in addition to the ten Heavenly Ranks, and he is an extremely young boy!

Previously, the exchange of official documents between nations took several months, but now, with magical communication technology, the final departure time has become highly unpredictable. Bauhinia's reply could arrive at any time, so Ryuka and the others must be prepared at any moment. Tipalotura, on the other hand, didn't care. Her purpose in coming to Sochi was simply to attend the Sochi Academy, to demonstrate the existence of the royal family to the local nobles and commoners, and... her own purposes, as well as to investigate Ryuka.

Now, Ryūka is going to act alongside her, and her plan to open the heretical ruins is in its final stages of preparation. So for her, the remaining days are like a vacation. It's just that Ryūka is suffering, since he has to feed Sinatiel before leaving Sochi so that she can produce enough Order Crystals.

She also needed to arrange the 'household affairs' while she was away. Naturally, the one in charge was the 'first wife,' Kania. Although Tipalotura wanted to go with her, and it seemed Gerberi had already gone ahead, who knew what kind of trouble the princess might cause in Sochi? Therefore, leaving Kania, who was also a witch, to manage things was the most suitable option, especially since Kania knew her best and could handle the future development plans for Sochi, given her ability to manipulate people's hearts. Even without her, with her immense prestige, Kania could ensure Sochi ran smoothly, especially since her other concubines all regarded Kania as their principal wife, making her easier to manage.

So these past few days, Kania has been incredibly proactive, playing all sorts of funny games with me, all to make up for the days I won't be around... As a result, Shinatiel's belly has suffered even more...

Thinking about all the things she had to worry about, Tipalotura actually started playing a role-playing game at the academy, which made Ryuka mutter to herself:

"This princess certainly has a lot of free time..."

“What else? Even in the capital, she’s always been a mystery.” Melanie smiled. As Hetia’s senior, she was at the Imperial Military Academy when Tipalotura enrolled. But this princess was different from the high-profile princes and princesses before her; sometimes she was practically nonexistent.

Perhaps that's why Tipalottura never truly enjoyed life. After arriving in Sochi, she started to let loose and embrace life...

Ryūka remained noncommittal about Melanie's guess. After all, the identity and fate of a witch meant that every witch was destined to be less than free, even Tipalotura was no exception. For a moment, Ryūka felt that this calm and composed princess might not be as powerful as she seemed. This slight emotion was instantly noticed by the older Melanie beside her, who immediately smiled and joked:

"You're so tired of scheming against her, why don't you just win her over and make her one of your own? Wouldn't that solve everything?"

"What a joke," Ryuka rolled her eyes. Tipalotura's stance was naturally opposed to Kania's. Putting the two of them together would likely cause trouble for them, and it wouldn't be as simple as a harem fire.

“But to be honest, I don’t think things are that simple.” Melanie narrowed her eyes; a woman’s intuition led her to voice a conjecture to Ryūka:

"Look how relaxed she is, even having the leisure to play around. She doesn't seem like she just had a conflict with you and her plans were thwarted. Especially considering that a mission to the Bauhinia Kingdom is a major undertaking, it's practically the territory of the Holy See..."

Liu Xia frowned and asked, "What are you trying to say?"

“You said she has precognitive abilities, right?” Melanie blinked. “What if she was prepared for all of this?”

Chapter 14 Women are unpredictable and fickle creatures.

Hearing Melanie say this, Ryusha frowned.

"That's way too much of a conspiracy theory, isn't it? If that's the case, then this princess is incredibly shady..."

But Melanie's words made sense. Ryuga looked at Tipalotura from afar. Without a telescope, her figure was as small as a sesame seed in the distance, but in Ryuga's heart, it was like a black hole, constantly sucking in all sorts of thoughts.

If this princess really has a lot on her mind, how should I deal with it?

"That's why I said, why don't you just win her over? It'll save us a lot of trouble~"

Melanie continued to joke as if it were none of her business. After all, in her view, Tipalotura's resources, military strength, and mysterious abilities were far too formidable to handle. If Ryūka could truly find a way to subdue this princess on another level, that would be a real blessing. After all, Ryūka's record against the woman opposite him was truly impressive!

"You're so irresponsible!"

Ryuka muttered a sarcastic remark and immediately slapped Melanie's butt. Tipalotura was no innocent girl; her heart was probably even darker than his own! Ryuka really didn't know whether he was trying to win her over or was eagerly gazing into the abyss! In response to Melanie's joke, Ryuka grabbed her skirt and pushed her up, wedging her against her waist and buttocks, ready to give this great mage a 'profound' lesson on the rooftop.

"Ah~ wait, didn't you want to save the seeds? Ah~~~"

Despite her verbal rebuttal, Melanie's mature figure betrayed her true feelings! Ryusha pulled down her already frayed black lace panties and thrust deep inside, making Melanie's legs tremble. Her eyes glazed over as if she were drunk, and she soon began to moan sweetly.

"Hmph~ Sister Melanie~ You like to save things up, don't you~ Since you can save them up with your mouth from last night until the ceremony, then just clench your lower body tighter and save them up until tonight when you go to Hinatil's place and pour them out~"

Remembering Melanie's earlier antics that nearly made him lose his temper and embarrass himself in front of others, Ryuka was determined to get revenge. Biting Melanie's soft earlobe, her hands skillfully pinching the two crimson nipples of her snow-capped plum blossom, causing Melanie to scream involuntarily. The intense stimulation from her fair, pink nipples caused Ryuka to unleash all her fighting spirit and magic on this teasing, instantly tensing Melanie's body, her internal organs twisting and contorting as if several small hands were clenching tightly.

But how could that stop Ryūka's enthusiasm? The tighter it was, the more pleasurable it felt~ making each time she squeezed open the moist passage feel like experiencing her first time. And Ryūka didn't forget to have Melanie keep an eye on Tipalotura for her: