Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Whether it was her current entanglement in the power struggle between two factions of royal heirs or her education at the military academy, Melanie knew that fate was an unpredictable thing. She might one day die in battle or be caught in a conspiracy.

If Ryuka hadn't asked Hetia to spare her back then, even if she hadn't died, her fate would have been incredibly tragic. She wouldn't have had the time to make a decision now.

Thinking about it, Melanie actually moved her face closer to Ryusha.

"So what do you think of me?"

Looking into Melanie's clear, icy blue eyes, Ryusha saw that there was little lust left in them, and she was no longer the one who had been led by the nose by Kania and him.

But it also conveyed a sense of seriousness, ease, and determination.

But it also conveyed a sense of seriousness, ease, and determination.

"Are you serious?" Ryuka pouted.

"I've always been very serious."

"You don't mind that I'm a kid anymore?"

"Hehe~ Although it looks small, here, and here, it still has a lot of masculinity... There aren't many people I approve of."

Melanie gently placed one hand on Ryusha's chest, while pointing the other hand to a peculiar area.

"Doesn't that mean there are other people who approve of it?" Liu Xia raised an eyebrow with a mischievous smile.

"That's in other aspects. In this respect, you're the only one I can consider as a potential partner right now."

"Whoa~" Kania obediently stepped aside, watching the two exchange words as if she were watching amusement.

Suddenly, Ryuka pushed Melanie to the ground, pressed her body against hers, and looked into Melanie's eyes as she spoke.

"Stubborn to the end, I'm afraid I'll be the only one left who can keep up the act."

"Really? So confident?"

Melanie smiled, feeling the heat emanating from her abdomen, her heart racing again.

"Don't you regret it?"

"I'm not that kind of woman."

Seeing Melanie's smile, Ryuka gave a 'ha~' expression.

"It will hurt, but bear with it."

"I'm not afraid... Ugh!!!"

As Ryusuke straightened his back, Melanie's relaxed expression instantly twisted into a grimace as she clung tightly to the boy on her body, her nails digging into his back.

Blood dripped down, and Melanie's body trembled uncontrollably. She felt nothing but pain. She recalled Kania's relaxed and happy expression and cried out in her heart that she had been tricked.

The boy looked at her questioningly, and Melanie took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and said:

"Come in, all of you... Ouch—Ah!!!"

Ryusha felt an astonishing tightness and a coolness unlike that of ordinary people, as Melanie held her tightly in her arms.

He could feel the tears streaming from Melanie's eyes as he looked down his neck.

Ryuu sighed, picked up Melanie's body, and arranged them in a sitting position facing each other in her arms. She gently stroked Melanie's smooth and tender back with her palm, and a trace of dark magic, along with the witch's power, slowly flowed into her.

Kania wasn't idle either; she hugged Melanie from behind, using magic to soothe Melanie's nerves and calm her tense body.

Soon, the pain subsided, and Melanie felt only soreness and bloating, as if her internal organs were being squeezed by something.

But she didn't regret it. She simply pressed her lips to Liuxia's ear and whispered:

"Move, brat..."

Liu Xia wrapped his arms around her slender waist and swayed gently. Although it was only a small movement, the moment he started moving, a strong sense of stimulation ran up Melanie's spine and straight to her head.

Exhilarating, uncomfortable, stimulating, comfortable, tingling, swollen...

She couldn't find the right adjective.

She finally understood why Kania was acting that way, and she was afraid that she would soon have the same expression.

Feeling the trembling in her arms, Liu Xia gently patted her body and whispered.

"It's okay, just relax, relax."

The boy could sense the subtle changes, from tense and stiff to soft and smooth...

Holding the boy's neck, in her ecstasy, Melanie's hazy consciousness was left with only one thought.

Kania is right, how come I'm only experiencing this feeling today...

Her whole body felt warm as it was filled, and Melanie felt a storm of pleasure wash over her, swirling and swaying her. Besides the feeling of joy, there was also a dizzying sensation...

Chapter 8 A Letter from the Capital

After a long while, Ryusha and Melanie finally separated. Their bodies were wet and sticky, exuding a lingering heat. Once Melanie had recovered, Ryusha and Kania carefully helped her to wash herself.

"Don't help me, I can walk. Hiss—"

Melanie had barely put on a brave front when a tearing pain shot through her lower body, causing her legs to buckle and she collapsed onto Ryuga.

This felt no less like going through a day of grueling training.

Finally, at Melanie's insistence, Kania cast a dark spell to relieve her pain, which made her feel a little better.

"Most people's perception of magical attributes is limited to one or two that don't conflict with each other. But you're different. Not only have you learned ice magic from me, but you're also learning dark magic and rune magic."

Melanie stared intently at Kania, her eyes seeming to hold another meaning.

"Maybe I'm a genius?" Kania smiled as before, making it impossible for Melanie to discern her true feelings.

"And you, at first I thought you were a dual practitioner of magic and martial arts like me, only mainly using martial arts and supplementing it with illusion magic, and your martial arts were taught to you by Hetia. But just now... you also used dark magic on me to relieve my pain, right?"

Melanie then turned her gaze to Ryukyu, and then wavered between Ryukyu and Kania.

"Aren't you two going to explain anything to me?"

When faced with Melanie's question, Ryuka pouted.

Although the two had a relationship, Melanie wasn't the type to become devoted to him because of it, and Ryuka didn't dare tell her everything.

The other party guessing is one thing, and admitting it yourself is another.

"I'm also exceptionally talented, is that okay?" Liuxia blinked her eyes, striking a cute pose.

Melanie looked at the two of them and sighed deeply. Although she had some guesses, since they didn't intend to say anything, there was no need for her to press them.

She wasn't the type of woman to feel hurt or alienated by this. To put it bluntly, she and Liu Xia weren't on the same side. It was unlikely that she could get Liu Xia to switch sides to the Third Prince, and she couldn't abandon her family to side with the Thirteenth Princess.

Of course, there are other reasons as well...

But having some connections in the opposing camp isn't a bad thing, is it?

"It seems our relationship hasn't reached that point yet."

Melanie spoke in a pretentious tone, though she wasn't really upset, she still wanted to tease the brat Ryuka, after all, he was her first man.

Given her eccentric personality, she might really be the only one.

"So what is our relationship? Lovers?"

Liu Xia looked at the woman in front of her, leaned closer, and asked with a smile.

"Ha~ No way, you're just a tool for me to deal with my desires!" Melanie glared at him, flicking a piece of ice from her fingertip and hitting Liuxia on the forehead.

The central continent is currently relatively peaceful under the rule of the Otus Empire. However, small-scale skirmishes and wars still occur, so the number of men remains far less than that of women.

Otto was the only country where the monarchy could rival the papacy, thus allowing polygamy, since the emperor himself had many wives, resulting in a large number of heirs.

However, marriages between nobles of comparable power still adhered to monogamy, with the man allowed at most a few concubines of lower social standing. Of course, there were also some powerful noblewomen who kept male lovers under the watchful eyes of their weaker husbands.

Melanie Snowfield, to whom the Snowfield family was not considered a major noble family, would not allow the women of the family to share a husband with other women.

Unless Ryukyu one day becomes a high-ranking noble.

Even so, Melanie couldn't imagine herself as someone else's wife. To be honest, she valued her own abilities and career highly.

For Melanie, besides siding with the Third Prince's faction along with her family, the most important thing was to find a way to gain the approval of her heretical sister, Vitris, and get her permission to use the Snow Spirit Clan's sacred stone to cultivate ice and snow magic.

To put it bluntly, strength is the only true measure of success.

"I can stay here for about another week, and then I must return to Sochi to make contact on time. Although the capital allows me to move freely while on standby, we still need to exchange intelligence periodically."

Melanie winked at Ryusha and Kania, giving them a sly smile.

"You two, shouldn't you share some information with me?"

"This is really extortion. They're using me as a sex toy and trying to extract information from me." Ryuka joked, as Kania pinched the soft flesh on her waist.

"Leave this to me. I'll gather some information that won't be of much use to you."

Kania readily agreed to Melanie's request, after all, in Melanie's eyes, both she and Ryūka were indecisive swingers. Moreover, for Kania, it didn't matter who won or lost between the thirteenth princess and the third prince; her ultimate goal was to overthrow the royal family step by step, so a necessary check and balance was acceptable.

Kania readily agreed to Melanie's request, after all, in Melanie's eyes, both she and Ryūka were indecisive swingers. Moreover, for Kania, it didn't matter who won or lost between the thirteenth princess and the third prince; her ultimate goal was to overthrow the royal family step by step, so a necessary check and balance was acceptable.

Of course, this was all on the premise that it wouldn't affect Linhu Town. In her and Liuxia's eyes, this was their territory. They were merely using the Thirteenth Princess's plan to gradually build their own base.

Meanwhile, in the hot spring courtyard on the other side, a grill was set up beside the steaming pool, and a whole roasted deer on it was almost reduced to a skeleton.

Atina, with her twin sisters, watched in surprise as Vitris devoured the food.

Especially Atina, whose mind was still filled with the voice of Idunir:

"Haha~ As expected of Xue Ling, she has the appetite of a wild beast, and she's a hybrid at that! It's been a long time since I've seen anything like this~"

"That brat you've taken a fancy to is really something. Not only is he surrounded by a bunch of beauties, but he doesn't even spare heretics. How terrifying! Who knows, maybe one day he'll even seduce the host of this demonic sword of mine!"

"Ah~ How rude of me~ If I weren't residing in your body, Atina, you probably would have already clung to him~ After all, he looks like a monster~"

"But you can't~ I don't want my host's body to be touched by a dirty man. If he pounces on me, I'll teach him a lesson with these vines~"

"..." Atina remained silent. This demonic sword would mutter in her mind every day, and if she had to pay attention to it all, it would probably drive her crazy.

But thanks to Idunir, she learned a lot of knowledge that she wouldn't have been able to know before, such as that Vitris in front of her was not human, and that Sister Luminova from the church should avoid her...

For example, Miss Kania, who seems to have a good relationship with Ryuka's brother, doesn't seem to be an ordinary person either.

Even the arrogant Demon Sword Iduniel couldn't figure out what was wrong with Miss Kania, only saying that something was strange.

After all, throughout history, countless people have been gifted with magic. Although Idunir could sense that the magical fluctuations emanating from Kania were unusual, he couldn't yet connect them to witch blood.

After all, in Iduniel's time, witches were truly a powerful and terrifying term.

"Ah~ Here it comes~ Your Ryuka-nii, hmm? This is really something~ This little rascal has picked another beauty~ Atina, aren't you heartbroken? Aren't you sad? Aren't you jealous?"

Atina looked at Ryuka and her two companions, who were arriving late at the entrance, and finally understood what they had been doing for the past hour.

Possessed by Idunir, she could smell the faint, unusual scent of blood on Melanie.

And there was also the faint scent of Ryuka emanating from her and Kania...

But none of that mattered. What Atina cared about was that Ryusha's stomach seemed to be growling, she must be starving.

So Atina took out a quarter of a roast suckling pig that she had snatched from Vitry's mouth, along with some other food and drinks, and carried it over...

"Miss Kania, Miss Melanie." Atina greeted her two older sisters politely, including Melanie, who had confronted her on the snowfield.

For so long, Melanie had kept her unusual abilities and demeanor hidden, and had been very friendly in all aspects. Whether out of personal feelings or power, Atina felt it was necessary to show courtesy to this great magician and nobleman.

Of course, Iduniel didn't think that way. She kept telling herself to quickly gain access to the Second Restriction and kill Melanie, the one in the know, as soon as possible.

After nodding and exchanging greetings with the two ladies, Atina handed the prepared plate to Ryusha.

"Brother Liuxia, this is for you."

Looking at Atina, whose face was icy but whose behavior was well-behaved, Ryuka felt a warmth flow through his heart and smiled as he touched her soft, light golden hair.

"Thank you, Atina. How about we eat together?"

“I’ve already eaten at the banquet outside.” Atina shook her head, feeling a sense of reassurance and satisfaction just from being patted on the head.

"Ah~~~ Atina is so cunning~ We also left something for Ryuka-nii!"

It was Evelyn who spoke. She rushed over noisily, bringing over the food she had prepared along with her sister Elena.

"It wasn't easy to get these out of Vitry's mouth!"

Evelyn pulled the somewhat introverted Elena along, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Ryusha, seemingly expecting something.

"Really? Thank you! Would you like to have dinner with Miss Kania and Miss Melanie?"