Easy, My Lady

After everything had settled down, the two of them embraced.

Vivian spoke softly. "Little Kexin, you need to take your time acting out the Potion. The Demoness Sect is selecting a new Saintess right now, and that's not a good thing."

"Besides, I can't bear to see you advance to Sequence Seven yet."

Her words stirred Altair's blood. He asked directly, "Vivian, what Sequence are you at now?"

When he heard the question, Vivian sighed helplessly. "I advanced to Sequence Six recently. I only started digesting the Potion after we made love. At the rate I was going this morning, it'll take at least half a year."

"Little Kexin, you probably know a little about the Demoness Sect, but not much. Let me explain."

"The Demoness Sect controls the Full Assassin Pathway and part of the Seer Pathway. It has Low Sequence Formulas for more or less every other Pathway, and may even have High Sequence Formulas. But the Demoness Sect never trains people in other Pathways. It only recruits Assassins. A few Lucky Persons become Seers, but they don't join the Demoness Sect; they can only join its Subordinate Organization, the Spirituality Society. The Demoness Sect's Core Layer consists entirely of Demonesses."

"The Archbishop at the heart of the Demoness Sect is the Primordial Demoness's child, the Grey Witch Judith. There are also thirteen High Sequence Witches."

"As for you, you're my antidote to advancing to Sequence Five."

Seeing Vivian smiling and joking, Altair knew she was feeling better. He teased her, "Then according to the Demoness Sect's rules, you should be my wife now. I'm not your antidote—I'm your husband."

Vivian looked at him with a smile and said something she would regret. "That depends on whether I agree."

"Well? Are you convinced now?"

Vivian's only answer was silence.

When she felt the person beside her start moving again, she could only sigh helplessly.

It wasn't until the sun was about to set that she finally gave Altair the answer he wanted.

From Vivian's behavior that afternoon, Altair had noticed something was off.

After recovering from the afternoon's exertions, Altair prepared to get up and find something to eat. When Vivian saw him getting out of bed, she endured her discomfort and helped him get dressed.

Seeing Vivian still struggling to keep going, Altair felt a sudden warmth in his heart, along with a pang of regret. Had he gone too far?

Once he was dressed, he told Vivian to rest in bed while he went to find them some food.

After leaving the bedroom, Altair noticed that some of the Gas Lamps in the villa had already been lit.

He went downstairs and saw Hahn. The butler was giving him a strange look. He seemed to want to say something, but couldn't bring himself to.

At last, he sighed and said, "Count Altair, take care of your health."

"What would you like for dinner? Or is there anything Miss Vivian would like?"

Hearing Hahn, Altair got the feeling he knew something. Awkwardly, he rubbed his nose and said, "Just a normal meal, and a bowl of chicken soup."

Since dinner would take a while to prepare, Altair picked up some pastries from the table and returned to his room for the time being, under Hahn's peculiar gaze.

Vivian was sitting against the headboard, waiting for her "beloved" to return. When she heard the door open, she looked over with a smile.

From Altair's perspective, Vivian had started smiling the moment he walked in.

Seeing her smile, Altair stepped closer and asked, "What? Were you that eager for me to come back?"

At his clueless remark, Vivian thought, Still a child. He needs more lessons—but can my body take it?

Watching Vivian's expression change, Altair picked up the pastries and said, "Dinner's still being prepared, so it'll take a while. Have some pastries first."

When Vivian said she was feeling unwell and couldn't lift her hands, Altair fed her, one bite at a time.

Dinner was ready after she'd only eaten a few pastries.

But after all the strenuous activity that day, Vivian still hadn't recovered. Altair had to help her get dressed and carry her to the dining room.

Hahn had sent the other servants away. The Loen Kingdom was a conservative country in public, even if people got up to all sorts of things in private. At least appearances had to be maintained.

Ever since last Sunday, Vivian had practically moved into Altair's home. They ate and slept together. When he had classes during the day, she watched nearby, sometimes wiping away his sweat or handing him tea...

In their free time at night, she taught him Occult Knowledge, yoga, and Jujutsu...

On Friday night, as they lay in bed chatting, Vivian finally told him how she had plotted against him.

"Kexin, have you ever wondered why you were asked to become a Demoness and made a Countess? Does it seem strange to you?"

Hearing the person beside him voice his own doubts, Altair asked curiously, "Do you know the reason behind it? I still can't figure out what George III was trying to accomplish."

At Altair's words, Vivian turned to look at him. "Actually, no one else was plotting against you. I was behind everything, from your becoming an Earl to your taking the Potion."

"What was your goal?" Altair asked when she had finished.

The unkind look in Altair's eyes unsettled Vivian. Unable to face him, she turned away and said, "I noticed you the moment you entered that banquet. Later, when you followed Leif Strauss to ask George III for your hereditary title, it brought back memories. My ancestors had once been just like you. At the time, I thought you belonged in the embrace of the Primordial, so I used that as an excuse to get George III to drag you into this."

"But after spending time with you, I realized I might have fallen in love with you. I've been thinking about it these past two days—whether to tell you. Now, I regret what I did back then."

After hearing Vivian's explanation, Altair's confusion was finally cleared up: why she had made him a Countess.

He turned to Vivian and said, "I don't hold it against you. You're my beloved, after all, and becoming a Beyonder was part of my plan anyway. I was just forced into it by someone else."

"So the George III I saw that night was you, too?"

After Vivian had finally confessed what she'd kept buried deep inside, she was relieved that her "beloved" hadn't scolded her. He was even joking with her. Her mood lifted, and she said, "That's right. What did you think of the mirror? It was the first one I made using my blood and Extraordinary Materials, and I gave it to you."

Seeing Vivian in better spirits, Altair gritted his teeth playfully. "Have you decided how you're going to make it up to me?"

Seeing her beloved act like a child gave Vivian a headache. All she could do was give in, trembling as she said, "I'll let you do whatever you want with me."

"My Lord, please be gentle."