[Tower of Babel]
Once Sol came back to the tower, the first thing he did was to call for Milia and receive a report about the situation.
After all, even though he had set up this meeting, there were many ways things could have blown up.
Sol did not naively hope that they would suddenly become the best friends in the world. Each of them had their own personality, goals, and aspirations.
This was how relationships worked. Even monogamous relationships were a pain to deal with, much less a polygamous ones.
From Milia's words, he understood that the situation had been rather explosive. Thankfully, none of the girls were fully triggered and as such no bloodbath happened.
Aside from this, the ideas of contract had been Milia's idea and he was glad that it could be put to use.
“Well, at least this should calm down Camelia for some time.”
“Do not worry your highness. Even though we all have our willfulness, your happiness trumps it all. As such, we would of course endeavor to make you as happy as possible.”
“...I see.”
Sol’s lips twitched a little but he did not comment. He wanted to rest. Since he would soon leave for the astral world, it was important to set up everything necessary.
They also needed to prepare training drills, in case the wings attacked once again.
Even though he doubted they would do so. After all, the current Lustburg with Ambrosia present was like a Superfortress.
Walking alone in the hallway, Sol couldn’t help but let out a yawn.
He was physically alright, but his mind was so exhausted it seemed it could collapse at any moment.
Even though he loved the feeling of power and authority the title of the future king gave him, he did not like the subsequent obligations.
What’s more, at the end of the day, he simply wanted to be a carefree prince with some measure of authority and money to throw around.
Sometimes he would tease the maids, sometimes the priestess, and most of the time he would spend it with his beloved women and companion. There would be some children playing around and acting all cute like babies knew how to.
It wasn’t some glorious purpose.
It was nothing more than a dream. A simple dream. A small dream..
But it was a dream worth pursuing.
At the very least it was way more meaningful than conquering the world and all that jazz.
But Sol knew that life wasn’t so easy. Even though he didn’t wish for trouble, it didn’t mean that troubles wouldn’t come and find him. There were so many dangerous things that could completely trample everything around him.
He couldn’t rest before at least becoming a demi-god and understanding the secret of this world. There was also the part where he hoped his child wouldn’t be a reincarnator.
Reaching his bedroom, which has been mostly unused lately, he was about to open it when he felt a presence in the room.
<<Mirror Dimension>>
The world around him rippled as all the colors faded and changed into a monochrome gray.
This was his world. His dimension.
‘It would be good if I could affect time and space here.’
He knew that the divine beasts could manipulate the laws in their territories. But it was mostly because they were in the Astral world.
Thinking about such a thing, he phased through the door and entered the room in order to observe the intruder without risk.
He was sure that no enemy could sneak into his room with the witches present in the tower, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
He was a little tense at first, but once he went through the other side of the door and saw who was waiting for him, he let out a sigh of relief before coming out of his dimension.
“Hello Lilin, how are you?”
He smiled as he asked her. Though the smile rapidly went away when he saw her tear-stained face.
A few minutes later, Lilin was laying down on Sol’s lap while he gently caressed her hair.
Even though she had her eyes closed, Lilin was still awake and couldn’t help but murmur,
“I ran away from my mother.”
After their short discussions, it has simply been too much for Lilin and as such, she fled to the only place that could bring her comfort.
“I don’t know what to think.”
Right now, her mind was pure chaos.
Should she be angry at her mother?
But all Lilith did was for her own good.
Should she forgive her mother, then?
But then, what about all the pain she went through?
Should she hate Neptune for creating her?
But the man was already dead.
So many questions, so many dilemmas. All those thoughts were swimming and colliding in her head.
All her life she had always resented her mother and wished to prove herself to her.
But now, all that resentment that brewed in her heart had no clear targets to latch on to.
“I hate my mother. I hate all the pain she brought me. But more than anything else, I hate myself for being happy when she said she loved me.”
Sol sighed in his heart. It was a matter of course. No matter how sincere Lilith was, no matter how much Lilin wished to forgive her mother, years of resentment and misunderstanding could not be resolved with just a few words.
It didn’t help that Lilin was having a mild existential crisis.
“Do you think I am a monst--*Ouch*”
Lilin flinched after she got her head smacked by Sol,
“I don’t really plan to comment about the situation between you and Lilith. This isn’t something I can interfere in. Whether you wish to forgive her or not is up to you and either way, I will support you.”
Someone else may have said that since Lilith meant well, she should be automatically forgiven.
Sol thought this was bullshit.
The way of hell was paved with good intentions. Whatever her original intentions were, reality didn’t change.
No matter how much Sol loved Lilith, the truth was that she was a failure as a mother. This was something undeniable. But at the same time, no one could deny the work Lilith had put in.
Thanks to her teachings, Lilin was already a Duke despite her young age. In this world, power was always the greatest asset one could have.
At the end of the day, if the two of them wished to really live as mother and daughter, they had a long way to go. The scares, the pain, and suffering would never vanish, this was the sad truth. But it was possible to create a new fertile ground on a scorched one.
It just needed time and careful consideration.
“You aren’t a monster, nor are you a weapon. You are you. Lilin Luxuria. My adorable...cousin.”
Lilin did not miss Sol’s pause toward the end of his sentence.
“Am I really your cousin though?”
Even though Lilith never explicitly stated who the father was, they knew perfectly that Lilith would have never accepted the seeds of a random man. In fact, there was only one man back then whose seeds she would have accepted.
“Well, even if you are my sister, or half-sister, or aunt? It doesn’t really matter now, does it?”
Technically speaking, Lilin was Lilith’s clone. Which made her his aunt. At the same time, there were high chances that Lilin was Mars’ Daughter, which would make her his half-sister. Finally, Lilin could also be seen as Lilith’s daughter, which made her his cousin.
It was a rather complicated cluster fuck. One barely worthy of a Greek god genealogical tree.
The two of them chuckled a little, sweeping away the tense atmosphere and depressing mood that had settled in.
“Soon you will enter the Astral World, right?”
“Indeed.”
“I guess after you come back you will be much stronger.”
“Normally, yes.”
Sol had a bad hunch.
“When you leave, I will also leave Lustburg.”
“... You want to visit Envilya?”
“Indeed. I have already told you about Anastasia Invidia. A friend I made during my adventure with the elves.”
Sol understood her plan.
From what Lilith said, Lilin had nearly perfectly inherited the blood of the nightmare queen.
It was clear that her fight with the Wings had awakened the blood in her. If she managed to get training from a full succubus, her power would without a doubt skyrocket.
What’s more, the royal families of the two kingdoms had a special relationship, mainly because Pandora, the current Queen of Envilya, had once been one of Mars’s companions.
For some reason, Sol immediately began to think about all the possible ramifications that could happen.
The war against Wratharis was inevitable.
In terms of Geography, Wratharis was surrounded on three sides by Lusturg, Southern Pride, and Envilya.
If Sol could leverage the worship elves had for dragons, he could have them fight with him against Wratharis.
If by using Lilin he could make a stronger connection with Envilya and have them at the very least stay neutral, the chance of his kingdom losing the war would be considerably lowered.
What’s more, the threat of the wings of freedom was something that couldn’t be neglected. If he could influence other kingdoms and have them put heavier protections on their divine weapons...
What’s more, all politics aside, Lilin was part of Lustburg. If she managed to reach the King rank, it would mean another powerhouse for the kingdom.
No matter how you looked at it, it was full of advantages.
But,
“No.”
Sol refused.
“Why!?”
Lilin asked as she stood up abruptly.
She couldn’t understand why he was refusing it.
“Firstly, the wings of freedom are still at large. We have managed to kidnap one of their members. Do you think they would forget her? I dare to say that if you leave the confines of the capital, you won’t even need to go far before being ambushed.”
“But…”
“Secondly. The situation in Envilya is incredibly unstable currently. The four heavenly generals are acting suspiciously and the church is supporting the nobles faction. Even though the crown princess and the queen cannot be touched, what about the others? Your friend isn’t the crown princess, is she?”
"No but…”
“Finally, let’s say that you don’t get abducted by the wings. Let’s also say that the political situation in that country doesn’t explode and that you aren’t implicated. The most basic problem. How will you ask them to train you? Will you say something like, hello, I am the princess of another country and I need you to make me stronger. By the way, I also have the blood of your strongest queen in me and I am currently about to awaken her power.”
Sol laughed coldly, “How high do you think the chances are that they execute you on the spot?”
Bloodline was no joke. It was one thing if Lilin was a natural part-succubus, but if they ever learned that her blood came from the royal family and that the King of Lustburg did such experiments, it wouldn’t be weird if they immediately declared war on Lustburg.
Watching the dejected expression on her face, Sol’s voice softened,
“I am sorry. I know that you are feeling uneasy and want to become stronger. I perfectly understand this and wish for the same. But I do not wish to put you into a situation with so many dangerous variables. Call me selfish if you want to, but I do not wish to lose those I care about.”
Standing up, he hugged Lilin and kissed her forehead, his eyes were filled with tenderness as he looked at her,
“Still, I acknowledge your desire for more power. Let's think about a better solution, alright?”
Sol did not wish to take away the independence of the girls around him. He did not wish to clip their wings and stop them from flying outside.
But this was really a matter he could not decide on easily.
In a situation like this, he needed the opinions of more experienced people.
Tomorrow, he would consult Milia, Lilith, and Camelia about the situation.
Worst comes to worst, if Lilin insisted on going, he would have Kali follow her.
“Now then, about the time you rest, I am sure you must be emotionally tired after all those roller coasters.”
He tried to let go of the hugs but was stopped by Lilin.
Raising her head, she gave an upturned glance at him and said calmly,
“I do not wish to sleep alone tonight.”
The invitation in her words was as clear as crystal.
(AN: CH 60 for mention of Anastasia. CH 20 for mention of Relationship between Lusturg and Envilya royal families. Christmas chapter for Pandora first mention, yeah don't skip Special chapters or interludes. As for the . Better warn you but it isn't smut. No worries you will have smut in about 3 or 4 chapters.)
