Rowena felt a rush of emotions as she finally pressed her lips against Asher's. It was as if a spark had lit a flame within her, a flame that was fueled by the raw and intense passion she felt for him without her realizing it.
Her heart beat faster and faster with each passing moment as if it was trying to catch up with the explosive feelings that were coursing through her. She felt like she was in a dream, and for some reason, she didn't want to wake up from this dream.
As Asher locked lips with Rowena, he could feel her soft, warm lips pressing against his. He held her close and savored the sweetness of her succulent lips. But he couldn't help but feel a strange stirring within himself.
As the kiss deepened, Asher could feel her tender and warm emotions trying to seep into his soul, which was both exhilarating and terrifying. Exhilarating because it awakened a range of complex emotions within him.
On the one hand, her kiss was filled with passion and love, reminding him of the tender moments he had shared with Aira…something he once yearned and cherished.
On the other hand, the mere thought of Aira made him feel a mix of anger and pain, making him hate himself for allowing himself to be vulnerable again.
*Knock*
Suddenly, the intense and warm moment was abruptly interrupted by a soft knock on the door. As if she got started, Rowena instantly pulled away from Asher, breaking out from her daze and her eyes darting towards the sound.
"F-Forgive me for the disturbance, but delegates from distinguished Houses are here, awaiting your presence, Your Majesty."
"Delegates at this time?" Rowena mumbled with furrowed brows and then raised her head as she said, "Tell them to wait."
The maid left right away, though awkward silence descended in the room as the two remained still, staring at each other.
Asher cleared his throat and said with a soft smile, "Why don't you go ahead and see what is going on? It seems important for all those delegates to come all the way here."
Rowena blinked her eyes as she silently nodded and slowly walked towards the door. She raised one of her hands to touch her lips, her cheeks carrying a reddish hue.
The moment Rowena closed the door behind her, Asher calmly took a breath with closed eyes, "Never again…"
He then slowly opened his eyes, his lips curving into a subtle, cold smile with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes upon getting a few steps closer to getting what he wanted.
A few moments later, the door of his room opened as a red-skinned woman timidly entered after asking permission mentally.
"Merina…I was thinking of summoning you when you arrived right away. It makes me wonder if you already know me well enough to read my mind," Asher said with a smile as he got off the bed.
"Master!" Merina suddenly fell to her knees with moist eyes and kowtowed before him, "I know I have let you down, Master…I am prepared to accept any consequences for endangering your life. I had no idea they could track me using the brand of a traitor, which my blood bears. If you want me to forfeit my life, I will do that, but…all I ask is to spare my children," Merina still couldn't shake off the guilt after her Master almost died at the hands of her people. She was afraid that something like this would repeat and didn't want to endanger him again.
She didn't get a chance to talk to him ever since he arrived since he hadn't recovered until now. And so she was left with tension, wondering how he was really feeling about what happened.
Asher narrowed his eyes upon seeing her kneeling before his feet.
"You really wish to die, Merina?" Asher asked in a low voice.
"I…No…but I-I don't want anything to happen to Master again because of me…I have only wronged you in the past and yet you have given me strength and hope. I would have died in their hands if not for Master, so the life I have now doesn't belong to me. I do not know how else I could ever make up for my wrongs towards you," Merina said in a fragile voice as she tried her best to hold in her tears.
She felt she had misjudged her Master all this time. She thought he would lash out at her, especially since he must still be feeling grudgeful towards her for remaining a silent accomplice when he got tortured for 14 years. Any other man in his place would have granted her a fate worse than death.
Even if he reduced her to a slave, he never broke her or went after her family when any other noble would have done it. And so, from the bottom of her heart, she wished to really let her fate rest in his hands, thinking that was the right thing to do.
Asher curved his lips upon seeing her in such turmoil because of her guilt. Things were happening better than he expected.
Even if he was angry at Merina for remaining silent about his torture, he didn't want to break her and destroy her world, especially not when he saw her potential the moment he made her his slave.
Despite being a level 5 at that time, he realized her bloodline wasn't ordinary, considering the powerful yet immature abilities she had. Those abilities would mature once she becomes stronger and could come quite in handy to him. This only made sense when he learned from Dreven that she was the daughter of the previous clan leader of the Darkmoon Clan.
However, he can never make her serve him to her full potential if she doesn't have the heart to truly serve him or if she loathes him. This was where the slave seal wouldn't be of any use.
As a Hunter, he had seen how demons with powerful slaves died just because their slaves never truly cared about them and instead only wished they would die so that they could get free. This was why no intelligent demon would go around putting slave seals on people they wanted to wholeheartedly serve for them.
As for Merina, to make her wholeheartedly serve him, he had to make sure she felt like her world revolved around him through pure loyalty. And when that happens, even if she didn't have the slave crest, she would still be enslaved to him. This was the idea that struck him after he heard how her late husband was loyal to the end to his Master.
This was one of the main reasons why he wanted to make her put her faith in him by shielding her from the werewolves.
And to make sure she didn't forget her place, all he had to do was instill enough fear whenever necessary.
"Rise, Merina," Asher ordered as Merina wiped her eyes and slowly stood up, her head still lowered.
"Ah!" Merina was startled when Asher suddenly pulled her towards him before raising her chin with his finger.
She gulped as his dark yellow eyes stared into hers.
"By now, you should have understood that the punishment you deserve for your crimes is not death. Otherwise, I would have killed you on the same day I killed that wretched goblin maid," Asher said, his voice cold and hard.
Merina's lips quivered as she shuddered just thinking about how that maid died.
"Thus, your punishment is having your soul and heart chained to me. That is why I made you a slave because I want you to belong completely to me and serve me for the rest of your life. I don't want you to ever forget that I am your one and only Master. But I am not that cruel to not reward my servants I am fond of."
Merina blinked her eyes as she slowly looked up at him.
Asher loosened his grip around her wrist and gently hugged her waist as he cupped her face, "I meant what I said right before Eradicator came. Over the past month, you have carried out your duties well, and I have grown to become fond of you. That is why I saved you from your own people who don't value or care about you at all. You belong at my side rather than theirs."
"Master…" Merina teared up as her face began to turn redder. She felt warmth spreading in her chest, and in his embrace, she felt as if she wasn't abandoned anymore. Even if she was just a servant, she now at least had a place to belong to…by his side…someone who would never throw her away for something that wasn't even her fault.
"You won't make me regret it…right?" Asher asked as he softly caressed her juicy red lips.
Merina's eyes became soft as she strongly nodded, "I swear on my and my children's souls that such a day would never come," These words were heavy with emotion since Merina conveyed that if she ever makes him regret it, then her and her children's soul would be cursed forever. She didn't want to include her children, but she was that confident and determined to not wrong him ever and couldn't find any other words to convince him.
Asher could feel the sincerity and fierce determination in her voice and subtly smiled, "I believe you, Merina," Saying so, Asher leaned closer to his face as Merina softly whispered with a blush, "Thank you, Master…" And the next moment, both their lips engaged in a passionate kiss where Merina no longer seemed to have a hint of hesitation or reluctance like before. One could see how her kiss was filled with passion, stemming from her heart and soul.
"What is the meaning of this? Why are they all here?" Rowena asked upon seeing all the delegates seated downstairs.
Seron had a baffled look as well since he had no idea when or why these delegates suddenly came now. He had a difficult time trying to answer her since if he doesn't, it would make him look incompetent.
"They are here to stand witness for the…Bloodline Union test, Your Majesty. It must be because we had scheduled it earlier," Seron said while his mind raced to quickly think of the words to say after.
Rowena furrowed her brows as she said, "The test was scheduled yesterday, which I postponed for obvious reasons. I never said anything about postponing it to today. I don't think they are ignorant enough to not know the condition of my consort. Did you tell them to come?"
Seron's eyes widened as he immediately shook his head, "Of course not, Your Majesty. It's—"
"I asked them to come, Your Majesty," A woman's voice sounded from the side as Rowena turned her head to see Rebecca walking towards her with a light smile.
Seron took a deep breath as he shut his eyes close, feeling angry and frustrated. As expected, Rebecca had to butt in again and make things worse.
Rowena subtly frowned and asked, "And who told you to do that?"
Rebecca expected this question and said with a genuine expression, "I thought your consort would be healthy by today. That is why I thought today would be an auspicious day to conduct the test, especially since the people can't stop singing praises for him after hearing about his astonishing feats. If we do the test and hopefully get the good news of a perfect union, it will boost the morale and happiness of our people. I apologize if I overstepped, but I thought it would be what you wanted as well."
Rowena's eyes became absent as she thought about the bloodline union test. It was something she was now reluctant to conduct. Asher was not a vampire like her, and practically there can never be a perfect union between two different races.
For the past few days, she had been so distracted by his disappearance and health that this test wasn't the priority in her mind, because of which she never gave it much thought.
However, now, especially after what happened, she was concerned for Asher. If the results turn up bad, then…Rowena didn't even want to think about it further.
Instead, she looked at Rebecca with a stone-cold look and said, "You overstepped, Rebecca. So an apology to only me won't do. Go and apologize to the delegates for wasting their time since the royal consort has yet to fully recover. As for the date…I will be the one to decide when not you, no matter the reason. Am I clear?" Rowena sternly stressed the final sentence.
Rebecca's expression fell while Seron rubbed his forehead as he inwardly let out a tired and helpless sigh.
Rebecca didn't expect such a strong reaction from Rowena, especially when she made sure to make it seem as if she was doing the kingdom and her a favor.
In fact, Rowena should be feeling relieved that she would get to marry again, to a vampire with a powerful noble bloodline. Even if she doesn't want to let go of someone with an Immortal Bloodline, she can still keep him as a consort on the side. So why was she reacting like this?
She didn't want to believe Rowena actually cared about that alien who had burdened her and the kingdom for all these years. Or did she really start to look at him in a different light just because he protected some grove? Even if the Hunters had destroyed it, it wouldn't be hard to rebuild it.
Rebecca felt her face itch just thinking about the thought of apologizing to the delegates and making them think that she had wasted their time.
"It's fine, Rowena. We shouldn't make them feel like they wasted their time," Asher's voice echoed from behind as Rowena looked at him with raised brows.
