Hisss!!!
Chomp!!
!~Ding~!
[❗Notice: Deadly Venom is neutralised]
Hissss!!
Chomp!!
!~Ding~!
[❗Notice: Deadly Venom is neutralised]
Hissss!!
Chomp!!
!~Ding~!
[❗Notice: Deadly Venom is neutralised]
Snowflake furiously sank her fangs into Aether’s body over and over, her tiny frame trembling with pure rage. Each bite landed with more anger than the last. She couldn’t believe it. He had left her behind without even a second thought!
So what if he came back to pick her up later?
He still forgot her!
And that—that was what pissed her off the most.
Now, she was pouring all her fury into every bite, leaving a trail of tiny punctures across his skin as if to mark him permanently.
Aether didn’t even resist.
He just stood there and took it. Honestly, he deserved it. He had… well… actually forgotten her.
“I’m really sorr—mmff!!”
Hisss!!!
Chomp!!
!~Ding~!
[❗Notice: Deadly Venom is neutralised]
This time, she bit his lips—with venomous fury.
Aether blinked rapidly, flinching from the sting. The venom didn’t affect him thanks to his passive skill—but the pain? Oh, he definitely felt that.
Holding back a hiss of his own, he forced out a trembling apology. “Please… I’m sorry…” he said, voice low, lips slightly swollen and trembling from the bite.
Snowflake huffed, her tiny white body puffed up with anger. “Don’t care!!” she snapped with a sharp hiss. Then, turning away, she declared coldly, “I’m going to Selene!”
She slithered off with dramatic flair, but not before glancing over her shoulder one last time. “Hiss~” Her small forked tongue flicked out as she eyed his bruised lips.
Aether watched her go, blinking in confusion. “…Was she sulking?” he muttered under his breath. Lately, she’d been acting more and more… human.
He sighed, rubbing the bite-marked corner of his mouth. “I’ll just let her cool off…”
Still, as he examined the damage in a nearby mirror, he winced. “My lips… argh…” he groaned, gingerly touching them. ‘Why the lips, though?’
Pulling out a healing potion, he took a sip and rubbed a bit of it on his wounds. The red marks slowly faded. Then, with a wave of his hand, he activated Nightfire’s illusion magic. His body shimmered and returned to the appearance of the smaller, weaker version of Aether that most people still recognised.
He stretched his limbs with a small groan and made his way out of the room. It was lunchtime, after all.
As he walked down the hallway, the maids and servants he passed bowed their heads respectfully. Aether smirked slightly to himself. He still wasn’t used to this treatment. These were the same people who used to look down on him—ignored him like some pest underfoot.
He entered the dining room casually…
And paused.
There, already seated at the long table, were Kai and Leon.
Well, not that surprising—his clone had already informed him of their presence, having been spying on them all day… They were here for Alfred’s final moments.
That part he expected.
But what shocked him—
Was Aqualina.
She sat calmly at the table, casually twirling a spoon in her fingers. When she noticed him, she winked slyly.
“You finally showed up?” Xara said, raising her brows slightly. She was trying to act surprised, but her tone gave away that she’d been expecting him all along.
Aether offered a soft smile. “Of course… Mother.”
“Argh!”
“Gehh!”
Two voices groaned in pain simultaneously. One was Kai, who looked like he’d swallowed a cactus. The other was Xara, who clutched at her chest as if his words had pierced her straight through the heart.
Kai’s eyes narrowed dangerously, glaring at Aether like he’d just stolen something precious.
Xara awkwardly pulled out the chair next to her, giving it a gentle pat without saying anything.
Aether smirked inwardly, hiding his amusement as he approached and sat beside her. Across from him were Velc, Kai, Leon, and Aqualina—now sitting at the head of the table, since Velc had given up his seat for the princess.
To Aether’s further curiosity, Timmy was sitting beside Velc for the first time.
Before he could question it, Selene walked in… Even though Aether didn’t notice… he knew Snowflake was hiding in her cleavage.
Aether shook his head weakly.
The moment passed without another word, and soon everyone settled into their seats. Velc, as the head of the household, rose with a solemn expression and lifted his drink.
“To Alfred…” he began, voice deep but slightly shaky. “He was a man who supported not only me… but even my father before me. A pillar of this household.. However, due to an unfortunate event… he passed away from a heart burst.”
His eyes flicked nervously toward Xara—just a fleeting glance, but it was filled with visible dread. After all, she’d admitted last night that she was responsible for Alfred’s death.
Xara, however, simply smiled—calm, composed, and radiating a quiet sort of danger.
“S-So… I… where was I again…?”
“Heart burst, Dad,” Selene offered gently, watching him with something close to pity.
“Right, yes. Heart burst. Definitely a heart attack…” Velc nodded quickly. “Anyway—for a man who gave everything to this household, who made countless sacrifices… let’s honor his memory. And going forward, his son, Timmy, will carry on what he left behind.”
Timmy stood up, his eyes wet but his shoulders straight. “I will do my best to honour my father’s name,” he said, bowing deeply.
Everyone raised their glasses.
A quiet clinking followed. Then the table settled into a subdued, respectful silence as the meal began.
No one spoke. The only sounds were the soft clinking of silverware and the shuffle of plates—everyone eating with decorum.
Except one person.
A bastard who couldn’t keep his hand to himself.
Xara’s thighs tensed as she felt Aether’s hand glide teasingly up her leg under the table. Her spine stiffened as the warmth of his fingers brushed along her skin.
She shot him a deadly glare—but that only seemed to fuel his delight.
‘S-Stop it!’ she screamed internally, nearly gasping aloud.
But Aether’s hand moved with slow, featherlight strokes, traveling from the edge of her knee up to the thigh. Her body shuddered despite her resistance. Her breath caught, and she nearly choked on her wine.
Thang!
Everyone flinched when Xara suddenly, forcibly, dropped a generous portion of food onto Aether’s plate. Her smile was stiff—clearly forced—as she leaned closer and jabbed a fork toward his face.
“Make sure to eat your vegetables too…” she said, voice low and overly sweet.
Aether blinked innocently. Then he nodded, obedient as a child. “Yes, Mother.”
Seeing that Kai’s body trembled even more… his mother cared more about this bastard than him, who just returned after almost dying back there.
Xara smiled in triumph.
But then—
“Can you feed me, Mother?”
Tang!
Tang!!
Tang!!!
Three distinct sounds echoed through the room.
Xara’s fork clattered to the floor.
Kai’s dropped right after, his face pale, eyes wide in disbelief.
And even Aqualina choked slightly, her spoon slipping from her hand and landing with a dull clink.
She stared at Aether.
/Oi! Aren’t you supposed to seduce her!?/ she screamed into his mind telepathically, her mental voice shrill.
Aether just grinned without looking at her. /I’m in the process./
Aqualina blinked. /Process!? By calling her mother!? How the hell is that part of the plan!?/
Kai looked like he was on the edge of madness. His eye twitched violently, a vein bulging in his temple. He looked like he was about to leap over the table and strangle Aether with the tablecloth.
Meanwhile, Xara sat frozen, her body stiff as if struck by a lightning bolt.
Every time Aether called her that… mother… it felt like a needle piercing her heart.
‘Shit… this is actually painful,’ she thought, her face twitching in frustration.
Aether, of course, wore a smug little smile.
He smirked, loving every second of it. After all, he wanted her to feel what he felt when she insisted on calling herself his mother—that was the real punishment.
He leaned in, mouth parted, eyes expectant.
“Ahhh—”
Xara’s lips twitched. Her fingers clenched.
‘This guy…’ she fumed internally.
She held the fork like a weapon, cheeks puffed out with frustration as she glared at his smug face, ‘He’s totally bullying me!!’ her cheeks puffed like a fish… How cute~
He just smiled wider.
