Chapter 273 - The night of the birthday banquet (Part 3)
The old man, already sweating buckets due to the tension in the room, almost ran out while carrying the engagement documents. I saw Aurum in my peripheral vision standing up abruptly, trying to run after the old attendant to take back and destroy the documents. I waved my hand and he froze in place then I returned him back to his seat with a poof.
Aurum started panicking when he realized that I can use mana. He started begging his parents, "Mother, Father, I am in love with somebody else. I don't want to get married to this woman, I beg you. This is fraud! I never signed those papers out of my own free will! I was tricked! You can't do this to me!"
His parents were quiet and I was the one who responded on their behalf, "It was all my idea so blame it on me. We did it that way indeed since you would never sign it any other way. Sure, we tricked you. What can you do to me?"
I addressed Xenos next, "You did an amazing job. The effort and resources I used to help the four of you get your revenge on your maternal families is now officially repaid."
I looked at my future-in-laws, "Thank you for fulfilling the promise between your kingdom and mine though it was several centuries late. I hope the two barriers I gifted you as part of the dowry would be of great use to your territory's safety. I also gave a blessing to you father-in-law so that you would bear another child just like you and the empress both desire."
Aurum's eyes widened in realization, "You all really colluded against me? I was the sacrifice so you can get your personal wishes? Am I just collateral damage in all of your secret agreements?"
I looked at Aurum and replied, "Don't misunderstand them. They value you a lot. Did you not listen to everything I said? I had to pay with two high-level barriers and fulfill five favors before I could officially make you mine. I kind of forced your parents too since they looked scared of me, honestly."
Aurum looked towards his parents who couldn't look at him in the eye. He closed his eyes and he hang his head down. The next thing I heard were sniffles and sobs coming from him. Oh my. The prank needs to end here.
I removed my veil, stood up from my seat and approached Aurum. I used my right hand to lift his chin so he see my face clearly. He rebelliously kept his eyes shut so I ordered him, "Open your eyes and look at me properly. You and your four aides have met before."
As I lifted his head, I saw his tear-streaked face and his sobs sounded clearer. He was shaking his head, stubbornly trying to get out of my grip on his chin. He still refused to open his eyes or respond to me.
I talked to the Aurum's parents and introduced myself formally, "I would like to apologize for coming in too hard and I did not mean to scare the both of you. I have met Aurum, Xenos, Calyx, Yren and Helios a few months back. My name is Luna Rosenoir. I approached you with the identity of the Queen of Eieneos but these guys first met me as a first-time visitor at the entertainment district and a student of the Academe of Gnosis. I am the same woman this guy is said to be in love with and the reason why he is currently crying in an ugly way right now."
It was the royal couple's turn to be surprised. They immediately asked how it happened and I explained that I had to present myself as worthy enough to marry their son so I had to meet them with my more powerful identity. They nodded their heads and told me that if not for the agreement they had in front of the public, they would have never forced their only son to marry a stranger. They gave me their sincere smiles and told me that they were very relieved to know that he will get married to the woman he loved in the end.
I looked back at Aurum and this time he was staring at me coldly. He spoke slowly, "It was you all along? You just wanted me to see me beg and cry, didn't you? Why did you have to play with my feelings this much? You even got these four bastards help you out." The four attendants answered in chorus, "Yup. We have changed sides to the queen."
He cursed in annoyance, "You four bastards! You changed loyalties so quickly! Why the fuck-". Before he could curse even more, I kissed him on the lips. At first he was whining, still trying to get away from me so he can speak but after a minute, his body relaxed and he started kissing me back. When I felt that his anger has subsided, I leaned back and stopped the kiss then returned to my seat.
He was confused as he said, "Why did you-". I smiled at him and cut him off, "You seem to dislike the kiss so I stopped. You were even trying to push me off from the start." Without thinking, he blurted out, "I already stopped resisting and kissed you back! I even-"
His mindless comment ended with laughter from everybody in the room. I looked at him and clarified, "I am Luna your business partner and I am also Luna your royal fiance. Your parents and attendants are already okay with this. Since you KISSED ME BACK, are you fine with proceeding with the engagement?"
Aurum looked at me and replied, "You already know that I agree with this engagement. I even asked you to marry me before you left Hoffen City. I do have my own conditions though. You have to pay for tricking me." I looked at him with amusement in my eyes and asked, "May I know what are those conditions, my future husband?"
He coughed shyly at how I addressed him and the four scoffed and laughed at his reaction. He shushed the other four in irritation. He calmed himself first then he responded seriously, "The offer you made to Kayden regarding his father, I want that for myself, my family members and these four traitors behind me."
I was surprised that he mentioned the arrangements I made for Lucas, my father-in-law. I wonder how much of that deal does he know of that he is asking for it directly and it was for several people in one go as well.
I smiled at him and asked while pretending to be clueless, "Can you tell me what offer you are pertaining to? I don't seem to remember anything about it."
He smiled back at me proudly and responded, "Are you trying to deny the arrangement you have with Kayden? I am quite sure you had the same arrangement with Ioannis, Dimitri that spiteful cousin of mine and most likely, the recent one named Lark. Are you saying that you are not willing to extend the same offer to my side?"
I laughed a bit since it seems that he does not know the exact inclusions of the deal. He was trying to extract information from me by beating around the bush and pretending to be grumpy. I spoke coldly, "It seems that you do not have an idea what that agreement is about but let me ask you a question. Are you willing to give up your humanity for me and take all the suffering that comes with it?"
Aurum visibly paled a lot as he stared at me. He asked, "Are you saying that you are turning them to something no longer human?"
I nodded and added, "I am in the process of turning them to someone like me to be exact. I have my ways to do it though it was a complicated process." I paused to watch his reaction.
When he seemed to still be speechless, I added, "It was quite beneficial to humans though since they will no t get sick or hurt easily, they will slowly get stronger, they can eventually use mana, they will be able to control how old they would look like and they can have an almost limitless lifespan. All these benefits just for three months of suffering. Besides, you have to be physically stronger and gain a similar body to mine to be able to bear my children. Are you still interested in my offer? "
Aurum wanted to be sure about everythinf regarding the process so he asked further, "Would it be too painful since you mentioned "suffering"? Is there a chance for it not to succeed and for some of us to die instead during that process?"
I shook my head and assured him, "It has a 100% success in terms of the chance of conversion. There are no risks of death. As for it being painful, I can say that everything comes with a price. The people that have undergone the process are Ioannis, Kayden, Lucas, Dimitri and his grandparents, Lark, Kyros, Galen and Arsenti. Ioannis have completed it thus he was able to give birth to my children. All of them seemed to be doing just fine to me."
As I was about to add more, a chorus of voices asked the same question, "Who is Kyros, Galen and Arsenti?!" The voices came from Aurum, Samir and Laerad. I raised one of my eyebrows and asked, "Out of all the things I said, you just remembered the last three names, huh?"