性瘾者

At the moment, he was alone in his study in the main building of the Quinzel Mansion.

He was talking about their mansion in the Royal Capital, of course.

Rufus immediately touched the scabbard of the sword attached to his hip. “Who’s there?”

SWOOSH.

There was a sudden gust of wind in front of him.

Then a few moments later, two people appeared out of nowhere. Both wore dark hooded cloaks– a young man and a young woman.

[Golden eyes?]

Rufus immediately recognized the young man even though he wasn’t covering his face with white bandages this time. “The pirate who kidnapped my daughter–”

.....

“I fed Lady Hanna steak and other delicious meals during her entire stay at our house, Your Grace,” the pirate cut him off in a polite voice. “We also watched butterflies together.”

Huh?

He was confused.

[Why is this kidnapper talking like he just hanged out with Hanna the entire time?]

The hooded female cleared her throat as she stepped forward. “Duke Quinzel, you want to see Lady Hanna again, don’t you?”

“Why are you asking something obvious, young miss?”

“I just want to make sure that your mind is still clear, Your Grace.”

He knitted his eyebrows, confused. “And what do you mean by that?”

“We can’t return Lady Hanna to you if you’ve already been brainwashed by the wench that you let in your home unsuspectingly.”

He felt a shiver down his spine.

The only person that his family took under their wing recently was Regina Crowell, his older brother’s illegitimate daughter.

[But why does this young miss talking like we did the wrong thing?]

Of course, before they accepted Regina Crowell, they did all the tests needed to verify the truth. And the result showed that Regina Crowell was indeed his brother Gavin’s daughter.

Admittedly, he was surprised to know that his brother had an “accident” with a lady they didn’t even know. But he thought it wasn’t important to know who gave birth to Regina Crowell. The only important thing was the young lady was his brother’s child.

[I thought it was my duty to take care of Regina in Brother’s place, but why am I suddenly shaken by these people’s words?]

Worse, these people were his daughter’s kidnappers.

[I must be out of my mind.]

“I need proof,” Rufus said firmly. “I need proof that my daughter is safe and sound.”

“Of course, Your Grace,” the young miss said, then she pointed her hands at the male pirate politely. “Commander, please.”

[‘Commander?’]

The male pirate got down on one knee and carefully touched his own shadow. “Please come out.”

And just like that, a familiar silhouette emerged from the pirate’s shadow.

Rufus immediately recognized the shadow. “Hanna…”

Yes, it was his daughter’s shadow.

The Quinzels had the ability to separate their shadows from their physical body.

Moreover…

<“Father, it’s me– Hanna. I asked them to bring my shadow with because wanted assure you I’m well. My “kidnappers” are kind me.”>

Yes, that was indeed one of the Quinzels’ Shadow Manipulation Techniques.

[We can use our own shadows as if it was a communication device.]

<“Father, you know that I’d rather die than let bad people use me to hurt our family, don’t you? Please trust the I sent my shadow with. They will bring where am safe.”>

And after his daughter relayed her message to him, her shadow melted.

That was the problem with that technique.

[It’s like a one-way communication device.]

Rufus didn’t respond because he knew that his daughter wouldn’t be able to hear his message anyway.

[It seems like Hanna knows these people.]

Like what his daughter said, Hanna wasn’t the type to be easily manipulated.

Moreover, for some weird reason, he could feel that the abductors were not actually bad people. But, of course, he didn’t let his guard down easily.

Rufus faced the two pirates. “What do I need to do for you to bring me to my daughter?”

He was looking at the male pirate since he thought the young man was the ‘commander.’ Wasn’t it the leader’s job to explain?

However, it was the female pirate who did the talking.

“Your Grace, you can only tell Duchess Amber about this,” the young miss said sternly. “You must absolutely keep this a secret– especially from Regina Crowell.”

Rufus got the chills again.

[I had a feeling they were talking about Regina Crowell when they talked about the “wench” I let in my house unsuspectingly. But it feels weird to have it confirmed.]

“Why are you telling me to be careful around my own niece?”

“Don’t treat her like family, Your Grace,” the male pirate said, frowning. “Lady Hanna suffered a lot because of Regina Crowell.”

He wanted to ask more, but the female pirate chimed in.

“You’ll know everything later, Your Grace,” the young miss said. “I’ll give you and Duchess Amber the Teleportation Tickets that will bring you directly to our location. However…” The female pirate’s eyes glowed menacingly. “If Regina Crowell or any other person finds out about this, then we’ll take Lady Hanna somewhere far.”

Rufus gulped because he knew that these pirates were serious.

[Hanna, how did you get to know these vicious people?]

***

“BABE, I have good news for you,” Neoma said cheerfully. She did say that the endearment ‘babe’ was cringe-y as hell. But every time Ruto would call her ‘babe,’ she thought it was worth the goosebumps because his voice sounded… well, sexy. [Kekeke.] “We already found the fourth Elemental Guardian.”

Ruto, who was sitting beside her, turned to her with a surprised look on his face. “What is it?”

Right now, Neoma moved to a different table with Ruto and Dahlia.

Hanna and Greko said they would stay at their old table with Skylus while Neoma, Ruto, and Dahlia talked about the Elemental Guardians that they owned.

But Neoma was a bit distracted.

The three hodded individuals that Ruto came with were still standing behind him.

“Babe, wait,” Neoma said, then she pointed at the hooded individuals behind her man. “Are they not going to sit with us?”

To be honest, it wasn’t a problem.

After all, the three hooded individuals looked like servants waiting for their master to finish his coffee.

It wasn’t a strange sight.

Hence, no one was batting an eye on the “servants” standing behind Ruto.

“It’s their choice to do that,” Ruto explained. “They are people who really don’t trust humans because they had experienced horrible things in the past. Hence, as a result, they cannot relax in crowded places.”

“Then should we move to a secluded area?”

“We… really don’t have to do that.”

“But I want to get to know your friends,” she said. “Are you not going to introduce me to them?”

“Hmm. Do I have to?”

[Gosh, why did Ruto become rude just because he lost his positive feelings for me?]

“I’m your ‘babe,\'” Neoma insisted. She had to persist because Ruto was worth it. “I want to know your people.”

Ruto fell silent while looking at her face as if he was thinking.

She was aware that her man couldn’t see her face. Heck, he probably didn’t remember what she looked like anymore.

Even so, Neoma still smiled charmingly at Ruto.

“Argh!”

.....

She flinched a bit when one of the hooded individuals, the one who strongly smelled like alcohol, suddenly clutched his chest tight.

Ruto and the other two individuals didn’t react, though.

[It looks like something that usually happens, but I still need to be polite.]

Neoma turned to the one who smelled like too much alcohol. “Are you alright, sir?”

Ruto turned to his friend and gave him a cold look.

[Gosh, is my man this cold even to his own people?]

“I’m not okay, Princess Neoma.”

[Oh? He knows me? Well, I guess it makes sense since he’s one of Ruto’s people.]

“I was just a little surprised,” the drunken one said. “I’ve always known you were beautiful, but I didn’t expect you to be THIS beautiful in person. I thought I died and went to heaven when I saw you smile–”

“Shut up, Aspen.”

Neoma blinked, surprised.

Ruto and the other two hooded individuals just told the drunken one to shut his mouth at the same time.

[This group is fun.]

Neoma’s smile widened. “Let’s move to a different place, babe. I want to get to know your friends better,” she said to Ruto before she turned to his friends. “Hello, everyone. Don’t worry, you can relax around me.” She put a hand over her chest while smiling at the group brightly. “I’ll protect you because you’re all Ruto’s friends.”

***

THE PLACE where Neoma and her group moved to was the Saros Hotel.

It was a hotel owned by the Quinzels located in the heart of the Royal Capital.

They didn’t want to get attention, so they booked the cheapest rooms available.

[I said ‘cheap,’ but even the ‘cheapest’ room in Saros Hotel still costs a fortune.]

“This is Faust,” Ruto pointed at the man with pale blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. “He’s half elf- half fairy.”

Faust just bowed to them politely and didn’t say anything.

Neoma smiled when Greko’s face beamed.

[Oh, my youngest is happy to meet a fellow half fairy dude.]

“That’s Aspen,” Ruto pointed at the young man with light gray hair and reddish brown eyes who was lying down on the bed, obviously sleepy. “He’s a demigod. His father is the God of Booze.”

None of them batted an eye even though Aspen turned out to be a demigod.

[I mean, it’s amazing. But my people have ME. I’m the descendant of Lord Yule, the Moon God, and Lady Roxana, the Light Goddess.]

In short, her people were already immune to amazing people because of her.

“This one is Esther,” Ruto then pointed to the lady with semi-transparent gray scales all over her face and exposed skin. “She’s from the Snake Tribe.”

Neoma noticed that Dahlia, Hanna, Greko, and even Baby Skylus flinched a little.

She could tell that her group was trying their best to be indifferent, but they still failed to hide their shock after confirming that the lady with wavy black omber hair and snake-like yellow eyes was indeed from the Snake Tribe.

Ah, right.

[The Snake Tribe is said to be a tribe that the gods cursed during the Ancient Period.]

Esther, the Snakewoman, slowly put her hood back on. “I’m sorry,” she said as if she was embarrassed. “You must feel uncomfortable to be around someone who was cursed by the gods…”

“Unnie, don’t apologize,” Neoma said, smiling. “The gods who cursed an entire bloodline out of pettiness ain’t shit.”

She could talk like that since she was familiar with the story of the Snake Tribe.

[Trust me, it’s the gods’ fault and not the Snake Tribe’s.]

Esther gasped as if she was shocked. “Princess Neoma, that’s blasphemy.”

Neoma shrugged casually. “If the gods don’t want to be offended, then they should have fixed their fucking mistake in the first place.”

Esther’s eyes opened wide, then she turned to her. “Captain, I like her.”

Ruto gave Esther a cold look. “She likes me, though.”

Neoma almost choked on her saliva.

[The red flag Ruto is here again!]

***

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