บท 32: 032 Step By Step

Aurelius stood in the well-lit hallway as he stared into the air for a moment; a glint passed through his eyes as many thoughts flashed across his mind.

"Step by step, my guy." He mumbled to himself as he walked toward his room.

CLICK

The door closed behind him with a soft click as Aurelius entered the room and closed the door behind him.

His eyes darted across the room: expensive paintings, thick curtains blocking the evening sun. Exotic flowers gave off a pleasant smell, and furniture carved from rare wood filled the expansive room.

"Nice," he commented as he walked toward the bed and sat on it, his body sinking into the soft mattress.

"Ahhh, how long has it been since I slept on a comfortable bed," he mumbled to himself as a nostalgic look adorned his face, "Even in my past life, all I slept on was a wooden bed."

He leaned back, falling into the bed's embrace. "I wish I could have this bed for myself," a small, satisfied smile bloomed on his face as he tussled in the bed for a while.

"But still," Aurelius was now laid back on the bed with his legs dangling in the air, "I should be more careful around Esper; she is acting too strange."

His eyes became sharp as he thought back on the changes in her behavior. "But no matter what she does, I will win!"

Aurelius had already made some plans for Esper, but in order to successfully convert her, "Either I have to level up to at least 80, or I should upgrade the skill, Soul-Binding."

But Aurelius had already decided to focus on his level-up and put off upgrading his skills for now.

"Leveling up will help me deal with the powerful people I am going to meet."

His mind then wandered off to the eventual meeting with his mother-in-law: "I should ask Esper and Lilith about her; after all, knowing more about her will help me a lot. Although I have a lot of ideas, if I don't know her well enough, they might fail."

SIGH

He sighed in exhaustion as he was exhausted, physically and mentally. "I should get some sleep," he mumbled as he closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately.

....

The next day,

Aurelius woke up from his sleep as he heard knocking on his door; his eyelids flickered open as he groggily got out of bed and walked toward his door.

CLICK

He opened his door only to see Esper's purple eyes glaring at him.

YAWN

He yawned as he rubbed his eyes, trying to get rid of the grogginess. "What is it?" he asked.

Esper's eyes twitched as she squinted at him with annoyance; she pursed her lips and stared at him for a moment, stopping herself from cursing at him, "We're leaving in ten minutes; wash that drool off your face."

Aurelius frowned as he listened to her comments and touched his mouth to feel if he had really drooled in his sleep.

Esper didn't linger around Aurelius anymore, and after reminding him once again, she left for her room to get ready.

Aurelius went back into his room, closing the door behind him. He walked toward the bathroom, which was opposite the full-length mirror, to freshen up.

Ten minutes later,

Aurelius opened his room's door after washing his face; Esper and Lilith were already waiting for him in the hallway, and they both were still wearing their disguises, which dampened their beauty a lot.

Esper still had her purple eyes but changed her hair to black; Lilith wore the same disguise she did when she was living in the village, with long black hair and eyes.

Aurelius, too, wore the hood that hid his face. "Shall we go?" he asked as he looked at Esper.

She didn't answer him and started walking toward the lobby. Lilith squinted her eyes at her behavior; she cannot order Esper too much as she is not her master and would only have some power over her after her mother reinstates her as the princess.

'Just wait, after that whore reinstates me as the princess, I will order you around like a slave!' she exclaimed to herself as she gritted her teeth in anger.

Every time she watched her lord being looked down upon by Esper, her heart erupted in rage, but she held all the anger inside her, knowing that she cannot do anything about it, 'I will wait, I will wait until I have power over you....'

A sadistic smile bloomed on her face as she imagined the things she would do to that woman.

Aurelius's gaze was fixated on Esper's back as he followed her to the lobby. He thought about her behavior for a while but decided not to think about it too much.

They entered the lobby where the maid who escorted them to their rooms was standing in a corner.

The maid, noticing the trio, walked up to them; she bowed to them slightly and, with a professional smile on her face, said, "Miss, the hotel has arranged a carriage for you that will drop you off at the boarding station."

Esper didn't immediately reply and thought about it for a second before nodding her head. "Lead the way."

The maid nodded back at her and turned around, "This way."

The trio followed the maid toward the exit, where a luxurious carriage made of rare metals and embroidered with gold was waiting for them.

The maid opened the door of the carriage, turned around, and stood by the door.

Esper turned around, looked at Lilith, and motioned for her to get in first.

But Lilith, instead of getting in first, stood rooted to her place and glanced at Aurelius.

A small smile bloomed on Aurelius's face as he looked back at Lilith; he understood what he wanted and walked over to the carriage, getting in first, followed by Lilith.

Esper watched this with an impassive gaze, seemingly getting used to the fact that Lilith puts Aurelius above her own.

SIGH

She let out a small sigh that escaped everyone present and boarded the carriage.

"Have a nice trip, guests." The maid bowed one more time to them and closed the door. She then signaled to the coachman that the guests were already in.

The coachman nodded at this and pulled the reins on the horses, making the carriage move.

Inside, Aurelius sat beside Lilith, with Esper sitting opposite them. The seats were stitched with woolen fabric that was soft to sit on. The walls were covered with intricate designs, and the windows were draped with thick curtains, blocking outsiders from having a view of who was inside.

The carriage made its way through the bustling streets of this famous city as the passengers sat in silence.

Aurelius, placing his hand over Lilith's waist, intently watched Esper, who closed her eyes as if she were thinking about something.

Lilith too watched her intently with squinted eyes, but unlike Aurelius's neutral gaze, there was a hint of anger and annoyance in it as she nibbled on her lip.

'Haaah, I know that our relationship was off to a rocky start, but I didn't know she hated me this much,' Esper mumbled to herself as she could feel the glares from Lilith.

She always sensed anger and hate coming from Lilith and Aurelius, 'I do not care about that plaything's feelings, but Lilith—Lilith is the future queen.'