Chapter 282: Kadi [II]
As she approached the grand front entrance of the Keep, Kadi took a deep steadying breath with her hands trembling slightly as she clutched the strap of her travel bag.
’I need to be on my absolute best behavior...’ Kadi reminded herself sternly in her thoughts.
As much as her heart desperately wanted to throw her arms around her Lord, jump onto his lap, and confess her feelings right away... she knew she had to maintain professional discipline.
Silas was a brilliant Warlord.
If she acted too wild, clumsy, or incompetent during her secretarial duties, he might decide she wasn’t fit for the job and send her back to the barracks.
She needed to prove her worth first.
Kadi stepped onto the Keep’s front porch, stopping directly before the massive timber double doors.
She held her breath with her heart doing wild frantic somersaults inside her chest.
’Erm...’
She raised her right hand, curling her fingers into a small fist, and gave the heavy wooden door two gentle polite knocks.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Kadi stepped back, nervously adjusting her tunic collar.
In her mind, she fully expected Aeliana, Rowenna, or even Talira, the dragon to open the door and greet her.
...But a second later, the heavy timber door slowly swung inward.
Standing in the doorway, bathed in the warm morning sunlight, was Silas himself.
He was wearing his crisp long-sleeved dark shirt and black trousers, looking effortlessly handsome and commanding.
Seeing the blushing young woman standing on his porch carrying a heavy travel bag, a warm welcoming smile spread across Silas’s sharp features.
"Welcome to the Keep, Kadi," Silas greeted her smoothly, his deep voice echoing warmly. "I’m glad you came today. Want to come in?"
Kadi lowered her upper body into a deep respectful bow on the stone porch, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"Good morning, My Lord!" Kadi greeted him warmly, her voice trembling slightly with sweet uncontrollable excitement. "I... I would love to come in!"
Silas offered her a gentle, welcoming smile, stepping back from the threshold to make way.
"Come on in."
The moment Kadi set foot across the heavy oak doorway carrying her heavy canvas travel bag, Silas reached out with his broad hand and smoothly pulled the grand timber double doors shut behind her.
CREAK... BANG!
The heavy latch clicked into place, sealing the quiet, cool interior of the Keep from the morning breeze outside.
Silas turned around, crossing his arms over his broad chest as he looked at the blushing young woman.
"Welcome to the Keep, Kadi," Silas announced smoothly, his deep voice echoing warmly off the high stone arches. "This is where you’ll officially be residing from now on as my secondary administrative secretary."
Hearing his deep voice, Kadi felt a wave of dizzying happiness flood her chest.
She bowed her head once more, her cheeks burning bright crimson.
"Thank you so much for this incredible opportunity, Lord Silas! I promise I won’t disappoint you!"
Silas chuckled warmly, stepping forward. He reached out with his broad, calloused right hand and gently patted her head, stroking her soft hair with a fond approving touch.
"I know you won’t," Silas murmured.
An explosion of bright red blood rushed straight to Kadi’s ears.
Her toes curled inside her leather boots, her breath catching in her throat as she let out a tiny breathless squeak.
Silas looked down at her blushing face, his golden-ringed eyes analyzing her frame for a brief microsecond.
Kadi had previously ingested the [Seed of Miracles] that he had gotten from the secret Realm.
’And she has high mastery over Sand right now...’
However that sand-attribute magic meant she shared a direct elemental lineage with Ititius since he had stored himself within the seed before he was destroyed by the territory.
If guided and trained properly, Kadi possessed the latent potential to one day reach an S-Rank or even SSS-Rank standing, developing a combat prowess that could rival the Sand God himself.
And Silas wanted to make sure he kept a close protective eye on her growth.
’Just because male entities can’t exist inside the Blessed Land...’ Silas reflected pragmatically in his internal thoughts, ’...doesn’t mean Ititius isn’t still lurking out there in her soul.’
That slippery bastard of a Sand God was an ancient unpredictable cosmic entity who had survived centuries of inter-realm conflicts.
Silas had zero intentions of letting Ititius or any other rogue deity interfere with the women under his protection.
Silas smoothed down his dark long-sleeved shirt, adjusting his collar as he looked back at Kadi.
"Before we get you settled into your room," Silas offered smoothly, "would you like a quick tour of the Keep first?"
Kadi immediately bowed her head, her silver-brown hair spilling over her shoulders.
"I would be honored, My Lord! Please lead the way!"
Silas smiled, turning around. He extended his broad right hand backward toward her, leaving his palm open.
Kadi froze mid-bow.
Her wide eyes locked onto his open calloused hand hovering in the air before her. Her mind completely short-circuited for two long seconds.
’W-Wait...!’ Kadi panicked internally with her heart doing wild somersaults against her ribs. ’Does... does my Lord want to hold my hand?! Right now?! On my very first day?!’
Her breathing turned shallow, her cheeks burning ten times redder than a ripe tomato.
Hesitantly, trembling with shy electric excitement, Kadi extended her delicate, pale fingers and lightly rested her hand inside his broad palm.
The moment their skin touched, Kadi felt a wave of intense liquid warmth radiate from his Gold Core, wrapping around her fingers like a cozy blanket.
Silas gently closed his calloused fingers around hers, giving her hand a firm reassuring squeeze, and pulled her forward alongside his broad frame.
"This is the primary ground floor hold," Silas explained smoothly, gesturing with his free hand toward the sprawling, polished stone hall ahead of them. "The main living room."
Kadi walked beside him with her boots tapping lightly against the stone floor as her eyes scanned the room in awe.
The living area was massive and impeccably furnished... featuring plush dark leather couches arranged around a grand granite fireplace, low mahogany tables, hand-woven wool rugs, and tall arched stained-glass windows that flooded the room with warm morning sunlight.
"There are plenty of couches to lounge on whenever you’re taking a break from work," Silas noted, continuing down the hall. "Though... we don’t have a Television like a normal Earth living room."
Kadi blinked her eyes, tilting her head in total bewildered confusion.
"A... TV? What is a TV, My Lord?"
Silas paused, catching himself mid-sentence, and let out a short, amused chuckle.
"Ah," Silas chuckled, shaking his head. "Television. It’s a technology from my world."
In truth, televisions and digital entertainment systems didn’t exist in the primitive starter zones of the Sovereign Realm... though, given high-tier spatial technology, it was technically completely possible to construct broadcast receivers.
Lord Sky, for example, had established a massive, multi-channel streaming array that broadcast his mobile fortress’s combat feeds straight back to Earth’s network servers.
However, Silas had zero interest in introducing modern distractions or social media entertainment to his territory right now.
He was building an elite disciplined army of warriors. Introducing mindless television, social media doom-scrolling, or brain-rot entertainment to the Keep would merely erode his soldiers’ combat focus and slow down their physical conditioning.
Of course, Silas didn’t explain all of that complex reasoning to Kadi.
"Don’t mind it," Silas smiled, dismissing the topic casually. "Just a slip of the tongue from Earth."
"Oh," Kadi nodded innocently, squeezing his warm hand back as they walked.
Silas led her down the right corridor, stopping before a set of wide, double-hinged timber doors.
He pushed them open, stepping into the Keep’s state-of-the-art primary kitchen.
"And this is the main kitchen," Silas introduced.
Sitting at the central marble island counter, wearing a simple soft green tunic that draped comfortably over her delicate frame, was Eluned.
The ancient Nature Goddess was sipping a cup of warm herbal tea, her long silver-green hair cascading over her shoulders like liquid silk.
Hearing the heavy doors push open, Eluned turned her head, her bright green eyes instantly locking onto Silas.
A breathtaking radiant smile spread across her divine face.
"Good morning, Hubby~!" Eluned purred softly, her melodic voice filled with sweet affection as she blew him a playful, delicate kiss through the air.
MWAH!
Silas offered her a warm fond smile...
...However, the second Eluned’s green eyes drifted downward and spotted Silas holding Kadi’s hand firmly in his palm...
The Nature Goddess’s divine expression twitched violently.
Her radiant angelic smile instantly froze in place as her bright green eyes narrowed into dangerously dark slits that sent a literal atmospheric freeze drifting across the room!
Deep inside Eluned’s possessesive Yandere soul, a sudden chaotic series of dark, silent calculations began rapidly firing at light speed.
’In what precise, ecologically silent way could I possibly murder her right now...?’ Eluned pondered deeply in her own mind, her fingers tightening around her teacup until the porcelain creaked. ’A sudden underground root strangulation? A lethal odorless floral neurotoxin in her morning tea? Or perhaps a simple burial beneath three hundred feet of damp soil...?’
Eluned genuinely despised the idea of a second secretary invading her Lord’s private space.
She wanted Silas entirely to herself.
...But as Eluned looked at Silas’s calm handsome face, she forcefully suppressed her dark murderous impulses.
She knew in her heart that appointing Kadi as a secondary administrative officer was her Lord’s direct decision.
As his devoted, loving wife, Eluned refused to undermine his authority or cause him unnecessary administrative stress over petty jealousy.
Silas walked up to the marble island, completely oblivious to Eluned’s internal murder equations, and introduced Kadi.
"Elu, this is Kadi. She’s officially moving into the Keep today to assist Aeli and me with territorial paperwork."
Eluned set her teacup down onto the saucer with a crisp clink as she adjusted her posture, offering a cool polite nod.
"I am already well aware of who Kadi is, My Lord," Eluned spoke up softly, her voice taking on a remarkably proud and superior pitch.
Without saying a single word about her nocturnal activities, Eluned casually reached up with her delicate left hand, brushing her long silver-green hair over her shoulder.
She deliberately exposed the right side of her pale neck... revealing the deep dark red, and permanently un-healable bite mark and hickey that Silas had aggressively carved into her flesh last night.
Kadi’s wide eyes instantly locked onto the dark red territorial brand etched into the Nature Goddess’s neck.
Then, Kadi’s gaze slowly drifted over to Silas’s neck... spotting the exact matching, permanent love bite mark resting right above his shirt collar.
Kadi’s sharp clever mind processed the visual evidence in less than half a second.
’HOLY SHIT!’ Kadi screamed in her own mind with her throat going completely dry. ’LADY ELUNED AND THE LORD ACTUALLY HAD FULL-BLOWN SEX LAST NIGHT?!’
A nuclear shockwave of gossip-fuel exploded inside Kadi’s brain.
She realized instantly that she needed to spread this legendary news to every single girl in the barracks the very second she got a chance...
Up until this morning, most of the female recruits in the territory had quietly worried that Silas was a stoic monk-like Lord who had zero interest in physical intimacy with women.
But seeing that passionate mark on Eluned’s neck proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Silas was a real man which meant that every single girl in the territory had a genuine, realistic chance of eventually getting bedded by him too.
Silas, completely unaware of the mental chaos occurring in Kadi’s head, walked her over to the kitchen appliances.
"Over here we have the primary cooking station," Silas pointed out, gesturing to the polished steel counters, the large sink, and the mana-infused stone cooktop. "If you ever want to prepare meals or bake anything, just make sure to consult with Aeli or Kaelia first."
Silas paused, his golden-ringed eyes narrowing into a stern, deadpan stare as he added a serious, firm warning.
"And Kadi... I am warning you right now. Do not ever, under any circumstances, attempt to spike or drug anyone’s food or drinks in this Keep. If you do, you will immediately lose your secretarial position and be sent back to the barracks."
Hearing his sudden out-of-nowhere warning, Kadi tilted her head in genuine confusion.
"Spike your drink, My Lord?" Kadi asked naively, her voice filled with innocent bewilderment. "Why would I ever do that? Who on earth would be stupid or unhinged enough to drug your food in your own Keep?!"
Sitting at the marble counter behind them, Eluned’s pale face instantly exploded into a burning red flush.
’I’m not stupid...’