Chapter 356: Decision
Faelith watched Ethan for a long moment, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
In the end, she simply shook her head, letting a small sigh escape her lips.
"I’m too old for you, Lord Ethan... but if you’re interested, I can introduce you to a niece of mine," Faelith said, eliciting a soft chuckle from Ethan.
"It’s all right, I know how to appreciate a well-aged wine."
Faelith’s expression froze on the spot. A deep crimson rushed to her cheeks, the heat climbing swiftly up her neck until it tinged the very tips of her long, sharp ears.
Noticing her discomfort, Ethan quickly changed the subject.
"So, what do you think? Will you go back to the anti-Goldenveil alliance, tell them everything you’ve seen here, and then plan how to kill me? Or will you head straight back to your city and wait to officially surrender to me?"
Faelith didn’t answer right away. She swirled the wine in her glass for a brief moment, watching the liquid catch the light, before tipping it into her mouth and swallowing it all in one long draught.
"You’re a difficult human to deal with, you know?... At least your face is... pleasant to look at." She forced her gaze to stay fixed straight ahead.
Every time her eyes lingered on Ethan, her mind wandered to thoughts she didn’t want to have, and her cheeks grew flushed all over again.
"I know." Ethan also took a sip of the green fairy’s wine, his free hand slowly caressing Alice’s belly.
She was far more interested in the arena fights below than in their conversation.
"Once Goldenveil is stabilized, I plan to bring this same level of development to everything beyond the capital. Your city wouldn’t be left out either."
"Wouldn’t your people be happy to live in a place like this? To have the pleasure of eating this food every day?" he asked, taking a bite of a piece of meat carefully prepared by one of Goldenveil’s finest chefs.
The flavor was divine. That meat, prepared using techniques from the Glutton Emperor’s cookbook, was a Rank B item, capable of bestowing wonderful benefits upon those who consumed it.
Faelith didn’t move right away, but she soon forced herself to lift one of the many delicacies scattered across the table to her lips.
"Uh... Ah!" Her eyes sparkled intensely, and she nearly tumbled backward in her chair, one hand shooting out to clutch the edge of the table for support.
From her parted lips, a high-pitched, sweet moan escaped before she could hold it back.
"Ah... why do I feel like I’m about to lose control just by sitting here and eating?" she asked, still panting lightly, turning her eyes to Ysara and Amelia with renewed curiosity.
"The blonde is Amelia, my mother. The one with white hair is Ysara, my aunt," Ethan replied, noticing where her gaze had drifted.
"I see... I remember the name Ysara... she was once queen of the Kingdom of Burning Ice... are you part of the royal family? Are they your supporters?" Faelith asked.
She also noticed the presence of Mireya, a death knight eating as if she were an ordinary mortal, but she didn’t pay much attention to it.
She was a mage, not one of those crazy religious fanatics of the Nine.
She didn’t view death knights—especially those who still retained their memories—any differently than any other human.
"I have no connection to the royal family. Ysara is just someone important to me—and to my mother, too."
"I see..." Faelith let out a quiet sigh.
Her face remained pensive, her heart heavy.
"Can you give me a week?" Her lips finally parted.
"Yes. There are several empty diplomatic residences in my palace; you can stay in one of them. All the guards, both at the palace and at the Tree of Life, are my women. If you need help with anything, they’ll assist you."
Ethan didn’t press her too hard.
It wasn’t an easy decision, he knew full well, and he wouldn’t judge her for needing more time to think.
If he were in her situation, having lived for so long as an independent Lord, he would have a hard time deciding, too.
"Good... Thank you, Lord Ethan..." Faelith bowed her head and then turned her gaze back to the competition.
Ethan also returned his attention to the arena, but he noticed the moment Elena stood up from her seat.
Spotting the empty chair she’d left beside him, he simply sighed, offering a loving smile to the black beauty as she moved away.
Elena smoothed out her dress, made sure her enormous chocolaty tits were well hidden by her neckline, and then walked toward the staircase leading to the lower floor.
Her eyes dropped as she descended, and at the foot of the stairs, she spotted a woman standing nervously, her fingers clasped in front of her body.
She was beautiful, honestly.
Elena saw Alice as the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on in her entire life, a true goddess among mortals.
Still, the woman standing below—an exotic, distinctly Eastern beauty—was in no way inferior in beauty or perfection.
She wore an elegant turquoise dress that gently hugged her firm but not overly large breasts.
The fabric flowed down over a slender waist that flared into perfect hips, culminating in plump thighs so beautifully shaped that they made even Elena herself envious.
Her skin, white as snow, was slightly damp, and her milky cheeks were flushed with nervousness.
"Is everything all right, dear?" Elena asked as she continued her descent.
With every step she took, her breasts jiggled obscenely beneath the tight fabric of her dress.
The enormous weight of those chocolaty mountains caused them to sway up and down, the movement held in check only by the hands pressing them together at the sides.
Her fingers sank effortlessly into the pillowy softness, squeezing the two enormous globes together until her cleavage bloomed into a deep, dark valley.
Seo-ah didn’t answer right away, watching Elena’s approach with obvious nervousness.
"Yes... Well, I just don’t think it’s appropriate for someone like me, an outsider, to be among Ethan’s wives and... well...," she said, looking away.
"Hm..." Elena reached out, brushing a stray strand of hair from Seo-ah’s delicate face, her palm pressing gently against her soft cheek.
"Nonsense, sweetheart, come on. Even if you wanted to sit on Ethan’s lap, he’d accept you without hesitation! Want to try it?"
"T-try it?" Seo-ah’s eyes widened.
When she realized what Elena meant by that, a vibrant blush bloomed across her cheeks.