Genetic Ascension

Chapter 2292: My Favorite

Sylas listened to her story from start to finish, and the only answer he could come up with was the fact that she likely wasn't just moving through portals between the worlds. She was stepping through time warps as well.

The other potential explanation was the down time she had spent as the so-called "Demon Queen" of so many worlds. It sounded like she had spent a lot of time just waiting around, it was very possible that the time passed very differently from what she wanted. It could have been the system's method of ensuring she was in top condition to act when it was necessary.

But had this been the explanation, the Duchess would have likely been smart enough to see through it. Unless… 'She was moving back and forth between a Demon World she had no recollection of and a Real World she had never lived in before. Without a reference point for either, it would be impossible for her to tell how much time was passing outside of the time she personally experienced.'

After a long while, Sylas' lips parted.

"Come here."

The Duchess blinked, not quite understanding. But Sylas didn't repeat himself.

After some hesitation, the Duchess chose to stand.

Sylas, still seated on his rocking chair, extended a hand.

The Duchess looked at it, not even knowing what to do with the hand. In the end, she could only hesitantly reach out and touch it.

Sylas took her hand and pulled her into his lap. It was an action someone as strong as the Duchess should have been able to very easily fight back against, but she was in too much shock to respond.

Something about that young girl who first met Sylas, the young girl who first learned what it meant to feel safe in the arms of a man who wasn't her father or brother, shone forth.

No… it wasn't just that…

She couldn't remember the last time she had been by anyone who had given her warmth at all. How long had her brother been dead? How long had her father been dead? How long had the Sanguara ceased to exist?

How long had it been since she interacted with someone who wasn't treating her like the enemy of a lifetime, or didn't have eyes filled with lust that seemed to want nothing more than to defile her in the worst of ways?

She simply couldn't remember, just like she couldn't recall just how much time had passed.

She found herself curling into Sylas, her heart trembling for a moment like a shivering kitten hiding beneath the blankets. A single tear fell from her eye and it soaked into Sylas' turtleneck before vanishing like it had never been there.

She had truly forgotten what it felt like to experience warmth from anyone. Not warmth like this.

These last few days, Cassarae was very much correct. She had warmed up to her, but only because it was such a novel feeling that even Cassarae's crude jokes and cultural mismatch had left her smiling inwardly in ways she hadn't thought possible.

And now…

"… I'm sorry..." the Duchess said softly.

Sylas didn't reply, but he also didn't need to. The tears of the Duchess were enough, and many more of them fell after she spoke those words.

Was he softer because of the life in her belly? Maybe. But maybe that was also the sort of man he wanted to be in the first place.

He was fiercely prideful toward himself and everything that was his. And now, the Duchess was his.

…

"I'm such a good king bitch, aren't I?" Cassarae grinned, standing at the kitchen window, washing and peeling vegetables with Olivia by her side.

"Is that what it is? Because all I'm seeing is a man cuddling up with another girl in front of you," Olivia scoffed.

"No, no, no," Cassarae clicked her tongue, wagging a knife around, "you're looking at it wrong. The way I see it, this only happened because I made it happen. I'm what the philosophers would call a king maker. You know how every powerful man has a strong woman behind him? That's me!" Cassarae beamed.

Olivia blinked. "Are you sure that's not just the whole cuckqueen kink you've got going on here? I prefer my man to be all mine, alright? I'm going to get me a chubby blacksmith with big ass shoulders and biceps and a belly that'll keep me warm at night. You know any of those?"

Cassarae laughed.

"I do know some," Megean spoke while setting the table. "The Golden Grove has many if you're willing to deal with golden skin."

"Do I look racist to you? I'm all inclusive so long as the dick rearranges my cervix."

Megean blushed from head to toe and looked away.

"Look at her. So innocent," Olivia said with a laugh. "Are you a virgin, Megean?"

Megean cleared her throat and Cassarae slapped Olivia's ass with a wet hand.

"Can you focus? We're never going to get dinner done at this rate."

"Hey, you're the one cooking for your man. I'm just here for the banter, otherwise I would be practicing. I need some strength too. You guys are leaving me way behind."

"Speaking of which, where's that bitch?"

Obviously, Cassarae was talking about a certain lady who was once bold enough to call Sylas hubby in front of her. They had never seen eye to eye.

"Oh? You want her to cuck you too?"

Cassarae scoffed. "Absolutely not. Only the finest quality pussy for my man. She's not worthy."

"And what about the other one he brought here?" Olivia asked with a grin.

"The one from the guild that stole my favorite parents in law?" Cassarae asked.

"You mean your only parents in law?"

"Well, I'm guessing sister wife parents will also count. So no, my favorite."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Yes, her."

"I dunno. She's very weird. My Luck is pulling me toward her for some reason… but she's unremarkable and though she hides it well, I can smell it on her. She's a little full of herself."

BOOM.

Earth suddenly shook wildly.