Harem Master: Seduction System

Chapter 424: The Conversation Between Lovers

The heavy, suffocating silence of the night was suddenly, violently pierced by the earnest, deeply affectionate voice calling out from just beyond the thin, golden silk flaps of the tent.

“Ling’er? Are you awake? It’s Brother Xiao.”

Inside the lavishly decorated, dimly lit enclosure, the atmosphere instantly froze. Princess Gu Ling—the pristine, utterly ruined Heiress of the Gu Clan—was currently bent sharply over a sturdy, ornately carved wooden table. She was completely, spectacularly naked, her flawless, pale skin flushed a brilliant, burning crimson from exertion and overwhelming arousal. Standing directly behind her, his large, incredibly strong hands aggressively gripping her massive, heavy breasts, was Alaric. His massive, rock-hard, heavily veined erection was buried to the absolute hilt inside her soaking wet, dripping pink pussy.

At the sound of Feng Xiao’s voice, Gu Ling’s ethereal eyes shot wide open in absolute, paralyzing panic. Her breath caught sharply in her throat, her entire body going rigidly taut. The sheer, apocalyptic terror of being discovered by the man who loved her, the man who was currently braving the treacherous political waters of the Celestial Dragon Empire solely to win her hand, sent a violent jolt of adrenaline crashing through her nervous system.

Alaric did not pull out. He did not freeze in fear.

Instead, a slow, incredibly wicked, and deeply sadistic smile spread across his handsome face. His ruby eyes glinted with a dark, demonic amusement that promised absolute ruination. He had perfectly orchestrated the corruption of the Imperial Consorts and Princesses over the past week, but this—cuckolding the righteous, devoted protagonist while he stood mere inches away—was a delicacy of psychological torment that he intended to savor thoroughly.

With a subtle, elegant flick of his wrist, Alaric’s violet magical aura flared faintly in the dim light. He seamlessly adjusted the properties of the Sound-Severing Void Ward that surrounded the tent. He didn’t dispel it entirely; he merely inverted its function. The array would no longer act as a two-way barrier. It would allow external sounds to enter with crystal clarity, and, more importantly, it would allow the sounds originating from within the tent to spill out into the cool night air.

He leaned forward, pressing his sweaty, muscular chest flush against Gu Ling’s smooth, arched back. His lips brushed against the shell of her ear, his hot breath sending a violent shiver down her spine.

“Answer him, my beautiful little slut,” Alaric whispered, his voice a low, commanding rumble that vibrated directly against her skin. “Talk to your precious Brother Xiao. Keep him entertained. Keep him on his leash. He is nothing but a dog meant to fetch treasures for us.”

“Mnnn… Alaric… I can’t…” Gu Ling breathed, her voice trembling frantically.

Alaric’s response was immediate and merciless. He raised his right hand, pulling it back before delivering a brutal, incredibly sharp, stinging slap directly to the center of her plump, curvy right buttock.

SMACK!

“Ahhh!” Gu Ling cried out, her back arching violently, her massive breasts bouncing heavily against the wooden table. The stinging pain instantly mixed with the deep, throbbing ache of her stretched inner walls, igniting a roaring inferno of pure, unadulterated sexual pleasure in her core.

“I said, answer him,” Alaric growled softly, his fingers digging ruthlessly into the soft flesh of her hips, anchoring her in place as he slowly, deliberately pulled his massive shaft almost entirely out of her dripping passage, only to drive it back in with a wet, squelching thrust.

Gu Ling bit her lower lip, tears of profound humiliation and intense, intoxicating arousal pricking her eyes. The Subconscious Weaving Hex had been permanently severed; she possessed her full, unclouded sanity. She knew exactly how horrific this betrayal was. Yet, the physical and psychological addiction Alaric had beaten into her mind and body over the past weeks was absolute. She didn’t hold any deep, genuine romantic feelings for Feng Xiao anymore. Her love had been systematically burned away, replaced by an overwhelming, desperate need to please her Master. She understood, with chilling clarity, that Alaric wanted to enjoy this incredibly exciting, dangerous situation. He wanted to fuck her while she was forced to converse with her former childhood sweetheart.

And heaven help her, her corrupted body found the concept unimaginably, obscenely thrilling.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Gu Ling forced her voice to project outward, aiming for the golden silk flaps of the tent.

“Brother Xiao…” Gu Ling called out, her voice naturally breathy and strained. “Ahhh… yes, I am still awake.”

Outside the tent, Feng Xiao let out a small, relieved sigh, though his sharp brows furrowed slightly at the strange, tight cadence of her voice. He stepped closer to the fabric, the cool night breeze rustling his plain blue robes.

“Ling’er, your voice sounds incredibly strained,” Feng Xiao noted, his tone laced with genuine, earnest concern. “Are you unwell? Did the summit with Imperial Consort Shu and Imperial Consort Xian exhaust your spiritual reserves too deeply?”

Inside the tent, Alaric’s hips began to move. He established a slow, agonizingly deep, and incredibly punishing rhythm. He pushed her upper body flat against the table, his hands aggressively reaching under her to grab her massive, heavy breasts. He kneaded the luscious, pale globes of flesh with ruthless strength, squeezing them together while his thumbs mercilessly pinched and twisted her stiff, dark pink nipples.

“Nnngh… no, Brother Xiao…” Gu Ling stammered, her hands gripping the edges of the wooden table so hard her knuckles turned white. She frantically searched her mind for a plausible excuse, her inner walls involuntarily clamping down around Alaric’s thick cock in a desperate, milking spasm. “I am not unwell. It is just… Mhmmm… one of my elite female guards is currently administering a deep tissue meridian massage to me.”

“A massage?” Feng Xiao asked, his silhouette visible through the thin silk fabric, standing merely five feet away from where she was currently being brutally pounded.

“Yesss… Ohhh…” Gu Ling gasped, throwing her head back as Alaric’s thrust hit a profoundly sensitive cluster of nerves near her cervix. She desperately tried to mask the erotic moan as a grunt of physical discomfort. “The ambient Qi of the Ten-Thousand Peaks Calamity Forest caused a severe stagnation in my lower Yin gates. The guard is using a boiling marrow extract… Ahhh… it burns the skin fiercely, and her acupressure techniques are incredibly forceful to break the blockages… Nnngh… it is quite intense.”

Outside, Feng Xiao’s expression softened into a look of profound, admiring respect. He completely bought the lie. He knew how grueling and agonizing high-level martial therapies could be.

“You are so incredibly brave, Ling’er,” Feng Xiao murmured, his voice filled with unwavering devotion. “To endure such torment for the sake of your foundation, even after surviving a beast horde… your dedication to your cultivation is unparalleled. I am in awe of your strength.”

Inside the tent, Alaric had to bite his own lip to suppress a dark, roaring laugh of absolute, villainous triumph. He leaned forward, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of Gu Ling’s neck. He bit down sharply, his fangs sinking into the flesh just enough to leave a blossoming, dark purple bruise on her elegant neck.

“Mhmmm! Ahhh!” Gu Ling whimpered, her wide, curvaceous hips instinctively bucking backward to meet his thrusts.

“Are you certain you are alright, Ling’er? That sounded painful,” Feng Xiao asked anxiously, taking a half-step closer to the tent flap.

“I am fine! Nnngh! Just a very tight knot in my lumbar region… Ohhh… she pressed it very hard,” Gu Ling hurriedly reassured him, terrified that the protagonist might actually enter the tent out of concern. “Please, Brother Xiao, tell me why you came. Did you wish to discuss your plans for the future?”

She intentionally guided the conversation toward his ambitions, knowing it was the easiest way to keep him talking and distracted from the wet, slapping sounds that were inevitably beginning to echo in the tent as Alaric accelerated his pace.

“Yes, Ling’er. I wanted to share my thoughts with you before we part ways tomorrow,” Feng Xiao began, his voice taking on a serious, determined resonance. He stood tall in the moonlight, his fists clenching at his sides. “I have been considering the offers from the Imperial Family very carefully. While Imperial Consort Xian and Princess Huang Mei have presented formidable arguments for the First Prince, I am still waiting to hear what Imperial Consort Shu and Princess Huang Hua will offer on behalf of the Third Prince once we reach his faction.”

Alaric’s hands slid down from her breasts, tracing the sleek, sweaty curve of her waist before gripping her wide, bubbly buttocks. He aggressively pulled her hips back against his groin, driving his massive, rock-hard erection deep into her dripping passage with a wet, squelching thud.

SLAP!

“Ahhh! Yesss…” Gu Ling moaned, completely unable to contain the sound as the sheer, mind-boggling pleasure of his massive size stretched her inner walls to their absolute limit.

“I heard a splash,” Feng Xiao frowned outside. “Are you bathing as well?”

“Mhmmm… the marrow extract is applied with hot towels… Ohhh… it is very wet…” Gu Ling lied frantically, her face burning with profound humiliation and intense, corrupted arousal. “Please, continue, Brother Xiao. What will you do once you choose a faction?”

“Whichever Prince I choose,” Feng Xiao declared, his voice ringing with heroic conviction, completely oblivious to the fact that his beloved was currently taking a massive cock to the hilt. “I do not intend to remain safely hidden behind the towering walls of the Imperial Capital. The Celestial Dragon Empire is currently facing immense, encroaching threats from all sides. I intend to use the Prince’s vanguard armies to distinguish myself on the borders.”

Alaric didn’t stop fucking her for a single second. He seamlessly transitioned their position without ever pulling his dick out. He grabbed Gu Ling by her slender waist and forcefully hoisted her upright. He spun her around, pressing her bare, sweaty back against the sturdy central wooden pillar of the tent. He lifted her long, flawless legs, wrapping her thighs tightly around his waist, entirely supporting her voluptuous weight as he continued to pound her tight, pink pussy from the front.

“Nnngh! Ahhh… the borders…” Gu Ling gasped, wrapping her arms tightly around Alaric’s thick neck to anchor herself, her massive breasts heaving rapidly and pressing flush against his muscular chest. The new, suspended angle allowed for incredibly deep penetration, hitting her cervix with devastating accuracy. “That is incredibly dangerous, Brother Xiao… Ohhh…”

“It is necessary, Ling’er,” Feng Xiao insisted passionately. “First Prince Huang Wei has informed me of the movements of the Rising Sun Empire to the far east. Emperor Yamato Kensei has been aggressively encroaching on our eastern seaboard with his elite samurai vanguard. If I align with the First Prince, I will march east. I will use my fused Heavenly Flames to decimate their fleets and shatter their martial formations. The military merit I earn from repelling an invading empire will be astronomical.”

“Mhmmm… and if you choose the Third Prince? Ahhh!” Gu Ling managed to ask, her voice trembling violently as Alaric’s hips snapped upward, his muscular thighs slapping loudly against her plump, curvaceous buttocks.

“The Third Prince’s territories border the frigid northern wastes of the Rimefrost Imperium,” Feng Xiao explained, pacing slightly outside the tent, his mind filled with grand strategies. “The Ice Monarchs of the north have been mobilizing their frost-wyrm cavalry. Their profound frost techniques are incredibly dangerous to ordinary martialists, but my ultimate fire-attribute cultivation is their natural, absolute bane. I could single-handedly turn the tide of a northern war.”

Inside the tent, Alaric leaned his head down, his mouth capturing the soft, sweaty curve of Gu Ling’s neck. He sucked fiercely on her skin, his tongue swirling over her pulse point, sending jolts of pure electricity straight down to her core.

“You must be incredibly careful, Brother Xiao… Nnngh…” Gu Ling whimpered, her ethereal eyes rolling back into her head as the pleasure built toward a massive climax. She was desperately trying to maintain the facade of a caring lover, while her body was utterly, comprehensively enslaved by the Archmage. “The battlefield is ruthless… Ahhh… The Ice Monarchs are not to be underestimated… Ohhh… their freezing domains can shatter a Martial King’s meridians in seconds…”

“I will not fall, Ling’er,” Feng Xiao vowed, his voice thick with emotion. He placed his hand flat against the golden silk of the tent, mere inches from where Gu Ling’s head was currently tossing wildly against the wooden pillar. “I am doing this all for you. The Gu Ancient Clan respects only supreme, undeniable power and overwhelming merit. If I return as a war hero, adorned with the medals of a conquered empire, even your most stubborn, ancient elders will have no choice but to recognize my worth. They will be forced to give me their blessing to marry you.”

The sheer, earnest purity of his devotion struck Gu Ling like a physical blow, but the guilt was instantly, violently incinerated by the roaring inferno of her corrupted lust.

Alaric pulled his face away from her neck, looking directly into her hazy, tear-filled eyes. He offered her a dark, incredibly malicious smile. He reached down with one hand, his fingers expertly finding her swollen, highly sensitive clitoris. He began to rub the slick nub with aggressive, circular friction, while simultaneously driving his massive dick deep into her soaking wet passage.

“HAAAAAH! NO! MHHMmm! AHHHH!” Gu Ling shrieked, entirely unable to suppress the loud, visceral moan of absolute sexual ecstasy as the dual stimulation pushed her completely over the edge. Her inner walls clamped down around his thick shaft in a series of violent, desperate spasms, her toes curling tightly as a massive, earth-shattering orgasm ripped through her nervous system.

“Ling’er?! What is happening?!” Feng Xiao shouted in alarm from outside, taking a step toward the tent flap. “That sounded like a scream of pure agony!”

Gu Ling was completely paralyzed by the climax, her body shuddering uncontrollably, incapable of forming a coherent word.

Alaric calmly reached up and pinched her nose shut, cutting off her air supply for a fraction of a second, forcing her mind to snap back to the immediate danger. He released her, his eyes glaring a silent, absolute command. Fix it.

“I… Ahhh… I am fine, Brother Xiao!” Gu Ling gasped frantically, her chest heaving, desperately trying to catch her breath. “The guard… Nnngh… she just struck the primary Sacral Root meridian! Ohhh… the stagnant Yin Qi was violently expelled! It was a sudden, blinding shock of pain… Mhmmm… but it is followed by an incredible, overwhelming relief! My foundation feels so much lighter…”

Feng Xiao halted his advance, letting out a long, heavy breath of relief. “Praise the heavens. You terrified me, Ling’er. The therapies of the Ancient Clans are truly barbaric. But if it enhances your Battle Aura, I suppose it is necessary.”

“It is… Yesss… it is very necessary,” Gu Ling breathed, tears of humiliation and profound, degrading pleasure streaming down her beautiful face. She looked at Alaric, her ethereal eyes filled with complete, abject submission. She was actively deceiving the man who loved her, solely to protect the man who was currently using her like a filthy cock-sleeve.

Alaric smirked, entirely satisfied with her performance. He did not pull out of her dripping, twitching pussy. He carried her away from the central pillar, moving toward the plush velvet cushions arranged on the floorboards.

He gently laid her on her back, her massive, heavy breasts spilling outward across her chest. He knelt between her spread, fair thighs, gripping her ankles and pushing her knees all the way back until they were pressed tightly against her ears. This incredibly exposing, highly vulnerable position completely opened her slick, swollen pink pussy to the dim light.

Alaric gripped his rock-hard erection and drove it directly back into her core from this new, devastatingly deep angle.

“Ahhh! It’s so deep… Mnnn…” Gu Ling whimpered softly, her hands reaching down to helplessly grip the velvet carpets as he began to pound her relentlessly once more.

“Do your best on the borders, Brother Xiao,” Gu Ling forced herself to continue the conversation, knowing silence would invite suspicion. Her voice shook with every brutal thrust of Alaric’s hips. “I will not remain idle. I will also cultivate with all my might… Ohhh… I will ensure I am strong enough that my family’s permissions are entirely unnecessary… Ahhh…”

“We will stand together at the pinnacle of this world, Ling’er,” Feng Xiao declared, his voice filled with heroic resolve.

Alaric snorted silently, his hips snapping forward with bone-jarring force. He reached out and aggressively grabbed her massive breasts, squeezing the heavy, pale globes together, his thumbs rolling over her dark pink nipples.

“Brother Xiao…” Gu Ling gasped, desperately trying to focus her mind on the predetermined topics Alaric had ordered her to discuss. She needed to extract value from the protagonist. “The beasts you hunted today… Nnngh… the harvest was truly bountiful. The Golden-Horned Thunder Ape… Ahhh… its core is incredibly precious.”

“It is,” Feng Xiao agreed readily, happy to discuss his area of supreme expertise. “The lightning essence within the core is highly volatile. It requires a master’s touch to properly extract without triggering a catastrophic detonation.”

“Indeed… Mhmmm…” Gu Ling nodded, her head tossing from side to side as Alaric’s thick shaft scraped against her highly sensitive cervix. “You must use a specialized neutralizing agent during the refinement process… Ohhh… perhaps the ‘Azure Sea Lotus’ to balance the violent Yang properties… Ahhh…”

“Your theoretical knowledge of alchemy is astonishing, Ling’er,” Feng Xiao praised her, completely unaware that her deep understanding of ‘violent Yang properties’ was currently derived from the massive, throbbing cock pumping relentlessly in and out of her pussy. “I had planned to use the ‘Frost-Vein Dew’, but the Azure Sea Lotus would yield a much purer, higher-grade result. The ‘Heavenly Thunder-Marrow Pellet’ I concoct will be flawless. It will fortify your physical vessel beyond imagination.”

“I look forward to it… Yesss…” Gu Ling moaned, her inner walls clenching hungrily around Alaric’s flesh.

Alaric accelerated his rhythm, his muscular thighs slapping loudly against her plump, curvaceous buttocks and the velvet carpets. SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

“Mhmmm! Ahhh! The acupressure is so fast now… Ohhh!” Gu Ling babbled, instantly providing an excuse for the wet, rhythmic sounds echoing from the tent. “She is… Nnngh… she is rapidly clearing the minor pathways…”

“I will not keep you much longer, Ling’er,” Feng Xiao said softly, feeling guilty for interrupting such an intense therapy session. “I know you need to focus.”

“Wait… Brother Xiao… Ahhh…” Gu Ling called out hastily, remembering the rest of her Master’s commands. She had to secure more resources. “Before you go… there is something else… Mnnn… something I desperately need for my future cultivation.”

“Name it,” Feng Xiao promised without hesitation. “I will acquire it for you.”

“The Gu Clan archives… Ohhh… they are vast, but they severely lack high-tier, offensive soul-pill formulas,” Gu Ling explained, her voice trembling violently as Alaric reached down, his fingers spreading her slick, dripping pussy lips wider to watch his thick shaft slide in and out of her tight core. “If you gain access to the Imperial Vaults of the First or Third Prince… Ahhh… you must search for Eighth Grade Pill formulas… Nnngh…”

“Eighth Grade?” Feng Xiao was momentarily stunned. Eighth Grade formulas were the stuff of legends, fiercely guarded by the most ancient sects, often requiring the sacrifice of entire cities to concoct. “Those are incredibly rare, Ling’er. But if they exist within the Imperial Treasury, I will find them. Is there a specific formula you require?”

“Yes… Mhmmm… the ‘Nine-Heavens Soul-Refining Pill’… Ahhh!” Gu Ling shrieked softly as Alaric hit her G-spot with a devastatingly precise thrust. She bit her lip, forcing herself to continue. “It is absolutely vital for my divine bloodline awakening… Yesss… it can purify the soul to the point of near-immortality… Ohhh… please, you must find it for me…”

“I swear it upon my Dao,” Feng Xiao vowed, his fists clenching with determination. “I will scour the deepest, most heavily guarded vaults of the empire. I will bring you the formula, and I will personally gather the ingredients, no matter how dangerous the beasts that guard them.”

Inside the tent, Alaric’s ruby eyes burned with a dark, triumphant fire. This was the true utility of the protagonist. Feng Xiao would willingly, eagerly throw himself into the most lethal, perilous situations, battling ancient monsters and raiding imperial treasuries, all to bring priceless, legendary treasures directly to Alaric’s obedient slut.

“There is one final thing… Mnnn…” Gu Ling whimpered, her body entirely slick with sweat, her massive breasts heaving rapidly. Alaric was nearing his climax, his thrusts becoming incredibly deep, brutal, and animalistic. She could feel the immense, burning pressure building within his thick shaft. “To truly solidify my foundation… to break through to the Martial Emperor realm in the future… Ahhh… I will need the pure, unadulterated essence of a Heavenly Flame… Ohhh…”

Feng Xiao stood silent for a moment outside the tent. Heavenly Flames were the most coveted, destructive, and fiercely guarded elemental phenomena in existence. Many Half-Step Martial Emperors spent their entire centuries-long lives searching for just a spark of one.

“I know you possess a unique, powerful flame, Brother Xiao… Nnngh…” Gu Ling continued, her voice a breathless, desperate plea, her inner walls milking Alaric’s cock frantically. “But I need one of the top ten… Ahhh… the ‘Abyssal Void Flame’ or perhaps the ‘Crimson Lotus Emperor Flame’… Mhmmm… Can you find one for me? For our future?”

“I will rip the heavens apart to find one for you, Ling’er,” Feng Xiao declared, his voice ringing with absolute, unwavering heroic devotion. “I will brave the deepest volcanic cores and the most desolate abysses. I will capture a top-ten Heavenly Flame and present its seed to you. You will wield the fire of the gods.”

The sheer, staggering juxtaposition of Feng Xiao’s earnest, pure, and utterly selfless devotion, contrasted with the filthy, degrading reality of Gu Ling spreading her legs and taking Alaric’s massive dick to the hilt, was a masterpiece of psychological horror.

Alaric could hold back no longer. The intense, sadistic thrill of completely cuckolding the protagonist while turning his White Moonlight into a greedy, treasure-hunting whore pushed him over the edge.

With a deep, guttural roar that he barely managed to stifle in the back of his throat, Alaric drove his hips forward with bone-crushing force, burying his massive erection to the absolute deepest depths of Gu Ling’s soaking wet passage.

“OH GODS! AHHHHHHHH!” Gu Ling screamed, an incredibly loud, extended, deafening wail of pure, apocalyptic sexual climax.

Her entire body went rigidly taut, bowing upward off the velvet cushions. Her inner walls clamped down around his thick shaft in a series of violent, desperate, milking convulsions that were strong enough to bruise his flesh.

Alaric climaxed simultaneously. He pumped a massive, truly staggering, scalding hot load of his potent seed directly into her royal womb. He unloaded pulse after pulse of his thick, burning essence, completely filling her aching, twitching void to the absolute brim, ensuring that Feng Xiao’s beloved was permanently marked and filled by another man.

Outside the tent, Feng Xiao heard the deafening, breathless scream. He mistakenly attributed it to the final, agonizing push of her grueling medical therapy.

“You are incredible, Ling’er,” Feng Xiao murmured softly, a deeply affectionate smile on his face. “Rest now. You have endured enough for one night. I will depart at first light. When I return, I will bring you the stars themselves.”

“Thank you… Mnnn… Brother Xiao…” Gu Ling gasped weakly, her eyes rolling back into her head as she rode the intense, agonizing aftershocks of her massive orgasm. “Goodnight…”

“Goodnight, my Ling’er,” Feng Xiao replied, turning away from the golden silk tent and walking back toward his own quarters, his heart filled with heroic purpose and boundless motivation.

Inside the tent, Alaric slowly pulled his slick, cum-covered shaft from Gu Ling’s dripping pussy with a loud, obscene pop.

A thick, sluggish trail of his white semen immediately leaked from her swollen, thoroughly stretched entrance, pooling onto the velvet cushions beneath her wide, curvy buttocks.

Gu Ling lay completely paralyzed, a panting, twitching, utterly broken mess. Her flawless, pale skin was covered in a heavy sheen of sweat, dark purple bite marks, and bright red handprints. Her massive, heavy breasts heaved erratically, her stiff nipples glistening with saliva.

Alaric stood over her, looking down at his masterpiece of corruption.

He reached out, his large hand gently stroking her sweat-dampened cheek, a dark, incredibly satisfied smile on his handsome face.

“You were absolutely magnificent, my beautiful, filthy little slut,” Alaric praised her, his voice a low, vibrating purr. “You lied to him so perfectly. You kept him on his leash, and you squeezed every ounce of pleasure from my cock while doing it.”

Gu Ling looked up at him, her ethereal eyes completely glazed over with a mixture of profound, inescapable humiliation and overwhelming, absolute devotion. She had betrayed the man who loved her. She had manipulated him for treasures to benefit the monster who had ruined her. And to her deepest, darkest shame, she wanted nothing more than to do it all over again.

“Thank you… Mnnn… Master,” Gu Ling whimpered softly, reaching up to press a desperate, submissive kiss against the palm of his hand. “I am… Ahhh… I am your slut. Only yours.”

Alaric grinned, entirely victorious. He had broken the Heiress of the Gu Clan completely. Her mind, her body, and her soul belonged entirely to him, and he intended to spend the rest of the night thoroughly, mercilessly enjoying her voluptuous body until dawn broke over the encampment, preparing for the next stage of his conquest in the Imperial Capital.