Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1011: Explanation

"Explain yourself!" Felicity demanded with both hands on her hips and a strong scowl on her face.

"..."

The king had lost all his crippling edge all at once.

He didn’t even respond for a bit, prompting another angry scoff from his teenage daughter. "Well?!"

"..."

Nothing.

It was outright surreal. Just moments ago, he’d radiated the kind of soul-flattening menace that could break almost anyone’s mind in seconds.

Now he looked like he was being scolded by his governess.

Aurora blinked a million times. Kitsara tilted her head to an unnatural degree. Seraphiel straight up mouthed the word, "What?"

This wasn’t the same man who nearly made them pass out from sheer presence. Where was the thunderous monarch? Where was the tyrant of the human kingdom?

Alexios finally spoke after a few seconds of silence, revealing his answer with a flat tone. "I tested them."

"Tested?" Felicity’s eyes narrowed. "Why would you do that to my friends?!"

"Because you are my daughter."

"I’m not following your train of thought."

Stormlord spoke up instead of the king. "If I may, My Lady, His Majesty wished to see if they were worthy of being your acquaintances-"

"Friends!" she snapped.

"... Friends," he corrected immediately. "But that just goes to justify our actions even more. Your father is already giving you never-before-seen leeway by letting you befriend such a group of... let’s say unconventional individuals. I’ve known your father for a long time, and can say with absolute certainty that you are currently being spoiled senseless."

He glanced at Quinlan briefly, then cleared his throat, moving his attention back to the young lady who lost a bit of her hostile edge but still had both hands planted on her hips firmly.

"So, we tested their resolve. Their backbone. Their solidarity. Their character."

Stormlord then turned to face the king and gave a respectful nod. "My Lord, you were right. You won the bet. None of them ran away to save their hides. These people deserve at least some of my respect."

Alexios’s tone returned with calm satisfaction. "I had a good feeling about them. You may leave. I’ll be cashing in on my victory later."

"Yes..." Stormlord muttered, clearly unenthusiastic about the outcome. His broad frame soon disappeared into the palace’s hallways.

As Stormlord’s footsteps echoed into silence, King Alexios finally moved.

He walked past Felicity without a word. She didn’t stop him.

The Third Princess of the Vraven Kingdom only watched as her father approached Feng, who was still on her knees, trembling from the strain of resisting his earlier pressure. ṝ𝔞ℕöβĘs

The king stopped a short, respectful distance away.

"I owe you an apology, child. I wanted to test the backbone of your parents and cared not if you would be in the crossfire."

Feng raised her head, and she shook it. "I hate this..."

Alexios raised an eyebrow in mild curiosity as to what she meant.

"I hate this... Always getting overpowered, always lacking compared to the others... Why am I the only one who was pushed to my knees?"

Instead of replying with the answer, the king prompted her to come to it on her own. "Why do you think?"

"The obvious answer would be that I’m lower leveled, but... My mother with brown hair is even weaker than I am, yet she did not fall. So, I’m lacking in something else. Is it my resolve? I thought I was ready..."

A brief silence passed between them, and then, unexpectedly, the king chuckled. It was a short, honest sound. "I can’t comment on that, but the reason your brown-haired mother was left unscathed is due to my aura not targeting level 20 and below beings. I would mass murder civilians otherwise."

"Oh."

Feng seemed a bit stumped. The reason for that was stemming from the girl being ready to plunge herself into training even harder than ever before, but the king’s explanation sort of ruined her extreme burst of motivation. .

The king, however, was already moving on. "What an impressive child. Daughter, this girl should make a fine role model for you. Try to-"

But the words died in his throat.

His heart dropped.

Because there she was, his beloved daughter, the jewel of the kingdom, no longer glaring at him with righteous fury, but smiling tenderly up into the eyes of the man called Lord Black as she nestled her face into his chest.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around him, hugging him as if they were lifelong companions reunited after a century of separation. The reality begged to differ, however, as the duo had only met once in person before, and even that was a formal setting with Stormlord and many others watching over the two.

By all rights, they should be distant friends at best. Yet she was acting as if he enjoyed all her trust unconditionally.

And worse—worse was how Black returned the embrace. Calmly. Comfortably. His hands rested on her back, and there was no hesitation in his touch.

Any other noble would’ve been at least a bit uncomfortable hugging Felicity in front of her royal father, The Warrior King, who held the country together with nothing but pure tyranny, yet here Black was, looking like he was having fun and nothing more.

Furthermore... A noble’s daughter should never hug someone so casually, especially not a man, and even worse... a man from such dubious origins. A king’s daughter most certainly shouldn’t do any of these, and Felicity was made perfectly aware of this fact as well during her upbringing. But as the rebel she seemed to turn into whenever she was in Black’s presence, she ignored any such rules.

"Long time no see," Quinlan decreed, prompting the girl to hug him even tighter.

"Indeed, it’s been far too long! You should’ve paid me a visit a long time ago, but I suppose you were busy with ’dangerous stuff,’ such as finding two more beautiful wives."

"..." It was Quinlan’s turn to remain silent.

"Hehe!" Felicity giggled joyously, seeing the result the accusations had achieved.

Before he could compose himself, Felicity spun toward Seraphiel with her excitement sparking again. "Miss Elf!"