Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1014: Liar

What made the more observant people lean toward it being all intentional was the way Felicity pouted while backpedaling. It was so dramatic that it looked rehearsed.

Feng snorted. Then she actually laughed, releasing a rare, genuine sound that started in her throat and spilled out. "Nice try, princess, but not all of us are as easy to manipulate as your father... It’s obvious you’re lacking in sincerity, brat."

It was Serika’s turn to burst into laughter. The way Feng talked to Felicity was eerily similar to how Quinlan treated Feng back in Zhenwu. That is, as a dumb brat who talked too much.

"Y-your accusation is outrageous and entirely fabricated!" Felicity decreed.

"One purple-haired tea brewing assistant better get here if she doesn’t want to get scolded."

Seraphiel’s words made Felicity yelp. They might’ve sounded outrageous, after all, how could a slave chide the royal princess, whether said slave was accepted by a noble as wife or not?

But then Felicity remembered the harsh words Miss Elf used back at the slave auction when the woman taught her how to create a present for her father.

"C-coming!"

Soon after, the tea was ready.

Porcelain cups clicked onto saucers as a fresh pot steamed in the center of the long table. Everyone had found a seat, even Blossom, who had claimed her master’s lap before any of the opportunistic women could get any wrong ideas.

Felicity nestled herself between Feng and Seraphiel, beaming as she looked across at Quinlan. "Try it!" she cheered.

Quinlan raised his cup in response. .

He had to admit... "Nice... incredible, even. But how much of it is yours as opposed to my wife’s?"

She waved her hand with sassy dismissal. "Let’s not get into such boring details, Lord Black, before I mistake you for Pythagoras."

"..."

As Ayame took a slow sip, her eyes opened in surprise before she tilted her head. "Why didn’t you ever tell us you were this good? I don’t remember you ever making tea for us."

The elf looked far too smug for her own good, crossing one leg over the other with poise only those born to be ’majestic’ could produce.

"There was no need," she replied while sipping the tea and nodding with utmost satisfaction to herself. "Back home, Mother and the maids handle all the brewing well enough so I don’t have to bother. Besides..."

Her eyes twinkled as she leaned forward ever so slightly. "A woman must keep some surprises. If you reveal everything too soon, your man might get bored."

That earned her a collective groan across the table.

Seraphiel didn’t flinch. In fact, she turned her smugness up another notch, aiming it like a weapon toward her sisters.

Lucille gave her the finger.

Many followed her example.

Inside their mental link, the curses flew freely.

Seraphiel just hummed in amusement, sipping her cup like a queen among peasants.

But then Blossom’s voice broke through.

"Goldie can’t help but wonder... if Miss Elf could do it all along, why didn’t she brew when we were just starting out?"

For the first time in ten minutes, the elf didn’t look smug.

"... We had more important things to worry about than freshly brewed elven tea."

Blossom tilted her head. "Mhm."

"Don’t ’mhm’ me," Seraphiel muttered, sipping her tea like it could save her dignity.

"Goldie thinks Elf was lazy. That’s the real reason."

"Me? Lazy? Never! Perish the very thought right this instant."

"Goldie senses the foul stench of a nasty liar. Master should punish her."

"..."

...

"Would it be alright for me to ask you something?" Jasmine spoke up after a few minutes of idle chatter.

"Miss Brown, of course!" Felicity chirped, perking up with a smile as bright as ever.

Jasmine hesitated for a moment, wondering if she really wanted to ask this, then nodded once. "Your father said something that piqued my interest. I’d like to ask about it, if you don’t mind considering it concerns your family." ŖÅNőＢΕṨ

"Of course!" Felicity beamed again, a little too quickly. Her easy openness earned her a few sidelong glances from the others.

Shouldn’t a royal be a bit more... careful when talking about the inner workings of the Valorian throne?

Still, Jasmine wasn’t one to look a gift horse in its mouth. "Your father said his first daughter hates him enough to try killing him over a hundred times. That his first son counts the days until his death. That his second son can’t even look at him anymore, and that his second daughter ran away to the Church, the one place in the human lands he can’t reach easily. Could we hear your thoughts on this? I’m asking because I have a feeling there’s more to it than the king let on."

Felicity stared at her.

Stared, long and hard.

Her face went emotionless as realization hit her: Jasmine had just claimed the moon was a grape and expected her to believe it.

"You... you’re serious?" Felicity finally gasped.

Jasmine nodded again.

Felicity blinked, then blinked again... and burst into a peel of laughter so loud and sudden that Feng flinched hard enough to nearly drop her porcelain cup.

It was big, unrestrained laughter, the kind that made her entire frame shake and her hair bounce as she doubled over. "Pff!! Ahahaha! Oh, that rascal father of mine!"

She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye while still grinning wildly. "Forgive me, everyone. That was... terribly unsightly of me. But I just can’t deal with that father of mine sometimes! If you only listened to his side, you’d think he was a helpless old man surrounded by a bunch of wild wolves! Haha!"

She giggled again, softer now, and leaned back with a sigh. "He’s not wrong, at least not technically. But he is most certainly selectively dramatic."

Even Serika couldn’t hide her amusement. "That’s one way to describe a man who spoke about being stabbed a hundred times by his own daughter."

A brief silence followed, broken only by the soft clinking of teacups. But the curious looks Felicity received hadn’t gone unnoticed. She could see it on their faces; the dozens of unasked questions, restrained only by knowing they were speaking about a truly private matter.

So she smiled.

"Get seated, everyone."

Feng gestured around them. "We are all literally sitting."

"Hush, Jiai," Felicity waved her hand, graceful as ever, before crossing one leg over the other, lifting her cup for a small sip of elven tea, then gently placing it into her palm, setting the stage.

"I’ll explain something to you that not many people are aware of."