Read Novel Full Chapter 254: She’s Adopted
Chapter 254: She’s Adopted
The attack that had enough destructive force to tear a hole through reinforced concrete was stopped in its tracks just before it hit her target.
Elena’s hand froze against her own will, trembling with barely contained power as invisible force held it in place.
She turned her head sharply to the right to see Luna standing there with one hand extended, sweat beading on her forehead from the effort.
"Lucius sent me to make sure there’s no problem..." Luna said, her voice strained.
Using Zero Shift on such a powerful S-rank person was almost similar to when she’d used it on that A-rank Centipede monster, the one that had been the size of a damn skyscraper.
It was like forcing a stopping motion onto something that was fundamentally not meant to be stopped, like trying to halt a freight train with your bare hands.
"Please don’t fight." Luna added, begging slightly.
Elena broke out of the temporal lock by pulling her hand backward forcefully, the motion accompanied by a visible ripple of released energy.
Then she grabbed her luggage handle and dragged it forward, moving past Selene completely this time without even looking at her.
Selene stood there grinning smugly, clearly pleased at having successfully provoked Elena without actually getting hit.
"I want to see Lucius... let’s go." Elena said curtly, her tone brooking no argument as she continued walking toward the entrance.
Luna was suddenly assaulted by Selene, who appeared beside her in an instant and rubbed her cheek against Luna’s cheek affectionately like a cat marking its territory.
"You really are an amazing sister-wife~" Selene purred, nuzzling closer. "You saved me from having to dodge and potentially damage my beautiful hotel."
"It’s... fine." Luna said weakly, trying as much as possible not to just pinch Selene’s cheeks at the overwhelming cuteness.
The woman was being absolutely adorable despite having just nearly caused a serious incident.
Meanwhile, the maid who’d been frozen in horror hurried past and began directing Elena and Rita toward the side elevator immediately, clearly wanting to get the dangerous S-rank away from the public areas as quickly as possible.
"Though what were you going to do if I hadn’t stopped it?" Luna asked with genuine curiosity as they watched the others leave.
"On a regular note, I would have killed her." Selene said smoothly, her tone as casual as discussing the weather.
Luna’s eyes darkened as she processed that statement. Selene was absolutely serious about this, not exaggerating or posturing.
She would have genuinely attempted to kill Elena, consequences be damned.
"But, she’s my sister-in-law now through Lucius, so I was going to settle for just cutting off her hand as a warning." Selene continued matter-of-factly. "But hey, you saved both of us from that unpleasantness. Thank you."
Then she grabbed Luna’s arm and started dragging her along. "Come on... let’s meet with the others on the roof. I’m sure Lucius is wondering where we went."
...
Lucius was now sitting back on the rooftop in the same long lounge chair from yesterday, stretching out his legs comfortably.
He was not wearing sunscreen this time, having learned his lesson about the magical barrier protecting them from UV radiation.
The afternoon sun felt pleasantly warm without being burning hot, and he was enjoying the sensation while all the girls were already playing in the pool.
"You guys already swam yesterday. Do you have to do it again today...?" Lucius asked with mock exasperation, though his tone was fond.
However, Emilia immediately splashed some water in his direction in response, using her water magic to let the burst shoot outward with surprising force and aim directly at his face.
Except it was reflected by an automatic spatial barrier he’d set up, bouncing back and hitting her right in the face with twice the momentum.
The impact sent her spinning backward into the pool with a surprised yelp, and the other girls started giggling at her failed attack.
"Ah, we’re waiting for Selene..." Elara explained as she sat on the platform edge just above the water, her legs dangling in. "She said we would try another beach game she learned about."
Her swimsuit was beautiful and eye-catching, a deep blue two-piece that showed off her generous breasts and naturally curvy figure perfectly.
She caught Lucius staring at her and smiled mischievously, then raised the top of her swimsuit slightly so that he could see more of her cleavage only to immediately get her foot grabbed by Emilia, who’d recovered from her dunking and dragged Elara into the water with a vindictive laugh.
"Shouldn’t you... be joining them?" Lucius asked as he looked at the chair next to his.
Amber was sitting there in her conservative full-coverage swimsuit, focused intently on her phone.
She appeared to be researching something, scrolling through what looked like auction catalogs and price listings, especially information about the Loosebelt Auction she had been talking about yesterday when she’d lost the rock-paper-scissors tournament.
"I don’t find it enticing to join big-breasted women in the pool." Amber said with false wisdom, though her tone carried underlying bitterness. "I’d rather research the Loosebelt auction than waste my time like that."
"You’re insecure about your chest...?" He looked at it critically and could understand why immediately.
She had a completely flat chest just like him, though he was a man and she was a woman so the social implications were vastly different.
"Is it supposed to be flat like that?" He asked with genuine curiosity.
"Stop making it worse..." She puffed her cheeks out indignantly, clutching her phone tighter. "I’m very sure if I wasn’t the President’s daughter and didn’t have some assets elsewhere, people would think of me as a man who took surgery to become a woman."
The insecurity in her voice was palpable.
"I mean that’s what you look like..." Lucius said bluntly.
Upon hearing that brutally honest assessment, her eyes went downcast and her shoulders slumped. However, Lucius reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.
"There’s a simple solution for this though."
"I have a feeling that I will hate this..." She said suspiciously, already bracing herself.
"Just get pregnant. I’m sure breasts increase in fullness after pregnancy due to milk production and hormonal changes." Lucius said as if suggesting she try a new restaurant. "It’s basic biology."
As she opened her mouth to complain about his ridiculous suggestion, she actually settled down to genuinely think about it.
Her expression became contemplative as she considered the logistics.
"Don’t you have a guy that you’re interested in?" Lucius prompted. "Someone you’d want to have kids with eventually anyway?"
"I have a fiancé though I don’t like him at all." She said flatly, her tone making her feelings abundantly clear.
"I guess he’s some sort of political kingpin?" Lucius said knowingly. All daughters of high government officials had that same problem, being married off for political advantage.
"No, he’s some clueless short prince from a backwater country that barely has indoor plumbing." She said with obvious disdain. "I’m only getting married to him so that Aurelia can get the immense amount of rare medicinal herbs that exist in their forests. Apparently they have plants that can extend lifespan and cure certain diseases."
Lucius felt genuine surprise at the fact that the President had actually chosen to straight-up sell his daughter’s future and happiness, all for herbs even valuable medicinal herbs seemed like a poor trade for your child’s wellbeing.
’Couldn’t be me though.’ He thought with a shake of his head, mentally noting to never do that to any potential daughters.
"You really need a prince in shining armor to save you from that arranged marriage..." Lucius said sympathetically.
She looked directly into his eyes, hope blooming visibly on her face as she wondered if he would be that prince. Maybe if she asked, maybe if she explained properly—
"Unfortunately, that man is not me." He finished decisively.
Before she could respond or protest, he touched the woman’s shoulder and used space manipulation.
She immediately shot forward through the air in the direction of the pool, her trajectory perfect as she landed with a massive splash right in the middle of the other girls.
Her phone clattered onto the chair she’d vacated.
"Thank me later!" Lucius called out cheerfully as she surfaced, sputtering.
She tried to shoot a concentrated burst of water at him in retaliation, but Vanessa hit her with a larger one first, making her stagger backward with a surprised giggle despite her annoyance.
Just then the door to the roof opened with a soft click, and four figures stepped through.
They were Elena, Selene, Luna and Rita, all wearing swimsuits that ranged from tasteful to scandalous.
They were finally complete... The full roster had assembled.
Elena immediately deflected from the group while the other three headed toward the pool, and she walked directly toward Lucius with purpose.
Her swimsuit was a striking red two-piece that complemented her figure perfectly, and her long hair was tied back in a ponytail.
She soon stood directly in front of him, looking down with an expression mixing affection and irritation.
"Lucius..." Her voice was soft.
"Elena..." He replied, looking up at her.
There was a moment of charged silence as they simply looked at each other then she leaned down gracefully and brushed his hair back with her hand, the gesture was intimate and possessive.
"Kiss me, please." Her cheeks were visibly red, flushed with emotion and desire.
Lucius obliged without hesitation, reaching up to cup her face as he took her lips in his. The kiss was deep and thorough, making up for lost time.
All the girls in the pool stopped their playing immediately, freezing mid-splash as they looked at the two siblings kissing freely and passionately in full view of everyone.
"Aren’t you guys related?!" Rita exclaimed in surprise and confusion, her voice carrying across the rooftop. Her face showed genuine shock at what appeared to be incest.
Elena pulled back from the kiss slowly, finally smiling in triumph as she looked directly at Selene with victory blazing in her eyes.
’Take that.’ her expression said clearly.
"I’m adopted." She announced loudly enough for everyone to hear, establishing her legitimacy. "So it’s completely legal and moral."
Then she patted Lucius’s head affectionately like he was a prized possession. "I’m still mad at you though... we had really good sex and then you didn’t contact me again for weeks. Do you know how that made me feel?"
She said it aloud deliberately, ensuring that all the girls heard her clearly and understood that she’d already slept with him. Several of them puffed their cheeks out indignantly, jealousy written plainly across their faces.
"I forgot." Lucius admitted honestly, running his hand through his hair sheepishly. "You look beautiful as ever though."
She blushed at the compliment and smiled despite trying to maintain her angry facade then she walked off toward the pool, satisfied with having marked her territory.
"So what are we going to do today?" Elena asked as she entered the water, the temperature was perfect.
Everyone looked at Selene expectantly, who smiled mysteriously and then made a specific hand sign to the maids standing near the barbecue area.
One of them immediately threw a large beach ball toward her, and Selene caught it easily with one hand while looking at all the assembled girls with a competitive gleam in her eyes.
"We play a little pool volleyball..." She said, then pressed a button on a remote control she’d been holding in her other hand.
Immediately the pool began expanding magically, the edges pushing outward until it was enormous.
It was already wide before but now it took up almost half of the entire roof space, the water spreading to seal off the main entrance though leaving clear the side where the maids were grilling food and where Lucius was sitting.
A magical net materialized across the center, dividing the massive pool into two sides then Selene went to one of the edges and threw the ball high into the air as the girls quickly split apart into two teams, reading her intention.
"We’ll use the winner of this game to decide who gets to choose the next event!" She announced as she used both hands to spike the ball downward as it came falling.
It shot forward and slammed against the magical barrier at the edge of the roof with a resounding boom before bouncing back and shooting downward directly toward Amber.
"Unfortunately for you all... I specialize in this game!" Amber declared confidently as she jumped up and hit it with one hand, sending it back upward with perfect form.
She had genuine confidence she was going to win this. Pool volleyball had been her specialty during her academy days, back before political responsibilities consumed her life.