Chapter 60: The Talk

The light falling on his eyelids made his retinas sense a gentle pink. Constantine let out a soft hum and allowed the familiar ceiling to come into his view… After blinking several times in a row, he finally managed to make the vision in both eyes align again.

Just as he confirmed he was in his room at the Duke’s Mansion, a series of slight stimulations on his body made him tremble slightly.

It was a strange feeling. The warmth of hot breath on his skin, the tickle of hair touching his body, and the wonderful soft, moist sensation of a tongue… These pleasures mixed together overwhelmed his brain a little.

As if testing the mood of a terrifying creature, the soft part pressed against the tip. Like sucking on candy, it kept rubbing around the slit. Sweet lips and tongue gently nibbled and kneaded. Over and over…

“The learning ability is really good…” a thought of admiration passed through the young man’s mind, but his mouth had already started letting out moans of pleasure without his control!

There weren’t many who could do this… This was the arrangement between Constantine and Nirwen after the last time… Of course, we know the Blood Elf didn’t have much choice, but she was faithful and performed this sacred ritual every day.

Perhaps the boy’s sounds stirred some competitive spirit. Like having control for the first time made the Elf very happy, so she focused all her energy on moving her tongue. Gradually, she probed deeper into his throat. But at that moment, the stimulated boy suddenly moved! He tightly pressed the back of her head… This unexpected impact caused the Elf to barely hold back a sudden cough. But the hard part didn’t care about her feelings, almost blocking her throat with a hissing sound, making tears stream down her face uncontrollably.

Along with confused low groans, the thing in the Elf’s mouth swelled, blocking her throat, making her unable to breathe. However, in the next instant, Constantine slightly moved his waist, and the feeling of pressure in her mouth immediately disappeared.

A white, cloudy liquid began to spurt out. After the intense eruption subsided, the boy spread his limbs and gasped weakly. The beautiful Elf sat up straight… looking dazed.

She was still wearing that maid outfit, but the lace on her chest was now slightly stained. Even near her satin-like golden hair, a trace of pale, cloudy liquid had splashed, and that unique faint fishy smell filled the surroundings with an oddly lewd atmosphere.

Constantine swallowed and reached out a hand… In this situation, few men could control themselves. But this breach of their arrangement found immediate retribution. The Elf suddenly lunged, grabbed his hand, and cleverly twisted it to the side. The sharp pain of his joint being reversed hit him. The unfamiliar posture and sudden action caused Constantine to be slammed onto the bed! In such close quarters, few could compare to Rogues, especially when the boy currently wore nothing but a nightshirt.

Then, a soft body covered him, pressing him down firmly.

“Feeling proud, you damned little brat? Making me do this, the price is severe…” the Blood Elf whispered into Constantine’s ear. It must be said, this action carried a strong hint of intimacy… Even through the maid outfit, Constantine could feel those two incredibly soft and elastic mounds, but even with immense courage, the boy dared not move… Not only because one of his hands was cleverly twisted by her, but also because of the somewhat familiar sensation on the side of his neck…

That cold blade, which seemed to suck away heat, quickly cooled the boy’s bodily heat! Constantine’s brow twitched. He noticed the shadowy short blade was the same personal weapon the Elf had when they first met, the one he had carefully hidden away before… He hadn’t expected to be able to fool this young lady’s search.

“Stop messing around… That’s not something a beautiful lady who came to serve me should say, right?” The boy slowly turned half his body, pulled out his hand from under him, then gently grasped the blade at his neck and pushed it aside. With smiling eyes, he stared at the seemingly furious Blood Elf: “And, Miss, I’ve already told you, no need to use ‘your servant’ for me. Also, don’t use that self-referential term at a time like this, or it might easily stimulate some forbidden pleasure… Though I don’t have those kinds of interests.”

So the Elf, still straddling the boy’s waist, reluctantly let him go… As the boy’s body rotated, that warm feeling directly pressed against her leg. Even if her words were fierce, this young lady ultimately didn’t want such stimulation again. But ending it here obviously wasn’t her style. “But at least half of that earlier wasn’t a joke, you know? Maybe one day when my patience reaches its limit, I’ll make you bleed… I might not kill you, but I can’t guarantee I won’t cut something off with this knife? My Master…” she lightly toyed with the blade in her hand, threatening in a cold tone.

Constantine could only helplessly shake his head. Even with a one-sided Pact, even with a further, more intimate relationship added, this little wildcat didn’t seem to be someone he could fully control at this stage.

It must be said, it was a good way to wake someone up… But he couldn’t handle it many times. It wasn’t good for the heart, and the mental stimulation was too strong… If it happened a few more times, she might achieve her goal without shedding blood… The boy considered himself still young and didn’t want to have a nervous reflex to a blade every morning, leading to inability to rise.

The boy lazily left the comfortable big bed and started changing… Unexpectedly, the Blood Elf young lady actually reached out to help him.

As she gently and somewhat clumsily helped the boy take off his nightshirt and handed him his shirt, Constantine was almost flattered… After all, this young lady, though nominally his personal maid, had never actually done anything worthy of the title before. Combined with the earlier alluring active service… “I definitely didn’t suddenly exude some kingly aura. So, did she lose her mind? Or does this girl want something from me? Or is it her ‘time of the month’?” In an instant, seven or eight wild thoughts spun through the boy’s mind.

“That little Sorceress who brought you back yesterday, does she have any relationship with you?” The answer soon came. While fastening the shirt buttons one by one, the Elf stared into the boy’s eyes and suddenly spoke.

“Which little girl?” The daydreaming Constantine was stunned.

“Don’t play dumb! Or I’ll cut it off!”

“This… you mean Christine? She’s the hot air balloon… oh. The inventor of that Flying Magical Device. I’m just an unlucky guy dragged into being an experiment subject. That’s our relationship…”

Reacting, Constantine couldn’t help but reach back to touch his shoulder, as if the burning mark from that explosion was still there, though under the Cleric’s healing, even the scar was long gone. So he wiped the bridge of his nose and answered with a bitter smile.

Yesterday, what interrupted the romantic or not-so-romantic flight was a spectacular accident. For some reason, the Magic Circle used to heat the gas, which was supposedly very simple, malfunctioned — according to Christine’s explanation, it was too rushed, so a slight flaw occurred during the etching… Anyway, the world’s first hot air balloon’s maiden test flight was perfectly… a failure.

And it turned out Constantine’s chivalrous covering action was completely unnecessary. As a Formal Mage, and an Alchemist at that, Christine already had a triggered defensive Magic Array on her. The heat wave and shrapnel from the explosion didn’t harm a single hair on her. Constantine’s action only needlessly put himself in danger of fainting at high altitude and hindered her spellcasting.

Anyway, in the end, the two landed safely via teleportation at the Governor’s Mansion, though the unlucky boy got a patch burned.

But the aftermath wasn’t small. The fireball that exploded and burned in the air had a larger range than imagined. At noon, this high-altitude spectacle was seen by almost everyone. So with the Undead incident’s ripples still unsettled, those with strong gossip spirits even came up with a series of legendary stories involving Demons and such. Though most people scoffed at such stories that ignored the broad daylight background, at least operating on the principle of believing it possible, the City Guard and Law Enforcement Office’s MPs were busy for a while. Even the Duke’s eldest son, who was recuperating, sent a message.

“Do you think I’m blind? Mr. Constantine, my ‘little Master’?” The Elf rudely pulled the vest onto the boy’s body, then suddenly grabbed his collar, pulling his face close to hers, and snorted: “All I saw was this unlucky guy who was dragged along tightly holding onto someone, refusing to let go… During the treatment, he even said words about promises and such. Do you think that matches your explanation?”

“You… is this jealousy? So that’s why you offered the service earlier? And the threat?” Constantine was startled, then suddenly laughed.

“You! Go die!”

…

“Young Master Constantine, your father the Duke asks you to go to his study. He has words for you.” The Old Steward’s voice sounded at the door, startling the boy who was groaning and clutching his rear to ease the impact of the Blood Elf’s kick.

“What does the old… Father want with me? And who’s there?” The boy frowned.

“The Duke asks you to go alone, Young Master Constantine. It should be a private talk.” The old man entered the room and bowed respectfully.

A private meeting? Constantine frowned even deeper. Since arriving in Hayton, this father of his was meeting him alone for the first time… Actually, this had never happened before either. All his previous conversations with the Duke occurred at the dining table.

The furnishings in the Duke’s study were still as solemn, matching the imposing atmosphere. This meeting between father and son clearly lacked any warmth imagined by Commoners. For a long time, the current head of the Connallyvis Family didn’t speak, just sat behind the huge oak desk, seemingly reading some document by the sunlight coming through the floor-to-ceiling window.

Only when a drop of sweat beaded on Constantine’s temple did the Duke raise his gaze, examining the boy standing before him with hands at his sides. The middle-aged man’s slightly narrowed eyes held a cold look, unreadable for any useful information. Only the deep red scar on his face twitched slightly, like the flickering pupil of a beast — in fact, for a moment Constantine truly felt he was being stared at by some creature at the top of the magical beast food chain. He even felt muscles in some parts of his body — like his calves — twitching involuntarily.

Even with memories from two lives, Constantine found he still couldn’t maintain an equal attitude before certain beings in this world.

All that talk about how a transmigrator can exude equal aura no matter who they meet… utter nonsense! A cow moved to Beijing is still a cow at its core. Similarly, a Commoner transmigrated is still a Commoner at their core. Facing someone accustomed to decisions of life and death, that inherent fear absolutely cannot be changed.

“Sit.” The Imperial Duke pointed to the chair opposite the desk.

“I must admit, you… have surprised me somewhat.” After the boy sat down stiffly, another awkward silence followed. When the sand in the Hourglass silently dropped one mark, the Duke finally spoke slowly.

Constantine stayed silent. He had heard some rumors about this father. This sort of wording could be considered praise for George di Friedrich Connarivis… If you wanted to hear praise like “well done” or “good,” unless you had the ability to wipe out a thousand Orcs, or cut off the head of some tribal chieftain or Great Shaman and bring it back.

“How efficient is that human-carrying Flying Magical Device?”

“This… The key technology was all provided by Mage Christine. As a passenger, my only feeling might be that the high-altitude scenery was really nice.” The boy’s thoughts scrambled. The Duke’s next sentence had nothing to do with praise. In fact, the tone completely sounded like an interrogation… Constantine could only respond instinctively. Of course, he wasn’t telling the truth.

“I once asked Mage Christine. The reply was that the principle of that Flying Magical Device was proposed by you.” The Duke’s voice was calm and slow, but to Constantine’s ears it was no different from an icy wind carrying ice spikes!

“How could I forget that damned girl is a single-minded secret blabbermouth? … Christine, oh Christine, when I get the chance, I’ll definitely make you understand a lover’s duties!” The boy felt that icy wind slowly crawling up his spine. He couldn’t help but shiver, cursing fiercely in his heart.

Of course, before thinking of ways to harass the Mage Tower’s youngest Sorceress, the boy had to figure out how to calm the old Griffin’s anger.

“Hmm, yes, I did propose the most basic part of the theory and some suggestions. But that was just the concept of paper floating over a flame. The subsequent parts were already beyond my comprehension… Still, this thing has at least three drawbacks: slow speed, high cost, and prone to explosion. It probably can only be used as a mere curiosity. To satisfy those little people’s fantasies of flying.” After some thought, the boy finally smoothed out his train of thought and responded in detail.

Of course, he wouldn’t honestly reveal this thing’s true groundbreaking significance. He wouldn’t forget that the emergence of such a thing would undoubtedly be the biggest blow to the Western Continent’s aerial supremacy, long held by beast-riding Knights. And before him was the boss commanding the continent’s strongest aerial Knight force.

“Hmm…” This answer seemed to satisfy the Griffin. He lowered his head, focusing again on the sheet of paper on the desk. Then, as if casually, he said, “Regarding the Marriage Alliance with Her Highness the Princess, I’d like to hear your thoughts…”

“Thoughts? Oh, it’s the supreme honor bestowed by the King. For…” Constantine found he might never catch up to this father’s thinking mode. After another moment of stunned silence, he gave a vague, standard answer. But this answer only got as far as the beginning before being interrupted by a cold snort.

“I don’t want to hear nonsense!” The Duke waved a hand, staring at his legitimate eldest son: “Don’t play that set of nonsense third-rate Nobles hold as gospel with me! I’m asking for your own thoughts! Just answer truthfully! If you can’t understand, I can ask in more detail… You will eventually meet a woman who makes you infatuated, love-struck to the point of madness, but… I hope it’s not now! You’d better not be tempted by some nonsense about love being praised by the Deities…”

“Yeah, love is praised by the Deities… But if love is praised by the Deities, then history should apologize to those who yearn for and praise love, and countless times at that…” Constantine suddenly cut off the Duke’s questioning. The corner of his mouth twitched into a mocking curve: “Even if love is praised by the Deities, an absolute truth, so what? Love and marriage are two different things. That’s basic knowledge a Noble should know, isn’t it?”

“Aren’t striving for the family’s interests one of every Noble’s duties?” Facing the Duke’s sharp gaze, Constantine’s smile widened into an innocent grin.

“If that’s your real thought, then good…” The boy’s speech seemed to have gained the Duke’s approval. He examined Constantine’s face, then said: “Prepare yourself. Tomorrow, the King will summon you…”