Chapter 113 His eyes were calm and deep, like…
The Elf King seemed about to say something, but I interrupted him, saying, "You misunderstand, madam. I am not the king's mistress, nor will I be."
The youngest lady was startled and glanced timidly at the Elf King.
The queen laughed and smoothed things over, "Let's eat something first. Lana, I've always liked you quite a bit, let's chat more in the future."
Breakfast ended in an awkward and tense atmosphere.
"Whether you like it or not, you will officially become the King's mistress this month." After breakfast, the Queen invited me for a walk.
"What's the difference between a legitimate and illegitimate mistress?" I laughed.
"The king sent me a letter more than half a month ago, asking me to prepare for the wedding." The queen took my arm and smiled gently. "I was quite happy to hear it was you."
“Really,” the Queen said quickly when she saw my disbelief. “Do you remember what I told you before? You make me feel less pressured.”
“Your Highness,” I couldn’t help but ask, “aren’t you saddened that the King is taking other women as mistresses?”
“What’s there to be happy or unhappy about?” the Queen said helplessly. “It’s always been like this. The King will have mistresses, and so will all the nobles. Rather than resisting, we should accept it, otherwise we’ll only get ourselves into trouble.”
I sighed softly.
“Before we noble ladies got married, our mothers would give us a booklet,” the Queen said. “Besides telling us how to serve men, it also listed the tragic ends of mistresses throughout history who fought over men. Actually, I didn’t need to read the booklet to know that the ending wouldn’t be good; I’ve loved gossip since I was a child.” The Queen shrugged.
I didn't ask what gossip was, and I was too lazy to ask.
After a short walk, I returned to my room, where the tailor, makeup artist, and jeweler were already waiting. The tailor carefully took my measurements, the makeup artist noted down my skin tone and texture to create a custom look for me, and the jeweler brought out several beautiful, intricately carved boxes for me to choose from.
The moment the box was opened, a dazzling beam of light shot out, illuminating half the room.
Jewelry featuring rubies, sapphires, chrysoberyl cat's eye, beryl, emeralds, and aquamarine, as well as various jade, emeralds, and crystal ornaments.
The other box contained extremely valuable single, double, triple, quadruple, and five-layer crystal and diamond necklaces. It was the first time I had ever seen blue and amethyst crystals, as well as green and red diamonds.
I stared at it for a long time.
It's impossible to say you don't want to have it.
No woman could resist such temptation.
Exquisite jewelry, a beautiful dress, and a man's sincerity towards you.
If it weren't for a tiny bit of reason holding me back, I would have gladly offered myself to the Elf King tonight.
“I want to see my old companions,” I said to a maid. “One of my female companions knows better than I do; she should know which ones are good.”
That evening, I finally met Di Yaruo. After not seeing her for more than half a month, she looked tired and haggard, with disheveled hair and wearing a simple coarse linen dress.
“You’re really lucky. You’ve run into a big shot who’s willing to take care of you as soon as you get out of prison.” She sat on my carpet, speaking to me across two maids, and took a big gulp of tea.
I was not allowed to see her alone; I had to be accompanied by two maids.
"If you were me, what would you do now?" I asked.
Her eyes gleamed with a cunning, cat-like glint. "That depends on how you think you can maximize your profits."
"How so?" I didn't understand.
"Is marriage or being a mistress more profitable?" she said, making a strange gesture with her right hand. "I vaguely heard that you were married."
"Yes."
"Whom will you marry?"
I glanced hesitantly at the two maids standing between us, but she smiled and said, "It's alright, go ahead and speak."
"The Prime Minister of the newly established Achia Kingdom."
“Then you should obediently follow your husband.” She continued making strange gestures. “I heard about this prime minister recently. He’s quite capable. He’s the top leader of the Kingdom of Achia. You’ll have a better future with him. If you follow the Elf King, you’ll be a mistress for life and never be able to turn your life around.”
Yes, the Elf King said that they could not marry people of other races.
"Aren't the people of Achia also elves? Why are they willing to marry me?" I asked.
“The rules of any race are more relaxed during exile. Even if you marry an ordinary person from another race, you still have to have children to continue the family line.” She smiled. “Besides, you are a legendary woman with superpowers.”
"What are you going to do now?" she asked me.
"I don't know." I lowered my head.
I have to admit that there was still a slight wavering in my heart.
"Sleeping with the Elf King a few times is enough," she said nonchalantly. "Just don't let him eat too much, or he'll think about you more."
I didn't say anything.
At midnight, the Elf King arrived late, his thin white bathrobe slipping off his body and sparkling as he came to my bedside. He was slightly startled to see that I was still awake.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" He asked, leaning against the headboard next to me.
"If I beg you, will you let me go back?" I asked.
In the darkness, his eyes were calm and deep, like the mysterious stars.
"What did you talk about with your female companion today? The two maids can't remember anything." His delicate Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but his voice didn't tremble at all, perhaps as a result of restraint.
He was actually unhappy, but he tried his best to control his emotions.
"Your female companion must have played some trick on you." He suddenly bit my neck, it hurt and itched at the same time, I groaned and reached out to push him away, but he kissed my hand and mumbled, "What did you two talk about this afternoon that made you want to go back?"
"I told him I got married." I didn't want to lie to him.
"Oh, who did you marry?" He nibbled and tickled my neck, making me laugh. "I don't want to say right now."
"Did you marry a nobleman?" he bit even more fiercely, and I laughed even harder. "I don't know."
"That's it." He laughed, then bit me a few more times, his teeth brushing against my smooth skin. The subtle, almost sharp touch made me tremble slightly. He kissed and bit me, which made me laugh again.
"Do I know him?" he asked.
I nodded with a smile, "I know him."
"Is it Daio?" He asked, surprising me. I stopped laughing and stared blankly.
"It really is him."
No, it's not.
Seeing my slightly panicked face, he stopped biting my neck. His golden eyes were deep and unfathomable, as if they could penetrate the darkness and reach straight into my heart.
“I already know who it is,” he said. “Artis.”
My hand trembled violently, and his gaze deepened. "Daio needs a more powerful woman for marriage, but if he doesn't want to miss out on a woman with superpowers like you, then his uncle Artis has no choice but to suffer a loss and marry you."
"..."
Is marrying me a loss? Am I really destined to be nothing more than a mistress here? An indescribable sorrow welled up inside me.
He put his arm around my shoulder and said very gently, "Being with me is better than being with Artis. Although he is willing to marry you, I can give you dozens, even hundreds of times more than he can."
“I don’t need that much money, just enough is fine,” I said.
He laughed loudly, his soft, slightly raspy laughter particularly striking in the dead of night. "How can 'good enough' be acceptable?" he said, smiling as he leaned close to my ear. "Desire is endless."
“If you spend a year with me,” he said softly, “I guarantee you will never want to go back to the old days again. Even if I return you to Artis, you will never be able to adapt to life with him again.”
I was completely stunned—he had an uncanny understanding of human nature, grasping people's vulnerability, weakness, and susceptibility with remarkable precision.
The next day, under the lazy sunshine, I sat on the endless green lawn, my mind filled with the image of the jeweler's two large boxes, their glittering, expensive treasures like the devil's temptation.
I'm not sure, I really'm not sure I can resist this temptation.
The Elf King is also so handsome, with fair skin that seems to glow, his beauty is indescribable.
What should I do? I simply can't resist this allure; I'm just an ordinary girl.
I stood up and walked from one end to the other.
But precisely because I am an ordinary girl, I am clear about the limits of my abilities and know what value I can exchange with such a king.
I have nothing but superpowers.
What he values is superpowers, just like Artis and Daio.
If one day my superpowers disappear, I will lose all these men.
If I have no feelings for them, losing them wouldn't matter, but if I do, I can't imagine how painful it would be.
Will I develop feelings for them?
I told myself not to overestimate my self-control.
I picked up a twig and calculated the chances of them abandoning me. No matter how I calculated it, it was 100%.
Tears suddenly welled up.
In the evening, the Elf King wanted to have afternoon tea with me. He had to attend a banquet that night and couldn't have dinner with me.
The lavish dining table was laden with brightly colored and fragrant dishes, but I ate very little.
“The cooks from the main continent will arrive in a few days,” the Elf King said gently. “Perhaps we’ll have an appetite then.”
"Oh, how did you manage to get them here? Why would they be willing to come?"
"Why wouldn't I want to? The salary is several times higher than before, and it also provides housing for my wife, children, and elderly parents. It's much better than the life they had on the main continent."
“Your Majesty,” I said to him with great respect, “I am very grateful for your kindness, but there is really no love between us, and we will not be happy if we are forced to be together.”
"What's wrong with you?" The Elf King put down his silver fork, gracefully came to my side, and gently hugged me. "You were all lovey-dovey with me last night, why have you changed tonight?"
Who's being all lovey-dovey with you? I pursed my lips, not responding to that question, but instead said, "If you think highly of me, why don't you let me work here? If I don't do well, feel free to punish me."
“I don’t need people to work for me,” his golden eyes gleamed. “I have plenty of capable assistants; there are no vacancies.”
“I don’t necessarily have to be your assistant; I can do other jobs too,” I said hastily.
"I don't need you to work for me, I just need you to be my woman."
His words made me very angry. "Why do you all insist that I become your mistress or get married?"
"Is it because of my superpower?" I said angrily. "Let me tell you, my superpower will slowly disappear, and I will eventually become an ordinary person."
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