Chapter 21: I Hate You

“Tick tock….”

“Tick tock….”

The only thing left in this room was silence.

Charlotte, who had just cast a spell, looked a little exhausted, while Bella, having experienced a completely new sensation, found herself awakening to something strange.

She didn’t dislike this feeling; in fact, she wanted Charlotte to let her experience even more.

Just thinking about what Charlotte would do to her through this long night made that damp feeling grow even stronger.

“Miss Bella, I must admit, you truly are quite adorable. Really.”

Charlotte removed the silk from before Bella’s eyes.

“These emerald green eyes of mine were a gift from the elves. From the look in your eyes, I can see your desire.” Charlotte’s attitude toward Bella suddenly softened considerably.

The magic Charlotte had just used had successfully sent his Divine Mark—a portion of the Initial Mist, the artifact—into Bella’s Spirit World, and the process had gone smoothly.

Charlotte had initially thought Bella would be a believer of the Aetherlan Divine Church, so he’d planned to destroy her faith and pride to make the process easier.

Unexpectedly, Bella actually seemed to feel no particular respect for Aetherlan at all.

“Demon….”

“Hahaha, even cursing sounds as coquettish as your pouting.”

With Charlotte’s Divine Mark, Bella was now considered a member of the Wuyue family.

Naturally, Charlotte no longer needed to treat her as an outsider.

“Miss Bella, I can tell you all of my secrets now.”

Charlotte spoke gently, and didn’t forget to soothe Miss Bella’s palm and the reddened peach that had just been spanked.

Bella clearly enjoyed it. Such gentle touches left her more helpless than any harsh treatment. “I don’t want to listen… I know—if I hear them, I’ll die…”

“How could that be? I promise you now, I won’t kill you…”

Charlotte helped untie Bella’s restraints and, carrying her in a princess hold, gently laid her on the bed.

Looking at the now utterly powerless Bella before him, Charlotte no longer wished to hold back.

After all, he had just confirmed Bella had no chance of betraying him.

He was not as rough as before; this gentle approach—bordering on torment—made her legs go weak far more than any forceful possession.

Charlotte pierced through the final layer between him and Bella.

Bella had completely surrendered, yet, in order to keep a shred of her own dignity, she still murmured softly,

“I hate you…”

Bella turned her head away, enjoying everything that followed.

Bella actually felt a trace of happiness. This man had finally stopped tormenting her; instead, he was making her feel incredibly blissful.

She really felt as though she had become a maid who had fallen for a young noble lord—utterly unable to resist his fervent affection.

Charlotte’s hand braced by her head, but it was her heart he held tightly… Charlotte had already taken her most precious thing…

An hour later, after giving Bella the antidote, she fell completely unconscious.

Charlotte tidied up the room himself, then lay down together with Bella in his arms.

He felt an incomparable sense of accomplishment.

Over the past four hours, Charlotte had successfully broken Bella’s will to resist and had branded his very being onto her soul.

She would probably never forget it in her lifetime.

It was only then that Aifel emerged from the ring.

Aifel appeared beside the bed and reached out to Charlotte. “Before you fall asleep, shouldn’t you give me what you promised?”

Charlotte handed over the item he’d taken from Bella earlier—the one that looked like a wedding veil—to Aifel.

Aifel was delighted after seeing it, and put it on her own head.

She tried imitating the nuns’ prayers from the cathedral, closing her eyes and pressing her hands together over her chest.

Except she peeked with one eye, playfully asking Charlotte, “Well? Don’t I look great?”

Charlotte nodded. “Indeed, you look very divine now…”

Aifel, now draped in the Veil of Mist Concealment, seemed even more godly.

This was something Charlotte always found curious—other gods’ legacies were weapons or armor, but the Mist God’s Legacy consisted mostly of jewelry or things like the veil Aifel wore now.

“So, do you feel anything special?” Aifel asked Charlotte.

Charlotte knew Aifel was talking about his constitution.

When he’d been playing house with Bella just now, he did feel increasingly energetic, as if some power was continuously filling his body.

“I seem to have better command of the Wind Element, and my mana has increased a lot. The amount of magic power in my body now surpasses that of a Fourth-Tier Mage—it’s just that I can’t yet use fourth-tier spells.”

“I knew it. It’s your constitution, not Floleen’s. Looks like you won’t need to gather so many artifacts to reach the Fourth-Tier Mage level.” Aifel, pleased her guess was correct, smiled.

“In any case, make good use of your current constitution. After all, it helps you get stronger.”

Charlotte rolled his eyes at her.

“I don’t want to rely on this method to grow stronger. Subduing Bella today was a last resort. I couldn’t possibly let someone who knows all of the Wuyue family’s secrets just go back, and she really is a useful pawn as a double agent.”

“Argue all you want. In my eyes, Charlotte just set his sights on another noble lady, then made her fall for you, and finally brought her into the Wuyue family to work for you. Hehehe…”

Aifel grinned mischievously. Seeing Charlotte’s unchanged expression, she said no more.

“Mm… All right, I’ll go back and refine the Divine Power in this artifact. Good night.”

Knowing Charlotte wanted to savor Bella’s warmth a little longer, Aifel didn’t disturb him any further.

Charlotte closed his eyes, but he didn’t fall asleep. Instead, he entered his Spirit World once more.

Here, he would feel a strange sense of peace, and this time, without Aifel, it was much quieter.

Thick mist lingered, but the giant tree at the center of the lake seemed more vibrant than before.

Among its branches, another colorless crystal had been lit—this one a pale green, symbolizing the Wind Element.

“How incredible…”

Whether in past conversations with Aifel or when poring over ancient texts, Charlotte had found no record in human history of a god connected to a tree.

Yet Aifel had explicitly told Charlotte this giant tree’s rank was higher than hers—perhaps on par with the gods of memory and mist.

Now, inexplicably favored by this godly gift, Charlotte still felt uneasy.

He did not understand what purpose this deity—whose existence was now imprinted in his Spirit World—truly had.

But he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he began his training once more in the Spirit World, refining his control over his vast mana, making it as precise as a delicate instrument.

With day after day of practice, his magical skills became more and more perfected.

He didn’t need rest, but Bella, asleep beside him, was not so lucky…

Because dawn was about to break…