Chapter Two Hundred and Forty-Two – "Devotion in the Skies"
The mobile flying castle—1,000,000 miles long, with its vast rooms and humming arcane engines—drifted silently through the upper atmosphere. From its grand crystal dome, the world below looked like a toy map: mountains, forests, and empires no more significant than scratches in the dirt.
Crow sat at the central command platform, studying his newest acquisitions and reviewing troop deployment for the demi-god stirge. The undead goblin army was being integrated into various sectors across his vast territory.
But he wasn't alone.
Behind him, quiet footsteps approached on polished marble. A familiar aura clung to them—obsessive, devoted, warm.
Rose.
She knelt beside his chair, hands folded behind her back, golden eyes gleaming with fervent affection. Her newly purchased collar shimmered faintly with enchanted runes—inscribed with Crow's name.
"Master," she said gently, tilting her head. "You still haven't said it…"
Crow blinked, pulling himself out of the wave of battle reports and logistical data. "Said what?"
Rose's cheeks flushed. "Call me it… please?" Her voice dropped to a soft, pleading whisper. "Say I'm your good girl…"
Crow leaned back in his obsidian throne-like seat. The gears of the castle shifted with a distant, thunderous hum as its wings expanded for altitude correction. A moment of silence passed.
Then—
He sighed. Not in irritation, but in reluctant surrender.
"You've been… helpful. Loyal," he admitted. Then, with a glance at her, a smirk tugged at his lips. "Fine. You're my good girl."
Rose lit up. Her eyes sparkled, breath caught in her throat, and she practically melted where she knelt, heart hammering against her chest.
"Yes!" she whispered. "Thank you, Master…"
Somewhere in the far distance of the castle, Sylvanna, Liana, and Valeria—still in their private wing—froze, sensing something very, very unacceptable had just occurred.
They didn't know what exactly.
But their instincts screamed rivalry.
And the air inside the castle dropped by several degrees.