After Aleric and Cesar left for the courtroom, Veronica turned to Ignis and said, "Ignis, we need to talk to the Matriarch about this."
Ignis, not understanding, asked, "About what?"
Veronica thought to herself: *Ignis is fine in every way… but the envoy was right—there's a slight shortage in the brain department.*
Then she said aloud, "Ignis, we have to talk to Mother-in-law about Lucifer and the 4th Mother."
Ignis asked, "What exactly do you want?"
Veronica replied, "Don't you know what I want?"
Ignis said, "But the 4th Mother… she's one of Dad's favorite wives. How can we hand her over to Lucifer?"
Veronica answered, "This decision will be Mother's, not yours or mine. It's not just about our family—it concerns the entire kingdom."
She then turned to Jasper, who was standing nearby, and said, "Jasper, go take care of those two envoys. And prepare a wagon—not too ornate, just normal-looking. We're not going to display our wealth; we're extending a hand of friendship."
Jasper bowed and said, "Yes, my Queen," before leaving to make the arrangements.
On the other side, Tristian woke from his sleep and asked, "Mom… who were those two?"
Jake reached out, grabbed her breasts, and began kneading them, but Veronica stopped him and said, "Tristian, I'm really not in the mood right now. Why don't you go fuck your sisters and see if you can impregnate them?"
"Son… Tristian, I'm a little busy right now."
Tristian replied, "Okay, Mom, we won't do it now. We'll do it tonight."
Veronica said, "No, son… your father and I won't be staying in the palace tonight. We're going to the duchy that once belonged to Asher… and now belongs to Lucifer."
"And yes, you were asking who they were, right?"
"Those two were envoys from Lucifer. They brought some gifts on his behalf."
Tristian, excited, asked, "Mom, what gifts did they bring?"
Veronica answered, "Son… we'll talk about that when I return. Now go, freshen up, have your meal. And when I come back… I want my son to be completely fresh and so happy that he can impregnate his mother again… just like your dad did. Now go…"
Veronica gave Tristian a passionate kiss, then headed toward the Matriarch's room with Ignis.
Scene change.
Now Veronica was in the room of Kaite, the Matriarch of the Lustbound family. Ignis stood beside Veronica while she sat with her mother-in-law, explaining everything.
Kaite had no idea about the annihilation of the Asher family or what they had done. Although she was the family Matriarch, by Lustbound tradition, the final decisions always rested with the current king's wife. That was why the entire burden of the kingdom fell on Veronica's shoulders. But Veronica deeply respected Kaite's leadership, so she told her everything and asked for advice.
Kaite asked, "From what you're telling me, is Lucifer truly that dangerous?"
Veronica replied, "Mother, if he weren't that dangerous, the Asher family would still be alive today."
"And Lucifer's envoy clearly said that the 4th Mother is his target. If we become her safe haven, he'll turn our heaven into hell."
Kaite said, "We can't just hand Angelina over to Lucifer like that. Our entire reputation would be dragged through the mud. People would think we are under Lucifer's control, not the other way around."
Veronica replied, "Mother… the duchy has already completely slipped from our hands. Lucifer is now its ruler, and he truly doesn't consider himself under our authority. If he did, he would never send gifts like these."
"Mother… if we let go of one duchy—lying on the far western edge anyway—and make friendship with him instead, we can co-exist."
Kaite said, "All that is fine. One territory isn't that big a deal. Army-wise, we still have House of Benedict, Purefields, House of Sabke, House of Reindhart… etc. We have nine duchies and many powerful counties. But what I'm saying is we can't just give Angelina to Lucifer for nothing. If we're giving something, we should get something in return."
Veronica replied, "Mother, that's exactly why Ignis, Jasper, and I are going to Lucifer."
"And Mother… I know the Purefields are very dear to you, but even they don't have good relations with Lucifer right now."
"For now, the three of us are going today with Lucifer's envoys. We're also taking Elemor and Bianca. The 4th Mother is under house arrest… and you'll have to handle the kingdom for about a week—roughly ten days."
Kaite said, "Alright, Veronica, go. But be careful. And keep an eye on Ignis… he's a bit of a blabbermouth, my son."
Veronica smiled and said, "I know, Mother-in-law. Today, because of his loose tongue, death came right up to our throats."
Kaite asked, "What happened?"
Veronica explained, "The envoys had clearly warned us about the 4th Mother, yet this one started talking about cutting off their heads. Even though in the recording Lucifer had directly said that if she isn't returned in six days, he will come here himself. Then whether we find them or not… we won't be able to hide from anyone in the entire world."
Kaite then said, "Veronica… my daughter-in-law… please take care of my foolish son."
Veronica nodded and left the room.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The time was now between noon and evening.
In Aleric and Cesar's wagon, Elemor and Bianca were also present.
Elemor was extremely sad and worried. Even if she could somehow leave Christopher behind, what about her husband Eric? He was the younger brother of the Purefield patriarch. She had no idea what to do.
Bianca, her childhood friend, couldn't bear to see Elemor in this state. After Bianca's husband Ben had passed away, she hadn't married Eric, but the two friends had always shared a sexual relationship with him—bouncing on Eric's cock together whenever they were with him.
Meanwhile, Veronica, Ignis, and Jasper had prepared their own wagon. The king and queen climbed in.
Suddenly Cesar shouted, and his wagon began moving forward. The royal wagon followed right behind.
Both wagons maintained roughly the same speed—neither too fast nor too slow, a steady pace with restraint.
After about an hour of continuous travel, the horses grew tired and stopped by a pond to drink water.
Ignis, Veronica, Aleric, Cesar, Bianca, Elemor, and Jasper stepped out for a short tea break.
Suddenly, all the birds began to screech in chaos. Animals started howling. A reddish-violet shade appeared in the sky, and everyone felt a strange, overwhelming bloodlust.
The horses were so terrified they wanted to bolt, but fear paralyzed their legs.
Bianca and Elemor both fainted.
King Ignis, out of sheer terror, wet his royal trousers.
Jasper collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Veronica, Aleric, and Cesar were all turning pale with fear.
As each moment passed, all the sounds gradually ceased. For the next five minutes, it felt as if the entire world had gone silent—no wind, no birds chirping, no animal cries. Everything had stopped.
Then, after about 30–40 minutes, everything suddenly ended as if nothing had ever happened.
When everyone slowly regained consciousness and began to feel normal again, Veronica asked, "What was that?"
Aleric replied, "No idea."
"But we should get moving now."
Cesar pulled out his magic crystal ball, connected to Edmund, and asked, "Edmund, Agnes, Shwan, Maxwell, Vinni… anyone—did you feel the same bloodlust we just did?"
For one to two hours, there was no reply. Eventually, Rowena and Elspeth responded: "Yes, we felt it too. It was the Young Master's bloodlust, which Madam and Miss calmed down. But we still don't know the reason. For now, Master is with Allen, talking about something."
The recording ended, and the connection cut off.
Bianca, sitting opposite Cesar and listening, asked, "What's going on, Sir Cesar…?"
Cesar replied, "Madam, please don't call me Sir."
"According to what Agnes and Rowena said, that bloodlust we felt and saw earlier… it was the Master's. Meaning your grandson's. Madam and Miss calmed it, but no one else knows the reason."
Aleric said, "The Master wasn't even this angry when he tore the Ashers apart. This was on a completely different level."
"Such intense bloodlust… reaching all the way here. Cesar, my brother… the duchy is still about 200 miles away."
Cesar replied, "Aleric, my brother… I already knew the Master isn't normal. Slaughtering over 25,000 knights in 50 minutes isn't something a normal human can do. But today we also learned that his bloodlust and anger are just as extraordinary as he is."
Elemor asked, "Lucifer killed over 25,000 knights in 50 minutes?"
Cesar and Aleric smiled and said, "No, Madam… it would have taken even less time if the Master had been serious. He didn't just kill 25,000+ in 50 minutes—he cut them into tiny bite-sized pieces you could use for stew. If he had only killed without doing that… I think 5–10 minutes would have been more than enough."
Then Cesar added, "Aleric, remember that recording where he pulled out Xavier's right eyeball from the socket, chewed it raw, and spat it out?"
Aleric said, "I'll never forget that until the day I die. After that, he even asked if anyone else wanted to donate an eye."
The two laughed like madmen.
But Bianca and Elemor weren't laughing.
They couldn't believe it—their little Lucifer, who used to be shy around them and call them "Grandma" with love, now chewed people's eyes raw and had become so cruel.
But little did they know that behind that bloodshed was an innocent child, a responsible man, a devoted father, a son who loved his mother immensely, a brother who wanted to give his sister every happiness in the world… and a ruler who would protect his people at any cost.