The hero left that same day. There were no grand farewells, no formal goodbyes. Leon Phoenix simply mounted his horse and rode away, his shoulders a little less straight than when he arrived. He had won the duel but had lost something else entirely—the respect of the house he had sought to impress.
Victor watched him go from a balcony, hidden in the shadows. He felt no pity. The hero was a tool, and he had been used perfectly.
The mood in the Vaelstrom estate was colder than the winter wind. The Duke had not spoken a word to Victor since the incident. His brothers, Marcus and Valerius, now looked at him with a hatred so pure it was almost beautiful. They were wounded animals, and they blamed him for their injury.
Good. Let them hate him. Fear was a tool, but hatred? Hatred made people stupid.
That evening, a summons came. Not from the Duke, but from his mother.
Her chambers were warm, a fire crackling in the grand hearth. She was not at her desk, but standing by the window, looking out at the moonlit gardens. She wore a simple, black silk robe that did little to hide the incredible curves of her body. Her silver hair was down, cascading over her shoulders like a river of starlight.
She turned as he entered, and her violet eyes found his in the dim light.
"The hero is gone," she said. It was not a question.
"He is, Mother," Victor replied, bowing his head slightly.
"Your brothers are in the infirmary, tending to their wounded pride," she continued, her voice a low, dangerous purr. "And the Duke is locked in his study, drinking himself into a stupor over the shame of it all."
She glided towards him, her movements silent and predatory. "And you… you are here. Unharmed. Triumphant."
She stopped in front of him, so close he could feel the heat from her body. She reached up and tucked a stray strand of his silver hair behind his ear. Her touch was electric.
"You played them all, didn't you?" she whispered, her voice a mix of pride and something darker. "The hero, your brothers, your father. You turned them into puppets on a string."
Victor's heart was pounding. He had expected anger, or maybe disappointment. He had not expected this… approval.
"I did what I had to do," he said, his voice steady. "I was going to die. I changed the story."
"No," she said, her finger tracing the line of his jaw. "You didn't just change the story. You wrote a new one. You took a hero and made him a fool. You took your proud brothers and made them children. You took a simple plot and turned it into a masterpiece of manipulation."
Her eyes were burning now, with an intensity that was both terrifying and intoxicating. It was the look of a master craftsman who had just found a student who surpassed all her expectations.
"Show me," she commanded softly.
"Show you what?"
"Show me how you did it," she said. "Close your eyes."
He hesitated for only a second before obeying. He felt her hand rest gently on his chest, right over his heart.
"Now," she murmured. "Think back to the hero. Tell me what you felt."
Victor focused, remembering the moment he met Leon Phoenix. He remembered pushing his [Dominion of Desire] outwards, trying to feel the hero's emotions.
"Fear," he said, his voice low. "He's terrified of failing. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and he's scared he's not strong enough to hold it up."
"Good," she purred, her thumb stroking his chest. "And what did you do with that fear?"
"I fed it," Victor said, a new understanding dawning on him. "I showed him weakness in myself. I made myself someone he needed to save. I gave him a chance to be the hero, and in doing so, I made him predictable."
Liliana let out a soft, musical laugh. It was the most genuine sound he had ever heard from her.
"Oh, my son," she breathed, her face lighting up with a terrifying, beautiful joy. "You are not just a student. You are a natural. You understand the fundamental truth of power."
"And what is that?" Victor asked, opening his eyes to look at her.
"People are not driven by logic or duty," she said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "They are driven by their desires, their fears, their insecurities. Control those, and you control the person. You don't need a sword to rule the world when you can rule their hearts."
She leaned in closer, her lips just inches from his. Her scent filled his senses, a dizzying mix of jasmine, blood, and raw power.
"You have a gift, Victor," she whispered, her eyes locked on his. "A rare and precious gift. And I will teach you how to use it. I will teach you to bend the will of kings, to make goddesses weep, to reshape this world in your image."
Her hand slid from his chest to the back of his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair. Her touch was no longer just maternal. It was possessive. It was a claim.
"We are alike, you and I," she purred. "We see the world for what it truly is—a stage, and everyone else merely actors. We are the directors."
She pulled him closer, until their bodies were almost touching. He could feel the softness of her breasts against his chest, the heat of her breath on his lips.
"Your first lesson is complete," she murmured, her voice a husky caress. "You have learned to manipulate the outside world. Your next lesson… is to learn to control what is inside."
Her gaze dropped to his lips, and for a moment, Victor thought she was going to kiss him. The air crackled with a tension so thick it was hard to breathe.
But then, she pulled back, a slow, satisfied smile on her face. The spell was broken.
"You have potential, my son," she said, her voice returning to its normal, cool tone. "Great potential. Do not disappoint me."
She turned and walked back to the window, leaving him standing there, his heart hammering against his ribs and his body on fire.
As he walked out of her chambers, the system screen flickered in his vision.
[ **Quest Update: A Mother's Love** ]
[ **Objective:** Establish a profound, unbreakable, and taboo bond with your mother, the Duchess Liliana Vaelstrom. ]
[ **Status:** The Serpent's Smile. The target sees you not as a son, but as an equal. A partner. Her obsession is growing, but her respect for your mind has temporarily overshadowed her desire. The path is open. ]
[ **Skill Unlocked: [Yandere's Caress]** - *Passive ability to soothe and placate obsessive women. Your presence calms their inner turmoil, making them more open to your influence.* ]
Victor walked back to his room, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. He had passed the test. He had impressed her. But as he remembered the look in her eyes, the possessive fire, the way her body had pressed against his, he knew one thing for certain.
He was not just her son anymore. He was her new favorite toy. And she was the most dangerous woman in the world.