Weakling
The room Fingmi was kept in was otherwise more welcoming and warm than Linfeng’s, but the girl inside was staring at the ground with shame in her eyes. Her limbs were unrestrained, and as the door opened, it was clear that she wasn’t even locked inside.
“Welcome back home, Fingmi”
The girl–Presumably the main love interest of Linfeng’s script–Looked up to see the large and menacing frame of Anoteros standing over her. She frowned slightly, not even able to muster up any resistance.
“You said that…”
“I did not lie, Fingmi. You and your dear Alrin will be able to stay together, and I won’t kill any of the other two either”
“I thought you would-”
She was cut off before she could continue.
“That’s the issue here, isn’t it? You thought something that you shouldn’t have. Did you really think that I would allow such prime items to avoid becoming a part of my collection? Yen’mila is a rare kind of cultivator with a rare affinity for a secret realm, and Mala… He might not have any cultivation worth right now, but what a rare twink he is!”
“He is basically just as effeminate as a Foppoof, but without the special traits of one. For someone like myself, who greatly enjoys both twinks and Foppoofs, he is far too precious to be allowed anywhere but right where I can keep him safe”
Fingmi shuffled uncomfortably. Hearing Edrick speak of those two as if they were trophies was off-putting, even if she was already well aware of how he operated.
“What… What about Linfeng? He isn’t to your tastes… You promised me!”
“Relax, I’ll keep my word. You simply don’t understand what I truly meant…”
Anoteros pulled out a small vial from his pocket.
“This right here is an Everlasting Elixir Of Inversion. Once one drinks its full content. They will see their sex switched in the most perfect way possible, gaining all benefits of their new selves, whilst retaining the benefits of their old self… Isn’t it glorious?”
Fingmi paled.
“You mean that… You’re going to make Linfeng drink this thing?”
“Indeed, he’ll transform. I’ll tame him–Or rather, her–And I’ll bestow a crest. As you can see, I am indeed quite magnanimous. Both of you will remain together, and you’ll even have the pleasure of serving me…”
“This is…”
“I am not done. I even came up with a new kind of crest for both of you–I had been working on it for a while, you see? I was wondering what to do if I were to have a couple enter my service? Should I break them up in the process, or should I somehow allow them to remain a couple even under my service?”
“I am quite open-minded, so I decided to create a crest specifically for such an occasion. You two will be allowed to enjoy each other, preferably where I can see it”
Anoteros paced around the room, turning his back to Fingmi as he stood with both hands behind his back.
“By the way, I heard from the other two that you would insist on keeping something covering your chest during amorous activities. Was it purely to better sell your story?”
“...Yes”
Fingmi looked to the side. Part of the reason why was that she herself didn’t want to see that part of her–If she did, she would see that there was no crest upon her solar plexus, and it would remind her that she had been following Edrick’s orders out of her own free will.
She much preferred deluding herself into believing that the scion had marked her with one of those things, and that she had no choice but to follow his instructions, even if she knew very well that it was false.
The noble walked up to her once more and knelt down to meet her eye-to-eye, right before he gently pressed his palm against her stomach.
He somewhat regretted not allowing Xiao to plant his seed inside of Ai, or even telling Bedi to do the job herself. Though all was well on that end since he had acquired the Chen Pure Bloodline himself, allowing him to not only produce Chen-blooded offspring on his own, but with Xiaolie around, true pure-blooded Chen descendants were even a possibility.
Anoteros wasn’t planning on betting on luck in Linfeng’s case. He wasn’t part of a clan or anything, so his bloodline itself would have no worth, and it thus likely wouldn’t be part of the rewards for the destruction of the script. As such, he wanted to at least get one or two of his spawnlings for himself.
Fingmi didn’t move away from his touch and merely spoke once more.
“What are you planning with mine and Yen’mila’s Allin?”
“Don’t worry, even if they are disappointing, I’ll keep them around at the residence… Since they don’t have anything to do with me, they’ll be raised as servants. Or perhaps my wives will take a liking and want to adopt them–Who knows?”
With that last part, he thought of Linmin in particular. Right now, Haoyu had no intention of partaking in such a thing. He was far too absorbed in his craft to think about it, but Linmin clearly had thoughts.
He had even been secretly thinking about making orphanage projects so as to simplify the process of finding good candidates for adoption.
“...Will I not be allowed to be its mother?”
“As long as you conform to my demands, you’ll be free to do so. But do know that there are maids specifically specialised in such matters here. You should know, as you mingled with them for the longest time when you were pregnant with my offspring”
Fingmi looked down.
“Is Meldro alright?”
That was the name she had picked for the Allino she had had with Anoteros not too long before Linfeng had shown up and taken her away. One of the main purposes of the ‘game’ was to allow Fingmi to give birth before Linfeng could show up.
“Of course he’s alright. He’s my Allino. Even if a bastard, he still has my superior blood flowing through his veins. Whether he can make anything out of it, we won’t know for a while, but worst comes to worst, he’ll always have the option to act as a servant here”
With these words, Edrick propped Fingmi’s chin up.
“Now… Shall I finally bless you with a crest? You were quite disobedient at times, but you’ve repaid yourself quite well with what you’ve done for me–I think you would make for a good Bearing Maid, maybe a Nursery Maid? I’ll let you choose”
“I…”
“No need to lie to yourself or me. I am sure that Linfeng was quite good, but was he better than me?”
“I can’t…”
“You can”
He ran his thumb across her lips, slowly pushing her onto the couch she had been sitting on.
“You… You might be better in bed, but I love him, so…”
“You can love more than one person, Fingmi… You should know this. It is quite clear that despite everything, you couldn’t resist–You’ve fallen in love with me too, haven't you? No matter how hard I tried to make you hate me, a weak woman like yourself could do nothing but fall in love anyway…”
“I…”
She tried to deny.
“Shh… Once you wear the crest, you can say goodbye to kissing me. So just enjoy yourself before this, understand?”
Fingmi clenched her fists for a moment, but quickly leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the scion’s neck. As shameful as it was, she couldn’t argue…