22. Preparations
Lady Erenia slept in his arms, and when he woke up, he pulled her closer for a kiss. She moaned, her body flushed with his lust energies, and his fingers gently played with her hair. Her wounds from her long periods of confinement were gone, and her skin was soft. He kissed her again on the neck, she smelled like a combination of sweat and all the juices from their intense lovemaking last night.
He could feel her heart, his magic pouring through her veins. She was still asleep, and he could partly sense her thoughts. Lady Erenia wasn't a playable character in the game, and that meant, she didn't have much resistance to his powers. This was a point he could exploit, because, in any game, the non-playable characters had significant influence on a hero's journey. He needed to use the NPCs, and move them in such a way that he could keep tabs on the hero, and then, separate some of the heroines away from the hero.
His action to control Lady Erenia was the evidence that this was a good direction, as Kiara was already on the way to the Natarian province. If her could truly control Lady Erenia, claiming Kiara's goddess shards would be possible.
***
"Lady Aida, this way, please." The head maid instructed, and they soon came to a room for magic. A mage waited for her there. Magic practice, and just as they were about to start, Count Edmund walked into the room.
The mage and the head maid bowed. "Milord."
"I'll work here. Just keep practicing." Edmund made himself comfortable, there were places to work in almost every room, and the Count was well known to like a change of environment. He had a lot of documents to read. He had his agents gather a summary of all the individuals that may interact with the hero. The public angle was 'business'. Since the hero would be important, make friends with those who would be friends with the hero. The hero was so high profile, that gathering info on him was very, very normal and every noble did it.
There were even merchants that sold standardised packs.
The mage looked at Aida, and they continued to practice. Edmund noticed through his demonic senses that Aida constantly looked at him, as if she searched for his approval.
So, when she did something well, Count Edmund looked up and smiled. Aida's heart skipped a beat, and she blushed. Then she went back to practice. They kept practicing for about fourty minutes, and then they had a short break. The maids had already prepared some refreshments, after all, the Count was there, they couldn't be lazy.
"Thanks for your guidance. I hope she hasn't been a difficult student." Count Edmund nodded at the Mage. The Mage nodded back.
"She has some unique challenges, but it is no big trouble, Count Edmund. I'll make sure you get your money's worth."
"That is what I hope." Count Edmund nodded, and looked at Aida. Aida naturally say closer to the Count. Magical practice usually caused mental exhaustion, so she closed her eyes and took a rest. The Count asked anyway. "Is it difficult to learn [pain suppression] and [paralyse]?"
"I think I almost got it." Aida said.
"That is good. I'll give you a reward if you master it well." Count Edmund said.
Aida looked back at the Count. "What kind of reward, milord?"
He winked, and she blushed.
***
"Your excellency, the suit of armor has been completed." An aide said, and two other aides pushed a set of armor through the door. It was specially made for Lady Erenia's ceremony, a beautiful full body armor with a lot of little engravings and details, it was specially made for the young lady. It even came with it's own inner wear, which came as a set with the armor.
"Excellent." Count Edmund said, as he admired the work. It wasn't a particularly practical set of armor, because of how gaudy it was, and all the ceremonial flourishes were useless in battle. In fact, it's likely that they'd get tangled if she ever tried to use it in a battle. "Lady Erenia should see it."
He sat there, and admired the armor for a while. Then, he touched it.
It was a ceremonial armor, not made of enchanted steel or blessed metals. Easily corrupted. "[Tentacle Armor]." He activated his new ability, and felt a segment of his own essence flood the armor, and extended itself to the inner layer as well.
Little tentacles appeared in the inner-parts of the armor as expected, and they disappeared when he mentally commanded them to. He smirked, and he couldn't wait to get lady Kiara into it.
"This is for my daughter?" Lady Erenia walked in then, and she gasped in surprise. She was dressed in a long dress, with a modest top that covered her shoulders and neck.
"Yes. For the ceremony. What did you think?"
Lady Erenia approached it and touched it. He could sense her heart beating quickly, and then she looked back at the Count. "It's beautiful. It's modelled after-"
"Yes. I had the crafter model it after the ceremonial armor of the great Lord Kenarias III. I think he got it mostly right, since he did have to adapt it to Lady Kiara's body figure."
"Whoah-" Lady Erenia just gasped, her palms covered her mouth. She was stunned, and Edmund signalled the rest of the maids to leave the room. Once they did, Count Edmund approached the Lady Erenia from the back, and hugged her.
She looked at him, but there was no resistance to his actions. His fingers touched her belly, and he felt her body through her dress. "If you like it, I'd like some... rewards."
The mature lady looked back at the slightly older Count, and smiled. "For doing this for my daughter? Certainly."
Count Edmund smirked, she didn't know that he had more sinister plans for her daughter. He could feel his magic's strength gather in her heart and mind, her paltry resistance crumbling. They kissed, and the corruption took hold in lady Erenia's mind.
Her dress and innerwear fell to the ground, and they engaged in passionate intercourse. She whispered, with the last shreds of her sanity as their bodily fluids mixed once more. "You can do anything you want to me, but I want to keep my daughter safe."
Count Edmund ignored her and just kissed her.