“Wa-wait…”
Astreia’s reason screamed a warning.
She instinctively tried to gently push the Prince away, desperate to stop this shameful behavior.
After all, this was the Council Hall of the Kingdom!
Allison Visseran was still watching!
But Wendy paid no heed, clinging to Astreia’s neck like a spoiled cat, impossible to shake off, stirring the Princess’s heart.
Every unspoken moment of the past three days ignited into a wildfire in that instant.
The impulses that had been forcibly suppressed erupted completely!
Astreia could no longer restrain the instinct in the depths of her soul.
She grabbed the Prince with a reverse grip, pulling him into her embrace, as if to merge into one, resisting the coldness of the world.
Time and space seemed to melt in the storm.
They forgot where they were, forgot the people before them.
In this Council Hall symbolizing the Kingdom’s power and order, under the gaze of the Kingdom’s iron-fisted Prime Minister, they confirmed each other’s existence in the most primal, honest way.
Ragged breathing was the only sound, echoing beneath the empty dome.
“Enough!”
Allison Visseran’s whole body trembled with rage, the veins at her temples throbbing, finally unable to suppress a sharp rebuke.
“Do you think I don’t exist?! Prince Wendy, answer my question!”
The pair finally parted, reluctantly breaking away from their sweetness.
The last lingering heat between them snapped in the air like a silent sigh.
“Isn’t it… obvious enough?”
The Prince’s breathing remained fast and chaotic, a flush coloring his handsome face.
But instead of looking at the Prime Minister, he buried his burning cheeks deeper into Astreia’s arms like a small beast seeking shelter, rubbing in satisfaction.
That posture was less like seeking protection, and more a declaration of ownership.
“I am a complete, hopeless aesthetic deviant.”
He slowly raised his head.
In those eyes, glittering with emotion, there was no hint of humiliation, only a morbid, fanatical, and satisfied obsession.
“In my eyes, the so-called beauty of all women in this world is like dust.”
“Only Astreia.”
“Only her full body, these powerful curves, this ‘ugliness’ misunderstood by the world, is the sole treasure in my eyes—the supreme masterpiece!”
“I dream of becoming one with her!”
Wendy gazed at the thoroughly stunned Allison Visseran, the corners of his mouth twisting into a happy yet warped smile.
“To become a tool used by Astreia to satisfy her desires, I…”
“Am! Willingly! Devoted!”
The Prince’s voice was hoarse and twisted, yet carried a chilling and indisputable sincerity.
“Now, do you understand, Prime Minister~”
“Hiss!!!”
Allison Visseran sucked in a sharp breath.
No one could fake this.
Such madness and obsession from the soul—absolutely impossible to imitate!
In other words, the peerlessly beautiful Prince before her truly… was proud to be the plaything of the Great Princess!
What an absurd, insane pair!
For a moment, images of up and down, up and down, up and down flashed uncontrollably through the Prime Minister’s mind.
Damn it…
Why… why did she feel a trace of envy?
The Cardinal shook her head violently, throwing out all those blasphemous, wretched fantasies.
I am a Cardinal!
The Kingdom’s protector!
After forcing herself to regain composure, Allison Visseran completely abandoned any thought of passing moral judgment on the two.
She simply gave them a final glance, as if looking at monsters, then squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.
“I… understand.”
With that, the Prime Minister didn’t want to stay even a second longer.
She turned and left, her retreating figure carrying an unprecedented loneliness and panic.
She needed to find a place, alone.
To piece together her shattered worldview.
Watching the Prime Minister’s near-panicked retreat, Astreia finally realized what had happened, her face so hot she could fry an egg.
“Y-you you… what nonsense were you spouting just now!”
The Princess, mortified and furious, forcefully shoved the still-nuzzling Wendy from her arms.
“What aesthetic deviant! What supreme masterpiece! You…”
“Every word I said was true.”
Wendy blinked his innocent, wide eyes, expression sincere.
“You!”
Astreia was momentarily at a loss for words.
Looking at that heart-stoppingly beautiful face, her shame and anger dissolved into an unspoken delight and sweetness.
This little liar…
His mouth is still as sweet as ever.
But now wasn’t the time for romance.
Astreia took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the flutter in her heart, her expression turning serious again.
“Back to business. The names Allison Visseran mentioned earlier—Witch of Lust Arvela, Witch of Greed Delysia… they sound familiar.”
“What?”
Wendy’s face changed instantly, turning serious as he looked at her.
“After I became a Witch, a lot of chaotic memory fragments appeared in my mind, all seemingly related to Witches.”
Astreia said, recalling slowly.
“Among them were also about that Holy Sword…”
“The Holy Sword doesn’t seem to be just a seal.”
She frowned, thinking for a moment as if searching for the right word.
“More like a Key.”
“Key?”
Wendy’s expression grew even more grave.
“That’s right.”
“Those memory fragments told me that as long as I could pull out the Holy Sword, I would gain the powers of the Witch of Lust Arvela and the Witch of Greed Delysia.”
“At that point, along with my own ‘Pride’, I would possess the Power of the Three Sins and become the strongest Witch in history!”
At these words, a glimmer of longing and ambition flickered in Astreia’s eyes—one even she didn’t notice.
Power of the Three Sins.
Strongest Witch.
This temptation was overwhelming for any being who had just tasted the flavor of power.
However, Wendy showed no excitement at all, instead, his expression darkened completely.
“No!”
He blurted out, his tone firm and unquestionable.
“Why?”
Astreia’s brows knitted instantly, a flash of displeasure in her emerald eyes.
Ever since her transformation, she had grown more intolerant of being denied.
Especially by the bed partner who always took and took from her.
Wendy saw the fleeting violence in the Princess’s gaze, and alarm bells rang in his mind.
This is bad.
His tale about “Pride” not only perfectly fooled the Cardinal, but even Astreia herself seemed to believe it.
But that was a huge lie, made up based on the game’s backstory!
What pride?
Where did the Power of Pride come from?!
The force that corrupted Astreia into a Witch could only be, as that White-robed Priestess at Sunset Fortress said—
It was the Holy Sword already tainted by the Witch of Lust, which, through their shared blood contract, affected Astreia.
Therefore, her attribute should be Lust!
Moreover, there was some unknown reason that made him Astreia’s “Purifier”…
But he couldn’t say that.
If he told the truth, what if the Prime Minister, for the Kingdom and continent’s safety, reported it to the Church?
Would he end up dissected for research, or see Astreia become a rampaging force?
And the real “Pride” was likely long since devoured by the Blood Empress along with Justice Hero Alice!
If Astreia pulled out the Holy Sword, she wouldn’t gain the Three Sins—instead, she’d be fused with the Witch of Lust… and then, it would all be over!
The thought sent cold sweat trickling down Wendy’s back.
He had to, absolutely had to extinguish her dangerous idea!
And help Astreia master her current Witch powers as quickly as possible, to face the true crisis ahead!