Chapter 380: All I Just Wanted To Do Was Read...

Finally, after getting somewhere with all this discussion, I stood up. Water had submerged the better part of my lower legs, drenching my boots and pants.

"Yuan... I don’t want this pointless slaughter to go on anymore. White Feather is my person... and so are you. What are you going to do about it?"

She folded her hands tightly and looked down for a moment.

"I-If she’s important to you, Lord Cade... then I can’t do anything." She released a thin smile. "Besides, I’m slightly disappointed in myself now that I realize all of this might have just been a curse driving my ego."

White Feather continued to look at Yuan. A moment later, she sighed and spoke as well, her voice hoarse.

"Even though I devised a way to survive all of this—taking a deathly chance of becoming inhuman — I have grown far more shrewd, doing shameful and inhumane things for the sake of protecting my clan. And this path... I hadn’t noticed was simply the curse insidiously driving me as well."

She looked at me and bowed with quiet gratitude.

"Thank you for helping us realize this, Lord Cade. Once again, I see what truly sets the Sovereigns apart."

Yuan’s eyes widened.

"Lord Cade is a...?"

"Ah, ah, ah. It’s just a misunderstanding on people’s part. I’m no such thing, Yuan. But my powers are no less terrifying than those of a Sovereign."

I explained with an arrogant grin.

"Humility is a virtue."

I glanced at White Feather and let out a tired breath. Trying to make her understand that I was not a Sovereign was going to be nearly impossible — especially now that she had met Kassie.

"Either way, I’m glad we all figured things out. You both have to be mindful of the extremities of your desires and wishes. I think that’s how the curse of your bloodline manifests."

A pleasant smile graced my lips.

"Now that we’ve resolved this, let’s move on to the next matter."

White Feather and I finally came out of the manor, meeting the gathered soldiers standing somewhat against each other. Their lines were looser than before, and many of them were scattered around trying to avoid the rising floodwaters.

The two women approached their respective people and informed them about the developments. The soldiers all glanced at me furtively. I wondered if they would ever stop asking the question of my identity in their heads.

And I wondered if they would ever find the answer they were looking for.

’I’m just a worker in the Black Snow Company.’

Afterward, I reunited with Levi, and we proceeded to investigate the Inquisitor I had captured from the Crystal Deep Clan, along with their Matriarch. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

We also discovered that the majority of the clan members who had come to this battle had fled when Kassie entered the battlefield. They chose to live to fight another day instead of dying here.

Since the Boundless Wave Island was drowning, we took the ships Yuan had brought and migrated to her clan instead.

The Water Moon Clan was somewhat similar to the Boundless Wave, but it was vastly larger. The dome that protected it from the crushing depths of the waters was enormous and overarching.

We reached their clan in no time, and they helped the survivors of the Boundless Wave Clan settle down. They even offered to help me relax, but instead of resting, I asked for their dungeon.

We got down to business, strapping both the patriarch and the Eternal Light Inquisitor to a torture chair.

There were two people in that chamber: Kassie and White Feather. While I wanted to be part of the torture team, White Feather demanded that I stay out of it, saying things like:

"You’re a Sovereign. You should not taint your hands with meager duties like this."

Kassie had naturally wanted to opt out as well, since White Feather was speaking as though I were a king who should be treated as such. The Empress naturally felt she deserved equal grace.

However, White Feather shot her a dark glare.

"What are you doing? We must not waste time and give our Master the result he demands."

Kassie nearly popped a vein in her temple when White Feather spoke to her in such a manner. But White Feather didn’t fret.

She was a jade beauty with snow-white hair and deep scarlet eyes, and when she glared, she looked anciently terrifying, radiating a profound aura.

It might not have posed much threat to Kassie, but in the end, White Feather was an abominable amalgamation of a spirit summon and a summoner, and the identity of the summon was unknown.

I think Kassie was wary of her to some extent. Not knowing her abilities, she didn’t want to pick a fight.

’She doesn’t pick fights with anyone... mostly females...’

Actually, thinking about it made me feel like Kassie might not be too comfortable around women — at least those who didn’t revere her the way the elf Evangeline did.

I grinned wickedly as I walked across the massive water bridge that led to a three-story pagoda.

It was sweetening feeling to slowly uncover Kassie’s weaknesses.

The women in flowing white hanfu-like gowns and the men wearing robes and lightweight armor all greeted me as I walked past, stopping to bow.

It was strange, being revered like this. I felt like a king and couldn’t help but grin pompously, even beginning to walk like I owned the place—hands clasped behind my back, my steps striking the ground with a swagger that practically shouted:

"Hey, look at me! I own this place!"

I had missed being respected and privileged so much that I realized that, back then, I never would have traded it for anything — even though it had been the source of my life’s despair.

I entered the library, intending to study the books available there — especially those compiled by Yuan’s grandfather — in order to discover which world he had come from. I also wanted to learn how he had lived, how he had died, and what truths he had uncovered about this world.

I thought that by starting there, I would finally be able to understand what this world truly was. All the knowledge the church had hidden from me would be laid bare.

I was going to make this place my home until White Feather and Kassie came out with a result.

As I entered the library, I realized it was rather empty. There were enough librarians and workers quietly cleaning or arranging books.

Instead, someone stepped out from behind one of the tall bookshelves.

She had obsidian hair, with black wolfish ears perked upright. Her porcelain skin gleamed beneath the soft light. She wore a light tunic that barely contained her full breasts, their weight threatening to tear it loose.

Her figure was mostly hidden beneath a loose robe that flowed all the way to the floor, concealing her tail.

"Yuan, what are you doing here?"

I asked, a hint of surprise in my voice.

Yuan’s face flushed a deep scarlet. She looked at me with a lewd expression then raised her skirt, revealing the delicate image of her pink lower lips.

"I have missed you so much, my Lord. Please... fill me with your seed. I am ready for it."

’Aww, come on, Yuan... I just wanted to read!’