“You’re right, Auston, but Wayne is your son at the end of the day. You’re not avoiding the beating today!” Ivan took a deep breath, ready to go all in.

“Just wait!” Auston raised his hand and frowned. “I told you that Wayne and I had a terrible relationship. He’s thinking about becoming the head of the family every day. If I die, he’ll be the happiest. Why must you insist on fighting me?”

Ivan huffed, disgusted beyond measure. “Since you’ve told me many truths, I’ll let you know why I’m coming after you. My daughter forbade me from making a move on Wayne, saying that the Darkness Knight supports him. As the Pope, I must avoid the Darkness Knight.”

Then why are you here? Auston rolled his eyes. His covering up his identity had inadvertently benefited Wayne.

“Do you need another moment?”

“No. I finally realize that both you and the Holy Maiden have been fooled by Wayne,” Auston hissed with frustration. “The Darkness Knight has never said that he supports Wayne!”

“Explain. What do you mean?”

Ivan’s heart thumped. He suddenly sensed a powerful Darkness energy coming from where Megan was. The pure Darkness couldn’t belong to mortals. It was a hundred percent the power of the Darkness Knight. So...

Ivan gulped, connecting the Darkness Knight to Megan. She did resemble the previous Darkness Knight. Both were strong women with a frosty disposition. The more he thought about it, the more striking their resemblance seemed.

“Auston, is your butler the Darkness—”

“I can’t tell you. I can only say that she isn’t the Darkness Knight.” Auston shook his head meaningfully.

Ivan stopped pushing. The facts were self-evident, so he needn’t ask the question.

“Mr. Ivan, keep it to yourself and tell no one.”

“Mr. Auston, I’ve offended you.”

“It’s fine. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Holiness.”

“You’re too kind. You’re now the sovereign of Windsor, and it’s thanks to you that the Church of Darkness could thrive here.”

One thing led to another, and they shook hands. Auston whispered, “The Darkness Knight supports the Lando family because of me. The butler and I... I am a noble. You know what I mean, don’t you?”

“Your family is a mess!”

Auston rolled his eyes, ignoring the remark for the sake of maintaining peace. He continued, “Mr. Ivan, I can tell you with certainty that the Darkness Knight does not support Wayne. He’s fooled Lady Holy Maiden in the name of the chosen knight. The bastard wouldn’t even spare his younger sister, so I don’t have to tell you why he’s gone after the Holy Maiden.”

Ivan furiously cracked his knuckles. “How about the other knights? What do they say?”

“They represent the churches, and the Windsor royal family has been suppressing them. Do you understand?”

Auston was a master in manipulating words. He never gave an exact answer, leading Ivan to come to the conclusions he wanted.

Ivan wasn’t a young man with no experience. The brave and shrewd Pope was no fool, so when Auston didn’t finish his sentence, Ivan suspected that Auston had provoked him into making a move against Wayne just because the father couldn’t do anything about his grievances.

After careful consideration, Ivan speculated that Wayne had the support of at least one chosen knight. Since he came from the Church of Nature, it had to be the Nature Knight.

Ivan grew confident. The Nature Knight was a man of integrity and would never support a scumbag who had seduced the Holy Maiden of the Church of Darkness and bedded his own younger sister. Wayne must have deceived the Nature Knight with his silver tongue.

“The bastard is too good at fooling people. You won’t mind if I tear out his tongue, will you?” Ivan asked, staring at Auston.

“Of course not. I’ll even give you the necessary intel!”

Auston met Ivan’s gaze, not worried about letting the Pope see the changes in his expression. Auston was telling the truth and only the truth. If he had the power to do so, he would help Ivan restrain Wayne.

“Oh, do you hate your son so much?”

“I love my daughter more!” Auston said darkly.

“Good. Nicely said!” Ivan patted him on the shoulder approvingly. “Whether you’re hiding something from me, I agree with that at least. I believe you’re a good father who loves his daughter.”

“I believe you are, too!”

They shook hands once more. The two strangers had come together because of Wayne.

“Tell me, where is the bastard?”

“He’s coming back to Londan tonight, followed by a secretary and a girlfriend... I won’t go into their relationship. You can figure it out.”

“Damn him!”

“Indeed!”

They gritted their teeth with genuine feelings. Neither was acting in the slightest. Auston, especially, harbored so much bottled-up resentment that his feelings almost manifested as overflowing darkness.

“The bastard is eloquent, and none of the women he’s fooled are easy to deal with. I’d advise against making a move when there are others around...”

Auston formulated strategies for Ivan: go after Wayne while he was on his own and make sure to catch him by surprise. Any mistake could prove fatal.

“So your son is strong?”

“The greatest threat is his eloquence. He’s got a lethal silver tongue,” Auston said honestly.

Ivan re-evaluated the situation, still suspecting Auston of keeping things from him. He guessed that there was infighting among the Lando family, and the father and son were planning to take each other out in secret.

The cold-blooded nobles had a terrible relationship, unlike his family; Ana would never bare her teeth at him.

Ivan had a bad feeling about Auston, too. After exchanging pleasantries and confirming the information, he turned to leave.

Once he departed, Auston returned to the back seat of the sedan, playing with his coin. He couldn’t stop his lips from curling up. Laughter almost spilled out.

“Master, you...” Megan returned to the driver’s seat and started the car. She hesitated for a drawn-out moment before finally asking, “Did you say something to Ivan, leading him to attack Young Master?”

“It’s personal between your master and young master. The butler should stay out of it,” Auston said coolly.

But Young Master calls me Aunt Megan and considers me his second mother. He never sees me as a mere butler.

Megan gripped the steering wheel with a blank face; the dissatisfaction she radiated made Auston’s scalp tingle.

“Don’t tell Wayne anything about my meeting with Ivan today,” he had to say. “Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Megan nodded. She wouldn’t tell the young master, but if he asked, she would admit everything.

Auston sighed in the backseat. He had spent the last sixteen years with Megan and more or less watched her grow up. He could tell what she was thinking.

Wayne had already won over Silvia, Veronica, and Megan. The family was truly doomed.

***

That night, Wayne returned to Londan. He first took Kristen and Mona to his residence before driving out with the excuse of working overtime. Stepping on the accelerator, he headed straight to the manor where Anastasia resided.

He received her telepathic message that the delivery from the Church of Darkness’s headquarters had arrived. Wonderful.

The two residences weren’t far apart. Soon, Wayne pulled over and knocked on the front gate.

He had the keys thanks to Veryl making him spares. He could unlock the manor’s metal gates, the front door of the house, and the door to the master bedroom. Out of respect for Anastasia, Wayne had put the keys away and knocked like a guest every time he visited.

Soon, the door opened. Anastasia walked out to welcome him, wearing a black dress. Taking a closer look, he could tell that she had even put on light makeup.

Wayne didn’t expose her. He planned to conduct another surgery on her after he was done with his business.

Neither knew that in a shadow, a cloaked figure was witnessing everything, blending with the environment.

Ivan.

The father had been here all this time. When he saw Wayne rushing to Anastasia as soon as he returned to Londan, he almost broke his knuckles by clenching his fists too hard.

Anastasia had laid down magical wards inside and outside the manor, so not even Ivan was confident that he could infiltrate the place without suffering injury. Therefore, he moved extremely slowly, carefully solving each problem while staying silent.

In the living room, Anastasia got to business. Opening her dark domain, she retrieved two large suitcases and placed them before Wayne. “This is the Goddess of Darkness’s gifts to you, Mr. Wayne. It’s from the church’s headquarters, delivered in person.”

“It hasn’t been swapped, has it?” Wayne joked.

“It hasn’t.” Anastasia shook her head. She trusted the deliveryman’s power. Unless one of the chosen knights had made a move, no one would be able to steal from him.

Wayne opened the suitcases and looked at the two obelisks in surprise. Two plus two equals four... which wasn’t the point. The point was that the Goddess of Darkness had first guided him to the Goddess of Sky, and now, She had the tablets of the God of Storm and Thunder delivered to him. What was the meaning of this? Was She trying to make him follow the path of the thunder god?

Since it was the Goddess of Darkness they were talking about, Wayne guessed that the goddess was up to no good, but since he had the Book of Greed, he didn’t feel any concern and didn’t turn the gifts away.

Come on. Send more tablets to me. If I even so much as frown, I wouldn’t be a man.

“Mr. Wayne, the Goddess of Darkness said that she wanted a conversation with you once you acquired these,” Anastasia said, blushing at Wayne. “Would you give me a moment? I’ll take a shower and get changed.”

Her eyes darted around as she spoke. The fragrance coming from her made the air curdle with tension.

“Make it quick. I’ll be waiting in the living room. Then I’ll give you another surgery.” Wayne shot her down again. Mind out of the gutter!

Anastasia was disappointed, but she didn’t dwell on it. Her faith didn’t chase skirts. It was all her wishful thinking... Well, that wasn’t quite right. He had no qualms chasing after others’ skirts.

Watching her walk away bitterly, Wayne shook his head, telling himself to hold on longer. He believed he could overcome this difficult time.

Outside, a cloaked figure slowly approached the manor and saw the light coming from the living room and the top floor. He solved the wards faster, worried that his hundred-year-old sauerkraut of a daughter would be unsealed before he could make it inside[1].

Before Ivan could worry for too long, the light on the top floor went out. Having changed into a more revealing black dress, Anastasia returned to the living room with a pleasant smell.

“Shall we go to the basement, Mr. Wayne?”

“No, I’m afraid of the dark. This room is brighter.” Wayne refused to move.

Anastasia nodded, turning into her dark elf form. She whispered and established a connection with the Goddess of Darkness.

Wayne would like to have her sit on his lap to give the goddess a nice surprise when She descended, but compared to his anticipation for the entertainment that would take place, he was more worried that the seat would harden, and Anastasia would take the opportunity to plug in. Frankly speaking, he worried that while he wouldn’t make the first move, he wouldn’t say no or stop her, either.

The Goddess of Darkness seemed to have been waiting. When Anastasia opened her eyes, the goddess had already descended. She looked down at the dress she wore with a pointed smile.

The smile grated on Wayne. If the goddess wasn’t going to protect Anastasia, he would. He said with a raised eyebrow, “Ines?”

“Ah, I see you’ve found Seleucia. Where’s the Goddess of Sky? Has she accepted your evolution?” Ines, the Goddess of Darkness, went up to sit on Wayne’s lap with a smile. Her long, pale arms wound around his neck before she leaned closer.

Wayne frowned. “If you want this, use your own body. Don’t taint Anastasia.”

“I’m helping her, am I not?”

Bam!

An almost invisible cloak of shadow smashed through the window, scattering glass shards everywhere. Wayne turned around in surprise. He saw a handsome young man cast aside the invisibility cloak and glared at him like he had killed his father.

Who are you?

“Let go of my daughter, Wayne!” Ivan’s eyes blazed with fury. He had wanted to stay hidden, but he couldn’t take it any longer.

“Daughter...” Surprised, Wayne looked down at Ines. “So you have a father. He’s quite young.”

His forehead beaded with sweat as his heart thumped. He suspected that he had gotten honeytrapped—no, goddesstrapped!

The goddess played the extra, while the goddess’s father barged in through the window and would coerce him with reason and force, making sure he handed over his genetic code tonight before walking out of the door.

“That’s not my father. He’s Ivan, the Pope and Anastasia’s father.” Ines glanced at Ivan before smiling at Wayne. Though a subordinate had seen Her in a compromising position, She wasn’t flustered at all. She even found it amusing.

Ivan was the one who should panic. How would the devoted pope react in this situation?

Gulp!

Ivan froze like he had been struck by lightning. This wasn’t his daughter. He was sure of it. So... this was...

Is-is-is that you, Goddess?

Remembering his daughter’s resigned expression, Ivan blanched. Could it be? Was he perhaps right? Had he maybe come to the right conclusion?

No, it was absurd. This was the goddess, his faith. She should be above all! Impossible, absolutely impossible!

Ivan shook his head. Please say that you are my daughter, Anastasia, rather than the goddess.

Please, Ana. I’m begging you to stop acting. I’m scared!

1. In the raw, Ivan compares his daughter to kimchi since he’s referred to her as a cabbage in an earlier chapter (as explained before, a term often used to refer to one’s daughters). As it’s a little strange to have something Korean mentioned in this world, where Asia doesn’t even exist, I’ve opted for a different form of fermented cabbage. ☜