I didn't ask Ying to stay at my side, because I insisted on having her as my bodyguard. I merely wanted to give her something to do at my side. Plus, Ying was a force to be reckoned with. I was confident she could combat any assassination attempts. I just never expected her to be averse to killing to that extent. I thought she had killed before; I didn't think she loathed killing people so much.
"Lucia, look into my eyes."
Lucia looked up at me. Puzzled, she asked, "What's wrong, Your Highness?"
Tone serious, I asked, "Do you see the eyes of someone who has killed a lot when you look into my eyes?"
Lucia shook her head: "Don't mind what that woman said, Your Highness. In my eyes, you're very kind as you once were."
"No, Lucia, look at my eyes. Do you see a murderous aura in my eyes?"
I pressed my hands down on Lucia's shoulders, and then looked into her eyes. She raised her head to meet my eyes. However, Lucia started having hot flushes within mere seconds, and then shyly lowered her head.
"We're married and have kids, yet you're still too shy to exchange eye contact with me?!"
Lucia tightly held my hand after lowering her head and shyly said, "It's not my fault!! My heart always races uncontrollably whenever I look straight into your eyes! I shy away when I make eye contact with you! When I look straight into your eyes, I feel… your eyes are very nice… very… nice…"
Touched, I tightened my grip on Lucia's shoulders and gently hugged her. She leaned onto my chest and looked up before shutting her eyes. I shifted my hands down to her waist and gave her a light kiss…
The two of us snuggled up together and kissed. Lucia carefully and greedily sucked on my tongue. We were reluctant to break up. Her nose gently brushed across my cheeks. The two of us enjoyed the warm and gentle moment…
I had a sudden realisation: "Wait, what the heck?! I just wanted Lucia to look at my eyes. How did we end up kissing?! How did we end up in this sort of scene?"
We couldn't bear to part. Lucia gently wiped her mouth. The bliss in her gaze was akin to spring water bursting forth, bringing forth a warm twilight. Before we could embrace again, a cold blade accompanying a gust of wind thrust through between us.
The sudden appearance of the blade almost put me on my bottom; I nearly had my nose shaved off. The ice-cold blade zipped straight passed where Lucia and my lips almost met again. I shrieked, while Lucia looked in the direction the blade came in. She coldly clenched her teeth and exclaimed, "Nier, what are you trying to do?!"
Nier coldly responded, "Nothing. I just can't stand you reaching for a yard after taking an inch."
Lucia tightly grabbed onto me and fumed, "What do you mean I reached for a yard after taking an inch? I'm His Highness' wife. What's wrong with me kissing my husband? Plus, that shameless stuff you do every night is what's called reaching for a yard after taking an inch! Keep it up, and I'll make it so you can't do with His Highness tonight!!"
"We agreed that daytime belonged to you, while night time belonged to me!!"
"What are you doing right now, then?! What's wrong with me kissing His Highness during the day?!"
Lucia drew her dagger at her waist, and then leaned over again. Nier narrowed her eyes. I turned to Nier and said, "Nier, look into my eyes."
"Did the elf destroy them?"
Nier lingered for a moment, and then hurried over. She shoved Lucia away with one hand. Lucia quickly wrapped her arms around my waist and shoved Nier in her face. The two of them shoved each other back and forth.
I wanted to say, "I'm no longer surprised that the two of you often do this sort of stuff, but can you two not throw me around?"
Nier wrapped an arm around my arm, while Lucia hugged me around my waist. I felt as though the two would rip me apart
"What are you three doing?" asked Mommy Vyvyan, right when I was about to call for them to stop.
Startled, Lucia quickly released me and obediently stood aside. Elizabeth came along with Vyvyan and looked at Nier. The three of us behaved as we would in a formal setting and watched my two moms approach.
Smiling, Vyvyan stroked my head: "Son, the departure fleet is ready; we can leave at any time. Do you have anything else to prepare?"
"I'll need to ask Ying."
"Haven't you already asked her?"
I went red in the face. I initially planned to go and ask her. For some reason, though, I ended up kissing Lucia, and then bringing out Nier's jealousy.
I stopped to ponder: "Speaking of which, why did I kiss Lucia…? Oh, right, right…"
I said, "Mom, I really want to know if what Ying said is true… Have my eyes changed?"
My question left both of my moms silent. Mommy Vyvyan looked at me with a melancholic gaze. She gently clasped my face then pulled me tightly into her embrace. She stroked my back with firm strokes and, in a soft voice, answered, "It's all right. It's all right. Son, Mommy understands you. Mommy understands you. It's not your fault. It's not your fault. You're kind. You're kind."
Mommy Elizabeth nodded: "Mm. You may not have noticed it, but after Mommy returned to the nation, people said my gaze has changed. It's all right, Son. It's a necessary step in becoming a ruler. There's no need to worry."
Vyvyan turned around to roar at Elizabeth: "You make it sound as if it wasn't you fault!!" fired Vyvyan.
"Is there something wrong about me teaching my son how to survive?!" argued Elizabeth.
The atmosphere between them began to freeze. Judging from the way Vyvyan had her teeth clenched, I wouldn't be surprised if the two of them got into a physical altercation.
I suppose my gaze changed. The version of me that Elizabeth and Vyvyan wanted were different. My heart and eyes changed when I was in the dungeon with Mommy Elizabeth. I didn't know how my eyes now looked; but nonetheless, others noticed what I least wanted to recall.
I said "I'm going to go and ask Ying about the wyrm."
I didn't say anything else and just gently wiped my eyes. I didn't know what was in my eyes, but it had penetrated deep into my soul and eyes.
I killed, and I killed lots. I'd definitely continue to kill people even if they weren't anthropoids. I understood Ying's concern, and I understood she didn't want to kill, but I already knew that this world wasn't that naïve. This wasn't a world where you could convince people to lay down their arms with sound reasoning. Sometimes, blood had to be spilt. People had to die, and those who deserved to die had to be killed. However, I promised myself not to kill people on baseless grounds, and I wouldn't kill the innocent. That was my condition.
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