As the Ielele kept on floating above ground, I turned toward Relia, trying to draw her attention to them, but I couldn’t. I still felt her fangs in my neck, but for some reason, I couldn’t move. Eyes glued to the figures in the distance.

  I attempted to speak, but only failed miserably as I could barely manage to open my mouth. I was more or less paralyzed, stuck on the only thing that mattered at that moment. The Mistresses.

  When you compare myths across humanity’s history, you start noticing a pattern. Most of them are just reflections of whatever terrified us at the time: Werewolves slaughtering cattle in the night, Vampires rising from the dead and kidnapping young women (I did not kidnap any women BTW), Dragons, Gods, nightmares, creatures of the dark.

  And sometimes… our own sins, our own desires manifest.

  Nymphs, sirens, dryads, Iele, they all share one thing: they embody desire. Sensuality. Lust. Temptation dressed as beauty. Stories say they lure men in, draw sailors off their ships, pull wanderers into hidden groves… and kill them. Or so the tales go.

  They represented danger, magic powers far too strong for men to handle, and a frighteningly potent charm. But the best part was that… they were myths. They did not exist. Manmade fantasies turned folklore. Or at least that is how it should have fucking stayed.

  Unfortunately for me, Godlike beings, Chupacabras, elves, beastfolk, magic, vampires, and even Gods existed in this place, so at this point, why have I failed to bond the neuronal pathways that would have made me realize how deep in shit I was?

  But no… Elio had to fall for the good old charm of ancient, supernatural women, when all he wanted was to talk to a Priestess and then drift off into some forgettable dream he wouldn’t even recall by morning.

  As the Ielele glided closer to the lake’s edge, the wind surged, summoning the first hints of what I knew was coming. They began to dance.

  Each of them moved like a hurricane wrapped in veils. Their limbs traced impossible arcs through the air and over the water, forming a glowing ring of grace and beauty. Echoes of their soft, melodic, irresistible hum rippled across the lake and straight into my skull, bypassing every logical thought I’d ever had.

  In an instant, everything else vanished. Relia’s body pressing against my side, gone. The needle-sharp pull at my neck, gone. My limbs, my mind, my memories, gone.

  There was only their song. Their dance. The world reduced to a single, spiraling moment.

  And strangely, they didn’t even look at me. Didn’t acknowledge me. Their dance didn’t falter, didn’t shift, didn’t ripple in my direction in the slightest, as if I were invisible. As if I weren’t even worth noticing.

  ‘Why don’t they notice me?’ I thought, absurdly offended. ‘Do they think I’m ugly?’

  But neither Ephe nor I had an answer to give. All I wanted was to get up and join their extraordinary dance, their joyful laughter, their gorgeous singing.

  So… I moved forward, or at least wanted to, but I remained stuck in place, unable to move or feel a singular muscle in my body.

  [New Directive - Banish-]

  [-nied.]

  Weird sounds echoed in my head, but I ignored them. It wasn’t the song. Their song. So I tried moving again. Because nothing mattered anymore except reaching them. But then something finally felt wrong. The problem was that it also happened the moment their song ended abruptly. They noticed me.

  [Elio.]

  ‘Ephe?’ I asked inside my head, eyes locked on the Iele as they turned toward my general direction. ‘What happened? Why didn’t you say anything?’

  [Elion couldn’t hear Ephe.]

  [Ephe tried.]

  ‘Really? Either way, forget that now, what’s happening?’

  [Elio has seen Their Dance.]

  [They are Coming.]

  [But they are not Real.]

  [Illusionary Magic.]

  “Relia,” I spoke, seeing them stat gliding across the lake toward me. “Do you see that?”

  “Mm?” Relia muttered, raising her eyes toward the lake as she still sucked on my blood, before shaking her head gently. She wasn’t seeing anything.

  Bloody brilliant.

  ‘What do I do, Ephe? Since they are not real, do I even have to worry?’

  [Yes.]

  [Illusionary Magic does not mean Free of Danger.]

  [Recommended: Denial.]

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  [Defensive Ability.]

  [If used correctly, the effects of Their Magic will vanish.]

  The Ielele were still gliding toward me, their humming beginning anew, almost making my mind grow numb again, losing control. But I didn’t, focusing instead on remembering the words that echoed in my mind when I first put the Crown on.

  “I, Ruler of Calcan Castle, Seed of the Reigncraft, Negate your order. Denial.”

  A strong invisible push was sent forward from my hand, hitting the nearby trees and rushing across the shore of the lake before losing its power, dissipating before it could reach the approaching targets.

  “What are you doing?” Relia asked, confused as she pulled her fangs back.

  “So you really don’t see the women approaching us?” I asked, pointing towards the sensual beacons of light that were floating inches above the water.

  “Your Grace… what women?” she questioned, a worried look on her face.

  Don’t pity me, woman, I may be mad, but not this mad.

  “Stay back,” I said, pushing her gently off me.

  Luckily, she listened to my request, moving twenty feet away from me, allowing me the space to breathe and try again without worry.

  I would’ve used Veilstep if that somehow would’ve solidified the water, but assuming it didn’t, I held onto it if I couldn’t banish them before they reached this shore.

  ‘Ephe,’ I spoke in my head, ‘I assume the Law of Separation or a thick enough branch wouldn’t hurt illusions, no?’

  [No.]

  ‘But what is making this illusion?’

  [The Forest is Hungry.]

  Yep. I don’t want to hear that shit again. What do you mean the FOREST IS HUNGRY? How can a FUCKING FOREST be hungry?!

  ...

  I need to focus.

  “I, Ruler of Calcan Castle, Seed of the Reigncraft, Negate your order. Denial.”

  Another wave shot out from my being, hitting my surroundings. Stronger this time. Making the trees squeak wildly as they bent toward the lake, almost snapping them in half. But it continued strong across the water, finally reaching the ever-closer women's illusions, striking them head-on.

  ‘Ephe? Why are they fine?’ I asked, seeing that the wave itself just passed through them, continuing on as if the Ielele were made of wind.

  [They are Wind Spirits.]

  [Wind Spirits turned Illusions by the Forest.]

  [Subjects: Unknown.]

  [Species: Wind Spirits.]

  [Sub Species: Forest-Dwellers.]

  [Age: Unknown.]

  [Reigncraft Classification Detected: Sapling.]

  [Risk Level: Dangerous (Male Only); No Threat (Female Only).]

  Isn’t that kind of sexist?

  “I, Ruler of Calcan Castle, Seed of the Reigncraft, Negate your order. Denial.”

  Nothing again.

  “I, Ruler of Calcan Castle, Seed of the Reigncraft, Negate your order. Denial.”

  But my exhaustion kept rising after each fail.

  “I, Ruler of Calcan Castle, Seed of the Reigncraft, Negate your order. Denial.”

  Trees finally snapped from the constant barrage of waves I’ve sent, trying to repel whatever threat these wind spirits posed.

  ‘Ephe, help please,’ I started begging in my head, barely able to move, my mind split between surviving and letting go entirely as slowly, I could see more and more of these Spirits, and how beautiful, and… focus, Elio, God Damnit.

  [Deny Them.]

  ‘I am doing that, no?’

  [Properly.]

  ‘What the fuck does properly mean? Isn’t using the ability the proper way?’

  [Elio is Free to Reign those abilities to His Needs.]

  [Deny Them.]

  I couldn’t understand what the sass-machine-turned-cute was trying to say. But neither did I have the time to question her. They were near the shore. Barely fifty feet away from me.

  ‘Julia, help me.’

  So with that quiet prayer, with the image of my still-alive wife inside my head, I tried again.

  If not even a jealous-wife-imbued shot would deal with unwanted attention from these charming, floating, surely-with-good-intention women, then may the Gods have mercy on my soul.

  “I, Elio Welchia, Ruler of Calcan Castle, Seed of the Reigncraft, Husband of Julia, Negate your approach. Denial.”

  And another wave shot off from my being, sending whatever tree it touched breaking off from the rest of its trunk and crashing onto the lakeshore, before the wave continued, swiping through the wind spirits, making them vanish as if they never were, silent and without a sound.

  I knew my jealous wife would take care of them, haha. But… there is a weird feeling remaining when you banish beautiful women. Like it makes you less human somehow.

  Luckily, Ephe decided to stop my random thoughts before Julia came down here herself.

  [Congratulations.]

  [Directive ‘Banish the Mistresses Temporarily’ Followed - Registered.]

  [Reign Index Increased: 0.25% → 0.28%]

  ‘There was a Directive for this?’ I asked in my head as I frowned at the new darkness enveloping the lake and the forest.

  [Yes.]

  [Elio did not hear it.]

  [The Custodians are Pleased.]

  ‘They can still suck me off.’

  [...]

  ‘Please, continue.’

  [A Gift has been Given to Elio.]

  [It will Become Available when Reaching Level 4 of the Seed.]

  With a nod, I turned toward Relia, who was looking dumbfounded at me.

  “Got all that tension off your chest on those poor trees?” she asked, trying to guess what happened.

  “Yes, that’s it precisely,” I muttered, not even trying to explain myself.

  “I see…” she nodded, appearing as if wanting to say something before giving up and putting on a normal smile, “Can I eat some more, Your Grace?”

  “Have fun,” I sighed, exhaustion ruling my tongue.

  “Your Grace?” Enna asked, jumping to her feet as she saw me return to camp after what could’ve been a pretty long time. “Can we talk?”

  I shook my head, walking past her. “Not now. I need some rest.”

  “V-Very well,” she muttered, sitting back down near the fire.

  The last few days, for some reason, had finished in the same stupid fashion, with me utterly exhausted, throwing myself on the ground as if I were a bag of potatoes, and heading straight to sleep.

  And as sleep soon took me, I could only pray that the Ashtara Kingdom would be more merciful to me.

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