Fourth Prince's Debauchery

Golden-red hair, blood-red eyes, and fox tail and ears.

A petite girl with those features was waiting for me in the office.

"… Surprise, Dad."

Okay, I'm dead.

Fortunately, my nightmare did not last for long.

"… Raven, why are you dressed like that?" I suppressed the goosebumps on my back and forced out a smile.

"… You don't like my surprise?" Raven asked in disappointment. I did not know whether to laugh or to cry seeing her like that.

Suppressing the urge to facepalm, I let out a tired sigh. "Was it the surprise you were preparing? Why did you think I would like it?"

Raven put on a heartbroken expression like a child that was found out while he was doing something wrong. "I saw her in your memories… She appeared many times in them, and it seemed as if you wanted to see her badly, so I thought I could disguise like her to make you feel better."

I facepalmed.

Okay, I admit that she appears on my mind at least once per day, and it's true I would like to see her. But…

Yeah, seeing her is a bad idea…

I need to be around one thousand times stronger if I want to start considering the possibility of seeing her again.

Fortunately, I sealed her using a very powerful technique last time we met. She is a very lazy child, so it will probably take her a few thousands of years to escape from her seals… If she doesn't learn about my location, of course.

For now, though, I need to have a very serious conversation with Raven.

"Raven, you need to stop peeking into my thoughts, I don't like it." I wrinkled my brows.

"… Are you angry?"

"…"

Raven lowered her head dejectedly. "… I'm sorry, I was wrong. But… I can't help it. Even I know that it's wrong to read your memories, but every time I'm asleep, your memories play in my dreams as a movie… I can't do anything to stop it."

I furrowed my brows. "Is it so?"

"Yeah… I felt guilty about that, so I decided to disguise like the girl in your dreams to make you feel better… But it looks like that did not work…"

How strange, is Raven's innate gift so strong?

Even If I did not put my guard up against her gift, Raven's strength means that her gift was powerless against my soul. Not even another immortal can read my thoughts even if our souls are connected.

It was different than when we signed the contract. Back then, my soul proactively interacted with hers, so it's normal if some of my memories flowed into her soul. But after I learned about that, I made sure to not leave my memories to flow through our bond.

Even like that, though, Raven was still able to peek into my memories.

"Raven, can I check on something?" I asked gently. Raven put her head on my chest and nodded.

Gently, I sent a strand of my soul inside Raven's soul. Our souls shared a bond, so Raven's soul did not reject me. I then proceeded to check Raven's soul to find what was wrong.

However, no matter how much I searched, everything seemed alright.

Besides Raven's soul uniqueness, everything else about her was normal. However, I was sure that Raven's uniqueness is not enough to peek into my thoughts without my permission.

"… Did you find anything?" Raven asked nervously.

I smiled to relieve her. "Don't worry, there is nothing wrong with you."

"… Really?"

"Of course." Patting her head, I kissed Raven's forehead and calmed her down.

There is something wrong with Raven, I'm sure. But there is no need to make her worry.

I don't know where the problem lies, but if it can escape from my detection, then it's definitively dangerous.

For now, I can only ward my memories while I find an answer to Raven's situation.

How weird, I already meet a hero, Rose, a seer, Alice, and now someone like Raven.

Normally, it was hard for one of their kind to appear in ten thousand years, but now, three of them appeared in the same generation.

Not even I am worthy of such a treatment.

Could it be that this world is about to face a terrible calamity?

For some reason, I started to feel strangely unsettled.

…

In the capital of the beastkin alliance.

A group of guards walked inside the newly-constructed palace while carrying a crippled man.

Strangely, all the guards had fearful expressions. Some of them were shivering nervously and gulping in fear while they walked towards the palace hall.

But not only the guards seemed fearful, but also the servants in the surroundings and the tribes' envoys coming to congratulate the new ruler. Nobody could hide the fear and terror they felt towards the new beastkin ruler.

When the guards arrived in the main hall, they stopped and bowed in respect and fear.

"Your grace, we went to the place you indicated."

"Oh?" A sweet and beautiful voice answered from behind a curtain. "I felt a spatial distortion a few days ago. What did you find?"

"Nothing. We just found this crippled human lying on the ground."

The girl behind the curtain furrowed her brows. "Bring him here."

"Understood, your grace."

Two guards then carried the crippled man forward.

But when the girl saw the crippled man, her body shook.

The next second, a terrible pressure filled the palace.

"Dad!"

With a swoosh, the girl disappeared and reappeared beside the man. She then grabbed his head violently and used her soul to invade it.

"Hahahaha! Yes, I'm sure! It was dad! Only dad uses the soul like this!!!" The girl smiled in excitement. "Come, give me your memories!"

But in the next second, the man's soul crumbled.

"NO!!!" The girl screamed in rage. Her immense power exploded outwards, blasting all the guards into pieces. "Why why!!!?"

For an entire minute, nobody in the palace dared to move. They could feel the rage of their ruler threatening to destroy everything.

But after one minute, the girl calmed down.

"It doesn't matter. With dad's mastery in souls, trying to find information about him from his victim's memories is a pipe dream. However, I have a clue now."

Then, she raised her voice.

"Someone, heed my orders!"

"Yes, your grace!" An old man came running and bowed in fear.

"How are the preparations for the war!?"

"W-We need a bit more of time… Two months." The old man said.

The girl's expression darkened. "You have a month before I kill every one of you! By the way, I already know who will be our first target…"

"Who?" The old man asked surprised.

"Humans. We will erase all the human kingdoms from the map!"

...

I have been unable to read the comments lately. Guys, I'm super busy and I don't know if I can keep the schedule the next few days....