A King for the Consort

As Ashen walked back to his shared room with Lapis, his father’s disappointed expression refused to leave his mind.

‘Well, it is what it is. I’m sure he’ll change his mind after he sees my spear skills.’

A temporary disappointment for a sweeter surprise. That was Ashen’s take on the matter. And once he reached that conclusion, he finally let it rest.

Tok—

When he opened the bedroom door, a white silhouette promptly jumped at him.

“Bro bro!”

“Easy there.” He caught her easily and gently let her feet touch the ground. “I suppose you also connected with the system?”

“Hum! Hum! Our mom was the one who did it. Was it Dad for you?”

“Yeah.” Ashen caressed her silky white hair with a doting smile. “So, what did our princess choose? I doubt you took a cook as your Thema, haha.”

“Duh! For the concept, I remembered what you told me about the seal thingy, so I chose Gluttony again to avoid causing any conflict.”

She then raised her hand toward the ceiling, her expression turning cutely serious.

“The Thema I chose is Duchess of the Blade! Oh, and Blade Consort is my first epithet, but aren’t they kinda the same? Haha.”

Lapis looked at him with barely suppressed eagerness. Ashen could practically hear the words echoing in her mind.

‘I did good, right? Praise me~ Praise me~’

“Pfft.”

With a little chuckle, he reached for her head and caressed it, and she leaned forward to enjoy it without shame.

“Good job, little sis. But now it’s not just me causing our father a headache, huh?”

“Oh.” Only now did she seem to remember. “Now that you mention it, Mom kept stressing that we should choose a productive Thema.”

With a tilt of her head, she asked curiously, “A Blade Consort can be productive, right? It’s a future wife, and one with a blade too!”

Lapis demonstrated with her hand, flailing it around as if she were cutting something in the air.

‘That’s not even your Thema though.’

“I can do my wifely duties and help on the battlefield too. I’ve got the whole package here, hehehe…”

“Sure…”

“So, Miss Blade Consort, what skills did you obtain?” he asked curiously.

“I’m too lazy to explain. I’ll just show you.” She hopped onto the bed and beckoned him over.

“Alright.” Since he was the one who had asked, he could only comply.

“Here you go. Read and be amazed~”

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Feast Upon the King

The Consort Who Feeds Upon Her King

Choose a King to become the consort of. This choice is permanent and cannot be changed.

As his Blade Consort, you may feed upon his accomplishments and achievements, regardless of their nature. Social influence, martial prowess, military victories, political power, economic prosperity, fame, prestige; all may serve as nourishment.

The greater your King's accomplishments, the richer the feast. By consuming his achievements, you shall grow stronger in accordance with the renown and stature you have devoured, enhancing your Mana, Mana Capacity, and Physique, while further developing your inherent qualities as a Blade Consort.

However, a feast may also become poison.

Should your King's accomplishments be discredited, his reputation tarnished, his authority diminished, or his strength decline, the nourishment derived from him shall gradually become poisonous, causing the power you gained through him to weaken in turn.

Should your King perish, this Skill shall become permanently useless.

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The House's Blade

The Consort Who Guards the House

A Blade Consort is no ordinary consort.

Beyond tending to the household, you are entrusted with the responsibility of protecting your house with your blade.

Every threat you overcome becomes nourishment for your swordsmanship. Enemies defeated, assassins repelled, invaders driven back, traitors subdued, monsters slain; whether the threat comes from within or without, every victory shall feed your mastery.

The greater the dangers you overcome, the further your understanding of the blade shall advance.

Continue to protect your house, and your mastery shall eventually surpass the boundaries of ordinary humanity.

Given sufficient accomplishments, your swordsmanship may transcend the mortal realm and approach the domain of the Gods.

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The moment he finished reading the skills, Ashen looked at his sister with a face thick with envy.

“What the fuck, Lapis? Isn’t this too cheaty?”

In response, she raised her nose toward the ceiling.

“That’s what’s up, bro. Now kneel and worship this miss, huhuhu…”

He looked at her, speechless, before shaking his head.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, little girl. That first skill is a double-edged sword, and it also depends on me.” Ashen tried to curb her arrogance, but she merely snorted.

“Ha? And who said I’m going to choose you as my King? Aren’t you the one getting a little too ahead of yourself?”

“Oh? Should I go call Cain, then?”

“Ah…? Hahaha… I’m joking, dear brother… No need to escalate things like that… It’s a joke… I’m telling you…”

The change was immediate. The moment she heard the brat’s name, she was already clutching onto him, just in case he went ahead with his threat.

“Good. Then do it now.” He looked down at her with mock disdain.

“But is it really alright? I don’t know what feeding on accomplishments implies here. Won’t it somehow hurt you?” Lapis asked worriedly.

“The most that could happen is for the fame of those accomplishments to disappear. Who cares about that? Especially when you can get stronger from it. Just do it.” Ashen shrugged nonchalantly.

He hadn't even flinched when Alice made him her slave in all but name. Who cared about devouring accomplishments or whatever?

With that in mind, Ashen urged her on with his eyes.

C’mon. What are you waiting for?

“Ahhh… You asked for it, so don’t blame me, brother~” Lapis folded far too easily, and that was simply because if she didn't use it on Ashen, she probably wasn't ever going to use it.

The girl may have sounded and acted like a cute sister around her family, but deep down, she was full of pride.

Ashen knew this firsthand. He had discovered it when they were teenagers back in modern Esperra. Due to her beauty and intellect, as well as the numerous medals she had won in fencing, she had always refused any attempts at courtship.

So unsurprisingly, she had never had a boyfriend until her early twenties. Akidia always had a headache over this, worrying that her daughter wouldn't be able to marry at this rate and tried advising her to lower her standards.

But the girl always gave the same answer: They have to be at least as good as my brother.

The problem was that, at the time, no one around her was as competent as Ashen. And when he fell into sloth, a new excuse emerged.

I'm currently busy caring for my brothers' mental state. I don't have time for romance.

So yes… In short, Lapis had a massive brother complex. Someone like her would never accept some random 'king,' even if it was just in name.

Either way, in her mind, no one would surpass her brother's future accomplishments; she was sure of it. So, even from a practical point of view, she felt that this choice was the right one.

And so…

[Lapis Hunt is asking you to take her as your Consort. Do you agree?]

'Yes.'

A new king was born…

A king solely born to be feasted upon by his sister.