Chapter 68: Medicine After Dark [Part 1] (Review Bonus)

Chapter 68. Medicine After Dark [Part 1] (Review Bonus)

The women went to clean themselves and prepare for bed.

At least, that was what most of them did.

Ariel was different.

When I passed the indoor pool on my way upstairs, I noticed her sitting in the water with her arms resting along the edge, eyes closed while the cool water surrounded her body. The necklace around her neck was already far better than the first one I’d made for her. Its enchantment constantly helped regulate her body temperature and made staying on land considerably easier.

Still, magic couldn’t completely rewrite biology.

She was a mermaid.

No matter how comfortable her legs had become or how advanced the necklace was, prolonged time away from water exhausted her faster than it did my other wives. She could compensate by staying indoors, keeping herself cool, and regularly returning to water, but today we’d spent hours traveling, attending the banquet, walking around the palace, and dealing with an unexpectedly violent charity hunt.

Well.

I dealt with the violent part.

Ariel dealt with worrying whether her husband would return alive.

Arguably exhausting in a different way.

So I left her alone.

Everyone needed rest.

The ridiculous number of food boxes Nia had somehow acquired from the royal banquet had already been handed over to the kitchen staff. Lily had personally given them instructions on what needed to be stored, what could be reheated tomorrow, which desserts should remain covered, and most importantly, which pastries were hers.

Once everything was settled, I went upstairs and headed for my bathroom.

Hot water hit my shoulders.

Naturally, my brain immediately ruined it.

Twenty.

That was the number of people currently under my Mind Corruption.

Twenty spies, including Mira.

That was also approximately my current practical limit.

I couldn’t keep expanding indefinitely. Maintaining too many manipulated minds would become unstable, especially if I started layering complicated instructions onto them.

Honestly, twenty strategically positioned people could gather an absurd amount of information.

The problem was quality.

Most of my current pieces were servants, minor employees, guards, messengers, or people who could move around without attracting attention. Useful, but none had direct access to the highest levels of power.

Eventually, I’d have to exchange some.

Remove lower-value pieces and replace them with better ones.

Someone inside a noble household would be useful.

Someone connected to the Holy Knights would be better.

Someone close to the Iron Vanguard?

Delicious.

Unfortunately, that introduced another problem.

I couldn’t simply use Mind Corruption on everyone.

The stronger someone’s mana became, the harder their mind was to manipulate without them noticing the intrusion. Powerful magi were naturally resistant, and anyone carrying dedicated magical protection was an even bigger problem.

That particular obstacle irritated me.

Magic protection against mental corruption had been uncommon in Evan’s era.

Here?

Apparently, everyone important had learned their lesson from the Dark Lord.

Protective charms, enchanted pendants, blessed rings, warded uniforms, different designs, same purpose.

Prevent corruption.

Which, objectively speaking, was extremely sensible.

Subjectively?

Very inconvenient for me.

The Dark Lord’s remaining followers were still hiding throughout the continent, so soldiers, magi, influential nobles, royal officials, and anyone likely to become a target frequently wore protective enchantments.

Meaning the people I most wanted to control were also the people most difficult to control.

It simply meant I couldn’t depend entirely on Mind Corruption.

I needed conventional spies too.

People motivated by money.

Maybe fear.

A proper intelligence network needed layers anyway. Depending entirely on magically manipulated agents would create a catastrophic weakness if someone discovered how my magic worked.

Of course, conventional spies came with their own adorable little problem.

Betrayal.

Maybe I could...

No.

Stop.

Enough.

My brain deserved a break.

If I kept going, I’d fall straight back into Evan’s old researcher habits.

One question became five.

Five became twenty.

Then suddenly the sun came through the window and I’d realize I’d forgotten to sleep, eat, drink water, or participate in normal human civilization.

That habit had literally contributed to my first death.

I was not getting reincarnated twice because I couldn’t recognize bedtime.

I finished bathing.

After drying myself, I wrapped a cloth around my waist out of habit and stepped from the bathroom into my chamber.

Then stopped.

Lily was standing near my bedside table.

She looked anxious.

"Why haven’t you rested yet?"

My voice jolted her.

Lily turned.

Her eyes landed on me.

Then widened.

Her entire face turned red.

Immediately, she snapped her gaze toward the opposite wall. "Yes! I mean—I’m going to!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"B-But don’t get me wrong!"

That was an extremely suspicious sentence to open with.

"I didn’t come here to peek at you."

I stared at her.

Lily’s wings fluttered behind her in pure embarrassment. "I-I just wanted to deliver some medicine to make you feel better."

She pointed urgently toward my bedside table.

There was indeed a glass waiting there.

A faint green glow floated through the liquid.

Fair enough.

Considering I’d spent part of the afternoon being thrown around by three SSS-rank heroes, taking another recovery mixture before sleeping probably wasn’t a terrible idea.

I walked toward the table.

Lily looked everywhere except at me.

The ceiling suddenly seemed fascinating.

Then the curtains.

Then a completely innocent lamp became worthy of intense academic study.

What was wrong with these women?

They were my wives.

I’d understand this reaction if some random woman had wandered into my bedroom while I came out of the bath wearing only a cloth around my waist.

But Lily?

She’d been married to Rey for years.

And she’d literally seen me topless at the palace earlier today.

I picked up the glass.

The medicine smelled faintly of herbs and citrus. I knew this medicine.

Then I looked at her.

Still red.

Still refusing eye contact.

Cute.

Unfortunately for Lily, I had recently discovered that teasing my wives was an excellent recreational activity.

I walked toward her.

Her wings twitched when she noticed my bare feet entering her field of vision.

She looked up.

Immediately regretted it.

Her gaze accidentally traveled over my chest before snapping back to my face.

Redder.

I stopped directly in front of her, medicine still in one hand. "Why are you so flustered?" I tilted my head. "You saw me topless at the palace too."

"That was different."

"How?"

"There were people around!"

I blinked. Then smiled. "Wouldn’t that make this less embarrassing?"

Lily opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Her wings gave another nervous flutter.

Apparently, I’d discovered a logical contradiction powerful enough to defeat a High Fairy Princess.

I took a slow drink of the medicine while watching her attempt to formulate a response.

Slightly bitter underneath the citrus, but nowhere near as terrible as some of the medicinal garbage Evan had consumed during all-night research sessions.

Lily finally managed to look at me again. "That was because you were hurt."

"And now?"

Her eyes dropped for half a second.

Right toward the cloth around my waist.

Then immediately returned to my face.

"Now you’re standing too close."

I lowered the glass.

A slow smile spread across my face. "Lily. You’re my wife. Why are you acting like you accidentally walked into a stranger’s bedroom?"

"Because you came out looking like that!"

I glanced down at myself.

Damp hair.

Bare chest.

Cloth.

Fair.

I looked back at her. "Should I apologize?" My face moved closer. A naughty smirk on my lips. "Or should I make you apologize?"