Chapter 472: A new Goldenveil

Ethan settled into the spacious heated pool in his bathroom, letting the warm steam wrap around his shoulders and loosen every tense muscle.

His powerful arms rested on the marble ledge, a glass of third-stage green fairy wine held loosely between his fingers.

His eyes, naturally, were fixed on Elena’s naked figure as she bathed just a few steps away.

Her short, black, slightly curly hair was soaked through, clinging to the nape of her neck and the sides of her cheeks. Water ran down that haughty, noble face—so full of royalty.

The shower stream struck her forehead, trickled down her long neck, and flowed over her body in shimmering strands, tracing every curve along the way before disappearing between her thighs.

Her hands, with their long, delicate fingers, glided over her chocolate-colored skin, washing away the day’s sweat.

They slid across her slender belly, then along the curve of her waist, slowly rising to her tits, where they lingered a little longer.

Her breasts were too large, yet still so full and perfect on that delicate torso, defying gravity as if they were fake.

When she soaped them, however, they squashed between her own fingers, the soft flesh slipping through the gaps in her hands with a squishiness that only natural tits—blessed by the goddess of beauty herself—could possess.

Ethan took a sip of wine without looking away.

With the sweat completely washed away, she turned off the shower.

With a towel, she dried the excess moisture from her hair and face, then carefully folded it and placed it in a corner of the spacious bathroom.

She turned with a gentle smile and walked over to Ethan.

She reached the edge of the pool, and her knees bent gracefully.

She sat down on the white floor, feeling the cold marble against the soft skin of those plump, perfect globes that formed her bubble butt. A small shiver ran up her spine at the icy touch, and she let out a short sigh, her shoulders hunching for a second.

Her buttocks flattened against the stone under her weight, spreading out to the sides and letting the flesh spill slightly beyond her hips, generous and inviting.

Ethan’s right hand moved almost by reflex.

He passed the wine to his left and rested his right hand on that juicy black ass.

His strong fingers sank into the warm, moist flesh. The divinely soft, squishy skin molded itself around each knuckle, swallowing them whole, and the cheek dimpled deeply wherever he pressed.

He squeezed, and the flesh slipped between his fingers in a plump, glossy mass, his fingerprints sinking deep into the dark skin.

He was a happy man. Even on the most stressful days, he had those perfect stress balls to squeeze.

"Are you going to want to expand to the other bank of the Solene River now?" Elena asked, tilting her head to one side while his hand continued to knead her.

She already knew of Ethan’s plans to expand Goldenveil to the other bank and completely dominate the passage from Lake Azur to the Solene River.

Goldenveil was situated on an already very wide stretch of the river—five kilometers long—which, a few hundred meters further on, opened into the gigantic Lake Azur.

Both the lake and the river were deep and freshwater, perfect for river navigation.

The cities connected to Lake Azur within the Eternal Forest itself were few and weak, but those in the Western Plains were many and powerful.

Tens, perhaps hundreds of millions of citizens, all depending on Lake Azur for contact with the rest of the world.

Controlling that passage would irritate a lot of people, naturally. But now that Ethan had Carmilla, he no longer needed to worry about that.

"Yes... we have too much land on the other side, and from what our scouts in that region report, the reaction of the local human settlements—and even the green-skinned tribes—toward them has been getting worse and worse."

Ethan sighed, taking a sip of the green fairy wine.

"Yesterday, five scouts were killed in an ambush. Their boats caught fire, and they ended up cut off from Goldenveil. If Ysara hadn’t flown there to resolve the problem, we would have lost more than a hundred scouts."

Elena furrowed her brow slightly, her gentle smile fading for a moment.

Ethan set the glass down on the edge of the pool and, without removing his other hand from her butt, poured a second glass for Elena, who accepted it with a graceful flick of her fingers.

"Hmm... Evelyn was telling me about these issues." She swirled the wine thoughtfully, watching the greenish liquid spin in the glass.

"We really do need a stronghold fully connected to Goldenveil, one that allows for more reliable and faster reinforcements. Ysara shouldn’t have to move just to resolve such a minor problem."

She took a small sip before continuing, licking the drop that remained at the corner of her lips.

"Honestly, given how deep the Solene River is at its center, I’d say building a bridge over it is madness. But with your instant-construction ability, there shouldn’t be any problems."

"From the reports I’ve received, the terrain in that region is flat and relatively firm, so we won’t have many problems with construction. But, hubby..." She leaned in slightly.

"Instead of a whole new city, why not just create an extension of Goldenveil?"

"An extension?" Ethan’s eyes narrowed, his fingers pausing for a moment, still buried in her warm flesh.

"Yes, let’s say a new Goldenveil, connected to the main city by a bridge—no." She corrected herself, shaking her head, her damp curls brushing her cheeks.

"An entire Goldenveil, but divided by the river. With Goldenveil’s rapid transit systems, it would be possible to travel from one bank to the other in what, five, ten minutes?"

"That way, the capital’s power would be on both sides of the river, not just one, all under the control of a single city government. In the future, this could solve many problems regarding control over the other bank."

She smiled, pleased with her own idea, and gave a light tap on the water near his arm, splashing a few drops onto the marble.

"We just need a fortified bridge, trains, and ferries to connect the two halves—and plenty of mana cannons to protect it."