Chapter 493: We’re going to mark you, just a little bit, okay?

[Yes, just one Chapter again. Nothing big happened; I was just working on the mass release of the new novel. Tomorrow there will be three Chapters of CDG and Golden Lord to make up for it.]

Ethan nodded, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

"Well... I deserve it."

He got up from the bench and, before walking away, gave that tanned, luscious butt a light pat.

His palm made a wet clap against her skin and the soft flesh gave way beneath it, dimpling for a moment before rolling back out in a slow, heavy sway.

"Go get ready. I’m going to check on Alice... She’s at the Golden Tower, right?"

"Yes," Evelyn replied, stretching out between the sheets.

Her back arched like a cat’s, lifting her full breasts along with the movement. For a moment they stood proud and taut, then dropped back down with a soft, lazy bounce, wobbling gently against her chest before going still.

"By the way, you should spend more time with her. My mom always used to say that was good for the child."

"I know," Ethan sighed, a flicker of pain crossing his face.

Lately he’d been swamped with work, and his free time kept getting scarcer.

Every day he set aside at least some time for Alice, and almost every night he slept surrounded by all his wives. Even so, it wasn’t enough.

That was why he wanted to get a second fragment of the Palace of the Fallen Emperor God as soon as possible. With it, he could finally activate the time-distortion system of the Harem Palace.

Then he could work normally and still spend entire days with his wives, without even noticing the time passing outside.

Without further ado, Ethan left the room and headed for the Golden Tower.

The place was much busier than before.

Besides his mother’s five disciples and their more than one hundred subordinates, the tower had taken in another hundred students.

The newcomers were already studying full steam ahead, attending classes every day and delving deeper and deeper into the world of magic.

Before long, they would be the cream of the crop in Goldenveil’s magical studies, mastering everything from combat magic to spells for civil engineering, agriculture, and medicine.

As soon as Ethan walked through the tower’s doors, the scent of old parchment and herbs hit him, mixed with the faint tingle of mana in the air.

Echoes of voices reciting incantations drifted down the staircases. Along the way, he passed several female students, and his eyes drifted to their uniforms.

They were long black dresses, with dark blue capes falling from the shoulders to the middle of the back.

On their chests, each wore a brooch bearing the Goldenveil family crest.

The dress also had a hood, though it was almost always tucked away.

Goldenveil’s greatest elven tailor had made the garment from elven silk and elven silver thread, with Arwen herself helping to engrave the runes that ran across the fabric.

In the end, each of those uniforms was a magical artifact in its own right, capable of greatly increasing the magical power of whoever wore it.

And that was just the winter uniform. There was also the summer one.

That one was much lighter.

It consisted of an elegant white long-sleeved top, paired with a plaid skirt that was just a tad too short.

Ethan only allowed those young women to wear something like that because, for the most part, he would be practically the only man to see them dressed that way.

In any case, they always wore black pantyhose under the skirt, hiding the pale white skin of their thighs—so common in the northern region.

When the students saw Ethan pass by, they stopped at once, curtsying slightly before their Lord.

Their cheeks turned red, and the whispers and muffled giggles started as soon as he was a few steps away.

Ethan just returned their smiles, shaking his head with an amused air, and kept climbing until he reached the top floor of the magic tower.

Alice’s pregnancy was already quite visible, though it had barely changed her sensual curves. That was exactly why she avoided using too much magic or doing anything tiring.

She was focusing all her energy on nurturing the child, with help from Arwen, the Tree of Life itself, and its miraculous fruits.

Even so, she enjoyed spending time in the tower, taking care of some administrative work and even teaching her students.

The top floor housed the residence of the Tower Mistress, a position Alice shared with Amelia.

Of course, being much older, much more powerful, and much more experienced, Amelia ended up shouldering most of the position’s responsibilities and authority.

In practice, Alice was her apprentice.

At that moment, the two of them were sitting with Veronica in a spacious living room facing the balcony, which overlooked all of Goldenveil.

A cool breeze drifted in through the open doors, carrying the sweet scent of the tea steaming in their cups. The three women were relaxing on the sofa, sipping their tea and chatting about all sorts of things.

Suddenly, Amelia turned her face slightly, as if she’d sensed someone.

She had. Ethan was already right behind them.

His right hand glided over Amelia’s delicate shoulder and slid down to the exposed curve of those pale, enormous breasts.

His fingers sank into the warm, soft flesh as if it were fresh dough. Even with his hand spread wide, he couldn’t hold more than a fraction of it. The flesh overflowed between his fingers and bulged around his palm.

His left hand settled on Veronica’s breasts. They were much smaller, but still enough to fill his hand completely. Firm and round, they pushed back gently against his palm and molded perfectly to it, as if they’d been made just for him.

He squeezed both at the same time, pulling soft moans from the two women.

While he was at it, he leaned over Alice and kissed her on the lips.

"Nghnn~~ E-Ethan! Can’t you see we’re talking? Be nice, honey," Amelia complained softly, yet she did nothing to push her son away or remove that silly little hand.

Veronica blushed all the way to her ears and gently gripped Ethan’s wrist, unsure whether she wanted to pull him away or keep him there.

She’d already done a lot with him, no doubt about it, but she still wasn’t used to the liberties he took with his wives.

Ethan just flashed an ear-to-ear grin and started to let go of Amelia’s enormous breast.

But before releasing it completely, he gave it a gentle tug upward.

The heavy flesh rose with his hand, stretching slightly, until it slipped from his fingers and dropped back down. It landed against Amelia’s chest with a plump, lazy bounce, and the tremor rolled over into her other breast, setting both of them wobbling for a moment before everything finally settled.

Amelia let out a shaky sigh and shot him an accusing look, which he pretended not to see.

Since leaning over the couch wasn’t the most comfortable position, Ethan walked around it, scooped Alice up, and sat down in her place, letting her snuggle against him.

"So... what does our dear, one-and-only husband, who’s always so busy, want?" Alice asked, settling against his chest. Her voice took on a playful tone that didn’t quite hide how much she’d missed him.

His hand came to rest on her belly, caressing it, his fingers tracing slow, tender circles over the fabric.

"Nothing much..." he said, shaking his head. "I’m going on a little hunting trip with Evelyn today. It should take us about three, maybe four days."

Alice’s face fell a little at that, but she didn’t press the issue.

She wasn’t a child. She knew her husband needed to get stronger.

"Will you help Mireya reach the fourth stage? I’m sure Ysara will be very happy to see her daughter already so strong by the time she finishes her advancement, fufufu." Amelia chuckled softly and raised the cup to her lips.

Her eyes rested on her son and daughter-in-law, full of love.

"Yes." Ethan nodded. "I also need to sharpen my senses for my own advancement to the fourth stage. It shouldn’t take long."

He also needed to build up his blood reserves to kill Dreker, but he preferred to keep that part to himself.

Amelia would definitely worry if she knew he was going to face someone of Dreker’s caliber, even with the Blood Emperor’s Ring.

Besides, Ethan was practically immortal. Only another Golden Lord could kill him for good, and even then, he still had two rebirths left.

He didn’t plan on using either of them anytime soon, but knowing they were there gave him a lot of confidence.

"Hmm... All right, hubby can go. But first..." Alice gave him a sensual smile and got up from his lap, already pulling Amelia and Veronica over to her side.

Veronica’s eyes went wide, and she nearly knocked over her cup. Amelia just chuckled softly and let herself be pulled along without the slightest resistance.

"We’re going to mark you, just a little bit, okay?" Alice said, letting out a shy little laugh.