Chapter 31. Blood in the Water

Chapter 31: 31. Blood in the Water

Kael stared at the mulberry blade for another long second.

The faint pinkish glow had already faded, leaving only ordinary-looking steel with those strange broken grooves along the edge.

The arrogant female voice that had tried to seize his mind was gone, but the cold pressure lingered behind his eyes like a warning.

He bent down, picked up the plain leather sheath, and slid the sword back into it with a soft metallic scrape.

Then he stood and turned toward Seraphine and Eira as if nothing unusual had happened.

"It slipped," he said calmly. "Dusty floor. Lost my grip for a moment."

Seraphine’s crimson eyes narrowed.

She had clearly seen the way his hand locked and the sudden stiffness in his posture, but she said nothing.

The usual sharp irritation sat behind her gaze, mixed with quiet suspicion she did not bother to hide.

Eira remained close, small fingers still lightly holding the edge of his sleeve.

Her crimson-tinted black eyes moved from the sheathed sword to his face, quiet and curious, but she asked no questions.

Kael tucked the sheathed weapon under one arm.

Whatever the system and that arrogant voice inside the blade wanted, he was not leaving the cursed sword behind.

He would need higher willpower and better mental resistance before he could risk holding it again.

For now, simply possessing it would have to be enough.

He glanced once more toward the empty counter and the undisturbed layer of dust.

The old shopkeeper was still nowhere in sight.

Only the slow drip of water from the cracked pipe marked the time.

Kael walked to the counter anyway. He pulled ten silver coins from his pouch and placed them neatly beside the dusty register.

’It’s a cursed sword anyway, sitting in a garbage dump. Ten silver coins are more than enough.’

He opened the wooden drawer of the register and dropped the coins inside, then closed it again with a quiet click.

Seraphine stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Are you an idiot? Why are you giving so much money for a broken sword?"

Her voice carried the usual sharp edge, pure disbelief mixed with open irritation.

She looked from the sheathed mulberry blade under his arm to the closed register and back again, crimson eyes narrowed.

Eira stayed silent at his side, small hand still lightly holding his sleeve, simply watching the exchange without comment.

Kael only shrugged and turned toward the door.

"We’re done here."

Seraphine muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like "hopeless" and followed him out of the cheap weapons shop, stepping out of the dusty air and back into the late light of the market street.

They continued toward home. The streets of Grayhollow grew quieter as evening settled in.

Near a side alley a young couple stood pressed against a wall, locked in a deep, unhurried kiss.

The girl’s hands were tangled in the boy’s hair. His hands rested low on her waist.

Eira’s cheeks flushed a soft pink.

She quickly looked down at the cobblestones, black hair falling forward to hide her face.

Seraphine simply turned her head the other way, expression flat, as if the sight was not worth acknowledging.

Kael’s gaze lingered a moment longer. A slow heat stirred low in his body.

The memory of Brianna’s tight green walls around his fingers, the wet sounds, the way she had licked her own juice from his hand earlier that day, rose unbidden.

He forced the thought down and kept walking.

They reached the two-story house with the small training yard on the left side of the front. Kael unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The familiar quiet of home settled around them.

Seraphine immediately unbuckled her weapon harness, leaving the dagger resting heavily on the entryway table.

Freed from her gear, she went straight upstairs without another word disappearing down the hallway toward her room.

The door closed with a soft click.

Kael looked down at Eira, who still stood close beside him, small hand resting lightly against his sleeve.

"How did you feel today, going outside for so long?"

Eira’s voice was quiet.

"Fine."

Kael gave her a small, calm smile.

"Call me Dad from now on."

A deeper flush rose across her cheeks. She hesitated, then spoke in a soft, shy tone.

"...Dad."

Kael’s smile warmed a little.

"Good. Go rest. It was a long day."

Eira nodded and climbed the stairs toward her own room. The door closed quietly behind her.

Kael went to his room, set the sheathed mulberry sword against the wall, and sat on the edge of the bed.

The soft crimson interface of the Lust Dominion System opened at his thought.

He began scrolling through the available skills, filtering for anything related to mental resistance, willpower, and basic swordsman techniques.

The shop window expanded.

Basic Swordsman Skill (700 LP): Foundational footwork, grip, and basic slash forms for all bladed weapons. Raises beginner proficiency.

Iron Body (Intermediate) (1,500 LP): Increases physical durability and reduces blunt damage by 25%.

Weapon Mastery: Blade (1,500 LP): Raises basic proficiency with all bladed weapons by one rank.

Mind Fortress (2,500 LP): Strengthens mental resistance against external interference, possession attempts, and low-to-mid rank mental attacks.

Heaven-Cleaving Arc (5,000 LP): A high-output final sword technique that channels mana into a single devastating slash. Requires solid foundation in blade mastery and sufficient internal energy.

Current Lust Points: 310 LP

He stared at the list for a long moment. Even the cheapest useful skill was more than double what he currently held.

The cursed sword demanded willpower he did not yet possess. The higher combat skills were completely out of reach.

His thoughts turned how to farming the points needed for those skills.

’I need to return to Brianna and Tina’s house and deepen my hold over them. Expanding my influence there is the quickest way to earn points and money.

Mira is already half-willing after today. Pulling her fully under my control will provide a massive surge in authority and also massive LP at the same time.

I also have to keep accelerating Seraphine’s corruption. The dream skill remains the cleanest path to strip away her resistance before my wife comes home.’

Kael closed the shop window and leaned back against the headboard for a short while.

Then he stood and went downstairs to the kitchen.

Isolde would not return for some days. That left him alone with the two girls for the evening and the nights that followed.

He took out a large silverscale fish he had bought earlier in the market, a firm white-fleshed underwater catch common in the border rivers, and began preparing it.

He seasoned the thick fillets with salt, dried herbs, and a little oil, then pan-seared them until the skin turned crisp and the flesh flaked cleanly.

Alongside the fish he cooked a simple side of steamed root vegetables and soft bread.

While the food finished, he filled two cups with clean water.

A single drop of his blood went into each one, mixed thoroughly until no color remained.

The Wet Dream Weaver skill required only that small link. Tonight he would use it on Seraphine again.

He set the plates and cups on the dining table, then called up the stairs.

"Sera. Eira. Dinner is ready."

Footsteps sounded above. A minute later both girls came down.

Seraphine wore a thin, almost transparent red t-shirt that barely reached the tops of her thighs and small red silk panties underneath.

The fabric clung to her petite frame, outlining the soft shape of her breasts and the faint shadow between her legs.

Silver-white hair fell loosely around her shoulders. Her expression carried the usual cool irritation, but she sat at the table without comment.

Eira followed a step behind.

She had removed the Ring of Veil. Her true hair now showed in full: pure white on the left side, pure black on the right, the two colors meeting cleanly down the center of her head.

She wore a thin black transparent t-shirt of the same light style and small black silk panties.

The fabric did little to hide the soft curves of her small but full breasts or the pale skin of her thighs. Crimson-tinted black eyes stayed lowered as she took her seat.

Kael’s cock stirred heavily inside his pants at the sight of both of them.

The transparent cloth, the silk panties, the quiet domestic setting after a long day of danger, all of it fed the heat already building in him.

He kept his face calm and poured nothing extra into his own cup.

’Tonight I will enter Sera’s dream again. She still looks at me like I am nothing. I will teach her exactly how a daughter should respect her father when no one else is watching.’

He gestured to the food.

"Eat. The fish is fresh. I made enough for both of you."

Seraphine picked up her fork with the same cool detachment she always showed at the table.

Eira murmured a soft thanks and began to eat more slowly, the split colors of her hair falling forward as she leaned over her plate.

Kael sat across from them, the taste of the silverscale fish mild on his tongue, while the two cups of blood-laced water waited within easy reach.

The house remained quiet around them as Kael thought looking at Sera,

’Let her look down on me for a little longer. The second she finishes that glass, her pride will shatter in her own dreams while she sucks my dick with that same disdain she always shows.’