Chapter 875
Chapter 875
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 875
Chapter Title: Unfilial Conduct (7)
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1.
Birdsong drifted in cheerfully from beyond the window.
The curtains were drawn, so it wasn't clear whether day had broken, but it seemed like quite some time had passed since sunrise.
Albreo, who had been lying on the bed with half-vacant eyes, lifted her sparkling white naked body even in the darkness.
Her throat felt parched, likely from all the screaming.
She spotted a water bottle on the bedside table and gulped it down to soothe her throat.
-Snap
With a light flick of her finger, all the various secretions staining the bed sheets vanished.
Tears, saliva, sweat—and that embarrassing fluid which made up the largest portion, unfit to mention aloud.
"Finally over. Finally…."
Once she used telekinesis to don the underwear and dress she had prepared in advance, the realization that it was truly done settled over her in soft waves.
Strangely, it felt less like relief and more like tears pricking at her eyes.
The debauched orgy that had raged all night had subjected Albreo to every trial and peak imaginable.
She had fully experienced the sensation of a man ejaculating at least five times over, and without mercy for front or back, endured a dozen or more waves of pleasure intense enough to knock her out cold.
The first time she lost consciousness, thinking 'good riddance' and ready to sever her hold on awareness, the merciless Siu wouldn't even grant her that mercy.
He dragged her drifting mind back to wakefulness with even greater ecstasy amid the overload, binding her consciousness firmly until morning.
"Ugh!"
That lingering aftertaste still made her legs tremble.
She no longer had the energy to snap or rage.
Just a languid haze, hormones buoying her heart regardless of her inner turmoil, wrapping her in a fluffy sensation.
"Why did I have to end up like this…."
Still, this nonsense was finally at an end.
The root cause had been simple.
She had overlooked how the linkage's intensity scaled proportionally to the 'pleasure value.'
Now that she understood the trigger, she had finally found the key to blocking the pleasure linkage.
No longer would she need to suffer over Siu and Deneb's relationship.
"…That said, she really went through with it…."
With a moment to belatedly collect her thoughts, Albreo reflected anew on the events from last night through to this morning.
Deneb had entered a legitimate intimate relationship with Siu.
Today would probably mark the start of them becoming full-fledged lovers.
She wanted to say 'if Deneb's happy, that's what matters,' but Albreo's sense of propriety simply couldn't stomach this tangled family web.
It felt more like watching a cosmic horror unfold.
And regardless of anything else, sharing a bed with the twins had to stop immediately.
A master meant to set an example, putting on such a disgraceful display in front of her apprentice witch—and exchanging caresses with her, no less!
Even if it was a ploy to cross that 'line,' there were limits!
After pulling back the bedroom curtains and opening the window to air out the room, Albreo headed to her office and threw herself into work as usual.
For Albreo, more addicted to her duties than even magic itself, filling her mind with numbers and symbols was the surest way to drown out her anguish.
-Knock knock
"Come in."
She set down her pen for a moment, and the door creaked open hesitantly to reveal Albreo's younger sister, Deneb.
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, I said come in."
Deneb, glancing about nervously, crept forward on tiptoe as if the floor might crumble under a firm step.
Albreo knew exactly why.
She was in the exact same state herself right now.
The afterglow of intercourse lingered like a nagging headache, refusing to fade after just a few hours.
As the awkward silence began to thicken uncomfortably, Albreo tossed out a casual opener.
"Did you run into anyone on the way here?"
"Huh? No. Why?"
"Hide that kiss mark on your neck."
"Ah…."
Deneb finally noticed the vivid bruise on her neck and jolted in surprise.
She erased it with a partial recovery spell, then smacked her lips in embarrassment.
Well, she had just come from tumbling in bed with her apprentice witch and son-in-law.
Even if her sister had known beforehand, parading the evidence made it impossible not to feel mortified.
"……."
"……."
Silence fell once more.
Deneb stiffened like a job applicant under a grueling interview, bracing for whatever words might fall from her sister's lips.
Even a stern scolding—she was prepared to accept it.
"Deneb."
After a long sigh, Albreo called her name again.
"Yes, sister."
"You did well. Don't stand there like you've committed some crime—get on with whatever you came for."
Deneb felt tears welling up.
She now understood just how absurd her own feelings had been—and how much heartache they had caused her sister.
By any normal standard, she was an awful little sister; all the more so since her sister was a strict, exacting pillar of noble orthodoxy.
If their situations had been reversed, Deneb never would have viewed her sister kindly.
"Sister, I've made up my mind about something."
"Hold on. Let me steel myself first."
Seeing Deneb's gaze turn deadly serious, Albreo braced for impact.
At this juncture, she doubted anything more chaotic could arise—but Siu-related developments always shattered her imagination beyond repair, so she prepared accordingly.
"…What is it?"
"I'm not going to pursue a lover's relationship with Siu."
"…What?"
Deneb's declaration hit harder than any words could have.
What? Why this sudden turn?
After playing with fire so passionately just last night?
They said affairs thrilled most in secrecy, but maybe trying it openly proved underwhelming?
"Why, why… why?"
Stumbling over her words, Albreo recalled some tabloid gossip from a magazine, anxiety bubbling up—'She's not about to declare marriage or something even riskier, is she?'
"You said it yourself, sister. You can't witness concubine squabbles even after you're in the grave."
"That's different from back then, Deneb. If you're holding back for my sake, don't bother…."
"No, I've already sorted it out with the twins and Siu."
They had spent over a century together.
One look at Deneb's eyes told Albreo this wasn't a whim or outburst of anger.
The Deneb who had writhed in anguish and sorrow was gone.
The freedom of a canary escaped from its cage radiated from her every word and gesture.
"I think I was too immature. You've had it rough because of me all this time, haven't you?"
"No, Deneb. But… may I ask why you've sworn off it?"
Lingering late in bed before rising together for a bath, Deneb had mulled over many things.
What resolve and vow had driven Odil and Odet to share a bed with her and yield Siu.
The twins loved Deneb with all their hearts.
Enough to defy societal taboos and share their husband.
And one more thing came to mind.
In just a few short years, Deneb would have to leave Odil and Odet behind.
During her earlier spat with her sister, she had yelled about using Siu's magic amplification for an irregular succession, veins bulging in her neck.
But now, with a clearer, more objective grasp of the situation, she knew the immense cost involved.
It might even negate the very lives she and Albreo had built.
Inheriting the stigma would mean a beautiful farewell with Siu.
That alone would scar him deeply, given how thickly human sensibilities still clung to him.
All the more if they were lovers.
"I confessed feelings I thought I'd keep secret forever, and I learned his in turn. I even confirmed how much the twins have grown."
It was truly wondrous.
Back when she had to bury her love for him deep and watch from afar, the pain had been excruciating.
Yet renouncing the chance to meet him freely didn't sting with regret.
If anything, it felt liberating.
Probably because she had finally conveyed the true depth of her heart.
"Love was so difficult, but it brought joys I'd never known. Now that I know them, this is enough."
"……."
Albreo fell silent.
How strange.
Twin sisters divided as elder and younger by mere minutes, yet Deneb had always harbored a childish side that made her seem younger than Albreo.
Even after more than a century, she had still seemed like a little sister in need of looking after.
But in a single night, Deneb had changed.
Resilient, perhaps. Unshakable….
Was this the elegance of love?
Her sister had yielded, so she should do the same.
Albreo cleared her throat to lighten the mood and spoke up.
"Deneb, Countess Lucy mentioned she'll need experimental data from time to time going forward."
"Data?"
"If you lack a proper lover, then… as part of the experiments, even. She's fine with you meeting him that way."
Countess Lucy Yesod wasn't Siu's lover, but she bedded him occasionally for the irregular succession trials.
Such an arrangement wouldn't trouble Albreo, Deneb, or the twins unduly.
They had arrived at this compromise.
Reading between the lines, Deneb smiled.
"I'll think it over. By the way, how's Galina holding up?"
"Looks like Ms. Smirna treated her well. She's already on the mend. Care for a drink?"
"Sure, sister."
After the chill brought on by the Siu affair, Albreo and Deneb finally shared a reconciliatory drink after so long.
2.
At that same time.
"……."
Linne sat perched on the edge of a high-rise rooftop, beyond the safety railing.
Gazing down at the bustling cityscape of the modern world, she soothed her hollow heart.
Boundless melancholy, ennui, lethargy.
The fierce wind whipping across the high-rise felt like it had bored a hole straight through her chest.
Like she'd turned into cotton candy.
"Strange."
Something felt off.