One hour later, I was lying on the bed while caressing Marana's hair softly.
Marana was lying on my right arm, while Akilah was on my left with an arm on her eyes. As for Aya, at some point, the cat girl had laid on my body and was sleeping there peacefully.
"… This is amazing…" Marana said all of sudden.
"Of course. I'm great. A man among men." I said shamelessly, but Marana rolled her eyes immediately.
"I'm talking about my cultivation. It's at the fifteenth layer just like that… Moreover, I feel different… Somehow, I feel that we are connected."
I smiled softly and nodded. Then, I explained to her the results of the fusion of souls.
Even though Raven was the one that realized the fusion, Raven is one of my dependents. In other words, Marana and Akilah are connected to me as well, just that they are connected to Raven first, and Raven works as a node that connects me to them.
It's a bit different than my connection with Safelia, Katherine, Daisy, Louise, and Raven, but it's similar, so Marana feeling connected to me is normal.
I also took advantage of the situation to explain some other things to her, including the topic about Immortals. I also told my true identity to Akilah, who had been listening to our conversation since a while ago.
Akilah was completely dumbfounded when she learned that I was a prince of the empire. She was unable to stop herself from shrieking.
"Then, am I the lover of a prince?" Akilah asked with an expression of disbelief. "Does it mean that I am a princess!?"
"Not yet, but if you want, I can make you one later. If you marry me officially, you will be a princess as well."
Akilah did not reply, but her glistening eyes were enough of an answer.
This girl…
Contrary to Akilah, who was excited by the fact that I was a prince, Marana was more worried about other things.
Especially about Immortals.
Although I did not explain them in detail, just the things that I explained were very surprising for Marana.
"Then, you are one of these Immortals, huh," Marana sighed.
"Technically, you are one as well now."
Marana nodded with a complicated expression.
To be honest, she did not know how to react to it.
Soon, though, she decided to stop thinking about that.
Anyway, being an Immortal was not a bad thing. Quite the opposite, it sounded like something great.
She decided just to take it as one of the perks of being my lover.
While we were talking, Aya stirred awake. I caressed her head softly and stretched my body out.
"Well, I think that we rested enough. We still have things to do today."
"Huh?" Akilah and Marana were startled. However, when I looked at Marana, she immediately remembered.
"The empress…"
"Yes, she is coming tonight."
"… Boss, you never get tired, huh." Marana was speechless.
She could already imagine how my meeting with the empress was going to end.
Of course, I never get tired.
The word tired doesn't exist in my dictionary.
…
That night, I was seated at the counter of the 'bar' where I met with Empress Lilia.
As always, Marana was at the other side of the counter, cleaning a cup with an indifferent expression.
Meanwhile, Empress Lilia was seated beside me in her usual disguise.
I took a sip of wine and looked at the empress with a raised eyebrow.
"You look troubled today, huh."
The empress hesitated slightly before sighing.
However, instead of talking about her worries, she asked for another thing.
"… Clark, about my son… What have you investigated?"
I frowned and immediately put on a serious look.
"I have several clues."
"Really!?"
"Really." I smiled confidently when I saw the excitement in her eyes. "I think you will be able to know who is behind this one week later."
The empress's eyes lit up. She immediately moved her hands towards the counter, grabbing my hands and looking at me with a lovestruck look.
"Clark… Thank you… Really, I don't know what I would do without you."
I smiled gently and shook my head.
"You don't need to thank me."
Really, you don't need to thank me at all.
I'm the mastermind behind everything.
"By the way, has the organization behind the kidnapping of your son contacted you again?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"… They did. However, they only asked me to support Alan's rebellion and nothing more."
At that moment, I saw something flash in the empress's eyes.
Oh? Could it be what I think it is?
Let me test it.
"The rebellion, huh. Then, I should hurry up. Perhaps if I manage to save Bryan before the rebellion, you will be able to warn the emperor about everything and stop your son from doing something stupid."
The empress fell silent.
And then–
"… Actually, I don't think that Grand needs to continue being the emperor anymore."
She spoke in an ice-cold tone.
As expected…
I feigned a stunned expression and looked at the empress in surprise.
"Your Majesty… Do you mean that you agree with Alan's coup d'eta?"
"I do." The empress said with a vicious expression before looking at me gently and licking her lips. "Don't you think it's a good idea? If the emperor dies, nobody will be able to interfere with us."
This woman, how vicious…
To think that she can talk so easily about killing the man that was her husband for many years.
But hey, was that not my goal since the start?
This result is even better than I expected.
Finally, the empress is completely in my hands.
There is less than one week before the emperor's birthday.
And everything is quickly falling into place.