"Thank you..."
The words of the Water Spirit echo in Lucien's mind, her voice so sweet and naturally familiar that he gets lost in thoughts.
When he first encountered the Nature Spirit back in Argerim, he didn't feel anything special; that mysterious woman seemed like a blank canvas.
But when he saw the Water Spirit for the first time, sleeping inside the glass coffin, Lucien only saw a beautiful, peaceful, and vulnerable woman.
Then he witnessed her power personally and understood why Nea and everyone from the Blue Star view her as a powerful and gentle deity.
But then she thanked him, just like that, like an ordinary person.
Despite being extremely beautiful, the Water Spirit doesn't seem like an ancient woman, but rather a young woman as normal as anyone else.
"Lucien???" He hears Lust's voice in his mind, waking him from his confused thoughts and causing him to meet a perplexed gaze from the Water Spirit.
No; in fact, he can see that her delicate lips are slightly curved, and there's a familiar sparkle in her eyes.
[Is she enjoying messing with me?] He wonders. [Teasing me??]
Although Lucien is certain that the mysterious Water Spirit is playing with him, no one else there can see through her cold and distant expression.
It's as if she has two faces, one that everyone sees, and one that only Lucien can see.
His silence creates an awkward atmosphere, and Nea almost panics, thinking that the Water Spirit might perceive it as a hostile sign.
The Water Spirit doesn't remain still for long and instead floats slowly towards Lucien.
"You-" Pride steps in front of Lucien and begins raising her white scythe towards the Water Spirit.
"Wait!" But Lucien quickly grabs her wrist and lowers her weapon.
The other Sins also become alert, but the Water Spirit just floats past Lucien, heading towards the tables at the top of the tower.
As she passes right beside him, her sweet perfume hits Lucien strongly, intensifying the already familiar sensations he feels.
[Who the hell are you???] Lucien becomes even more curious about the Water Spirit.
"Why are you acting like this?!" Lust questions Lucien; she doesn't like how he seems confused and lost at that moment.
He doesn't like feeling that way either and tries to calm down all those emotions rising within him.
Everyone's gazes shift from the Water Spirit to Lucien and back to her; the situation is truly curious, and everyone wants to know what comes next.
Surprising everyone once again, the Water Spirit reaches one of the tables and takes a pitcher of wine, pouring the liquid slowly into a glass.
Lucien tries to think of something to say, and something instinctively slips out of his mouth before he can understand it. "You don't have to thank me."
All of Lucien's wives disagree with him on that, but Nea becomes particularly tense; she understands that his feelings are in a mess, but no matter how hard she tries, her special ability doesn't seem to work on the Water Spirit.
Not knowing what kind of reaction to expect from the mysterious Blue Lady, everyone watches as she takes a sip of the wine and turns back to Lucien again.
"Oh?" She seems to disagree with his words as well. "You helped me when I was vulnerable, protected my people when I was absent, so it's natural for me to have much to be thankful for."
Lucien still doesn't understand why he wanted to help the Water Spirit so much, but regarding protecting her people, he thinks differently. Even the use of those words seems calculated to provoke him.
Even though she feels like one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the universe, he can't let her toy with him without consequences.
"Your people?" He asks with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.
A mysterious glint appears in the Water Spirit's eyes, and she responds calmly. "Yes, the people I created with my own energy and blood."
Lucien walks to the table and also takes a glass of wine before looking back at the Water Spirit. "But when things got tough, it was me and my family who protected them..."
The Sins smile upon hearing that, but the other girls are tense, especially the Mermaids and Nagas.
Mira and Nea fear that the Water Spirit might actually get upset with Lucien now, but contrary to expectations, she laughs.
"So you think they should accept you as their leader just because you defeated an arrogant fool?" She asks in a tone more curious than sarcastic.
Lucien takes another sip of the wine as he tries to see through the Water Spirit's intentions, but neither Nea nor Mira can do that, so he also has no idea what goes on in the mind of such a mysterious woman.
Instead of directly answering her, he casts a gentle look at Nea and Mira. "I believe the Mermaids and Nagas can choose who to follow, regardless of who created them in the first place."
Contrary to expectations once again, the Water Spirit smiles at Lucien. "Good answer, I think the same way."
But before he can smile back, she quickly continues, "But don't be mistaken, I know everything that happens in this world, including the selfish objectives that brought you here..."
Lucien can't help but tense up. He knows the Water Spirit is referring to the Phoenix's magic core, and although he understands that Maya must also suspect something like that, he hasn't had a chance to talk to her about it, something that could potentially ruin their still immature relationship.
Lucien remains silent for a few seconds, giving the Water Spirit time to clarify her intentions.
She stares into his eyes, but instead of hostility, he only sees instinctive kindness and a hint of teasing.
"Relax," she smiles amiably. "We're not enemies, right?"
"I'm starting to doubt that..." He sighs.
The Water Spirit takes another sip of wine as she looks at Lucien, making everyone around them even more tense.
"You're confused, that's natural," she comments. "Anyone in your situation would be defensive too."
"My situation?" Lucien doesn't think the Water Spirit is only talking about what happened on the Blue Star. "You seem to know a lot about me, and I know almost nothing about you."
"Yeah, that doesn't seem very fair, does it?" She asks in a totally sarcastic manner, as if Lucien had stolen her candy.
He becomes increasingly puzzled about the mysterious Blue Lady, as do the Sins who are analyzing her every word and movement.
Even Nea is very confused because she has never spent so much time in the presence of the Water Spirit.
Before, the Water Spirit seemed like a gentle and mysterious protector, but now she appears like a young girl, and the most shocking part is that she shares many similarities with Lucien, beyond just facial features.
Lucien struggles to understand how to deal with such a person. He usually knows how to handle women, how to discover their desires and weaknesses, but this woman affects him in a way that no one else has done so far.
He understands that she knows many things about him, things he shouldn't know, but he doesn't know how to get such answers from her.
[Perhaps the most direct approach is the best...] He wonders.
So he goes straight to the point. "How about you help me understand more about this as a reward for the help I gave you?"
The Water Spirit makes a thoughtful expression for a second, but it's evident that she already expected that request due to her quick response.
"Okay, I can give you some answers..." She speaks vaguely.
Everyone can hear a clear "but" even though the word is not directly said, so Lucien quickly asks, "But?"
"I don't think such answers will please you." She responds casually.
Lucien feels more and more like this mysterious woman is toying with him. But instead of someone manipulating and confusing an adversary, her game seems more friendly and natural.
"I want to hear what you have to say anyway." He smiles at her.
It's evident to everyone that Lucien is enjoying the peculiar interaction with the Water Spirit, which gives Nea hope for a strong alliance, but the Sins and his sisters still fear the intentions of the mysterious woman.
"Fine," she responds casually as she takes another sip of wine, but then she casts a slightly hostile look at all the women around Lucien, especially the Sins.
"However..." She turns her attention back to Lucien. "I prefer to talk to you in private."
"No way." Envy quickly voices her objection.
She has been trying very hard to remain silent so far due to Lucien's request, but like the other Sins, she has more doubts than trust in the Water Spirit.
The Blue Lady, on the other hand, ignores Envy's complaint and continues to look at Lucien.
"You know I won't hide anything important from my family, right?" He asks.
The Water Spirit quickly nods. "I don't care what you do with the information I'll give you; I just find it uncomfortable to be under so many hostile gazes as if I were some kind of monstrous aberration."
Lucien believes those words because, indeed, most of his wives, his sisters, and especially the Sins have been casting such looks at the Water Spirit since she approached him.
When he looks at his girls with a gentle expression, they understand what he's about to ask, and many of them are against it.
This time, Pride voices her concerns before anyone else. "I don't like this."