thefictionvixens Chapter 588: The Tyrant’s Claim
Chapter 588: The Tyrant’s Claim
"I didn’t see anything! I swear to the gods, Ethan, I didn’t see a single thing!" Louisa gasped out, her voice cracking into a frantic, high-pitched whisper as she shrank back into her chair, her tear-filled eyes wide with pure terror.
Ethan didn’t break his posture. He merely leaned forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the table, his piercing amethyst eyes locking onto her shivering pupils with an absolute, unyielding intensity.
"Louisa, look at me," Ethan commanded softly, his deep baritone carrying an eerie, freezing clarity. He waited until her trembling gaze met his before continuing. "You are the only person in this entire city who knows my secret. Because of that, we need to speak with absolute sincerity. My body possesses a special, restricted constitution. I have the ability to devour magical beasts to fuel my core. I have absolutely no intentions of bringing harm to you, your brother, or your mother. If you can solemnly promise me right now to keep your mouth tightly shut, I will give you my word that I will never lift a finger against your family."
"I promise! I swear it on my own soul! I will never utter a single word to anyone, not even to Roy!" Louisa stammered hysterically, her hands clutching her chest as she practically begged for her life, terrified that the monster before her might change his mind.
Ethan let out a long, slow sigh, leaning back slightly as a dark, complicated expression crossed his handsome features.
"I believe you want to keep that promise, Louisa," Ethan murmured, his voice dripping with a low, dangerous weight. "But secrets on the frontier have a nasty habit of leaking out when people get desperate or careless. I cannot afford to take a gamble on my survival. Because of that, I need to keep you close to me at all times. I hope you won’t mind me keeping you under my absolute control from this day forward. In fact... I have a specific proposition for this dilemma."
Before she could even process his words, Ethan slowly stood up from his chair.
His towering, powerful, shirtless frame cast a massive, intimidating shadow over her smaller body as he took three deliberate steps around the table. Louisa froze, completely paralyzed by fear as Ethan leaned down, placing his hands firmly on the armrests of her chair, trapping her completely within his personal space.
He was so incredibly close that she could feel the burning, warm heat of his breath brushing against her lips, heavily laced with the scent of vintage plum wine.
"I have two ways to resolve this, Louisa," Ethan whispered, his purple eyes burning with a demonic, predatory light right before her face. "Option one, I can kill you, Mary, and Roy right now to guarantee absolute, permanent silence. Or... option two, you can choose to stay by my side for the rest of your life."
He paused, a dark, dangerously arrogant smirk curving his lips as his gaze dropped to her trembling mouth. "Tell me... do you like me?"
Louisa’s mind instantaneously fractured into absolute, chaotic madness. The sheer terror of being devoured whole collided violently with the suffocating, raw wave of pure testosterone radiating from his bare chest. Her heart was hammering so violently she could barely breathe, and her throat tightened until she could only emit a series of soft, completely unintelligible, whimpering stutters.
"If the answer to my question is yes," Ethan murmured smoothly, his eyes narrowing as he locked her in place, "then just nod your head."
Louisa stared into his beautiful, bloodthirsty, and utterly magnificent face. Driven by a volatile cocktail of survival instinct, sheer awe, and the burning desire she had harbored for him all along, her neck slowly, hesitantly bent forward.
She nodded her head.
"Good," Ethan whispered, a low, satisfied chuckle vibrating in his chest. "Then things in this room can become very, very easy."
Without giving her another microsecond to think, Ethan closed the remaining distance, tilting her chin up with his fingers as his lips crashed firmly down onto hers, sealing her lips in a deep, dominant kiss.
When Ethan finally pulled back, his fingers lingered gently for a fraction of a second on her chin, his amethyst eyes locking onto her dazed, breathless expression.
"Be my woman," Ethan commanded softly, his deep baritone carrying the absolute weight of a decree.
Louisa’s mind had completely short-circuited. The sheer velocity of the transition from facing absolute execution to receiving the fierce, possessive embrace of a peak genius left her entirely unable to speak. She could only nod her head in rapid, submissive agreement, her face burning with a wild, uncontrollable crimson.
CLICK.
The bathroom door suddenly swung open, and a cloud of warm steam billowed out into the suite. Roy stepped out into the room, vigorously drying his wet hair with a rough white towel, his skin scrubbed clean of the battlefield’s filth.
"Man, that felt incredible! I feel like a brand new..." Roy’s voice instantly died in his throat as his eyes adjusted to the candle-lit dining room.
He froze mid-step, his towel lowering as he stared at Ethan standing directly over Louisa, and his sister sitting frozen in her chair, her eyes wide and her face looking like a thoroughly ripe tomato. The thick, electric tension hanging in the air was practically palpable.
"Oh... crap," Roy stammered, his cheeks instantly flushing with a wave of intense, awkward panic as he took a clumsy step backward toward the bathroom threshold. "I... am I interrupting something? I can go back inside! I’ll just look at the tiles for another twenty minutes!"
Ethan let out a loud, boisterous laugh, his chest vibrating as he casually stepped away from Louisa’s chair and returned to his own seat at the head of the table.
"Stop being ridiculous, Roy, sit down," Ethan chuckled smoothly, gesturing toward the massive plates of steaming spirit-deer ribs and rice. "Come and eat. Your sister and I were merely having a deep, private conversation for a moment. Don’t let the food get cold."
"Right! Yes, Master Ethan!" Roy laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he quickly scurried over to the table. He pulled out a chair next to the youth, eager to dive into the imperial feast and completely oblivious to the reality that his sister had just traded her eternal freedom to guarantee their survival.
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From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.
Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.
Body Refinement Realm
Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement
Spiritual Gathering Realm
Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation
Spiritual Core Realm
Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)
Spiritual Soul Realm
Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion
Golden Core Realm
Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction
Spiritual Sea Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Dao Manifestation Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Spiritual Transcendence
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??