Master of Minds, Master of Me

This week really has been an odd one. I can’t even comprehend what has happened. Florentia passed out, and I had to call Theodore to examine her, since she wasn’t waking up. Florentia is known for having absolutely zero mana. But Theodore told us that her soul has suddenly started forming mana. And since her body has no managates to handle it, it’s causing her body to break. Theodore was more than eager to examine her and make her a medium, which would suck the forming mana out of her soul so her body would not suffer.

A soul should not be able to form any new mana after birth. That should be impossible. But I also thought it would be impossible to die and live your life over and over again. I guess everything is possible. So I’m willing to believe just about anything right now.

But that’s not even the most shocking event.

I was, of course, pretending to be one of the guards when Lo had her practice dance on Friday. No way I’ll let another slimy hand touch her now that I’m here. We were both shocked when Theodore barged in to give Florentia her medium.

And very conveniently, Florentia’s guard started vomiting right when he was leaving. Even Lo realized that it had to be Theodore’s doing. We exchanged very knowing looks with each other. And Lo was actually more shocked to see Theodore acting like a charming gentleman, since she had only ever seen him being cold and blunt.

After that, stalking Theodore has become one of our favourite hobbies here at the Palace. There really isn’t much entertainment here anyway, so of course we need to enjoy what little we have. He really is starting to get obsessed with Florentia. And I’m here, of course, rooting for those two. If Theodore really is capable of turning one of my enemies to our side, I’m more than grateful.

“Felix. Master Loneflare is coming,” Lo says, pulling my sleeve.

I focus on the garden. We are hiding there, just wanting to see what they are up to. They already met yesterday in the garden, and I heard they are meeting today at the same time. So basically, they are giving us a little play on a silver platter. The only downside is that we can’t be especially close, since Theodore can easily detect my illusion magic.

Theodore brought some books for her to read about monsters. Since the mana entered her body, she has suffered from some partial amnesia. I can’t help but smile when it’s clear how much Theodore likes that girl. His mind has never felt like this before, so bright and happy.

“Oh my! She has a gift for him!”

I look at my pretty flower, who is more than invested in their little love story. I think she has read so many romance novels that it’s getting to her head a little too much.

“What do you think it is? She hasn’t left the Palace, so it’s not like she could buy anything,” I ask.

“She must have made something for him. That’s so cute.”

“Oh? Does that mean I should make something for you too?”

She looks up at me.

“Just keep making me come, and I’m satisfied,” she smirks.

My cock twitches. She turns her focus back to our targets.

“Felix, I can’t see what it is. Can you?”

“Mm… Hard to tell. Maybe a piece of fabric? A handkerchief, perhaps? But that surely stopped Theodore’s mind from working. He is clearly shocked.”

“That’s so unfair! I want to probe their minds too!”

I chuckle at her. Her stalker tendencies clearly weren’t just a phase.

“Don’t worry. I’ll tell you everything I feel.”

“What about her? How does she feel?”

“Mostly embarrassed.”

After they exchange their gifts, we stay quiet, wanting to listen to their conversation. Soon, Theodore starts pestering her about her name.

Why? Surely he knows who she is.

“You and I both know that’s not true. But don’t worry. I’m not going to tell anyone. You must have your reasons for hiding the truth about yourself, and I respect that,” Theodore says lazily.

What?

Florentia freezes for a moment, then finally answers. “How did you know?”

“It became clear when your body showed signs of mana. A soul without mana can’t suddenly gain it. So when I saw it appear, I knew the soul had changed. It wasn’t hard to figure out. I am the Master of the Mage Tower, after all.”

The soul has changed?

I look down at my pretty flower, and she looks up at me. We stare at each other, stunned.

I mean, sure, that would explain her sudden change in behaviour. There really are some strange things happening around here. Like I said. I’m willing to believe just anything.

“Has anything like this happened before?” I whisper.

She shakes her head. “No. Absolutely not.”

This stalking thing? Best thing ever.

We keep watching them, and suddenly Florentia asks if Theodore knows me. And his answer is also the best thing ever.

“Yes, I do. I consider him a friend, but don’t tell him I said that. He’d probably make us matching friendship bracelets. Why?”

Matching bracelets, huh? Not a bad idea. I should write BFF on them.

“All right… since you apparently know him so well, is he… some kind of psychopath lunatic who’ll kill me if I make a minor mistake? Just because I’m Duke Callum’s daughter?”

Me? A psychopath lunatic? I’m honestly a little offended here.

Theodore bursts into laughter, an extremely unusual sight to behold.

“Felix? A psychopath lunatic killer? He’s probably the last person I’d call that. Sure, he’s got his flaws. Being too energetic, too happy, too clingy, or just plain annoying. Actually… his list of flaws is longer than I remembered. I could keep going for hours.”

Okay, I think she got the point already. Stop bad-mouthing me!

I glance at my pretty flower again.

“That’s just cruel. How can he say things like that about me? I’m a delightful person.”

“Well…” She averts her gaze.

I narrow my eyes at her. “Well what?”

“I mean, he’s not wrong.” She smiles, then continues. “I, of course, love you for those qualities. And I’m rather pleased that Theodore doesn’t. Since he’s the last person I’d want as a rival. I still think he is rather scary.”

I slowly turn my gaze back ahead. She’s lucky she’s so cute. So I forgive her.

We watch the rest of their conversation. I feel a little bad for spying on them like this. But just a little, not enough to care.

When Theodore starts to leave, I know I have to exit too, since he’s coming to see me after all.

“Okay, my pretty partner in crime. I need to go to the office before Theodore gets there.”

She tiptoes to kiss me. “But remember to keep your mouth shut! We didn’t hear anything, right?”

“Could I tease him just a little?”

“No! He’ll murder us if he finds out we’ve been stalking them like this.”

“Fine,” I say in defeat.

I teleport to my office, and just as I sit in my chair, the doors burst open, and my favourite grumpy mage enters. Actually, this time he doesn’t seem so grumpy. He’s clearly in a good mood after his little garden date. And so am I.

“Nice of you to be on time today, Theodore.”

I can’t help but tease him about that, since yesterday was the first time ever that he was late. He is never late. Just another proof of how much he likes Florentia, since apparently talking to her was more important yesterday than me. But I forgive him, since I’m such a good friend. He slumps into a chair.

“Let’s just continue where we left off yesterday.”

I can’t stop smiling. I want to blurt everything out, but I bite my tongue. I need to let him be. If I tease him too much, he might not tell me anything and just lock himself in that Tower.

But there is one thing I can talk to him about.

“I have just one more thing I want to ask you before we do.”

“What is it?”

I open my drawer and take out our contract regarding Florentia, which is glowing brighter than ever. I think you could light up the entire mansion with this thing. It’s been violated so many times you can barely see the ink anymore.

“Care to tell me about this?” I ask smugly.

His voice drops adorably low.

“I did wonder why you hadn’t pestered me about that earlier.”

“I gave you a chance to tell me yourself, but I’m running out of patience.”

“It’s nothing you should worry about.”

Oh, I know. I wonder if there were some nightly rendezvous between the two of you or something.

“You do know I could punish you however I want for breaking the contract?”

“If you were going to punish me, you would have done it already. So let’s focus on the monster campaign if you don’t want me to storm out of this room right now. I hate talking nonsense.”

Sure didn’t look like it. You were happily chatting just minutes ago with your new crush.

“Of course you do. I’ll let it slide this time, since I’m just a good friend. You’re welcome.”

“We are not friends.”

That’s not what you said earlier in the garden, you cute cranky mage.

After we’re finished, I go straight to my pretty flower’s room. This time, I knock on her balcony door instead of teleporting in and scaring her. She opens it immediately.

“So? Did you keep your mouth shut?”

I pretend to be hurt.

“How dare you doubt my ability to remain silent?”

She narrows her eyes at me as I walk in.

“That didn’t answer my question.”

“I did. I only asked him about the contract.”

“And what did he say?”

“That it’s nothing to worry about.”

“What? He didn’t even try to defend himself?”

“No. That’s Theodore for you.”

“He really is acting strange.”

“He’s clearly falling in love, so of course he is.”

“Do you really think it’s love?”

“Absolutely.”

“There are just so many weird things going on. So many things that didn’t happen last time.”

“True. And her being a different soul? That was surprising. I’m kind of hurt that Theodore didn’t tell me the truth about her.”

“Hmm…” She ponders, then suddenly grabs a pen and paper.

“Let’s think about what we know. First, Florentia.”

She sits by the table, writes Florentia's name, and starts listing things.

“So do you think her soul is from here? She clearly knows our language and customs.”

Her detective mode kind of turns me on.

“Well, Theodore said she doesn’t have memories related to magic. He claimed the mana probably destroyed part of her memories. Of course, that could be a lie. Maybe she doesn’t know about magic because she’s from somewhere where magic doesn’t exist.”

“True. But she clearly knows Florentia’s life. She blended in smoothly. So did she know about her beforehand, or did she inherit her memories? Or part of them?”

“I have a feeling she’s not from here at all. When I pumped to her that one time, she said ‘Jesus Christ,’ and I’m pretty sure that’s some foreign language.”

“Jesus Christ? Sounds odd. What could that mean?”

“No idea. She said it after falling to the ground.”

“Okay. Then let’s think about Master Loneflare.”

She starts writing again.

“Lo?”

“Yes?” she answers lazily.

“You do know you wrote ‘annoying bastard’ instead of Theodore?”

“Oh, did I? Oops. I keep mixing those two.”

I chuckle. She is still pissed about how Theodore talked about stopping me so ruthlessly in our past life, and I’m rather enjoying it.

“So when did Master Loneflare start acting weird?”

“Hard to say. I noticed the contract breach a week ago Saturday, but I’m sure he broke it earlier.”

“So Florentia started acting strange on Monday that week. Maybe that’s when the soul entered her body, and after that, Master Loneflare took interest.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“But do you really think Master Loneflare could actually have romantic feelings for her? I know he is acting weird, but he doesn’t look like he is in love either.”

“Trust me. I know him. He clearly has feelings; he just probably doesn’t realize it yet.”

She keeps writing something on the paper, and I just look at her. When she is ready, she lifts the paper, looking rather pleased.

“So what was the verdict, my pretty detective?” I ask, smiling.

“So as I said, some foreign soul entered Florentia’s body. Master Loneflare was clearly intrigued by it. I trust you if you say that he has feelings. I think that Master Loneflare himself believes that he is just curious about this whole soul-swapping thing, since he is all about research and magic, after all. They have had some interactions while Master Loneflare has been in his stalking mode, like the time there were noises in her bathroom. Maybe he has like helped her when the maid tormented her or something. But I don’t think Florentia knows that her stalker is the same person who charmed her with the dance and in the garden. So clearly, he is acting around her, trying to charm her with his act. Trying to fool her, tempting her to fall into his trap.”

“Oh. Sounds pretty ominous. What happens after that?” I try to suppress my smile. Since she talks about all of this so seriously, I just can’t handle how cute she is.

“She probably falls in love with him and is shocked when it turns out he only wants to stick a needle in her to study her. Then she leaves him, heartbroken. And only after that, Master Loneflare realizes his true feelings and goes after her. They have a very dramatic encounter eventually, but somehow he manages to convince her to come back and marry him. Then they live happily ever after.”

I look at her paper and her little cute notes.

“And you deduced all that from these?” She nods proudly. “Okay. No more romance novels for you, pretty flower.”

“What? Why? This clearly has all the components of an epic love story!”

I can’t hold my laughter.

“I do agree with that. But I have a feeling it’s not going to go as smoothly as your version. I do hope so, but I highly doubt it, since Theodore is one stubborn, grumpy mage after all. And we don’t know at all who this new Florentia is.”

She looks disappointed.

“I guess you are right. You party pooper.”

I look at her in shock.

“Me? A party pooper?”

She flops onto the couch, acting all dramatic.

“Yes. Always laughing at my great ideas. Like zero support.”

I walk next to her. She really loves to act like me nowadays, just to tease me. But I’m totally fine with that. Like I have already said, I love how free and bold she is with me. She still acts rather stiff around others, and I’m fine with that too. Actually, I prefer that. I don’t want anyone else to see what is under the plain wooden box. It’s for my eyes only.

“Zero support?” I ask.

“Yes. Actually, more like negative hundred support.”

I climb over her on the couch, caging her in.

“I did take you with me to spy on them, didn’t I?”

“Yes, so?”

“I think that’s a pretty big part if you want to keep conducting your theories about them. I would call it pretty supportive.”

She narrows her eyes at me for a while and then exhales dramatically again.

“Okay, you are right. Negative twenty support then.”

I slide my hand to her throat and make her face me better. Her eyes snap to me, and she parts her lips as I lean closer.

“I wonder when my obedient pretty flower turned into this scheming one?”

“I still am.”

“Obedient?”

“You never told me not to scheme, so they don’t rule each other out.”

“So are you saying you still are my obedient pretty flower?”

She nods.

“Hmm… Shall we test it?”

I grab a communication stone out of my pocket. I quickly let my purified water clean it.

“Open your mouth,” I command while still holding her throat with my left hand.

She obeys.

“Now suck this nice and wet.”

I slide half of the communication stone into her mouth. I sense confusion from her, but she still obeys. I pull it out and let her suck the other end too. When satisfied, I move my hand under her dress. Her body tenses.

“What are you doing?”

“You know how much I regret giving Ted a communication stone. Especially today, he is constantly trying to reach me, and it’s getting annoying.”

I slide her panties out of the way and find her already wet. I rub the stone against her clit, and she shifts underneath me, but stays silent. So I continue.

“So I had a great idea.”

I lean closer to her, almost kissing her. I feel her heavy breathing against my lips. I rub the stone around her entrance.

“If I shove it here.” I push the stone inside her, and she gasps. “I can avoid him. And…”

I put her panties back in place, but rub her a couple of times, making her body squirm under me.

“…you can be the needy slut at the same time. Am I right?”

She stays silent, so I squeeze her throat more, giving her a warning and asking again.

“Am I right?”

She nods. I glance at the clock on the wall. Perfect.

“You ladies have your Sunday afternoon tea this time, right?”

She nods again.

“I need you to go there. Pretending you are not the needy slut you are. Pretending that your aching cunt isn’t full. And I go back to work.”

She swallows hard.

“What if Tedracil calls?” Her voice is low and a little shaky. “People will hear it.”

“Don’t worry. They won’t. There is a silencing spell on it. You are the only one who will know. And be careful not to let your mana into it. I bet Ted would have a stroke if instead of my happy voice, he gets your lustful one.”

She is grinding her thighs together eagerly. My dirty pretty flower. I choke her a little tighter again.

“So will you obey?”

She nods, and I kiss her. She wraps her hands around me to pull me closer. My cock really is starting to hurt from how hard it’s pressing against my pants. But not yet. I need to tease her first. So I force myself up and offer her my hand, helping her up too.

“The tea time started five minutes ago. You’d better hurry.” I smile innocently.

She heads toward the door, clearly walking a little stiffly. She opens the door, but I interrupt her.

“One more thing. You are not allowed to leave the drawing room until I come to get you. Understand?”

She nods and closes the door. Fuck, I love my pretty flower so much. No way I’m going back to work now. Well, I need to handle one important thing, and then I will definitely go to enjoy the show.