Chapter 68: Did I Really Gu Inside His Wife?
Chapter 68: Did I Really Gu Inside His Wife?
Clop-clip-clop.
The rhythmic strike of hooves echoed against the stone road as Sleipnir and I finally arrived at the towering gates of Castle Albion.
For the past week, this damn horse had been shamelessly sucking up to me. Ever since I permanently acquired Brown Sugar, Sleipnir had transformed into an absolute boot-licker. He wouldn't even step into a pothole if one existed, completely changing his tune. The little shit even snorted aggressively at any passersby who dared talk about me. Honestly, I liked him better when he was just irritating.
"Welcome, Count Loki Sky!" one of the guards called out. "You are humbly requested to enter the grounds for the banquet. Just cross the stone bridge over the moat, and you will find the royal stables to your left."
"Thanks," I replied.
A line of twenty knight guards snapped to attention, saluting with the traditional Earth's Navel salute. It turned out Owen had copied the US Navy salute for them. Later, I also found out he had added the massive moat simply because, in his words, "no castle should be without a moat."
When I finally crossed the bridge, the sheer scale of the fortress hit me.
It was big. Fucking big.
Without over-embellishing it, Castle Albion was a staggering monument of white marble. It soared to the approximate height of a fifty-story skyscraper on Earth, stretching out in an immense, imposing sprawl. The architecture looked straight out of a high-budget fantasy movie, defined by soaring ceilings and cavernous halls. Walking through those corridors instantly made you feel small and entirely insignificant. According to the nobility books Sylvia had forced me to read, the castle had been intentionally built to this gargantuan scale to accommodate massive guests like Giants.
A maid led the way down the hall. She was dressed in a very short, revealing French maid outfit—another one of Owen's "sexually charged" additions to the palace decor. I sighed internally. I wouldn't even let Shehuang wear something like that; it was just too distracting to look at.
"Count, this is the Grand Ballroom," the maid whispered, pausing at the threshold. "Please wait in this short line. All guests must be formally announced before the main event begins."
Ahead of me stood a couple dressed in coordinated black and white formal attire.
"Viscount Meson and Lady Melissa, from the Southern Cross Duchy!" the announcer's voice boomed. The couple stepped forward, flashing practiced, aristocratic smiles.
Inside the ballroom, Queen Angelica Cross stood as the undisputed center of attention, just the way she liked it. She was busy greeting guests from afar, particularly those hailing from her old home in the Southern Cross Duchy.
Hearing the names of Viscount Meson and Lady Melissa, Angelica maintained her flawless, plastic smile while observing the arriving nobles. They weren't particularly useful pawns on their own, but they served their purpose: keeping her older brother, the Duke, in check whenever she needed him to listen to her demands. Like the foolish King Owen, her brother was stubborn and a bit slow, but because he had inherited the Duchy before she was even born, she tolerated him. She wasn't about to murder her own family.
"Mary, Thorin," Angelica said coldly, turning away from the newcomers. "These two are for you to greet. I have nothing to say to them."
With that blatant snub, Thorin offered an awkward smile and led his soon-to-be wife, Mary, forward to greet the very people Angelica had invited.
Angelica glanced toward the main seat of honor. King Owen sat there alongside Leandra, his notoriously favored queen. Behind closed doors, everyone whispered that Leandra was the true First Queen, while Angelica was merely a decorative title held over from the past.
"Count Loki Sky, from the Northern Sky Duchy!"
Angelica’s focus snapped instantly to the entrance. This was the exact man she had been hoping would show up.
But as the man stepped into the ballroom—sporting fiery red hair, a sharp dark blue suit, and a crisp white formal shirt—her breath hitched. Her dazzling blue eyes locked onto his captivating, wild green eyes. Instantly, the overwhelming flood of a recent dream rushed back into her mind in vivid, terrifying detail.
It had been an intensely intimate fantasy. In that dream, they had spent a long, breathless time in bed together, culminating in her getting pregnant and giving birth to his child. They had even named the black-haired, green-eyed boy Nari, who grew up to be an impossible dual-element Knight-Summoner wielding both Dark and Life magic. But the dream had taken a dark turn; her other son, Vali, had wanted the infant dead, viewing him as a direct threat to the throne.
The vision had felt so real that Angelica had spent an entire day scrubbing herself in the shower, consumed by guilt for harboring such intense feelings for a total stranger.
Yet here he was, standing in the flesh. His real appearance was an exact, flawless match to the man from her dream.
A torrent of complicated emotions surged through her, causing her normally fierce, gloomy disposition to fluctuate violently. Before she could rationally stop herself, her feet began to move. Step, step, step. She walked straight toward the visibly spooked young man.
The moment my name echoed through the ballroom, I scanned the crowd.
Thorin and his fiancé, Mary Cross—who looked like a miniature version of Queen Angelica—were busy greeting the noble couple who had entered before me. Catching King Owen’s eye across the room, I offered a formal salute and immediately initiated a telepathic link.
[Glad you made it,] My voice echoed in Owen's head. [Oh, I’m using a Telepathy Talisman. I gave you one earlier in case you needed to use it here.]
In truth, I had crafted three of those talismans for Thorin and Owen to mask my actual Summons Telepathy, framing it as a highly limited, difficult-to-make magical item.
I nodded politely to Queen Breeze and Princess Lana, who sat on either side of Owen, before scanning the rest of the room. My eyes finally landed on the stunning woman I had only glimpsed from a distance before.
Up close, my heart violently tightened in pure horror.
Angelica Cross’s brilliant blue eyes flickered with instant recognition. Her scowl, which was oddly charming in a dark, Disney-villain sort of way, looked absolutely terrifying right now. In a flash, a tidal wave of unbidden memories hit me. Every kiss, every passionate thrust, the exact texture of her skin, her seductive whispers, and the unmistakable sensation of impregnating her—all the way down to the blurry face of a child—flooded my mind.
Run.
My heart, my magic core, and a profound sense of unconscious guilt all screamed at me to turn around and flee from this woman. The sudden spike of raw terror and the trembling of my body didn't go unnoticed; every single powerful 9th Circle being in the room instantly felt the shift in gravity as Angelica and I locked eyes.
But just as I prepared to bolt, something even more terrifying happened.
The fierce, murderous conflict on her face suddenly melted away. Her sharp expression softened, and a gentle, genuine smile graced her red lips. For a bizarre, fleeting second, an insane urge to lick those lips crossed my mind.
Step, step, step.
The sharp click of her three-inch stiletto heels echoed clearly against the marble floor. Panic seized me. Up close, her freckles, her eyelashes, and the exact way she carried herself were identical to those dreamlike nights when I was busy absorbing the Primordial Life energy Yggi had left behind for me. (Yggi only left him Fire.)
Sniff.
Before I could process the panic, she was standing directly in front of me. The familiar, intoxicating scent of her body washed over me as she extended her hand.
The entire ballroom seemed to grind to a halt. The sheer act of the Queen approaching a guest, smiling warmly, and offering her hand—a gesture she never extended to anyone except Owen in the distant past—sent a shockwave through the high society crowd.
Terrified to look her in the eyes, my gaze darted over to Owen. The King looked equally horrified, but as he processed my sheer distress, an evil, amused smirk spread across his face, and he gave me a slow nod. Traitor.
Left with no choice, I followed noble etiquette. My right hand met her right hand, and I bowed slightly to kiss her knuckle.
Mwah.
The moment my lips made contact, her hand moved subconsciously, shifting just enough so that my lips pressed firmly against her bare skin. The texture and warmth were identical to the dream.
Zap!
Before the kiss could cross the line into completely inappropriate territory, a sharp, green spark of static electricity crackled violently between her hand and my lips. We both pulled back slightly, hiding the shock as our respective magic cores violently trembled in perfect, undeniable resonance.
Loki let go of her hand, clearing his throat awkwardly to break the heavy silence. "Hello, Queen Cross. As you know, I am Count Loki Sky, Thorin's brother. Thank you very much for the invitation."
What happened next caused Owen, Leandra, Lana, and half the nobles in the room to scream in absolute disbelief inside their minds. I braced myself, genuinely terrified that Owen was going to execute me on the spot.
"What do you mean, Queen Cross?" Angelica corrected smoothly, her voice carrying across the immediate space. "You need to call me Mother, Loki. Now, come with me. I want you to meet some important people today."
Even without her heels, she stood nearly as tall as me, matching Thorin's height perfectly. She wore a long-sleeved, flat-black dress that hugged her curves flawlessly all the way to her ankles. It barely exposed any skin, but the tight leather corset accentuating her waist made it clear she was a woman capable of destroying empires with a single look. Her silky, midnight-black hair hung loose down her back.
Thanks to those vivid memories, I knew for a fact she was a tad larger than even Lisa in the bust department. When she firmly locked her arms around my left arm, pulling me against her side, I felt a cold sweat break out. I felt like a man trapped between a pair of hungry Valkyries and a grey wolf.
She smoothly guided me over to where Thorin, Mary, and Jane were standing. All three of them were staring at the normally terrifying, strict, and calculating Queen in utter stupefaction.
"Loki, this is my niece, Mary Cross," Angelica introduced warmly, gesturing to the young woman. "She is my older brother's only daughter and will soon be your sister-in-law. And this is my magic apprentice, Jane Roth. Likewise, she is now part of your family."
She paused, looking at the three of them with an unusually soft expression. "Since you three are family, I won't hide it. Loki here is going to be my son. Please take good care of one another—and that includes you, Loki."
"Sure... I got it, Queen..." I stammered, completely out of my depth.
"It's Mother now," Angelica laughed, a rare, melodic sound that sent chills down my spine. "Especially since you and Lana will be married soon."
The trio looked in immense relief that Angelica was directing her intense focus away from them. Steering me by the arm, she didn't walk fast, intentionally slowing her pace to greet a few passing nobles. But our direct path was unmistakable.
We were heading straight toward King Owen, who sat on his throne looking completely stupefied, pale, and deeply frightened.
Owen yanked out a Telepathy Talisman and slapped it onto his forearm like a desperate addict applying a nicotine patch.
Ignoring him entirely, Angelica leaned in close. Her lips brushed against my ear, delivering a question in the most terrifyingly gentle tone a beautiful woman could muster.
"Did I make you upset? By telling the others about marrying you and Lana? I just don't want people gossiping about you, Loki. I want to show you... I'm not a bad woman."
I froze, for a split second, I wondered if I was still at home fast asleep, trapped in some bizarre, hyper-realistic fever dream. Yup, I have to be dreaming.
But Angelica caught the sheer, unblinking disbelief in my eyes. My lack of a response sent a visible spike of panic right through her regal facade.
"Loki... I know I've done terrible things in the past," she pressed on, her voice cracking slightly with emotion. "But what can I do to earn your forgiveness? Tell me. I'm willing to do absolutely anything you want to prove it! You must want something from me, right? What about Thorin? I can ensure he keeps his military post so the court won't gossip about him. Just request it! And don't worry about you and Lana, I will handle everything."
[Loki!] Owen’s voice suddenly exploded inside my mind, amplified by the talisman. [Did you...Did you put a Love Gu inAngelica?!]
I wanted to cry. I had only mentioned finding those ancient Gu Mastery books to Owen and Thorin as a passing thought, debating whether I should even look at them. I hadn't even created a Vital Gu—the foundational core of that entire magic system—let alone a legendary Golden Silkworm or a Love Gu!
[Owen, no King Owen, I haven't even gone that path yet, so I don't understand what Queen Angelica is doing!? I am not breaking article 2 or 5 of our code, promise!But something in my heart is telling me she is from our Norse past lives... Owen, I want to cry, please help me!]
Angelica’s fingers tightened subtly on my arm, a silent demand for an answer that dragged me forcefully back to reality. Thankfully, our awkward march finally brought us face-to-face with the rest of the royal family.
In a fraction of a second, Angelica’s desperate warmth vanished. Her face snapped back into its usual stoic, gloomy mask as she looked directly at Owen. "I've decided to broadcast the truth about Lana and Loki to everyone. I won't hide it. It is far too late for anyone to disagree."
Vali stepped closer, his eyes narrowing to slits as he glared at his mother’s bizarrely soft behavior toward me. Meanwhile Lana, true to her erratic lightning-element nature, blurted out a bright smile. "Really, Queen Mother?!"
Angelica offered a stiff nod to Lana, though her voice noticeably softened "for my sake" as she addressed her. "Lana dear, it is far too late to pretend. You carry his child. I want you to be open and honest from now on. If I don't announce it, how can Loki freely visit the castle to see us as his family?"
[Holy fuck, Loki!] Owen bellowed into my head again. [Who the hell is this woman? You definitely slipped your damn bug in to my wife!]
[That is impossible, it takes months, or years to grow them! You're slandering me, Owen!]
Angelica turned her gaze back to me, utterly oblivious to the silent telepathic war raging around her. "Loki, as my new son-in-law, make any request. I promise on the Cross family name, I will grant it for you."
[Loki, this is it!] Owen’s mental voice shifted instantly from panicked to sharply calculating. [Loki this is it! We can test if she is "mad" or "scheming" here! Ask her for the evidence to clear Count Swallow and stop the Lisa Swallow blackmail!]
My heart skipped a beat. I prayed to whatever gods were listening that she would say no. If she actually complied, Owen would probably murder me on the spot just to eliminate whatever terrifying anomaly had broken his wife's mind.
"Lisa, my lover, is being forced into compliance because of her father's legal troubles," I said carefully. "Can you solve this for me?"
Buzz.
Angelica finally let go of my arm. To the absolute shock of everyone present—especially Vali and Leandra—a localized dimensional ripple shimmered over her palm. A thick folder of official paperwork materialized out of thin air, and she immediately thrust it into my hands.
Angelica beamed happily, a jarringly bright contrast to her dark dress. "Loki, my son, is that all? Haha! Here. I happened to uncover evidence recently proving Count Swallow's nephew—his Viscount—was the one plotting against James Sky for marrying Lisa. See? I told you I would do anything... Now, will you finally forgive me, son?"
Holy shit. She just handed over her own blackmail leverage. Because I asked.
Owen was right.
[You little bastard!] Owen’s thoughts practically snarled into my brain. [You're emotionally cuckolding me!]
Pure terror spiked through my veins. I instinctively began channeling mana to summon Baihu. Owen was going to kill me right here in the corridor. I needed a mythical beast just to survive the escape.
[Hey, calm down. I feel your summoning mana, Loki,] Owen cut in, his mental voice suddenly dropping into a heavy, stunned realization. [I am just surprised... This means you can control one of the Kingdom's biggest threats!]
I instantly severed the mana flow to the summon and offered a tight, rigid nod—half to Angelica, half to Owen.
Owen’s telepathic voice returned, remarkably level and cold. [I can tell you didn't put Gu in her, she has a curse, magic, and charm detector ring. Whatever is going on is bigger than what we know. I can tell you didn't control Angelica, definitely not. But remember rule number 1... For now,just don't do anything inappropriate with her till we figure this out, alright? This is rule 6 I am asking for?]
"There is nothing to forgive, Mother," I said aloud, forcing my voice to sound smooth as I clutched the precious files. "Thank you for this. Your help makes me truly happy."
Vali wanted to lunge forward, to intercept the paperwork and burn it to ashes. But Owen smoothly slid his own hand into the trajectory, intercepting the folder with casual authority. The evidence was safe. The blackmail was officially over.
Clap!
Angelica struck her hands together. The fleeting warmth vanished from her face, and her voice returned to its chilling, authoritative gloom as she addressed the surrounding castle staff.
"Begin the wedding banquet. All our important guests have arrived."
And to think... all of this madness had unfolded before the ceremony had even started. The wedding itself was about to get so much worse.
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