Chapter 58 - Report
"Wow, Princess. You should really consider becoming an actress if the whole royalty thing doesn’t work out for you."
"Just hurry up, Ava."
Maelle lay sprawled across her bed in a grotesque pose, her body arranged just right to convey the illusion of a violently tragic end.
She uncorked a bottle of fine red wine, carefully drizzling the liquid over the side of her neck, letting it pool around her collarbone and seep into the fabric of her clothes and bed sheets.
Beside the bed, Ava’s mana-suppression cuffs clicked open as Vincent unlocked them.
With a silent wave of magic, Ava’s petite body and looks surged into her true succubus form. Her uniform dissolved into a tight leather bikini attire that did little to cover up her skin.
She bent down, stretching her arms forward and pointing her round behind in the air like a lazy cat, accentuating her narrow waist and full chest with a satisfied purr. "Ahhh~ So much better~"
’I am enough, I have enough, I am at peace. Om Shanti Ommmm...’
After calming his mind, Vincent ducked out of sight, hiding deep shadows of the room.
Standing over Maelle’s motionless "corpse," Ava held up the communication crystal, took a deep breath, and hardened her face into a ruthless, raspy assassin persona. She channeled her mana into the crystal, initiating the call.
The crystal glowed to life and soon, a distorted voice echoed into the room: "Ava! Finally! Report. Is it done?"
Ava smiled coldly, leaning over the bed and tilting the crystal down so the light illuminated Maelle’s blood-soaked neck. "The Princess is no more. Talk about easy. Her attendant wasn’t even here to protect her. And that human Familiar? Pshh. Wasted within a second~"
Silence hung on the line for two tense seconds before a soft, satisfied chuckle rasped through the crystal.
"Hahaha. Good job. With that eyesore out of the way, the Gala can proceed without her making a scene or embarrassing our name. I can only hope mommy will be happy that I took the initiative to clear the trash."
Ava’s spade tail twitched subtly as she noted the word mommy. "Shall I dispose of the remains?"
"Who cares. Dump her in the sewers or leave her body in bed to make everyone freak out when they find it. Not that they’d come looking for her, hahaha. Meet my middleman at the Gala to collect the rest of your payment. The password is ’bunny-rabbit’. Bye-Bye."
"Wait! How will I know what they look like–"
The transmission cut, and the crystal went completely dim.
"Honestly. What a bad employer... Oh well."
Ava ran toward the corner of the room, dropping to her knees as her tail swayed side to side with excitement.
"Vincent! Vincent! Did you see?! Did I do good?! Was I believable?! Tell me I did a good job! Please!"
"You nailed it, Ava. Super believable. Good job."
"Eeeee!" she squirmed, hugging her own shoulders with a bright blush as she fell to the floor.
Maelle sat up with an exasperated sigh, using a silk handkerchief to wipe the sticky red wine from her neck. "Ugh. Sticky... She mentioned ’mommy’... and spoke with the condescension of someone born to higher status. Not to mention the term ’bunny-rabbit’... If I’m not wrong, the one who ordered the hit is likely my younger sister, Myla Ebony."
"Your sister?! The hell, Maelle?!"
"It’s as I’ve said, myself and ’family’ don’t mix well together."
"... Well. We’ll know for sure who it is at the Gala when we find that middleman. I guess this means Ava’s officially on our team now?"
"On your team! Yes!" As she sat up and began creeping closer to Vincent on her knees, Maelle shot him an expectant look.
Feeling intensely awkward, he looked down at Ava and cleared his throat. "Uh... Ava. Sit and behave."
To their shock, Ava didn’t hesitate for a single second.
FLOP!
She flattened her butt onto the cold floorboards like an obedient, ecstatic pet. "YES, VINCENT! I’M SITTING!"
Vincent stared at her, his jaw slightly open. "Okay... that’s... surprisingly effective."
"So it seems. Right. Anyway, it’s getting late. Vincent, I’ll dismiss you for the rest of the night so you can return to the Spirit World and rest. We have an early schedule tomorrow."
"Wait! Before you dismiss me, I want to test something out first."
Vincent focused his mind, channeling his divine power. In a flash of golden light, his hair changed and his wings flared open.
Ava immediately went wild with a needy whine. "AHHH! THIS SCENT! VINCENT, PLEASE–!"
"Stay down." Maelle shot her a sharp glare.
Vincent extended his right hand into the air. Golden light condensed, tearing open a swirling rift to create a spatial warp hole.
Both Maelle and Ava stared at the swirling rift in genuine awe.
"What is that...?" Maelle asked softly as her violet eyes reflected the golden light.
"It’s a Teleport Rift," Vincent explained with a proud grin on his face.
"One of my teachers taught me how to open them. I figured instead of you having to expend your mana to dismiss me, I could just open a rift and walk back home on my own. Alright, see you guys tomorrow!"
Vincent turned and took a confident step toward the swirling golden rift when–
BONK!
"Ow!" he held his nose as if he had just walked face-first into a solid wall.
"What the hell? I know I conjured it right... why didn’t it let me through?"
Drawn by the intoxicating scent of divine power wafting from the portal, Ava crawled toward it like a moth to a flame.
"Whoa, stop!" Vincent quickly grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back. "Bad girl! Don’t touch that!"
Ava froze, her eyes shining with adoration as she looked up at him. "B-Bad girl...? You... you care if I get hurt...?"
"Mortals can’t handle pressure. If a regular person steps through, they’ll get crushed into paste. But man... why isn’t it working for me, though?"
"Perhaps it’s because you’re bound to my summoning spell," Maelle offered thoughtfully. "Perhaps the summoning laws supersede your rift."
"I mean... Maybe?" Vincent sighed, closing the rift hole. "I’m gonna have to ask Mama about this. Go ahead and dismiss me, Maelle."
’There it is again. Mama.’ Maelle narrowed her eyes in suspicion and raised her hand, conjuring the magic circle. "Rest well, Vincent. Return."
As the light enveloped his body, Ava started clutching at the glowing particles fading around his legs. "Nooo! Don’t go! I’ll be the best girl while you’re gone, Vincent! I promise!"
With a soft flash, Vincent vanished from the room.
......
A few hours later...
Vincent opened his eyes, waking up to the comforting warmth of soft skin.
He was resting his head comfortably against his mother’s bare chest. As his mind slowly drifted out of sleep, he felt a soft sensation in his mouth – realising with a sudden jolt that he had unconsciously been suckling on his mother’s nipple in his sleep.
He let go with a wet pop and pulled back slightly.
Maribelle let out a gentle moan as blue eyes fluttered open. A motherly smile spread across her face as she reached up, stroking his brown hair with tender affection.
"Good morning, baby."
"Good morning, Mama..."
Remembering the incident when he had unconsciously done the exact same thing to Gwen while sleeping, a sudden wave of awkward self-awareness washed over him. "Hey, Mama... do you... ever get mad at me when I do that in my sleep?"
"Mad at my baby? Never. Hehehe~ I like it when you suck on mama’s titties. It just means you feel safe with me."
’Yeah, except I apparently do it to anyone.’ Vincent plopped his head back down onto her breasts to take in the last of the morning comfort before he had to face the rest of the day.
"Where is my morning kiss, Vinny?"
"Oh, right." he leaned up to plant an affectionate kiss on her lips.
Maribelle sat up, letting the silk sheets slide off her bare body, showing off her figure without a shred of shame. She stretched her arms and turned to him with a playful wink. "I’m going to take a morning bath. You joining me?"
"Yeeees." He answered lazily as he swung his legs off the edge. "But no distractions today. Maelle’s probably gonna summon me soon for important business."
"Look at you already getting accustomed to your new life."
...
Later, after a long, relaxing bath, the two sat at the dining table, enjoying a lavish breakfast.
"Hey, Mama... I tried opening a rift back to the Divine Realm last night, but it wouldn’t let me through. It felt like hitting a brick wall. Why didn’t it work?"
Maribelle set her teacup down, thinking thoughtfully for a moment. "If what I think is correct, it’s because of your summoning contract. When Maelle summoned you, your physical existence temporarily becomes anchored to her summoning link. As long as that link is active, the laws pact will treat you as ’present’ in her world. Only when she severs the link – by dismissing you – can your body warp back here properly."
"Ahhhh. That makes sense."
"So, what are your plans for the day with your little princess?"
"Hmmm... Once Maelle finishes her classes, we’re going into the Black Market to help that guy, Toby, get medicine for his sick siblings. Plus, we still have Lucianne tied up in that sewer shack. All we can do about that–"
Before he could even finish his sentence, a sharp tug pulled at his chest. A translucent light began enveloping his body in swirling particles of summoning magic.
"Wha–? Are you kidding me?! I thought I had at least another hour to finish my breakfast!"
Maribelle burst into an adorable giggle at his grumpy expression, waving her hand cheerfully as he began to dissolve. "Have fun at work, Vinny!"
With a flash, he disappeared from the dining room and appeared back inside Maelle’s room.
The room had been impeccably restored. The shattered furniture had been cleared away, and the books returned to their shelves.
Maelle stood by her writing desk, looking somewhat irritated while wearing her academy uniform.
When Vincent glanced down at the floor, he immediately found the reason for her look.
Sitting on her knees in the middle of the rug was Ava. She was back in her petite student disguise – complete with dark twin tails and thick glasses – weeping pitiful fat tears that streamed down her face as she held onto Maelle’s leg.
"Waaaaah! I want to see Vincent! Where is he?! It’s been hours! Waaah!"
The exact second Vincent’s scent hit her nose, Ava’s weeping stopped dead in its tracks.
She snapped her head up and her eyes lit up with an unhinged, delirious joy. "VINCENT!"
Without a second of hesitation, she leaped off the floor and launched herself forward, throwing her arms around his waist in an aggressive, smothering hug while burying her face into his chest.
"Uhh... Maelle? What is happening here?"
"She would not stop nagging and begging to see you the moment came knocking at my door. Her crying became unbearable."
"I was in the middle of eating breakfast, you know," Vincent complained dryly, prying Ava off his waist.
"My apologies. I’ll compensate you with a proper meal later. Now come... we have a long day ahead of us."