38 – Emotions

My subordinates were already asleep, except for Ayre, who was still sitting outside. I went to the shapeshifter and found that she was practicing the lute I had just bought in the city. In front of her was a book about learning the musical instrument.

I just got to her, and the village chief came to us. Rubbing his hands and grinning, he asked. "My apologies in advance, Lord Vorn. However, is this woman one of your concubines?"

Ayre raised her face. "No..."

"Yes." I interrupted her. "She is my concubine."

The chief scratched his head. "Then, I'm leaving. Good night.

Once the chief was far enough away, I sat beside Ayre with her eyes fixed on me.

"Is what you say true, my lord?" Ayre asked without any significant change in expression. "I am your concubine?"

I chuckled. "If I don't say that, he'll keep teasing you, Ayre."

The shapeshifter played her lute again. Even a casual music listener like me knew right away that the notes she played were terrible.

"But actually, I can do it." Ayre turned over her lute-playing instruction book. "Perhaps I can learn from the succubus to satisfy you. And you can ask me to change the form as you want."

"Stop it. That sounds creepy." I felt everything she did was fake, and I didn't want that.

Ayre was silent for a moment. "By the way, you saw the faces of the villagers and Emily, right?"

"Yes." I raised an eyebrow, not expecting the question to come out of the shapeshifter's mouth. "So what?"

"I don't admit that I'm an expert." She looked at me with her signature blank stare.

"Expert for what?" It seems I still need some time to accept such gazes.

"About human emotions." The woman continued. "After observing people for days, I feel like I can read the expressions on their faces."

"Ooh, impressive." I nodded. "So, what kind of impression do you get from their expressions?"

"Again, this is just a guess." Ayre plucked her lute again. This time the tone she made was clear and melodious. "I think they really adore you. There's nothing fake about it."

"Well, I hope you're right." Another chuckle escaped my mouth.

***

I flew to Silkdale briefly to pick up the bars for the prison cells, then rejoined Garthur, Ayre, and Emily.

"Are you used to my eyes?" I asked the former keeper when we were about to get to the base. The burn on her face was starting to heal, although it was still quite gruesome.

"This is excellent, my lord." She moved her eyes which now had a different color. The right is purple, while the left is red. "Your eyes have sharper vision than mine."

"Good, then." I smiled at her.

She looked at my face in silence for a moment. "You can fly to get to your base first, but why are you walking with us instead?"

Garthur, carrying the iron bars I bought, laughed. "That's how Lord Vorn is! He prefers to walk with his subordinates!"

"Is there something strange, Emily?" I chuckled.

"Not really..." The supreme undead stared ahead again.

I will use every little thing like this to gain sympathy from my subordinates. After all, I can't feel tired in this world and can always use the fast-forward feature.

We finally arrived at the long cave leading to my base. I was thinking, will I be able to make a portal so that after arriving at the front, I can go straight to the base? Although I can use the fast-forward feature, this is quite annoying.

"Well, to be honest. It's not much different from where I've been living." Emily glanced around.

Arriving at the base, Phisovia ran and jumped to hug me. The warmth from her body made me couldn't help but smile.

Even though her eyes were teary, the red-haired succubus still smiled. "I really miss you…. What happened to your eye?"

She lightly touched my black left eyepatch.

"Your master graciously gave me one of his eyes." Emily came to Phisovia, also flashing a smile.

"Well, at first I..." I explained everything in detail. Several times Phisovia choked to hear the shocking parts of the story.

"So, to make up for Ritor's mistakes, you give one of your eyes to her?" Phisovia still doesn't seem to believe my story. "Well, I'm jealous of her because there's a part of you in her."

"Don't worry, my eyes will grow again," I assure my succubus.

"I am touched by your master's sacrifice, madam Phisovia." Emily looked around at the base, which was become much broader because the workers continued excavating it. "And that is also evident from this place. Lord Vorn prioritizes rooms for his subordinates and hasn't even thought about his throne yet."

Phisovia widened her smile. "When I first met you, I immediately disliked you. I feel we are too different. However, it turns out that you are not that bad."

Emily smiled back.

Thankfully, they were able to get along right away.

"Where's Xenora?" I asked Phisovia. "I miss her too."

"Woof!" The black-haired succubus came out of the room, moving swiftly with both hands and feet. She wagged her tail and stuck her tongue out, looking excited to see me.

I crouched down and spread my arms. She jumped up and hugged me. "Hey, come on, you tickle me!"

She kept licking my face, prompting me to keep laughing.

"If not on patrol, she will only sleep, my lord," Phisovia explained. "And she does well in her role as your pet. I swear, she doesn't speak a word in your absence."

"Excuse me, Your Majesty." Emily approached me. "I have sworn allegiance to me, but I can't accept this."

I looked up and found Emily's face filled with disgust.

"Why?" Phisovia's voice turned sharper. "No one forced her to do this. She said she wanted to be Lord Vorn's pet."

"But an intelligent being like her shouldn't humiliate herself." Emily's tone began to rise. "She should live with dignity."

"Even if she has to give up what makes her happy?" A sinister laugh escaped from the mouth of the red-haired succubus. "Why do you feel compelled to judge people's pleasures?"

Shit. I'm jumping to conclusions too quickly. It's not easy for women to make peace with each other.

"My guess is right. I will never agree with you." Xenora growled and surprisingly rose to her feet. With a face like a hungry beast, she released the leash around her neck. "I'll shut your rotten mouth."

"You want to fight me?" Emily chuckled. "Bring it on then!"

"Hey, you two! Stop…" I choked. An idea flashed through my head.

If they were stopped now, there was no guarantee they would stop attacking each other in the future. The tension will continue, and it will spoil the atmosphere of my base.

So, what if I just let them fight? I heard that fighting can give both parties the illusion that their problems are solved.

And isn't it interesting to see a catfight between two attractive women? I'll definitely stop the fight if it's too much.

"Okay." I approached the two women, who were staring intently at each other. "Please fight until your hearts are content."

"Lord Vorn!?" Phisovia bewildered.

I put my mouth close to Emily's ear and whispered. "Please, don't kill her, Emily. She is precious to me."