The Old King's political actions were certainly a bit underhanded.
However, for Regulus, his annoyance was nothing more than a verbal complaint. After all, this official diplomatic assignment also gave him a highly legitimate channel to travel freely among the various Demi-Human tribes and interact with all kinds of exotic Non-Human Girls.
Next, the wedding arrangements were formally put on the agenda.
Especially regarding Sphinx's wedding. Under the Old King's personal preparation and royal decree, it caused quite a massive stir in the Capital, making Regulus completely famous overnight from this single event.
As the old saying goes, 'people fear fame like a pig fears getting fat.' After becoming overwhelmingly famous, some troublesome things naturally arose.
For example, the sheer volume of nobles who wanted to curry favor. There was an endless stream of aristocratic families coming to his estate, shamelessly offering their daughters to him.
The reason these people came flocking was very simple. It was because of Regulus's god-like performance in the Demi-Human War, and because high society now universally believed that Regulus was definitely the absolute favorite in the Old King's eyes. If he wasn't a trustworthy and powerful pillar of the Kingdom, how could the monarch personally preside over his wedding and entrust such a monumental diplomatic task to him?
Another group of people swarming his gates, of course, were the tycoons from the business world.
Due to the brutal civil war, trade between the demi-human territories and human cities had completely halted. Now that relations had drastically eased thanks to the peace treaty, the greedy merchants certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch a golden opportunity pass them by.
But the glaring problem was that these merchants clearly only saw profit. If they were allowed to establish unregulated trade with the recovering Demi-Human tribes, it would definitely be the demi-humans who suffered from predatory exploitation. If something went wrong economically and another racial mess was created, wouldn't Regulus, as the designated 'bridge', be the one forced to clean it up?
'As someone with over a hundred wives,' Regulus thought in extreme annoyance, 'do I look like a man with that much free time?'
Therefore, regarding the future trade routes between the demi-human race and humanity, he needed to quickly find someone he could completely trust—and who was competent enough in economics—to take over the logistics.
But finding a proxy who met his strict requirements was not easy.
Temporarily setting aside this bureaucratic headache, Regulus turned his thoughts back to his upcoming marriage with Sphinx.
As the supreme representative of the Demi-Human alliance, Sphinx naturally couldn't just be simply married in the Capital and brought straight to his bedroom; tradition dictated that he would have to personally visit the Demi-Human stronghold to formally escort her.
Even though Sphinx herself had actually been hiding in the Royal Capital all along and hadn't left his side, political appearances still had to be meticulously kept up.
Similarly, making a trip to the deep Demi-Human stronghold to personally check how many beautiful Non-Human Girls there were that precisely met his specific tastes was definitely a very necessary endeavor.
As for his current wives...
This time, Regulus did not plan to bring his massive entourage along. After all, nominally, he was going to a foreign camp to pick up his bride. Bringing over a hundred other wives with him on a bridal escort mission... what kind of ridiculous, provocative show would that put on?
Besides, with Beatrice, Anileni, and Theresia—the Sword Saint herself—guarding the mansion, their safety was completely assured. If Capella, the Sin Archbishop of Lust, dared to attack his home while he was away, breaking in would be no problem, but it would be physically impossible for her to ever leave again.
Of course, the reason for this absolute confidence was not only because the girls had thoroughly prepared defensive magic to guard against the Witch Cult, but also because of Echidna, the Witch of Greed, residing in the Castle of Dreams.
Although she was only a bound soul, her terrifying Authority could still be utilized.
For example, her Tome of Wisdom. This absolute magical book, which draws limitless knowledge from the world's memories, could perfectly foresee whether a catastrophic event would happen in the future.
To gain Echidna's invaluable assistance, however, Regulus had to expend some of his own vitality.
Yes, vitality.
After all, Echidna was currently only in a spiritual state. So even if she wanted some other form of physical compensation from him, it would basically be impossible, wouldn't it?
However, what constantly puzzled Regulus was how pure mental energy and vitality could seamlessly condense into a tangible, physical form inside the Castle of Dreams... and in a rather interesting way, at that.
When he first entered the Castle of Dreams, what Satella and Sekhmet did to him, and what he actively contributed to them, was the literal materialization of his vitality. But thinking about Echidna's infamous 'Dona Tea'—the physical manifestation of her own bodily fluids—the things his vitality manifested as inside the dreamscape didn't seem so strange anymore.
No, it wasn't strange at all.
The moment the royal dragon carriage departed from the Capital gates, heading toward the wetlands.
Regulus looked at Sphinx, who was sitting closely beside him, and noticed a rare, dazzling light swirling in her usually deadpan eyes.
"Are you very happy?" Regulus asked smoothly.
"Yes. Very happy," Sphinx answered without any concealment. "For a while, Lord Regulus will be mine alone."
For Sphinx, having inherited a portion of Echidna's memories, her soul naturally contained fragments of Echidna's deep, complex feelings for Regulus. The emotion of intense possessiveness was naturally present.
However, her possessiveness was not dangerously overwhelming. Because she was Echidna's artificial creation, she was born with an inherent, unbreakable sense of obedience toward both Echidna and Regulus. This absolute obedience was already etched into her very soul, and it was entirely Echidna's deliberate doing. Because it wasn't just Sphinx; as long as a creation came from Echidna's hands, they were all wired exactly like this.
Regulus could feel Sphinx's genuinely excited emotions through his Authority, but her formal attitude made him unable to help but smile.
"Are you really still calling me 'Lord' now?"
"Eh? This..." Sphinx blinked, tilting her head.
"From now on... no, from the very moment you gave yourself to me, you were already my wife," Regulus corrected her gently, reaching out to stroke her pink hair. "Compared to 'Lord Regulus' or anything so rigid, I'd much rather hear you call me some more intimate pet names."
"Pet names, huh?" Sphinx murmured mechanically.
She quickly processed the memories of the other girls around Regulus. Aside from the Knights who called him by his name directly, most of the girls lovingly called him 'Dear' or 'Husband'.
Sphinx looked up at Regulus. She also deeply wanted to be like the others, but was it really okay for a mere clone to do so? Would Mother allow it?
'However,' Sphinx calculated, 'since it was Regulus himself who personally requested it, even if Mother finds out, it shouldn't matter, right?'
"Dear."
She finally spoke the word she had always secretly wanted to say.
However, after hearing Sphinx's highly anticipated pet name, Regulus's mood instantly became a little depressed.
Just like her usual, entirely emotionless demeanor, there was absolutely zero emotion or inflection to be heard in that supposedly intimate pet name. It sounded like a magical construct reading a textbook.
"Add some emotion to it and say it again," Regulus sighed.
"Add... emotion?"
Facing Regulus's critique, Sphinx tilted her head further in genuine confusion. She simply didn't understand what this meant; how exactly could one arbitrarily 'add emotion' to a vocalization?
"Alright, I suppose I was asking too much of you all at once," Regulus chuckled, shaking his head. "But I happen to have a highly effective, physical method that can make you utter the most emotional words imaginable. Then, you just need to carefully remember that feeling."
"I understand."
"Since you understand, come over here to me."
"Mm."
Very obediently, the petite Witch moved across the carriage and sat directly on Regulus's lap as instructed.
Looking at this petite girl in front of him—whose emotions were usually completely masked, yet her pale face was already starting to blush a deep pink just by sitting straddled on his lap—Regulus felt that his 'education' of her was already quite successful.
The next step was simple. He just needed to thoroughly teach her how to express herself, and exactly how to actively tempt him.
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