Myths Reawakened

The next noon, Wayne left the Lando Estate.

Auston couldn’t do anything about Monica, the black cat, and Wayne similarly waved a white flag. He couldn’t take care of the cat no matter what Auston said. It was too bizarre. Its origin and identity were both unknown. The only known fact was that Monica couldn’t be replicated by the mirror, so its existence was at least a demigod or above.

Wayne would like to give it evolution, but worried that he would attract a greater unknown existence.

Looking at the silver lining, Monica had been acting like an honest cat, only flailing around even if it was caught and forcefully pet. It had never shown intentions to hurt. The only thing it changed was the subconscious of the Lando family. Aside from Wayne and Auston, no one else thought there was anything special about Monica.

Megan was a good example. Every time Wayne and Auston talked about Monica in her soundproof barrier, she heard them, but would immediately forget what they said afterwards.

Leaving the Lando Estate, Wayne drove to his laboratory. Last night, while he was having a late-night conversation with Veronica, they had gone from being noble siblings to being royal siblings. Only after things settled did he remember that an actual princess had been staying in his laboratory for a week. That was enough time for cobwebs to form.

He opened the door and saw Juno in the living room outside the laboratory. She sat on the sofa with her head tilted up, reading a newspaper. Dressed in a patient gown with her legs crossed, she looked right at home.

During Wayne’s absence, Mona had been the one to deliver food, newspapers, and magazines to Juno, preventing her from starving.

She didn’t actually need the food. Having long been corrupted by Wayne, she didn’t get hungry and would never feel tired. Due to the defensive measures Wayne had put in place, however, Juno didn’t actually know that. She saw the avian angel as her battle form and mistakenly believed that her human form still needed food and sleep.

“Good god, you’re finally here.” Juno stood up with tears in her eyes. “I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

Disregarding her identity as a fugitive princess of the overturned royal family, she was, on paper, the Princess’s knight and a Gold-ranked mage who never lacked suitors, no matter where she was. Only Wayne had treated her like she was disposable. He called on her when he needed her and left her gathering dust when he didn’t, which bruised her ego severely.

Was this some kind of kink? If he was already this high society so soon after becoming the Prince, how much worse would he become?

Wayne didn’t deem Juno’s sarcastic remark worth a direct response. He excused that he had been too busy keeping his girlfriends company to come.

“For a week?”

“Yeah, if I hadn’t split the day into morning and afternoon, not even a week would’ve been enough.”

“...”

Juno’s expression overflowed with envy. She had met a few of Wayne’s girlfriends. Everyone else aside, she had seen the photo of the Moonlight High Reverend, and her figure, face, and temperament were absurdly attractive. Juno was practically salivating!

“Little Brother, we’re family here. Just say the word if you can’t juggle all of them. Sister will help you!”

“No need,” Wayne said. “I often tell my subordinates that if you can endure difficulty, you will never be free of it. I’m leading by example and shouldering all the difficulty.”

“It’s because of people like you that more and more men in Londan are turning to the company of the same sex. You’re responsible for the decline of society!” Juno wanted nothing more than to take on the heavy burden for Wayne.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Even without me, Londan would be the same.”

“Let’s make a deal. I don’t look half bad, so let me stay at your place.” Juno pulled the patient gown tighter around her body, striking an alluring pose that showcased her appealing curves and long legs. “A captive princess, a knight who refuses to surrender, an angel, a woman who rejects the opposite sex, and someone with a female fiancé dressing up as a man. How is it? Aren’t you tempted?”

The Queen and her family had always been a treasure trove of rich characters with many labels. That was true of Queen Sophelia, as well as Juno.

You’re missing a daughter who covets her mother!

Wayne rolled his eyes. He was about to reject her when he thought of something. Stroking his chin, he walked around Juno and evaluated her.

“True. There is something appealing about you.”

“Wait, seriously?” Juno gaped.

“Why, can’t you commit?”

“That’s not it...” Juno rolled her eyes and argued logically, “You’ve been with your girlfriends for a week. Even if you felt any stir, it would have been sated. You couldn’t have developed an interest in me so suddenly. You must be looking to gain something from me.”

“That’s not true. I’m truly falling for your beauty,” Wayne said petulantly. “Even if you don’t believe me, have some confidence in your beauty. You, Juno, have never been inferior to anyone!”

“Cut the crap. Just tell me what you want. Unless you’re willing to marry me and make our child king, this will be strictly business.”

“I want your fiancé, Alistair. Get her to Londan to keep me company.”

“You want Alistair’s divine blood?”

“You’ve become even smarter, Your Highness,” Wayne praised. That was why he didn’t like Juno.

While both Juno and Vera were clever, Juno’s intelligence was fierce like a blade. Even when she made compromises, it was for a greater gain in the future. Vera, on the other hand, would willingly endure losses for her friends, and when she needed to act dumb, she really did.

Juno didn’t say anything for a moment. Weighing her options with a frown, she shook her head and said, “Alistair and I are a packaged deal. You need to have me in order to have her. If you want her divine blood, you must go through me.”

The merchant only offered the packaged deal and did not sell one item on its own. Wayne either took both or none at all.

Everything went back to a political marriage.

“Give up,” Wayne advised. “I have no interest in your body or your fiancé’s body. All I care about is my research. Both of you have the Blood of Heaven and can awaken your angelic bloodline. Get her here, and you’ll still benefit in the end.”

“Why would you say no to a packaged deal as a pervert? Am I that unappealing?” Juno couldn’t accept it. It wasn’t about shame, but her ego. She demanded an explanation.

“Just tell me if you’re getting her here.”

“I am.” Juno nodded with a dark face. Putting her ego aside, Wayne was right about one thing: if Alistair awakened her bloodline, Juno would be the one to benefit. That much was certain. As for whether Alistair would be locked in a basement once she was here, Juno wasn’t worried. Things would be simpler if Wayne actually locked Alistair up.

The more she thought about how she had been left alone for a week, the angrier she got.

Juno had a strange trust in Wayne. Alistair had pointed it out many times, but she didn’t change. This time, she repeated the same mistake and told Alistair to come to Londan as soon as she could at Wayne’s request.

“Come on, let’s head to the lab. Time to upgrade your bloodline.”

“I don’t get it. What do you gain from helping me?”

“It’s Auston’s decision. He wants to make it up to Queen Sophelia since he didn’t want the rebellion. He only knocked the Windsor family off the throne because the Queen left him with no choice by pushing too hard.”

“Why doesn’t he just make it up to Mother?”

“Then the Queen would get ideas.”

“Like hell I’d believe you.”

***

Three days later, Alistair arrived at the Londan port nervously. A black sedan took her and ‘Princess Elizabeth’ to the laboratory.

Elizabeth was a puppet forged from a half-complete Philosopher’s Stone, only capable of simple conversation. Someone needed to control her for her to speak and act like a living person.

When Juno left Palis, she had entrusted the task to Alistair. Since Alistair was coming to Londan, too, she couldn’t just leave Elizabeth behind. Otherwise, it was obvious what would happen to the beautiful, obedient princess of Windsor when she was left alone in Franc, a nation with a century-old ‘friendship’ with Windsor. When they returned to Franc, there would’ve been a long line for Elizabeth.

Wayne received a new divine blood and succeeded in collecting more research data by refining it with the holy grail. He was now more confident in Kristen’s evolution.

The research also benefited him greatly. Though he didn’t understand it, every time he conducted research, his evolution sped up. Research regarding the essence of life, especially, was far more efficient than meditation in helping him progress.

If that was how an advanced lifeform cultivated, then it would make sense why the Goddess of Darkness wanted to study him, and Heaven could be considered a massive laboratory.

Following the logic, the Divine Realms of different deities and the complicated branching bloodline of great dragons could also be explained the same way.

***

December third, 1939.

It was the last month of the year. Wayne charted a ship to send away Juno, Alistair, and Elizabeth. Their collaboration had been pleasant, and he hoped to keep working with them.

Juno was satisfied, too. She and Alistair had both evolved further, unlocking more possibilities. If Wayne needed her again, she would answer the call at the first ring.

Before their departure, Wayne entrusted another task to Juno: to look into the world of magic in Palis.

The birthplace of revolution was a chaotic place. Before a certain someone said goodbye to his head, churches had already clustered in Franc, forming a complex web of conflicting interests. Now, demons were involved, too, developing who knew how many followers. The already chaotic situation further dissolved into disarray.

If Franc’s defense line didn’t hold, the Prussian army would organize a Tour de France for tanks. Wayne could feel his scalp tingle at the mere thought of the chaos that would follow.

It was better to plant a pawn now so that he, an outsider, wouldn’t be blindsided by the local white-flag raisers.

***

No obstacle in life couldn’t be overcome, and after overcoming an obstacle, more would follow.

Having seen the three women off, Wayne put his limited time into the infinite world of research. Before refining Kristen’s divine blood, he needed to study the flesh of Astral Beasts for more data. At the same time, he would make time for his harem to maintain a proper work-life balance. It was important to take breaks rather than always giving his all.

Tonight, Wayne was giving Anastasia his all at her place.

Since the night he failed to resist the temptation, he had fallen into a cycle of cravings and guilt. Today was no different. After the happy hour, he needed time to reflect on himself again.

Anastasia smiled without saying anything. Wrapping her stunning body with a blanket, she walked into the bathroom and erased the traces as per Wayne’s request so that the Goddess of Darkness wouldn’t benefit from their intimacy.

It sounded wrong, but it was necessary. What if the Goddess of Darkness got serious?

Meanwhile, Wayne was lamenting the damage he had done to Anastasia when he suddenly felt a jolt. He touched his chest, his face breaking into a look of surprise and ecstasy.

“Forty-five days. It took a fortnight longer than thirty days. Finally, it’s done.”

He reached into his chest and extracted a dark heart. It was beating.