Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1525: The Two Crooked Beings

”I’m pretty sure you’ll remember me then.”

”!!”

Lia flinched violently, her body reacting before her thoughts caught up. She shoved forward in panic...

”N-No way!”

She lunged toward the door, only for Aether to step into her path. His body blocked the exit completely, his lips curling into a slow, knowing smirk that made her blood turn cold.

”I told you nobody is going to save you here,” As he spoke, his fingers moved to his buttons, undoing them one by one while he advanced, closing the distance without haste.

”You are standing on my turf, young lady. You really should not have come here alone.”

Lia’s heart slammed against her ribs, fast and frantic, as if trying to escape her chest. Her breath came shallow, uneven, yet she forced her hands into fists.

”H-Hey... don’t come any closer,” she warned, ”I will kill you. I swear it. Stop right there.”

Aether bit down on his lower lip, his gaze lingering on her reaction before he winked at her. Slowly, deliberately, he loosened his top, exposing his collarbone, his neck, the smooth stretch of skin that caught the light.

A sharp shiver ran down Lia’s spine.

’He really is after her body... I knew it,’ she screamed silently.

Noticing the terror reflected in her eyes, Aether tilted his head slightly, deliberately baring his neck to her view. His smirk softened into something unreadable as he spoke.

”Here,” he said quietly.

”Huh?”

Lia blinked as she stared at him, unable to make sense of what he was doing.

Aether’s lips curved again, amusement flickering across his face. ”What is that look for?” he asked lightly.

”Did you think I was about to do something naughty?”

Heat rushed to Lia’s cheeks, embarrassment burning alongside anger as she shot him a furious glare.

Aether let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head. ”Oh dear,” he said, almost fondly. ”I would never force my love on you. Never.”

”You freak!!”

Lia shouted, flustered and furious. ”You forcibly kissed me, you fucking jerk! You don’t get to act innocent after that!”

Aether opened his mouth to argue, then stopped himself. His expression shifted, the teasing edge fading as he exhaled slowly.

”Sorry,” he said, ”I told you before, I was not in the right state of mind back then. Hearing that you lost your memories... it made me angry, reckless, and something twisted inside me.” He looked at her directly, his gaze unwavering.

”But I regret it. Truly.”

He stepped back slightly, giving her space rather than taking it.

”I would never hurt the woman I love. Not you, Lia. Never you,” he continued, his voice firm with conviction.

”Even if you forget everything about me, even if you look at me like a stranger, I would never force myself on you again.

I love you... Not your body... You.”

Lia fell silent, her fists slowly loosening as his words sank in.

Inside, Aether smiled to himself.

’It’s working...’

He had pushed her deliberately, heightened her fear, raised her guard, and made her believe for a moment that he might cross the line. Then he pulled back... It would not lower her guard completely. No! But it would crack the armour around her heart.

Somewhere deep inside her... He could have forced her. He had said so himself. This place was his domain.

No one would hear her scream.

No one would come.

Yet he did not.

That’s what should feel right now, right?

And now she was beginning to see him not as a monster, but as something less absolute.

But not entirely irredeemable either.

From a ’Very Bad Aether’... to a ’Not that Bad Aether’.

Well, those were thoughts that played through his mind as he watched her carefully.

Once she reached that fragile middle ground, he would move forward with his real intention.

Lia stared at him blankly.

Aether smiled gently and lifted his hand, patting the side of his neck,

”Here,” he said softly. ”I know you like to drink from here.”

Lia’s eyes widened in shock.

”I drank your blood?”

Aether nodded once.

”From your neck?”

He nodded again.

Horror washed over her face... Drinking from the neck was intimate.

Sacred!

Something meant only for spouses.

”No way. I would never—” she whispered, shaking her head as she stepped back.

”Give me a chance,” Aether said, interrupting gently but firmly. ”Just one chance to prove that I am telling the truth.”

He took a breath before continuing, ”Lia, I know you do not trust me. I know I hurt your bitchy moth—”

”Oi!”

”Sigh... well, she is a good mother,” he said carefully, ”But that still doesn’t erase the fact that you lost your memories. Come on, Lia, just give me a single chance to prove it.” He paused, eyes narrowing slightly.

”Why do you think I keep pushing you this hard?”

”To sleep with me?”

Lia answered bluntly.

Aether stared at her for a moment, then replied just as bluntly.

”I already fucked you, okay?” he said coldly. ”There’s nothing interesting in there for me to fuck you again.” His eyes dragged over her from head to toe, a slow and unimpressed look.

”...”

Lia didn’t respond, but her lips twitched, her disgust deepening rather than fading.

’That’s too much, isn’t it?’

[Yeah. You should tune it low.]

Log’s voice chimed in.

Aether exhaled and softened his posture, his shoulders dropping slightly as he raised his hands in surrender.

”Come on, Lia,” he said, his voice lowering, ”Just one sip. I am pretty sure even if you forget my existence entirely, you will never forget my taste.” He hesitated before adding quietly,

”Just one last time. Please.”

Honestly, Aether wasn’t even sure if it would bring her memories back. That was not the real reason behind it.

He was trying to hook her with his blood.

Yup! He was throwing the bait.

He knew how his blood tasted. He knew how rare it was. Rare enough that even Mary herself had approached him during their very first meeting.

If the great Bloody Mary couldn’t ignore him, what chance did Lia have?

That was the logic driving him now. Whether her memories returned or not did not matter. Once she tasted his blood again, he knew she wouldn’t forget him. Or worse... she would crave him!

After all, she truly disliked him right now. He needed something powerful enough to shift that hatred, even if only slightly.

So he decided to start with temptation. Once he got closer, once he earned back her trust piece by piece, he would drag those memories back to the surface.

And then finally... he would make her mother pay.

The bitchy, evil mother!

’Hehe~ Once I reach that point, she’s really going to hate that bitch,’ he thought, a twisted grin forming in his mind as he imagined Mary’s shattered expression.

Her tears... Her broken voice...

The way she would collapse when her daughter turned away from her.

He could already feel the satisfaction blooming.

After all, once Lia remembered everything... who do you think she would hate first?

Her mother.

HER FUCKING MOTHER!

Hehehe~

’Don’t worry, my lovely mother-in-law,’ Aether thought mockingly, his lips twitching as he imagined the scene.

’I will take very good care of your daughter.’

He let out a fake, silent sob in his mind, picturing Mary on her knees, clinging to his legs, begging him to let Lia forgive her.

Just imagining it sent him floating above the clouds.

Man... he was really going to love watching her cry and beg when that day finally came.

’Hehe~ just wait, bitch.’

Aether licked his lips slowly, the taste of victory already blooming in his imagination... His perfect Revenge!

Meanwhile, Lia blinked, her gaze drifting towards his exposed neck. The soft skin, the slow rise and fall of his breath, the faint pulse beneath it all drew her attention against her will.

’His blood... ah...’

The thought slipped into her mind before she could stop it. Her stomach gave a soft, traitorous groan, her body reacting on instinct rather than reason. A faint glow flickered in her eyes as desire stirred where it should not exist.

’No. No!’ she screamed inwardly, forcing herself to recoil. ’Don’t fall for it!’

Aether noticed her hesitation immediately. His expression shifted, his brows knitting together as his voice dropped into something fragile, something almost painfully real. He looked like a man whose last thread was about to snap.

”J-Just one last time,” he said, his voice trembling, ”For the man you once loved... can you really not?”

He swallowed hard, his throat visibly tightening as he raised his hand, fingers shaking as they reached for her cheek. Before his skin could touch hers, Lia stepped back sharply, disgust flashing across her face.

Aether’s lips trembled as he clenched his eyes shut, his chest hitching and...

Drip~

A single tear slipped free, trailing down his cheek as he spoke again, his voice cracking...

”W-Why?” he asked brokenly. ”Is it because I hurt your mother?... Is it because I hurt you?” His voice faltered, each question striking heavier than the last.

”Is it because I forcibly kissed you... or is it because you forgot me?”

He opened his eyes slowly, pain swimming within them.

”My dear Lia.”

Then, to her shock, he dropped to his knees before her.

”...”

Lia froze. It was subtle, almost imperceptible, but somewhere deep inside her chest, a flicker of pity sparked... Maybe one time out of a hundred, she might have felt it.

Seeing a man like him, a ruler of four empires, kneeling before her with tears in his eyes, felt strange... Wrong~ And yet... undeniably satisfying!

Her lips trembled... From something dangerously close to pleasure!

The mighty emperor.

The arrogant trickster.

The man who always stood above others, thinking he was great and all.

Now on his knees.

Before her.

Like she towered over him.

Like he was nothing more than something beneath her feet.

’Hehehe~’

Lia barely restrained her smirk, her eyes gleaming with wicked delight. ’Oh goodness... I like this.’

’Should I make him lick my foot?’

The image bloomed vividly in her mind. Aether lowering himself further, tongue grazing her skin, begging for forgiveness, swearing loyalty and... becoming her slave for the rest of his life!

Damn.

That felt incredibly good.

Didn’t it?

A soft sound escaped her lips.

”Heh~”

At the same time, a faint chuckle slipped from Aether’s mouth as well.

”Heh~”

Both sounds were quiet, barely audible, each lost in their own imagined world, neither realising the other had laughed.

Then, suddenly, Aether took a steady breath. His shoulders straightened as he nodded, resolve hardening his expression.

”Fine,” he said firmly.

”Huh?”

Lia blinked, startled by the shift.

”If you don’t remember anything after one sip,” Aether continued, his voice steady and unwavering,

”I will never approach you again. I will never touch you. I will never hurt you and... I will never see you.”

He looked her straight in the eyes.

”Never! Ever!”

His tone carried a weight that suggested he would not go back on those words.

Lia frowned, studying his face carefully.

”Really?” she asked.

”Yes,” he answered without hesitation. ”I promise you... on my love.”

His expression twisted into something pained and desperate, like a man placing his final hope on a single gamble.

...Now it surely would make her show a little pity toward him, right?

A wounded man, broken and desperate, offering himself so openly... Women gave him a chance.

But Lia would never do that.

No matter what, she would never drink another man’s blood, no matter how much they begged, cried, or even if they claimed they were once lovers bound by fate. She wasn’t an idiot, after all, nor a naïve girl swayed by cheap emotion... well, only for those who were close to her.

So yes, Aether’s plan might have stirred a faint ripple of pity in her heart, might have lowered her guard just enough to forgive his actions, to hesitate for a breath or two, but it would never work to push her into drinking his blood.

Never.

After all, he was still a stranger in her eyes, a man wrapped in secrets.

Who knew what kind of things his blood might contain, what hidden will or curse might be sleeping within it?

What if she died after drinking it?

What if his blood carried something that could twist her, bend her thoughts, or quietly rewrite who she was?

What if all of this was nothing more than an elaborate scheme, carefully staged, meant only to make her drink his blood and bind her as his slave?

Those were not wild fears. Those things had happened before.

She had learned that lesson well. Her mother had made sure of it, carving those truths deep into her heart, teaching her just how vile and treacherous this world could be... And Lia was a princess. That title alone meant she had to be even more vigilant, more ruthless, when it came to blood and trust.

So yes... Aether’s plan should have failed.

It should have ended right there.

However... This wasn’t the Lia... Was she?

’Hehehe~’

Something dark and playful stirred behind her eyes.