Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 979: Calling the Princess while NOT Getting Head

The air in the lounge instantly changed the moment her voice came through.

It was light. Feminine. Young, clearly that of a teenage girl. Yet something in the tone, the warmth that laced her greeting, turned the atmosphere from playful to focused in a single breath.

Serika stopped mid-stretch, freezing as Quinlan lifted the artifact closer.

”... Who?” Feng mouthed to Serika, raising an eyebrow.

Serika shook her head. She didn’t know who that was either, but judging by the sudden hush that blanketed the room, she knew enough not to speak.

Across the lounge, those who did know leaned closer.

Ayame stopped polishing her blade, setting it gently on her lap as her keen eyes narrowed with interest. Seraphiel stopped massaging her sore calves and rose slowly, walking over on silent feet to take a seat just behind Quinlan. Aurora adjusted her posture ever so slightly beneath his arm.

They were all listening now.

And on the other end of the artifact...

”Lord Black?!” the girl whispered. Her voice was barely louder than a breath, though the unmistakable excitement in her tone was barely restrained.

”Indeed, it is I.” Quinlan exhaled a soft puff of smoke before removing the cigar from his mouth. ”Princess Felicity, how have you been?”

There was a pause.

Then: ”You didn’t call me for three months!!”

The exaggerated frustration in her voice nearly made Seraphiel burst out in a fit of giggles. She wasn’t alone, based on the many smirks erupting throughout the room.

”I thought something horrible happened to you, Lord Black! I was starting to fear the worst!”

”I got very busy,” Quinlan replied gently, suddenly feeling like he was being interrogated by his parents. ”I’ve been to hell and back in the past few months. But you’re right; I should’ve called. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

”Hmph!”

Another pause came in the conversation.

But then, it was the pouting princess herself who broke the silence.

”Lord Black,” she whispered even more softly, ”I’d love to chat, but I’m in a real bind!”

Quinlan stilled as soon as the words registered in his brain.

The cigar, which was just brought to his lips for another puff, hovered in the air, forgotten.

A princess. The princess. The most coddled girl in the kingdom. Beloved by nobles, pampered by the court, and fiercely protected by the entire nation, including her own mother, Queen Morgana, and father, King Alexios.

This person was in trouble?

How?

Why wasn’t she calling her father, or Queen Morgana herself? He’d only interacted with that woman once before, but she was giving him fierce momma bear vibes back then, a bit like his primordial mothers. He doubted such a woman would not drop everything and rush to Felicity’s rescue. ṟ𝘈Ŋ𝖔𝐛Ё§

Felicity had picked up the artifact, meaning she clearly could receive magical transmissions. Which meant the device wasn’t restricted. Though perhaps she was restricted in the sense that she couldn’t initiate calls but only receive them...

So then, was it chance? Coincidence? Had he just happened to call in her moment of crisis?

”Princess Felicity, what happened?”

And with the utmost seriousness, as though the fate of her soul hung in the balance, the girl whispered:

”I’m writing my math test and failing miserably! I need help!”

For a beat,

No one moved.

Even the embers in the cigar paused.

Aurora choked down a snort.

Seraphiel blinked in disbelief.

Ayame quietly palmed her face, already regretting paying attention.

Quinlan, deadpan, exhaled at last, flicking the ash from his cigar.

Of course.

”Math test,” he echoed.

”Mmhmm!” she confirmed, desperate but entirely serious. ”The numbers keep moving! Lord Pythagoras has been watching me like a hawk, but he finally fell asleep! You called just when his wrinkly eyelids closed. I think it was the Goddess herself who intervened so that I won’t fail again!”

”Again?”

”Indeed!! This is the fourth time I’m taking the test! I think if I fail again, they’ll remove my dessert privilege and the smelly old bastard will tell my mom and she’ll lock me in the stupid garden again for a week and I’ll die of boredom, Lord Black! I’ll die!!”

Seraphiel repeated while finally releasing her held back laughter, though into her family’s minds, instead of the open air.

Lucille decreed, chuckling with a great deal of amusement.

Jasmine joined in, who’d naturally been part of the conversation with a mental link perpetually upheld by Lucille.

Ayame snickered.

Vex wasn’t as up-to-date on this matter as the rest.

Aurora corrected before adding,

While the ladies kept discussing the matter using [Master’s Link], Quinlan grunted. ”So, not war. You’re not being attacked either. You’ve not been the victim of some political treachery.”

”No!! Lord Black, I’m the victim of Fractions! They declared war on me!”

Quinlan finally broke his deadpan with a sigh of disbelief, pinching the bridge of his nose. ”I guess I’ll help you out of this horrible bind you’ve found yourself in to make up for my sudden absence.”

”Yay!”

”Felicity... You’ve already met seven of my wives, haven’t you?”

”Mmhmm,” came her quick, muffled reply through the artifact. ”Miss White, Miss Black, Miss Gold, Miss Elf, Miss Caramel, Miss Platinum, Miss Brown.”

”Right,” Quinlan said, fighting the corner of his lips from twitching into a smile. ”Well, it’s time you met the newest additions.”

”You got new wives while you refused to even call me?! For three months?! I thought you’d, ’been to hell and back’ Lord Black?” Accusation dripped from the young girl’s voice as if it were deadly poison.

The moment Felicity’s faux-betrayed voice rang out from the artifact, nearly every girl connected through the [Master’s Link] howled.

Even Blossom let out a soft chuckle, and Blossom never laughed at basically anything, so this was saying something.

Meanwhile, Feng and Serika, being non-subjugated and thus unable to hear the mental chaos, simply observed Quinlan in silence. Serika raised a brow, bright green eyes watching with amusement.

Feng, on the other hand, didn’t bother hiding her reaction.

Her brilliant crystal-blue eyes practically danced with mirth, and her smirk was the very picture of smug delight. She shifted a little on her cushion to rest her chin on her palm, watching him like a tiger watching a lion slip on ice.

After witnessing the sheer brutality with which he’d fought in the fortress, the way he’d commanded soul soldiers and controlled the battlefield with confidence... The way he led the four of them in harmony to defeat a monster like Sareth...

Watching such a man get verbally bodied by a girl still at the beginning of puberty was utterly hilarious.

Quinlan, to his credit, didn’t rise to the bait.

Or to be more accurate, he just ignored the girl completely.