Chapter 44: The Marquis’s Revelation and the Prince’s Schemes

Long past midnight, Marquis Douglas Moore filled his glass with wine and settled comfortably into Bliss’s study chair. He connected his tablet to the monitor, muttering under his breath.

“Bliss, I told you to get a softer chair.”

He primarily used the study as a space for contemplation. Taking a sip of wine, he quickly pressed his lips together, annoyed at himself for being in Bliss’s private study, decorated to his son’s taste, instead of his own comfortable home within the ancestral Moore estate.

Of course, continuing to clash with Annabelle and keep her in check was not impossible. However, having spent a considerable time abroad, he desperately needed some rest.

Ethan Prescott, was it?

He leaned back in the chair, recalling Bliss’s report. Though not as plush as he’d hoped, it was suitable enough for him to recline. He swallowed his wine, his thoughts lingering on the person who had ultimately caused such a scene with Annabelle.

Marquis Douglas had vehemently opposed the marriage between Annabelle and his son, Seth Moore. Their relationship had been fraught from the very beginning, a consequence of the royal family’s coercion into marriage. He had spent considerable time persuading the family elders and collateral branch heads to accept Henry Grace, Seth’s long-term lover and Guide, into the Moore household.

Though national law posed no issue for same-s*x marriages, particularly between an Esper and a Guide, such unions were not readily accepted within the aristocratic society that had formulated and passed those very laws. After much arduous persuasion, a new uproar erupted internally: who would become their adopted son to carry on the Moore family line?

What they called an ‘uproar’ was, in truth, akin to a war. Amidst this turmoil, Annabelle White, who had relentlessly pursued Seth despite his existing Guide, leveraged the wary nobles guarding the royal family and the Moore family to infiltrate their ranks.

Seth Moore, at Henry Grace’s urging, had been compelled into a political marriage with Annabelle White. To shield Henry Grace from becoming a direct target of the royal family, he was sent away to the provinces. Yet, it was Annabelle who relentlessly exploited Seth’s deepest vulnerability and love.

Her attempts to assassinate Henry Grace, though lacking material evidence, were sometimes genuine, sometimes mere threats. Obsessed with an Esper husband who gave her no affection, she ceaselessly threatened Henry Grace to pressure Seth. Ultimately, after giving birth to Bliss, Annabelle actively sought to kill Henry Grace.

No matter how often she was told that such actions would destroy Seth, her fervor would only abate for a brief moment.

Annabelle White, the former king’s illegitimate child, was consumed by her obsession with ‘bloodline.’ It was difficult for Douglas to comprehend, as he couldn’t peer into her mind, but giving birth to a direct descendant of the Moore family—an son lauded as ‘the most exceptional Esper’—had instilled in her an arrogance, as if she possessed the undeniable royal ‘Green’ blood from the outset.

It was true that she had once been doted upon, even permitted to sit on the king’s lap. This past favoritism had formed the basis for her arrogance, rationalizing it within her own mind.

The real problem, however, was that her son, Bliss, could not tolerate it.

She was fixated on having ‘the most powerful Esper son,’ rather than the suffering Bliss would endure as he grew. She showed no interest in his developmental journey.

Seth Moore felt immense guilt towards his lover, Henry Grace, whenever he looked at his son, but he at least fulfilled his role as a father. The rest fell to Marquis Douglas. For the sake of his son and grandson, Marquis Douglas voraciously studied everything he could about Espers and Guides.

It was Marquis Douglas who, defying Seth’s objections, took Bliss to meet Henry Grace when Henry expressed a wish to see him. This proved to be an undeniably correct decision.

Henry Grace was a Guide with a 70% matching rate to Bliss’s father. Henry’s affinity was, naturally, Shadow, and it was undeniable that this provided some measure of solace during Bliss’s tumultuous growth. One of the reasons Bliss was still alive was largely due to Henry Grace’s warm embrace, which offered a flicker of stability from a Guide with a compatible affinity.

However, Annabelle’s belated discovery made even that difficult.

Douglas had already received a report from Bliss via a secure channel, confirming that Ethan Prescott was an ordinary person. Annabelle harbored ambitions to enthrone herself and seize control of the Moore family from behind the scenes by marrying Bliss into a powerful allied family.

The young ladies Annabelle had pushed, from the Leslie Earldom and the Winston Dukedom, all possessed Water affinities as Guides. The Leslie Earldom’s daughter was an adopted girl from a collateral branch, mistakenly believed to be a Guide, but Annabelle’s disregard for her lineage, despite her obsession with blood, showed her desperation. Douglas could vividly imagine the situations Bliss must have endured.

Even so, to announce an ordinary person as a Guide, of all things, was baffling.

Upon returning to the main estate, as the head of the family, he was bombarded with continuous calls from Annabelle and the elders who supported her. They insisted that with a compatible affinity, a matching rate of around 30% could be achieved during intimacy, and any deficit could be easily compensated with a light guiding session from His Highness, the Second Prince.

‘Tsk—fools. Even after witnessing the Cloud family’s current predicament.’ Douglas clicked his tongue and poured another glass of wine.

He briefly scanned the email that had been open, then connected to the secret channel. Bliss’s true reports always reached him here. With a slight buzz from the wine, he quickly skimmed the most recent email, intending to examine it thoroughly the next day. A moment later, however, he abruptly straightened from his relaxed posture, sitting rigidly as he meticulously scrutinized the contents.

“…Good heavens!”

His expression remained unchanged, even after rereading the message several times. Uttering a choked cry, he frantically pressed the call button, seeking Dale. Though everyone else was asleep, he simply could not wait until morning.

“Dale, Dale!”

[Your Excellency. What is the matter?]

Dale’s voice, still heavy with sleep, conveyed concern, wondering if an urgent incident had occurred. Douglas, his face flushed with excitement, shouted.

“Wake Hans, Hans Palmer, and bring him here! Quickly!”

[Understood.]

With Dale’s concise reply, devoid of questions, the communication cut off. Douglas sprang to his feet and paced the room. Unable to calm himself, he clasped his hands tightly and wandered back and forth across the study, murmuring and laughing like a madman.

“Bliss… Ethan… Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness. Oh, if there is a God, I am truly grateful… Thank goodness….”

****

“Strange. It’s strange, Huey.”

“What do you find strange, Your Highness?”

“The silence, for one. By now, the Lord of Riga should be groveling before me, frantically submitting a Guide matching application to the Center. And after pushing Bliss to his limit, I’ve heard no reports of him rushing to me, nor of a rampage…”

“I did hear of a victory, Your Highness.”

“Ah, yes. They are an elite Esper unit, so they wouldn’t lose a petty skirmish over a small territory like this, would they?”

Devon chuckled irritably, running a hand through his hair. Huey Cloud swallowed hard, his gaze lingering on Devon’s slender, bare torso, clad only in trousers and a gown. While Devon Green’s embrace provided sufficient guiding, it didn’t mean the desire to intimately intertwine with a perfectly matched Guide had vanished.

After receiving guiding from Devon Green, a multi-Guide with rare abilities, Huey Cloud, like most Espers, found himself captivated by Devon Green. He had a political fiancée, yet even she was chosen from a family Devon Green himself had recommended, one that would also benefit Huey.

“…They say Bliss Moore’s formidable abilities utterly nullified his initial attack.”

“Ah, yes, Huey. You selected a Guide who severed and seized the matching of Riga’s Esper Guard Leader, didn’t you? What was the matching rate, around 40%?”

“It’s 43%, Your Highness. Wendy’s loyalty to you is absolute, so she takes nothing amiss in seizing an Esper who already has a Guide.”

“Indeed, Huey. You truly have a remarkable ability to discern Wendy’s true nature. Thanks to you, I now know who my true allies are, and how much trust I can place in them. That’s why I’ve prepared a small gift for you.”

“…May I hope that this gift is what I anticipate, Your Highness?”

Devon’s olive-green eyes curved into a beautiful arc.

“Well, I’m not entirely sure what you anticipate, but I can certainly say it will be beneficial.”

‘A lie.’ This haughty, arrogant prince brazenly uttered falsehoods, wilfully ignoring his own evident yearning.

Exiting Devon Green’s room, Huey saw the woman waiting outside and gritted his teeth once more.

“…Trisha.”

“I heard Lord Huey was here and considered leaving, but then I remembered I had the prior appointment, so I just waited.”

Twirling a finger through her dark brown, curly hair, Trisha Haxson made it clear she was bored. She was a commoner, yet another of Devon Green’s Espers, possessing S-grade fire abilities and A-grade psychokinesis.

His expression hardened considerably as he recalled Devon Green’s attire from moments ago. ‘A prior appointment?’ Devon Green intended to engage with her in the Center’s room, where his actions were less constrained than in the royal palace.

“…Is this an assignment?”

Trisha’s lips curved upward.

“Well, isn’t His Highness Devon Green at his prime? It doesn’t always have to be for an assignment; sometimes, we can simply satisfy each other’s desires.”

“…How vulgar.”

Trisha burst into laughter.

“Hahaha. So, Lord Huey Cloud, being such a noble aristocrat, only receives His Highness’s kiss when he needs guiding? Or is it just a hug?”

“Trisha Haxson!”

Unable to restrain himself, Huey strode towards Trisha. She quickly backed away, moving the sofa she had been sitting on.

“Whoa, don’t touch me. If I get upset, I might just shoot flames at a noble lord, you know?”

Before the enraged Huey could speak further, Devon’s door opened.

“That’s enough, Trisha. You underestimate the power of high-ranking nobles too much.”

The heavy sofa, which had been levitating, gently settled back into place. Trisha pouted, but Devon smoothly guided her inside the room, offering Huey a brief nod.

“Huey Cloud, Trisha is indeed here for guiding today.”

‘So, it wasn’t s*x for s*x’s sake, but s*x for guiding’s sake. Still, wasn’t it s*x?’ Huey glared at the closed door, standing there for a long time.

As the door shut, the woman, her clothes instantly incinerated, was naked in Devon’s arms. Stroking her smooth arm, Devon spoke in a placating tone.

“Could you please watch your words? Huey Cloud is the Lord of the Cloud family, even if he isn’t an Esper. If he were to become the head, he could use today’s disrespect as an excuse to eliminate your entire family, without any evidence.”

“Your Highness, but I heard the Cloud family’s second son manifested as an Esper, an A-grade one at that. Doesn’t that change things? Why don’t you break Enoch Cloud’s Guide matching? You’re certainly capable of it, aren’t you?”

Leading her towards the bed, Devon Green chuckled lightly.

“Trisha, there are quite a few A-grade lightning ability users. That’s a task for my other excellent Guides. Huey Cloud is a necessary asset. I appreciate your honesty, but I’d like you to remember that I’m merely tolerating your disrespectful behavior towards nobles and royalty.”

‘What Huey Cloud can do, Devon Green can also do. And I can abandon you.’

Despite the casual, lighthearted laugh, his eyes held no trace of amusement. Lying on the bed, Trisha met Devon Green’s gaze from below, understood his warning, and recoiled.

She felt a surge of fear and shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I’ll be more careful from now on. But if you want to make Huey Cloud the head of the family, wouldn’t it be better if you took Enoch Cloud’s matching rate… Ah!”

Her full breasts were crushed in Devon Green’s hand. With one hand kneading her chest, Devon guided her hand to his pant buckle.

“Well, even if I don’t take it, there are other ways. Now, I’d appreciate it if you’d focus.”

“Ah, yes. Yes. Ah…!

The room soon filled with passionate moans and wet sounds.

It was a week later that news arrived: Enoch Cloud’s Guide, Scott Kenton, had been ambushed by assailants and was in critical condition.