Everyone turned their eyes towards Annabelle and I, after Lord Asher finished asking his question, their gazes filled with curiosity. Elizabeth in particular seemed interested in the answer. This was the crux of House Thorne’s issues with me no doubt, and the one thing everyone was most curious and/or suspicious about.

I didn’t blame them for that. From an outsider’s perspective, Annabelle and I started courting a little after we fought each other to the near death. In fact, it wasn’t an exaggeration that Annabelle killed me, albeit for a brief time. Anyone would be suspicious of that.

When Lord Miles flew up to the Icefall Region in order to “save” Annabelle from me, he all but accused me of resorting to Dark magic in order to mess with Annabelle’s mind. I doubted that he was the only one who thought so, given the sudden change in my relationship with Annabelle. It wasn’t if any of them were privy to the truth.

Only a few people knew about my past lives, and I didn’t plan on revealing that fact to anyone else. Perhaps I would let House Thorne know, but only if all other avenues were no longer viable. I wanted to earn their approval and their blessing without having to tell them about Brandon Norwood. Besides, there wasn’t any guarantee that telling them the truth would make them more receptive towards me.

Annabelle and I had discussed this topic, when we exchanged letters, and we decided to tell everyone a version of the truth. While everyone would have difficulty believing our story, they would have no choice but to accept it. After a while, as Annabelle and I continued to court, it would no longer matter.

Still, I decided to tease Annabelle and the others for a bit.

“It’s an Otherworlder tradition,” I explained. “It turns out that when Otherworlders engage each other in single combat, the winner takes the loser as a prize, at least in the area of the Otherworld that Lady Annabelle hails from.”

The others stared at me with wide eyes, both fascinated and horrified by my words. Only Lord Asher looked unperturbed. Annabelle, who sipped her tea when I began my explanation, started choking. I started rubbing her back as she coughed up her tea. The others looked concerned by this, but turned their attention back to me when it became clear that Annabelle was in no danger.

“My word, Lord Gabriel,” Lady Isabella said, her cheeks a little pink. “I didn’t realize that the Otherworld had such…interesting customs. I can hardly believe it.”

“It’s barbaric,” Lord Derek said with a sneer. “Only a primitive backwater would have a tradition like that.”

Annabelle, who was still coughing up her tea, glared at me. Her eyes promised vengeance for this. I gave her a shit eating grin.

“Does this mean you are Lady Annabelle’s…slave?” Elizabeth asked with some hesitation. I saw worry in her eyes.

“Of course,” I replied, giving everyone a bright grin. “I fled to the Icefall Region in order to escape my fate, but Lady Annabelle hunted me down like a she-wolf running her prey to ground. Given my defenselessness at the time, I had no choice but to submit to her demands and…” I shuddered. “…well, here we are.”

The others gaped at me in disbelief, except for Lord Asher. Elizabeth, in particular, gave me an odd look. Her expression was a mix of fear and concern, with a hint of determination.

Annabelle, whose face was bright red, slapped my shoulder hard. It hurt, but not that much. After all, I was several times tougher and stronger than her thanks to my higher cultivation.

“Gabe!” she exclaimed. “Stop that! You’re giving them weird ideas about our relationship.” She looked at the others. “That is not what happened.” She glared at me. “Lord Gabriel is joking.”

I started laughing, and everyone realized that I was messing with them. Lord Derek and Lady Isabella scowled at me, no doubt annoyed that they were taken in by my words, while Elizabeth looked…relieved? Huh. Weird. I still saw worry in her eyes. Lord Asher, on the other hand, just chuckled.

“That joke was in poor taste, Lord Gabriel,” Lady Isabella said, narrowing her eyes at me.

“I thought it was funny,” Lord Asher said. “Of course, I know more about the Otherworld than the average Luminan, so I knew he was lying from the beginning.”

“I agree with Lady Isabella,” Annabelle said, still glaring at me. “That joke was in poor taste.”

I leaned in closer to her and trailed a finger along her jawline.

“But it’s not a joke, my beloved,” I said in English, a serious expression on my face. “I am your slave. Command me, and I shall obey. You need only say the word.”

Annabelle’s pupils widened and her jaw dropped.

“Besides,” I said, still speaking English, my lips breaking out into a grin. “I know for a fact that you have fantasies of putting a collar on me, both to mark me as your property, and so you can lead me around on a leash.”

“But-…What-…” Annabelle sputtered in Common tongue.

I leaned in to whisper into her ear.

“I also know that you want to tease and torment me, until tears are running down my pretty little face.”

Annabelle’s eyes widened.

“How do you know that?” she whispered in English.

“I know all of your dirty little secrets, Annabelle,” I said, pulling away. “Even the ones you’ve never told anyone else.”

Annabelle blanched at that. It was mean of me to use knowledge from an event that I knew Annabelle didn’t remember, but no one said that I had to be fair.

While she regained her composure, I turned to the rest of our party. Lord Derek scowled at me, while Lord Asher studied me with a raised eyebrow. Lady Isabella appeared disinterested, while Elizabeth wore her polite mask again and pretended like nothing was wrong.

“In all truth,” I said, switching back to Common Tongue. “The start of our courtship was far less interesting than that. Lady Annabelle and I both had business at Rosewood City in the Brightwood Region at the same time, and we happened to run into each other. Things were tense at first, but after we buried the hatchet, to borrow an Otherworlder idiom, our relationship took a turn for the better.” I looked down at my tea cup and let my true feelings show. “It didn’t take long for love to blossom between us after that. Fast, I know, but true.”

A beat of silence followed my words. A breeze blew through the back garden, bringing with it the scent of roses.

“Oh,” Lady Isabella said after taking a sip of her tea. “So those old rumors had some basis in truth. When I first heard them, I dismissed them as a total fabrication. It seems that not all of them were lies.”

“I am curious,” Lord Derek said with a nasty grin on his face. “What really happened between you and…What was his name? Bertrand Rosewood? The rumors said you dueled his bodyguard and won, even though you were at the First Circle at the time and the bodyguard was at the Second Circle.” His eyes flickered to Annabelle. “Did Lady Annabelle fight in your place, and let you take all the credit?”

I sighed. This was getting tiresome. I know House Thorne wanted to test me, but did they have to bring up every little thing?

“I don’t know what you heard,” I said. “Rumors do tend to get exaggerated. However, it is true that I dueled Lord Bertrand’s bodyguard and won. As for the reason why, well, that’s none of your concern.”

Lord Derek scoffed at that.

“You expect me to believe that?” he asked. “It’s impossible for a First Circle wizard to defeat a Second Circle wizard in a fair fight. The difference in strength between them is too great. Did you cheat? Is that it?”

I smirked at him.

“Most say that it’s impossible to restore someone’s Circles after they are destroyed,” I said, gesturing to myself. “Yet, here I am with my Circles fully restored, less than a year after they were shattered. Defeating a Second Circle wizard as a First Circle wizard is far more probable compared to that.”

At this, Lady Isabella perked up.

“How did you manage to restore your Circles?” she asked, a glimmer of genuine interest in her eyes. “I’m not sure if you know, but House Rhodes has a close relationship with the Tower of Magic. We’re interested in studying rare forms of magic, be they special magic beasts, unusual magic items, or strange spells.”

As Lady Isabella spoke, her catty persona disappeared and she appeared more like the academic that I knew she was. I liked the latter a lot more.

“Unfortunately, I can’t reveal what happened,” I said. “It’s a secret.”

Besides, I doubted anyone here would believe me if I told the truth. Well, maybe Lord Asher and Lady Isabella would, if I downplayed how powerful I was in my previous life. The others, excepting Annabelle, would think I was insane.

I glanced at Annabelle from the corner of my eye. She seemed subdued and lost in thought. Tsk. I shouldn’t have teased her earlier. One night, back when I was Brandon Norwood, the two of us got drunk and she revealed some of her fantasies to me, though it embarrassed her to do so. We even played out some of those fantasies, as well as some of mine. The next day, when I realized that Annabelle didn’t remember what happened, I kept quiet to avoid embarrassing her further. However, in my desire to tease Annabelle just now, I slipped up.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Lady Isabella said, pulling me out of my thoughts. She fluttered her eyebrows and gave me a coquettish smile. “Perhaps we can meet in private later on, and discuss the details then.” She crossed her arms underneath her chest and leaned forward a bit. The move emphasized her…assets. “I’m sure I can convince you to spill your secrets, if you give me the chance.”

Wow. Either House Thorne put her up to this, or this was how she was when she wasn’t being a magic nerd. Regardless, she was barking up the wrong tree. My type included, and was limited to, Annabelle. I had little romantic interest in anyone besides her.

Also, flirting with me like this in front of Annabelle-…

Just as I thought that, Annabelle’s killing intent spiked and she glared at Lady Isabella. I saw murder in her eyes. Before things could escalate, and Annabelle caused an incident between House Thorne and House Rhodes, I grabbed Annabelle’s left hand and kissed the back of it. She looked at me. Her eyes held mine for several seconds, before she simmered down.

Lady Isabella, who realized that Annabelle had been seconds away from attacking her, let out the breath she had been holding. The rest of the table let out a collective sigh of relief.

“That would be a bad idea, Lady Isabella,” I said.

“So I see,” she murmured, giving Annabelle a wary look.

We spent the next few minutes in silence as everyone took a moment to collect themselves. Elizabeth in particular looked shaken. Annabelle maintained a death grip on my hand, even though the moment had passed. That didn’t stop either of us from enjoying our tea, since her right hand was free and I was fine with using my left hand. Everyone once in a while, Annabelle glared at Lady Isabella.

The tension in the air was palpable.

It didn’t happen often, but Annabelle could get quite jealous when dealing with a woman she considered a threat. Back on Earth, when we were still in high school, several girls took interest in me after I started dating Annabelle. My “market value” went up, so to speak. They tried flirting with me, but stopped after Annabelle had a word with them. I don’t know what she said, but they avoided me like the plague afterwards.

In my experience, the best way to curb Annabelle’s jealousy was to give her my attention.

“I suppose I could share a few details,” I said, breaking the silence. “If only to sate your curiosity.”

Lady Isabella perked up at that, and the tension in the air dissipated a little.

“Oh?” she asked.

Time to set the bait. Let us see what I catch with this.

“Though, I think you’ll be disappointed,” I said. “I believe you’re already aware of the means I used to restore my Circles, in a broad sense if not the specifics; you and Lord Asher both.”

Lord Asher and Lady Isabella stilled for a moment, before their expressions hardened. The tension in the air turned cold and sharp, like a blade pressed against my jugular. I just smiled, as if I didn’t have a care in the world. Annabelle returned the hard looks with one of her own. Lord Derek and Elizabeth looked between the four of us, confused.

“Really now?” Lady Isabella said. “Do tell.”

“It’s a form of internal alchemy,” I said. “Similar to a mana formula in several ways, but vastly different in others.”

The tension in the air spiked further.

“And where did you learn this…internal alchemy?” Lord Asher asked. “From what I understand, it’s quite rare.”

Lord Derek scowled at all of us.

“What are you talking about?” he asked. “Internal alchemy? I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

We all ignored him.

This was where I needed to be careful. I didn’t want to lie to Lord Asher or Lady Isabella, since I wanted to establish friendly relations with them. Getting caught in a lie would hinder me. However, neither did I want to tell them the full truth. That meant threading the needle by telling them just enough without actually lying.

“I found a teacher.” A true statement. “My mother contacted her kin, back in the Lunarian Kingdom.” Also a true statement. “If you know anything about House Leone, then you probably know what kind of person they sent to help me.”

I wasn’t sure about that last one. Just because House Leone was also a cultivator Clan didn’t mean that House Griffin or House Rhodes knew about them. Not only was House Leone located all the way on another continent, but cultivator society on Lumina wasn’t a unified whole.

“I can’t say I’m familiar with House Leone,” Lord Asher said.

“My aunt told me about them,” Lady Isabella said. “She said that they were a House of crouching tigers.” She studied me with a raised eyebrow. “That certainly does explain things. Tsk. You’re right, I am disappointed. I thought it was a special kind of wizardry.”

Lady Isabella pouted. I almost felt sorry for bursting her bubble. For cultivators, restoring one’s Circles, or mana veins, was a simple matter. It wasn’t easy, not by any means. However, with the right knowledge and training, any cultivator with enough power could do it. I was lucky that I was a reincarnated Immortal that could use divine energy right off the bat.

“What is going on here?” Lord Derek demanded. “Stop talking in riddles, and speak plainly. What are you three going on about?”

“It’s nothing that you need to concern yourself with, Lord Derek,” Lord Asher said. “Be silent.”

“But-…”

Lord Asher gave Lord Derek a look. The latter ground his teeth, but kept his mouth shut.

“If you’re interested in knowing more,” I said, after sipping my tea with my left hand. “You’re more than welcome to visit Sturm Manor. Perhaps we can trade pointers.”

Lady Isabella smirked and shook her head.

“No thank you, Lord Gabriel,” she said. “I doubt that I would learn anything of interest.”

Lord Asher, on the other hand, looked more thoughtful.

“I’ll consider it,” he said.

Huzzah! Even though I had only managed to catch the interest of one of them, I still counted that as a success. After all, befriending House Griffin was one of the reasons why I came back to Sturm Manor. I never considered House Rhodes a possibility in the first place, given their rumored reclusiveness, so failing to engage Lady Isabella’s interest wasn’t much of a loss for me.

“Well, that’s not fair,” Annabelle said with a surly expression on her face. “You invite the two of them to your home in order to trade pointers, yet you don’t even bother asking me. I’m disappointed.”

I grinned at her and kissed the back of her hand again.

“I thought it went without saying that you’re always welcome at Sturm Manor,” I said. “If that’s not enough, then consider this a formal invitation. I know that Kaylee would love to see you again.”

Annabelle pretended to think about it for several seconds, before grinning.

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” she said, before facing the others again. “What do you think, Lady Isabella? Should we make it a group excursion?”

Lady Isabella narrowed her eyes at Annabelle.

“Are you familiar with the topic at hand, Lady Annabelle?”

Annabelle gave Lady Isabella a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. That smile scared me.

“I have my own teacher, yes.”

Both Lord Asher and Lady Isabella looked at her in surprise, before Lady Isabella’s expression morphed into one of interest.

“In that case, yes,” she said. “I accept your offer, Lord Gabriel. I shall contact you and Lady Annabelle later on to arrange things.”

“Excellent,” Annabelle said.

We all looked at Lord Asher.

“I’ll consider it,” he repeated.

Well, that was a little disappointing, but I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. If I could turn this into an opportunity to deepen relations with House Rhodes, or Clan Rhodes rather, then all the better.

“Thank you,” I muttered to Annabelle in English. “But how did you know that she would react like that?

“Master told me about Clan Rhodes,” Annabelle muttered back. “Lady Isabella has been interested in me for a while, since I’m an Otherworlder. Apparently, she’s fascinated by the gifts that Otherworlders receive. I figured that someone like her would be interested in an Otherworlder who also practiced cultivation.”

“You’re amazing, and I love you.”

“I know,” Annabelle said with a cheeky grin.

We faced the others again.

“Ugh,” Lord Derek said with a disgusted look on his face. “You must truly be in love with each other, because watching you two flirt is making me sick.”

At first I thought Lord Derek was exaggerating, but then I noticed how pale he looked. He touched his stomach.

“Actually, I don’t feel so well,” he said, before standing up. “I…I need to go.”

He rushed towards the main building, leaving before anyone could reply. We all watched him go with puzzled expressions on our faces.

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, not expecting an answer.

“Perhaps Lord Derek ate something earlier that didn’t agree with him,” Elizabeth said, studying her nails.

My eyes widened as I figured out what happened.

“You didn’t,” I said, half-awed and half-horrified by the realization.

Elizabeth looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Whatever do you mean, Lord Gabriel?”

I just shook my head. She could pretend all she wanted, but I knew the truth. Rather, I strongly suspected. However, I wasn’t going to call her out on it. Given how much she had helped me today, the least I could do was keep my mouth shut, not that it did much good. Based on the looks on everyone’s faces, they figured it out as well.

Before anyone could say anything, hurried footsteps headed in our direction. We all turned to find Madilyn walking towards us at a brisk pace. While she wore the same expression as she had earlier, polite but distant, her body language suggested that something urgent had happened.

“Madilyn?” Annabelle asked after the butler reached our table. “What’s wrong?”

Madilyn leaned down to whisper in her ear. Not that it did much good, since almost everyone here was a cultivator and therefore had excellent hearing.

“Lady Annabelle,” Madilyn said. “There has been an incident with your guests’ retainers, and Lord Thorne wishes for you to handle it.”

I had a bad feeling about this.

“What happened?” Annabelle asked. “And speak up. There’s no point in hiding it from my guests, since it involves them.”

Madilyn hesitated for a moment, before nodding.

“There was an altercation between Lord Gabriel’s retainer and one of Lord Asher’s retainers,” she said.

Lorelei.

My head whipped towards Lord Asher.

“Was this planned?” I demanded.

They could mess with me all they wanted. I could handle it. However, I drew the line at my friends and family. If Lorelei got hurt because of House Thorne’s stupid fucking test, then I would follow Mother’s example and burn this entire garden to the ground.

“No,” Lord Asher said, his expression darkening. “It was not.”

The air crackled with energy as the two of us glared at each other.

“Let us go and find out what happened,” Annabelle said. “There’s no point in getting riled up until we know more.”

Lord Asher and I continued to glare at each other for several more seconds, before we both nodded.

“Fine,” I said. “Let’s go.”

With that, we all stood up and followed Madilyn to where our retainers awaited.