The Succubus Race had also settled in one of the abandoned cities during the war, which they renamed Gaudium City.
The two Succubus Princesses and Lady Ristella, as well as some high-ranking succubus and incubus, had carefully brainstormed which city they should take as their own.
Striving for neutrality, they wanted to be near a strong backer that would help them deal with problems.
And what better supporter than the Central Government, where Zion was a part of?
At first, Princess Xynalia thought that the Wanderers wouldn’t easily approve their city pick since it was right next to Casimir City.
To their surprise, the Wanderers didn’t give them a hard time and approved of their request.
Since the succubus and incubus were all good-looking, everyone was already looking forward to the completion of the largest pleasure district on the continent. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾※𝙣𝙚𝙩
When Thirteen arrived at the most lavish residence in the city, he was immediately greeted by several succubus, with Lady Ristella taking the lead.
"Thank you for coming, Zion," Lady Ristella said with a smile. "Please, come in."
"Good evening, Lady Ristella," Thirteen greeted.
"Good evening to you, too." Lady Ristella smiled. "No need to be too formal. Feel free to call me Aunt or Aunt Ristella from now on."
"Understood." Thirteen nodded.
When the teenage boy entered the living room, he was surprised to see Roland.
Just like him, the Hero donned a suit, and Thirteen had to admit that the other was quite the looker in this get-up.
"Welcome, Zion." Princess Laventia waved.
"It’s been a while, Princess," Thirteen answered before shifting his gaze to Roland. "Hello, Roland."
"Hello, Zion," Roland replied. "I heard from Laventia that you plan to make Princess Xynalia your fiancee?"
"Yes," Thirteen answered.
This piece of information made the smile on Lady Ristella’s face widen, for she’d been waiting to hear the confirmation right out of the young man’s mouth.
She feared Zion would reject her proposal to marry her niece, crushing their hopes to leverage marriage as a way to establish a solid foundation for the Kingdom of Velmoria in Pangea.
"Let’s go to the dining room," Lady Ristella lightly clapped her hands. "Our chefs have prepared a small feast for this occasion."
Thirteen wondered where Princess Xynalia might be since he didn’t see her in the living room.
He wasn’t too worried about her lack of presence, though. After all, this dinner was to discuss their engagement. It was only a matter of time before she showed up.
Just as the maids had finished putting all the dishes on the table, Princess Xynalia finally showed herself.
She wore a white cocktail dress that highlighted the curves of her body. Even Roland wasn’t able to stop himself from staring at his future sister-in-law, which made Princess Laventia cough lightly to bring him out of his trance.
As Thirteen’s gaze landed on his soon-to-be fiancee, he remembered the quote Vincent wrote in his notebook on what to say when you want to compliment the dress of a lady.
He even remembered the small footnote that Vincent had left that said.
"A lady especially likes to hear praise whenever they dress up. Praising them normally usually works, but if you go above normality, the impact would be greater. So, don’t hesitate to experiment!"
Remembering this important advice, the teenage boy decided to put it into action.
"You look wonderful, Princess Xynalia. That dress suits you perfectly," Thirteen said with a smile. "Is the tailor still alive? Maybe we should kill them together."
Everyone froze on the spot, including the maids who were finishing their food preparation.
Princess Xynalia almost tripped on her high heels after hearing the teenage boy’s comment. Fortunately, she was able to regain her posture in time, preventing herself from embarrassment.
Thirteen blinked once, then twice, before following his Plan B.
"It was just a joke," Thirteen said. "I’m just trying to liven up the evening."
"H-Hahahaha!" Lady Ristella laughed awkwardly while giving the maids the "All of you should laugh too, or else" gaze.
The maids also started to laugh, which was enough for them to win awards for best supporting actresses, having pulled off such a difficult act flawlessly.
Thirteen nodded in satisfaction, seeing his attempt at humor worked perfectly.
Although there was a delayed reaction, it still worked like a charm... at least that was what he thought at that time.
Princess Xynalia sat beside Zion. Both of them faced Roland and Princess Laventia, while Lady Ristella sat at the head of the table.
"Before we start, I would like to thank you, Roland and Zion, for coming here despite your busy schedules," Lady Ristella said. "I hope you will make my nieces happy because they deserve to be happy. Can I count on the two of you to take care of them for life?"
"I will do my best, Aunt Ristella," Roland replied without hesitation. "I’ll make Princess Laventia happy."
Princess Laventia blushed because she was touched by Roland’s reply.
Lady Ristella nodded in satisfaction before shifting her gaze to Zion. She wanted to know if the teenage boy would give her a similar reply.
"You can count on me, Aunt Ristella," Thirteen replied. "I’ve already calculated seven different ways to make her happy, and only two of them are illegal."
Roland, who was about to eat a piece of meat, paused mid-way, with the meat falling back to his plate with a faint clink.
The smile on Lady Ristella’s face stiffened, but she still looked at Zion kindly and urged everyone to continue eating.
She decided that they should finish eating first before the teenage boy said something else that would make everyone lose their appetite.
Music played in the background, making the evening livelier.
Lady Ristella picked safe conversations that even Zion could join, and this talk shifted to what happened in the Antares Continent.
"I see, so Siri chose Mikhail, huh?" Princess Laventia smirked. "I thought she planned to marry you, Zion."
"Siri and I are just friends," Thirteen commented. "Also, I think my brother needs someone like her in his life. They are a good match."
"How about your sister?" Roland asked with genuine curiosity. "She has many suitors. Have you chosen someone who is at least... qualified?"
"I’ll let Shasha decide on who she wants to marry," Thirteen answered.
Roland thought of his friend, Taiga, who had a huge crush on Shasha, and well... at Zia as well.
"Would you approve of it if Taiga became Shasha’s boyfriend?" Roland inquired.
"Yes, I’ll approve of his burial," Thirteen answered. "I’ll even prepare his coffin, free of charge."
Princess Laventia giggled after hearing Zion’s reply, and even Princess Xynalia couldn’t help but smile.
They knew that the Supreme Commander of the Alliance was overprotective of his family, so seeing him react this way made them see a side of him that they rarely saw.
When the dinner finally ended, Lady Ristella bid their guests goodbye and asked her nieces to make sure to entertain them properly.
She wasn’t worried about Roland and Princess Laventia since this wasn’t the first time that the Hero had stayed overnight in their residence.
As for Zion... she believed that Princess Xynalia would be able to take care of him just fine.
"Let’s go to the balcony," Princess Xynalia proposed. "The stars are beautiful tonight."
"Okay." Thirteen nodded and followed the princess to the fourth floor of their residence.
There, the two of them gazed at the twinkling stars, which had now become visible after the veil that protected Pangea had weakened.