Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

/What are you doing, Sister Liora?/ Sandra sent across their telepathic link.

/Hey, idiot, stop this!/ Maelona snapped.

/Sister Liora, please refrain from making any more arguments. We've already pressed the people hard enough./ Archpriestess added.

But none of their words were answered. Liora was locked in a silent battle of wills, her eyes fixed on Kaelen, her silence more dangerous than any words she could have spoken.

At last, Kaelen gave in, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He faced the gathering,

"Please forgive my mother's rudeness," he said, the words catching in his throat. He glanced nervously at the Archpriestess and Sandra before continuing,

"As you can see… unlike Princess Aqualina, who has the authority to rule the Empire, and the Saintess, whose power is recognised by all, Princess Aria was only ever a Princess within her own Tribe—not an Empire. So technically, Lord Aether does not possess a title or rank equal to your two Empires."

He paused, searching their faces for understanding. "So… we thought… well, my mother voluntarily stepped forward to marry him, to strengthen our alliance. She offered herself because she believed it was her right and duty."

A heavy silence settled over the room as the weight of his words sank in.

Hearing that, everyone's faces hardened, their gazes sharpening with distrust and outrage as they stared at Liora—a woman who had given birth, now daring to stand among them and claim the right to marry their Archpriest?

For a moment, even the air in the chamber seemed to tremble with indignation.

How dare she?!

"It's blasphemy!!"

Liora simply added, her voice calm and clear amid the uproar, "You may not know this, but… When I first saw Aether, I tried to approach him with the intent to marry. But since he was in love with Aria, he didn't respond to me at that time. Also, he knew I loved him deeply," she finished, pointing at Aether, her gaze unwavering.

"You still remember our first kiss, darling?"

Aether flinched, his composure slipping as his face flushed bright red.

Aurora's group turned pale as the weight of Liora's words sank in. "K-Kiss?" one of them stammered, disbelief etched into every face as they looked at Aether.

They couldn't believe their Archpriest had lost his purity—even before an official marriage?

So wrong!!

Aether cleared his throat, his voice trembling. "T-That was an accident, and I asked forgiveness too, Lady Liora… we already talked about that, right?" His eyes darted nervously.

However, Liora only shrugged, dismissing his embarrassment.

"Even if it was an accident, you still kissed me, right? I believe fate tied our connection for this moment…" Her gaze swept over the assembly, "Since then, I have thought only of Aether and Aether alone… No other heart could move me, even my own son knows that, right?"

Kaelen offered an awkward smile, nodding his head in resigned agreement. "Honestly, Princess Aria didn't accept him at first, so my mother said she would be ready to accept Aether. That's what we planned, but… well, you know…" He trailed off, his face turning even more awkward as he felt the weight of every gaze.

One Follower, unable to keep silent, asked, "So you want to replace Miss Aria with Miss Liora?"

However, Liora shook her head firmly. "I am not asking to replace Aria or anyone else. I just… want to marry, since he took my kiss. He has to face his responsibility as a man! You will, won't you?" Her gaze returned to Aether, challenging and vulnerable all at once.

Aether's face turned scarlet as he lowered his head, voice barely audible. "I… I…" He stammered, unable to find the right answer, lost for words beneath the pressure of so many eyes.

Sandra and the Archpriestess frowned as they watched the exchange.

Was this woman really trying to manipulate the situation—to use this chaos to seize her chance to marry Aether?

The fucking bitch!!

Kaelen quickly added, trying to regain control, "Please do not worry about this. Once the Princesses and the Saintess have married him, we can talk about that later, okay?"

However—

The Followers and High Priests shook their heads, whispering urgently among themselves...

"It's obvious, isn't it?" one murmured.

"Yes, the Zephyra Empire is trying to use this chance to force our Archpriest to marry two women!"

"How vile!!" another spat, voice dripping with disgust.

"Even using his own mother as a pawn?" someone whispered, incredulous.

"So disgusting!!"

"I cannot believe we have to share our Archpriest with these people!!" another's voice trembled with outrage and disbelief.

The Archpriestess and Saintess both turned pale, shock flickering across their face.

Was Liora trying to shatter what they had just built together? Was this her way of saying, Marry me along with them, or else nothing at all?

Just then,

Aether nodded, his expression clouded, voice heavy with regret and understanding. "I think I get it… I truly do. It's my fault to begin with. I kissed her—yes, it was an accident that time, but now… I understand. It must have been fate."

He turned toward Aria, Aqualina, and Helena, meeting each of their eyes in turn, a mixture of guilt and resolve burning in his gaze.

"I know I'm being selfish right now… but at least for this one moment, can I be a little selfish?" he asked softly, his plea hanging in the tense air.

His words stunned them into silence.

Aqualina frowned, her eyes narrowing as she leaned forward, her tone sharp. "Do you wish to marry her as well, Aether? Is that truly your desire?"

Aether's eyes trembled, "I already crossed the path of no return," he admitted, glancing at Aurora's group before returning his gaze to Aqualina and nodding.

"Yes… as she said, back then I ran away from my responsibility. I was scared, lost. But now, I see it clearly—this is for the best, even if it disappoints all of you. As a man who kissed her and… and…" his throat tightened, voice faltering for a moment.

He forced himself to continue,

"Made her pregnant—it's my responsibility!"

His fingers clenched, eyes shining with tremors of fear, shame, and a strange resolve.

A follower suddenly burst out, voice cracking with emotion, "Oh my god! What a great human you are… My Archpriest! Even though it was accid—Wait… did you just say she's pregnant?" The man's expression twisted in confusion, while the entire room fell into a deep, stunned silence.

Aether nodded, a shy and embarrassed look creeping onto his face. "I mean… you know, kissing and… babies come…"

"Oh?… OH?" The follower's face turned odd, his expression contorting as he stared at Aether with the dawning horror of someone realising something profoundly strange. What the hell is he talking about? his eyes seemed to scream.

Everyone stared blankly at Aether.

The follower finally sighed, exasperated. "Come on, Archpriest, you should know that's not how life is formed. Babies come from the Mother Goddess. You have to kneel before her, offer prayers and sacrifices… beg for her blessing. Only then does she grant the gift of a child."

Now, everyone in the hall turned to stare at the follower, their expressions just as blank and confused.

The Saintess lowered her head so deeply it almost touched the floor, making her look like an ostrich burying its head in the sand... Embrassment!!

Slowly, everyone's eyes travelled toward the Archpriestess, who quickly averted her gaze, clearing her throat with a small, nervous cough.

One of the Elders blinked, breaking the silence with a hesitant question. "Ahem… Lord Aether… are you saying that because you kissed Liora accidentally, you believed she had a baby?"

Aether nodded again, face burning with blush and guilt. "Yes."

"Oh..... O…hhh…"

Everyone in the chamber fell into a profound, uneasy silence, as if the entire room had lost its ability to comprehend the situation.

Confusion hung in the air and inescapably, as if Aether's words had left everyone adrift.

Was this man for real?

Meanwhile, his beloveds' faces turned a deep shade of red. Even though Aether seemed oblivious, seeing him speak so seriously about something so naive—fuck that! They couldn't help but blush and look away in shy embarrassment.

The Wise Elder, the one who had first proposed the grand marriage plan... smiled awkwardly, trying to maintain his composure as he nodded.

"Well, you must understand… he comes from a humble background... lower status, as it were—and he's never received any general education in such… matters. It's perfectly normal, I suppose… even the follower seemed lost about it. Not well educated, received much more than Aether who just rose in power" His smile faltered a little, uncertain how to navigate the absurdity of the moment.

The people of Aurora… truly innocent!!

Aqualina shook her head in exasperation. "Whatever. He'll learn everything in due time, but for now… Aether, she is not pregnant with your child."

Aether's eyes widened in genuine shock. "Really? But we kissed—"

"Damn it! Babies don't come from just a kiss—" one of the women cut in, trying not to laugh.

But Liora was quick, her voice soft and cunning. "She's lying, darling… I have your child in my belly," she declared, her sly smile curving as everyone's faces fell into deeper frowns.

This woman… was definitely tricking him!!

The others parted their mouths, ready to call out her obvious lie, but before anyone could speak—

Aether's expression shifted, overcome by guilt. "I… I am sorry for leaving at that time… I… I will take responsibility now." He looked directly at Aqualina, the Saintess, and Aria, voice pleading.

"Please?"

They fell silent, unable to muster a response.

The issue wasn't even the child; it was the kiss—that was the disaster that led to this, and Liora was using it shamelessly.

Sure, they could educate Aether on where babies really came from, but seeing the look on his face… they knew he wouldn't believe them if they started a scene here, especially with Liora insisting she already carried his child.

This was a delicate situation… especially with Aether's innocence on the line.

The three exchanged glances, frustration plain on their faces, before glancing at Liora. She was clearly deceiving him, but arguing would only make things worse. Clicking their tongues in resignation, they nodded.

"Fine!"

"Yay~" Liora's face lit up in victory, her smirk wide as she glanced over at Sandra, the Archpriestess, and even Maelona, whose lips twitched furiously with annoyance.

Kaelen exhaled heavily, shaking his head at the madness of it all. "Well then, with this… Liora Darkfang will marry Aether."

The Zephyra group finally relaxed, smiling and sighing in relief.

Everyone began to prepare to leave, but—

Aqualina smirked, her gaze sharp and calculating. "That won't do… Having him married to two women in the same Empire would break the balance entirely."

Aria frowned, her voice low and steady. "I thought your love for him should be unconditional—no matter how many women enter his life, shouldn't you continue to shower him with affection?"

Aqualina nodded, her expression still sharp. "I still think it's the same, but… considering the two women are from another Empire… of course, his natural instinct to protect you two would come first, right?"

Liora frowned, "So what do you want, Aqualina?"

Aqualina shrugged, as if her request was the most casual thing in the world.

"Nothing much… Just let my mother marry him too! That solves the Matter!!"

Gasp!!

Everyone in the hall recoiled in horror and disbelief, the collective gasp ringing out like thunder.

The Archpriestess, Maelona, and Sandra—all of them realised at the same instant what was happening here. They looked simultaneously at Aether, whose palm was pressed to his lips, barely hiding the sly, curling smirk spreading across his face.

'Motherfucker!'

They cursed him in unison.

What was this?

Did everyone really think he went through all of this just to marry three women?

Of course fucking not.

All these elaborate plans, all these long-winded dialogues, the intricate stagecraft—was it all just for three?

Or was there something more?

If Aether had simply wanted to marry the girls, he could have done so without anyone's permission at all.

But the real issue was these people—especially the Aurora group—would never accept him marrying three women, let alone talk about their mothers.

Unlike the Pyra Empire, these ones could not be forced. He needed their cooperation as much as they needed his. Sure, maybe the people didn't care what happened behind royal walls, but for Aether, it was about much more than that.

They might not care for his personal affairs, but their words, their rumors—those would spread like wildfire, staining and defaming his beloveds.

Sure, his wives might not care, but they were rulers now, Empresses and Saintesses with a reputation to uphold. They were not normal people... they had authority and position and responsibility!!

The world would not forgive, nor would it forget, if one man married both mother and daughter.

Even worse, people would feel disgust and disappointment toward their Empress, and that was not something Aether could bear to hear whispered from the shadows.

These people were not like the Void ones, who would accept anything, any taboo, any form.

The Aurora folk needed something deeper—real involvement, genuine sacrifice, a unity that was more than a formal tie.

So, Aether twisted the situation and pushed it toward them... forcing a choice upon them all.

It's the people's choice! If they wanted Aether, they would have to give up something, too!