Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System.

[Soulmate]

Description: This title increases your bond with all your female companions by 100%. They can understand you without you having to say a word. Your spiritual and mental fortitude are linked and connected, with distance ignored.

'Oh? Now this can be pretty helpful.'

Dorian slowly stood up from Maria's lap, straightening his clothes as he spoke with a calm and bossy tone after dismissing the system.

"If you guys are here, then should I assume that the egg has been secured and is ready?" he asked.

Seraphina, who was standing beside him, was the one to reply.

"Yes, the workers have secured it to the ground as you wanted. Oh, and also, one more thing…" Seraphina pulled Dorian close to her, buttoning his shirt and fixing his hair. "Lady Ishtar already arrived, and she is waiting for you. That is what I came to report initially."

Dorian narrowed his gaze at her, a nagging look, not a single word leaving his mouth.

It didn't take long for Seraphina to feel the pressure.

Sweating, she looked to the side, a robotic look on her face. "I am sorry; I got carried away with the marriage proposal."

"Speaking of Lady Ishtar, Lord Dorian, is there a reason why you are getting this woman involved in this? I understand that you have things under control, but her father sent a spy to us. What are the chances she isn't one right now?" Maria asked, still seated on the log with her arms folded.

Immediately, Seraphina chimed in as well.

"I agree with Maria, my lord. That woman rubs me the wrong way, and I can't explain it," she paused, and stepped back a bit. "It's obvious she is trying hard to get on your good side, and it's really irritating me."

Dorian sighed.

'I can understand why they feel this way. Truthfully, I still don't understand why she hasn't tried to betray me yet.'

Using his pact privilege and ordering her to be loyal to him was something he could easily do if he wasn't thinking about it from a moral standpoint.

Loyalty can't be forced; if he forced her, she would have found another way to resist. She was to grant his wish, and that alone is a bigger crack than anything.

Say he tells her, "I wish for you to remain loyal to me and never betray me." Face value, it seems she must be loyal, but that isn't really the truth.

For starters, she alone can define the type of loyalty she wants to offer; is it loyalty to his words, actions, or the most likely one, loyalty to his success, which means she would do whatever it took to make sure he becomes as successful as she wants.

Bear in mind, this doesn't stop her from transferring her evil intentions to the others around him.

That said,

"I have my eyes on her, even now. If she were to betray me, I would have known a while back," Dorian responded to them.

Yes, the Analysis skill would have alerted him since right now he already had the skill tracking her.

"If you trust her, then we have no choice but to do the same as well," Maria stood up. "I will still keep my eye on her regardless."

"Same. She looks like a homewrecker," Seraphina pouted.

Dorian couldn't find the words to say to them, so he simply gave a nervous chuckle before he began to exit the forest.

After walking for a while, he finally got to the open area where the rest of the workers had set up camp.

They had to cut down the trees to create a space for their equipment, especially since the dragon egg was right in the middle, and the crawler was right there as well.

Walking out of the bushes with one hand in his pocket and his two women right behind him, Dorian spotted Ishtar, standing next to the dragon egg, while Gatty was right beside her, making sure she didn't get too close.

'Looks like she came alone.'

Dorian thought to himself as he walked, the ladies already glaring at the presence of Ishtar.

Right next to the egg, Lili was there, using her power to regulate the egg to find out how much of Dorian's special mana would be needed before the egg could finally be cracked.

As Dorian's eyes landed on the egg, a strange feeling swelled up inside him. Even before he built the Dragon Breath project, he made sure not to get close to the egg and never once got into the water to see what it looked like.

His reasons were valid as well.

According to what the crawler told him, its purpose was only to feed the dragon until the true master (Dorian) comes. It knew nothing of the dragon, or even who made it do it. All it knew was the moment the egg sensed Dorian's mana, it wanted to tame Dorian and make him an energy source.

Dorian knew staying close to the egg without a plan might as well be suicide. But now, that has changed.

The blue glowing egg stared directly back at him, almost calling out with a hypnotizing voice without speech, just a calm and terrifying sound.

Of course, Dorian ignored it, walking calmly towards the scene.

"Oh, good morning, my lord." Gatty was the first to spot him, then the rest of the workers who were sitting down artifacts to scan the area for any potential monsters lurking in the bushes, as they did the night before.

"Are there any issues so far?" asked Dorian, finally stopping right beside Ishtar, who refused to turn despite already hearing Dorian's voice.

"None, my lord. The egg has been safely placed right on the platform as you have ordered."

"Good, we can proceed."

He stared at the egg.

To which Ishtar finally spoke…

"Looks like your girlfriends don't like me very much. They have been glaring at me since the moment they laid their eyes on me. Am I truly that scary?" she looked to him with a smile. "Tell me…"

Dorian kept his gaze in front.

"I apologize on their behalf. Considering your father recently sent a spy to us, it's only normal that they are suspicious of you."

"Is that so…" Ishtar glanced at the back a bit, and she could still feel Seraphina's gaze almost piercing through her skin, then she turned her gaze back to the front.

"I already told you everything my father intends to do. What else do I need to do for you to see I am not your enemy? Sure, I want to be entertained, and I won't deny that I am hiding a few things, because quite frankly, if you knew them all, then it wouldn't be much of a gamble now, would it?"

Dorian gave her the side-eye.

'Of course she says something like this.'

"But even with that being said, I want you to win. If you win against my father, he will have no choice but to accept you and use another alternative." Ishtar placed her hand on Dorian's cheek, moving her face closer as if trying to kiss him.

It was then her eyes picked up on Maria, who was reaching for her blade, and Seraphina, who was also urging her to reach for the blade.

With a smile, Ishtar pulled back.

"In any case, you need not worry about that. A woman has her secrets," she smiled.

"I know. And I am not worried about that. Right now this is my worry, and as promised, I say we increase your rank and make your domain stronger, don't you agree?"