Reincarnate as the Villainess's Husband

The kiss lasted for a while longer. Allea, feeling a strange sensation, was momentarily taken aback but then pushed Neonidas away to distance him from herself. As she looked at him with a flushed face, she started speaking in a stutter.

"W-what do y-you think you're doing?!"

Neonidas immediately acted as if he were scared, adopting a frightened look like a child who had realized he made a mistake. "I'm sorry... When you said I could do anything I wanted, I just wanted to fulfill a dream that I could never realize in my previous life," he said.

Allea was once again taken aback, but at least she had softened a little compared to before. However, she was still angry. She stared at Neonidas for a while, and then, recalling her plan, she calmed down. After taking a deep breath, she realized her mistake.

"You should warn me before deciding to do something like that."

Neonidas lowered his head slightly, wearing a guilty expression. "You're right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you," he said. His tone was so full of regret that, Allea thought he might be sincere. However, understanding the complex thoughts hidden within Neonidas was beyond her.

As Allea furrowed her brows and placed her wineglass on the table, she fixed her gaze on Neonidas. "This should never happen again, understood?" she spoke in a stern tone. However, the tremble in her voice revealed that she was more affected by this situation than she let on.

Neonidas elegantly bowed his head. "Of course, your excellency. I would never want to disturb you," he said. But deep inside, he knew that his small move had created a crack in Allea's armor. Now, he had a better chance of understanding what lay deep within her heart.

Throughout the night, Neonidas carefully observed every moment when Allea seemed to be slowly losing control. But Neonidas was aware of Allea's game. No matter how convincing it seemed, a woman like Allea would not lose control on such a planned night. This gave Neonidas an advantage: rather than breaking Allea's plan, he was thinking about how to turn this game in his favor, and in a way, he had already succeeded.

When the meal ended, Allea staggered slightly and turned to Neonidas. "I think I've had enough to drink for tonight," she said with a crooked smile.

Neonidas smiled back. "Your excellency, would you like me to accompany you to your room?" he asked.

Allea shook her head. "No, that's not necessary. But thank you, Neo. You really... made me feel different tonight," she said, and then called one of her servants, walking toward her room.

As soon as Allea left the room, she involuntarily found her fingers going to her lips, and again, without meaning to, she found herself imagining the kiss from earlier. She immediately shook her head violently and slowly made her way toward her room.

Once Neonidas was left alone, the innocent expression on his face slowly faded. He had gained ten thousand gold, but that was not enough. He needed to manipulate Allea's feelings because getting someone like the princess to trust him completely was his realistic goal. While secretly enjoying the small victory, he began developing another plan. This plan was not only to strengthen his dukedom but also to free himself completely from the chains Allea held over him.

Neonidas sat in the room for a while, reviewing his strategy. If Allea wanted to use him, he had to play the game from both sides. Throughout this process, he needed to gradually infiltrate the princess's heart, make her believe he was someone completely trustworthy, and ultimately make himself indispensable. But when that moment arrived, only he would know where his plans would lead.

Muttering to himself, he said, "If you want to control me, dear beautiful princess, you first need to take full control. Only then will you be able to see the last move in this game." A sly smile appeared on his lips. "But by that time, it will be too late for you."

---

The next day, as Neonidas and his subordinates were preparing to leave the palace, a letter from the empress arrived for Neonidas. It was clear that the letter had been sent secretly, and Neonidas withdrew to a corner to read it slowly. The letter was filled with encrypted words that even Neonidas found challenging, but he eventually managed to decipher it.

In short, the empress Velriona seemed to have conducted a large-scale investigation in a short amount of time, and the principal subject of this investigation was none other than Avelina. It appeared that the empress had an espionage network much more extensive than even Neonidas had guessed. The letter mentioned a few suspicious circumstances regarding Avelina, but stated that they did not yet pose a threat. Still, the empress had not hesitated to mention that she now trusted Neonidas more.

Thus, the empress had decided to fully cooperate with Neonidas. Furthermore, it was emphasized that the noble group she secretly controlled would now assist Neonidas when necessary. Finally, she mentioned that she would soon make a short visit to the Oreoned duchy, which was Neonidas's estate.

In short, Neonidas was now officially a secret ally of the empress. Neonidas closed the letter with a smile on his face and then threw it into the fireplace, watching it burn. So far, everything was going exactly as Neonidas had planned, and it seemed that he had freed himself from a significant burden.

---

But just at that moment, far to the east, on another continent, a new event was unfolding independently of Neonidas, or rather, independent of the current Neonidas. Near the snowy mountains, 59 shamans had gathered and were chanting a chilling hymn in unison.

The shamans, tightly bound together by ancient traditions, sang the hymn that echoed in the icy winds of the snowy mountains, and the atmosphere surrounding them had turned eerie. The melody of the hymn sharpened the cold air and merged with the echoes from the depths of the mountains, turning into a spine-chilling tune. With their eyes closed and their hands clasped together, the shamans had begun a ritual to summon a power.

In the center, there was a figure whose body was almost completely covered, with only her eyes and hands exposed. She was a tall woman, almost a symbol of the snowy mountains and the gloomy atmosphere, guiding the ritual with her focused gaze. Her dark black hair cascaded over her shoulders, her face cold and expressionless, yet there was a depth in her eyes. Her name was Zhara, a sacred sorceress from the north, known for her knowledge of dark magic and ancient spells. She raised her hand, silencing the shamans, and after stepping up to a higher place to speak, she looked down at the shamans below.

"The ancient gods showed me a vision last night! It was a future where the world had miserable... What I saw was a demon in human form. Its hands, face, teeth—everything was soaked in blood. Then, there were great towers of corpses, and it was a demon who had come into the world! I awaken you, mighty forces. Come and save these lands from this calamity! If what you desire is food, here is food! If what you desire is women, here are women! If what you desire is blood, here is blood!"

With these words, all the shamans drew their knives and, in unison, drove the blades into their throats. As blood began to pour like a fountain, Zhara danced. Every part of her body moved without stopping. But this dance was the dark magic of the East. The shamans' blood began to rise and spin like wheels.

As the shamans' blood was drawn upward like a river, Zhara performed her dance more passionately, causing every part of her body to shake once more.

As Zhara's dance quickly ascended, the blood of the shamans mixed with the wind of the mountains, swirling sharply through the air. Every drop of rising blood became more concentrated, spreading a deadly darkness and slowly turning into a mist that accumulated in the air. The spiritual connections of the shamans, combined with Zhara's magic, formed a terrifying power. An aura now formed atop the mountains, It was trembling as if nature itself was aware of this event

With every movement of Zhara's body, the shamans' blood was drawn together, and with every cycle, it was pulled deeper. As the sky darkened with clouds, the ice around the mountains cracked and disappeared like mist. The bloody knife in Zhara's hand called forth another soul with each step of her dance. Without stopping her dance, Zhara prepared herself for the next phase.

Suddenly, all the shamans' blood turned into a dense circle swirling around Zhara. The wind, sharp as a hiss, accompanied them, and a deep darkness appeared in Zhara's eyes. Her body paused for a moment, then suddenly rose from the ground. The blood circle around her began to tremble in the air like a reflection.

The power Zhara had summoned was not only about blood and death. At that moment, a being ready to rule the world, to enslave everything around it with Zhara's spiritual ties, began to emerge. Zhara's eyes pierced through the night, echoing like a whisper from deep within the mountains: "I call you child of the underground god!"

In that instant, the seeds were successfully planted within Zhara. She'd never been touched by a man in her life, and yet she was pregnant. She was carrying the child who would protect the world from that "monster"