After finishing their work, when Vienna and Egon returned to the mansion, they saw Noella standing at the gate.
Her sharp eyes quickly caught the rigid way her cousin Vienna now walked.
She was confused.
"Sister Vienna, why do you walk like that? Did this boy hurt you in some way?" she asked, looking at Egon with accusation in her eyes.
Egon smirked inwardly. "Of course I have. I've filled her womb with my seed so many times that she can't walk properly."
Vienna could still feel the soreness from the recent stretching of her cave walls. But she couldn't let Noella find out about that. So she shook her head.
"He's done nothing, Noella. You're judging him wrongly. I just tripped on my way back. It's him who helped me walk the rest of the way."
Noella's suspicion didn't ease. Nonetheless, she let them pass through the gates without further challenge, stepping aside with the stiff grace of someone swallowing bitter medicine.
But for a second, as Egon walked past her, arm still possessively around Vienna's waist, she felt as though the "slave boy" (as she still thought of him in her mind) was laughing at her.
Not aloud. Not with his mouth. It was something darker. Like a silent, evil amusement that seemed to radiate from his very core
Her heart skipped a beat for no reason she could name. She told herself it was only the night air.
Meanwhile, Egon was in a quiet, savage glee for an entirely different reason.
[Congratulations! Your main skill: Serenity's Touch (1st Order) has evolved to Soul Binder (2nd Order)]
The words pulsed once, then faded into new golden text that burned brighter:
Soul Binder:
You can now bind anyone's soul to yours.
Direct physical contact is required for 1 full minute uninterrupted.
Afterward, they will obey you as though it is their second nature, like loyalty woven into the core of their being, unbreakable by will, time, or outside influence. Resistance fades. Doubt dissolves. They become yours in every thought, every breath, every desire.
Egon's lips curved into a slow, predatory smile he didn't bother hiding.
"So that's why Barbara acted so abnormally earlier. My semen must have acted as the physical medium."
He had already tested the precursor skill, Serenity's Touch on Vienna. And it took him everal sessions of massages to corrupt her Mind, but—
But this… this was the next level. Complete. Permanent. No percentage left to chance.
He glanced sideways at Vienna. Her steps were still careful, thighs brushing together with every stride as she walked off the deep ache he'd left inside her.
She hadn't noticed the panel, of course. No one ever did unless he willed it.
Noella walked a few paces ahead, back straight, heels clicking like judgments on the marble path toward the mansion doors. She hadn't turned around again, but Egon could feel her awareness prickling like static.
She sensed something off, but she couldn't name it yet.
He leaned closer to Vienna's ears, whispering,
"She's sharper than Barbara. I will have to deal with her soon."
Vienna shivered. Not from cold. "What do you mean?"
"I mean tonight might be a good time to introduce her to the new rules of the household. Don't you think? "
He didn't elaborate. He didn't need to.
Inside the grand foyer, crystal chandeliers cast warm golden light over polished marble and velvet drapes.
Servants of the mansion had already retired for the night. As such the house felt vast and empty except for the three of them.
Noella stopped at the foot of the sweeping staircase, turning to face them with arms crossed.
"I expect a full explanation by morning," she said crisply. "Whatever game you're playing with my cousin ends here if it threatens the family name or her safety."
Egon smiled politely. Almost charming.
"Of course, Lady Noella. We'll speak at length. Perhaps over wine in the private salon? It's been a long day."
Noella's looked at Vienna, searching for cracks, for fear, for anything that would justify dragging her away from this man.
But Vienna only met her cousin's stare without any abnormality. Its as if nothing ever had happened to her. Egon's skill was that terryfying.
The soreness between her legs throbbed in quiet reminder of how thoroughly she'd already claimed.
Noella exhaled through her nose, "Very well. One hour. I need to change first."
She ascended the stairs without another word.
The moment her footsteps faded, Egon turned to Vienna, cupping her face with both hands.
"Just one minute. That's all it takes now. Skin to skin. No struggle. No escape." he whispered maniacally.
Vienna's eyes narrowed at his lower region.
"You're going to bind her too? Am I not enough for you Egon?"
"Silly..." Egon's thumbs brushed her lower lip. "We need her for our future. We can use her to get revenge of Castros family for abandoning you."
"She us pushing too much. She is threatening take you away from me. How can I endure that?"
Vienna's heart fluttered inside her ribcage. "So he is only doing this for me? Darling loves me so much, I should treat him better from now.
"You should go and bathe," he told her softly. "Rest a little. I'll handle the first contact if it comes to it."
Vienna nodded.
As she disappeared down the corridor toward her chambers, Egon lingered in the foyer, staring up the staircase after Noella.
One minute.
Sixty seconds of touch.
And then— Obedience.
His cock stirred at the thought.
The night was far from over.
He waited patiently like a spider, until he heard the soft click of Noella's chamber door opening upstairs, then closing again.
She had changed, as promised. The time was nearly up.
As such, he moved silently up the staircase.
Noella's private salon was adjoined to her bedroom suite. It was a small, elegant room lined with bookshelves, a low fire crackling in the grate, and a single decanter of deep red wine already poured on the side table.
She had prepared for confrontation. But it was good. That made the game easier.
He knocked once, lightly.
"Enter," came her crisp reply.