After what was easily the most frustrating and uncomfortably torturous period of her life, Ninna had lost any and all reliable track of time. Having been caught in a state of desire, embarrassment, shame, and much more, her mind had eventually fogged over, getting lost in the scandalous, lustful and intimate scenes that had played out in front of her eyes.
Perhaps it had 'only' been a week, or possibly even a month–she was initially unsure–but eventually, that shameless woman's voice had interrupted her silent cravings.
"My dear sister, would you like to join us~? Go on, you're free to move again!"
That was the straw that broke the Ur heiress' back. At the time, Cheong Suhyeon had sported such a sensual, teasing and playful smirk on her lips that Ninna had almost been unable to hold back an infuriated slap!
Deeply abashed by her situation–as well as the fact that she was clearly more than merely a little bit excited herself–Ninna glared at that lusty goddess in annoyance, then immediately escaped from her Domain. And not just that, she even left the world via the Teleportation Array nearby, rapidly rushing back to her cultivation world in the Tetrachroma Palace.
Only there–after ignoring her minions for the time being–could she begin to calm down and rationally analyse the situation.
'Hmph, what a naughty sister I've ended up with! To play a trick like that on me, immediately after our first meeting?! And then to make me watch... t-that...!! And for so incredibly long! How many positions were they even cycling through? I had no idea you could... d-do it like that! So shameless!!'
Pouting while blushing a deep crimson, she did her best to suppress her heavy breathing and the flame of desire that had been raging inside of her for days upon days on end.
There was no other way to put it: This experience had been pure torture! Not in the way that she was familiar with, and not in a particularly harmful manner–but certainly in the most frustrating sense!
'Look, I get it. I just entered Theo's life out of nowhere and stole part of her thunder. But did she really have to go this far?! A-And did she honestly think I'd... s-sleep with Theo for the first time while she's there, right next to us?! Her shamelessness has certainly reached a 'divine' level, that's for sure!'
Harrumphing to herself, she rapidly walked back and forth, forcing the thirst inside of her to cease interfering with her mental state. Finally, some real clarity returned.
'... oh well. If that small disgrace is the price that I have to pay for her to accept me, and for her to not trouble me any longer... then so be it! But if she does this more often, then the gloves are off! Even Theo won't be able to stop me!'
Clenching her fists with a menacing smile playing across her lips, she regained full control over herself. Finally paying attention to a notification from Kiran's network that had appeared shortly after she had left those two lovebirds–or rather, those two mad rabbits–she soon raised an eyebrow, her smile turning a shade more gentle.
'So he's finally officially introducing me to his inner circle, after that whole Yeonnie situation ended. Hmph! It's about time!'
Although she complained a little, she nonetheless happily conversed with all of the other heavyweights of her new faction. Admittedly, she knew most of them already, but there were still some new faces. She also finally understood why he hadn't given her the green light earlier–it was all so that Cheong Suhyeon wouldn't immediately learn of her existence. He desired the chance to explain everything to her properly, and aimed to avoid dropping a wife-shaped bombshell on her out of nowhere.
'Heh. As ever the gentleman...'
More deeply captivated by his charm now that she had been made to endure at least a week's worth of 'premium content' of her husband-to-be, she soon began to grin from ear to ear like a young maiden in love. And that then led to her recalling one particular matter.
'Wait. Didn't I give those four 'Masters' instructions to begin weeding out the ones who Theo would... what was the term again? Cleanse? I wonder if they've made much progress by now. And if Theo's Array has been successfully set up, then he might have already begun his own search for 'leeks' to harvest!'
With a goal in mind and now looking a bit more presentable than before, she departed from her cultivation world once again.
-----
Meanwhile, not too long ago, back in Cheong Suhyeon's Domain, the engaged couple had finally decided to put a stop to their little procreational escapade. Although cultivators of their Stage could practically continue on like this for almost ever, they wouldn't indulge in these sorts of luxuries to an excessive extent.
"Are you sure you didn't overdo it?"
Glancing at Cheong Suhyeon with a mildly concerned expression, Theodore tenderly helped her put on her robes and brushed her hair. They had taken a quick bath already and dried themselves off, but as they weren't in a rush, such gestures of intimacy–ones that they both treasured very much–were naturally on the table.
"I'm not. But did you see her face at the end? For that expression, even if she dislikes me for a while... it was all worth it!"
Snickering to herself, the fledgling goddess justified her actions. Not only had she enjoyed herself far more than ever before–in more ways than one–but she had also managed to let off enough steam to not really consider Ninna a bother anymore. Rather, she felt her to be quite... adorable, in a way.
'It looks like I'll be able to stay the 'big sister' amongst us for a while longer! Hehe, it's a success! All according to plan!'
Sensing her beloved's gaze still resting on her and the look in his eyes experiencing nary a change, she stopped teasing him and chose to alleviate his worries.
"Relax, dear. I'll go and have a proper chat with her later. Heck, I'll even apologize... a little. Thanks for indulging me this time. From now on, I'll be your greatest support! Whenever a woman catches your fancy, I'll fight as hard as I can to make her yours!"
Looking at her cutely raise her fist in a 'threatening', devout manner, Theodore couldn't help but to speechlessly shake his head, an amused grin on his lips.
"What do you think I'm doing? Playing some sort of wife-collecting simulator?"
Jokingly rolling her eyes at him and snorting in an exaggerated, derisive way, Cheong Suhyeon 'glared' at him in response.
"Oh? So you're not doing that? I could have sworn you were! How many little lovers are we're at now? We have Mei'er, Qiao'er, me, Cadi, Ninna, likely that Linda too, and Evangelina as well. And don't lie to me: Eleanora clearly hasn't escaped your sights either! So we're at eight already! Add the future Heavenly Empress to that, and we would be at nine. But considering that the competition has pretty much only just begun, there will be more... right?"
Smirking helplessly, Theodore shrugged. They both knew that she was absolutely correct, but he still thought that he wasn't being unreasonable. He wasn't out there chasing skirts, merely leaving it all to 'fate'! Or rather, to his own preferences, and the Heavenly Dao's plans.
"I can't deny that. But as you know, for my family, those are rookie numbers. I'm sure it's the same for yours as well, right?"
Responding with a shrug of her own, Cheong Suhyeon silently agreed. Then, changing her tone to a less teasing one, she turned her head a little so that she could spy him out of the corner of her eye.
"But seriously, I won't make such a huge fuss again. I'm all in favour of our own little family growing larger. I knew exactly what I signed up for from the very beginning, after all. Just point me in any woman's direction, and I'll do my best to 'recruit her for the cause'."
Pausing his brush for a moment, Theodore soon chuckled and lovingly planted a kiss on Cheong Suhyeon's cheek.
"... I'm truly blessed to have a wife like you. Don't worry, as you know, I'm not some rabid horndog. I have very high standards–so you won't be drowning in sisters anytime soon."
Catching on to what he was implying, she rolled her eyes again–but both of them knew that he wasn't being serious.
"Oh? So I'll drown in them later, then?"
His smile widening, Theodore unabashedly nodded.
"But of course! Just you wait, your number of sisters will enter the triple digits the moment I become the Heavenly Emperor!"
Suddenly unable to keep up the facade–as he had no need to pretend in front of Cheong Suhyeon–he erupted in laughter. Only calming down a few minutes later, he hugged her from behind. And this time, he answered her last question sincerely.
"I don't intend to take excessive amounts of wives and lovers. Of course, whatever happens... will happen. But I won't deliberately go out of my way to gather an army of spouses. I've been ridiculously fortunate to have met so many great women so early on in the Heavenly Succession–outstanding women that have managed to occupy a spot in my heart. We both know that this isn't the norm, though."
Leaning into his embrace, the fledgling goddess nodded. Considering that a large portion of Theodore's female Subordinates would jump into bed with him the second that he asked–and that the majority of them were absolutely stunning–it was evident that he wasn't lying. He truly had high standards, yet he had been unreasonably lucky in terms of who he had come across.
"Mhmm. It's a bit of a shame, though–I kind of wanted to collect some more lovers for you. I'd be fun to tease them, too. I also finally understand why Mei'er loves to do it when we sisters are watching..."
Freezing up for a second, Theodore soon shook his head with a silent smile.
'I swear, they're all perverts! At least Qiao'er is a lot more normal than them... And Ninna too, for now.'
Recalling that he would soon pay a visit to Cadi as well, an excited glint flickered in his eyes.
'But there's nothing wrong with being a pervert! Well, as long as you don't overdo it and lose track of what's truly important. I'm looking forward to what my little Succubus has in store for me...'
As a veteran of many night battles, he sometimes mistakenly got the impression that he had seen and done it all–yet his rational side knew that in front of a true master, he was not even qualified to call himself a novice!
'...but regardless, it's nice to finally have some occasional downtime again. Although I haven't really been pushed too far yet, times like these are always welcome.'
Enjoying some more comfortable moments together, both he and Cheong Suhyeon soon finished getting ready for actual, proper work again. His surplus bodies had been busy all this while, and significant portions of his conquered territory had been incorporated into the Lesser Void Guarding Array by now–especially one region, which he had focused on: The Tetrachroma Palace!
'I'm getting a little giddy with excitement here! After this last harvest, I should definitely have enough Talent Energy saved up to upgrade Coattail Ascension!'
And if it all went exactly how he hoped it would–which was quite likely, considering that predicting a Talent's general upgrade direction wasn't too difficult–then this would mark the beginning of a new era for his Subordinates!
Improving himself was all well and good, but with so many capable hands all around him, why wouldn't he devote some effort and resources to allow them all to be put to proper use?
"Well then, I'm off to the Tetrachroma Palace. Expect to be called to a meeting very soon!"
Planting a kiss on Cheong Suhyeon's lips, Theodore happily strolled towards the Teleportation Array–and with a flash of light, he disappeared.