Chapter 105: Maya’s Blackmail
"Darling! I’m glad you’re okay!" Aleena exclaims the moment she sees me before wrapping herself around me.
"It’s okay, you silly woman," I say, landing a smack on Aleena’s ass.
"Ahn~" Aleena lets out an involuntary sound but quickly covers her mouth when she realizes we’re literally in the living room right now. Her face flushes red with embarrassment.
"Ahem. Ahem." Theodore clears his throat playfully as if implying that he knows I’m smacking his daughter’s ass intentionally in front of him.
"I’m glad you’re okay, son-in-law, but let this be a lesson to you. Never leave any part of your body unprotected during a fight because a single slip-up could cost someone their life on the battlefield," Theodore says, his eyes flashing with nostalgia.
"Alright, Dad, my husband isn’t a warrior, okay? I’m fine with him doing his thing in the studio," Aleena says, sticking her tongue out playfully at Theodore.
"You little brat. You never grow up. Alright, let’s eat this morning," Theodore declares, and everyone stands up and heads toward the dining area.
My mother-in-law is there. She’s busy setting the table along with Maya, and I notice she tries to avoid my gaze or even look at me.
Damn, am I screwed already?
We all sit around the table and start eating. Today, different varieties of delicacies were prepared, so we can literally eat whatever we want. This must have caused Tiriana a lot of stress.
Now that she’s avoiding me, how should I go about this? It’s all Beatrix’s fault. If she hadn’t interrupted us, I would’ve had sex with Tiriana, and she would’ve accepted the situation instead of acting cold toward me.
"Hey, darling. Did something happen between you and Jacob? You seem cold toward him," Theodore says, glancing at both of us suspiciously.
Fuck. Now my father-in-law is suspecting us. If Tiriana spills the beans that I made a move on her, this man will break my legs and annul my wedding with Aleena. Not only that, Aleena would probably never forgive me if she found out I tried to cuck her dad.
"Heh, what do you mean, darling? Jacob didn’t do anything. I’m just too tired, and the trauma of watching his head burst open still leaves me shaken," Tiriana says. The next moment, she places a few pieces of meat onto my plate and flashes me a smile.
Phew. Thank goodness she didn’t spill the beans.
"That makes sense. But everything is fine now that Jacob is safe and sound, so you don’t have to think about it anymore. Also, that lady who saved Jacob—invite her over for a meal someday," Theodore says.
"Alright, honey," Tiriana replies.
The rest of the meal passes in peace and quiet. Even though my cover isn’t blown, I’m still shaken that this man could immediately tell something was off. He’s sharp despite being sick. I have to tread carefully and get back on Tiriana’s good side. I’ll ask Aleena what kinds of things her mom likes.
After eating, I go outside and climb a tree—the same tree Theodore and I smoked in the other day. However, I don’t go all the way to the top. I stop halfway and sit in a lotus posture on a large branch. The last time I was here, I noticed the Mana density was higher up here, making it a good place to practice Mana pool expansion.
POP!
A soft sound suddenly erupts around me, and a smile creeps onto my face. My Mana pool has just exceeded a four-meter radius. I’ve also completely mastered Intermediate Magic. The only reason I’m still stuck at Intermediate Magic is because of my system level. My system can’t process Advanced Magic spells yet. I’ve been trying to find a loophole that would allow me to cast magic without relying on the system, but it seems extremely difficult. However, with my profound knowledge of Mana, I seem to be grasping the very concept itself.
It’s as if the gods intentionally placed these systems and towers throughout the realm to restrict people from easily reaching their level and challenging them. That’s why it’s so difficult to progress beyond Advanced Magic. And even if someone manages to surpass Advanced Magic and break into Archmage Magic, it’s almost impossible for mortals to enter the Divine Realm. The only way forward is to bypass the system entirely, but doing so is no easy feat. The towers aren’t just there to support the systems—they’re everywhere specifically to counter people who might try to bypass them. However, I believe there’s still a loophole one can exploit.
Suddenly, I hear leaves rustling beneath me. When I look down, I see Maya sneakily climbing up the tree. The moment she realizes I’ve caught her, she flashes me a smile.
"What are you doing here? How did you even know I was here?" I ask, pulling her up. She sits opposite me in a lotus posture on the same branch.
"I saw you when you were climbing the tree. Besides, I wanted to talk to you about something," she says, folding her arms.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" I ask curiously.
"Well, brother-in-law, if you could lie to my dad, you can’t lie to me. Tell me... what is going on between you and my mom?" she asks in a low voice, a cunning smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
Badump!
Badump!
Badump!
My heart pounds violently in my chest as my head spins. I was so focused on Theodore not finding out that I ignored the fact that Maya already sees me as a pervert.
"W-What do you mean? I have no idea what you’re talking about," I quickly deny the accusation.
"Eh, are you sure?" she asks in a husky voice, leaning forward. I can see the deep cleavage exposed by the camisole she’s wearing.
What the hell? Did she intentionally dress like this just to come see me?
"You just have dirty thoughts," I deny again.
"Fufu, then explain why Mom’s face was so red when she came out of that vampire’s room where you were recovering. I also saw her trying to cover a hickey—a hickey you left on her neck. When I confronted her, she flushed furiously. As a woman, I know something definitely happened between you two. If you don’t tell me now, I’ll make my dad suspicious," Maya says with a widening sinister smile.
I know she isn’t joking one bit. My face turns pale at the amount of stress I’ll have to go through if I keep denying it. Maybe I should just face this head-on.
"Fine, you want to know what happened between us, right? Then I’ll show you," I say, a creepy grin curling across my lips.
