Galaxy's First Ruler

Cough!

Aldrich coughed, hearing Sha's innocent words. If she kept taking his actions at face value, then it won't be long when her personality would turn for the worse.

'Sha, you can eat anyone who tries to harm you.'

"Ah! Ok… Sha… won't… eat… her… then."

'Hmm, good girl. I will treat you to a big feast.'

"Yeh! Many… cute… heads."

"…"

Aldrich was speechless at the choice of food. He didn't know when the preference of his Artificial Lifeform changed from Items to heads. Nor did he have any idea why the gender portrayed by the Shadow Homunculus was a female when it could very well be anything.

One thing he was sure of was that after taking the Devil's aura out of her, it was like her intelligence and emotions had undergone a drastic change.

'Sha! Get ready for a long, endearing session.'

"Yessss!"

If only Sha had any clue about these sessions, she wouldn't have given a fist bump to herself.

"Deal… What deal?"

Aldrich looked at the cute appearance of the Ancient Oracle, intentional or unintentional, and said his thoughts.

"I don't care what you did in the past, whom you had used, or whom else you were planning to use when you saw me."

The last part of Aldrich's sentence was indisputably directed at her advances towards him. Her sweaty thighs rubbing to each other, and her ever blushing face only added veracity to his words. Aldrich lowered his voice and continued.

"Your actions led me out of that situation and for it, I will repay you. Your freedom from this confinement will be the hundredth on my priority list."

Rosalia's mouth fell open and her eyes popped out as she heard the value. It was like she was asking if hundreds of thousands of years' worth of effort could only surmount to the hundredth place in the eyes of the God of White and Black? Aldrich very well knew the reason behind such an exaggerated expression, but he could not and did not want to explain himself further.

Being at the hundredth place on Aldrich's priority list was already a task someone could have easily taken an eternity to imitate. For a being who had countless laws to master, and even more things to learn, a priority list was nothing less than an elixir that could grant Eternal Life.

"You're ungrateful…"

Aldrich narrowed his eyes, and the words got stuck in Rosalia's throat.

"… Just give me a child. What is it to you?"

Aldrich could understand the reasoning behind her nonchalant frame of mind related to sex and child. Such thoughts constantly bombarded his mind too, but in his case, it was life and death. Long life of solitude was like a river, eroding not only common viewpoints but thoughts and ideas. The only reason Aldrich hadn't succumbed to it was that he had come close to being the Master of his Thoughts and not the other way around.

"You don't have a say in this."

The only reaction Aldrich got out of her by saying that was another threat of squishing a bug with her tiny fist.

"Haha! I know now. You prefer an older woman with big boobs, right? I have no control over it, but I can wait a few hundred years."

Aldrich ignored the way the little girl kept rubbing her hands while muttering as if scheming an evil plan.

"The second part of the deal would be to make me the De facto leader of the House Venomous Rose."

The Ancient Oracle pressed her brows together, hearing such an outrageous demand. House Venomous Rose was like a skillful butler to her, and Aldrich knew it. He also knew that the importance of the House had increased significantly now that the Earl could openly state his Rank. Accepting this demand would subject her to be constantly under the mercy of Aldrich's mood and his decisions.

Rosalia was about to say something, but Aldrich cut her off again.

"You don't have a say in this, too. If you don't agree, then I will let the Earl know the truth about you using irrefutable proof."

"You dare… I… I mean… Sigh! Okay."

Aldrich nodded and presented the last part of the deal.

"Teach me how to do these prophecies and I promise the moment I return to the ground I won't cut this tower down."

Hehe… Bwahaha!

Rosalia's burst of hysterical laughter livened up the entire platform. She kept gasping while holding her stomach and pointing a finger towards Aldrich, clearly mocking him and his words. But Aldrich just watched her with his calm white eyes without scolding or snapping at her.

The childlike laughter soon got lost within the overly spacious platform and Aldrich's eyes met the pair of green marbles. His white pupils were like the foam over an ocean, the depth of which couldn't be figured out. With every second, the devil's aura around him, accompanied by the strange silence, kept engulfing Rosalia's petite figure.

"You can't… Only a Duke is capable of such a feat."

Aldrich stared at her face, overshadowed by deep fear and premonition, and said word by word as if stating a natural truth.

"I will make it my top priority."

The manifestation of the entire planet's spirit gulped a mouthful of saliva to wet her dry throat. The only sound that reached Aldrich's and Rosalia's ears was the howls of hammerish wind, getting obliterated by the platform's vine columns.

"Daddy… so… cool!"

"... Do you agree, Rosalia?"

Aldrich saw her nodding, probably unaware of the action herself. He stood up and looked down at her.

"Then what are you waiting for? Show it to me."

Aldrich had full control over his emotions and hiding them or falsely letting them come in open wasn't a big thing. But emotions could be perceived not only by examining expressions but by body language, and turmoil in thoughts, too. Thus, the ever so slight increase in Aldrich's heart rate went unnoticed to a being like Rosalia.

Aldrich had guessed not only the reasons behind Rosalia's actions, but he had an even more terrifying theory related to her.

A theory, which he never wished to become a fact.