6 I shall gracefully take it all(2)...

The world I have been transmigrated into was named... Astartus.

Now, why it was named so, and who named it is beyond my scope. Why? because the previous Simeone was a stupid prick and a playboy... who got played at the end.

Why did I say all this? We will get there slowly.

More importantly, The things I learned from his memories, were somewhat this-

Astartus has a total of two continents.

The Continent of "Order", where I live.

And then, there was The Continent of "Chaos" where dark elves reside. Though there is a popular saying about the Dark elves being ruled by a separate race, the Demonic race, Since it isn't confirmed by the Church Of "The Trinity" yet, the rumor could be fake.

Speaking of the Church Of "The Trinity", The continent of order is divided into three major Empires and a single Kingdom. Currently, I am commuting from The kingdom of Kronus, the only kingdom, present in the entire continent.

And the Aldonoah Household is a Dukedom from the small ' Kronus Kingdom '.

Our household specializes in the Military and has immensely contributed to the "War of Order and Chaos" in the past few years, restoring the lost prestige of the once-famous empire.

But being a small kingdom was never the problem. The many problems over the years have reduced us to this state... From the Legendary Kronus Empire of the past to the paltry Kronus Kingdom of the present. Well, problems aren't scarce in my Dukedom too..

We shall talk about history more, later!

So, without further ado, let's jump right into the topic.

The Aldonoah Dukedom has two legitimate heirs fighting for the position of the Successor. One is, of course, myself.

The other is my brother... or you could call him Half-brother, as we have different mothers.

My mother is my father's first wife.

Tiara Von Frostblade or Tiara Von Frostblade Aldonoah

If it isn't evident enough, let me say this. My mother belongs to the Royal Family of the Kronus Kingdom. That is also the reason why my name has a 'Von' in the middle. But the same doesn't go for my father.

Why? Because he didn't inherit the royal bloodline

What was so special about the royal bloodline? The Royal family of the Kronus kingdom are the descendants of The legendary tribe, Leonin. Yeah, they are a legend now, as not a single 'active' bloodline descendant was discovered in the last 500 years..

Yeah.The Royals? They were demihumans by origin.

So what caused their bloodline to go dormant?

Ice age. A severe 'Ice age'! The Kronus kingdom has suffered from a perilous phase of the Ice age, not once but twice in the past thousand years..

I will explain in more detail later, how exactly did their bloodline go dormant.

Moving back to my brother, his mother is from another Duke household. She was my father's Second wife. They got married due to political reasons.

Now the question comes, why would my brother become a candidate for succession?

Clearly, my mother has a superior status and background if you compare her to my stepmother?

Well, due to political reasons, my father, William Gray Aldonoah, had to make the right to succession fair or impartial. Even though he loved my mother more than my stepmother, his hands were tied down due to political issues.

Yeah, yeah! The same kind of plot where the protagonist's mother is loved more than his stepmother. But...there is a deadly reason why he loved my mother more.. but why waste the time explaining, you will see it soon

Since my brother, Arken de Clementine Aldonoah... or "Cement", as I named him for my convenience, was born a year before me, he got the opportunity to fight for the Successor's position.

Unlike me, he knew his position better and worked hard to improve his martial prowess. Even if my bloodline was dormant, my talent was superior to his. Yet he managed to overcome the shackles of talent and beat me in strength.

His current strength was [Tier-2][League-3]... But-

"...you shouldn't have done that me..."~ I muttered in a pleasant smile

Knock-! Knock-!

" Mother, It's me! "

" Simeone?!.. Enter.."

"Then, please excuse me."

Tnuuuu-!

With an evil grin growing across my face, I slowly opened the door.

' I will make sure You regret being born in this world..'

Tak-!~

===

' Should I really do this? '

Standing outside a large wooden door, Lilith pondered in solitude.

' If I don't go, he might stop trusting in me. More importantly...'

'... there is no use thinking! There is no turning back now. After all, this is the only way to..."

"Only way to ?"

A sudden voice jolted her back out of her reverie. Increasing her vigilance, she quickly turned around, only to see..

"Uwaah! What are you so surprised about?"- Simeone..

...slowly approaching her, as he brought his face close to her trembling neck, as he whispered~

" As if you just saw a ghost?!"

"...Y-young master!"

"Haha... did I surprise you just now? Anyways.."

Tnuuu-!

Opening the wooden door...

" Come in... Let's talk inside"

" M-mhm"

Though her voice cracked a bit, she managed to regain her composure as she entered the room.

Tak-!

===

" Just stay there for a moment. Keep your eyes closed. I have a surprise for you! "

" mhmm"

With a visible flush along my cheeks, I slowly closed my eyes..

'though it was a bit awkward at the beginning, I slowly found myself blushing at his every gesture... It wasn't love... It felt a little warm to know that someone still cared for me... and painful at the same time, to think I was betraying the same person... '

' I don't know how he appeared behind me without me noticing him, but since he didn't suspect anything I guess will let it slide '

" Would you have done something to me, if I had suspected you? "

" I would have to otherwise-!"

***

" Why did you stop? otherwise what ? "- I asked her, as my lips slowly arched into a grin of madness...

Hehe! My suspicions were correct! I finally~

Caught Ya Bitch!

Yo? Are you confused about what happened? Then here is a quick recap~

After I persuaded her to close her eyes, I went to my desk to pick up a black bottle and a white paintbrush.

Dipping the paintbrush into the bottle,

"[Heaven's Time!]"

I activated my skill. As I neared her, bringing out the paintbrush from the bottle, which had soaked in red, I drew an ancient symbol over her bosom.

It was a Stigma called the "Stigma of Enslavement".

What is a stigma? When you draw runes or magic circles around one's body, It is called a Stigma or Stigmata

How did I learn about this symbol? Through my memories!

You just need to have a little [Spirit Essense] or [Magic Essense] , a kind of liquid that is used to draw Stigmas, in your personal stash. Pour a few drops of your blood, and it will start condensing into a thick red paint-like substance. After that, you have to draw the stigma you wish to... that's it! It's that simple!

[Stigma of Enslavement] is a [c] rank rune, which is also currently the highest ranked [Stigma] across the Kingdom that is used to enslave a person.

But it works only until the rank of [Tier-3][League-2].

Hmm? What if her strength is greater? That's nigh impossible!

Why? Because she was my age.

***

" What! Cat got your tongue!?"

"....or do I have to pull it out myself?"

Blanky staring at my face, soon beads of sweat formed over her forehead...

Hehe.. Seeing her troubled, was such a delicacy! I subconsciously approached near her...

But... suddenly a cold chill ran down my spine..

When I looked back at her, I was surprised to find that the previous blank look... was gone... and what replaced it was a pair of glaring dark red eyes...

If looks could kill, I would have already reincarnated again by now... but...

She didn't stop at this much. Suddenly the white sleeves of her maid dress loosened up at the wrist, and a pair of jet-black daggers appeared in her hands...

Without wasting as much of a moment, she disappeared from my vision, leaving behind an afterimage.

Meanwhile, Sirens were blaring in my mind! Why? I somewhat expected her to be stronger than me. The last Simeone was trash, a lazy bum, and a fucking simp.

So I can never judge how strong someone could be based on his memories... Never!

But, I never expected our difference in strength to be so freaking huge!

Why? After all, she was my age! How can I predict that a mere maid would be so talented?!

Then again it was my, or should I say "Simeone's" fault for fooling around all day. Doing nothing but abusing his charm to molest young girls. If you are born in a fantasy world, you should focus on gaining strength... what is the use of running after girls like a thug?(A/N: don't worry, this is a romance novel and you will see it in the next chapter)

Do you know what his dream was?!

Bro please, don't say any further!

Hah! You came back again?! Why should I listen to you? For your own incompetence, I am the one struggling on the line of death now!

My heart was beating so fast, I wouldn't be surprised if my heart popped out of my chest or it starts aching, giving me a sudden "Heart Attack".

I had planned this after the memories had simmered down in my brain, but seeing this unusual display of strength, I was getting a cold feet... still!

With quivering lips, I mustered my last bit of strength and

"[Heaven's Time!]"

"....."

'...did it stop?"

Slowly turning around my head, I felt a blade poking along my neck.

'Shit! Did the skill not work? But it worked earlier?!'

Rasing my both hand, as if I had surrendered, I slowly turned around.

...I had used [Heaven's Time] just a while before, and my mana hadn't recovered yet. So, I was doubting whether my skill had worked or not.

But when I turned around, what greeted me was the figure of a young blonde cat girl, with slightly larger-than-average boobs. Her hands were crossed, and so were the daggers she was holding, completely closing the space like a scissor.

Fortunately, the skill had worked because she was frozen to her spot.

*Sigh*

Sighing a breath of relief, my quivering lips slowly turned into a creepy grin, back again..

===

"MMMMMmmmmPHHMMMM!!!"

Bound in a mesh of shackles, a blonde girl desperately tried to speak up, to struggle.

"If somebody sees me now, they would think I was a pervert that enjoyed BDSM, keke! "

If somebody noticed closely, the shackle was semi-transparent and emanating a purple hue. Interestingly, the shackles were coming out from the bosom of the very girl... or rather the stigma that was drawn on it. (A/N: I will give an image for reference soon, and I will also make a reference for the characters in a separate chapter that I will name 'Character Log')

That's what the Stigma does. It enslaves people, makes them obey your orders, helps you read their minds, and even... tame them if it is needed.

" How long will you struggle? It's almost 8 pm now!"

If I can read her mind, why was I wasting my time in asking her? The problem is we can only read what they are currently thinking... and currently, she is only thinking about how to escape my room, or how she got caught or how will she fulfill her revenge and blah-blah...

" Just spill it out. what my brother is planning..."

Getting up from my soft bed was a hassle. Why? It didn't seem like she would say anything...

So, why not have some fun?!

" If you say everything you know to me, I promise to help you exact your revenge...

But don't wait until my patience runs dry"- I said the last part with a gentle smile, to add on the contrast

'As if you could? your own position in the house is in jeopardy. You are so hopeless such a 'weak ass', even your own mother has lost hope in you... '

"....."

"....Oh My! My patience seems to have suddenly run dry already!"~ I said with a sad undertone...

But...maybe If I beat you up, my patience will start kicking back again?"~as it slowly turned into a sweet Angelic smile..

"MmMMmmphhhh!!!!"

' Wait! I will speak! I will- '

raising my right foot vertically over her head..

" Too late-!"

Bam-!

Dup-! Dup-!~

...

***

Aahhh!~ That felt so much better! I should prepare a few more sandbags in the future to relieve my stress from time to time...

With a newfound motivation or satisfaction, I turned toward the meat pulp lying in the corner of my room

" So? Shall we continue with the 'interrogation'? Or will you speak of your own accord? Personally, I want to continue the 'interrogation'.."

With a bashful smile, I asked her~

" How about you?"

Slowly the chains that were binding her started to recede back into her chest.

"I...I-"

"Hmm?"

"-I wi-...I Will Speak!!!"

and then she fainted...