Chapter 30 - Exposed?

...

Benica didn't seem perturbed by Leon's confused expression and enthusiastically replied to him,

"Well, it is very common for men to have more than one lover. On the contrary, even powerful women end up having a lot of lovers. Lord Husband, I am sure about the authenticity of my statement. After all, it was mentioned many times within father's cherished books."

Leon mentally facepalmed upon hearing that. If he wasn't sure earlier about what kind of books her father cherished collection contained, after hearing Benica talk about the kind of common sense mentioned in the books, he became certain that Benica's father was one of the true gentlemen of that era.

For Leon though, having your wife declare that she desires for her husband to get a harem, there was nothing better than the husband could possibly ask for other than it.

On the other hand, Leon was becoming a lot more worried about the naivety of his innocent wife. He could tell that she didn't have many friends, nor did she have any other social interactions that could help develop her common sense. And that ended up resulting in her trusting anything that came from the books.

'Benica, although the books generally contain a lot of wisdom when passed down by the wise sages, there are some other individuals who also write to please the hearts of the masses.' Leon thought to himself as he tried to figure out a way to tell Benica the truth about those books while not trampling upon her only means of remembering her father.

He didn't succeed in finding that solution though, as, in the end, Leon sighed heavily before looking back at Benica as he carefully asked her,

"Then... if I end up getting more wives, wouldn't you become more lonely? You know I would have to be shared among all of them, right? Would that still be okay?"

Upon hearing Leon's worries, Benica shook her head slightly and replied to him,

"Don't worry about that, Lord Husband. If you get more lovers, then that would make me more relieved instead. Since that would mean that my dear husband will be cherished and loved by so many more women. Also, if one day, I... end up passing away for some reason, there would be someone there to keep you company. There will be someone with you through every hurdle of your life. That is my greatest wish, Lord Husband. I-Is that no good?"

Benica interpreted the look of shock on Leon's face as a denial of her request. Leon, on the other hand, was wondering how a person with such a pure heart had been able to survive so long with her innocence intact.

'Benica has been despised by all the people around her for quite a long time. Remaining a captive within her own ill body, she had to bear the loneliness all by herself. She didn't even have playmates her own age to this date. Benica had so many reasons to have her own mindset become distorted. and yet, she still has a heart so pure that she worries about my well-being even after her eventual demise?' Leon tried very hard to hide his emotions as he didn't want to show any kind of pity towards her at that moment, as that might end up being inconsiderate of her emotions.

Instead, Leon tried to give the widest possible smile to Benica and caressed her cheeks slightly before speaking to her,

"Alright. If that is what you desire, then so be it. However, you would always remain number one in my heart no matter who comes after you. And I won't be accepting any arguments to that."

Benica smiled happily towards Leon as she moved closer and closer to Leon's chest and finally rested her head against it. She listened to his heartbeat next to her ears as it strangely made her feel that everything would be fine.

...

After getting dressed up again, Benica started to ask Leon about everything that she could think of. From his favorite food to his favorite song. About his friends and family to his favorite activities. Anything that she could imagine, Benica asked all of it from Leon.

Leon too happily responded and told her what he could while not compromising the safety of his family. In the midway of their conversation, Benica brought out a box of sweets that Nana had given her earlier in the day.

Benica insisted on feeding Leon the sweets by her own hands, an offer which Leon very happily accepted.

The happy times didn't last forever though as Benica held back her tears and stopped herself from asking for anything selfish. She then spoke to Leon,

"Lord Husband. It is very late right now. You told me that you have the responsibility of taking care of a child from now on. Benica thinks that Lord Husband should go back to his family now. Benica will gladly await the day that Lord Husband returns to visit."

Although Leon wanted to spend some more time with her, he also knew that he had to go back before anyone noticed his absence. He also knew that the time to cultivate might be relegated to absolutely nothing as it would become nearly impossible to cultivate in the day while being around his family.

Leon hardened his resolve and nodded towards Benica, however, he didn't leave just like that as he strongly hugged Benica's thin body with his full strength, and the hug ended up becoming another kissing bout between the young couple.

Finally breaking the kiss, Leon moved away from the bed and approached the door of the room. Before leaving, he turned back to look at the graceful beauty waving her hands at him, bidding him farewell. Leon nodded once more at her before he finally departed the building and walked away from the mansion.

Back at the mansion, Benica silently looked toward the moon as she wondered when her husband would return to visit her.

It was then, that Benica quietly turned to look towards the door of her room and spoke in a calm tone,

"I already know that you are hiding there, behind the door. Don't worry. A crippled woman like me won't be a threat to someone of your level."

After a few moments of awkward silence, a figure walked into Benica's room. Benica observed the features of the figure and spoke to it,

"Oh my, it turns out that someone of the same gender decided to visit me so late at night. I wonder what your objective could be behind doing this though? I mean, I possess nothing of much value. My worth isn't even enough to be used for either blackmail or extortion. Maybe this is a kidnapping attempt? If it is, then I really pity you. Your decision to do that would end up being really unprofitable."

The figure had covered its body entirely in black, while its face was hidden behind a mask, leaving only her eyes to be visible to others. The figure slowly removed its mask and let its face be revealed in front of Benica.

"Tell me, how do you know Leon? What do you plan on doing to him? If it is something dangerous, then... don't expect any mercy from me."

Benica was a little surprised at first, which then transformed into delight as she smiled at the female intruder.

"Ohhh~. So it is someone dear to Lord Husband. I must say, he is really quick at getting things done. It hadn't been so long since I asked him for a sister. And here we are, a lady appeared right after he left. Then, who are you, lady? And., what does Lord Husband mean to you?"

The lady in black's body quivered multiple times whenever she heard the word; Lord Husband'. Still, she tried to control her wrath and whispered to Benica,

"Listen well then. My name is Malisa. I am Leon's Sister-In-Law. Now, you tell me! Why do you keep calling Leon your.. husband? What magic did you use to seduce him?!"

Malisa expected Benica to start making up several excuses. On contrary to her expectations, however, Benica became super excited as she got up from the bed and approached Malisa and held her hands as she started to drag her towards her own bed.

Malisa was too stunned to be able to do anything about Benica's strange behavior as she was made to sit on the bed while she continued to stare at the overly excited woman in wonder.

...

While the extremely awkward meeting between the Sisters-In-Law was going on, Leon was busy trying to get out of the City as he headed towards the forest area to cultivate.

As he was nearing the outer region of the City, however, the System that had been so dormant all this while suddenly prompted Leon,

[ALERT! Heavy Yin Energy Location Detected!]

[User, it is recommended that you must change your direction and start walking towards the North-East direction from here. It would be the best location to use the Devil King's Cultivation Manual at that location.]

Leon felt a little happy upon hearing the System's normal tone of voice. Although he had a deep desire to tease the System a bit about it, however, when he considered how much time there was left till daybreak, Leon decided to delay the 'System Tormenting Plan' and changed his direction according to the System's recommendation.

After running around for a while, the place that the system asked Leon to stop at made even Leon question the System's sanity.

'An execution plaza? Wait, System? Do you want me to cultivate the Yin energy at a place like this in the middle of the night? No matter how anyone looks at it, that seems extremely weird to even someone like me!

[User's worries are unfounded. This area is completely deserted at this hour. Also, this location happens to be one of the most distant locations from the City Centre. The chances of the User being found out in the middle of the night are abysmally minimal.]

'I see.. alright then. No harm in getting stronger a little faster.' Leon said to the System mentally, after which he sat down in a hidden corner and began to run the 'Devil King's Cultivation Manual' according to the System's instructions.

The unharvested and condensed Yin energy that had originated from the multiple executions of the most heinous criminals of the City since ages ago along with from that of the angry mob that wanted nothing more than to have those criminals executed right in front of their eyes started to drift away from its place of rest where it had coagulated for many decades or centuries, and started to be absorbed into a vortex formed around Leon's body.

The heavy residual Yin energy was being absorbed through Leon's skin pores at a steady rate, after which it ran through a complex network of pathways in his body before being converted into pure Spiritual Qi and settled down within his dantian.

This entire process was invisible to the naked eye, however, anyone present in that location would have been able to feel the suffocating feeling of being reduced in their surroundings.

...

A/N: What a scary ability...