After pushing out Ketia from the room and letting out some steam thanks to a steamy time with Setsuna, of course after verifying that there were no spying arts, Sol laid now on the bed, his torso naked with Setsuna in his arms.

This time, since they couldn't touch Setsuna's virginity, they tried some anal play, sadly, the result were less than satisfying.

Anal sex wasn't something that could be done at the drop of the hat without enough preparation. It needed enough time and lotions. What's more, it wasn't particularly pleasurable for most women.

The only reason it worked so easily with Camelia was that in the first she was a soft masochist/sub and she did prepare herself for that moment.

In the end, unwilling to make Setsuna suffer, Sol settled down with making her come with his tongue and finger. Even though he didn't ejaculate himself, he had to admit that seeing his woman scream in joy under his fingers was another form of pleasure in itself.

'I wonder if I should invite Ketia later. Though she doesn't seem particularly interested.'

Sol wasn't into forcing people, even if said people were his subordinate. Sex was only enjoyable when it was a moment of mutual pleasure.

Setsuna on the other hand was incredibly frustrated and uneasy. Recently the number of sexual encounters between her and Sol continued to increase, but even though she managed to cum each time, the fact that they never went all ways was extremely frustrating for her.

"Sol, what if we simply change the type of contract we want to do? It isn't like I am against a Pride-type or perhaps even a Wrath-type."

As she said that, her expression became a little grim. In fact, if she had to be honest, the Wrath-type contract attracted her even more.

If the Lust contract's main condition was virginity and Pride, subordination, the Wrath-type was vengeance. One of the contractant had to swear to help the other obtain vengeance more than anything.

Sol frowned a little, before shaking his head. "I understand what you mean. But you should know why I chose the Lust type."

Why did magical beings accept to form a contract? It was because they also got something out of it.

Growth.

Depending on the type of contract, the magical being can get a boost of power. Either in one time or slowly over time.

For the Wrath type, even though it gave a one-time great boost in power after the condition was realized, that was all.

The Pride and Lust type on the other hand gave a little but continued boost over time.

"My aunt always told me that if my father knew that he would end up marrying my mother, he would have formed a Lust type rather than a Pride one."

The first condition to continuously receive a boost from Lust type was sex. The second one was love. As long as the two continued to love and make love to each other, they would slowly grow strong together.

"The condition for Pride is subordination and to continue receiving a boost, you must maintain a relationship between a lord and a servant."

This here was the problem. Mars and Blaze did have a lord/subordinate relationship at the start. But it rapidly evolved into love. Meaning, even though the contract still existed, they immediately lost a source of power.

Looking deep into Setsuna's eyes, Sol asked, "Or are you willing to stay just as a knight all your life?"

Setsuna's winced, even though she did see Sol as her lord, it was undeniable that she saw him more as her mate than anything else. With her current mindset, perhaps the contract wouldn't ever succeed if they went for Pride.

Sol's expression softened at her silence. "I can understand your frustration at the current situation. Even now, I am feeling the same. I wish for nothing more than going all the way with you, but we shouldn't let a simple moment of pleasure ruin everything. We have all the time in the world."

Setsuna was immediately reassured by his words. Her ears and tail wagging to show her happiness.

Sol gently petted her ears while worrying a little, 'I hope I didn't raise a flag.'

A few hours later, after taking a beautiful bath with Setsuna, Sol was now far more relaxed than he had been initially.

'Sex and hot water are really the best to blow away all worries.'

He joked a little inwardly. Though, if he had to be honest, he was indeed more focused and less worried.

Everything should be done step by step.

"Ketia, what did the duchess say?"

Ketia bowed as she answered, "The butler told us that she was waiting for us in the dining room. He will come to us in a few minutes to show us the way."

"I see."

He was planning to use his dimension and explore the mansion for a little while after he got her allegiance.

He was willing to believe in her, but he would only completely be reassured after making sure that everything was alright.

"So, I am sure you made a round. What do you think?"

Ketia nodded, "From what I saw, aside from some minor servants, there's indeed no one present. All the chores are done by special lifeforms."

"All of them are sculptures?"

"No. I saw some of them made out of an unknown material, their forms are more human-like and they have a wider range of movement."

"Her power is indeed something else. Well, no matter. This time I need to finish what I began."

After this declaration, they didn't have to wait for long before the butler came to fetch them.

"Welcome your highness. I hope that your rest was fruitful."

The moment they entered the dining hall, an already seated Arachne welcomed Sol with her usually stoic face.

The dining hall was rather well decorated, denoting the excellent taste of the owner. It was neither too luxurious nor too humble, showing how reserved she usually was.

On the table, a rather meager but clearly sumptuous dinner was presented. They would be the only ones to dine and it was clear that the duchess wasn't one to waste food.

Walking further in, Sol took the seat opposite to her and sat down elegantly. He wasn't particularly hungry and could basically go for a few days without really needing to eat. But the minimum courtesy when invited to a dinner was to eat and so eat he did.

After verifying the absence of poison and taking the first bite, Sol had to admit that the food was really masterly done. It didn't lose to the royal chef at all.

The dinner continued like that in relative silence.

Once he finished, Sol let out a smile of satisfaction.

"Whoever the cook is, he has my thanks. The dinner was delicious."

From the slight bow the butler gave, it was clear who was to thank. Still, this once again showed how weird the organization in the house was.

After all, for the head butler to work was a cook was something that could only happen in minor noble houses where the number of servants was very limited.

At the end of the day though, this didn't matter. At least he wasn't particularly interested in the way the duchess acted in her house as long as it wasn't detrimental to him.

After some dessert, beautifully well-baked chocolate, and strawberry cake, Sol and Arachne began to walk alone in one of many halls.

'This house is seriously creepy.'

It was the perfect template of a haunted house.

When he walked, he felt as if the painting stares were following him.

A low rumblings sound came from the armors on either side of the hallway, as if they were breathing.

Even the carpet he was walking on seemed alive.

He had to admit that, if he didn't know that he could blow away this entire house, he would have serious goosebumps rights now.

"It seems like you also didn't really like the decoration of my house."

Sol smiled awkwardly. It was hard to say to someone you were about to recruit that their decorations skills were in the negative.

"You do not have to be awkward. The reason you are feeling so ill at ease is that your senses are too sharp. In a way, you could say that it's one of your strong points and weak points at the same time?"

Sol frowned a little before understanding what she was meaning.

"Is it why I fell so easily for your hypnosis?"

"Indeed. I developed this technique thanks to a friend of mine. Persephone. She has a deep understanding of the human body and psychology."

"You used cues on me."

"Oh...You catch fast. Indeed. It isn't much. Some little induction. Some little words. Some little suggestions. From the moment you stepped in the house to the moment you opened the door of my office, your brain proceeded a large number of little cues that all gathered the moment you heard my music. Of course, you were able to escape, but for anyone else, it would have been game over."

"I see. So most of your hypnosis wasn't based on magic. This is why you could break through my defense so easily."

"You could say that. In that team of monsters, I had no particular strong points. Even my art isn't particularly powerful by itself. My mana quantity isn't particularly large and even though I had enough capacity to form a contract, one B+ is filling it all. That's why I began to search for other solutions and this was one of the results."

What she didn't tell Sol was that one of the reasons she wanted to learn a more subtle way of hypnosis was because, after his contract with Blaze, Mars had obtained her magic immunity. So, since she had been forced to learn a more subtle way of hypnosis.

As a result, she managed to get a kiss out of him.

Of course, she had been mercilessly beaten down by Lilith and Blaze afterward, but it had been worth it.

"Well, enough chit-chat."

Stopping in front of the door of her office, she turned to face Sol before opening the door.

"Let me be clear. To be honest I still do not particularly like you. Since you are Mars's son, I will support you as a king but nothing more. If you wish for more, if you wish for me to really swear allegiance to you, not because of who your father was, but because of your own merit, then you will have to wait."

Saying so, she didn't wait for him to answer and entered the room before closing behind her.

Sol understood what she meant. If he had to be honest, he didn't particularly care whether she recognized him for himself or because of his father.

But, his pride refused to be judged as inferior by someone who should be his subordinate. What's more,

"I am really curious."

What kind of expression will she have once she kneel down in front of him and recognize him as her king?

It would without a doubt be very entertaining.