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nAs soon as Aurora reached the room, she bolted the door shut with as much force as she could.

nThe feeling of oppressive eyes of the female guard checking her out was among Aurora’s most oppressive feelings Aurora had felt.

nShe was far from shy in her real body. But the fear of being discovered by a guard in her current attire terrified the goddess.

n‘Must be all the heavy aura filling the tower. Those gods and goddesses are not even trying to hide their powers.” In other words, they were too proud to hide.

nAurora decided to stay in the room for an hour before deciding to explore again. The main reason behind this was to give the female guards time.

nTime to get over Aurora and provide her with a window to leave.

nAurora did not want to invoke her potential trump card just yet.

n“Here goes nothing.” Aurora opened the door and forced a loud yelp down. Her face was too close to an eager Maid girl standing on the other side of the door.

n“Y-You surprised me.” Aurora tried to calm down her beating heart.

nThe face that she had not sensed the Maid girl coming meant that the girl had stood in front of the door for quite some time.

n“I’m sorry for the scare master. I was sent here to make sure you have everything you needed. Are you in need of an intimate service?” Aurora paled.

nThe Maid girl was not even trying to hide her interest and intention from Aurora.

nAny passerby could hear those words and make out a hundred different meanings from those words.

n“N-No. There is no need for that.” Aurora declined.

nIt was partly shock and partly horror that made her decisions slower than usual.

n“Awww master. There is no need to be shy. Why don’t you allow me in and I can tell you all about the services we provide our guests with.” The female was too close to Aurora’s personal space.

nAurora’s brain noticed a few details.

nThe female was dressed from head to toe in a loose dress. It left nothing to be exposed to her body.

nThen there was that face. It was lovely to look at. But something about it irked Aurora. To her, it lacked the natural gentleness a female’s face had.

nOr maybe it was just Aurora who felt like that. Maybe she was making things up.

nBut she swore that the Maid had a swelling in her throat.

n“Don’t be a shy master. Let me do what I here to do.” The Maid extended her hand toward Aurora’s chest.

nAnd Aurora failed to stop her in her panic.

nThe Maid’s hand touched Aurora’s chest and squeezed.

nMaria watched as the maid gave her a flat look of disbelief and Aurora reacted on instinct.

n“Sorry. It is your fault.” Aurora panicked before she slammed her magic-bound fist on top of the maid’s head.

nThe female collapsed in her arms.

nAurora immediately dragged the female toward the central garden. It was just a corridor away and the way was empty.

nAurora carefully placed the maid’s unconscious body on the bench and quickly left her there.

nAnd as soon as she left, the maid opened her eyes and rubbed her head.

n“What the hell? She could have told me that she did not swing that way. She could have also told me about this plan before she executed it. That punch hurt.” The maid complained.

nBut then the maid pulled her shirt up. Her flat torso felt the cool breeze of the garden.

n“Prince Karan, please stop disappearing on us. We have no idea what to tell the council and Lady Minerva when you pull such stunts.” The guard hissed.

nThe ‘maid’ could see irritation flash in the guard’s eyes.

n“So, what did those boring hyenas want? I bet it was to scold me. I don’t want to go.” Karan moaned.

n“My prince, do not be stubborn. They are old gods and demand respect. And you should dress accordingly as well. Your subjects had prepared your clothes.” The guard scolded.

nKaran rolled his eyes as the guard continued.

n“I will dress like how I want to. My ‘subjects’ do not get to decide for me. And you should also remember your place.” Karan’s voice was soft.

nBut the magic in his voice left the guard breathless.

nKaran’s magic was too oppressive. The guard looked like he would faint any second. But Karan reeled his magic in before things could come to that.

n“Let’s go and meet those old coots. And next time, do not question my decisions.” Karan patted the guard’s white cheeks as he walked away.

n“Oh, and do me a favor and keep quiet. I will know if you open your mouth. And the consequences of tattling will not be pleasant.” The guard almost wet himself at the gentle smile.

nIt felt like a devil was eying him.

n……..

n‘Fuck, **, hell. I need to find Astoria and let her know what happened.” Aurora panicked.

nShe tried not to run through the hallway in her hurry but her steps still showed her anxiety.

nThe action of various female guards eying Aurora in interest did not help her calm down.

n“Mister, you cannot head that way. You do not have the permission required to” Aurora flashed his permission Plaque toward the guard.

nThe stunned guard could not stop Aurora in time.

nBy the time the guard pulled himself together, Aurora was long gone from the corridor.

n“What should we do? Do we issue an order to drag him out?” the guard questioned his partner on duty.

n“We better let this matter go. Look, that plaque belongs to Lady Astoria. She has never brought a 1 to these events before. I don’t want any trouble with her.” The guard sighed before agreeing.

nLady Astoria was close with Lady Minerva. And no one wanted to be on the bad side of Lady Minerva.

n“And also. That guy is incredibly beautiful. It would be a shame if something happened to that face.” The guard watched god-smacked as his partner commented with a red face.

n“Y-Y-YOU! Don’t tell me you swung that way, right? Not that I have a problem with it but it would make things weird for me if you do.” The guard begged.

nOnly to be met with a deadpan face.

n“Don’t flatter yourself.” The guard breathed easier once he heard that.

n“Good.” The guard replied.

n“What is good? Why don’t you share it with me?” the guard paled again. His partner stiffened at that voice.

nTheir commanding officer rarely made his rounds during their shifts. It must be their bad luck that made the commander choose their route to supervise.

n“C-COMMANDER B-BECK? NOTHING IS WRONG SIR.” The guard cried as the elderly guard made his way toward the guard.

n“Oh. And what about the young man who gave you the slip?” Commander Beck questioned.

nThe guards broke out in a sweat at the question. Luckily, his partner spoke up.

n“U-Uh, he’s Lady Astoria’s attendant. His plaque had unrestricted entry permission. Uh, sir.” The guard bowed.

n“Lady Astoria? Then we should let things be for now. You go back to your post.” The commander replied ordering.

nThe guards did not notice the curious glance their commander gave toward the corridor behind them.

nBut ultimately, he chose not to pursue his curiosity. Work was calling his name.

n……..

nAurora did not realize when she stopped walking. What she did know was that she no longer recognized where she was.

nAurora had not wanted to take such actions but things had just happened.

nBut since things had happened like this, Aurora resolved herself to sneak around and take a look at things.

nThe hallways blend into each other. They did not allow one to even guess where they were.

nIn other words, the white walls made it extremely easy for one to get lost.

nBut Aurora did not give up. She used this opportunity to map the area as far as she could. And for the first time, she felt glad for the inflated ego of the gods.

nSomehow Aurora managed to avoid the other divine beings and land herself back in a familiar hallway. (only because she had marked Astoria’s aura and followed it.)

n“-and make sure the preparations are complete in time. I will not allow any delay to occur-” Astoria’s familiar voice reached Aurora just in time for the goddess to spot her.

nAnd she was not the only one to turn her way.

n“Intruder. Hurry and seize him at once.” The security guard ordered.

nBut Astoria waved her hand and stepped forward.

nAll eyes moved toward the goddess who took charge. Disbelief filled the room when the half-goddess cupped the unfamiliar but ethereal guy’s face.

n“You are finally here. Everyone, I shall be taking my leave now.” Astoria stopped her work short as she linked her arms with Aurora’s.

nNo one could stop Astoria from leaving. They were too busy wallowing in shock.

nAnd the present divine beings only shook their head in a ‘knew it’ way.

n“She’s finally coming into her beast half’s influence. Dragons were always willful creatures. Possessive of their own. Won’t you agree, Karan?” the black-haired god looked toward his companion with an innocent smile.

n“And why should I know anything about it? For all we know, Astoria might finally be in love.” The god smiled back at Karan’s jab but he did not reply.

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