Absolute Depravity: Reincarnated with a lustful System-Chapter 27 - The False Maiden, Margarette Phoenix

Silhouetted by the light peering through the stained glass, the accused figure of the holistic ruler laid legs crossed at the throne of Daria. Bewitched by her charm, even the hardened messenger couldn't help but be dazzled by her blinding splendor.

"What is it?" Shifting her legs to the other side, she merely glanced at the bowing servant. "This better not be some trivial matter, cause if so, don't expect a spec mercy for wasting my leisure time."

"Out with it!" Fuming in raging for reasons unknown to her, her stepson Riley grunted at the man.

"L-Lord Frost has sent a message, your highness," a trail of sweat trickled down the messenger's cheeks.

Even from afar Margarette felt enthralled by the look of fear in the young man's eyes. Running her nails down between her perky breasts, she let herself bleed a little to drown out her urges. Scoffing at the sight, Riley looked away from his lecherous stepmother.

"What are you waiting for? Just give her the letter!" Riley growled at the guards again, however, being as frail as he was, it had little to no effect on the messenger's demeanor.

Propping himself up, the guard climbed up the steps to the throne with the letter clutched in his hands. Kneeling in front of the dazzling duchess, he offered her the parchment by holding it over his head. Taking a brief glance at the brutish scars on the messenger's face, Margarette placed her hand over his to steal the touch of a man even if it lasted just a moment.

"Margarette!" Stomping his feet to yell, Riley almost fell over under the weight of his own armor, however, taking up a fencing stance helped him correct his posture in an instant.

"Quiet, aghh..." taking the letter from the messenger, Margarette shooed him off with a brush of the hand. "What is it now?"

Undoing the royal seal with her nail, she quickly opened the letter and began to read through it. At first, she didn't seem all that bothered by its content, however by the time she was done reading, an aggrieved scowl had contorted her face. Throwing the letting away from her, she caressed her temples to keep her temperament in control.

"Leave," Riley ordered the guard, knowing something had definitely gone off the rails.

"But, Master Riley, I need majesties' response to convey it to the duke,'' The messenger rebutted, seemingly uncertain whether to heed Riley's order or not.

"Tell the duke he's allowed to stay, and leave us alone for a moment," Margarette interrupted their exchange before Riley got upset again.

Uttering not a single more word, the messenger bowed to the duchess before making his way out. Once he was gone, and the only two present were the mother and son, it was time for an open heart to heart. Walking up the steps to the throne, Riley glared up at Margarette with nothing but contempt in his eyes.

'I hate this, everything about this fucking body is a nightmare.' Seeing her get up, the disparity in their height filled his mind with complaints.

Despite being a man he severely lacked any masculine features, one of which happened to be his dainty height which was shunted before he could even reach Margarette's shoulders. To make things worse, his dollish round face as well as the frail yet masculine frame filled him with disgust every time he looked in the mirror. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙．𝑐𝑜𝘮

"Did he find out?" Riley asked, barely carrying himself under the weight of the heavy armor.

"So it seems, but that's not the issue here," Reaching toward Riley's brownish short hair, Margarette tried to give it a playful ruffle.

"Don't-" Slapping her hands away from himself, he glared at her with bloodshot eyes. "-You dare."

Scoffing at his constant hostility, Margarette tried to drown her frustration. Settling back into the throne, she crossed her legs before beginning to explain the situation to her son. With her legs hanging from the slits of the dress, Riley felt distracted by her showy display of skin. In contrast to the duchess's deep neck gown giving a near full display of her assets, Riley had dressed modestly in black leather armor which was evidently too hefty for his body.

"He's asking to stay here and you told the guard to tell him he's allowed?!" baffled by her stupidity, Riley couldn't control his rage any longer. "Did your wit die with my father?!"

"Riley Phoenix! He was my husband too!" The sharp gaze from her widened silver eyes was enough to pierce the soul itself. "Besides I'm doing all this for you!"

On the very mention of the topic, Riley's whole body went limp in shock. His eyes stared at her blankly for a moment before a silent smile crawled on his face.

"Is that why you took the throne? Even though it was rightfully mine, mother?" Margarette knew that when Riley called her mother, there was no sense in arguing with him. And so the only way for her to handle the situation was to deviate to something else.

"We'll kill him on his journey here," Tilting her head, she got off the throne again. "And since we've accepted his request to stay over, the emperor won't suspect a thing. After which, all we have to do is to convince the emperor to hand over Laria to you."

Riley tried to take a step back but grabbing him by the arms, Margarette pulled him against her bosom. Her hands wrapped around his sore body soothed his mind in an instant.

'We need this, you need this. If only you were normal, nobody would've judged you so harshly, but that body of yours is a social curse, and to overcome it, you need to be an extraordinary ruler, but you're not yet ready.' Poisoned by her own thoughts, Margarette planted a kiss on Riley's forehead before letting go of his body.

"I still don't understand why you won't let me rule Daria, is it because you don't trust that I can handle it?" His question left Margarette stuck in a dilemma.

If she spoke the truth that she didn't trust him, it was bound to destroy whatever bond they had left, on the other hand, however, saying she did trust Riley would be akin to promising him the title in the very near future. Assessing her option, she took a deep gulp before replying.

"It was your father's last wish, remember? He wanted you to be a greater ruler than him," Taking a hold of his hand, she gave him a caring smile. "And that starts with expanding your territory."

Drawing his hand away from her grasp, Riley looked at her in disgust. He knew what she said was the truth, however, there was something else that she was hiding, something he knew very well.

"You could've just lied, at least pretend to have some faith in me," stepping down the steps of the throne, he kept his eyes fixed on her. "Snow was given the throne even though he's the same age, the only difference between us is that I look the way I look so nobody has any faith in me."

"No, that's not true, Riley!" Rushing towards him down the stairs, she tried to get a hold of him. However, the moment her hand stretched out to touch him, Riley activated one of his profusely used abilities.

"Lonesome widow, take me away," Uttering those words, light passed right through him, turning him invisible. "Good luck with your murder plan, hopefully, it goes better than the last."

"It will! I promise you'll be the emperor one day," She replied.

Margarette's eyes scanned for her son, but not even the shadow of his presence was left behind anymore. Wandering around she tried to run into him, only to be met with disappointments one after the other.

"We both know that won't happen, so stop lying," opening the door with his phantom hands, Riley left his stepmother in a state of uncertainty and panic.

'I will make it come true, but first...I have to deal with this annoying duke!' Canvassing her thoughts, the duchess of Daria wondered just how much of her involvement in his attempted assassination was known to Snow. In the end, she could only conclude two possible reasons for his sudden interest in staying at Castle Phoenix.

'Either he wants to blackmail me with evidence, or he wants to bargain for an alternative that doesn't involve us killing each other or getting the emperor involved.' With a very real possibility of being executed for treason by the emperor, Margarette's mind raced for a way to get rid of the duke on his journey to Daria.

"Ahaha....Ahaha! I know! Yes! That's it! Why didn't I think of it before?! Ahahahahaha!" At the very edge of her sanity, the so-called holy maiden began to pull her long silver hair until it ripped through her scalp. "Rejuvenation!"

Sealing the wounds, her abilities sprouted the torn hair anew.