The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 1131 - 173 - The Titan Kingdom’s Future (2)
I honestly hadn’t expected her to say something like that. Not even a little. Hearing her put her loyalty on the line like that—pledging it to me until her life ended—felt heavy in a way I couldn’t immediately describe. It wasn’t romantic in the way people liked to imagine loyalty. It was weighty, almost suffocating. The kind of promise that lingered in the air long after it was spoken, pressing down on the chest.
To be blunt, it was the sort of vow that was impossible to guarantee. Promises like that only worked in stories or fairy tales, or when someone had a leash tight around another person’s neck. And even then, it wasn’t real loyalty—just fear dressed up as devotion.
"Are you sure you want to say something like that?" I asked her, my voice quieter than usual. "I don’t even know if you’re truly sure, or if you’re just saying this in the heat of the moment. If you don’t really mean it, you can still take it back. There’s no shame in that."
I wasn’t trying to corner her or test her resolve. If anything, I was giving her an exit. Words carried weight, especially words like those, and once spoken, they were hard to erase.
"Well, I do mean it," she replied, without a hint of hesitation.
Her tone was calm, steady—far too steady for someone acting on impulse.
"I think that right now," she continued, "it’s better for us to step away from overly conservative ways of thinking. We should allow ourselves to explore things we haven’t seen yet. Things we haven’t dared to consider."
She paused briefly, as if choosing her words carefully, then went on. "I believe that doing so will help us understand what we don’t know. It will help us see the bigger picture instead of clinging to what feels safe."
There was conviction behind her words. Not recklessness—conviction.
"My father believed that preserving the kingdom’s interests meant holding tightly to tradition," she said. "But I think that approach is doing more harm than good. That’s why I want to find a different path. One where the people of the Titan Kingdom can grow into something stronger. Something that will benefit us in the long run."
She wasn’t speaking like a sheltered princess anymore. She was speaking like someone who had already accepted the burden of leadership, whether she wanted it or not.
She was thinking far ahead—farther than I’d expected. In its own way, it was impressive. No, more than that—it was admirable. I never would’ve guessed that she’d already be thinking about her kingdom’s future on such a long-term scale. She wasn’t just reacting to the present. She was planning for what came next, and even what came after that.
Honestly, she really would make a good leader.
I wouldn’t mind it at all if she became the queen of the Titans someday. Even now, acting only as a proxy, she carried herself with a quiet authority. The kind that didn’t need to be loud or cruel to be effective. I could already imagine her protecting the sovereignty of her kingdom—not with brute force alone, but with foresight.
"For now," I said after a moment, "you shouldn’t be thinking about losing hope. It’s too early for that. The worst hasn’t happened yet."
I wasn’t dismissing her concerns. I just didn’t want her drowning in them.
"There’s nothing wrong with planning ahead," I added, "but you can’t let pessimism guide every decision. Not when things are still moving forward."
That much was true. She couldn’t afford to assume failure before it even arrived. Preparing for the future was good—necessary, even—but letting fear shape that future was dangerous.
When I finished speaking, she smiled.
Her smile had always carried a hint of shyness, like she wasn’t entirely used to letting her emotions show. But lately, there was something different about it. Something brighter. Almost blinding in how radiant it felt. It lingered just a second longer than usual, warm and unguarded.
It was almost as if—
"She’s in love."
Tilde’s voice cut in softly.
Before I could react, she leaned in close, placing her mouth near my ear, and gently breathed the words against it.
I flinched in surprise and instinctively pulled my head away, my attention snapping back to reality.
At that moment, my gaze drifted back toward the Titans. They were moving throughout the area, each one tending to those affected by the Eternal Sleep. Their massive forms should’ve been overwhelming, yet their movements were careful, deliberate. Gentle, even.
Despite their size, the ground barely trembled beneath them. I could feel the vibrations when they walked—but only faintly. So faint that it didn’t bother me at all. It was almost surreal, watching beings that large move with such restraint.
Tilde had come to me right after my conversation with Layla, and the confidence in her voice when she said those words made it hard to brush them off.
Honestly, it was obvious.
Layla’s expression alone had been enough. The way her eyes lingered, the subtle hesitation in her movements, the warmth she didn’t bother hiding anymore. Even I couldn’t ignore it—not without deliberately lying to myself.
I knew she was in love with me. There was no doubt about it. And there was no way to deny it, no matter how inconvenient or complicated it might be.
"It looks like the Titan Princess has warmed up to you, huh, Leon?" Tilde said, her tone teasing but not unkind. "Considering it’s you, it was only a matter of time before you charmed someone like her."
She shrugged slightly. "I wouldn’t even say it’s impossible for you to get a woman of her size."
She tilted her head, studying me. "Still, I think I underestimated how fast you are at charming women. I know it worked on me the first time we met—but I didn’t expect it to work this well."
A small smile curved her lips. "Honestly, it surprised me."
She wasn’t wrong.
Lately, I’d been managing to have sex with women I’d only just met, one after another. There was barely any buildup, barely any waiting. Things just... happened. Easily. Almost too easily.
It made me wonder if something had changed.
I had been building my public persona, after all. Becoming the face of a company, managing appearances, learning how to speak, how to present myself. But was that really enough to give me this kind of pull?
Enough charisma to draw people in just by talking?
Considering how often it had worked recently, there was probably some truth to it. Even if I didn’t fully understand it yet.
"So," Tilde asked casually, a playful edge creeping into her voice, "what are you going to do now, Leon?"
She glanced in Layla’s direction before looking back at me.
"Are you going to fuck her?"
"Well," I said, exhaling slowly, "I can’t exactly rush something like that. Obviously."
She raised an eyebrow. "Aren’t you worried about the real issue here?"
I frowned slightly. "What issue?"
She smirked. "The elephant in the room."
I waited.
"How are you even going to fuck her?"
That... was a fair question.
Layla was a giant. I wasn’t. I was just a normal-sized human standing next to someone whose fingers alone were larger than my entire torso. No amount of confidence could bridge that gap.
I trusted my dick, sure—but I wasn’t delusional. My cock wasn’t even enough to scratch the surface of Layla’s lower lips.
