Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1564: Oath of El Kova’reth

Slowly, Vesperine began to reveal the truth about how to increase the values within the card. As she spoke, her gaze drifted straight, noticing how Victor continued massaging her foot without the slightest hesitation.

She had honestly expected him to push her leg away the moment she said it was enough, to draw a clear boundary, to act like the emperor he was.

Yet he did not.

’D-Don’t tell me... He is interested in me?’ Vesperine thought, her eyes narrowing slightly with surprise, before a sly, dangerous smirk curled across her lips. ’Fu~Fu~... soon, I will have a dangerous puppy.’

As she finished revealing details she had not even shared with Aether, a faint hum of satisfaction escaped her lips. At that very moment, Victor’s thumbs pressed precisely against a sensitive pressure point, sending a sharp jolt through her body and making her flinch despite herself.

”So what you are saying is this,” Victor began, ”as long as we eliminate those mech-suits within a limited time and use our Origin cards, we can extract and claim the points from the dead. Is that correct?”

Vesperine tilted her head slightly, watching him with faint amusement before giving a soft, acknowledging nod. ”Hmm... that’s right.”

Victor remained silent for a moment, ’So the details match what Snowflake told me... but something still feels incomplete...’ His gaze shifted toward Vesperine, noticing the faint redness creeping across her cheeks.

Vesperine snapped out of her daze as if she had sensed his thoughts brushing against her. Her body stiffened slightly, her expression sharpening as she spoke quickly, ”If you are going to ask how I know—”

”Not that,”

”Huh?”

”I don’t care how you know,” he said, ”What I want to understand is this... what is the purpose behind all of this? When I spoke with the victims, they all seemed to have lost their memories. Why would something like that happen?”

Vesperine’s expression slowly lost its playful edge, replaced by something heavier, something distant. She lifted her gaze toward the ceiling,

”That... only the gods know.”

Victor watched her in silence as she continued, ”All I know is this... we need to increase our value as quickly as possible. Those with higher value survive. Those without...” She paused briefly, her lips tightening. ”Something far worse than the Terra Empire is coming.”

Her eyes darkened slightly as she inwardly thought, ’That’s what my Master said... and she told me to increase the value at all costs.’

Victor’s expression hardened, ’Something worse than Terra...?’ before he exhaled quietly, forcing himself to set it aside.

For now, Terra remained his priority. Everything else could wait.

Then, unexpectedly, Vesperine spoke again, ”However... I might have an idea about why they lost their memories during that incident.”

Victor’s attention snapped back instantly. Without warning, he pulled her legs toward him, his grip firm but controlled, guiding her body forward until she slid smoothly onto his lap.

”HIKK!!”

Vesperine’s body jolted, her breath catching sharply as her face ended up just inches from his. Heat rushed to her cheeks, spreading rapidly until her entire face burned crimson.

”W-What? T-This is too sudden... W-Wait! My heart isn’t ready yet—”

”Tell me about the memory loss,” Victor said, in an almost indifferent voice, as if her reaction had not even registered in his mind.

”...”

For a brief moment, Vesperine simply stared, blinking as her thoughts stumbled over themselves. Then she let out a quiet inward sigh. ’What am I even thinking...? And what the hell do I mean my heart isn’t ready...?’

She shook her head faintly, ’Whatever... being this close to him is what matters... I will seduce him! Yup! I will definitely seduce him!’

Slowly, almost languidly, she wrapped her arms around him, her body pressing closer as she settled herself comfortably against his lap, her movements smooth, intentional, filled with quiet provocation.

”Because of the Oath.”

”Oath?” Victor frowned.

Vesperine nodded slowly as she leaned closer to him. Her breath brushed against his ear, warm and soft, her voice dropping into a near whisper.

”El Kova’reth.”

The moment the words left her lips, something inside Victor stirred.

A shiver ran sharply down his spine, sudden and uncontrollable, as if those syllables had reached far deeper than his ears. For a fleeting second, his eyes turned into a void-like black before returning to normal just as quickly.

Victor inhaled sharply, ’W-What... was that?’

A strange, overwhelming emotion surged within him, ’That... immense hatred...?’ he wondered, his fist tightening unconsciously as confusion clouded his thoughts.

Vesperine, unaware of the storm brewing inside him, pulled back slightly and continued in a calm, ”Under the El Kova’reth’s Oath, anything becomes possible... even the erasure of memories. And those who try to force the truth out... or attempt to break the oath...”

She tilted her head lightly, as if searching for the right words. ”I think it results in something like... complete erasure of existence. I’m not entirely sure, but I’m quite certain it’s something along those lines.”

As her words settled, fragments of memory surfaced within Victor.

The victims.

The moment he tried to force the truth out of them... the way they died abruptly... the unnatural way their souls drifted away, as if being pulled toward something unseen.

Victor’s forehead began to bead with sweat, each drop heavier than the last. The more he heard that name, the more something inside him reacted, growing restless, growing violent.

Was it hatred?

Or something far deeper... fear?

He swallowed slowly, ”That El—El—”

Victor blinked, startled. He couldn’t say it. His tongue felt restrained, his voice blocked, as if the name itself rejected being spoken through him.

What... was happening to him?

Vesperine watched him closely now, her playful demeanour fading into mild concern. She noticed the way he bit down on his lip,

”Are you alright?”

Victor exhaled slowly, forcing himself to steady his breathing. ’Now is not the time to get lost in this,’ he told himself firmly, suppressing the rising chaos within.

He lifted his gaze back to her. ”This Oath... why does it exist?”

Vesperine leaned back slightly, her shoulders lifting in a casual shrug, though her eyes remained thoughtful. ”I don’t know the exact reason, but I think it was created as a kind of balance... or advantage for the other side.”

She paused briefly before continuing, ”The Terra Empire doesn’t have powers like us. So they were given something to compensate. We cannot use the Oath, but they can. That’s why...”

Her expression hardened slightly. ”We have to eliminate those mech-suits before they activate it.”

A soft sigh escaped her lips, ”It’s not easy, you know? I barely managed to kill them. I had to use my pupp— ahem... my husband one as bait, then take down another while it was distracted...”

She shook her head faintly, ”Troublesome.”

Victor turned silent for a second before asking, ”If you know all of this... then you must know about the war too, right?”

!!!

Vesperine flinched.

Her eyes shifted away from him almost instantly, ”H-How would I know?” she said, her voice slightly uneven.

Inside, her thoughts spiralled. ’Shit! If he realises I already know... I’m dead. He was clearly affected by the deaths of his people... if he connects it to me, he won’t hesitate... I am so fucked up!!’

Victor stared at her in silence, his expression unreadable behind the mask.

’She’s... really bad at lying,’ he thought, genuine confusion flickering through his mind.

It was obvious... Painfully obvious!

Yet, this version of her felt different from the one Aether had seen.

Victor couldn’t quite understand why.

Still, he chose not to press further.

The past had already unfolded the way it did, shaped by his own decisions. Lives had been lost because of the path he chose. There was no value in tearing open what could not be undone.

What mattered now was moving forward... finding a better path, a better answer.

And besides...

His gaze lingered on Vesperine once more, thoughtful, calculating.

If she truly knew this much... wouldn’t it be wiser to keep her close rather than turn her into an enemy?

Victor took a slow breath before lifting his gaze toward Vesperine, who still looked slightly worried.

”Anyway, since you know the details... how about working with me?”

Vesperine sighed inwardly, relief washing through her thoughts. ’Thank goodness... he believed me.’

She tilted her head slightly, her tone turning casual again. ”Hmm... working with you? You mean as your subordinate?”

Victor looked at her for a brief moment, then shook his head. ”No. I just need your help to increase my Empire’s value. Think of it as... a partnership.”

Vesperine hummed thoughtfully, her fingers lightly brushing against her arm as she studied him.

”A partnership, huh...? Does that mean... your dear friend Aether will be part of it too?”

”...”

A brief, tense silence stretched between them.

Victor’s voice broke it, ”What do you want?”

Vesperine blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. ”What if I don’t want him included in the partnership?”

Victor gave a small shrug, ”Then I won’t include him.”

She blinked again, clearly caught off guard. ”B-But... I thought you two were friends—”

A faint smirk formed on Victor’s lips. ”What I’m doing right now is business.” His gaze sharpened slightly.

”So tell me... what do you want?”

Vesperine stared at him for a moment, mild surprise lingering in her eyes. ’He’s... different from Aether,’ she thought quietly, her expression softening just a little.

She let out a small sigh before speaking.

”As much as I would love to make him kneel and lick my feet, the timing isn’t great.” She paused, ”And considering he did save innocents with that strange power of his... how about we give him a small share, but not too much?”

Victor observed her for a few seconds before giving a slow nod. ”Fine.”

A soft smile touched Vesperine’s lips, subtle yet satisfied.

”And here I thought you would make him suffer for trying to capture you and all,” Victor added casually.

Vesperine let out a quiet breath, ”I really hate that brute... and honestly, I wanted to make him suffer more...” Her voice trailed off as her eyes grew distant, clouded by memory.

The battlefield returned to her mind in fragments.

Even though she had managed to strengthen her territory and knew the disaster would come, she had never expected the war to escalate to such a scale.

It had been pure chaos... truly disastrous!

”Kai, Leon, Finnain! Go and stop that thing!” Vesperine’s voice rang sharply across the battlefield as a massive mech-suit tore through the streets, crushing everything in its path.

The air trembled with explosions, debris scattering like broken stars across the ruined ground.

”HELP US”

”MOMMY!”

A child’s cry pierced through the noise.

Vesperine’s head snapped toward the sound. Not far away, two small children clung tightly to each other, trembling as a mech-suit loomed over them, its weapon aimed directly at their fragile forms.

Her tongue clicked in irritation as her fingers snapped sharply.

BOOM!

The weapon discharged with a thunderous blast, smoke and dust erupting violently, swallowing the scene in a dense haze.

For a brief moment, everything went still.

But when the dust slowly settled... There was no blood.

No shattered bodies.

Far from the blast site, space itself twisted open. A portal shimmered into existence, and Vesperine stepped out, holding both children tightly against her.

”Huff... huff...”

Her breathing came out uneven, strained, as if she had pushed her limits to pull them away in time.

She gently set the children down, her gaze softening just slightly despite the chaos around them.

”Run away...”

The children stared at her for a second, eyes wide with fear, before nodding frantically. Without another word, they turned and ran, their small figures disappearing into the fractured streets.

Just as she let out a quiet sigh of relief—

Ssiiinnngg!

A sharp, humming sound cut through the air behind her.

Vesperine turned instantly, her eyes widening as another mech-suit had already locked onto her, its weapon aimed directly at her chest.

’Shit!’ she screamed inwardly, her body reacting on instinct as she tried to conjure a portal.

But she was too late and didn’t have enough power!

Everything... was going to end.

Because of her hesitation to deal with Aether.

Because of her pride in dealing with Aether.

And then... that familiar dread crept in.

Those ’things’... were going to happen again.

And she would be forced to watch... just like before.

Yet—

RUMBLE!

THUD!

The world trembled violently.

A spear descended from the heavens like divine judgment, crashing down with overwhelming force and obliterating the mech-suit in an instant.

Vesperine fell back, her body giving in as she panted heavily.

For a moment, her mind struggled to process it.

That kind of power... it had to be Victor, right?

But then—

”Laa~ Laaa~”

A soft lullaby drifted through the air.

Her eyes trembled slightly.

She knew that voice.

It was Aether.

Her fingers clenched tightly, nails digging into her palm as a complicated wave of emotions surged within her... pain, frustration, something she refused to name.

”Vesperine?”

The voice pulled her back.

She blinked, snapping out of her thoughts, her gaze shifting toward Victor, who was watching her with quiet curiosity.

Vesperine forced a weak smile onto her lips.

”Say... I owe him,” she said lightly, shrugging her shoulders as if it meant nothing.

Then her expression twisted, her tone turning sharp, filled with irritation. ”But still... I fucking hate his guts!!”

Her teeth clenched as her eyes burned with stubborn defiance. ”One day, I’ll make him kneel before me... make him lick my foot... Hahaha~”

A laugh slipped from her lips, ”With that pathetic coc-ahem body of his, I’ll make him submit completely. Only then...

I, Vesperine, will sleep peacefully. Fu~Fu~”

Victor stared at her blankly.

’Should I kill her?’ the thought flickered briefly across his mind before he dismissed it just as quickly.

”Anyway...” Victor spoke, his voice cutting through her rant.

Vesperine snapped out of her haughty thoughts and looked back at him. For some reason, he was smirking.

”There’s just one thing,” he said casually.

”Can you stop... rubbing me?”

”...”

Vesperine blinked.

Rubbing? What was he—

Victor simply pointed downward.

Her gaze followed.

And then she saw it.

Her body froze.

Her hips... had been pressing and moving against him, her ass unconsciously rubbing against his crotch... repeatedly.

Her mind went blank.

”OH MY GOD!!!!”