Within his mansion, Konrad carried on with Nils' introduction to the pleasure worlds, plowing her field and inseminating her in various positions while she moaned in delight, her mind surrendering to ecstasy.
Following their lovemaking session, Nils slumbered within Konrad's bed. And while she lied beneath the sheets, Konrad headed out to complete his mansion's "internal cleaning."
The two imperial eunuchs Olrich had planted within his staff awoke, their minds subdued by the Phantasm Orchids.
"Greetings, master!"
They hailed before falling on their knees. Satisfied by the result, Konrad nodded.
"Your daily routine remains the same. If Olrich asks you for reports, you just tell him that I focus on my Cultivation and nothing strange occurs within the mansion."
"As you command, master!"
"Also, clean the entrance, and make sure no trace of fighting remains."
Throughout the Holy Flame Empire, perhaps only Konrad would dare use Semi-Saints as housekeepers. Naturally, the servants didn't feel offended, carrying out their master's orders with as if their lives depended on it.
Afterward, Konrad went back in, finding the maids and eunuchs that cowered within various corners of the mansion to rewire the females and force orchids down the males' throats. Thus, enforcing the loyalty and obedience of every single member of his mansion.
An uneventful night followed.
As dawn approached, Konrad gently shook Nils who snuggled against him.
"Wake up sleepy head, I can't have you leave my mansion in broad daylight."
"Hnnn…"
Nils' eyelids trembled, and she reluctantly awoke to Konrad staring at her with an amused smile. At first, she wished to give small complaints, but when the sight of his bare body appeared within her eyes, her cheeks flushed red, and she hid beneath the blanket.
Recalling what occurred during last night, Nils couldn't find the strength to face Konrad.
"What, feeling shy now? Nah, you can't feel shy. Not after going -Ohhh…Konrad…Konrad…Konrad…Ohhh!- for hours."
Konrad's teasing words caused the floundering Nils to no longer know where to put herself, feeling that she had no face left. If she could dig a hole to hide, she would.
"You…bully."
Nils mumbled while keeping her red face hidden. Konrad shook his head and pulled the blanket away from her.
"Let's discuss proper business. I could, in theory, remove your Soul Worm. However, doing so will alarm your father. Therefore, that'll have to wait."
Having never expected Konrad to possess such skills, Nils was startled. After all, without extraordinary soul powers or special abilities, harmlessly removing Soul Worm was impossible.
Clearly, Konrad was still far from that soul power level. However, when she recalled that "golden rod" Nils' surprise vanished.
"Also, I suppressed your cultivation breakthrough. You should keep the energy accumulated from this dual cultivation session store and gradually release it. A sudden level leap will surely alarm your father."
If before someone told Nils that she would partake in dual Cultivation, she would have never believed. Once more, she felt all her face lost but still nodded in approval.
"As for your dad, what do you think you should do?"
Konrad asked in a mild but serious tone.
"Across the following weeks, I will slowly reduce my anger toward him, then apologize for my behavior and ask for his forgiveness."
Nils replied, following a brief moment of reflection.
"Good girl."
Konrad gave her forehead a gentle kiss, and in that instant, Nils inwardly wished time would stop flowing.
Then they both got dressed, and using his Invisibility Skill to cloak them, Konrad led Nils back to her chambers before returning to his quarters to spend the remainder of his time in Cultivation.
…
When dawn made way to the first rays of sunlight, Konrad opened his eyes, standing up to prepare for the upcoming meeting.
Standing by Olrich's side within the throne room, he listened to the court reports, while taking notes of his "father's" replies. Afterward, he followed Olrich to his study for further lessons.
"Son, your posture is a total disaster. You're the imperial duke! My ninth son! When facing the officials, you should stand tall, hands on either side of your waist, back straight, and eyes staring directly into theirs.
Like this."
Olrich demonstrated the pose, adopting it with masterful expertise.
"Go, imitate!"
"Yes, father!"
Following Olrich's will, Konrad mimicked the pose, causing Olrich to nod in approval while his lips curled into a contented smile.
"Remember, regardless of what cultivation level and title they hold in the outside, within the court, they're courtiers and you a lord. You can give them respect, but you can never show them deference. Understood?"
Olrich taught in a doting elder's tone.
"Yes, father! I will not lose your face!"
Konrad vigorously nodded, broadening Olrich's smile.
"Good son. Good son! Father prepared many spell scrolls for you to study. Improving your Cultivation is all right and good, but if you don't know a few spells, how can you defend yourself?
As your Cultivation improves, I will give you access to better spells."
Olrich summoned a eunuch to deliver the scrolls to Konrad's mansion alongside a new batch of resources.
"Thank you, father!"
"Hey, that's a father's duty. You can't thank me for that. Today I also want to teach you about the rune carving arts."
Genuine expectations flashed within Konrad's eyes as Olrich's words left his lips. Rune carving was a secret art known by a scant few, and the foundation of formation creation.
Finding a teacher in that art outside the church was at best challenging. Even within the imperial family, not many were well-versed in it.
Olrich was one of the few.
"Even if you possess sky-high soul power, without decent rune carving skills, setting formations is impossible. I hope you can learn well to become an outstanding Formation Master."
Olrich declared while holding Konrad's shoulders.
"Father, your son will not disappoint you!"
Satisfied, Olrich pulled out a blue crystal which he presented to Konrad.
"In theory, you can carve runes on any surface. However, crystals are the best processors of runes. We use soul power as both scalpel and guide to engrave the runes on the crystals. Like this."
White light shone at the tip of Olrich's right index. Bringing the crystal closer to his eyes, he used that index to effortlessly carve a rune onto it. Clearly, his mastery of the art had reached a transcendent level.
As the carving ended, Olrich presented the rune to Konrad who could feel the energy hidden within.
"When your soul power reaches a certain level, you can carve runes with your mind alone, having no need to use fingers. Masters of the art can carve hundreds of runes in a heartbeat.
Different formation levels require different crystals. Naturally, for the same formation, the better the crystal quality, the better the result.
The runic alphabet has a total of 3046 characters. With your Grand Priest cultivation, you should be able to digest them all.
I will now impart them onto you."
White light burst from Olrich's forehead and morphed into thousands of symbols which flew into the expectant Konrad's mind.
The runic alphabet then appeared within his mind.
"Memorized?"
"Memorized."
"Good. I've had eunuchs send you coffers of crystals. Now your task is to practice rune engraving. I will test your progress and guide you on a daily basis."
But as Olrich's words ended, a panting imperial eunuch rushed in and dropped onto his knees.
"Your majesty, a terrible accident occurred. His highness, the second prince, suffered cultivation deviation and is now bedridden!"
