Rise of the Eromancer

Chapter 163 Tears in The Bathroom

"And we were about to go to the fun p…part uh…"

Lina's eyes started to twitch as she watched as her aunt just very slowly stood up from the jacuzzi — almost as if she was making sure that Lina was seeing and hearing her as she even moaned when she got off of Rhys. Well, whether or not that last part was intentional did not really matter.

"We'll talk about this later," Lina forced out a smile as she glared at Rhys, "Right now, you need to get ready since the castle is currently under attack."

"They could have chosen a better time, ugh…"

"Not you, you just stay here and drown, you fucking slut."

"Now, now… that's no way to talk to your aunty, is it?"

"You…"

Rhys did not really know what to do in this situation, although he was just told that there were currently assassins in the estate, he could not feel a sense of urgency at all coming from Agatha. She was even sitting in the jacuzzi again, her breasts just out there even with her niece right in front of her.

Does… lacking shame just run in their family? Or is being naked just normal for the people of Enkland?

"See? You're making our handsome, muscular, and overly delicious guests worry for no reason," Agatha winked at Rhys, "How about you wait for us to warm up first and then we'll deal with the infiltrators? If... they are still here after we're done, that is."

"They won't be, Rhys has an ungodly amount of sta—Wait!" Lina violently pointed at her aunt as soon as she realized she was almost sucked into the conversation, "Would I even be this panicked if it was just normal assassins!? No one is going to deal with them…

…because the infiltrators are the guards!"

"Oh…" Agatha blinked a couple of times as the confident smirk on her face slowly faded along with the steam inside the bathroom, "...We're in trouble. What do we do!? This room doesn't have a panic room!"

"Huh…?" And once again, Rhys found himself confused by the situation. True, their situation is quite dire since the people that were supposed to be protecting their estate now practically had all of them hostaged… but Agatha and all of Lina's cousins were Nobles.

Even if they were untrained in combat, they still showed they were capable enough to at least inflict damage enough to change the terrain; Agatha even erased one.

Rhys had wondered why the Royal Family was falling despite them having one of the strongest Noble in the world, and now he finally knows the real reason — they were just too sheltered.

"Lina," Rhys could really only sigh as he stood up, causing Agatha's eyes to just widen as she saw it dangling close to her.

"That… that was inside me?" Agatha shuddered.

"Inside you…?" Lina raised an eyebrow, "If that was really inside you, you wouldn't even be moving right now."

"You're underestimating someone who has given birth, young Lina."

"Lina."

"Yes, Sir?" Lina wanted to say something else to Agatha, but she quickly turned her focus to Rhys as he stepped out of the jacuzzi.

"What can you tell me about the hostiles?" Rhys then just casually walked across the bathroom while drying his hair with a towel.

"The… hostiles? Uh, the only thing I can tell is that they're the guards," Lina forced out a chuckle, "I was in the middle of getting dressed when I heard a noise coming from the outside so I decided to check it—Gkh!?"

"Mr. Rhys!?" Agatha almost jumped from the jacuzzi; her eyes widening as soon as she saw Rhys suddenly go behind Lina, cover her entire head with his towel, and then proceed to wrap his thick, muscular, and slightly veiny arm around Lina's frail neck,

"D… do that to m—I mean, what are you doing!?"

It was obvious with Agatha's movements that she had no idea what to do at all; her hands, just randomly flailing as her eyes looked everywhere.

"I am only giving you 3 times to lie to me," Rhys, however, completely ignored Agatha's panicking streak as he just tightened his grip on Lina's neck, "You clearly know intimate information about me, so that means you and your friends gathered info on me, an unexpected element…

…or you and your friends are after me from the start."

"W—"

"Whether you are after me or not doesn't really matter," Rhys's whisper turned deep as the water surrounding his body very slowly seeped into Lina's clothes as he tightened his arm even further, "I just want to know how many of you are in the castle, or if the castle guards really are involved in this. If not, then are they dead? Where are your friends located?

Are there any more waiting outside the castle?"

"What… what are you saying, Rhys!?" Lina could not help but gasp for breath as she felt the pressure around her neck getting tighter and tighter, "Why… why would I be involved in this!?"

"You have two more lies left," Rhys sighed, "I am going to torture you after you use up all your chances, okay?"

"W—"

"I am going to ask a different question," Rhys turned to look at Agatha, "Is Agatha part of your group?"

"What…?" Agatha could not help but lower her eyebrows.

"I… I don't get why you're doing this, Rhys!"

"You only have one lie left," Rhys once again sighed, "But that's a no, then. I'm sorry for thinking you're one of them, Ma'am. You did just suddenly pop out from nowhere, and then this woman followed."

"I… I also don't get what's going on here, Rhys," Agatha could not help but slightly take a step back as the water around her started to turn into steam, "But if you're going to harm someone from the royal family, then I would have no choice but to… but to do something."

"You're… you're not helping, Agatha!" Lina struggled to breathe as Rhys continued to lock her neck in, "P… please, Rhys. I don't… I don't understand why you're doing this. I—"

"That was your last lie," Rhys did not let Lina finish her words as he finally let go of her. Lina could really only drop to the floor; grasping her neck as she coughed vehemently. Rhys, however, was just coldly looking at her as she started to crawl away from him.

"If you lie again…" Rhys's voice was even colder than the floor as he started following Lina; his steps, slow but somewhat loud due to the slightly damp floor, "...the first thing I will rip off are the nails on your left toes."

Rhys was not looking at Lina per se, however, but at the 5 Gray Hearts floating above her head.

"Where is Lina and what did you do to her?"

"W… what? Are you… are you crazy!? I am Lina and—Kgrah!"

And before Lina could even finish her words, she found one of her legs stretched; blood, slightly oozing out of her left foot as the nails on her toes were suddenly ripped away.

"Wrong," Rhys sighed and shook his head; the sound of his steps as he walked across the wet floor, causing not only Lina to flinch, but also Agatha,

"Where is Lina, and what did you do to her?" Rhys repeated his question as he stood close to the groveling Lina before crouching beside her, "I am going to break your fingers next, bit by bit. I am going to start with the distal phalanx, then the middle, then the proximal, and then move to a different finger."

"Why are you doing this to me, Rhys!? I'm—Gah!"

"Rhys!?" Agatha could not help but just scream as she saw Rhys not hesitating a single bit as he ripped off a fingernail as well as breaking the tip of her middle finger, "Are… how sure are you that's not Lina!?"

"I'm sure," Rhys answered Agatha without his eyes leaving Lina's impostor for even a single millisecond, "And she's only prolonging her suffering if she doesn't answer me properly."

"You… you're insane." And finally, after Rhys said that, the tone—no; the voice of Lina's impostor slightly changed as she looked Rhys in the eyes. Soon, however, a small but menacing giggle escaped her lips,

"I… I don't know how you know I'm not Lina…

…but how sure are you that I'm not actually just controlling her body?"

"Hm…" Rhys only let out a breath as Lina's impostor broke all facade; even garnering the strength to slowly stand up as she laughed at Rhys.

"That's right, you don't know that. Do you? You—!!!"

And before Lina's impostor could fully stand up, Rhys tapped her ankle, shattering it and causing her to just once again drop face down on the floor — and as if that wasn't enough, Rhys even pinned her head down, keeping her face on the floor and drowning her with what little water was on it.

"I did contemplate on whether or not you are controlling Lina's body," Rhys then crouched even lower as he whispered right in the impostor's ear, "Why…

…do you think I'm only giving you superficial wounds?"

"You-"

"Don't worry..." Rhys smiled,

"...I won't kill you."