"We offer our condolences, young duke."
"We offer our condolences."
Every noble present made sure to attend Duke Redgrave's funeral. Their expressions were solemn and sad—whether fake or real, they had to put on this face. That was simply how the world worked.
It was impossible for them to laugh at Duke Redgrave's grave, right? Even if they were enemies?
Not everyone was Light Yagami, brazenly laughing at someone else's grave like a maniac.
"Thank you, everyone."
Even Aqua put on a grateful and solemn face, despite being the one who had schemed the Duke's assassination from start to finish.
Princess Erica was also present. She had no idea about his true face. She had only witnessed the surface-level conflict between him and her mother.
In her eyes, Aqua Redgrave was far more of a prince charming than her own brother could ever hope to be.
So, without a shred of hesitation, she approached him, her voice soft with sympathy. "My condolences as well, Aqua-kun."
"Thank you, Princess." Aqua reached out and patted her head gently, a gesture so warm and natural that it made her heart flutter.
She smiled shyly, her cheeks flushing. "Uhm... Aqua-kun, will you and mother...?"
Before she could finish her anxious question, Aqua cut her off with a reassuring squeeze of her shoulder. "Don't worry, Princess. We'll be fine. Even better in the future, actually. You, your mother, and me—yes, we're a good team. We're meant to be together."
He pumped his fist in an almost boyish gesture of solidarity.
Her smile widened, her face burning a deeper red at his confidence.
She returned his fist bump with trembling fingers. "Promise?"
"Yes, promise, Princess."
They grinned at each other, sharing a brief, genuine moment—before sliding their masks of solemn grief back into place as other mourners drifted near.
Soon, the estate emptied. The last guest departed, the final carriage rolled away, and the manor fell into a hollow, echoing silence.
Only Aqua remained, standing alongside Angelica, who sat slumped on a nearby sofa, her face pale and exhausted.
She looked up at him, her voice cracking. "Is Father really dead just like that, brother? This is too much of a joke—a grand duke, murdered by common pirates?"
"I'm afraid the royal family had a hand in it," Aqua replied, his tone conversational, almost casual.
He nudged her gently. "Didn't you hear my conversation with the princess, dear sister?"
Angelica frowned, her brow furrowing deeper. "I heard it. It seemed... you—no, to be precise, the Redgrave family—has some conflict with the royal family. But I'm engaged to the Crown Prince. Would petty political squabbling really warrant cold-blooded murder?"
"Who knows..." Aqua shrugged. "There are plenty of assassinations of important figures that sound completely bizarre. Some die by 'mentally ill patient.' Others die from a 'lone gunman.' So many things are never what they seem, my dear sister. My suggestion? Don't investigate. Go and enjoy your Academy life. Let your big brother take care of family business."
He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently, a brother's blessing.
Angelica looked up into his eyes, searching for something—she didn't know what. "I want to help, brother. Tell me what I should do."
"Make more friends," Aqua said firmly. "And fewer enemies. That's what our family needs right now."
"Then I will," Angelica nodded, determination replacing some of the grief in her voice.
From that moment, something shifted between them. Their relationship, previously cold and distant, inexplicably warmed.
Angelica began to lean on her brother, to trust him, to depend on him in ways she never had before.
And yet, a question always lingered in the back of her mind, a splinter she couldn't remove:
Why had her brother previously kept such a low presence? Why had they seemed more like strangers than relatives?
She was confused...
But she didn't dare to ask.
Not yet.
Of course, even if she asked, Aqua would never answer that question.
It was impossible for him to tell Angelica the truth—that he was a transmigrated soul, and that her original brother had never truly existed at all.
Her brother existed only because Aqua had chosen to wear that identity like a borrowed coat.
Before that choice, it was nothing but lore and backstory data.
Ones and zeroes.
A hollow placeholder waiting for someone to breathe life into it.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
"Anyway. I'll be going now. Take care of yourself, Angelica." Aqua bid his farewell with a casual wave.
"Take care, brother." Angelica replied, still lost in her own swirling thoughts.
When Aqua arrived at the floating car, his fiancée, Stephanie, was already waiting inside.
She sat gracefully in the plush seat, her mourning dress hugging her curves in all the right places.
Without hesitation, he hopped in beside her.
They drove in silence for a while, ascending through layers of cloud.
Midway, Stephanie turned to look at him, her eyes narrowed with doubt. "Is there something you need to take care of, Lord Husband? Why stop?"
Aqua's gaze swept over her, dark and hungry. "I think you look incredibly beautiful in that mourning dress, Stephanie."
His voice dropped lower, rougher. "Help me. Fulfill your duty as my wife."
He stood up slightly, and the bulge in his trousers was impossible to hide—painful, swollen, demanding attention.
Stephanie stared at him, utterly speechless. His father had just died. The body was barely cold. And now he was demanding this?
She had never encountered anyone so heartless in her entire life.
And yet, despite the disgust curling in her stomach, she obeyed.
She always obeyed.
She turned around obediently, bracing her hands on the seat in front of her and pushing her ass toward him.
Aqua immediately groped her roughly, squeezing her soft cheeks through the dress before yanking the fabric up to her waist.
He ground his swollen cock against her bare ass, letting her feel how hard he was.
His breath was hot against her neck as he pulled her panties aside.
Without any warning, he lined up and thrust his thick cock deep into her pussy in one stroke.
"Ah—!" Stephanie gasped sharply, her back arching as he stretched her open.
"Fuck… your pussy is still so tight, Stephanie," Aqua groaned in pleasure, his voice thick and satisfied.
He gripped her hips tightly and started fucking her hard, each thrust deep and forceful, the wet sound of her slick cunt echoing inside the car.
He pounded into her faster, fucking her pussy without brake.
In his mind, it wasn't Stephanie he was fucking — it was Princess Erica.
He imagined Erica's tighter, more delicate body, her soft voice moaning helplessly beneath him, her perfect scent filling his nose as he claimed her.
"Lord Husband…!" Stephanie moaned, her resistance melting away into shameless need. "Please… faster! Deeper!"
Aqua lost control. He slammed into her with savage intensity, his hips slapping loudly against her ass.
"Take it, you slut," he growled, imagining it was Erica's pussy clenching around him.
He fucked her harder, deeper, chasing his pleasure with raw selfishness.
When his orgasm hit, it was powerful. He buried himself to the hilt and erupted, flooding Stephanie's pussy with thick, hot spurts of cum.
He kept thrusting through it, pumping every last drop deep inside her until it started leaking out around his cock and running down her thighs.
Finally satisfied, he pulled out with a wet sound, leaving her gaping and dripping with his seed.
Aqua collapsed back into his seat, looking completely relaxed, a lazy, satisfied smirk on his face. "Ah… that was good, Stephanie. Thanks."
She said nothing.
Too exhausted and used to argue, she simply slumped beside him, panting heavily. Her mourning dress was crumpled and ruined, her thighs shiny with his cum, her pussy still twitching from the rough fucking.
Aqua took the wheel again and resumed their journey as if nothing had happened.
And so life continued.
As it always did.
As it always would.
That's just how life is.
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