The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 417

**Chapter 417**
**A Succubus Bewitched by a Human?**

Emma held Eivass’s hand and said softly, “Now that Her Majesty Isabel has ascended the throne, those stagnant policies of Avalon that haven’t changed for four hundred years can finally be revised. As long as Avalon opens its ports to our merchant ships and stops supporting those Iris people, Star Antimony can also offer Avalon much advanced technology.

“For example, this building’s elevator—honestly, if this elevator were in our Star Antimony, it’d probably be a hundred-year-old model. Buildings with elevators like this, our nobles wouldn’t dare to enter for fear it would collapse.

“As long as this meeting ends successfully, we can also dispatch many artisans to help Avalon with some basic construction. As far as I know, Avalon’s railway hasn’t even been fully laid yet, has it?

“Star Antimony is more than seven times the area of Avalon, and its population is more than ten times larger. We can now ensure that multiple railways are laid between every major city. Whether it’s industrial products, agricultural products, or personnel and military forces, they can be transported rapidly from one city to another.

“Your offices in Avalon still rely on typewriters and telephones, right? I’ve brought two facsimile machines this time. With these, the transfer of many documents will be much more convenient. This is a gift for Avalon, and also for the newly enthroned Princess Isabel…”

Emma looked at the Raven and said softly, “Think about it—wasn’t Avalon invaded by the Iris people decades ago? Although Star Antimony and Avalon had some minor unpleasantness in commercial and diplomatic fields in the past, those are all in the past.

“After all, we never invaded Avalon, but the Iris soldiers truly set foot on Avalon’s land.

“We don’t need Avalon to send troops to fight the Iris, but we hope… Avalon will also not dispatch the Gryphon Legion to the Iris.

“If those elite soldiers encounter an attack or are injured there, or if they injure our people, many things will become difficult to explain. At that time, it will be hard for us to make a move against the Iris people… I also have reason to suspect that this is a conspiracy by the Iris people. They want to drag us into war through such means, and then they can ally the weak against the strong and reap the benefits.”

Emma’s persuasion spanned at least five languages. Besides the Avalon language, there were Star Antimony, Iris, Elven, and Taichu. She used this method to test Eivass and Isabel’s language proficiency.

As she spoke, she slowly pulled Eivass into her embrace. At first, he only offered his arm, and now he was almost lying entirely on Emma.

Just then, the Raven seemed to finally lose patience and fiercely pecked Eivass’s neck. Eivass’s body trembled, and with a jolt, he sat up. Emma did not stop him. She merely smiled apologetically and watched as Eivass and “Isabel” fought. The influence she had planted was not easily eradicated. If a single peck could awaken him, so many Fourth Tier Extraordinary individuals wouldn’t have been charmed at first sight.

—Eivass had already been under her control the moment they shook hands upon entering.

Before the meeting, Emma had actually been a little worried. She was concerned that the “Baroness Beyad” would hide her Shadow Demon within Eivass’s shadow. If that were the case, she would have to act with extreme caution and avoid any slip-ups—in that scenario, she would suppress all her hostility and negotiate with Avalon from the bottom of her heart. Then, she would pretend to leave, only to stealthily return and kill Yulia, taking her heart.

But now, Eivass was meeting her, the “Succubus,” alone, without that Shadow Demon accompanying him… This undoubtedly indicated that Baroness Beyad had truly left Avalon. Otherwise, given the possessiveness of the Child of the Moon, even if she didn’t send the Shadow Demon, she would have come herself.

When Eivass shook her hand and smelled that rose fragrance, his hostility and vigilance had already dissolved. It was a scent like honey, rose petals, black tea, and rose wine boiled together, a fragrance that could intoxicate. Even Fifth Tier Extraordinary individuals could be charmed and controlled by her.

This was precisely why Emma was sent to visit Avalon—if someone of the same level visited, Avalon would surely dispatch one or even two Fifth Tier Extraordinary individuals to accompany them throughout. While called companions, they were essentially guards.

However, with Emma’s solo visit, it was difficult for Avalon to send escorts to monitor her. Although the Path of Authority had strong mental resistance, it might not necessarily withstand Emma’s influence. If the two spent too long alone and Eivass was truly manipulated by Emma, it would lead to disaster. Given Avalon’s social structure, if Emma could sway any one Fifth Tier Extraordinary individual other than Janis, Star Antimony could immediately declare war.

The current generation of Avalon even lacked a Fifth Tier “reserve elder”—this was the weakest moment since Avalon’s founding. This was the true reason Star Antimony had set its sights on Avalon. They truly had no enmity, nor did they have much at stake. But Avalon possessed a highly advantageous condition—their close relationship with the Pillar Gods. Even though the Silver Crown Dragon had no longer responded to Avalon’s prayers for the past two centuries, unlike the beginning of the nation when it could create miracles or dispatch envoys for major rituals… Avalon still had Pillar Gods above it and the bloodline inheritance of the Envoy families.

This was precisely what Star Antimony lacked—a relationship with the gods of the upper realms. The reason the giants of the past were so arrogant was that they had a Pillar God above them. “Supreme Heaven” and “Silver Crown Dragon” ruled in completely different ways: the former brazenly distributed its power to the giants, making them immensely powerful and actively influencing the Material Realm.

Both the Hrasal Empire and the Eternal Holy Kingdom had connections with envoys. The Horus Empire worshipped Xi Tian Si, and the Ancient Kingdom of Anxi and the Taichu Empire had connections with Pillar Gods. Even the Frost Empire controlled by the Dwarves had close ties with their “Heavenly Gods.”

In the surrounding region, only Star Antimony and Iris lacked relationships with the upper realms. The rest were the Lizardmen in the desert and the trolls in the south who were still in their tribal eras. This was a secret known only to the higher echelons of Star Antimony—they didn’t care about Avalon’s ports, mines, or griffins. They wanted Avalon merely to make this generation of “founding families” become high nobles of Star Antimony, that was all. That way, Avalon’s connections could be directly transferred to Star Antimony!

Because of this, she truly harbored no malice towards Eivass… she had no intention of harming him and genuinely wanted to sway him. They wanted Yulia only to open the secret treasure left by the former royal family; but they wanted Eivass because they truly desired him.

But at this moment.

The Raven on Eivass suddenly made an extremely abnormal move—it seemed to have suddenly received an attack order and inexplicably began attacking Eivass! Emma subconsciously stood up from the sofa and took two steps back, narrowly dodging the shadowy blades that swept towards her face. In just a few pecks, a long, bone-deep wound was torn on Eivass’s fair collarbone. Then, the Raven began to violently peck at the flesh clinging to the bone, all the while glaring hatefully at Emma—this even made Emma feel a pang of pity and confusion.

Frowning deeply, she wanted to intervene. But Eivass stopped her with his second reach. It was the bone-deep wound, with the stark white bone clearly visible. “Isabel’s” cruelty and rough treatment of Eivass made Emma feel uncomfortable and inexplicably angry. Despite the bone-scraping pain, Eivass’s face showed a calm compassion.

The next moment, a strong desire surged within Emma—a mixture of many desires, she couldn’t discern the essence of this desire. Red light seeped uncontrollably from the depths of Emma’s pink pupils. It was a distorted “8” shaped pattern, like an Ouroboros, resembling a heart.

At this moment, the intelligent Emma had already understood. —For some reason, Eivass had broken free from her enchantment. But she didn’t even know how he had done it. How could a mere Third Tier with a weak mind resist the enchantment of a Fifth Tier high-level Phantom Demon like her? That was a terrifying mental ability that could control even Fifth Tier Extraordinary individuals! Even though she hadn’t seriously tried to enchant Eivass, this still made Emma feel frustrated.

“It’s truly a pleasure to be with you, Ms. Emma,” Eivass said slowly, word by word. “Like a hot spring over hellfire… refreshing and very relaxing.” Clearly, he hadn’t completely broken free from control. But the gaze that looked at her like a father, like a master, and the scent of blood on him made Emma gasp and her heart beat faster. Her fangs emerged, and her nature as a Child of the Moon briefly overcame her nature as a Succubus.

…So thirsty, so hungry… But why? “Do you want to eat… my flesh?” Eivass, lying on the sofa, was being pecked by the Raven. A slight smile curved his lips, and his slightly hoarse voice sounded, “But that’s not for you, it’s for her.” A sense of intense disappointment and sadness rose in Emma’s heart, much like when her father refused to buy her a hunting dog she liked when she was little. But soon, disbelief and shame followed… She couldn’t understand why she had such strange thoughts. As a young Succubus, she should be able to perfectly control all her desires.

It would be too ridiculous if a Succubus could fall in love with a mortal with true feelings. Under fear and confusion, she wanted to attack Eivass. But for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to do it, her gaze completely captivated by Eivass’s pupils. An incomparably strong “obedience to desire” rose from within—even her “father’s” commands weren’t this powerful.

—This seemed to be enchantment. She quickly sensed the abnormal nature of it. But this only made her feel ridiculous and ashamed—a Succubus being enchanted by a human in return?

“For a moment, I wanted to kill you,” Eivass said, word by word, slowly, as if he could truly kill her, “the instant I first realized I was under your control.” But for some reason, Emma had no intention of mocking Eivass. A strong sense of grievance washed over her, filling her eyes with tears. In that moment, she felt as if she had returned to her childhood, becoming that little girl whose every wish was ruthlessly denied by her father.

“…But I quickly dismissed that thought. It wasn’t because of your influence. It’s because you came for peace. You represent the monarch of Star Antimony. I am not the monarch of Avalon, nor am I a usurper. I have no right to decide whether you live or die. Whether to kill you, whether to go to war with Star Antimony… it’s not up to me. So I will restrain myself until she gives the order.”

Eivass’s speech gradually became more fluent, signifying that he had completely broken free from Emma’s mental control through his own tenacious will. But at the same time, his compassionate gaze, which had shocked Emma’s soul, and the enchanting feeling echoing in her heart gradually faded, as did her sense of grievance and vulnerability.

The Raven stopped pecking Eivass and looked up at her. Its blood-stained beak looked terrifyingly ferocious. For some reason, Emma saw intense hatred and killing intent in the Raven’s eyes.

“…It seems I can’t keep you here overnight then,” Emma said with a helpless smile. She wasn’t particularly flustered, instead asking, “Is that all? You didn’t attack me, only because your Queen hasn’t given the order yet?”

“Another reason is that I am not yet prepared,” Eivass said slowly, rising from the sofa. He adjusted his collar, hiding the blood-stained collarbone beneath his clothes. Even when he accidentally touched the wound, he didn’t cry out. He narrowed his eyes and said softly, “When we meet next time… I will bring you a Tarot card.”

“Are you going to scry for me?” Emma gradually relaxed, returning to her initial lively demeanor, murmuring softly like a little girl, “I want the Lovers card, can I?” As a Succubus’s instinct, she gradually sensed Eivass’s personal preferences. But for some reason, as she watched Eivass stand up, she subconsciously took half a step back.

“That card has already been given to someone,” Eivass replied plainly.

“At the end, won’t you shake hands? My dear?” Emma smiled and stepped forward again, openly extending her hand. Eivass gave her a deep look, then suddenly chuckled. He extended his hand and briefly shook Emma’s. Immediately after, Eivass boldly reached out and hugged her. Just as a warm and innocent smile reappeared on Emma’s lips, Eivass, with a calm expression, whispered into her ear in a low, hoarse voice that made her knees go weak, “I am not your ‘dear,’ Madam. —Your tricks are no longer effective on me, demon.”

The next moment, Eivass gently pushed her away. Then he opened the door. As Eivass was about to leave, he turned to look at Emma, who stood stunned, her hand raised in mid-air, and his lips curved upward.

“Your fangs don’t look very good, Count.” He taunted her with a final remark, but with a bright, sun-like smile. Eivass politely bowed slightly to Emma before formally leaving.

Update complete! It’s a bit late, but it’s over seven thousand words, meow~