Ch.193Chapter 193 – Interesting, isn’t it? Who said anything about a legal wife?

Cheon Hyeryeong.

She was by no means a foolish person.

If she had truly been foolish, she would never have grasped the profound principles of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, nor would she have ascended to the position of Heavenly Demon.

The inner energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was the aura of supremacy that overwhelmed all other inner energies—the aura of a hegemon.

Therefore, she could easily sense the energy of those weaker and stronger than herself.

Sensing the energy of the weak was a hegemon’s way of suppressing those beneath them.

And sensing the energy of the strong was a hegemon’s desire to trample those above and place them beneath themselves.

That’s why the moment Cheon Hyeryeong faced Regina Blasteria, she sensed a faint trace of Pathos’s energy from her.

‘So this woman is the lover that my benefactor mentioned!’

Sensing Pathos’s faint energy from Regina, Cheon Hyeryeong realized that she was the lover (情人) Pathos had spoken of.

From the moment she learned this fact, Cheon Hyeryeong never tried to defeat Regina.

If Mano were to learn of this, he would question whether this was truly the sect leader he knew.

Until now, the Heavenly Demon had never yielded to anyone’s will.

This was true for the current Heavenly Demon, Cheon Hyeryeong, as well as all previous Heavenly Demons throughout history—none had ever bent their will.

Yet now, the moment Cheon Hyeryeong faced Regina, she yielded her will.

If she wanted, she could have defeated Regina right then and taken her position.

However, an inexplicable fear that something terrible would happen to her if she defeated Regina held her back.

Fear.

An emotion she had never felt since becoming the Heavenly Demon.

Experiencing this fear, Cheon Hyeryeong bent her will and chose the next best option.

And that next best option was…

“Naturally, I shall become the benefactor’s second woman!”

She would give up the position of the first wife, also known as the legal wife, and enter as his concubine.

After all, what she wanted was Pathos’s heart.

So if she could win his heart, giving up the position of first wife wasn’t difficult.

“…What?”

Regina’s face showed bewilderment at the words that came out of Cheon Hyeryeong’s mouth.

It was absurd that someone who had been fighting desperately just moments ago was now talking about becoming the benefactor’s second woman.

And Regina knew exactly who Cheon Hyeryeong meant by “benefactor.”

She had been watching with her clairvoyance when Pathos healed Cheon Hyeryeong.

That made it even more ridiculous.

“Do you actually understand what you’re saying right now?”

“I do… Is there a problem?”

“Setting aside your talk about becoming his second woman, you nearly got him killed. What do you have to say about that?”

“…Is, is that true?”

When Regina mentioned that Pathos had nearly died, Cheon Hyeryeong broke into a cold sweat and showed a panicked reaction.

From her response, it was clear she was only now learning that Pathos had nearly died because of the aura she emitted.

“When you went to find him, he almost stopped breathing because of the energy you were emitting. Shouldn’t you be asking for forgiveness for that first?”

An aura no less powerful than that of Cheon Hyeryeong, who had mastered 12 stars of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, surged from Regina.

She was likely furious at the fact that her lover had nearly lost his life pointlessly in a distant land.

Only when facing the enraged Regina did Cheon Hyeryeong finally realize her mistake.

“How could this be… It was my error.”

“Unlike us, Pathos hasn’t learned any martial arts or magic. How could an ordinary person withstand the energy of powerful beings like us?”

Regina was also deliberately suppressing her energy for Pathos’s sake.

A great sorceress of her caliber had enormous mana residing within her body, which naturally affected the surrounding mana according to her mood.

This could be fatal to ordinary people who hadn’t learned magic, so she wore an artifact that constantly regulated her power for the sake of her fragile lover.

“I was too ignorant to know about such matters. How sorrowful. To think I caused harm to my benefactor through my carelessness…”

Cheon Hyeryeong was heartbroken that her negligence had nearly caused serious harm to Pathos.

Perhaps that’s why?

Her eyes grew moist, and soon tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“What is this? Why is something flowing from my eyes?”

Cheon Hyeryeong was startled by the tears flowing from her eyes.

Having never shed tears in her life, her confusion was understandable.

When would a Heavenly Demon ever have reason to cry?

With overwhelming power to defeat enemies, where would there be time for tears?

She had never cried even during the painful training process.

In the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, overcoming pain was the shortcut to improving one’s skills.

So no matter how difficult and painful it was, she never shed tears.

That’s why today, she was shedding tears for the first time in her life.

“Sigh… Go find him later and apologize properly.”

“I shall do so…”

Cheon Hyeryeong quickly agreed with Regina’s words.

“And, how old are you to be speaking so informally to me?”

Once the situation had somewhat settled, Regina began establishing the hierarchy in earnest.

“Well, I am not that young…”

“Really? So you’ve lived for over 100 years?”

“…”

Cheon Hyeryeong was struck speechless the moment Regina mentioned 100 years.

Though she had lived a long time, it was only a few decades at most.

But the Regina standing before her had lived for at least 100 years, even at a conservative estimate.

So in terms of age, Cheon Hyeryeong already had to concede.

“Are you not too old?”

Cheon Hyeryeong desperately tried to put Regina down by pointing out her advanced age, but…

“What? This is plenty young. Besides, he doesn’t particularly care about age.”

The attack was ineffective because Pathos knew about Regina’s age and didn’t mind it at all.

“I’ve heard that it’s difficult to bear children when one is too old.”

“Hehe, what an unnecessary worry. Don’t you know that when sorceresses reach a certain level, their bodies stop aging?”

So Cheon Hyeryeong tried to emphasize that women have difficulty conceiving as they age, but she couldn’t say anything in response to Regina’s rebuttal.

“Ugh…”

“If you want to be his second, you should quietly accept that your rank is second, shouldn’t you?”

“…”

Though not wrong, hearing such words from Regina slightly wounded her pride.

But there was no helping it.

She was merely a rolling stone, while Regina was the sturdy foundation supporting the pillar.

“Then what should I call you…?”

“Let’s make this simple. I’m the first and older than you, so call me ‘unni’ (older sister).”

“Ah, I understand. Unni.”

At Regina’s words, Cheon Hyeryeong obediently began calling her “unni.”

However, there was still something that needed to be addressed.

“And could you change your way of speaking? You sound too old. He doesn’t like overly formal speech either.”

“I… have been using this speech pattern for decades, so it has become a habit…”

Hearing that Cheon Hyeryeong had been using this speech pattern for decades, Regina reluctantly nodded.

“Then it can’t be helped.”

She understood that changing one’s speech pattern would be difficult after using it for decades, not just a year or two.

“It can’t be helped. But I want you to maintain proper etiquette. I’m the first, and you’re the second.”

“I understand, unni.”

“…It’s awkward, but I’ll have to bear with it. And make sure to apologize properly to Pathos.”

“Yes, I am fully aware of that. I shall visit him and apologize sincerely.”

Thanks to Regina’s one-on-one special education, Cheon Hyeryeong resolved to apologize properly to Pathos.

“And one more thing. What do you think about the Demon Cult?”

“They are a dangerous group that must be eliminated. How dare they impersonate the Demonic Sect? The only true Demonic Sect is our Heavenly Demon Divine Sect!”

When Cheon Hyeryeong showed clear hostility toward the Demon Cult, Regina finally smiled.

“Good, little sister. I need to stay in the Western Continent, so it’s difficult for me to come here, but it’s not hard for you, right? So please take care of him while he’s here.”

“I understand, unni. I shall protect him with certainty.”