Lin Lei could clearly recall that back in his youth, embracing Alice had been a heart-fluttering experience. But now, holding Dilia in his arms, he felt a warm sensation that spread from the depths of his heart throughout his entire body—a fulfillment that filled his very soul!
This, was happiness!
The ice in Lin Lei's heart had long since melted.
A happy smile graced Dilia's face. In all these years, she had never felt this joyful before.
"Lin Lei, I'm so happy," Dilia murmured softly from within his embrace.
"So am I." Lin Lei gently stroked Dilia's silky hair and ran his hands over her smooth, rounded shoulders.
Dilia lay obediently in his arms, whispering, "Lin Lei, I feel like I'm dreaming right now… tell me, is this real?" The woman who could hold her own in conversation with an empire's emperor now lay as gentle and docile as a newborn child.
"It's real, it's real." Lin Lei felt the warmth radiating from Dilia's body, and there was a sense of their hearts beating as one.
Dilia suddenly raised her head, looking at Lin Lei with a hint of unease. "Lin Lei, if one day Alice comes looking for you, what would you do?" Dilia was frightened—afraid that Lin Lei might be taken away from her.
"Alice?"
Lin Lei's hand paused for a moment, then he resumed stroking Dilia's hair in reassurance. "Whatever we had between us ended long ago. I feel neither love nor hatred toward her. After all, who she likes is her own choice…" He gently touched Dilia's cheek and smiled. "Dilia, stop overthinking it. I'll never leave you. If I were to give you up… that would make me truly stupid."
"Dilia, do you think I'm stupid?" Lin Lei gazed into her eyes.
Dilia laughed, a radiant, joyful laugh.
"You're a genius—the most remarkable genius on the entire Yulan Continent," Dilia huffed playfully.
Looking at Dilia's lovely, rosy lips, Lin Lei suddenly felt an impulse… Without the slightest hesitation, he lowered his head and pressed his lips directly onto hers. Dilia stiffened as if struck by lightning, her whole body going rigid. But in the next instant, she melted into the kiss…
This was the second time Lin Lei and Dilia had kissed.
The first time had been that night in Wushan Town.
A long while passed before their lips parted.
Dilia said nothing, simply nestling against Lin Lei's chest. A faint blush still colored her cheeks. Lin Lei realized in this moment just how captivating Dilia truly was.
"Oh, I can't watch this anymore, I can't watch this, I really can't!!!" Suddenly Bei Bei burst out of the lake water.
Lin Lei and Dilia both froze in surprise.
Bei Bei hovered in midair, giving the two a sheepish grin. "Ah, sorry, sorry, Boss, Big Sis-in-law, go ahead, keep going!"
"Big Sis-in-law?" Both Lin Lei and Dilia couldn't help but laugh.
"You've been peeking this whole time? Bei Bei, what do you think I should do to punish you?" By now Lin Lei had figured out that Bei Bei must have been watching them. In truth, Bei Bei had used the "Shadow Melding" technique, concealing himself within the shadows on the lake's surface.
Lin Lei hadn't used his mental power to scan for anything, so naturally he hadn't noticed.
"Punish me?" Bei Bei thought for a moment. "Ah, then punish me with a female mouse—as awesome as me, of course. I'm pretty lonely too." Bei Bei put on a pitiful, woe-begone expression.
Lin Lei and Dilia both burst out laughing.
"It's a shame, a mouse as talented as me is truly a once-in-a-thousand-years rarity," Bei Bei sighed, then broke into a mischievous grin. "Boss, Big Sis-in-law… when are you two getting married? I'm worried about you too, you know."
"Marriage?"
Lin Lei looked at Dilia. This was indeed something they needed to discuss.
---
The City Lord's Manor in Black Earth City.
When Buck and the others saw Lin Lei and Dilia walk in hand-in-hand, so intimately, they all froze in shock. Sesler was the first to recover, and he deliberately called out in a loud voice, "Lord Lin Lei, Miss Dilia, what's going on here?"
Due to Lin Lei's status, in public, Sesler addressed him as "Lord."
"Dilia and I are getting married," Lin Lei said with a smile.
The news hit like a forbidden magic spell, sending everyone into an instant uproar.
"Wow~~~ Marriage?" Gates was the first to shout.
"Oh my, Big Sister Dilia, you and Lord Lin Lei are getting married—that's wonderful!" Rebecca jumped up excitedly, and the entire hall erupted into chaos. Only one person wore a somewhat forced smile—that was Jenny. Jenny had spent these past days deeply engrossed in managing the principality's affairs.
She hadn't expected to receive this news so suddenly.
Of course… Jenny had long anticipated that this day would come.
Lin Lei and Dilia shared everything with each other, and Dilia knew about the history between Jenny and Lin Lei. Dilia smiled and walked over to Jenny, then affectionately took her arm. "Jenny, when Lin Lei and I have our wedding, will you be my maid of honor?"
Jenny looked at Dilia's smile and gave a slight nod.
Then Dilia pulled Jenny off to the side, and the two began chatting intimately.
Lin Lei, meanwhile, walked over to Buck, Sesler, and the others. "Dilia and I have discussed it—we'll hold the wedding directly. The date is set for July 21st, three months from now." Lin Lei smiled at Buck. "Buck, I want to conquer the surrounding principalities within three months. I want to establish a kingdom in that time. Can it be done?"
Lin Lei wanted his and Dilia's wedding to be a grand affair.
But three months, in his view, seemed like it might be a bit tight.
"Three months? No need," Buck replied with absolute confidence. "One month is more than enough."
"One month?" Lin Lei asked, puzzled. "In a single month, just the troop deployment to conquer and then reorganize all those conquered principalities would be complicated enough. Conquering the surrounding principalities in one month?"
Gates laughed boisterously. "My lord, you don't understand. Please, take a look." Gates walked over to the military map hanging on the hall wall. "My lord, look carefully at the distribution of forces in the Chaos Region. This area—nearly twenty principalities—belongs to the Church of Light. That area—another twenty or so principalities—belongs to the Church of Darkness. And here…" He pointed. "This territory has no backing whatsoever."