Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

Chapter 356 : Alone with Frieda

"So, what did you want to talk about that was so urgent?" Alex inquired as he sat comfortably, placing one of his legs above the other.

On the couch across from his, though slightly angled in a different direction, sat Frieda, her usual gentle demeanor and soft smile gracefully resting on her face.

They were currently inside Frieda's mansion, which was just as large—if not larger—than Freya's. Aside from its size, however, everything about it seemed like a deliberate replica of Freya's home. When Alex stepped inside, he couldn't help but wonder whether it had always been designed this way or if Frieda had intentionally modeled it after Freya's, only bigger. Either way, that wasn't the reason he was here, and he couldn't care less about the resemblance between the two estates.

Frieda had approached him the instant he finished his meditation to recover his mana, claiming she wanted to speak with him about a serious matter that couldn't wait.

Obviously, he had accepted to follow her—not because he believed the matter was truly serious, but rather because he currently had nothing else to do. Freya was in a meeting with Kizzarae, and both Amelia and Maya were in the library.

That wasn't the only reason, though. He had also been meaning to meet alone with Frieda again ever since the last time they had greeted each other. The truth was that he wanted to use her as a guinea pig to see if what the goddess of lust had said about the lust energy was indeed accurate.

Of course, by now, he was pretty certain it was true—after all, he had been using it frequently during his intimate moments with either Amelia or Freya. So, there wasn't really a pressing need to further test its effects on Frieda… but he still wanted to. If not for curiosity, then simply to make her comply with his desires.

Frieda's smile widened slightly, enhancing all her charm and mature beauty. "There are two reasons why I wanted to meet you, Sir Arcanor," Frieda began, her tone both formal and alluring. "The first is that I wanted to convince you to work with the first branch of our family. And the second… was to give you the reward of our little bet regarding your duel with Froze."

"Is that so?" Alex said, a smirk appearing on his face. "Well, concerning your first point, let me make something clear—I'm working with the Drazen family as a whole, not with any of its branches. As for your second point... I'll admit, I'm curious. What kind of reward do you intend to offer me?"

Frieda's expression sunk a little when Alex said he wasn't working with any specific Drazen family branch, but only for a moment. She wasn't stupid—what Alex claimed might have held true if Freya hadn't been the former head of the second branch. Even now that she was the matriarch, any deal or achievement under her name would still be seen as an extension of the second branch's influence.

'One step at a time,' Frieda reminded herself, her gentle smile quickly returning to her face.

"I don't really have a clue what Sir Arcanor might like," she said with a soft tone, "so I thought it might be better to let you choose the reward you want from me, and I'll do my best to fulfill it. You can ask for anything you desire." She placed deliberate emphasis on the word "anything" as she shifted her posture, elegantly crossing one leg over the other and through the high slit on the side of her dress, Alex was offered an unobstructed view of her long, smooth leg, the fabric parting just enough to reveal her thigh. 

'So she wants to play it that way?' Alex mused, the corner of his lips tugging into a knowing smile. 'That'll only make things easier for me.'

"I can ask for anything, huh?" he asked, seeking confirmation, though he already knew her answer.

"Yes, anything," Frieda replied, leaning slightly forward to offer him a glimpse of her cleavage.

"Then strip for me," Alex said bluntly.

Frieda froze, surprised by what she had just heard. She had invited him with the hope of making him succumb to her charm, so in a way, she had achieved her goal. But she never expected Arcanor to be so direct. Although seducing him had been her intention, something in the way he spoke rubbed her the wrong way. It felt like an order—something she deeply disliked—but that wasn't what truly upset her. It was more about the tone and the words themselves; they made her feel like a cheap whore, and that didn't sit well with her.

It could be said that Frieda was in quite the delicate position right now. She had Arcanor exactly where she wanted him, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that if she gave him what he wanted, she would be betraying herself. She was, by no means, a whore. In fact, the only man who had ever laid hands on her was her late husband.

'Have I really fallen this low?' she asked herself in disbelief.

In the past few years, her mind had been consumed by one goal: to defeat Freya and force her to step down from her position as Matriarch. Without even realizing it, Frieda had gradually changed, losing sight of the person she once was—so much so that she now found herself attempting to seduce a man and lure him into her bed.

"Relax, Lady Frieda," Alex chuckled, noticing the growing look of disgust on her face. "I was just messing with you. You don't have to do anything like that."

Hearing this, Frieda let out a quiet sigh of relief. Her charming smile quickly returned, though she couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation. If she could, she would have slapped Arcanor for his tasteless joke.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said, regaining her composure, "but that still leaves us at an impasse. I don't know what you want as your reward, and I haven't convinced you to work with the first branch yet." She paused, then her eyes lit up with an idea. "Tell you what—how about we build a foundation of trust between us first?"

Alex raised a brow. "And how do you intend to do that?"

The moment the words left his mouth, as if she'd been waiting for the opportunity, Frieda immediately pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to him.

"It seems you've given this some thought," Alex remarked, skimming through the soul contract Frieda had handed him.

The soul contract didn't contain many clauses to begin with—in fact, there were only two. As Alex read through them, he quickly understood they were merely meant to make him trust Frieda. One clause simply stated that, upon mutual agreement, the present contract could be modified. There wasn't really a need to include such a clause since all soul contracts worked that way by default, yet Frieda had gone out of her way to emphasize it.

The second clause, however, stipulated that should Frieda ever come to learn any type of information about Arcane or its leader Arcanor, she was strictly forbidden from sharing it with anyone. In fact, she wasn't even allowed to reveal that she possessed such knowledge. Violation of this clause would result in death.

'This clause is actually quite severe,' Alex thought to himself as he went over the contract. 'Still, there are ways to circumvent even such a strict clause.'

There was a reason most people simply silenced those who knew too much instead of resorting to soul contracts. First, soul contracts were extremely rare and, by extension, extremely expensive—far too valuable to use just to ensure someone kept their mouth shut.

Second, even if someone did sign a soul contract, if that person was truly determined to circumvent it, they could find ways to do so. Soul contracts were restrictive, yes, but they were far from infallible. Nothing really was—except maybe the gods.

In the end, though, Alex accepted and signed the contract, deciding he would deal with whatever problems it might bring him—if any arose at all.

The moment he signed it and placed a drop of his blood on the paper, a dazzling smile bloomed across Frieda's face. She felt like she was finally making progress in bringing Alex over to her side.

Another reason for her sweet smile was that she now had a real chance to uncover who the mysterious Arcanor truly was. The idea that Freya might know his identity while she didn't had been gnawing at her since yesterday. And beyond that, there were very few in Drisidd who weren't at least a little curious about the man behind the mask.

"Let me guess, you want to know my real identity," Alex said with a chuckle.

"I won't deny I'm curious. But even though you signed the contract with me, the choice is still yours, sir Arcanor. You're under no obligation to reveal yourself, and I would understand if you chose not to," Frieda replied.

'Then why are you looking at me with such expectation,' Alex chuckled inwardly.

Rather than wasting more time, he manipulated his smoke mantle and mask, dissolving both into a cloud of smoke.

Simultaneously, Alex summoned the lust energy and coated his entire face with it. 

After using the lust energy so many times, he was finally getting the hang of controlling it. He didn't really know what to expect from covering his face with lust energy, but he did it anyway.

However, as the smoke condensed into a sphere and his features were gradually revealed to Frieda, Alex realized that the effect was far greater than he had anticipated.