As if especially amused by what he had just said, Linda covered her mouth while bell-like laughter escaped her lips. The look in her eyes was hard to decipher, but there was evidently a hint of teasing mixed in there.
"My, thank you! On the other hand, in some ways, you are exactly what I expected."
She didn't go into any details, almost making him want to roll his eyes at her in mock annoyance. But before the expression could reach his facial muscles, he transformed it into a mysterious smile of his own.
"Not in a bad way, I hope?"
Locking gazes with him for a few moments and deliberately keeping him waiting, she eventually shook her head in a relaxed manner. Leaning forward and resting her chin on her palms, she gave a little sigh.
"But of course. In a way, you've even surpassed my expectations. I would love to spend more time with you, to learn more about you."
Remaining silent whilst keeping eye contact, he let her have a taste of her own medicine. Only after a few seconds did his smile widen.
"Personal meetings are going to be tough for a while, unless we get lucky. But with Cadi here, you'll eventually become more familiar with me. And that brings me to an important point: What should I do with her? You know that I will have to take some precautions."
As much as they were exchanging pleasantries, they both knew that they simply couldn't trust each other at this moment in time. If a channel between them–namely Cadi–were to be maintained, then it would have to be sufficiently controlled, to ensure that neither of them could harm the other.
'That presents us with quite the conundrum, though. If I were to turn the girl into a Servant of mine, then there are many ways for me to conceivably hurt Linda. She would be inhabiting a vessel under my control, if only for a time...'
However, there was no perfect solution that he could think of. If he kept Cadi locked away and merely occasionally visited her under controlled circumstances, then strengthening their bond–or rather, developing one to begin with–would be a lot more difficult. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Dao did not provide any 'shared ownership' options for one's Subordinates...
"Make her a Retainer of yours. I'm confident that I can handle it–and if you try anything funny, then I'll know not to contact you again."
Taking this part of the conversation seriously, Linda's gaze was clear and piercing. Although she did not want to become the Heavenly Empress, if it came down to it, then she was positive that she could handle any difficulty that might come her way. No matter what, she was still the most outstanding Losta heiress of all time!
"... then I'll take you up on that kind offer. I've got to say, though: You're aware that she's thirsting after me, aren't you? That won't cause any issue for you, will it?"
Positively surprised by her response, Theodore felt like it was necessary to clarify this point as well. With their discussion having been a friendly one so far, he didn't want any potential developments with this newly transformed Succubus to throw a wrench into their diplomatic relations.
"It's quite the opposite! Depending on how far she'll make it, I'll gain a meaningful preview of what may or may not be to come in my own future."
Playfully licking her lips, she shot him a sensuous, knowing look. What more could someone in her position ask for than letting those like Cadi 'have a taste' of her prospective partners? That would presumably allow her to weed out quite a few more undesirables.
And it would also give her some delightful, otherwise unobtainable memories to witness and enjoy.
"... that's not a bad approach. Just out of curiosity: Inhabiting her body and having some fun yourself in that state won't work, right?"
Truth to tell, Theodore was a bit interested in seeing what Linda could bring to the table. The Lostas' reputation was well-earned, after all. Still, he didn't get his hopes up. If her singular partner restriction was possible to circumvent–especially in such a simple manner–then it wasn't really to be taken seriously to begin with.
In a way, this could be considered another test for her, to see if what she had mentioned earlier was indeed the truth.
"Yes, it will not. Unless we intend to tie the knot, that is. But don't get your hopes up, I'm very picky."
Eyeing him like a professional food critic would an item on a restaurant's menu, a smug smirk stole itself on her lips.
"Jokes aside, you'd best keep in mind that you'll have to inform your chosen partner of whatever pitfall he's about to jump into. I don't believe for a second that there isn't a catch."
Leaning back and rolling his eyes, he decided to speak from the heart for a little while. But more so than that, he was pouring cold water on her to quench that complacent self-satisfaction.
"... as if I'd ever forget that."
Muttering to herself with a hint of powerlessness weighing her down, she became far more deflated than Theodore had initially intended. Apparently, whatever was troubling her was a real headache.
'I've got to admit, I'm intrigued. But now is definitely not a good time to inquire further, especially considering how fragile and fresh our relationship is.'
Giving her a reassuring nod, he chose to remain quiet. With neither of them talking and each one deep in their own thoughts, they enjoyed a rare moment of silence together.
Ultimately, it was Linda who spoke up again first.
"It's about time I give control back to the girl. I'll admit, her thoughts are a bit distracting. I'll need to cool off for a while. See you next time!"
With a slightly exhausted yet radiant smile, Linda's presence faded, leaving Cadi's body to fall backwards with a blank look on her face. Only after a couple of moments did the momentarily not actively commanded vessel blink again, and Cadi hastily sat up, her cheeks a deep red.
"Mr. Winter, are you really going to make me your Retainer?"
Answering her excitement was a notification that popped up in her field of view. Naturally, she immediately accepted his offer. Before he could even have a look at her Status Panel, she had already shot in front of him, entirely ignoring the massive increase in her Standard Attributes. Now barely a few centimetres apart, she stared up and directly at him, her hot breath tickling his skin.
"I didn't misunderstand the two of you earlier, did I? You and me... it's not a dream, right?"
Not avoiding her, but also not closing the distance any further, he calmly and casually nodded.
"It's a possibility. But like I told you, it'll depend on your performance. So far, I've been... quite pleased."
Lifting her chin with his right hand, he stared directly into her eyes, noticing her heartbeat quicken significantly as a result.
"How about... every time you break through from now on, you'll earn yourself a kiss?"
Usually, something as tame as that wouldn't even make her blink. Ever since she had completely fallen for Theodore and transformed thoroughly, though, these words were all it took to cause her knees to buckle.
As she stumbled, he caught her immediately, her blush intensifying once more. Nodding shyly, her eyes were filled entirely with anticipatory excitement.
"I-I'll hold you to it!"
With her head in the clouds and her mind in the gutter, she completely threw caution to the wind. Right then and there, still held in the arms of her new Master, she chose to break through into the Dawning Numen Stage.
Sensing this change almost immediately, the ladykiller responsible for this mess felt his eye twitch. Paying close attention to Cadi to ensure nothing would go awry, he soon was relieved that despite her constantly staring at him, everything proceeded smoothly.
'I'll need to give her a stern reminder later. She really shouldn't do that again–breakthroughs can be dangerous, and should ideally only be experienced after getting oneself into perfect condition. For now, I won't interrupt her. Distracting her at this juncture would be very ill-advised.'
With the room being shrouded in silence once more, he kept holding Cadi in the same exact position as before. Even moving her right now could prove suboptimal, so he didn't want to take any chances.
Right as he was about to attempt to have a look at her Status Panel again, though, he couldn't help but pick up on an interesting development. Raising an eyebrow, he regathered his focus and concentrated on the gorgeous Succubus girl in his arms.
'What's with this breakthrough speed!? Even Vigi and Yeonnie couldn't compare to this. And come to think of it, how did she manage to arrive at the peak of the Mundanity Shedding Realm so quickly? She was faster than me!'
Previously, he hadn't paid all too much attention to her progress, as he had been primarily focused on other matters. Yet with this issue now directly staring him in the face, he couldn't ignore it any longer.
'Her breakthrough difficulty has been reduced by Coattail Ascension, so that should account for a part of it–but the rest has to be her own doing. It has to be a recent development, too, as her rapid improvement could only be observed since not long ago.'
Making triply sure that nothing else would be interrupting him, for the third time within a couple of minutes, he decided to pull up her Status Panel.
And finally, there were no more obstructions.
-----
After 'disconnecting' from Cadi's body, Linda opened her eyes in her current main base. Her six wings rustled a little as if a gentle wind was blowing through them–but she was merely shivering. There was an uncharacteristically deep blush adorning her face and an excited glint in her rose pink eyes.
'Cadi...!! That girl is so shameless! How come her mind is overflowing with so many erotic fantasies about him non-stop!? It was so hard to keep a straight face all this time!'
Having taken a peek at her memories and those of many others before, she was no stranger to these matters, of course. Descending from the Losta Family also brought her a lot of knowledge about it. Still, even she had been taken aback by the absurd intensity of what she had been forced to endure until a few seconds ago.
'Theodore is really exactly my type. I didn't intend to come on to him this strong, but it somehow... just happened. I'm even kind of afraid to check back in a while, now. Who knows how far those two will have gone by then?'
Cradling her burning cheeks in her hands, she took a few minutes to calm down again. That entire time, her tail simply didn't want to stay still.
'Seriously, what is wrong with me? Don't tell me that I actually have a crush on him? No, that can't be it. Not yet, at least. It's definitely that Cadi's mind influencing me!'
A few more deep breaths later, relative normalcy returned. If it wasn't for her minutely heated gaze, nobody would be able to tell that something was off.
'I didn't sense any malice from him. That's actually a lot better than I expected. From what my mother told me, that 'Winter Saint' spiel definitely has to be a publicity stunt. And yet, although he is clearly dangerous, as long as I don't become his enemy, he seems... pretty nice, actually?'
Linda had already removed as much of her personal bias as possible, exclusively analysing her various observations. And from everything that she was aware of and could tell, he was a lot better than most of his peers.
'If we ever end up close to each other, we can try meeting face to face. Even if he wants to harm me, I should be able to survive without any issue.'
Rather than just being on the shortlist, by now, he had made it to the very top. However, only time would tell how long he would keep this position.