Yasenia was quick to notice the speechlessness in their expressions. It was natural for them to be surprised and confused. After all, Yasenia's offer was odd no matter how you looked at it.
Star Forge, being far older, was quick to understand that Yasenia would not offer them something like that without being utterly sure about her suggestion. That, or she was joking with them.
Leaning back, Star Forge glanced at Yasenia and asked, curious. "Spill it. What's the reason for such a sudden and strange offer? It's not that we are looking down on you. I am sure that thousands of people far stronger than us would very willingly kneel down in front of you and become your maids. However, we are not just anyone; we are your friends. So, your suggestion just feels wrong."
Tai Qingzhe and Mo Yun nodded as well. Would they be reluctant to become Yasenia's maids? Partially. It would be a reluctance to lose their current connection. After all, once they become Yasenia's maids, they would need to treat her as their master.
Even if Yasenia later told them to continue acting normally, they knew deep down that the shift in the relationship would be far more fundamental. Even if all of them smiled and chatted like before, their friendship would be much less natural.
Yasenia, seeing their expressions, smiled faintly. "I know that my suggestion is not really… proper. However, it's the only suggestion that can keep you three close to me in the long run. I also understand that our closeness would shift once you three become my maids. Asking you to become my maids and then selfishly telling you to ignore that status and act normally is nothing but childish and shallow."
Star Forge nodded, her body relaxing a tad. "Good that you know. Because if you began spouting nonsense that our relationship would not change, I would've honestly felt an urge to slap your bottom!"
Yasenia blinked and teased. "Do you want to grab a feel? I don't mind. We've even bathed together, so what's a little bit of skinship?"
Tai Qingzhe became dazed for a second, her cheeks becoming pink before she quickly returned to normal. She thought that no one noticed, but after that split second her expression slackened, she had three pairs of eyes locked onto her with a teasing light.
Rosiness returned to Tai Qingzhe's expression as she glared at them. "W-What!? Don't tell me you both never ever had a single moment that you fantasized about this temptation queen!? Especially when all three of us know that she packs what she needs!"
This time, even Star Forge moved her gaze to the side, neither admitting nor denying. Mo Yun fidgeted on Yasenia's lap, feeling a bit shy.
Yasenia laughed and hugged the shifty little girl. "Such a pervert~. Did Little Yun imagine herself doing bad things with this dragoness, eh?"
"Meanie!" Mo Yun pushed Yasenia's face away. If there was a single creature under this Heaven that wouldn't imagine such things with Yasenia at least once, Mo Yun would slap on their forehead the title of Saint of Purity!
Star Forge cleared her throat lightly and returned the conversation to the maid subject. "Now, unimportant things aside, explain a bit more in detail."
Yasenia nodded and picked a cookie to feed Mo Yun as she spoke. The girl took little bites of the delicious cookie with stars in her eyes and puffed cheeks.
"I will be blunt then. Your talents are… mediocre. While you three can be considered geniuses compared to average cultivators. You are far too behind in my world. In just a thousand years, you three will probably be unable to even see my back, much less stand at my same level."
She clarified here, not wanting to be misunderstood. "I don't mind your strengths. The first time we met, I was a little Level 1 Transcendence Realm girl who had yet to develop her first Intent Domain. Back then, either of you could've probably slapped me to death a few times. Yet, you saw past that and became close to me. I am the same."
The three women nodded, listening without hurrying. As people with a few thousand years behind their backs, they knew how to listen before jumping to conclusions… sometimes. After all, they were not machines but creatures of flesh and emotion.
"My mother has a special way to train my maids." Yasenia honestly revealed. "This method is harsh. It has broken millions, and I know that among those millions, only 300-odd maids managed to remain sane until the very end. However, here is the catch. All those 300 maids are as monstrous as I… Well, close enough to at least keep up."
This revelation came out of the blue and startled them all. They couldn't believe that there were 300 other people who could keep up with this monstrous dragon.
Star Forge and the other two, being quick to the uptake, quickly put the puzzle together and understood where Yasenia's offer came from.
This made them thoughtful.
Surprisingly, Mo Yun was the first to speak. She shifted on Yasenia's lap, turning sideways to look up at Yasenia. "Yasenia, when we are maids, what are our expected duties?"
Yasenia looked down at the cute girl's serious expression and smiled. "Be loyal to me in body and soul. That's about it. Anything else is much less significant than that single condition."
The three women were stunned by her declaration. What she said was not something easy to stomach. Moreover, the words were also quite suggestive, making them look at Yasenia oddly.
Star Forge was as blunt as always and asked, confused. "So… your maids are your concubines?"
Tai Qingzhe coughed, her face reddening once more, while Mo Yun also became a bit shy.
Yasenia didn't rush to deny her question. "More than being my concubines… It is a voluntary distinction between concubines and maids."
Star Forge frowned. "Explain."
Yasenia smiled and didn't hide anything. "I, as you three know, am a Progenitor Queen. Naturally, as the first of my species, I take very seriously the matter of spreading my bloodline. However, I am also someone who is very loyal to my partners, and someone who won't increase her harem just to add numbers. Those I currently love are enough for me to love for eternity."
Mo Yun muttered. "So… When you say that the maids are concubines by choice…"
"Yes." Yasenia nodded. "The maids are the only group besides my wives with whom I will ever have physical relationships with. While I can't love my maids as I do my wives, and they will always come first, I will never force my maids to bear my progeny without their consent."
The three of them were somewhat dumbstruck. Then, their faces gained an odd look.
"So, you asking someone to become your maid is like you accepting them as someone worthy of reproduction?"
Yasenia blinked twice, pondered, and then tilted her head. "Now that you put it that way… Yes. It can be summarized as you just explained. My maids are precious people whom I treasure, just never at the level of my wives."
Her words made them enter a thoughtful state. There were too many things to consider before becoming Yasenia's maids.
First, once they became their maids, being friendly like now would be out of the question. Carrying respect for their new master would be something necessary to not become pariahs among the rest of the maid group.
Second, once they gave a nod, they would've basically entered the dragoon's "strike zone." Whether this was an advantage or a disadvantage, that was something for them to ponder.
Lastly, they would most likely go through some kind of hellish training regime once they became her maids, where they might lose their lives. At the same time, they were given a chance to be completely reborn and gain a talent close to the monstrous dragon woman.
Anything beyond these three points was redundant and not worth pondering over.
Yasenia didn't rush them. Instead, she changed the subject and would wait until they sorted out their thoughts. "Let's put this aside. This is not something that you can rush. Moreover, I will still stay in the Blue Pearl World for a few more years. Therefore, there is no reason for you three to feel rushed."
"A few more years for you and for us too, Yasenia." Star Forge sighed, looking at Yasenia with somewhat of a helpless look. "You truly know how to put people in a tight place."
The dragoness harrumphed, her tail slapping the ground a few times. "If you are so reluctant, I will naturally not force you. Why do you look as if there is no other option other than accepting me?"
Tai Qingzhe harrumphed back. "Because there isn't, you stupid dragon. You are basically telling us the following. 'Hey, go through some secret hellish training, and you will gain the power to follow someone as Heaven Defying as me.' It's basically giving us a godly inheritance that can flip our destinies around."
Mo Yun nodded as well, leaning her head on Yasenia's ample chest. "You are quite unfair, Yasenia. How can we say no after all you've said?"
Yasenia looked a bit awkward. After all, she was not stupid. How could she not know that she was basically placing a delicious cake in front of three starved women? For them to say no, their willpower would probably need to be stronger than her own!
It was part of her selfishness this time around. After all, she really liked these three. Not romantically, but profoundly enough to make them her maids. This was a partial acceptance that if they asked her to romp in the beds later, she wouldn't say no!
Therefore, many of her "steps back" in the conversation were sophistry. Anyone intelligent enough would be able to tell that since the start, Yasenia was not going to give them the option to say no.
Star Forge plopped another cookie into her mouth and chewed slowly. After swallowing, she spoke to Yasenia with a smile. "Don't feel bad. You've done nothing wrong…" She clarified. "Honestly, if you didn't tell us about this and we later discovered the specialness of your maids, we would've probably felt hurt."
Tai Qingzhe and the others didn't deny Star Forge's words. If Yasenia never asked them to become her maids, and when she was someone far away, they discovered it, they would've felt as if Yasenia never truly treasured them.
Hence, Yasenia's actions fulfilled not only her own selfishness, but also theirs.
"Alright!" Star Forge stood up, patted her skirt to clean the crumbs, and walked to Yasenia's side.
Then, with a solemn expression, she slowly kowtowed. Yasenia didn't stop her. After all, this step was something necessary to mark the hierarchy between them.
"I, Star Forge, had long forgotten my own name. However, since the day I was reborn through my inheritance, I've always strode forward to make true of my nickname and become a true Star Forger. Henceforth, Star Forge swears under her name, from this moment onwards, Yasenia Dravory will be my eternal master."
Mo Yun slowly stood up as well, walking by Star Forge's side, and took her place to her side. "I, Mo Yun, am someone who reached my current self through perseverance. I never backed down from any challenge, and I will continue to strive to become stronger. From now on, Mo Yun will serve Yasenia Dravory as her maid."
Finally, Tai Qingzhe elegantly stood up, looked at Yasenia coldly once with a snort, but then, her expression changed. She honestly knelt in front of Yasenia and spoke without a hint of reluctance. "I, Tai Qingzhe, am someone who have always accepted the world as it was. My ambitions were never large, but I never slighted myself. Until the day I saw you, I never faltered in my slow but steady advancement. You, one day, appeared like a radiant Sun, blinding me. From thereafter, I could never forget you. I, Tai Qingzhe, swear to follow Yasenia Dravory until my heart turns to ashes."
Yasenia smiled faintly, her eyes soft. "I accept your resolutions. Henceforth, you are my maids."