Carl completely ignored Lily's plea.
He pressed one hand firmly against Lily's back, while the other wrapped around her slender, snow-white neck, their bodies pressed tightly together.
Lily could already feel the weapon below pressing against her, sending her into a full-blown panic.
This situation was something she could never have imagined beforehand.
Although she had never personally experienced anything like this, after living for over eight hundred years, she certainly knew what was about to happen.
Her chest heaved violently as she spoke with a trembling voice,
"Saint Carl, please, calm down!"
Carl responded with a wicked smile,
"I'm perfectly calm, Lily-sama. Since you're about to hand your authority over to me, wouldn't it be natural for the one who holds supreme power to take pleasure in a woman without any hesitation?"
As he spoke, Carl also realized that as long as his hand remained pressed against the Lily's back, she couldn't resist him at all.
Naturally, there was no need for him to keep strangling her delicate neck. After all, Carl still considered himself someone who appreciated beauty. Slowly, he moved his arm down from her neck, letting it slide to her towering chest, casually pressing down until it flattened into two soft discs.
The dual stimulation from her back and chest overwhelmed Lily, a feeling she had never experienced before. Her mind exploded with a buzzing noise, turning completely blank.
However, Carl merely maintained this posture, seemingly with no intention to move further.
It wasn't that Carl suddenly decided to restrain himself—he had simply noticed something suspicious while absorbing the energy from the Empty Throne mark using the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit.
The process of absorbing energy went smoothly, but after entering his body, the energy only condensed into a single mass without feeding back into Carl himself.
Moreover, as the energy continued to grow, Carl could distinctly feel countless golden threads weaving around him, as if trying to entrap him.
Not showing anything on his face, Carl secretly rejoiced that he hadn't unleashed the full force of his dark power right from the start. By deliberately slowing the absorption process, he had detected the trick hidden within.
...
Realizing this, Carl's gaze toward Lily turned even more sinister.
At that moment, Lily also snapped back to her senses. She ignored her own humiliating state and forced herself to speak calmly,
"Saint Carl, you're right. Gaining the Empty Throne means gaining the entire world. I too... am yours. Once you succeed in absorbing it, I will surrender myself to you without resistance."
Carl wasn't about to fall for that. He immediately stopped outputting his dark power, maintaining only a thin link to the Empty Throne.
This left Lily in an awkward position. She could already sense that Carl had noticed something unusual, but she knew she couldn't show any sign of impatience now.
Biting her lip, her body stiffened slightly before she began to squirm actively in Carl's arms.
Carl raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile on his face,
"Lily-sama, what are you doing? Are you... trying to seduce me?"
The word "seduce" was a grave humiliation for someone like Lily. She almost slapped Carl across the face but was ultimately forced by circumstance to swallow her rage. Instead, she said,
"If you wish, I will offer everything I have—everything—to you, the soon-to-be King of the World. I do so willingly."
"Oh? That sounds tempting. In the past eight hundred years, I must be the first man to make you say such words, right?"
Lily clenched her lips tightly, forcing out,"Of course... and you will be the last!"
"Excellent. But rushing into it would be so tasteless. Since you're eager to offer me the supreme authority, why don't we first indulge in something more... pleasurable?"
"What?! No! I agreed to give my body to you once you become King—not before! You're still unrecognized by the Empty Throne!"
Carl cut her off,"Heh..."
Without waiting for her to finish, he sealed Lily's lips with his own. The instant they touched, Lily's whole body shuddered as if struck by lightning, turning soft and pliant.
The stimulation at her back continued, and under Carl's skillful assault, Lily's eyes grew even more glazed.
Her fingers and toes curled tightly, her body trapped in a strange mix of pain and pleasure.
Carl savored her thoroughly until her body finally collapsed against him like a boneless mass.
Seeing this, Carl flashed a devilish grin, knowing the time had come to enjoy his prize.
...
Although Lily appeared utterly powerless now, Carl wasn't about to take any chances. Keeping one hand pressed firmly against the Empty Throne mark on her back, he used the other to grab her sea-blue hair and yank her head upward.
The sharp pull on her hair jolted Lily slightly awake. Realizing her current posture, she widened her eyes in horror, struggling to turn and face the Carl floating behind her.
"No! You can't do this!"
"Why not? You just swore to offer everything to me. Now you're going back on your word? Breaking promises deserves the harshest of punishments, you know."
"I meant... after you officially become King! Without the Empty Throne's acknowledgment, you're not qualified! I am still the true master of the Empty Throne!"
Carl sneered,"Hmph..."
He played with her hair idly, as if tugging on reins—an act that wasn't far from the truth. After all, he was about to engage in a very "intense ride."
And Lily... Lily would be his mount—the most noble one in all the world. Just the thought made his blood boil.
"Women… In the end, you're all the same. You think becoming King depends on the approval of some chair? How laughable. Let me tell you something—if I want to, even a broken stool can be declared a throne. Who would dare defy me?"
Lily's face froze. Seeing Carl's clothes disintegrate into black mist, she panicked and cried out,
"No! It's different! The Empty Throne holds a power that surpasses everything in the world! Only by fully absorbing it—"
"I already possess strength greater than anyone alive. And you—who sat upon the Empty Throne for over eight hundred years—are now helpless in my hands."
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+150 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg