"Don't ask me. You have powerful people behind you. You're also a member of the Skylight Clan, don't think I don't know. Sophia Whitewater has confirmed it to me. With everything you have, you should be able to help. What matters is paying the latest installment of 250 million Nature Spirits plus a 100 million late fee. With that, I will have more time to gather and pay the next installment," Lilith replied.

And Richard's eyes could only widen.

250 million plus a 100 million penalty.

He thought he was already wealthy, but those numbers made it difficult for him to think.

Where could he obtain that many Nature Spirits?

Ask the Fire Spirit Queen?

He knew very well that the queen didn't even have treasures left.

What about the Skylight Clan?

He wasn't sure.

That clan had given him treasures and demanded he fight on his own.

If he asked for that many Nature Spirits, Richard doubted the clan would give them. In this case, it was the White Ancestor who managed the clan according to ancestral rules.

"Richard, this kingdom has run out of options. Some elders even went as far as making promises to certain figures that they could marry me if they paid the kingdom's debt. Of course, that meant the entire debt, not just one installment."

"What the hell are they…" Richard said instinctively.

"This is the risk and responsibility I have as the ruler of a kingdom. In a crisis, it's very possible for me to lose my own fate," Lilith replied.

Richard rolled his eyes.

"This is what I wanted to say. The rest, I leave it to you."

When Lilith said that, she looked like she wanted to leave.

But Richard moved quickly to stop her.

"Sister Lilith, why so hurried? I haven't seen enough of you yet," Richard said, staring at her beautiful face and stunning figure in her elegant black dress.

"You?" Lilith was stunned when, after grabbing her hand, Richard suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Sister, now I understand why so many men want you," Richard said.

"Didn't you say you would wait for me to grow up and wait for my desires to mature?"

Lilith, "…"

"W-wait, boy!"

Lilith looked panicked when Richard's face approached her blushing face.

She placed her hand between their faces.

Unlike Grace, who was aggressive with physical contact, Lilith seemed shy in this matter.

She only appeared confident when Richard had still been a child.

But how could Richard stop?

He pushed against her hand with his face, continuing forward until his lips truly touched hers.

Lilith didn't use her power to stop him, so of course it didn't work.

Her eyes could only widen as this boy she still called a boy—despite him being an adult now—finally kissed her lips.

With a gentle push, Lilith leaned against the wall, her body pressed by Richard's.

His experience with Grace gave Richard the ability to move smoothly without awkwardness.

His lips pressed against Lilith's, sucking gently.

Lilith looked frozen, as if she didn't know what she should do.

However, she could feel her body growing hot, the same as Richard's, their body heat warming the air around them.

Of course Richard didn't kiss her endlessly.

To him, a queen must be married first.

His kiss was nothing more than a statement that she belonged to him.

After releasing the kiss, he said, "Sister Lilith, I didn't expect you to be this shy."

Lilith's cheeks grew even redder hearing that.

She pushed his chest and glared at him.

"Boy, who taught you to become this naughty?" she said.

"Am I naughty?" Richard wondered.

"Isn't it normal for me to kiss my own fiancée?"

His words left Lilith speechless.

"But this is truly pleasant," Richard continued while touching his own lips.

He then noticed that his finger was slightly red. Lilith's lipstick had stained his lips.

"Boy, don't even think about marrying me before you help me pay the kingdom's debt," Lilith said with a tone that sounded annoyed, yet very embarrassed.

She turned toward the window, ready to leave.

"By the way, Sister Lilith, where is my Slave Seal that you borrowed before?" Richard asked just as Lilith was about to leave.

Lilith stopped in her tracks when she heard that, turning back to face Richard.

"It has been pawned to the Order of the Crimson Veil. You can only get it back after the installment is paid."

Richard, "…"

As he was stunned, Lilith had already vanished.

She left very quickly.

And Richard began scratching his head.

The sensation of kissing Lilith still lingered in his mind—an indescribable sensation.

His heart burned nonstop.

He wanted to kiss and hug her again.

No, more than that, he wanted to pin her onto a bed and hold her the entire night every time he slept.

However, to obtain that, there was a price he must pay.

This was his marriage dowry. Considering Lilith's status as the ruler of a kingdom and her rapidly growing strength that destined her to become a formidable figure in the future, it was reasonable that the bride price to marry her was equivalent to a kingdom.

As a man who valued a woman's worth, Richard didn't mind paying that price.

He was only troubled about how to pay it.

But fortunately, the price he had to pay was only one installment. Other men would have to pay the entire kingdom's debt.

'Perhaps if it's just asking the Skylight Clan to clear the kingdom's debt owed to them, the White Ancestor might accept,' Richard thought.

He knew he couldn't ask the clan to pay everything, but if the kingdom's debt to the Skylight Clan was cleared, it would reduce Lilith's burden a little.

After thinking about that, Richard left his room and flew toward the mountain where the Skylight Clan's Secret Land was located.

There, the manifestation of the White Ancestor existed.

Standing before the tree on the mountain, Richard was immediately pulled into the Secret Land, appearing above a seemingly endless sea of clouds.

"Not bad, boy… You've grown well…" he suddenly heard the White Ancestor's voice.

Richard immediately saw the white crow appear before him.

"White Ancestor!" Richard greeted the white crow, who gently flapped his wings without actually moving from his spot.

"Boy, what brings you here? You must be here to ask for something, right?" White Ancestor easily guessed Richard's intention.

Richard nodded casually, maintaining a calm expression.

"I want to know whether the Holy Star Kingdom owes a debt to the Skylight Clan," he asked.

"That's right. Not too much, but they've been struggling to pay. They've delayed payments for a long time," White Ancestor replied, giving Richard a suspicious look.

"Can you clear their debt?" Richard asked.

"Boy, are you trying to help that new Queen?" White Ancestor's gaze finally sharpened.

"Yes…" Richard didn't deny it.

"Hahaha… Boy, you've finally become a man. Of course, this is how a man should be. But unfortunately, I can't fulfill your request. A debt is still a debt; it must be paid before it can be considered settled. Even if you become a Grand Sovereign in the future, you will have to return the clan's resources if you want the Holy Star Kingdom's debt cleared. Our resources are for strengthening our members, not for helping outsiders."

Richard, "…"

"But boy, it's not like you have no options. Of course, what I'm about to offer won't be enough to pay the kingdom's entire debt, but it will cover a portion of it." White Ancestor added when Richard fell silent.

"How do I do that?" Richard immediately became interested.

"In the Central Region, based on my observation, a massive Nature Spirit mine will soon appear. If you can seize it, you'll obtain a large amount of Nature Spirit. It will be contested, of course, but the major factions will usually send only Lord Realm Magi to fight over this kind of mine—because stronger individuals might destroy the mine by accident."

"Ohhh…"

Richard didn't expect White Ancestor's solution to be a mine.

And it was in the Central Region.

Maybe the Central Region couldn't be called the strongest territory in the entire Land of Human… but from what Richard knew, no faction there had produced three Grand Sovereigns like the Skylight Clan or the Order of the Crimson Veil.

However, it was definitely the busiest and most prosperous region.

Their strength lay in sheer numbers.

They even had five factions that had each produced two Grand Sovereigns.

And the most recent Grand Sovereign also came from the Central Region.

"I should've sent a clan member to claim that mine, but I'll let you have it." White Ancestor added, sending a beam of light into Richard's mind.

It contained the information about the mine's location.

As it turned out, it wasn't far from the Eastern Region—situated near the border between the two regions rather than deep inside the Central Region.

'I must obtain this mine,' Richard thought.

The total Nature Spirit he could acquire was enough to pay half of the Holy Star Kingdom's debt.

However, he only needed to pay 350 million Nature Spirit, so the rest would become his personal wealth.

Naturally, Richard was extremely tempted by such a massive fortune.

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