"I don't underestimate them?"

Lilith shook her head. "You do. You just haven't realized it yet."

"How exactly?"

Lilith pointed at the dark halo on his head and said, "If you hadn't underestimated karma, you wouldn't have that halo. There's a reason why people do not go on massacring sprees and a balance is maintained."

Lilith then swiped her hand and a screen popped up in front. On it, there was a live telecast of the people involved in the war.

"Look. So many people are in pain. There's so much trauma involved. Your strength is not so high that you can avoid retribution from this. Let's say, even if you bring back people from the dead, the suffering they've gone through wouldn't be eradicated. Hence, that halo is still going to be on your head, serving as a reminder and becoming a harbinger of disaster."

Lith nodded thoughtfully. "You're right about that, mom. I was prepared for this though, so don't worry."

Lilith smiled gently. "Try not to die. And try to end this war as quickly as possible. If it gets any higher and you accumulate more negative karma, then there wouldn't be people attracted to you, but natural causes. You'll die of heart attack or heavenly tribulation, so beware."

"Understood."

Lith got up from the table and stretched with his arms raised. "There's so much to do lately."

-Stopping the world war.

-Fighting Evure God Clan.

-Spending time with wives.

-Spending time with disciples and maids.

-Rewarding Luna.

-Dating Sylvia.

-Dating aunt Mayzin.

-Orgy with all aunts.

-Going to the higher realm.

-Dual cultivating.

There was just a lot to do. He hadn't met Emilia and Alexandra for such a long time. There was an urgency to meet them.

Lilith chuckled. "I can guess. You've gotten so busy that you haven't even spent time with mama."

Lith rolled his eyes. The first thing he had done was spend time with her and his sister after finishing the cooking training. Yet she says this.

"I'll be back home after a while. We can spend time then." Lith said as he walked away while waving his hand.

Lilith placed her hand on her face and replied, "My, my, you're already prioritizing other things over mama."

Lith didn't give in to her provocation and left.

His mother got a lot of his time, but it was never enough for her. He thus had to steel his heart and not give in to her drama, otherwise no work would get done.

Lith walked out of the courtyard and then texted a certain someone. He got dressed and was out of the castle, sitting in a carriage.

The door of the carriage opened up and a beauty in black gothic dress wearing a black wide-brimmed hat. Platinum gray hair cascaded down her shoulders. Despite the vast contrast, what stood out the most was her apathetic look as she entered the carriage.

Looking at Lith, Sylvia bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

Lith smiled and patted on the seat beside him. "Have a seat."

Sylvia nodded and went to sit. There were no thoughts in her head as usual.

The carriage took off, its destination unknown.

Lith didn't talk to Sylvia in this meantime and sat in silence with her. A lot of thoughts were going on in his head regarding Sylvia's situation.

Usual methods of going on dates to an amusement park or karaoke bar won't do. There needs to be something meaningful that would stir up Sylvia's heart.

He had the right place for it, but whether it would work or not was unpredictable. Still, he had to try it.

The carriage stopped in a forest with an open field. The weather was warm and the sun was up. This wasn't the Vampire Continent anymore.

Lith got down and gave a hand to Sylvia to get down as well.

This was their first touch. He first made her get used to his company and him as a whole by having her seated beside him, now he made physical contact, which would be of help later on.

Standing in the open field, Lith smiled and said, "A key to one's heart is to satisfy their soul first."

The random line out of nowhere made the gears in Sylvia's brain run. She began comprehending what her Prince just said, but couldn't make much sense out of it, thus stood there once again with a flat look.

Lith walked towards the center of the open field and took out a barbecue grill, then various different utensils, tables and chairs.

He instructed Sylvia to arrange things and help him out, which she did without any hesitation.

After everything was set up, Lith said, "Alright, now we need to gather the ingredients. The area we are in has a lot of stuff, so let's go grab a few good things."

Sylvia nodded and the two set out on their little adventure.

.

.

.

"No, no, that's poisonous!"

Lith held Sylvia's hand and brought her close in his embrace, then let her go. It was too quick and she didn't notice they had momentarily hugged.

Sylvia blinked in confusion, but this situation had barely any effect on her emotions. She still retained the flat look and nodded in understanding.

Having held her hand, Lith went to another area to gather the same types of berries Sylvia was finding.

"Look, these are not poisonous."

"Understood."

Sylvia was the one to move around and gather the ingredients while Lith was following and informing her about things.

"Oh, that's a good beast. Their meat comes out really tender when steamed."

"Steamed?" Meat can be steamed? A spark of curiosity rose within Sylvia.

"Yes. You can steam a few types of meat consisting of a distinct protein that only reacts properly to steam and not oil or flames."

Lith gave a few information here and there to keep Sylvia's interest up while they continued to be on the lookout for ingredients...

"No, no, don't touch that. It's a troublesome beast. Eating it will make your libido shoot up."

"Aphrodisiac?"

"Yes, it acts like that."

..

"Try this. It has a spicy sweetness?"

"Mhm? mhhfff!"

A mandarin-sized squishy orange-colored cherry is stuffed into Sylvia's mouth.

A hint of surprise sparks in her eyes, and is eventually replaced with a curious sparkle.

Smiling, Lith asks, "You can feel it in your throat right? The odd burning feeling?"

Sylvia nodded. She could definitely feel it.

'I've never tasted something like this before.'

"There's still half an hour remaining. Let's see what more things we can find."

..

"Spicy?"

"Yes."

"Poisonous?"

"No."

"Edible?"

"No."

"Okay"

"Don't be dejected. You're getting the hang of it."

"Yes."

..

Sylvia only conversed with one word at a time, but Lith was starting to feel her emotions within them.

They were faint, but subtly rising as they spoke.

By the last ingredient, which was a certain type of mushroom that needed the two of them together to pull out, Sylvia got used to Lith's touch and became comfortable with him being in her close proximity.

Lith could always force himself on her since she was his maid, but he was taking things slow to deliver what he had promised.

Love is not something controllable, and with how Sylvia is, it would be really difficult to have it sprout.

Chances of her awakening these feelings were close to nil, but not zero.

This poor girl had suffered quite a lot in her past and had become indifferent to everything. She would need to be spoiled quite a lot to actually awaken her dormant emotions.

That was where another problem lay. Spoiling her was a problem too. Lith could not treat her like a weak, young damsel in distress. Doing so would result in resistance or her getting ticked off.

She was a strong lady. A Supreme Rank Witch. Even if she's indifferent to everything, there's still an innate pride that needs to be taken into consideration.

'Not a problem. I have all the time in the world. Maybe.'

Lith thought to himself as he chopped vegetables and looked at Sylvia who was washing fruits.

When she was done with it, Lith had her wear an apron and began cooking food with her.

"Okay, so first we'll make some stir fry appetizers, then curry rice for main course, and a cheesecake for dessert."

Sylvia nodded in understanding.

Lith walked behind her and holding her hands, said, "I'll teach you how to toss the wok properly while making stir fry. It should be done in a few minutes."

Sylvia's eyes fluttered in surprise. If it was some tossing, couldn't she do it herself?

The question that popped up in her mind was quickly answered as Lith skillfully maneuvered her hands to toss the wok and make stir fry.

Not only was she moving the wok, but also adding various ingredients in them with her free hand. It was a simple yet complicated process that required precision and focus.

Sylvia found some amusement in this, but it still wasn't something that moved her.

Lith took a spoonful of curry that was in the process of cooking and blowing on it to cool it down, moved the spoon towards Sylvia's mouth.

"Have a taste and tell me what's missing."

Sylvia cutely had the curry and as its savory, spicy taste flowed on her taste buds,

"Mhmm"

A satisfied moan involuntarily left her mouth.

The corner of Lith's lips curved up. This was the power of a legendary chef! He could even make someone as indifferent as Sylvia moan without any sexual efforts!

Realizing what she just did, Sylvia quickly placed her hand on her mouth and covered it.

A slight rosy hue took over her pale complexion, making Lith smirk in satisfaction.

'What did I just do?' Sylvia thought to herself. Something like this had never happened before and she was really confused as to how her body reacted on its own.

"Looks like the curry is tasty. Good. Good. Let's move on to make rice and dessert then."

Lith held Sylvia's hand and pulled her towards the table having ingredients for the cake.

"You'll be making it. If you don't know, just ask, I'll guide. Okay?"

Sylvia nodded. "Okay."

This time, her response had some amusement within it.

Lith was making progress. It was just a little, but progress nonetheless!

"Alright, start with it then. The first thing you should do is"