Top Tier Perversion: Dual Cultivate Secretly

A little before dinner, Vincent left his bedroom in search of his mother.

The orders meant for D’Arc County had already been sent, and the thought he had before handing them over continued bothering him.

If saving people caused them to owe him, then preventing the upcoming disaster might actually increase his positive karma which could eventually spiral out of control.

Vincent first went toward Vivienne’s bedroom.

His hand almost reached the handle before the memories of last night surfaced.

He stopped.

’Right. Knocking.’

Knock. Knock.

There was no response.

Vincent waited for a moment, then carefully opened the door and found the room empty.

He closed it and went toward Vivienne’s study.

Another knock.

Another empty room.

Vincent stood at the doorway and stared inside for a few seconds.

Through Fate Archive, he knew he had wandered through half the mansion trying to find his mother.

Today, he somehow repeated the same thing.

He clicked his tongue.

’I need to learn from my mistakes.’

The manor was simply too large to search room by room, it was better to ask a maid.

Vincent decided to look for her later and went downstairs for dinner instead.

...

Dinner was scrumptious and Vincent had it with his mother and Anastasia.

He did not converse with her about important matters, and focused on a light chat and eating.

Once dinner was over, he returned with Anastasia to his bedroom and focused on working again.

Tomorrow, Agnes would visit.

That deserved some preparation.

Vincent sat behind the study desk and briefly reviewed the important parts of their previous conversation through Fate Archive.

House D’Arc controlled nearly the entirety of Falkner Kingdom’s railway network, and with it being halted, many were suffering.

Agnes was coming tomorrow for this issue, but the political discussion didn’t matter to Vincent. He focused more on Agnes herself.

The first Entanglement increase happened when they stopped addressing each other formally.

The second happened when Vincent explicitly told her that he would restore the railways for her, and not because of the people’s suffering.

Both changes had one thing in common.

Their relationship had become slightly more personal.

Vincent leaned back and thought about what else he knew about her.

She seemed like a workaholic.

She appreciated directness and appeared to have little patience for unnecessary social games.

She also had a good bond with his mother, and due to that, was quite friendly with him too.

Vincent wrote down a few possibilities.

Perhaps he could bring her something to eat to break the ice faster?

He wrote down the word cake and stared at it for several seconds.

’Does she like cake? The only thing she had when she met us was finger sandwiches and tea. She didn’t eat much and was quite reserved.’

Vincent crossed the word cake out.

After another few seconds, he scribbled on the paper and scrunched it, throwing into trash.

There was no point overthinking everything.

Tomorrow, he would repeat what already worked and pay closer attention to Agnes herself. If an opportunity appeared to make their relationship more personal, he would take it.

Even if nothing changed, a stable Active Link should still be guaranteed.

Anything beyond that would be a bonus.

Vincent stood up and stretched, then asked Anastasia to not wait for him to sleep in case he didn’t return, and left the room.

...

Vincent did not stupidly roam around to search for Vivienne. This time, he went downstairs and asked a maid and got the answer that his mother was in the study, upstairs.

Vincent stared at the darkened skies outside, almost contemplating his life choice.

He shook his head and went to the study.

Warm light escaped from beneath the door.

His hand moved toward the handle, but then stopped.

Knock. Knock.

Vincent didn’t forget to knock.

"Come in."

Linda opened the door from the other side.

"Good evening, young master."

"Good evening."

Vincent entered.

Vivienne sat comfortably behind her desk with several reports before her and a cup of steaming tea. Her wide-brimmed hat had been removed for the night, allowing her long black hair to fall freely over her shoulders.

She looked considerably more relaxed than she had during the Royal Court session.

Vincent walked toward the desk with a serious expression.

"Mom."

Vivienne looked up.

"Do you love me?"

Linda, who was holding a teapot and about to pour Vincent tea, stopped halfway through.

Her expression remained composed, but her movements became noticeably slower.

She quietly placed the teapot down, served Vincent tea, and turned to Vivienne.

"Good night, Madam."

Vivienne glanced at her and nodded lightly.

Linda turned toward Vincent.

"Good night, young master."

"Good night."

She bowed and left the study.

Click.

The door closed.

Vivienne lifted her teacup and took a small sip.

"Was last night not sufficient proof, my dear?"

Vincent froze.

Heat immediately climbed toward his ears.

Vivienne continued drinking her tea as if she had said nothing unusual.

Vincent coughed into his fist and pulled a chair closer.

"No. I mean, yes. I know you love me."

Vivienne stared at him calmly.

Vincent sat down and held the teacup.

"What I’m asking is whether you love me enough to entertain something unreasonable."

Vivienne studied him for a moment.

"My dear, if you want to sleep with mommy again, you do not need to run in circles. Just ask."

Vincent’s eyebrow twitched.

"Let’s talk about that matter later. For now, I actually have a few questions, and the reason I said unreasonable is because I don’t want you to ask me how I know this and why I know this."

Vivienne put her teacup down and leaned back on the chair, looking at her son curiously.

Now this... it was indeed unreasonable, and surprised her quite a bit.

Initially when Vincent said that, she thought he wanted to be spoiled again and go a step further.

He was at that age now and was certainly curious with matters of the opposite sex, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Vivienne reminded herself to not arrive at conclusions so quickly when it concerned her son.

"Go ahead. I will try my best to answer."

Vincent nodded. His mother sure loved him to entertain such requests.

He went straight to the point and asked, "Can you tell me about karma?"

The faint amusement in Vivienne’s eyes faded slightly.

"Karma?"

"Yes. Good karma, bad karma, how it forms, how it disappears, and whether having good karma is actually useful or not and things like that."

Vivienne regarded him quietly before answering.

"I do not cultivate Fate, Vin. If you wish to understand its deeper laws someday, you should ask someone who actually walks that Path."

"It’s okay. I only need the basics."

"Basics can be explained," Vivienne nodded lightly. She knew more than the basics and it should be sufficient to answer all mortal questions related to karma.

Vivienne rested one hand beside her teacup.

"If it’s karma, then first things first, remove the idea of good and bad karma from your mind. Those are simplified teachings commonly spread by churches, temples, and some older sects."

Vincent tilted his head.

"There’s no such thing as good karma? Like if I do good to someone, it won’t create good karma?"

Vincent knew the answer but still asked to let the conversation flow properly.

"No."

Vivienne continued, "Ordinary people are taught that benevolent acts bring good and cruel acts bring bad karma because it is useful. It encourages order and discourages people from committing unnecessary crimes."

"But karma is not a plain good or bad, it works in positives and negatives like credit and debit in the banks."

Vincent thought about it briefly, then asked, "So like, if I do good, I won’t get good karma but good credit?"

Vivienne shook her head. She took a sip of tea and replied, "Positive karma means another person, organization, or existence owes you. Negative karma means you owe them. Think of it like this..."

Vivienne pinched the empty air and a gold coin was in between her fingers.

Vincent was really amused by the sight and almost wanted to ask her to do it again but held himself back.

His amusement did not go unnoticed but Vivienne didn’t speak about it as they might go off topic.

Vivienne showed him the coin and said, "Say if you are in trouble, and I hand you this coin, and your troubles get solved... I would have created a positive karma for myself and negative for yourself."

"It’s simply—"

"Ah, owing," Vincent interrupted her and answered. He knew this much as well and was putting on an act.

"So it’s like the world owing me and me owing the world?"

Vivienne put the coin on the table. "That is a common simplification, and yes. That’s how it is."

Vincent slowly nodded.

"So if I save someone from drowning, he might owe me?"

"Yes."

"And if he saves me later...?"

"The original obligation may be resolved, or another may form depending upon the circumstances and what both parties consider settled."

Vincent’s brows furrowed.

"More karma will be formed depending on the circumstances and not be resolved?"

"Yes," Vivienne nodded. "Resolving it usually means none owe to each other. So if you save a drowning man from the lake, and he saves you from the sea... and he thinks he did more work to save you or his actions were bigger, the matter wouldn’t be resolved. You’d still owe him."

Vincent wrinkled his nose.

"So troublesome."

"It is."

He drank more tea and thought about it deeply.

As his thoughts ran freely, he suddenly wondered, ’If I intervene between two people, I might get someone’s debt transferred to myself and be in trouble. Wait... is this why...’

Vincent looked at his mother.

"Is this why you haven’t helped me resolve the issues of the county?

Vivienne’s fingers paused lightly against the porcelain cup.

Vincent continued, "You could have dealt with most of the problems I’ve faced without much effort. The mines, the bandits, the food shortage, even the Knight Order."

"I could."

There was no arrogance in her voice.

It was simply a fact.

"Then you didn’t because...?"

Vivienne looked at him for several seconds.

"Because they are your karma."

Vincent listened silently.

"If you protect a town through your own decisions, the consequences of that choice belong to you. If Vanessa defeats someone through her own strength, that victory becomes part of her path."

Vivienne gently turned her teacup between her fingers.

"If I use my strength to resolve every problem before either of you has the opportunity to act, I have not merely helped you, but snatched opportunities from you. The result of which... I’m sure you can imagine."

Vincent stared at her.

He thought about everything that had happened since arriving in D’Arc County.

Vivienne could have gone to Gold Town herself.

She could have handled the food shortage.

She could have dealt with the miners.

She could have crushed the Knight Order before Vincent ever needed to dissolve it.

If she had stood in front of him every time something went wrong, the county would probably have suffered far less.

However... it would also have had no reason to remember Vincent.

Every accomplishment would belong to Countess Vivienne D’Arc.

Vincent would simply be the son walking behind her.

Someone else in his position might have been angry thinking why mother wasn’t helping, and somewhere down the line even he would’ve thought why she wasn’t helping.

But due to the karma stuff, he now understood that even if his mother was so powerful and had so much authority, resolving everything may not be the best for his own growth.

Vincent felt relieved and happy that his mother wasn’t someone who intervened every time he got humiliated or in trouble.

He also understood why she hadn’t said a single word in the Royal Court to defend House D’Arc and left everything to him.

She also put herself away from the house’s matters when Agnes came and let everything be his responsibility.

It was not that she couldn’t help, but that she didn’t want to rob his opportunities.

Vincent had another thought after this.

He liked being his mother’s son.

He liked being pampered by her too.

But he did not want that to become everything he was.

He wanted to be Vincent D’Arc, have his own identity.

For what his mother did so far, he was really grateful.

After remaining quiet for a while, Vincent said, "So you deliberately let me and Vanessa handle things ourselves?"

He already knew the answer to this but asking the question was important to let the conversation flow naturally.

Vivienne found the sound of those words cold. She thought that there may be some underlying grievances due to her actions.

She sighed lightly and stood from her chair, walking around the desk.

Vincent followed her with his eyes until she stopped behind him and wrapped both arms around his shoulders.

Her chin rested on top of his head.

"Do not misunderstand me, Vin."

Her embrace tightened slightly.

"I let you and Vanessa walk your own paths because they belong to you. That does not mean I will stand aside when something truly threatens either of you."

She pressed her chin lightly against the top of his head.

Vincent’s brows twitched.

"Ow."

The pressure disappeared immediately.

Vivienne continued as though nothing had happened.

"You and Vanessa are the only two people whose troubles I will never consider insignificant. If something is beyond what you can solve, come to me."

Vincent didn’t know why his mother had the need to say it, but he was happy to have heard that.

He placed one hand over her arm.

"I understand."

"Mm." Vivienne kissed the top of his head and continued, "It is not wrong to rely upon your mother."

Vincent nodded his head in understanding again.

"Don’t forget this, and don’t let mommy remind you again."

Vivienne placed her chin back on his head.

Vincent felt the pressure and tried to get out, but Vivienne held him in place.

He clicked his tongue and said, "What if I have a problem with you, mom? Who will solve that for me?"

Vivienne hugged him more firmly. "I am afraid there’s no escape from mommy’s evil grasp."

"Wow. I didn’t know my mother was such a tyrant."

"Now you do."

A faint smile appeared on Vivienne’s face.

Vincent let out a soft chuckle too.

They remained like that for another moment before Vivienne released him and returned to her chair.

Vincent picked up his tea again.

"Right, so... you mentioned consequences earlier. Is karma with someone as strong as you different?"

Vivienne shook her head. "The karma itself does not become a different kind merely because I am stronger."

She sat down and continued, "The danger lies in what that connection may involve. Someone karmically connected to me may become involved in causes and consequences far beyond what they can survive comfortably."

The words were too big for Vincent, but he nodded, understanding them somewhat.

Even if it was fancy terminology, it made sense.

A red thread was still a red thread.

It was simply a bad idea for an ordinary person to become entangled in the affairs of someone strong like his mother who could just give one order and get him killed.

Vincent took a sip of tea, letting his thoughts settle, then asked, "So like... if karma is basically debt, resolving the debt removes it, right? Say if I owe someone a thousand gold coins, I’d need to pay back a thousand and not a single coin less to remove the karma, right?"

"Most commonly, yes."

Vincent nodded. "If it’s a bank, it’ll decide if the debt is settled. But in real life, between two people, who decides when or how the karma is resolved or the debt is cleared?"

"Both parties involved decided that."

Vincent stopped with the cup near his lips.

"The parties themselves?"

"Yes."

At this moment, something finally clicked inside his mind.

Vincent activated Karmic Thread Perception.

Thin threads gradually appeared within his vision.

One red thread connected directly to Vivienne.

Vincent stared at it for several seconds before placing his teacup down.

He reached for the coin on the table.

Vivienne watched him hold it between his fingers.

"Mom, take this."

Her eyes moved toward the coin that was brought toward her.

"What is it for?"

"An experiment."

Vincent held the coin before her.

"Please accept this as payment for what I currently owe you."

Vivienne looked at him.

Then at the coin.

"One coin?"

"The amount isn’t important."

"You value your mother rather cheaply."

Vincent’s expression changed.

"That’s not what I meant."

A faint smile appeared around Vivienne’s lips.

Vincent leaned forward slightly.

"Please. Just cooperate for a moment."

Vivienne picked up the coin between two fingers.

"Very well."

Vincent stared at the red thread.

Nothing happened.

It remained connected between them.

His brows knitted.

Then he remembered what Vivienne had just explained.

The involved parties had to consider the obligation settled.

Vincent looked back at her.

"Do you accept this as payment for the debt I currently owe you?"

Vivienne regarded him with increasing curiosity.

"Yes."

The thread remained.

Vincent thought for another moment.

"And do you consider the debt between us settled?"

Vivienne slowly turned the coin between her fingers.

"For whatever strange purpose this serves, yes. I accept your payment and consider the current debt settled."

The red thread disappeared.

Vincent froze.

For several seconds, he simply stared at the empty space where it had been.

He looked at the coin between Vivienne’s fingers.

Then at his mother.

Then back at the empty space again.

His eyes gradually widened.

’Holy shit!’

A single coin had removed the entire red thread.

’It was this simple!?’

...

A/N: Hi everyone, I know the Chapters have been longer lately. I wanted your opinion for it. Do you hate paying for such long Chapters and would like shorter ones or is this fine?

I feel I write better when the Chapter length is more than your standard NovelPhoenix Chapter.

But I’m always open to writing shorter Chapters if it means you can save your coins and don’t feel that you’re spending it unnecessarily on too much filler/fluff.

Do let me know your thoughts otherwise I’d continue writing these long Chapters.

Have a good day!

[P.S: Author’s note was added post publishing, it does not count for the word count and will not result in a coin increase.]

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