Chapter 202 – Where Loyalties Lie

Chapter 202 – Where Loyalties Lie

The three of us simply bask in the glory of our recent union, slowly coming down from the blissful sensations still echoing through our bodies. While Shino rests her cheek on my chest with her eyes closed, Natalie watches her best friend from the other side. A delicate smile curves the blonde’s soft lips.

Trying my best not to bother my cute samurai girl, I manage to wiggle myself out from between them, getting a curious glance from our lovely bard. Shooting Nat a quick wink, I move over her and plop myself at her back. With a gentle push, I bring her closer to Shino and she ends up in the middle this time. As the Japanese beauty snuggles to Natalie’s impressive bosom sleepily, the American actress wraps her arms around the shortie. I join them with my arms capturing both, pressing my chest into Natalie’s smooth back.

From my position, I notice a single tear escape the corner of her eye and scoop it with my finger, caressing her cheek. “What’s wrong?”

Natalie gently shakes her head. “I apologise. It’s nothing. I just... never thought I would be able to feel such happiness.”

Smiling to myself, I continue to stroke her lovely skin and add some kisses to her golden hair into the mix. “Then, by all means, don’t hold back. I don’t really like seeing charming ladies cry, but if it’s the good, joyful tears, I think I can make an exception.”

“Thank you,” she whispers quietly and holds Shino in her embrace.

I’m well aware that the little lady is fully awake and conscious of everything happening around her, but she chooses to stay silent and let her best friend come to terms with her strong emotions. In the end, these two aren’t exactly that different. Both young women held their feelings locked in their hearts while hoping for a change in their lives. You can say that being dropped into another world was exactly that, allowing them both to finally achieve happiness.

And I plan to do my best for Shino and Natalie to experience the most out of it.

After about fifteen minutes, the girls begin to stir so we all sit up and exchange warm smiles. I gesture towards the petite lady with my eyes as I look at the tall woman and Nat flushes a tiny bit. She does follow my guidance though and places a dainty, chaste kiss on Shino’s lips, surprising the shortie a tad. It will take some time until Natalie becomes capable of showing affection to our little girlfriend with others present, and me, but she’ll get there.

I sneak a peck on their cheeks too and we decide to jump into a quick bath. Shino takes charge and washes Natalie with great attention, receiving similar treatment in response. It’s a fascinating sight. They look so perfect together. And I don’t mean their heights for some intimate fun.

Then, the duo cooperates to take care of me while presenting their fascinating bodies in the best light. The blonde is much more reserved, but she enjoys following Shino’s antics as it gets her a few peeks of the naked shortie making sexy and very erotic poses in the process. I don’t think she will have enough of our black-haired princess anytime soon. Who can blame her, really?

With the others that we have invited here already gone, we are stopped only by a few of the resident ladies on our way back to my chambers. Cornelia lets us know not to worry about their sleeping arrangements and wishes us good night as she retreats somewhere, most likely to join my other understanding wives wherever they are gathering.

So, the three of us snuggle together with Shino in the middle and doze off on top of the massive bed. She is gone first, leaving me alone with the gorgeous blonde. Natalie peers into my eyes with her enchantingly blue gems and brings our foreheads together above Shino’s head.

“Thank you again,” she whispers. “I promise not to let you down in taking care of Shino. And I really liked our moments together. I just wanted you to know that I think I might have enjoyed it as much even without her present. But... I got more excited watching you two... Or being part of it... Does that make me weird?”

I smirk gently and peck the bridge of her nose. “Everything is alright. I honestly expected you to have a thing only for Shino, but I’m glad to hear that you find yourself interested in us too. You most likely know from her about me and I’ll happily offer you more chances to have some fun watching the two of us go at it. Might even lend you a nice tool or two for your own fun.”

A tinge of pink spreads over Nat’s gorgeous cheeks. “I could use the cast she mentioned... The one... Of you...”

With a small snicker, I nod. “You’ll get as many as you want. I’m sure they’ll be helpful on your journeys. Fingers and hands grow tired a bit faster on their own.”

She lets out a chuckle too. “They do. That’s why having a partner is much better. I wasn’t sure about taking a man inside, but it’s just as unique as being touched by another girl, or Shino specifically. It was nice how you moved against my sensitive parts with gentle care. I believe I’m going to enjoy it even further the more we try it.”

“I’m honoured you think so. It would have been such a pity if you weren’t into men, Natalie.” I pull her in for a loving kiss. “Now, let’s join our cute girlfriend in the dreamland. If she wakes up first, we won’t be able to leave the bed for a good while.”

She agrees, ponders over something for a moment, and then gets up. Very carefully, Natalie slips between me and Shino, with her back facing my front. She wiggles herself into me daintily and sighs softly as I settle my frame against hers, wrapping both her and Shino in a dear hug. A bigger smile adorns her plump lips as she finds comfort with me embracing her and resting her face in her best friend’s dark hair.

Sleep takes us fairly quickly as I think about everything that has happened recently and is bound to happen.

And, as expected, something happens even before I fully wake up. An extremely familiar sensation greets me as I come to, in more than one meaning of that phrase. The adoring, hot pressure wrapped around certain parts of mine doesn’t relent until my mind explodes, alongside something else. The only surprise is the fact that I find both ladies with their faces glued to my member under the sheets instead of the cheeky cutie only.

When they are done welcoming the morning with a bang, I pull them up to me and we just lie together for a few minutes. Natalie starts reviewing her status with Shino’s input. It looks like they have used the excuse of seeing if everything works properly to suck me right from the early hours and I honestly can’t blame them, even if that is obviously silly since my buffs from a few hours earlier are still there.

As they chat about her now incredibly big numbers and the new shared skills the blonde received, I observe from the side without interrupting, doing my own analysis and comparison. But, the thing that interests me the most is on my side.

Pulling up my Partners, I find Natalie’s entry on the list. Her score shows as four out of five, and that doesn’t surprise me much. It could have been lower with her being so infatuated mainly with Shino. But, she seems well-interested in me too, which is quite kind of her. As for the actual description of our relationship, it’s displayed as Growing Romantic Interest. I bet if Shino had her own list, it would be something akin to Boundless Devotion, or Bottomless Adoration, hah. Nat really has it bad for the Japanese beauty and it shows.

The duo turning their gazes to me brings my musings to their end. “Sorry? Did you say something?”

“We just talked about how strong Natalie-san has now become and that the others will definitely notice even if we don’t say anything,” she explains.

“Does that bother you?” I ask, mainly glancing the bard’s way.

The recipient of my gaze shakes her head. “No, not really. I just hope they won’t think of you badly. Especially Paul. It’s a fact that you have slept with all the women in our party right now. At least considering the original squad. Don’t take it wrong, but I don’t think you should take Catherine.”

Snorting quietly, I laugh at that. “Same, my dear, same. I’m not going to steal someone who is clearly interested in another. I’m hoping she finds her way into Paul’s heart too. As for any potential issues, I think only Kamil can give me shit but it’s not like I care. What matters is that you are happy.”

“I want to see him try.” Shino growls cutely, making the two of us chuckle.

“Already getting protective of your new girlfriend?” I raise an amused brow at her and she turns fully crimson. “Good. Nat might be the one I recruited to keep you company on the road, but you should take care of her properly too. I’ll spank you if you don’t show her enough affection and only treat her as my substitute, got it?”

“I would never...” she mutters quietly.

“Let’s get something to eat and meet up with the others. There’s a lot we have to talk about and I want to visit Ross later too. The earlier we get more information out of that woman, the better. I wouldn’t be that surprised if she still had some means of losing her life that triggered automatically over time.”

We dress up slowly and I catch Natalie checking out my petite lover, making the blonde beauty smile timidly. Saying nothing, I simply gesture at her to continue at will and she gives my form some glances too before focusing on the more appealing type of body that tickles her fancy. With some fluffy pecks, we make our way into the dining hall with most of our friends and lovers already present. The three of us take the spot at the table with Paul’s squad and some of my ladies.

“Nat not being the first one to show up? Damn, you must have been exhausted last night.” Marcia snickers, bringing up the faintest shade of crimson out of her.

Natalie has such an amazing grip on her emotions and facial expressions. A true actress to the bone. Her poker face could win tournaments on its own.

Also, no shock Marcia knows. She might not be my girl, but we do share a connection and fucked more than once, so her noticing a new bond forming last night is more than natural. We won’t be able to fool her no matter what. I can only hope the others can remain oblivious for as long as possible. Natalie should have some more time to come to terms with the recent progress in her love life before being questioned about her choices by anyone.

“I think we all were after that fight.” Shino defends her with a logical excuse. “Natalie-san had a lot of healing to do and spent a huge amount of energy.”

“Good thing she now has a great way to resupply it,” the redhead adds with a grin and drops the topic. “So, what now?”

“First, let’s talk.” I turn to Catherine, who is taking a bite of a delicious salad one of our girls made. “I remember you reacting to the woman’s name down in the sewers. Is there anything you can share with us about her?”

She pauses for a moment before placing her fork down. “I recognized it. It’s not a name I expected to hear ever again.”

“A former comrade? Associate?” I raise a brow at her.

“Not directly, but something like that.” The officerly woman shakes her head. “Madeline Hagsburn was a renowned mage in the kingdom’s army. As you have seen, she possessed quite the mastery of arcane sigils. I never met her because she was active before my service started, vanishing one day with her whole deployment. No one knows what happened and the previous King was dismayed at losing one of his best women. Though, he didn’t get much time to investigate or even consider it as he himself... left our side less than a month later.”

The rest of us exchange glances of understanding and some initial realisation.

“You don’t think... those two events might be connected?” Paul suggests.

“Very well,” Melrond replies and the duo sits back down.

“Have you learned anything new since we last spoke?” I turn to the King.

“Not much, I’m afraid.” He spreads his arms in defeat. “Most of the grunts we captured alive seem to be hired hands, mercenaries and adventurers who fell from grace and couldn’t continue their work with the official guilds. They only knew their orders to kidnap and protect the target or cause a ruckus to serve as a diversion. They point out the captured woman as the intermediary between them and the client. Anyone closely related to that group besides her is dead, either from self-poisoning or some magical trigger. You?”

“She blurted out a few names after realising it doesn’t kill her before I put her to sleep. I’ll share them with you two later just so fewer people can get accidentally involved in whatever is happening. It’s not that I don’t trust you three but it’s more for your own safety. The chances that they will try anything with you after this failure are close to none. It would be different if they learned that you are actively working on uncovering the truth. My advice would be to remain on the side and act shaken, oblivious to everything other than the public information on the kidnapping incident,” I answer. “I did get the woman’s real name, though. Madeline Hagsburn.”

Lianne flinches on my lap while Ross’ brows jolt upwards. Vanessa’s family looks surprised too so my assumption that they are at least aware of the woman’s official story is proven right.

“I knew she looked fucking familiar.” The King slams his fist onto the table between us. “Is her whole damned squad in this?”

“We don’t know that yet.” I offer him a placating smile. “But we will find out everything we can. Nevertheless, things most likely won’t become safer again anytime soon no matter what we do. Your best choice might be to go on the offensive if we learn that simply defending illegal business isn’t their main agenda and only overlaps with the unexpected changes in your laws.”

“We should interrogate her as soon as possible.” The petite Queen shifts on my thighs. “My late husband has never managed to find out what happened to them and it was eating him inside out until his last moments. In his memory, I have to know why she defected. If she was still in service, he might have come back alive from that fateful battle.”

I hold Lianne dearly as she coldly pours her heart out. This much is already making the playful and collected woman become worked up and I’m only reinforced in my decision to keep her partially out of the loop for now.

“We will soon enough,” I say into her ear while caressing her dainty hand. “Did Philippa and Melrond mention anything about the reasons behind being targeted?”

“We can’t think of anything else besides our support for the new legislation,” the man answers. “It’s a bit too much to be revenge for the heinous acts of our son, in my humble opinion. Not to mean any offence to the deceased victims, but they weren’t of high enough standing for their relatives or anyone to gather funds substantial enough to finance something this grand.”

“I have to agree with Father on that one,” Vanessa joins in, giving me one more glance as if to check if I’m still intending to stop her. “I personally investigated most of those women to compensate their families and bring the bad news to those still searching. And, as you know, females of other races usually don’t have good enough status in these lands. I don’t intend for it to sound like a compliment, but Brother knew who to pick to play it safe.”

I grimace but can’t deny that. He was collecting his victims from slave auctions and that single source already tells you enough.

“I agree with Mother that we should go to Madeline post haste. We need to get as much out of her as we can before she is gone. Every second is a risk that something or someone takes care of her. I locked her up in a secret area known only to our family so that none of the staff had any idea about her location. We can’t rule out having moles amongst our ranks if these terrorists can pull in even high-ranking officers to their side,” Rossberg insists.

“Okay.” I relent, knowing that we won’t get anywhere with this conversation now that they have their sights on the woman.

When we stand up, Vanessa’s parents rush to me almost instantly, pulling me into a powerful hug the moment Lianne takes a single step away. I let them convey their feelings and emotions freely for a few seconds. After they retreat, their daughter approaches me too with a hesitant gait. She waits for my explicit permission before slowly coming into my open arms and squeezing me tightly.

“Understand that I’m not rejecting you,” I whisper in her ear. “I simply don’t want you to disregard everything that you are to compensate me or show your gratitude. If you one day manage to convince me that it’s out of honest feelings, I might consider it. Nonetheless, you will always be a friend and don’t forget that. My girls are waiting to help you go through the troubles of your body and mind. You are welcome anytime.”

I feel her faint nod and release the pretty princess. She sniffles a few times while wiping away the tears out of her eyes and gives me an appreciative smile. Before I can react, she leaves a tender peck on my cheek and trots back to her parents, who glance at me in thought. Not wanting to give them a chance to come up with the same idea as their daughter, I mentally signal to Lianne, who ushers them out of the chamber and orders them to rest.

With just us left inside, she puts her hands on her hips. “Alright. Let’s go. I’ll show you the way.”

“No,” I say and she freezes with her fingers reaching out for the knob again. “You should stay.”

“And why is that?” She furrows her brows at me, getting a bit tense.

“You want the logical answer or the actual one?” I chuckle quietly.

The Queen mulls it over for a moment. “Both. Logical first.”

“Someone should keep them company. They are your guests, and as Ross said, we don’t know if there aren’t any enemies in here. It’s less likely anyone tries anything with either you or him around. You are the better choice since you are relatively gentler, friendlier, and easier to approach, able to keep Vanessa’s family at peace,” I start. “And for real, I don’t want to endanger you. Who can say if Madeline isn’t rigged with some kind of magical explosion or such? I barely talked with her back in the sewers so I’m not sure she’s completely safe to question.”

Some of the dangerous edge fades off her posture and Lianne releases a weak sigh. “I shall listen to your wise words, my love. Please, be careful.”

I walk closer to stroke her cheek lovingly and she briefly enjoys the comfort of my touch. Kissing my palm, she walks out to follow after their guests. Ross reaches my side and grins appreciatively.

“Good job. She would have never listened to me. If I remember correctly, they knew each other, though I’m not sure how deeply. I only met her in passing and saw a serious officer serving my father.” He pats me on the shoulder.

“And I take it you won’t be as easily dissuaded from following us?” I look at him with resignation.

“Someone does have to show you where to go, no?” He slaps me some more and starts moving. “You have until then to convince me to leave.”

Cornelia gives me a parting kiss while offering to stay with the others to keep them company. It surprises me that she doesn’t want to come, but a single glance into her enchanting eyes conveys everything. Even if I might have made up that bit about the explosion and danger, she understands that I’m not completely out of my worries and doesn’t want to put that on me. Especially with a new life growing inside her precious belly.

I promise to share our findings with them and the two of us depart. Well, four actually. Diana hides her presence in my shadow while Hecate crawls above our heads without any noise or hint of her always monitoring me. Maybe it’s better Ross stays unaware. He has enough troubles as is.

We stroll through some hidden passages triggered by random objects and furniture until a sealed metal cube shows up in front of us, sitting in a spacious, also square chamber full of runes and sigils. A special prison for special people, it seems. Ross deactivates a plethora of safety arrays before we can approach the barely discernible rectangle of a door.

He opens it with a touch and they swing inside while showing more glowing symbols. Madeline sits nude on the floor atop a complex magical circle. It must be restraining her movements as only her eyes swing wildly while her body remains in a kneeling position. Ross makes a few swipes on a seemingly random part of the wall and her head suddenly jerks.

“Master...” the woman croaks through a parched throat.

I look at the King and he shrugs. “I might have forgotten to bring her water today. Can you really blame me? The day of a king is truly exhausting.”

Rolling my eyes at him, though without any blame, I glance his way and he nods, confirming that it’s safe to approach. Bringing out some water out of my spatial storage, I give her a few sips so that our interrogation proceeds smoothly.

“Thank you, My Lord...” She smiles sweetly while Ross scoffs to the side, most likely due to the title she addressed me with.

“So, are you still with us or did you change your mind?” I cut straight to the heart of the matter.

“I’m all yours as long as I won’t die from the curse, My Lord.” She licks her lips, most likely not just to moisten them.

I use Voidal Bondage again, this time in the form of purple belts. In a flash, she could easily pass as a psych ward patient with how they wrap her up in tight bindings. I don’t want to take any chances. Good that these don’t cancel out my own influence.

“Right. Let’s start easy. The names you began listing back then. Who are they?” I ask.

“Some of the bigshots in the organisation, noble families and influential households. I personally handled some of their affairs since the upper echelon ensured my secrecy with the curse and other magical vows. I can give you names, addresses, connections, dates, everything,” she quickly stammers out, eager to prove herself.

“We’ll get to that soon.” I try my best to wink at her to keep the charm going. “I’m curious about you. From what I heard, you were a respected officer. Why have you disappeared and switched sides?”

“Ah, that’s a quite long story, My Lord, but to sum it up, I’ve always been in this for my own benefit, trying to learn as much as I can from the King’s libraries and archives. The best way to achieve that was to show great results, of course,” Madeline responds without any remorse. “One day, I was approached by some people who offered me what they called lost knowledge suitable for my talents. When they showed me the arcane texts, I knew those were the real deal. They promised all the help they could give me to study those as long as I achieved their goal.”

“And what was their goal?” I inquire.

“Put up a massive barrier strong enough to hold against the King’s battalion.”