Chapter 116: Pillow Talk and Shenanigans
Just around the same time that the Sword Demon was causing quite the ruckus with a group of Erin Castle Soldiers, I found myself on the sidelines, cheering them on and having a grand ol’ time…
Far away, on the other side of the Snow Mountain in the magnificent Royal Palace of Chielis City, in a lavish chamber shrouded by silver sheer curtains, three n*ked bodies were engaged in some rather intense action that couldn’t quite be described with polite words. The woman’s melodic cries mingled with the heavy breathing of the man, who sounded like a wheezing wildebeest, all while the bed creaked in rhythm. Even the guard outside the door had a hard time pretending not to hear.
“Ah… gentle, gentle…”
“Your Majesty… so strong as always…”
“Shut up, stay still, I’m almost there…”
Before long, the intense bout of activity reached a thunderous climax, leaving Emperor Keynes slumped on his favorite concubine, gasping like he’d run a marathon, utterly spent. His hands, though, were feeling a bit too adventurous, finding their way to the chest of a newer young concubine beside him, who shrieked in surprise as his grip got a little too enthusiastic.
“AH!”
The shout made Emperor Keynes snap his head around faster than a dog who hears a treat bag rustling.
He slowly sat up from his favorite concubine and fixed a cold stare on the young concubine, who realized her impending doom way too late. She covered her mouth, bowed her head, and repeatedly apologized, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” while the five angry red fingerprints on her chest bore witness to his “gentle” touch.
“Your Majesty, why that fierce look again?” The favored concubine lay back on the bed, her voice sweet like honey, trying to coax his mood. “Don’t blame the newcomer for being clueless; just forgive her…”
“…Fine, we’ll go with what you say.”
Hearing her soft persuasion, the Emperor’s demeanor softened; even the look in his eyes turned sweet as honey while he gazed at his beloved: “You’re always so kind-hearted…”
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you… thank you, Sister Nia…”
The new concubine knelt on the bed, her voice trembling in gratitude, a little teary-eyed from shock, but little did she know, her pitiful state was exactly what the Emperor hated the most.
“…Come here.”
After a moment, Keynes threw a blanket over his favored concubine, ignoring her soft sigh of exasperation, then turned to shout out the door. Moments later, two armored guards wielding spears pushed the door open, their helmets bent low, too scared to look at the bed, kneeling a few meters away, eyes downcast.
Then came a bl**d-curdling scream.
“AHHHHH—!!”
The new concubine found herself yanked by her hair and hurled off the bed by Keynes. She didn’t even dare struggle, losing a chunk of hair in the process, tumbling out from behind the sheer curtains and landing right in front of the guards.
“Here, a gift for you; have fun.” From behind the fluttering curtains, Keynes said nonchalantly.
“No! Your Majesty, spare me… I won’t do it again, please spare me…”
That concubine, completely ignoring her exposed self, scrambled across the ground, lunging toward the bed, propping up her rear right in front of the guards, both uncomfortably aware of the situation, yet she couldn’t think about that now, repeatedly banging her head on the floor, buried in the dust.
“…Take her away.”
But instead, all she got in return was a cold voice.
Quickly, she was dragged away, wailing.
With a loud thud, the door swung shut, and not long after, the sweet sounds of laughter bubbled up from the bed once more. It seemed that neither of them paid much mind to the chaos that had just unfolded. However, after their giggling and messing around, the worry crept back in: “The city has been surrounded like this for… two months now…”
“Why hasn’t the army pulled back yet?”
“The church’s knights, and that old coot Anseier, one and all, are just useless…”
As these issues piled up, naturally, Keynes couldn’t help but launch into a rant: “I’ve given them so much money, I’m practically scraping the bottom of the royal coffers! A bunch of greedy hyenas, just waiting to take advantage of me… disgracing my dignity… claiming they’re servants of some deity? It’s all a load of cr*p! Greedy little rats…”
“They promised me that if I met their demands, they’d force Skarlij to retreat within a month… well, here we are, two months later! I give them everything they ask for, I play along with their lame excuses, ha! They even said the money was going to Silgaya to help the disaster victims… as if I didn’t know about the dirty dealings at the New Currency Exchange! What a joke… They just want to rob me blind while I watch!”
“I’ve been biting the b*llet; after all, the money isn’t coming out of my pockets. Once the new tax policy rolls out, the treasury will fill back up… But having to smile at those hypocrites every day? I just can’t take it anymore! They’re all just farting into the wind, Skarlij doesn’t even care what those holy servants think… He’s just slapping their faces like a game!”
“I heard they had another meeting today, wasting time on things that don’t matter… it’s the same few topics dragged on for eternity, finding every excuse to squeeze money from me… it’s all so clear; they plan to s*ck the last penny out of the royal city before Skarlij comes crashing in, then run off, leaving us with the mess!”
“Really? What awful people…”
The favored concubine listened quietly, chiming in occasionally amidst the Emperor’s grumbling, but her tone was as spoiled and affectionate as ever, like she was merely chatting over tea with no sense of impending doom.
“Your Majesty~ are we really going to be caught by Skarlij? I don’t want to be caught! If that happens, I can only become his woman… and I absolutely do NOT want that, Your Majesty! Please don’t let him catch me… protect me, pretty please?”
“Hahaha, don’t worry!”
Emperor Keynes seemed to absolutely love this line of reasoning, his spirits visibly lifting: “I would never let you fall into his hands… I could never bear to see such a beauty become someone else’s woman!”
“Shunter will never break in; just look at the magnificent fortress outside the royal city! That wall was built by the greatest masters of Ethanbel; it’s solid as a rock! Even if Skarlij has a hundred thousand troops, as long as we stay inside, he won’t lay even a hair on this place…”
“But if we keep hiding like this, we’ll starve to d*ath in here!”
“Starve? Hah, does he dare? I’ve issued an order—starting tomorrow, the entire city will be on lockdown! Except for the church’s aid and supply teams, no one is leaving this royal city! I want to see what happens when the hundreds of thousands in the city start running out of food. Let’s see if that scoundrel Skarlij has the guts to continue the siege while the innocent people starve!”
“But what if he actually does it…”
“Don’t worry, I know him. My brother is soft at heart, deep down he’s a coward, and he and his imbecile son would never have the guts to do that.”
