I Reincarnated As My Waifu, What Do? 22 (Patreon)

The lewd princess is as she does, I admit.

Admittedly, what I did last night had very little, maybe even nothing, to do with the reasons why I usually engaged in such acts. No, I spent the night with the One Armed Beast, Otto purely because I wanted to sleep with a man that treated me like the whore princess I was, without forgetting either the whore or the princess part. Deferential domination was a bit of an odd thing, to be the bottom, yet in perfect control of everything...

"I fear I may become a size queen if I spend too many nights at the barracks," I said, as I tied my hair into a ponytail. 

Father was... surprisingly very approving of me spending the nights at the barracks. The deference, loyalty and respect the soldiers showed me was enough to justify my safety in his mind and, truth be told, he was correct, not one of the men of the Guard would touch me without my permission, but I had slept with a good two thirds of the guard, both male and female, so it's a bit of a moot point. 

The One Armed Beast, already dressed for combat and ready, was a disgustingly active person in the morning. "That would break the hearts of many a young lad you know?" Otto joked, as he adjusted his uniform, ensuring that he could reach for the sword, mace and hatchet that were hanging from his belt. Different weapons for different situations.

Of course, the man was so damn big that what were two handed weapons for everyone else was almost a toothpick in his hands.

"I am a princess of all her people," I replied, smiling. "Big and small, young and old, strong and feeble, male or female!" I spoke. "This is the last time we can afford to be this casual," I said, clearing my throat. "Henceforth I'll adopt the persona of a ruthless chessmaster," I spoke, trying to project my voice, changing my intonation. "Speak, Guardsman - is our board complete? Are we ready to move?"

"We've stacked the board and reinforced each position, we're ready to move on your call, Your Highness."

Yes indeed.

I am no longer Princess Noire.

"By the privilege granted to me by the power of the Gods, I henceforth declare the start of Operation Imperatrix," I said, concentrating, looking within, reaching for every single link, across every chain, in this disastrous spiderweb, no, it was more like a multitude of spiderwebs that had all become interconnected, hundreds of threads connecting to bigger threads, that in turn formed their own web, again and again...

And they all reached all the way to me, I alone stood at the center of this nervous system. My orders, like an electric charge, were sent across the web. 

For now, they were no longer my people, my legs, my hands, my ears and my eyes, they were me. Each and every one of them was a part of me.

Everyone, from the lowliest street thug, to decorated soldiers and even lower nobility, knights and dames... the sons of upper nobles... each and every one of them answered my call, and through the power of my Imperial Privilege, each of them now knew what they had to do, and they knew when and how to do it. 

My people moved like one.

This is my power...

I could feel it.

Just like my Deceiver skill, my privilege had also improved. Connected as intrinsically as I was, I needed not the help from Amalia to read myself, I simply borrowed her senses.

Many of my skills had consolidated. I had more than most, as befit my lineage, and now, I only had three.

Ultimate Body, A rank, granting me a body that was free of disease and weakness. A perfect body that would not suffer the effects of aging even as I became wrinkled and grayhaired, and would recover from minor wounds at an accelerated speed. Strong. Durable. Efficient. Beyond perfection, and surpassing even superhuman warriors.

Succubus, S rank, granting me an inherent deviousness and an incessant need for physical pleasure and indulging in the lust of my fellow people, and in turn, rejuvenated me, restored me, strengthened me, taking from those who willingly offered me everything they had.

And finally, and most importantly, my duty, my greatest privilege and greatest obligation.

Imperatrix, unranked. The right and duty to rule, made manifest. The power to execute my will upon my fellow man.

I moved, separating from my escort, as he went to see to his duties, and moments later, I was alone at his office, sat behind his desk.

"I can understand now. This is why I came here. This is why I was chosen, wasn't it? Because... because of this," I said, closing my eyes. "My mind is no longer clouded, I can see it clearly now... Goddess, can you see me? Can you see the child you sent to this sinful earth? O gods, I pray to you, guide me to success, guide me to the path of virtue, stay my hand should I turn to evil, and do not let me go astray, I beg of you..! Should I err,  I beg of you, guide me back to the right path!"

There was no response, there was no bright light, there was no feeling of warmth.

In my heart, I could only feel determination, conviction and dedication. I will see my path through to its end. I shall face up, come what may. This is the path I've chosen, and I can only pray that it's the right path. 

"I really could've used this to start out with, you know!" I chuckled. It was strange to think... How much of me was me, and how much of me was who I'd been? How much of that person remains, and how much is Noire?

And at the end of the day... did it matter?

No. What I feel is genuine... yes, my heart bleeds for my country, feels sick for the corruption that has taken hold of it. 

My people are progressing. I can see it, all at the same time. I figured observing so many things at once would give me a headache but it all just seamlessly blends together into a clear image. Guardsmen making arrests, some on trumped up charges, taking them to cells to get them to testify on other people. Common men and street criminals, roving the city, reaching into the deepest, darkest corners and pulling the vermin out, culling the most dangerous, arresting the rest.

Dozens, hundreds of people, moving in tandem, attacking the corruption at its core in the capital and beyond. I can see it, I can hear it, I can feel it. A Knight who turns evidence on an Earl, lest his spouse learn of his indiscretion. A duke who is presented with evidence of his wife's depravity and infidelity. A baron, brought to justice by the very men and women he sold into slavery.

My people moved, everywhere, in every part of the country. Even where I only had a single person, my people were strong, intelligent and resourceful, and gathered their own subordinates. Properly motivated and dedicated, with fervor and zeal, knowing they were acting in the name of their country, of their princess and of their own families.

Each one of us, a cog in this gigantic machine, working towards a single, solitary and common goal.

"We will save this country, and erradicate the traitors within," I muttered to myself, my words transmitting across my network, invigorating my people. My words, my thoughts, my very will itself, was transmitted to my people.

I am the Imperatrix.

Alright.

It was time for me to move. Everything was already in motion, and coming together. 

I grabbed an arming sword, left for me here by Otto, and departed the office. The castle was almost... eerily quiet, without the sounds of the guardsmen training, of the ladies chattering, of the politicians blathering, of the nobility simpering...

But that was to be expected. The officials of the country, and many of its nobles, had gathered today. Today was a special day, after all, the anniversary of the foundation of the Trom Dynasty, from which I was descended, when the King of the Gods had descended and sired the first King of Trom with a human woman, the man who would unite tribes of barbarians and found the Kingdom that bore his name.

"I wonder how my people would react, if they knew that it was a goddess?" I muttered to myself as I walked. This knowledge was not mine, it was a deeply concealed secret, that only a small handful of people knew. Father didn't even know, though he would if he read the secret records of our family.

Mayhaps if he had, he would've known about me, and what I represented, what I meant.

"Way to go dad," I chuckled, "you laid with a goddess and didn't even know," I said, as I reached the grand theater upon which the officials and nobles had gathered. Before the festivities commenced, a grand forum was held, where father would hear out his subjects and vassals... and this is where the most important step would be taken.

Normally, as a young woman who had not proven herself in battle or in court, I was not allowed to enter these halls unless Father brought me with him. Because Father is Father, I've been here many times, I'd just have to express interest, and he'd bring me with. 

I squared my shoulders, secured my sword in place, and checked my uniform. The dress uniform of the royal guard might not be as glamorous as something another country's royal would wear, but it was perfect for me, I had no need to pile gold upon me to make myself look better.

Besides, it downplayed the size of my chest, which would allow me to be taken perhaps a little bit more seriously. Right. Here it comes.

I raised my leg and then kicked the grand, gold decorated doors of the theater, and busted them wide open, the doors crashing to the ground with an overwhelmingly loud, almost deafening thud. Especially considering I heard it from multiple angles. I'd also have to tell Agrios that his left ear is deaf and to go see a priest about that.

Incomprehensible protests rose, people panicked, many rose from their seats and screamed chastisement as I walked into the room.

One of my men opened a scroll with a list of names, and I read it with his eyes, listing each and every single one of them, forty three names, not all of them present as many had been taken from their homes, noblemen and noblewomen, each intoned with aplomb and the certainty that came from actually reading this off a written list rather than going off of memory.

"Each and every last one of you whose name I've spoken - you are under arrest on suspicion of Grand Treason," I declared.

My father rose from his seat, which dominated one one of the quadrants of the circular theater the forum was held in. "Noire, what is the meaning of this?!" he shouted, his hands hitting his desk and causing an echo so loud and potent that it silenced everyone else.

"This, father," I said, "is justice in the making!"

This was it.

The most important step.

"Your Majesty, Her Highness Noire has gone mad! You cannot let this stand, it's a trampling of our rights, a trampling of justice, a trampling of the law that our country was founded upon, and which we have upheld since time immemorial! If you truly are the King of Trom, then strike down these false accusations!" one of the called out nobles shouted.

Some of the guards were moving, others were not. Not everyone here was my man, but some obeyed simply because I was still Noire, Princess of Trom.

I looked at my father, who seemed to waver for a moment, unsure of what to do. For all his strength, he knew he was no genius of politics, he knew he had limitations.

"Father," I called towards him, as he rose to his full height, and stood tall, showing just how truly huge he was, dwarfing me by a large margin.

His face hardened. "I will do what I must," father said. 

He raised a hand, and the loud protesting, screaming and screeching was put to a stop, for the King was about to speak. His eyes moved from the lords of the land, sweeping over every row, and finally, coming back to me.

He opened his mouth, and out came the words that would determine the fate of Trom.