Dark Lord in Chains 15 (Patreon)

A little disappointment rang in me as I left Aria behind in her room, exhausted, tainted with my mark, buried in her soft bed. It was so tempting to stay back and spend more time with her, but I was afraid that one of my other jailers drop in and realize my freedom. It was not something I wanted to deal with before I could get a better understanding of the reality of the situation. 

Instead, I went back to my cell, and spend my day establishing a veritable number of trap wards and spells, buried among the existing wards so that unless someone was looking for them explicitly, they wouldn’t notice. I was determined to make them pay for trusting a piece of magic artifact to keep me contained, however impressive. 

It was risky to do so, of course, but not as risky as revealing my situation to Emma, so, I continued establishing a defensive location, made easier by the fact that the cell I’m in was not exactly a true prison, but a standalone cell embedded in their most important secret passage, therefore isolated fantastically from the outside. After establishing a defensive beachhead, I went back to my cell, and rested a bit. This time, I didn’t put on my chains, as several alarm wards would alert me about a visitor —and unlike the last time, I wasn’t distracted with a sexy blonde, so I wouldn’t miss it. 

Only when it was nearing midnight I went back to the corridor that led to Aria’s room, prepared for a visit. Since it was midnight, I assumed she was rested enough. 

However, just as I was about to enter, I felt a flare of magic in a very close location. I immediately summoned my trusty shadows and hid behind them, disappearing from the view in the poorly-lit secret passage. When I saw it was Queen Sapphire that left the room, I prepared to move before she could pass me, no matter the risks of getting noticed. If she passed me once, I would have significant problems finding her back. 

Then, Queen Sapphire surprised me by moving away from me, rather than to me. She wasn’t going to my cell, but another location. How interesting. 

Since I could easily visit Aria an hour later as well, I decided to follow the Queen, curious where she was going —from a reasonable distance to make sure I wasn’t noticed. Much to my surprise, we walked for almost ten minutes before she activated another secret passage. I decided to take the risk and slip in before she could pass, not wanting to be left behind. I had memorized the key for the secret passage, but I didn’t want to be alerted. 

It turned out to be a good option, as the secret passage slammed immediately after she passed, leaving us in a weird basement. Somewhere outside the palace grounds, because I couldn’t feel the general protections of the Palace anymore. 

And since I finally had the opportunity to gaze at her, I examined her looks. Curiously, she was wearing a dark gray cloak that hid all of her body successfully despite her amazing curves. It was suspicious. 

It was even more suspicious when she suddenly pulled a lace mask that covered the upper half of her face, cast a spell to turn her hair color to black from the original blonde, then pulled on the hood of her cloak before leaving the basement. The hood was understandable considering her sneaking. The mask and the hair color change, not so much. Despite my curiosity, I was careful as I could feel the presence of four guards on the other side of the room. I watched as she unlocked the door with another spell, and then left the room. Luckily for me, this time, she didn’t bother to lock it while I stayed back. 

Meanwhile, I felt the presence of the two guards leaving with her, the other two stayed on there. Luckily, I couldn’t feel any magical presence in them, so when I unlocked the door, a simple mind spell was enough to distract them until I could mix with the shadows once more. While they looked blankly, I closed the door and followed the corridor, only to meet with a huge surprise. 

I was in a house of pleasure. A pretty high class one, considering the silk and velvet that covered the main corridor. 

Why the hell the Queen was in such a place in the middle of the night, I wondered. She probably came here to meet with an informant, but even that was shocking. What kind of information was worthy enough of the queen to take the risk of leaving her room alone without a guard, and enter such an establishment. Yes, she had two guards right now, but even that was not enough. And considering the additional mask she put in, I wasn’t entirely sure that those guards knew her identity. 

Unfortunately, the corridor had split into many different directions, making it impossible for me to find her. I didn’t even consider leaving, of course. The Queen of the Empire, visiting a high-class brothel for some reason… It was the opportunity of the century. 

I just needed to discover why. 

Of course, being dressed in prison clothes was hardly a way to mingle in such a high-class location. Luckily, I noticed the solution right away. A tall rich drunk stumbling toward the bathroom. He wasn’t as muscular as me, but luckily, he was fat, making sure that I would mingle. Still wrapped in shadows I followed him into the bathroom. Taking down a drunk without killing was not even a task mentioning considering my skill set, especially since we were alone in the bathroom. 

A simple spell put him to his sleep. After stealing all of his clothes except his underwear, as well as his fat money pouch, I stuffed him into one of the cabins, and wrote a note to his head. Learn to gamble. I did so that, once he was discovered, the club would write it off as a mean joke from his compatriots after losing his money. Not exactly foolproof, but considerably better than leaving him in hereafter robbing him. 

Since I had no clue about her location, I followed the music. I wanted to get a better understanding of the layout and the guards before acting, so I walked into the main hall, and walked to the nearest empty table, not wanting to raise any suspicion, since I was still wearing my stolen clothes. I didn’t want to be recognized by the friends of my victim, however unlikely it was in the low-light conditions of the room. There were many waitresses walking around, each dressed with semi-transparent outfits that glistened under the flickering lights, each sexier than the last. 

It was a very high-class location. 

I gestured to a waitress. “Wine, please.” 

“At once, my lord,” she answered, and a minute later, she returned to me with a goblet of wine. Meanwhile, I entertained myself by watching the dancer in the middle of the raised platform, dressed in nothing but a flaring robe thin enough to be invisible, and her panties, dancing seductively. The place was really top-class. 

“Do you want her to accompany you after her dance is complete, my lord?” she asked as she fluttered her eyelids. 

“No need,” I said as I waved my hand lazily, dismissing her words without giving a thought. It wasn’t the first time I faked being a useless noble, after all. 

She went away without saying anything, and I sat down, acting like I was watching the dance attentively, while I carefully watched the guards. What I had seen didn’t exactly make me happy. Even with a brief count, I could see twelve guards dressed neatly, concealed behind the decoration. If even the main hall was this crowded, I couldn’t help but think about the protection of the area the queen went. 

Funny that a high-class brothel was giving me more trouble than the palace itself…  

I was just about to decide to take the risk, when I noticed the main hall was getting more and more crowded. Soon, hundreds of people filled the main hall, and each of them was rich nobles or merchants, obvious from their rich clothing. “What’s this about?” I asked to the waitress when she arrived with another goblet of wine. 

“It’s almost time for the Seductress to take the stage, sir. Everyone is here to watch her,” she said, though I could feel her slight suspicion. 

“Right?” I said, acting like I just realized it. No reason to alert her, even if she was just a waitress. No need to arouse suspicion needlessly. The waitress was gone, and I smiled, happy with my luck. Since the new dancer was popular to this extent, it meant the guards would pay more attention to the crowd surrounding the stage, giving me the opportunity to slip backstage and search for the dear Queen. 

However, when the dancer walked onto the stage, those plans changed just a bit. “Well, isn’t that a shocker,” I murmured in shock as I watched a familiar brunette figure, dressed in a red, magically enhanced robe with illusions of flame flickering over as she walked forward, each step creating flickering lights. More importantly, she was wearing a very familiar mask, her blue eyes peeking behind her mask. 

I didn’t expect to find the Queen that easily. 

The shock went through me even as my attention focused on the voluptuous figure of the Queen as she started swaying under the enchanting tones of the music, the crowd already going crazy with anticipation, unaware of the identity of the figure. “Why the hell she is on stage, dancing?” I murmured in shock, trying to understand. Initially, I thought that she was here to meet with an important informant, or in the extreme, meet with a secret lover. 

However, it didn’t take long for me to realize the reason. As she started swaying, I felt a sudden sense of adoration and worship rise inside me, one that could have easily mistaken for a rush of emotions if I wasn’t a cynical bastard that never felt such emotion. It was clearly external. Damn, I didn’t expect Queen Sapphire to be as innocent as her daughter, but casting Tantric magic while dressed as an exotic dancer, serving as eye candy for hundreds of people were out of my expectations.  

The only question was, why she was doing that. Curious, I slid my hand under the table and started casting a wide number of subtle detection spells, trying to understand why she was doing it. It needed to be a reason. 

Of course, just because I was watching an amazing show didn’t mean that I wasn’t enjoying her incredible show. I had to admit, she was gorgeous. The silky clothes hang loose over her body, creating illusions of fire every time she turned, enhancing her striking beauty. She seductively spun in the middle of the scene, uncaring of the hungry eyes, spreading another tether of adoration. Her contours were highlighted as she turned and twisted, making my mouth water in anticipation. I couldn’t help but imagine her under me, just like the princess had been earlier in the day, but her expression was replaced by a sharper emotion. 

She was surprisingly flexible, I noted as she sat on the floor, her legs spreading open, which also rode her robe high, giving a glimpse of her smooth thighs, the crowd rearing for more. 

I was impressed. Even though it was partially with the help of magic, she could drive a crowd to a frenzy with a few simple moves. I watched, though not as mesmerized as the rest of the audience while she walked forward and turned, before suddenly bending backward. Her silky robe was thick enough not to reveal her skin, but also flexible enough to reveal the hint of her body. 

Then, things got more heated. Her fingers reached the flimsy rope that was holding her robe together, and with a flick, untied it. Her robe fell on the floor obediently, revealing a dark velvet corset underneath, one that wrapped around her torso perfectly to hide her curves, and a flimsy short that put her legs to an amazing display. The crowd roared in excitement, their eyes blurred with fervor. 

Then, a wicked smile appeared on the face of the Queen, even as her hands made a subtle move. I felt a sliver of my magic moving toward the Queen. I easily suppressed it, the rest, not so much. Hundreds of magic slivers flew toward the Queen, too weak to be noticed by anyone other than me. 

Such an interesting trick, I murmured in shock as I watched the Queen devour the magic of the attendees like a succubus. Of course, unlike a real succubus, she was very restrained. Essentially, she was plucking a piece of fruit from every single tree, while a Succubus would have eaten all, and then pulled the roots of the tree for the good measure. 

Though harmless, this kind of magic was essentially dark magic, falling under my domain. Such a naughty queen, I decided. 

I watched as she walked around the stage, excitedly expecting her to get rid of her annoying corset, or her restrictive shorts. However, unlike my expectations, she kept the rest of her clothes on even as her back arched in a way that reminded me of orgasm after great sex. As the music slowed, indicating the end of the dance was closer, I felt strangely disappointed, while the rest raged and cheered feverishly, captured by her subtle magic, unaware that their sudden exhaustion was not just about their excitement. 

The question, what should I do next?