Dark Lord in Chains 16 (Patreon)

Watching the Queen occupying the stage as an exotic dancer was shocking enough to ruin quite a bit of my plans, especially after I watched her use a forbidden school of magic to gather power from her own citizens —though to her credit, targeting the parasites of the society called nobility. 

After a moment’s consideration, I made another impulsive decision. I decided to confront the Queen. After all, she would never be as vulnerable as right at the moment, away from the palace, shackled with the fake identity of a high-profile exotic dancer to prevent her from acting out. 

It was the perfect opportunity. 

With that in mind, I left several gold coins on the table as I stood up, covering the payment as well as a generous tip. Spending stolen money was always easy. After leaving the money, I used the shadow trick and slipped into the main corridor, and then moved to backstage. Luckily, the Queen helped me indirectly in this matter. Thanks to the overwhelming number of customers, most of the security was at the main hall, ready to prevent any event, making it very easy for me to slip backstage. 

Finding the Queen’s room was even easier, I just needed to find the only room for the dancers that had a guard in front of it despite its emptiness, and slipped inside without alerting him. 

The room itself was surprisingly small considering the identity of its occupant. Or maybe not, as she kept her true identity hidden. One of the walls was covered with a wide range of clothes, while a comfortable looking couch lay on the other side, accompanied by a leather chair that looked extremely comfortable. The floor was covered with an expensive carpet that looked no less comfortable than the chair. All around, the room managed to give a sense of decadence despite the sparse furnishing. 

I decided to wait for the Queen’s arrival in style, and pulled the chair to the corner, and extinguished the crystal that illuminated that angle, keeping myself hidden even after stopping the shadow spell. 

I hadn’t had to wait for long. After a brief break, the door opened, and the Queen walked in, once again wearing her red robe, which hid the delicious velvet corset underneath. She was soft and ethereal as well, ignoring the presence of the bodyguards waiting at the door as she stepped across the doorway and closed the door. Only then her expression loosened, and her mysterious looks turned genuine. 

“Finally,” she murmured as she slammed the door close, though her stance didn’t relax. Instead, it intensified until it reminded me of the royalty. She still kept the mask on her face, though. 

I was preparing to cast a silencing ward, but she acted closer. After closing the door, she pressed against a hidden rune on the door, and several wards went up around the room, giving it absolute privacy and protection. 

How convenient. 

I waited until she was in the middle of the room before started clapping softly, simultaneously activating the crystal that to light my corner. I wasn’t afraid of being recognized, because while waiting, I had cast some spell to change my face sufficiently. The rest, I trusted the soft lights of the room to handle. 

“Who’s there?” she flinched as she turned, appearing frightened, but underneath, she was ready to attack. Impressive, I noted. Not only she was ready to launch an assault, but she also kept her identity secret. Impressive reaction from someone in her position, if a bit conservative. 

“An impressed fan,” I said even as I leaned back the leather chair like I was the owner of the room, exuding confidence. She was too smart not to pick that detail, and her looks changed. She realized she wasn’t dealing with an obsessive fan, but someone cold and calculative. 

“Thank you,” she said immediately, even bowing gently. “But I don’t deserve your compliments.” 

“Oh, but you do,” I said even as I waved my hand, and the chair floated toward the middle of the room without requiring me to step down. Her eyes changed once more, smart enough to realize the implications of my casual spell. The result was not hard to achieve, but only the extremely elite mages could achieve it with the ease I had displayed. I intentionally revealed a part of my combat standards, not wanting to alert her with my next words. “I never imagined that the legendary Queen Sapphire of the Empire was moonlighting as a skilled dancer, after all.”

“I beg your pardon?” she answered, faking a lack of understanding and derision perfectly. 

“Such good acting, no wonder you’re such a good dancer,” I pushed. “I’m proud that our Queen is so skilled.” She tried to continue giving me the confused look, but under my sharp glare, it didn’t take long for her shoulders to slump. Her killing intent flickered, but she was too smart to act against me magically. After all, the wards around the room were sufficient to enable her privacy, but they could never hide real magical combat. If she tried to attack, her true identity would spread further. 

Just because she was locked in the room with someone with greater combat capability she didn’t know —or she thought so— hadn’t meant that she would surrender or panic. Instead, after a momentary panic, her expression flickered before her stance changed, exuding the sense of a royal. “How can I help you, then?” the Queen asked. 

“The wrong question,” I answered. “You shouldn’t ask what you can do for me, but what I can offer for you.” 

Her expression stayed firm after my words, but she was smart enough to realize under the circumstances, if she acted wrongly, her identity might be revealed, creating a scandal too big even for her. As a Queen keeping the throne of a patriarchal society on the merits of marriage rather than blood, such a scandal would harm her power greatly, and that was only if it didn’t result in her losing power. 

There was a reason she was pushing for the marriage between Aria and Lancelot. 

“Okay, then. I’ll play,” she commented. “How can you help me?” 

“Two words, Eternal Core,” I said, and suddenly. 

The demeanor of the Queen changed completely, reminding me of a half-drawn sword. She might not have the skills of a warrior, but she surely had the demeanor of one. For a second, she waited, her expression twitching despite her control, no doubt thinking whether she could bluff her way out of it. “How?” she sighed in apparent defeat. 

At that moment, I respected even more. Here she was, away from her power location, taking a risk to cast illegal empowering rituals, but even then, she was clear-minded enough to bluff. Her display of defeat was measured well, using it as a bait to relax me as I bask in victory, hoping to attain a scrap of information. “Smart,” I said. “But that information is not for free.” 

“But you’ll reveal it?” she asked. “What will it cost me?” 

“Sure,” I answered. “Serve me a drink first and we can discuss.” She nodded and turned toward the raised platform that held several drinks. “Also, drop the robe. I liked your corset much better.”

She once again impressed me with her decisiveness, removing her robe as quick as her daughter did under my order, revealing her velvet corset and small shorts. Unlike her daughter, however, she did so under her own steely control, seeking maximum benefit. I had to admit, it made me respect her more than I expected. I liked an opponent that could react to an unexpected situation.  

When she came to me with the drink, I patted my lap. “Take a seat,” I said. 

This time, she hesitated slightly before smoothly gliding down my right thigh as she was very familiar with me, our faces inches apart. The fact that she was still wearing the mask made the situation even more delicious. I wrapped my hand around her waist, the soft fabric of her corset barely insulating her from my touch, before speaking. “You need to teach your son-in-law not to run his mouth when he’s drunk. He mentioned several interesting nuggets. Among them, the search for a certain legendary magical artifact was included.” 

“I see,” Sapphire said, followed by an exaggerated gasp as she shuffled on my lap, trying to distract me. Admittedly, she succeeded in her task quite a bit. She smiled seductively. “And how do you know about the Eternal Core?” 

“Well, I’m an enterprising freelancing businessman that usually works along the border, treading in rare commodities,” I mentioned, suggesting that I was a freelance spy. “And I had high-end clients, though unfortunately, I recently lost some of them, hitting my income quite badly,” I added, implying that I was a customer of myself. “I had helped the said client years ago in the acquisition of some historical artifacts, the Eternal Core being one of them.” 

“I see,” Sapphire answered, suitably impressed by my explanation enough that when my hand moved down to caress the inside of her upper thigh, she let it slide without comment. “And now that your client is unavailable, you’re open for alternative commissions,” she stated. 

“Exactly,” I answered after I took a long sip of the drink, while subtly running my magic in my mouth to burn it before I could actually put it in my mouth. The drink was delicious, but I recognized the hint of a weak poison easily, one that would put the target down to sleep after about an hour, but only if they get excited. No wonder Sapphire was playing along with my attempts to fondle her. My respect for her intensified further. Even with her current poor cards, she was putting an amazing defense. No wonder she managed to take me down. “Of course, I need clients smart enough to understand the risks of my business, and the steps I naturally took to defend my interest. I can’t work with kids like your son-in-law.” 

“I understand,” she said as she put her hand on my shoulder, as she respected me. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone all the effort to arrange a private meeting.” 

“It’s nice to work with understanding clients,” I answered even as my hand moved up to the hem of her shorts, my thumb drawing circles, dangerously close to her crotch. She shivered, and I wasn’t entirely sure that it was a fake reaction. 

“So, since you have mentioned it, I’m willing to believe you’re willing to deal with some information about the location of the item,” she commented smartly. If I was who I claimed to be, it would have been clear that I lacked the ability to get it from the hidden location. Otherwise, I shouldn’t contact her. 

“Correct, but not immediately,” I countered even as I let my hand travel even higher, directly caressing her crotch, hard enough to wedge my finger slightly, making her shiver. “I believe it would be good for our working relationship if I shared the location of a lesser item, just to establish my trustworthiness, for a small favor, even.” Even as I said so, I devoured her body with my gaze, leaving no question about what I had in mind. “Maybe a private dance?” 

“Such a kind businessman,” she murmured seductively, mostly, but not completely, artificial as she parted her legs, giving me better access to caress her. I used the angle to massage her entrance with my thumb aggressively. Meanwhile, I took another sip, giving her hope that her knockout drug, combined with her sacrifice would soon knock me out. She just needed to kill some time while exciting me. But her stiffening nipples suggested that I wasn’t the only one enjoying the moment. 

“Any preference for the dance?” she asked while I dragged my hand to the small of her back before slipping my hand lower, dragging the waistband along, caressing the spine as I revealed her delicious bottom. When I cupped her ass, she gasped loudly. 

“I trust your taste,” I answered. She stood up, only to suffer an unexpected loss. I kept my hold on her short, and their delicate figure ripped instantly, leaving her with her skimpy panties that left most of her ass naked, as well as showing the slight wetness in her crotch. 

She stood up, wearing significantly less than what was fit for a Queen, her mask adding to the eroticism of the scene. 

Luckily, the sound-suppressing wards in the room were one-directional, and we could still hear the music from the main hall, though it was quite faint. It was a soft, tantalizing song, and Sapphire followed the rhythm perfectly, moving her hips, swaying to the steady beat of the music. Her hands ran up her hips, before she turned her back to show me her plump ass. Then, her hands dragged along her sides until they were raised over her head, messing with her hair to add an erotic quality. Alluring yet classy, enough turn my hardness from rock to steel. She was taking the task seriously, hoping to knock me out with excitement. 

I took another sip from the drink, enhancing that hope even more. In return, she parted her legs apart and leaned back away, showing her flexibility enough to show me her cleavage. She was arched backward perfectly, suggesting amazing times once I finally convinced her to share my bed —or her bed, as the Queen, she must have a very comfortable one. 

“Excellent,” I commented as she slowly stood up, amazing me with her balance. Happy with my reaction, she continued to display her flexibility. She bent forward until she grabbed her ankles, tightening her posterior. Her panties were revealing enough under the normal circumstances, stretched under the stress of the move, they looked even better, stretching under the pressure, revealing even more. 

As she undulated, her body started to react, and she started to show signs of genuine enjoyment. She was still doing it with cold-calculation, of course, just enjoying the process. 

When she stood up, she once again turned to face me, her hands caressing the area hidden under her velvet corset, which was straining to contain her otherwise unsupported breasts, trying to get out. Unlike her sensual and soft show in the scene, she was moving aggressively, straining the limits of her top. 

Then suddenly, she walked closer, surprising me for a moment before she took the drink off my fingers, and raised it to my lips. “Are my mixing abilities not to your satisfaction?” she whispered in my ear seductively even as she grabbed one of my hands with her free one, and dragged it to her hips, explicitly inviting me to molest her while she continued to shake them under the call of the melodic rhythm. 

“The drink is nice, but I don’t like the cup,” I whispered as I took back the glass under her confused gaze, but she realized my point when I slowly dripped it on her neck, then licked it off there. I didn’t neglect to burn the poison magically once I took it in my mouth, of course. “It’s not a bother, is it?” 

“Of course not,” she said, but clearly, it was forced. She didn’t like the implications of my move, mostly because it treated her like a disposable servant, something not pleasant for someone of her prestige. It was different than dancing where she still had control. Still, she was patient enough to wait for the poison to work, unaware of the evaporation of that particular plan. 

I wondered just how much I should push her…