Dark Lord in Chains 38 (Patreon)

I had assessed several possible options quickly before coming to a final decision. I needed to understand why the Queen was so determined to get the Eternal Core. An independent magic source, no matter how strong, shouldn’t be enough to trigger such actions. 

Luckily, Sapphire was far too distracted thanks to the effects of the mana-infused water, her eyes firmly shut, allowing me to push my head out of water freely to whisper into Aria’s ear. “Ask her about why she’s so determined to acquire the Eternal Core.” 

Aria trembled as I whispered, but as she was trying to deal with the after-effects of her most recent orgasm, I was sure that it was about the way my warm breath caressed her sensitive earlobe rather than understanding the significance of the question. Aria had much more immediate concerns to pay attention to than the strategic implications of the information battle between me and the Queen. 

And even if she were able to gather enough focus, it was not a guarantee that she would care. After all, the earlier discussion in her bed indicated that she was on the way to changing factions. Still, I was happy for her not to realize the full implications, to delay any possible crisis of consciousness. 

“I understand how to use my allure to get information from him, but why are we putting so much effort to get this artifact,” Aria murmured, failing to hide the erotic cadence in her tone as my fingers caressed her tits underwater, my head underwater once more just in case Sapphire decided to open her eyes to answer Aria. Still, that didn’t prevent me from assaulting Aria’s sensitive breasts the most erotic way I could manage, making her voice tremble. 

Keeping my head underwater turned out to be unnecessary. “It’s a need-to-know secret,” Sapphire murmured, dismissing her question immediately to focus on her own pleasure, the movement of her shoulders especially suspicious. Pity Aria was between us, preventing me from peeking at her underwater easily. Still, that only made me go faster. 

“Push her further, you’re the Crown Princess,” I advised Aria. “You need to know.” 

“I-isn’t it better if I know as well?” Aria managed to stammer, her earlier confidence quick to melt at the first sign of disapproval. If it wasn’t for my encouraging caresses, teasing her sensitive breasts, while my shaft repeatedly invaded her insides, she could have never dared to challenge the Queen. I whispered a few clues to her. “Maybe I could get the information before Emma if I could somehow use that to my benefit.” 

However, my tricks weren’t limited to forcing Aria to ask questions repeatedly. No, meanwhile, I was enhancing my control on the mana I had infused in the water earlier, using it as a tool to slowly add some waves to the water around Sapphire’s sensitive spots, particularly around her inner thighs and her breasts, but also focusing on several other sensitive spots I had discovered thanks to the adventures of the night before. Combined with the arousing effect of her own tantric spells, she was pushing quickly toward the climax. 

Meaning, she was willing to take some ridiculous decisions to silence Aria, especially since there was no reason to suspect Aria’s shifting alliances, or the presence of another person hiding behind Aria’s voluptuous body. 

“For the light, you’re stubborn today,” Sapphire murmured, her eyes still closed, biting her lips as she enjoyed the warmth of the water while her fingers moved, unaware of the subtle magical assistance I was providing to enhance her pleasure further. “It’s about the border skirmishes at the northern border,” Sapphire admitted. 

That surprised me, because the northern border was the calmest border of the Empire. Not only was the monstrous humanoid tribes like goblins and orcs that the dark forces often used as cannon fodder absent, but it also lacked any kind of political entity like city-states that might push against the borders. Its icy shores prevented pirates and other kinds of sea-based pests to be a problem as well. 

Of course, it was not a safe location. Since the harsh conditions didn’t allow farming or any other kind of mass food production, it was sparsely populated, providing an untouched breeding ground for monsters. Still, monsters, no matter their individual strength, were not a threat against the border forts. 

Certainly not to a point of actually worrying the Queen. 

I wasn’t the only one that was surprised. Aria might lack the force of personality required to be an active political player, but that didn’t mean she was stupid. “What skirmishes?” Aria asked. “I remember reading country reports, but they only mentioned a slight increase in monster activity, but even that was only impacting hunting parties slightly.” 

“That’s the official reports,” Sapphire answered, the disdain in her tone indicating that the reports Aria mentioned weren’t worth the paper they were written. “We can’t tell the council that two of the border forts had stopped sending news after their request for reinforcement, not when some of the dukes following that abominable councilwoman. The closest dukedom is a direct supporter of her, and they would love to occupy those forts in the guise of assistance.” 

“Why would they even bother?” Aria said. “Just a few border castles. I remember the reports, they actually cost money to maintain, more than a few hunting parties could offset the cost.” While she asked the question, I picked up the pace even further, sliding in her slippery tunnel repeatedly. 

“Don’t worry about that part,” Sapphire cut in, while I barely held back a smile. The border might not be valuable as a habitation, but the relatively crowded monster population provided a really valuable hunting ground in terms of magical reagents and raw material for magical crafting. There was no way these forts were not making more than enough to cover the costs. 

However, I was slowly developing a better understanding of Sapphire’s approach to management as well as the complications due to the strength of the council. Combining them, the most reasonable answer was that Sapphire was using the money from hunting as her own secret slush fund, both for her own unacceptable magical experiments and for bribes. 

“Can’t we just send the royal guards to handle it?” Aria asked. “Or maybe we can go and handle it.” 

“Not without the Eternal Core,” Sapphire cut in quickly. In this season, traveling to the northern borders would take weeks for a party, and maybe even months for a regiment of royal guards. There’s no way for a party to garrison multiple forts even if you could solve the problem, and I can’t afford to send away half of the royal army for an expedition that would take months. Not if I want to avoid a coup.” 

“Things can’t be that bad-” Aria tried to cut in, shocked enough to momentarily ignore the effects of my fingers caressing her breasts underwater. “The council is just trying to-” she tried to continue. 

“The council is trying to put your cousin to the throne because they don’t believe someone like me, a lowly concubine, shouldn’t be dirtying the throne with my lower-class body,” Sapphire cut in, cracking open her eyes, her annoyance enough to break through the pleasure that was covering her body. “Nor they think that you’re strong enough to take the reins, because of your feminine fragility. Instead, they want to put a seven-year-old on the throne while sidelining us. It’s their opportunity to take back the political power after the last civil war.” 

Aria listened in shock, unable to process the rush of information. Admittedly, my continuing treatment wasn’t making it any easier for her to maintain her calm mind. While it was understandable that Sapphire was holding the cards close to her beautiful chest, as the next in line to the throne, Aria shouldn’t be that surprised by the political machinations of the entities. Clearly, the alliance of the dukes wasn’t the only one that doesn’t think Aria was fit to inherit the throne. 

Rather than allowing her to recover, I tapped her shoulder, reminding her to ask the important question. “But how does it links to Eternal Core,” Aria asked, following the provided direction. 

“Do you remember the stories about the Pathways?” Sapphire asked, while my eyes widened when I realized where that was going. 

“Barely,” Aria said. “Weren’t they supposed to be one of the weapons of one of the old kingdoms or something?” she asked while I slipped my hand between her legs, spread open conveniently for my touch, and added a sensual touch to complement my repeated ramming. Her back arched as the enhanced pleasure hit her. Luckily for her, Sapphire was far too distracted by her own impending arousal to pay attention to Aria’s unusual attitude. 

“Not weapons, but methods of transportation,” Sapphire mentioned. “It’s one of the secret strategic leverages of the Empire, to be only used in emergencies because of its incredibly high magical cost. However, once activated, it could instantly teleport a small group of people to another location with a stable Pathway exit.” 

“And the Eternal Core provides enough power to make that a viable tool to transfer armies around easily,” Aria cut in. 

“Exactly, so not only we can send reinforcements to the northern border without alerting our rivals, but also we can use them to strike unexpected locations if they decide to declare open rebellion,” Sapphire explained, her eyes once again closed as she started servicing her own body. “And most importantly, we can do that without touching the official magical reserves of the Empire, and catch the Council unawares.” 

“So, that’s why we’re holding him hostage,” Aria murmured, unable to hide her aroused guilt from her tone as I continued to pump inside her while caressing every sensitive location of her body, pushing her toward another climax. 

“No, silly girl,” Sapphire cut in. “That’s the whole reason I had launched that mission in the first place. Otherwise, do you really think I care who rules those horrible place called dark lands? Nothing really changed. Another Dark Lord will take his place in a few months at worst. We attacked, because we need that item to keep our throne. The sooner, the better. So, do whatever you need to do but make him reveal the location of the Eternal Core.” 

Sapphire’s explanation had been filled with surprises. Even as the dark lord, I had always thought that Pathways were nothing but empty tales to give the ancient kingdoms an aura of mystery. And the fact that her political situation was fragile enough for her to launch a mission to capture me, just to get the location of the Eternal Core, was even more surprising. 

Still, I couldn’t help but frown despite being on the edge of another climax to paint Aria’s insides once again. Sapphire was quick to dismiss two forts on the northern going dark, limiting her interest in how it would affect her own shaky condition. 

However, I was more interested in the fact that at least two forts had gone dark while the reason staying a mystery. My instincts were telling me that there was something dangerous behind that…  

While I considered, the women I had been treating selflessly finally climaxed one after another, with a delicious intensity that triggered my own climax. Soon, I was covering Aria’s insides with a fresh coat of my seed, while enjoying the sight of the trembling climaxes of two sexy blondes. 

Then, I prepared myself to leave. I had already pushed my luck sufficiently, and it was for the best if I could leave before Sapphire decided to open her eyes. All I needed was to decide what to do next for the rest of the day…