Dark Lord in Chains 49 (Patreon)

The doors of the treasury opened only after a complicated and lengthy process by Sapphire, to a point that even with the Tether, I couldn’t have broken through without raising an alarm. 

It was not about the skill, but about time and contingencies. It was simply not a job for one person. Layers and layers of defense, each thicker than the last, with all the subtleness and elegance of a drunk cow. Even examining them was not exactly enjoyable. 

Luckily, Sapphire’s current state of dress — or more accurately, a very distinct lack of any — made it a worthwhile show despite the boring design of the defenses. It took almost ten minutes for the great doors of the private royal entrance to be opened, and the Queen walked forward. I followed, expecting to be met with a great pile of gold, jewels, and magical items, several times more than what I managed to gather during my brief career as a Dark Lord… 

… only to met with a desolate room. 

It wasn’t completely empty, of course. In particular, the walls had many magical items, each enough to drove people crazy with jealousy, representing history. Each artifact was enough to change the world if carried by an appropriate wielder, enough to shake the world. Finding an appropriate wielder one could trust, however, was much more difficult. 

Still, artifacts, I expected. What I didn’t expect was the desolate state of the treasury when it came to gold and other valuable items. It wasn’t completely empty, but considering the size of the Empire, it might as well have been. It was barely a tenth of the treasury I had as a Dark Lord, and I had never been particularly focused on making money.  

“Wow,” I said with a whistle. “Not exactly what I expected. No wonder you didn’t try to buy my services with gold.” 

“It’s just a temporary problem with taxation,” she answered, which I didn’t believe even a second. An empire of that size and reputation should have enough reserves to handle an extended battle, which couldn’t be depleted through a temporary dip in taxation. 

It couldn’t even be depleted through Sapphire’s whole rule, even if she was completely incompetent. And as much as it was easy to estimate her due to our current relationship, Sapphire was not incompetent enough to miss the significance of such a depleted treasury. 

“For how long the treasury had been empty?” I asked, curious. 

“I don’t know,” she answered, which was all the answer I needed. It meant that it was empty the moment she took the crown and became the ruling Queen. 

No wonder she couldn’t handle the rebellion easily. A monarch without money was like a warrior without his dominant arm, not exactly helpless but not far from that state either. 

“What happened to all the money you guys got from my latest client,” I asked, indirectly asking about my own treasury. Some of the items I could see on the walls, but a majority was absent, and so were some of the more distinct gems in my hoard. 

“Our share is already spent,” Sapphire admitted even as she walked toward the center of the treasury, where marble statues were displaying the artifacts from the past heroes, the Shield being one of them. “Not that we received a lot in the first place from the gold. Convincing the dark families to work against him was not cheap.” 

And she clearly didn’t want it to be known just how desperately the Empire was needing gold, which would have been even deadlier than the absence. Trying to push a big bargain, trying to get a bigger share of the gold rather than monopolizing the library and some of the special would have made not only the dark families, but also internal factions of the Empire suspicious, something she could hardly afford in her already shaky position.  

If I wasn’t her only hope against a completely unknown threat, I doubted that she would actually trust me enough to reveal the current state, and even then, it was only because her mind was still blurry from being dominated repeatedly on her own throne, the center of her power. 

While I was considering the implications of a depleted treasury, she removed the wards that were keeping the Shield of Ether and removed it. When she stood in front of me, I knelt. I didn’t need to do anything particular to make a mockery of the traditional knighting ceremony where the noble hero received the gift from the Queen before going for an impossible adventure, her nakedness, combined with the red marks remained from my aggressive domination did that perfectly. 

“Just as promised,” Sapphire said with a sigh as she passed me the shield, not even bothering to comment on my clowning. After everything I had done to defile the pride of the Empire, the last step was nothing. “Is that all you need before you start your research?” 

I swung the shield a couple of times, trying to get used to its presence even as I let my mana slip through it, trying to take control, only to be rebuffed immediately. It didn’t surprise me. The other two artifacts came from the previous Dark Lords, which meant that I had a good idea about their working principles, not to mention I had the appropriate techniques. 

The Shield of Ether was completely different, even more so than I expected, but that didn’t discourage me. It wouldn’t be the first impossible item I tamed for my usage. 

“Just one more thing,” I said even as I looked at the nearest pile of gold — after all, while I mentioned the Empire being poor, it was by the standards of a huge empire. There was still enough gold to tempt someone, or more importantly, make a bed for some transitionary fun. 

Sapphire misunderstood the point of my gaze. “Out of the question!” she said sharply, her Queenly persona awakening immediately. “We already have a deal. Anything more is impossible.” 

I chuckled even as I took a step forward, my hand slipping between her legs for a soft caress. “Don’t worry, my Queen, I’m not interested in your gold. I’m only interested in your body.” 

That answer, combined with my touch, was enough to steal her breath, enough for me to cast a spell to cushion the impact and push her over the pile. 

Without magic, gold made an extremely uncomfortable bed. 

Sapphire’s expression was glorious once again. She was pissed at me, but that didn’t stop her body from betraying her immediately, her legs parting open automatically. 

She remained stuck into her confusing rush of emotions as I crouched between her legs, squeezing her inner thighs aggressive enough to leave lingering fingerprints, even as another flare of magic pulled my pants down. “I didn’t actually realize just how much you needed the gold,” I said even as I pushed my erection forward, pressing against her entrance. “I might be inclined to share the location of one of the backup treasuries of our mutual friend with you,” I offered. 

“You - you would,” she stuttered, gasping midway as I rubbed against her entrance, but didn’t slide inside her. 

“As long as I’m in a good mood, of course,” I said, even as I pulled back. “It has been a while I enjoyed a dance from you,” I added even as I suddenly changed position, sitting on the pile of gold as well. “Why don’t you give me a show, and I might even tip very generously if you can satisfy me.”

The shift in expression was beautiful. It wasn’t the first time she would use her body as a bargaining material, but somehow, making the same deal in exchange for gold, even piles of it, somehow made her even more like a streetwalker. And if her stormy expression was any indicator, she was well aware of the distinction as well. 

But that didn’t prevent her from standing up, her body swaying to imaginary music immediately. She was getting more and more obedient, much to my happiness. 

The imaginary music she picked was slow, her hips swaying beautifully. Her hands ran up her hips, moved to her stomach as they continued to their climb. Her body continued to sway during the climb, but soon, the journey of her hands took a break around her breasts, squeezing them beautifully, accompanied by a deep moan. 

I licked my lips, enjoying the carnal feeling of her dance. She was an amazing dancer, which was something I knew from her show back at the club. However, the nature of her current dance was very different than the show she had conducted back at the club, where she had always radiated a sense of etherealness.

The only thing she radiated right now was a slutty need, intense enough to drive me crazy if I didn’t know how to isolate the effects of her tantric magic mixing into her every move as she tried to addict me to her pleasure, unaware it was working reverse. 

Soon, she leaned back, arching her body until her breasts were pointing at the ceiling, while her pelvis was presented blatantly in front of me, tempting me to let out a cheer to release my arousal. 

But that was just a start. Soon, she turned her back to me, her fingers danced over her inner thighs, displaying her curvy ass perfectly — not that her glorious hips needed such assistance. She crouched down, her hips shaking in a melodic beat, her nakedness revealing her wetness completely even as her ass rubbed against my thigh, going back and forth on my lap. 

The plan was to let her dance while lazily sitting on a pile of gold, enjoying the erotic service, but having such a flawless beauty rubbing against me relentlessly, my hands rebelled in short order, and landed on her waist before starting to glide up her body. 

As her hands moved to her chest, mine was not too far away. Her hands landed on the center, hiding her nipples, while my fingers danced on the edges, arousing her even more, as evidenced by her beautiful moans. The way her bare breasts swayed with her movements despite two pairs of hands trying to contain them just added to the beauty. 

Then, she stood up and turned toward me, her fingers around her nipples, twisting and squeezing, her face telling a tale of arousal and surrender. Her latest attempt to use Tantric magic had broken through another layer of self-control. 

She was mine for the rest of the night, utterly and completely. 

All I needed to decide was what to do next…