“For the bed,” Rykard said and put a small sack of coin onto the table.

  The gold inside it ccked loudly. It had been a ‘gift’ that Rykard had received this morning from one of the upper css men. Doubtlessly it was meant as a bribe, but the king had made no promises. He just saw it as taxes paid in advance.

  “I will have it delivered to the owner,” the butler answered and tied the sack to his belt. “Anything else I can do for you?”

  “Not at this time.” Rykard turned his head slightly to look at the woman emerging from the bedroom. “Do please wait outside, we’re going to have a private conversation.”

  “As you wish.” The butler bowed his head and moved out of the room.

  Tess stepped up to the table. Like Miyo and Rykard, she was fully clothed. Her torn garments had taken a new form, that of a simple bck top and leather pants. Unlike the previous outfit, her neck, arms, and shoulders were bare, revealing much of her tattoos. The mantle of raven feathers was reduced to frilly decorations around the hips, forming a half-skirt.

  “Morning,” the gothic thief greeted, then reached for a sausage.

  Rykard was more amused than anything by her ck of further words. They had their breakfast in tranquil silence. Only after everyone had their fill, did the mage king decide to ask questions. “So, what brings you into my harem?”

  “Poison and opportunity,” Tess answered shortly and added a dry smile a few moments ter. “I told you that I had to contend with disloyal elements in my thieves’ guild.”

  “You did,” Rykard confirmed.

  “They decided to greet me by poisoning every wine in my wine celr, which I only found out upon having a sip. Of course, they did not think that alone would do me in, so they also had six assassins ready and waiting. They did not leave the room.”

  “But you left the area.”

  “I am here for my own benefit,” Tess reminded. “I made the simple calcution: either I deal with treachery and annoyances every other week or I submit to the cockiest man I have met in my life. Considering the backing that your attitude has and the great sex I considered to come along with that path, I decided to exchange my virginity and freedom for profit, security, and the best seed.”

  Miyo chuckled. “You have made the right choice, if those were your goals.”

  “Since your former area of the map no longer has borders on the Contestant’s map, it seems no one has picked up the raven mantle,” Rykard remarked.

  “Who would, inept as they all are?” Tess leaned back, her magnificent breasts stretching the fabric of her tight top. “Last night was no bond made by the crow, but I expect you to provide the aforementioned nonetheless.”

  “Profit, security, and the best seed,” Rykard listed. “You can add the wonderful acquaintance of my women to that.”

  “I have already made their acquaintance, short as the meeting was,” Tess answered. “I had to find out where you were. I went from Regalia to your Estate to here.”

  “Well, you will spend the rest of your life with them. As you say, in return I’ll be taking control of you in the bedroom, although I don’t think that is a loss to you.”

  “Not in the slightest,” Tess said in her usual, dry tone. Not a modicum of shame to that natural submissive. “Is owning me in the bedroom enough for you?”

  “I have expectations of you to pull your weight as part of my dynasty, but those are just that of a man for his woman,” Rykard responded. “You’ll find something to do for the good of New Eden, no doubt. The welfare of my kingdom will be your welfare, after all.”

  “I see the wisdom in that.”

  “I will show you the ropes after we return home,” Miyo said. “Granted, I don’t know how long you two will be staying. The Treasure Tile was found after all.”

  “Is it a time sensitive matter?” Rykard asked.

  “I would prefer if you treated it like that. Leaving deals open is against my nature,” Tess answered. “Not even with the man I decided to pledge my future to on a whim.”

  “To be fair to your whims, I do make quite the impact.”

  “That you do,” Tess purred, her dry tone melting into something erotic. “I do remember you fixing me up at the end… I doubt I would feel my legs if you hadn’t.”

  “Admittedly, st night you found me near my best.” Rykard rolled his shoulders and shot her an equally heated gaze. “But I am usually near my best. Now, however, its time to cim what is mine in fully.”

  The king stood up, moved over to Tess’ chair and grabbed the raven haired woman’s chin. Her blue eyes closed halfway in anticipation. Her breath smelled of honey and bread. Her lips tasted off the same. Whim or not, now she was here and Rykard would keep her by his side. The swirling of their tongues sealed that pact.

  Tess got a moment to catch her breath, before her bck lips were offered to Miyo. The harem queen was quick to give the gothic thief a taste of the sapphic side of the harem life. Two submissives made out for the harmony of the harem and to please the eyes of their dom. All was as it should be.

  The next day, Ayama had finished her arrangements, leaving Rykard to pay one more visit to the city hall.

  Previously the gathering of craftsmen had been a bunch of people trying to force the responsibility of leading the polity onto each other. Now, there were 5 men left, each of them trying to convince the other 4 that they were the best for the job.

  Rykard couldn’t even be bothered to remember their names. Ultimately it would make very little difference who lead the Hexagon. As a sprawling city with rge suburbs, Erira was already as developed as it would get. Directing its attention more towards this or that hardly mattered in the short term and in the long term Rykard would have other people bother with it.

  In the end, Rykard just picked the one that seemed like he would keep things running without any operational issues. After that, it was picking up Ayama and introducing her to Tess. It turned out to be a nondescript affair. Ayama was too busy paying attention to Rykard and Tess appreciated her alone time.

  And so they simply went back to the Estate.

  Funatic