Dark Lord in Chains 104

I had a smile on my face as I walked away from Cinder’s secret base, leaving her with the task of cleaning up, after several orders to make sure she didn’t do anything without asking me — and several spells to observe the situation continuously. 

I was tempted to leave her in the meadows to make sure any commotion she might create didn’t create a crisis in the capital, but after some consideration, I decided against it for two reasons. 

The first reason was I had decided to leave Isolde there, and leave Cinder to spend any extended time with my magic-hating potential assassin, especially far away that I couldn’t intervene in case of a heated argument. 

The second reason was more functional. I had no idea about the plans of the other parties, from Lancelot to elves, but I preferred Cinder to be in a location where I could go and help her if someone targeted her, or ask for her help if any party suddenly decided to target the palace. 

Not that I was not confident to meet any attack by myself. It wasn’t about any sudden increase of pure power — as while the increase of mana I experienced was nice, it wasn’t enough to make a decisive difference against odds that would have been unsurmountable. No, it gave me confidence, because it gave me a very convenient way of misleading my enemies by using the living fire, giving them the impression that I work for the phoenixes. 

Just the right amount of convincing tricks to create even more confusion. 

As I walked toward the Queen’s quarters, my mind was already on the merits of using the flame to ‘assassinate’ her. It might implicate Cinder, but since she was alone, it was much more likely that the suspicion would fall on the other Phoenixes currently occupying the darklands. 

I pulled the shadows around me as I arrived at my destination, not wanting to reveal myself in case there was a servant inside. The door opened, and I entered sneakily, only to see someone that I wasn’t expecting together with Sapphire. 

Valkyrie. 

Admittedly, considering I had summoned her, my surprise was more about the speed of her arrival rather than her presence, but I expected her arrival to take around a week considering the things she needed to arrange. Even if she discarded everything, which was not in her personality, and rushed forward, it was supposed to take at least one more day. 

Meaning, she was already traveling toward the Capital before Sapphire summoned her. 

How interesting. 

I kept the shadows tight around me as I got closer, curious about what they were talking about. With Valkyrie still wearing her armor — which hid a shockingly beautiful body underneath, as I knew from our previous deals — and standing in front of Sapphire’s desk, her expression serious, the seriousness of the subject was very clear. 

Valkyrie had a reason for her great martial reputation, and she had the senses to detect me during our earlier encounters. However, as I closed in, they failed to react to my presence. One reason was the Blade of Shadows, which greatly increased my ability to stay hidden. 

However, even more, effective was her location. She hardly expected someone to sneak forward while she was with the ruling Queen of the Empire in her private quarters, in a location that was supposed to be absolutely secure. 

“… due to that, I don’t know just how long our defenses can hold. There are simply too many unexpected problems at the forts. If it goes like that, we might lose another fort in three days. We need to mobilize,” she declared. “I know there are political challenges, your majesty, but all evidence shows that it’s an actual danger rather than a political ploy. We need to act.” 

She fell silent, and I started walking closer to them, while Sapphire closed her eyes, thinking, ignoring Valkyrie’s impatient gaze. They were talking about the North, I realized. She looked at the Queen impatiently, no doubt failing to understand how any political concern could hold her back.

I recognized that frustration. It was her inherent distaste toward politics, that impacted critical decision-making when lives were at stake. It was what drove her to cooperate with me in the first place while I still had my throne, requiring my help to deal with the more aggressive politicians in the army — the kind that would sacrifice an army just to gain some political credit. 

And, while the way she looked at Sapphire was not as bad, it was still alarmingly sharp, no doubt making her wonder if talking to a different party about acting was the better idea. 

Even if that decision had dangerous implications for Sapphire’s throne. 

Sapphire was lucky that I was there to help her. 

While Sapphire stayed still, her eyes closed, I closed in, and sneaked under the desk before any of them could notice. Hidden outside Valkyrie’s view, I grabbed Sapphire’s legs, making her gaze turn down with panic, only to catch my grin. 

“Is something wrong, my Queen,” Valkyrie gasped, alarmed. 

“No, just a cramp, nothing important,” Sapphire excused quickly, her lie very believable. And, more importantly, good enough to excuse her sudden panic as I continued to push her skirt up, revealing her beautiful legs for my hungry gaze. “Are you telling me that you still have no idea about the true nature of the invaders,” she asked. 

Smart woman, I thought, realizing that she wanted Valkyrie to explain the situation once again so that I could hear her. Unfortunately for her, that didn’t prevent me from multitasking, leaning forward to kiss her inner thighs even as Valkyrie started explaining after a soft sigh. 

“Unfortunately so, your majesty,” she answered. “While not all commanders agree with my conclusion, I could see that none of the attacking beasts had been actually encountered before, and while they show some similarities to the stories that had been told, I don’t think it’s evidence that they always existed. Something is clearly sending them. Maybe some mages are creating them, using the stories as the basis.” 

“But why a mage would give so much effort?” Sapphire asked. It was not the best question to ask after that explanation, but to her defense, Sapphire was rather distracted. Still, it was a sign of growing obedience that she had just accepted the challenge without trying to prevent it. 

Clearly, my actions made a mark. 

“That kind of political concern is outside my purview, my Queen. I only know the facts on the field,” she declared dutifully, but I could catch the annoyance in her tone, which wasn’t a surprise. The blonde knight had always been rather dismissive of the nobility and their default stature, and I was only partially surprised to see that extending into royalty as well, especially when she was trying to deal with a serious issue. 

Pity, she didn’t know just how big of a risk her Queen took to solve the problem — albeit she seemed to enjoy the way it imploded — so she was feeling frustrated at the results. 

I started listening to her explanation while I continued leaving a trail of kisses on Sapphire’s thighs, climbing up, but not high enough to touch her wetness, barely restrained by her skimpy outfits. She managed to hide her reaction well as she listened to Valkyrie, hiding what was going on well. 

I was tempted to push for more, but as I listened to her explanation, I decided against it. The reason, the latest information she was sharing was not exactly good news, especially since as she continued to talk about the beasts, it started to contradict the earlier situation — the wild monsters that she was describing could hardly be responsible for the suspicious disappearances of the other forts. 

Though, as I dug into the true nature of the confrontation I found myself in, I wasn’t as shocked at the situation. With the elves and phoenixes intervening directly, either by sabotaging the palace or by taking over the darklands, the suspicious disappearances weren’t as suspicious anymore. From what I had learned from Cinder, it implied that phoenixes weren’t responsible for it — though it might be her lack of information — it still left elves a probable culprit. 

Or another mystic mysterious party, somehow involving themselves with the situation, which couldn’t be simply written off. 

Maybe I should just stop what I was doing and ask her directly?