Chapter 495: A Palace Rotting Within

With respect, the guide led us to the stables. Not the grand, public stables where visiting dignitaries' mounts were pampered, but the smaller, more exclusive ones reserved for the Queen's personal beasts. It was a place of immaculate white stone and ancient, living wood, smelling of fresh hay, fragrant oils, and an undercurrent of pure, potent magic.

The air was warm and inviting.

Snowball seemed to approve. Especially after he saw a cute brown doe with big, innocent eyes and a twitching nose, looking at him from across the hay-strewn aisle.

I knew that look. The look of a horny female ready to be mounted.

'Hehehe~... He's going to get lucky tonight,' I thought to myself, a wicked grin on my face.

There were a lot of different types of beasts, from the majestic silver-furred steeds to the giant, armored eagles that nested in the rafters, to the sleek, black panthers that prowled the shadows.

However, the best of them all were the unicorns, their coats shimmering with an inner light, their horns spiraling towards the heavens like spears of pure starlight. They were pure, magnificent, and utterly untouchable.

Vespera noticed them as well.

"A unicorn..." she breathed, her eyes wide with awe, then she turned to me, flashing a sly smile. "Morgana, can you ride the unicorn? They said only a virgin can ride one."

"Hehehe..." I almost laughed out loud. "Little elf, did you forget? Me... Morgana THE virgin."

"..."

Vespera blinked once. Twice. Then her mouth opened, closed, opened again like a fish that just remembered it was supposed to be drowning.

"…You're what?"

I placed a delicate hand over my chest, lifting my chin with the dignity of a saint carved in marble.

"A maiden pure and untouched. A flower yet to be plucked. A—"

"You're still covered in elf blood!" she shrieked, her composure shattering like dropped crystal. Her hands flew up to her hair, as if trying to physically hold her mind in one piece. "You have a dick! A big, bloody, threatening dick that you've been waving around like a royal standard! You impaled eight elves and threatened a royal steward with it!"

"A maiden can be... resourceful," I said, utterly deadpan, my voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You'd be surprised what a girl can do without compromising her sacred virtue. It's all about creative interpretation of the rules."

I saw a twitch start up at the corner of Vespera's left eye. A spasm of pure, unadulterated confusion.

"Pfftt..." One of the stable attendants choked somewhere behind a stack of enchanted hay bales.

I ignored him.

The unicorns, however, did not.

They had been watching.

Creatures of impossible grace, their coats shimmering like moonlight trapped beneath silk, hooves barely seeming to touch the white stone floor. Their spiral horns hummed faintly, threads of pale magic drifting lazily around them like lazy comets.

And now… every single one of them had turned their luminous eyes on the white stag and me, who was riding him. Not Vespera. Not the stable attendants. Me.

The nearest unicorn—a towering mare whose coat looked poured from molten platinum—took a slow, deliberate step forward. Her horn pulsed with a soft, golden light. She wasn't frightened. She was… intrigued. She sniffed the air, her delicate nostrils flaring, and then she took another step, her head tilting. She looked from my face, down my body, to the half-hard cock resting against Snowball's flank, and then back to my face.

A low, chiming sound, like a thousand tiny bells ringing in perfect harmony, emanated from her chest. It wasn't a challenge. It was a… question.

"See?" I said, gesturing gracefully towards the approaching unicorn. "They recognize a kindred spirit. A fellow being of unsullied grace."

Vespera just stared, her jaw hanging somewhere around her knees.

The unicorn mare strode right up to me, her warm, hay-and-magic-scented breath ghosting over my face. She nudged my shoulder with her nose, then, with the casual intimacy of a long-lost friend.

"Hehehe~..." I couldn't help but chuckle, reaching out to stroke her velvety muzzle. "Aren't you the curious one?"

The mare leaned into my touch, her horn glowing a little brighter.

Snowball, of course, didn't like that.

With a soft, resonant snort that was far more powerful than any roar, he tilted his head, and with his antlers, he pushed the unicorn's head away from me. A gesture that was both protective and deeply territorial. He was saying, 'Mine.'

"Oho~... Someone's jealous," I teased, patting his neck.

The mare didn't back down. Instead, she circled Snowball, her tail held high like a banner, her steps light and confident. She was showing off.

The other unicorns watched the display, some of them stamping their hooves impatiently, others letting out soft, whickering calls. It was a scene out of a fairy tale, if the fairy tale had been written by someone with a very specific fetish for divine equestrians.

"Alright, alright, break it up, you two," I said, sliding off Snowball's back. "We're not here to start a herd war."

I then turned to the guide, a young wood elf with leaves braided into her hair and eyes the color of spring moss. Her mouth was wide open, her face a mask of utter disbelief.

"Find Snowball a good spot," I said, snapping her from her trance.

"He's had a long day. And make sure he has... company," I added, glancing at the brown doe who was still watching him from afar.

The guide nodded, her movements stiff and robotic, as if she was trying to process the events of the last five minutes without her brain overheating.

"Yes, of course," she stammered, gesturing towards a spacious, sun-drenched stall at the far end of the stable, one that was clearly reserved for the most honored of guests. "Right this way."

As the guide led Snowball away, the unicorn mare followed, her tail swishing provocatively. I had a feeling Snowball was in for a very... interesting evening.

Once inside the stall, the guide gave me a shaky bow, her eyes fixed on the floor.

"The invitation will be delivered to your quarters," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "A servant will show you the way."

"Good," I nodded, watching her leave as she practically ran from the stable, as if the very air in here had become too charged with raw, unfiltered absurdity for her to breathe.

"Be a good boy and be careful, okay?" I said gently, my eyes fixed on the stag. "Try not to get too... carried away."

The stag just blinked at me, then nudged my hand with its nose. Using the mark I placed on him, I transferred my orders to him directly. All he needed to do was to act submissively, let the queen 'think' she had him for the ritual, and in the last moment, I'll safely teleport him to my land.

"Ready for the next part of our adventure, Pointy?" I asked, turning to Vespera.

"I... I don't even know what to say anymore," she said, shaking her head slowly. "Unicorns... they were... you..."

"They were very friendly," I said, a cheerful smile on my face. "Told you I'm a virgin."

Vespera just stared at me, her lips slightly parted, her eyes wide and unfocused.

"Alright, come on," I said, taking her arm and practically dragging her out, but not before taking a few of Snowball's white fur; I have a need for it.

Hehehe~... a big surprise for our dear elven queen.

...

A servant, a petite, silver-haired moon elf with a deferential posture and eyes that seemed permanently glued to the floor, was waiting for us at the entrance to the palace proper.

She bowed so low I thought her forehead was going to scrape the mosaic tiles. Her job was to lead us to our designated quarters.

Apparently, the queen is unavailable at the moment. She has to 'prepare' for the 'Ritual.' How very... inconvenient.

Sniff!

The moment I stepped inside the palace, my nose instantly picked up a foul smell that sent my senses on high alert.

A distinct smell that I was intimately familiar with, the smell of demonic corruption. Outside, it was faint, almost non-existent, but here it was stronger.

Not so much a smell as a… wrongness in the air. A subtle metallic tang, like old blood, mixed with the cloying sweetness of rotting flowers. It was the scent of a beautiful thing slowly dying from the inside out.

'The corruption has been going on for more than a hundred years,' I thought to myself. 'The entire palace must be saturated by now.'

'Herma, can you locate the source?' I mentally asked my assistant.

Ding!

[Yes, but I need some time to scan the entire palace area undetected; it may take a few hours.] Herma's calm, feminine voice echoed in my mind.

'Perfect,' I replied, a wide grin on my face as I picked up another scent.

Honey and flowers.

The thick elven garden, Aeli.

She was here, inside the palace, and by the blood mark that I placed on her, she was close.

'Hehehe... my sweet little flower,' I thought to myself, my pussy getting wet at the thought of her. 'We have a lot of catching up to do.'

I turned to the guide, a charming smile on my face.

"You know, this place is lovely, but a bit... stuffy. Where can a girl get some fresh air?"

"There are... there are many gardens, my lady," the servant stammered, still not daring to meet my eyes. "The Royal Solarium is particularly beautiful this time of day."

"Perfect," I said, patting her on the head. "Lead the way."

"I... can't... the queen's orders are to lead you to your quarters," she said, her voice trembling.

I sighed. These elves and their damn rules.

"But after the invitation is delivered to you, my lady," she quickly added, as if reading my mind, "then you may explore the first level of the palace," and she quickly corrected, "the permitted areas."

"Fine, fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "Let's get this over with... I just hope you got some gloryholes in the bathroom."

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