Chapter 38 – The Doomed Kingdom
“What’s she doing in here?” Aisha came to Gray’s office a moment after Jenna left. She didn’t look happy. Gray wasn’t either.
“You know her?”
“Every noblewoman in this town knows her. She’s the daughter of the duke!” Aisha’s hands moved to Gray’s pants. “D-does she want a child too?”
“No, which is precisely my problem,” Gray fell back to his seat, rubbing his eyes. “Perhaps she’s not into men.”
“So what? She’s into animals?”
Gray stared at her. Aisha just shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve heard one noblewoman have that fantasy once-”
“Forget it,” Gray didn’t want to let his imagination wander. “I meant if she was into women. I’m sure you noble ladies are into that kind of thing.”
“Some of us do,” Aisha sat on Gray’s lap. “But most of the time those affairs are kept in shadows, and never brought to the public.”
When Gray looked closely he found she wasn’t wearing any underclothes. So he grabbed her close and snuggled his face on her chest. It felt good to have her beside him. The talk with Jenna felt like a slap in the face.
“What do you know about her?” he pulled off the top button of the knot beside her cleavage with his teeth, and the fabric opened up way more.
“Nothing much. I first saw her at the tea parties my mother used to take me. She was always silent, and rarely talked, so we didn’t get to know her much. But we were also afraid of approaching her.”
“Because she’s the duke’s daughter?”
Aisha blew a strand of hair that fell on her face. “Back then her father was a nobleman just like us. But that wasn’t the problem. Jenna was good friends with her majesty. She was one of the few nobles who got to visit the queen’s castle on a weekly basis. Some of my friends thought she was giving us the cold shoulder because she was big-headed, others didn’t want to because we couldn’t even play a practical joke on her. What if us girls made a little prank on her and then she’d go and report it to the queen?”
So her majesty the bitch and Jenna are friends. Gray thought. But why would she lie to me about the two of them being bitter enemies?
“Did something happen between the two of them?” Gray poked her nipples with his tongue. She smelled nice after her bath. She seemed to have used the lemon Andria always talked about.
Aisha cuddled her face close to him. “Nothing I know of. But after the death of the prince the nobility was never the same.”
“Why? What happened?”
“The crown prince had allies, and his death brought problems. There was a political struggle, and the next day the witch planted a curse on this entire kingdom so no man could have a child. That brought another wave of problems. The last slap in the face was his majesty’s death. So the only heir was the queen. Come on, they are waiting for your mouth,” she pointed at her nipple. “Are you going to suck them or not?”
Gray rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t complain.
“Continue your story,” he said, gently putting her teat in his mouth.
“There’s nothing much to say about it. The prince was dead, the council had a power struggle, the ruler of the kingdom was a thirteen-year-old girl, and no men had the ability to reproduce. Adula was doomed. And then the mists started to curl up around the kingdom border making it difficult for anyone to enter or exit. Our lives were fucked.”
Gray recalled that time in Julius’s household. It was just the time when the old bastard had married Andria, and somehow every morning the husband and wife came out of the bedroom like someone choked them with a belt.
“The queen started to distance herself from people, mostly from the nobility. Then Jenna’s father got a promotion as the Duke under the new council. So if her father got a promotion Jenna surely must be friends with the queen.”
Gray unwillingly took his mouth off the nipple. He grabbed her from her ass and kept her on the table.
Should I spill it to her?
Gray looked at Aisha. She looked beautiful with the sunlight falling on her face and her breasts out in the open. Gray removed her top completely, and moved his eyes to her belly, where the tattoo resided.
If she does something I have that.
If he had to face Jenna and all the child support fanatics, he needed an ally.
”Tomorrow Jenna is sending me an agreement. If I sign it, I’ll have to forever be under her, but in turn, your mother or any other woman won’t be able to ask for child support. I’m trying to find a loophole in this agreement. What do you think of it?”
Aisha took a while to respond. “Serving under her could be dangerous. And she’s an ace Gray. Back in the royal academy she used to kick down even the brightest students. Finding a loophole with her will only lead her finding a loophole with you.”
“But that’s impossible,” Gray paced around, thinking. Everyone had a weakness, he just had to find it. So far every woman he encountered wanted a child, and he gave them one, thus giving him an advantage over them. But Jenna was different. She didn’t want a child.
But if he wanted to find it, he had to work under her. That was the only choice. It would also cover up the problems he had so far. And he wasn’t the only one who had to sacrifice something.
“Aisha, you’ll leave before tomorrow evening to welcome your mother and father.”
Her face fell. “What? No! I want to be with you!”
“You will be. Soon! But right now I need information about what your father is planning and when that’s happening. Can you do it for me?”
“I don’t want to.”
Gray closed their distance. And he flickered his fingers, using the power of the tattoo for the first time.
You will, he commanded. Because you love me. And you want to protect me.
Breaking her mental barriers wasn’t hard, and after a few seconds of stunned silence, Aisha slowly nodded. “Alright, but please write back to me. We can communicate through a private errand boy.”
“I will,” Gray kissed her softly. “And as soon as this is over you’ll be back with me.”
“Are we not going to do it now?” Aisha asked looking at him meekly. She had her hands on the edge of her skirt.
“Of course,” Gray beamed. Jenna said it was fairy magic that made people want him. But Lyla didn’t have a tattoo and she still wanted him. “We shouldn’t be wasting time.”