Chapter 8 – The Last Generation
Julius arrived late that evening. Gray saw him get down from the carriage and slam the door. That was a sign that he was pissed. When the front door banged open, Gray rushed to the front, ready to collect his master's belongings.
He was expecting a few kicks and yells but the bastard just threw a few papers and gloves at him and told him to clean his office.
“The queen is imposing the new tax system,” he snapped when Andria came rushing to him. “That little bitch! She’s barely twenty and inherited this damn kingdom one year ago and now she’s acting like she owns the goddamn place. Us nobles should stick together and teach her a lesson.”
“Isn’t she worried about the negative effects of it?” Andria sat beside him on the couch. “A lot of the nobles won’t be happy with the news.”
“They aren’t, but the queen doesn’t care. She knows we don’t have heirs my dear, so she knows we have gold in our vaults. And that bitch won’t sleep till every penny is on her lap. Where’s my coffee?”
When Gray came back after placing his belongings Lyla was rushing towards Julius with a cup of tea. He grabbed it from her hands and sipped it, then spewed it out.
“It’s too sweet dammit!”
He slammed the glass to the ground. The fancy little cup with flowery paintings and gold rims shattered down onto the ground.
“I’m sorry my lord,” Lyla bowed.
“Clean this up! No… you go make a cup of tea, ask that stupid daughter of yours to clean this up!”
“She’s out to buy groceries, my lord-”
“And who gives her permission for it? Shouldn’t that stupid bitch be around the house at this time?”
Fucking prick, Gray gritted his teeth as he approached him. If I only could take one of those glass shards and slit your throat with it…
“I’ll clean it, my lord,” Gray said, giving Lyla the signal to leave. She gave a quick nod and ran for the kitchen.
Julius didn’t seem to mind Gray, which was a miracle by itself.
“Did you know Lady Reta is pregnant?” Julius muttered, paying attention back to his wife.
Andria gasped. “I don’t think Lord Madin is capable of producing children. They’ve been married for eight years!”
“It isn’t Lord Madin. His wife probably cheated on him with some bastard. Some bastard who might have escaped through the mists and entered our kingdom. How unearthly! Imagine letting your wife fuck another man just because you don’t have children.”
Gray eyed Andria, who was suddenly as pale as a ghost. “I-I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing Julius. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Are you crazy?” Julius snapped. “I’m not some sort of…cuckold to watch my wife get impregnated by another man. Do you know how many people were laughing behind Madin’s back during the council meeting? I even spoke with Lord Talon. He once caught his wife cheating on him and he’d nearly choked her alive! Damn woman, I would have done the same!”
“The place is cleaned my lord,” Gray said, gathering all the shards to the dustpan. He looked up and gave a little smirk at Andria, who looked like she was about to faint.
“Then what are you waiting for, you fuck? A bonus? Get out!”
“Yes, my lord,” Gray bowed and retreated while holding onto the smirk.
“We’ll somehow try Andria,” Gray heard Julius’s voice as he walked back to the kitchen. “These days a nobleman with a child is like a man with powers of the divine. If we have a child we can rise among the noble ranks faster than we imagined. Heck, even the queen might need a child in the future, and if she can’t have one, and we do, then…”
Gray closed the door of the kitchen.
“What are you smiling about?” Lyla asked, rapidly spooning a cup of tea.
“Julius’s anger is funny.”
“It’s not funny till it happens to you Gray. Imagine you growing up and your wife looks at you wanting a child and you can’t give one.”
But I can, Gray smiled. And that makes me the most important man in the kingdom.
“It’s even worse than that when it comes to politics. Imagine a kingdom where no family has children, no heirs, no daughters to wed, the people will just wither and die without a new generation.”
Gray threw the shards into the dustbin. “Are you worried about Sia?”
“Every parent is worried about their children,” Lyla wiped the sweat off her brows. “But I have other things to worry about you and Sia,” she stopped spooning the tea and looked at Gray. “I want the two of you to lead a better life away from this place.”
Just what Sia said, Gray thought.
“Where’s my tea?” Julius’s voice bellowed from the living room.
“Coming, my lord!”
Gray watched as Lyla rushed to the door, accidentally spilled some hot tea on her dress then bit her lip and rushed to where her master was calling.
We are like slaves, he thought. Slaves to an angry fuck who’s angry because he can’t produce heirs.
He recalled the morning when Sia and Lyla both devoured their breakfasts like hungry animals. Both of them deserved better. Even he deserved better.
And it was time to present another offer.
ÕÕÕÕ
Gray, Sia, and Lyla slept in the same room. It was at least one-fourth the size of Julius’s bedroom, but it had just enough space to squeeze three small beds. When they were children Gray and Sia slept on the same bed, but ever since they passed the age of fifteen Lyla had separated them.
Lyla called it unethical, and Sia had been grumpy about it saying she didn’t understand a word her mother said. But Gray did. Somehow sleeping near Sia and watching her breathe calmly gave him very weird feelings.
There was a good side to it though. He could easily sneak out of the room without waking anyone.
When he reached the guest bedroom it was eleven in the night. He waited for a few moments, watching the empty streets of Adula when the door creaked open and Andria stepped in wearing her night dress.
Gray had convinced himself that he wouldn’t act like a sex-crazed maniac for a second time and would act more tamely during their second round, but seeing her body made him giddy with pleasure for a second time.
“Lift up your nightdress,” he said, coming close.
This time Andria obeyed him without a word. She was still blushing furiously but she grabbed the hem of her dress and lifted it up. She was wearing white underwear.
Gray was more confused than amused. “Isn’t it hard to sleep with those?”
“That’s not your problem! Julius had been asking to have sex with me often. It gives no results, and it’s more annoying than pleasurable. I wear this so I can avoid him on nights and mornings.”
That made Gray laugh. Julius’s face after waking up in the morning, pulling up Andria’s nightclothes, and seeing her wear underwear would be a sight to see.
“Just get it over with!” Andria snapped.
“Easy,” Gray calmly slid the underwear down, revealing the familiar bush he somehow started to like more and more. “I need something new from you today.”
“What is it?” Andria’s brows furrowed. “A new way to humiliate me?”
Gray hadn’t thought of it, but the way she spoke gave him a new idea.
“Sure why not? Go to the bed, spread your legs, and start pleasuring yourself while I watch. And while you do that, I’ll explain what I need.”
“Do I have a choice?”
Gray smiled from the corner of his mouth. “Lady Andria, you never did.”