A caravan of verdant carriages, carrying the images of Griffins and Edgarwood tree, were being pulled by the strong senhorses of various colours. They were speeding through an empty highway. In the seventh of the eighth carriage- the odd one out with its emerald colour- sat a devilishly handsome young man and a valiant woman with hazel eyes.

“Have you sent the letter?” Adrian looked at the vice commander, Teresa Ignis.

“Yes. The Royal Mail Service itself is in charge. The embassy at Darkshore already dispatched a Griffin. It will not take more than two days for the letter to reach Northguard.” She replied. Her voice was subservient but bold, befitting a high ranked military officer answering to her superior.

A smile appeared on Adrian’s face as he looked into the lady’s hazel eyes with his dark ones. “Looks like you guys were not idling while I sle- I mean met my family.”

The stern woman’s facial muscles flinched for a moment. She sighed. “There were some suspicious activities going on around in Kraten and Sallodeck.” Her face turned serious. “So, we decided to investigate.”

“Tsk.” He clicked his tongue, prompting the lady to furrow her brows. “Even though I don’t need them, you should get yourself used to reporting everything to me. You remember the deal, don’t you?”

The lady gasped, but soon bowed down. “I apologise.” She said before looking back at him. “This will not happen ever again.”

“Good.” He nodded, but his eyes were still fixed on her.

She remained silent for a few seconds before opening her mouth. “We suspect that the Darkshore Kingdom is planning something massive for the upcoming war.”

“Good job!” Adrian clapped his hands. “No matter how loyal you are to your home country of Nemphis, don’t forget that I own half of you. So what if I am Darkshoric, if I tell you to betray your motherland, you will have to follow without questions. Do you understand?”

She gritted her teeth and clenched her teeth, but her answer was valiant nevertheless. “Yes!”

“Nice.” He nodded again. “And I can assure you, that you don’t have to go against your Kingdom.”

“Thank you!” She bowed again- this time- even lower.

“After all…” A smirk appeared on his face. “Nemphis is my Kingdom now.”

The journey was smooth. Despite a few light and one heavy rainfalls, they did not face any sort of obstacles since the highway was well built. They took refuge in the best inns of major cities during the nighttime.

His new body pillow was without any questions was Teresa Ignis, the vice commander of the Royal Guardians.

In a matter of days, they reached the capital of Nemphis, or its centre to be precise- the Royal Palace.

The emerald coach stopped right in front of the palace entrance while the other seven went on to their own station. Now that they were in the premises of the Royal Palace, who would dare to attack the Royal Advisor, unless they were absolutely crazy that is.

Adrian, after almost a month of journey, finally stepped into his new ‘home’. More importantly, he had completed his first mission as a Royal Advisor and more.

There were no sorts of welcome arranged for him despite this ‘hazardous’ trip of his. But he could not care any less. The first thing he did after stepping into the palace was having an audience with the High King. He just wanted to get everything over with and take some damn rest.

*Knock. Knock.*

Adrian stood before an extravagant door, the door that led to the room of the High King.

“Come in.” A feminine voice sounded from the inside.

*Click*

Adrian opened the door and stepped inside. The door closed behind.

He scanned the room. The floor was carpeted, expensive and finely crafted furnitures were placed throughout the room. But the the articles that set it apart from any other room he had ever been on were the exquisite pictures hanging on the coloured walls- pictures of women, naked and in suggestive positions.

“Greetings, your Highness.” Adrian ambled towards the expensive desk in the room, behind which sat a beautiful woman who looked as if she were in her forties. Only who knew she was the High Queen of Nemphis would say that she was in her sixties.

He sat opposite her. There was a tiara placed at one corner of the desk.

“Surprised?” She giggled as she looked at a few of the more suggestive pictures- one of which was a pair of naked and beautiful women kissing each other. “This is your first time in our room, isn’t it?”

“Yes it is.” He looked into her brown eyes. “But I am more baffled by the fact that you let him keep them.”

“He is a good man, just a bit more ‘playful’.” She shook her head with a gentle smile. “No matter how many women he slept with in the past, in the end, he dances to my tunes.” She gave Adrian a wink that belied her age before resting back on her seat. “Besides, he is not a hypocrite. He had already permitted me to sleep with any man I want as long as I make sure any rumours don’t spread around; ultimately, I am a Royal.”

“So…” He smiled as he arched his back a little forward, putting one of his forearm along the edge of the desk. “How many men have you slept with?”

She curved forward as well and assumed the same position as him. “I covered my face with a half mask and pleasured a random drunk youth with my mouth once and took his money, just to test him. Looks like he was a man of his word. And that was years ago, back when we were not even King and Queen, just a Prince and princess-to-be.

“And I never ‘touched’ another man since then. No other man took my fancy and I remained by his side.”

Adrian took his face closer to that of the high queen’s. The smile on his face grew wider. “But does he know that there is an exception now?” His voice sounded even more charming.

The woman raised her brows for a moment, but the smile on her face grew wider as well. She played along and arched forward, bringing her face close to his. “Trying to bed the fiancée’s grandmother before the fiancée, I see.”

“See? You didn’t reject?” Their face was now only a couple of inches apart. His hot breath grazed through her still smooth face.

“I don’t want to. I just can’t break my granddaughter’s heart.” She mildly shook her head.

“She will permit, don’t worry.” He smirked.

She frowned. “Just what fetishes are you engraving in my innocent Evelyn’s mind.”

“Nothing serious.” He shook his head. “They fall short compared to the ones you have.”

“Cheeky.” She smiled. “But I am the high queen. I can’t let you have a taste of my body for free, can I?”

“Here we go.” He shook his head. “A rare prostitution fetish. Say, what may I pay?”

“Tsk. Can’t you show a little more respect to your elders?” She snorted. But her voice changed from stern to seductive in a moment. “I am expensive. And how can I let go of a perfect ‘customer’ like you?”

Adrian responded with silence. She placed her other elbow on the table and bent even more forward, taking her butt up from the chair. Her mouth came close to his right ear. She whispered something into him.

*Click*

At that very moment, the High King entered into the room. But the duo remained in their suggestive postures. And the High King remained nonchalant as he walked to the desk.

The high queen sat back on her seat and giggled. “Can you do it, boy?”

“Consider it done.” He smiled.

The high king, on the other hand, who stood by the desk did not know what they talked about nor did he care.

He just looked at Adrian and laughed. “Welcome back, young man. How was your trip?”

“Not good at all.” Adrian shook his head. “I was kidnapped and I almost died.”

“Hmph!” The old man snorted. “I might believe it if she says she doesn’t have weird fetishes.” He pointed at his wife, causing the woman to shrug it off. “But you getting kidnapped? Don’t give me that shit.”

“Okay, fine.” Adrian took out a scroll from underneath his long coat and passed it to the High king.

The bearded man opened the scroll and began to skim through it with his green eyes. The more he read, the more shocked his appearance seemed to be. His reactions caused the woman sitting at the desk to furrow his eyebrows further and further.

He finished going through the texts and passed it to his wife. His eyes fixed on Adrian.

Her reaction going through the letters on the report was not any different.

“What?!” She exclaimed.

The green eyed high king finally opened his mouth. “Are you a Royal Advisor, or a con artist?”

“Both.” He shrugged.

The high king shook his head. “The result far exceeded our expectations. And this ‘bet’ with your maternal side of the family… I take it that you are not making any losses?”

“Of course!” He assured. “When have I ever faced a defeat?” He gave the high queen a glance. She could only shake her head in return.

Adrian looked back at the old man and asked, “So, did I pass?”

The green eyed man’s face flinched for a second. He sighed, “Yes, you passed with flying colours.”

“Just know that this is the first, and last time I am playing along with you.” Adrian’s voice turned cold- chillingly so, as his abyssal eyes turned serious.

Both of the couple sensed something shake in their very core.

“For when I am in a game- I only have pawns, and opponents; nothing else.”