Herald of Steel

When the mad king first announced his decision to grant Seelima the Divine Ascension Ritual, the entire royal court reacted as if they had been struck by a bolt from the sky. Even Pasha Farzah, famed for his stoicness, was rendered speechless- one of only three times in his entire career that happened.

The reason for the shock was self evident: in two thousand years of Adhanian history, there had never been such a precedent.

There were some rare royal concubines granted this honor; however they were all of extremely noble birth and it was given to them almost always as a favor for some great accomplishments their family had done.

For instance- they might have put down a mighty rebellion, repelled a huge barbarian army from the north, significantly expanded the country’s borders or made a truly astounding financial contribution to the royal treasury.

None of these applied in Seelima’s case- she was a mere pleasure slave and the only thing she had done was wrap her legs around the king and any men he ordered her to.

And while her legs were certainly very sexy, and her pink flower one of the best to taste in the whole world, that unfortunately did not quite qualify for such a legendary reward.

The court vehemently resisted the king’s command, urging him to reconsider.

But Alozmer was Alozmer—he would not have earned the title Mad King if he listened to reason.

Obsessed with absolute power and control, he flew into a rage at their defiance, hurling accusations such as "rebels" and "traitors" at them all. Several prominent and loyal retainers even lost their lives to his fury.

And then after all that uproar, the ceremony ultimately went ahead just as he wanted- Seelima became part of the royal family.

So from all this, we can see how momentous the offer was... which was why Seelima at first did not even believe that Alexander just denied her. For the absolutely power hungry woman, it did not even occur to her that anyone in their right mind could reject it.

It would be like someone was offering you free money but you refused them.

Who would do that? Only a madman.

Thus tilting her head back slightly, she attempted a bit forcefully to clarify the topic, her voice sharp and didactic: "You don’t want it? Why not? Have you truly thought this through, Alexander? Perhaps you are not yet acquainted enough with the full extent of what I truly offered."

"Through the divine ritual, you would become one of us- of the golden lineage. You would be treated as a Royal Prince wherever you went. Then no one would dare ever mock you behind their back as a mere merc..." The Queen Mother suddenly bit her tongue lightly and cut herself here, as if she did not want to hurt Alexander’s feelings.

She thus quickly changed course, now tempting him with his family, "Even just imagine the advantages that would bring to your family! Little Alexandria would be a royal princess and your heir Philip an imperial prince... while all your wives would be imperial concubines. You would be one of the most respected men in the whole kingdom!"

Seelima’s eyes twinkled with delight as she regaled the offer, sparkling with glee. It was almost like the one being offered the honor was her- not vice versa. Hence as she finished, she looked up to Alexander with great expectation, betting to surely meet an equally enthusiastic gaze.

"...." Yet much to her disappointment Alexander’s exterior countenance showed little change. Even the mention of his family’s honor did not seem to move him as the man instead seemed more distracted by the naked girl sitting on his lap- he was now casually roaming his hands over Princess Hellma’s long, meaty thighs, tracing the fatty flesh and lightly pinching its soft underbelly.

They felt so good to the touch... especially as Alexander was starting to find more and more commonality between her and his main wife- they both had similar physical build thus reminding him of Cambyses.

While the princess on the receiving end of the slow, methodical touch had already had her stony faced turn reddish with a blush, her eyes now unfocused and filled with lust. She had already lightly come twice from this and lasciviously cried inside her mind,

’Ahhh... so hot...my body... mmm... I feel...so hot, and so itchy... ahhh... I... my water...why won’t it stop flowing... ahhh...I am completely soaked down there. Mm... no... this is so embarrassing...ahhh... I can even feel my butt becoming wet."

’Ahhhhh... stop teasing me...fuck... stop teasing me and touch me there...Ahh... my pussy... my pussy feels so empty! Fuck... put your fat fingers inside me and fuck me, you pervert!’

The princess inside her mind was certainly much more honest and expressive than how she was outside, spewing out vulgar words the likes of which no one had ever heard her say. However, despite her immense craving, she also knew she would never dare actually say crude words out aloud, not in a million a years. She was too shy.

Hence all she could do was bite down on her lips and try to slowly grind her plump butt as much as she dared against the man’s lap, trying to give him a signal. And if Alexander knew her true thoughts, he would have been certainly more than happy to oblige.

Unfortunately for her, the man was too distracted by talks with her mother. And sensing the Queen Mother’s fiery, unrelenting gaze, Alexander’s hands subconsciously slowed down as he switched his focus.

Slowly lifting his head and he offered her a gentle smile- courteous, but just shy of truly respectful. He spoke with deliberately exaggerated elegance,

"Your Highness, words cannot fully convey the depth of my gratitude for such a magnificent offer. It was something I had never presumed to even dream of. Yet, with the greatest reverence, I must beseech your understanding as I most respectfully decline. I believe this is the best course for both of us."

"Why?" The word was shot instantly with the chilliness of a Siberian breeze.

Seelima clearly did not take the rejection lightly, especially given the flippant tone Alexander used at her sincere offer. She felt like being slapped on the face by her own kindness.

Thus she lost all her amorousness, her face now turning hard and full of dark lines. She signalled she would be gravely offended if Alexander failed to give her a good enough reason.

Alexander however was not one to be cowed by the commanding aura, and only responded with a light, breezy wave of his palms, "Hahaha...well, I believe His Majesty might have some thoughts on the matter. I even wonder if he would be willing to cut himself for my sake. No, no, I would not want to burden your Your Highness... let us forget it!"

The divine ritual required the participant to ingest a small amount of the king’s blood- an essential element of the rite, if not its very heart.

And frankly, Alexander found even if that coward managed to bear through the pain of the ceremonial dagger cutting his palm, he himself could not bring to drink what came out of there.

Partake in that fool’s essence? Eughhhh! Just the idea made his stomach churn.

This was all in spite of the fact that the quantity was minuscule, more symbolic than anything else. It was even further diluted with wine and bitter herbs until its taste was all but erased.

Yet still- Alexander vehemently rejected the idea as he loathed the very thought of having to lower himself in front of Ptolomy and act so base and servile. His heart was too proud and did not want to kneel before that incompetent simpleton even a second longer than absolutely necessary.

The arrogant part of him even scoffed inwardly with unrestrained haughtiness,

’Tch. Won’t I risk getting infected by his stupidity if I drank his blood? Hmmph! That idiot should be the one drinking mine—maybe it would flush out some of his muddle headedness."

Now if this were Pasha Farzah or even the Queen Mother in Ptolomy’s stead, perhaps Alexander would have reconsidered.

The former was certainly very competent for this time, with a powerful family at his beck and call. While the latter was someone Alexander had shared a bed with, and even possibly subdued. At the very least, he kissed and licked Seelima in places far more shameful, so what was the problem drinking a bit of blood?

Alexander could live with that ’ignominy’.

Too bad for him- that privilege could only be granted by the reigning king. No one else, not the Queen, not the Crown Prince, nor anyone else in the royal family could substitute.

Hence he denied the offer with a pretended rueful shake of his head.

"..." Too bad for him- the Queen Mother remained unimpressed, as her eyes narrowed like sharp blades exuding extreme disapproval.

What irked her perhaps more was Alexander’s not so subtle mockery of Ptolemy, implying the man was a coward. True or not, Seelima despised hearing her family insulted.

However given the circumstance, the clever women knew not to swallow that poisoned bait.

Instead, with a reassuring flash of her hands, she dimmed his cause rather officiously, "You leave Ptolomy to me, brat. Once my son is born, I can drag that disobedient boy by the ear if need be. *Snort*! Who cares if he does not like it? What does he know? If I say you can become one of us, you ’will’ become one of us!"

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