Herald of Steel

"... Now greet your teacher. Or have you forgotten even that?" Farwan made the comment in a low, gentle voice, turning to give the Queen Mother a cool, gentle look.

Seelima’s heart instinctively skipped a beat seeing that.

She was more acquainted with that look than she would have ever liked. Few people would ever believe the kind of things that cool, pleasant face could do without twitching an eyebrow.

It quickly brought up some very unpleasant memories buried deep inside her.

Seelima felt she had probably shown more of her shameful side to this man than anyone in her life, as even the most humiliating period of her life came from him.

It happened during her very early days, just as she was beginning to earn the favor of Alozmer. Seeing that, Farwan increased her level of training, intent to mold her into the mad king’s perfect plaything- obedient to his ask no matter what.

Seelima refused a direct order during one such session- she was asked to dance in a particular way but found it too shameful as the sheer, translucent pants she was wearing revealed a great deal of her beautiful pink folds.

The furious Farwan instantly had her stripped and whipped, and then made her serve as his personal maid for a whole week in that bare state.

The young, nubile Seelima served him breakfast in the morning in that state, washed his body in the afternoon in that state and even slept snuggled on the carpet next to his bed in that state... all while the other maids in the house looked and sniggered at her budding body with mock disdain.

Seelima felt almost broken by the end of the week, like the very basics of her human dignity had been stripped away from her. She only managed to survive through that with sheer willpower and because Farwan kept her confined to only his room. So she did not have to go out and interact with the other palace staff, only those maids who visited the room.

Otherwise, if she had been made to go out and work in that state, Seelima felt she would have died in shame. And the threat that that would be her punishment if she disobeyed Farwan again was enough to keep the girl straight for the rest of her days.

"Far... wan!" Seelima gritted her teeth as she recalled that event, a great surge of anger welling up inside, "Do not... forget... who you are talking to. I am your... queen. I... could have your head... the moment I want to."

"....." Farwan, like always, remained unperturbed, despite the threat of revenge. Perhaps he even felt a hint of amusement as a tiny smile danced up on his lips.

Then, without any further comment, he suddenly put his hands inside the pockets of the robe and fished out a golden sigil from it, "I came here to give you this, Your Highness. I am sure you recognise it!"

Both Seelima and Alxx instantly forgot everything else as their eyes went wide at the revealed ’figurine’.

This was the imperial sigil- the ’stamp’ used to issue regal decrees. And much more importantly, it was the political ’tool’ all Adhanian kings had to have to prove their legitimacy. In fact, Ptolomy was the current king of Adhania in no short order thanks to possessing this. And vice versa, Amenheraft lost a lot of his legitimacy to rule due to having lost this when he fled the city in a hurry- with many of the lower nobles criticizing the former crown prince for not taking proper care of the ’divine artifact’.

Some even saw it falling from his hand to Ptolomy’s as the divine will of Ramuh- i.e.- the ’sigil’ choosing its next master.

Lastly, if one would recall, Alxx had also once taken this artifact under his control- when he had first taken control of Adhan. Then in exchange for giving it back, he forced Ptolomy to give him Zanzan.

Thus its value could only be imagined.

"The imperial sigil...." Its illustrious history was hence enough to make even the usually composed Queen Mother blow a dreamy whisper, her angry gaze now turning fiery and full of desire.

"Indeed! This is the imperial sigil." Farwan too confirmed the item in his hand with a magnetic whisper, lifting the piece high above his head for all to see.

Then, as everyone in the room, including his own entourage, was lost in awe at the sight, this old man lowered his head and arguably made the statement of the century, "His Majesty wishes to hand the divine item to you, Your Highness. He has grown tired of the endless fights and bickering and now simply wishes to retire and enjoy life. That is why I am here."

Buzz!!!

Everyone’s mind in the room instantly went white at this monumental announcement. Alxx felt a cool chill flow down his limbs at the completely unnatural development, while Queen Mother’s heart skipped such a beat that it almost threatened to leap out.

"Wha...t!" Then only a moment later, came the first snarled shouts, that too from Lord Farwan’s own side. Lord Mainus, standing right behind the scholarly priest, was absolutely shocked and livid, so much so that he seemed to struggle to just keep standing.

"What are you talking about Lord Farwan? I thought we were... we were here to drag this disloyal bitch to Ptolomy! When... when did Ptolomy declare this!" He shouted with bloodshot eyes, bluish veins popping out of his forehead like they were going to burst, "No! This is a lie! You must have stolen the royal emblem? Yes! Stole it! Thief! Give it back!"

Unable to accept the declaration, the hasty lord then declared as such, pointing his fingers menacingly at his target.

"...." The ever cool and collected priest naturally did not even bother to give that man a second look. He simply declared with his back to him, "Lord Mainus...shut up. No one invited you here. You simply came here because you saw me. Now, if you do not like it, leave!"

"...!!!..." It was a very rare moment in his life when Lord Mainus found himself completely lost for words. Before this, he perhaps did not even know others could talk to him like that. Thus in shock, he simply stood there.

While Farwan turned his attention to the Queen Mother, sending her a long, expectant gaze.

Seelima knew that look very well.

"What do I have to do?" And blurted out the question with fists clenched in excitement. She knew that if she could get that imperial seal.... it would not be wrong to say she could snatch the sky in one go. All her problems would disappear like smoke in the blink of an eye.

She could even annul her deal with Alxx and still come out on top.

"....Loyalty." Farwan simply replied with a light smile, sending the Queen Mother and then the man standing next to her a very knowing look.

This innuendo made Seelima purse her thick, cheery lips in irritation, "Loyalty? Does His Majesty doubt me of disloyalty? After all that I had done for him? Hmmph! In this entire world, I am the only one... "

"Hehehe...now let us be honest, Your Highness." Farwan cut off the peeved lady mid sentence with a simple chuckle, and reinforced that knowing look with a scan of her disheveled clothes.

The gaze made Seelima feel a great sense of familiar disgust- it was like she was back to her young days, powerless and helpless, a time when she could be stripped and humiliated in front of all at a whim. It made her skin crawl, and she even greatly wished to scoop out those lecherous eyes right out of their sockets.

Yet at the same time, with Alxx right beside her, she felt caught red handed. Thus tongue tied and unable to deny it, she could only flare her nostrils in suppressed anger.

"Hehehe..." While seeing his opponent tripping up and on the back foot, Farwan let out a pleased chortle, joking with a mocking sneer, "Then Your Highness...if you are speaking the truth... why don’t you show us your body? Surely you have nothing to hide."

"Far...wan..." Seelima’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot at the ask, teeth clenching even harder, "I am your queen. Know your place!"

As if she was ever going to do such a shameful thing in front of so many people. Simply the thought enraged her- the present overlapping with her past experience.

"Priest Farwan, it is getting late. Are you here simply waste our time?" While seeing his partner about to burst, Alxx finally decided to step in, a touch of impatience tracing his tone, "I do not believe you are here to give us the imperial sigil. So what is your real goal? Name it!"

"No, no, Lord Alxx, I truly am here to deliver my master’s words," The gentle looking priest denied Alxx’s hypothesis, a charming, reminiscing look flushing over his face, "I was simply having a bit of fun. After meeting my student after so long.. Aiii this is one of the bad habits of teachers. Once they meet their student, they cannot help but tease them a bit. Seelima has grown so much since I last saw her, hahaha. Ahhh... I apologize for my impudence, Your Highness. Come, here is the imperial sigil."

Farwan’s face was covered with a saintly, fatherly glow as he finally put forward the golden emblem.

"Snort...,about time, you fucking eunuch!" While Queen Mother stepped forward to receive her award with the arrogant gait of a queenly peacock.

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