Tales of a Seductress

TOAD – Chapter 53

I wasn’t sure what drove me to dismount and approach the demon king. Perhaps it was the fact that the arrow had been heading for me. Did he misfire, or was I the target? This was something that I wanted to know. It might also be because the demon king had protected me. Other than Min, I had never felt protected by anyone in this world before. I had always been on my own, and I had always been responsible for my survival. Seeing that arrow appear centimeters from my face, really showed me just how quickly everything could change.

For all of my skills and all of my abilities, I could have been taken out extremely easily. This wasn’t a videogame, even if the stats sometimes led me to see it that way. This was real life, and an arrow through my brain would kill me just as much as anyway. There was no such thing as HP, and my skull was no harder or more durable than another person. That might not be the case with the demon king. A single special skill like stone skin or something could probably make the difference. I was resilient to pain and I healed quickly, but my specialty wasn’t a high defensive status.

So, I felt like I should investigate, and I wanted to help the demon king out too. The display had caught many eyes, and I knew enough about politics from when I was pretending to be a princess that I understand perception mattered. If the demon king let into his anger and killed this assassin without discovering the truth, then it sent a message to others that they could do things like this under his nose. It told the world that his anger would get the best of him.

Still, when the demon king looked at me and gave a small nod, I was a bit surprised. I had only met him that morning, and while it had been a long day, he had seemingly given me a great deal of trust after proposing to me. I didn’t particularly hate being trusted like that. I just wondered how long it would be before that trust was broken. I reached up and touched the chocker. Perhaps, it wasn’t a matter of trust, but that he didn’t care about certain things.

I looked down at the would-be assassin, who was still on the ground. He seemed frozen in place. At the very least, despite no one holding him down, he didn’t flee. Was he being immobilized by the demon king? The demon king could have any soldier with the appropriate skill use it to immobilize him. Even I could paralyze someone when I wanted to, presuming their level was below me. My paralysis wouldn’t allow him to move at all, so I let whoever was sealing his movements keep doing that. I kneeled close to the man, who responded by glaring back at me.

“Were you aiming for me?” I asked innocently.

“Fuck off, demon slut!”

A few of the soldiers shifted in their positions. I was pretty sure that they didn’t hold any affection for me. However, I was by the demon king’s side, and many of them were even aware that I would be the future king. No soldier would be comfortable hearing their future queen called a slut. It rolled off of me though. The number of times I had been called a slut, both as an insult and for fun, it didn’t have much meaning to me.

“Ah… don’t be like that…” I pursed my lips, as I slowly removed the gloves on my hands.

I slowly reached out my hand. If I had heard shifting from the soldiers before, I heard even more now. Pushing out one finger, I slowly moved it toward the man on the ground. The assassin looked at my finger suspiciously, but there was no terror in his eyes. He didn’t know about me or my abilities. That was good to know. In the end, he was just some schmo who had been unlucky enough to get goaded into this suicide mission. My finger moved out and gently touched his forehead. My finger didn’t poke him but stroked the skin gently.

“Be mine…” I whispered.

There was no need to speak. The reason I was doing it had more to do with the audience. The demon king was watching, and so were his soldiers. They likely had a hyped-up opinion of me, or their avoidance wouldn’t have been so obvious. Although everything seemed to be going my way, I understood that I was in a very dangerous position beside the demon king. He wouldn’t be by my side every second to catch every arrow. I needed to show a strength that didn’t come from him, and make sure that not only his soldiers, but the demon king himself knew I wasn’t someone who could be pushed around.

It was no sooner than my finger had touched him that his eyes went slack and the power of Enchant began to rule his mind. He was far too weak to resist my special ability. I didn’t even need to rely on charm or spam abilities like Eye of the Beholder and Seduction. If I could touch him, then he was mine. He looked up at me, the angry, critical eyes had been replaced with something else. He had complete joy and devotion on his face.

“Mistress…” He muttered out.

As soon as those words were uttered, I could hear an intake of breath. Such a sound could only be heard if quite a few people were doing it at once. It was one thing hearing someone could take you with a touch. It was quite another seeing it happen. This man was now as devoted to me as any of my children or the monsters. He was as devoted to me as Reinhardt had been. He would give his life to me without question. It was a kind of power few people understood. As my eyes glanced over at the demon king, I was surprised that he was watching me. Perhaps he was someone who did understand that power.

“Who send you?” I asked, loudly enough that my words could be heard by everyone present.

The man’s expression turned fearful. “I do not know! I’m so sorry, Mistress. They kept their identity secret.”

I made a hiss, and he winced, even against his magical restraints. He was afraid, but that fear had nothing to do with potentially revealing his employer. His concerns only began and ended with me.

“Were you aiming for me?” I asked.

The dread on his face only amplified. “Yes, mistress. I was suddenly grabbed and a bag was put over my head. A voice told me that a woman would be beside the demon king. If I killed her, I would be rewarded greatly. I’m so sorry, mistress. I did not know it was you! I never would have agreed to anything that my heart my beautiful and-”

“That’s enough.” I held up my hand, and he stopped in mid-sentence, looking up at me hopefully. “How did you get into that building?”

He blinked in confusion. “It’s open to the public.”

My manipulation art meant that my face gave nothing away, but if I did express such emotions, I would have been blushing. I had been so eager to get any information out of him that I had asked something that was probably common sense to everyone else present. I guessed this council building was a public space and anyone could go in. It wasn’t like he was in the council’s chambers. He just went up a few floors and shot from some balcony. Anyone could have gotten in and done such a thing.

“Is there anything you can give me? Their voice? A man or a woman? Where were you kidnapped?” I demanded, feeling irritated that after my show, I wasn’t coming up with anything more than the demon king would have got by beheading him.

He seemed to be able to tell that I wanted any information, and his face twisted as he thought about it real hard. Just because he was beguiled didn’t mean he was dumb. All of his thoughts would be on pleasing me, but he didn’t become an invalid or a moron unless he was one before. His memories, his ideas, and his intelligence were untouched by me.

Yet, he still shook his head sadly. “They used voice-changing magic. I was snatched from an alleyway, and I was only taken a short distance into a carriage. I’m sorry, I do not know anything more than I have told you. However, I’ll do anything else you want! I’m yours, mistress. Please, I made a mistake, but I’ll do better. I will work for you. I will do everything for you. You are the most important person to me. Any task and I will perform it. Please, I’m yours…”

“Are you?” I raised an eyebrow, a small smirk forming on my lips. “Well, maybe there is some use for you. What size… no… it’s more fun to find out later. Come-”

A blade fell in front of me, and blood splashed across my face as the man’s head was separated from his shoulders. My eyes followed the blade up to the demon king, who wasn’t wearing an expression on his face. I gave him a cold look, feeling a bit angry. Maybe I went a bit far there, but what was that about? I stood up, putting my hand into the glove but making no attempt to wipe the blood that was dripping down my face.

As I stood staring at him, the demon king shrugged. “He had no useful information. He had no reason to exist.”

“There is no saying that. I could have jogged something loose later.” I argued, although much quieter so that only he heard.

“The only thing becoming loose was you.” He responded.

I made a sneer. “Jealous, Husband?”

I knew I should be trying to get on the demon king’s good side, but I had spent so long being meek, and it had gotten me nowhere. I had done everything Seris asked of me, and it only led him to grow more violent and more obsessed. I had done everything the breeders wanted from me, and it had only led them to take everything from me and try to control me. The more power you gave someone, the more power they wanted from you. They would keep taking more and more control until you become nothing more than a puppet. I was done playing that game, and there was no meekness left inside.

The demon king glared at me, and I glared back. I was the only one glaring. The demon king was giving the same look that he always gave. It exuded power and authority and showed neither anger nor frustration. A small part of me wanted to make him angry, just to see it on his face. I actually would have liked it if he had been showing jealousy. Jealousy was kind of sexy. I was curious how he would respond. Would he reprimand me? Would he insult me? Would he humiliate me? Maybe, he’s just turned away, giving me a cold shoulder.

“You can do better.” He responded.

His words were simple, but they were enough that I took a step back. Those were the only words he said as he turned away. What did he mean by that? I could do better than an assassin? I could do better than that man? I admit, he wasn’t a looker, but I had fucked monsters. What was the point of being selective there? Who cared how attractive someone was? The only thing that mattered was how they made you feel.

Letting the anger inside me boil to the surface, I reached out and grabbed the demon king. I had expected him to dodge me, so I was a bit surprised when my hand ended up on his arm. It was thick and strong and filled with muscle. I pulled his arm, but the only reason he stopped and looked back was that I allowed him. He gave me a questioning look, and I suddenly felt stupid for allowing my emotions too well up. I still had to say something though.

“I have needs.” I declared.

His eyes met mine, those dark and domineering eyes. “Your needs will be met. Go get cleaned up, and then come to my chamber.”

My hand fell away, and he walked into the council building. I could only look after him, the emotions inside me strangely turbulent. My heart was beating wildly. Just who was this demon king? I wanted to find out.

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