Body: sore, fatigued, minimally functional
Mind: clear, sharp, no fog or confusion
Magic: stable, pressure normalized
Poison: dormant, symptoms minimal
The headache that usually followed episodes was absent. Her thoughts moved cleanly, processing without the usual sluggish resistance. Whatever she’d done—however she’d done it—had worked. The magical discharge had been complete. Thorough. Effective.
She turned her head slowly, scanning the room.
Clean. Soone had tidied everything—replaced broken furniture, changed the bedding, opened windows to air out the space. She was wearing a silk nightgown she didn’t rember putting on. Soone must have dressed her while she was unconscious.
The room was empty now. No guards. No servants. Just her and—
"Are you feeling fine?"
The voice had no warmth. No concern. Just flat accusation.
Elara’s eyes found the System floating beside the bed. Its tiny face was set in an expression she’d never seen before—pure, undiluted disgust. Like it was looking at sothing that had crawled out of a sewer.
"What is it?" Elara asked, voice hoarse from disuse.
The System stared at her. "Are you feeling fine now? After what you’ve done?"
Elara’s head was starting to ache—not from poison or magic, but from whatever conversation this was about to beco. "What is it?" she repeated.
"How could you do it?" The System’s voice rose. Then it was shouting—actually shouting, high-pitched and furious. "How could you RAPE soone?!"
Elara’s brow furrowed. "Rape? Are you insane? What nonsense are you spouting?"
"You RAPED Mahir!" The System was flying in agitated circles now. "You pulled him inside without permission! You gave him orders he couldn’t refuse! You—God, God—" It made distressed loops through the air. "This is the most heinous cri! Even God can’t forgive this! How could you? You—you’re an ANIMAL!"
Elara looked at the hysterical floating mouse and tried to sit up.
Pain shot through her entire body. She gritted her teeth, forced herself upright through sheer willpower, and glared at the System with genuine irritation.
"Are you crazy?" Her voice was sharp. "What the hell are you talking about?"
The System flew directly into her face. "YOU! I thought you couldn’t feel emotions but at least you were a ’good person’—"
"Shut the fuck up."
The System stopped mid-sentence.
Because Elara had never—not once—lost her composure like that. Never raised her voice with genuine anger. Never shown that level of irritation.
She forced herself to sit fully upright, face contorting with pain she couldn’t quite suppress. When she spoke again, her voice was cold. Controlled. But with an edge of fury beneath it.
"What ’nonsense’ are you speaking? Rape? Slapping? Beating? What ’nonsense?’"
"You KNOW what you did—"
"It’s all NONSENSE," Elara cut him off. "All consensual. He ’agreed’ to it."
She stood—or tried to. Her legs gave out imdiately and she crashed to the floor, catching herself on her hands at the last second.
The System flew toward her. "You—"
"SHUT UP AND STAY AWAY FROM !"
The shout was raw. Genuinely angry. The System actually flinched backward.
Elara glared at it with an expression of pure disgust. "You. Wait right here."
She crawled—literally crawled, because her legs wouldn’t support her weight—across the floor to the wardrobe. Pulled open a drawer with shaking hands. Retrieved a docunt and threw it at the System with as much force as she could manage.
"Read it."
Her voice was back to flat composure now. Clinical. Empty.
The System caught the docunt reflexively, tiny paws holding the paper that was far too large for its size. It looked down.
A list of nas.
Ken. Mahir. Marcus. Others.
Before it could process what it was seeing, Elara pointed with one trembling finger. "Read. That. Docunt."
The System’s eyes scanned down to Mahir’s entry:
’’Na:’’ Mahir Vess
’’Height:’’ 6’3"
’’Weight:’’ 215 lbs
’’Hair:’’ Dark brown with wolf characteristics
’’Eyes:’’ Amber
’’Animal Type:’’ Wolf-clan
’’Sexual Preferences:’’
- Prefers rough handling during intimate encounters
- Responds positively to dominant partners
- Explicit consent given for service in stress managent capacity
- Comfortable with physical intensity
- Willing to serve as designated partner for dical necessity
’’Signature:’’ [Mahir’s mark]
’’Date:’’ [Two weeks prior]
’’Witnessed by:’’ Ken Aeris, Head of Security
’’Statent of Consent:’’ "I, Mahir Vess, freely offer service to Her Highness Princess Elara Blackwood for the purpose of managing poison-related dical episodes. I understand this may involve physical intimacy under conditions of magical duress. I consent to this arrangent and confirm it is my choice, made without coercion beyond standard service obligations."
The System’s eyes went wide.
"Did you read it?" Elara asked flatly. "Do you understand now?"
The System’s voice was small. "So you an... everything was... docunted?"
"Of course everything was prepared, you idiot." Elara’s tone was back to clinical calm. "When I killed the Emperor, everything from that point was planned. I knew the next poison episode would be catastrophic. I knew I’d need help beyond ergency grounding. I knew I couldn’t rely on spontaneous solutions."
She pulled herself into a sitting position against the wardrobe, breathing hard from the effort.
"So I gave Ken a list of requirents. He consulted with the Beast Knights privately. Asked who would be willing—genuinely willing, with full understanding of what it would entail. Mahir volunteered. He signed docuntation confirming consent. He understood the physical demands. He ’agreed’ to rough handling because that’s his actual preference."
Elara looked at the System with cold eyes.
"Now that the Emperor is dead, I don’t give a damn what people think. I’m next in line for the throne. If anyone challenges that, I’ll eliminate them. That’s it. But I’m not stupid enough to commit actual cris when there are legal, docunted alternatives."
The System stared at the docunt. At Mahir’s signature. At the witnessed consent.
"But... but you didn’t ’ask’ him when you pulled him into the room. You just ordered—"
"Because we’d already discussed protocols. The consent was pre-established. When I gave the order, I was invoking the arrangent we’d already agreed to. That’s how it works with Beast Knights and scheduled dical interventions—the consent is given in advance, the specific implentation is triggered by need."
"That’s... that’s not..."
"That’s not how you’d prefer it work," Elara finished. "But it’s how it ’does’ work in this world. Beast Knights serve. They can consent to that service in advance. Mahir did. With full knowledge. With legal docuntation. With witnesses."
She pulled herself to her feet using the wardrobe as support, legs shaking but holding.
"So no. I didn’t rape anyone. I utilized a pre-arranged dical intervention with a willing participant who explicitly consented to the specific acts involved. If you have a problem with how Beast Knight service protocols function, take it up with the empire’s legal system. But don’t accuse of cris I didn’t commit."
The System looked at the docunt again. At the signatures. At the dates proving this had been set up ’before’ the episode.
"He’s hurt," it said quietly. "Mahir. He’s in the dical wing. Cullens says he’s physically damaged and psychologically—"
"Three days of continuous physical activity exceeds normal recovery paraters," Elara said. "That was predictable. He’ll heal. The psychological impact was also anticipated—we discussed it in advance. He accepted those risks."
"You’re really okay with hurting people as long as they technically consent?"
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