The day we chose was the Imperial Festival. It lined up perfectly with what we needed. During the Festival, the majority of the Empire’s citizens would all be gathered in the capital, leaving far fewer eyes watching the other areas. Which ant the chances of us running headfirst into the Imperial Soldiers would drop drastically. Most of the soldiers would be busy attending to the Emperor, who was rumored to hold duels against criminals during the Festival—like a twisted kind of public execution put on for entertainnt.
"If we don’t move on that day, then we’ll never get another chance this good," I said, looking around at everyone. "So it has to be then."
Artemis nodded, and the others followed. Asuza, Hilda, Frey, Verra, and Serra—all of them were here, all of them standing firm. They had been the ones out in the field who were investigating every lead and tracking down every location where elves were being held, and reporting back to us. They were efficient as hell, too. It hadn’t even taken them a full week to cover the entire Empire and gather everything we needed.
With that, everything was ready. The plans were laid out with the targets marked as well as the timing decided. Now all that was left... was to wait. To bide our ti until the right mont to strike.
***
The bath in Lord Cross’s manor was massive, big enough to feel like a pool more than anything. His entire estate had beco our stronghold as well as our base where we planned, slept, and plotted. It was here that we had carved out a teleportation magic circle, its runes etched deep into the stone flooring, waiting to be used. That circle would serve as the lifeline for the slaves we freed, whisking them directly to the Kingdom of Elves. Without it, most of them wouldn’t even make it back as they were probably too weak and too drained to walk on their own.
I leaned back in the water, letting the heat wrap around . Steam rose in gentle waves, fogging the air, while the cold stone walls pressed an odd contrast into the space. It was decadent, almost suffocating in its comfort, and yet I let myself sink into it for just a mont longer.
Then, the door creaked.
The sound of it echoed faintly in the mist. I turned my head and caught sight of Artemis stepping in. And trailing right behind her—Aegis.
The second Aegis’s eyes landed on , her gaze sharpened like a blade. She glared, lips pressed tight, as if I’d done sothing wrong before she even spoke.
"Oh, you’re here, Leon," Artemis said, her tone casual as her eyes landed on .
"Yeah," I replied, leaning against the edge of the bath. "What’s up?"
"Nothing much. We just ca to wash up." Her lips curved faintly as she glanced at Aegis. "It’s been a long ti since Aegis washed . I kind of missed it, so I wanted her to do it again."
"I see..."
So that explained it. That was why Aegis was glaring at . In her eyes, I’d stolen her chance to have Artemis all to herself.
"Do you want to leave?" I asked, half-raising an eyebrow.
"No," Artemis said with a small smile. "Actually, I feel like this is perfect timing."
Perfect timing? My brow furrowed. What the hell did she an by that?
"I heard from Aegis that you two haven’t had sex yet," she said suddenly, her voice cutting through the mist.
"Y-Your Majesty!" Aegis’s voice cracked as she shouted, her face instantly turning scarlet, the blush crawling all the way to her ears.
"What?" Artemis tilted her head, unfazed. "Didn’t you tell that, Aegis? That you two haven’t had sex? I just want to know why. You’ve been with him for about a year now, right? Always by his side, close to him... and yet you still haven’t done it. Why’s that?"
Aegis turned toward , her entire face burning with embarrassnt. Her fists clenched at her sides, and I could see her chest rising and falling faster as she tried to breathe.
The truth was simple. There were two reasons. The first was obvious and that was she hated . She made no effort to hide it either. Her hostility toward was written all over her face, in every sharp look she threw, in every word laced with venom. I had never once t a woman who could openly make those kinds of expressions toward before Aegis.
The second reason... was deeper. She actually swing the other way around. She didn’t love n. She loved won. And the woman she loved was none other than Artemis.
That was also the root of her hatred toward . Artemis was one of my won now and she was bound to . To Aegis, it was like I’d NTR’d her and ripped away the person she wanted most.
And maybe, no... it was absolutely must have been he lack of n in the elven race that had pushed her down that path in the first place.
Artemis, however, seed completely unaware of Aegis’s feelings. Or maybe she knew but chose silence. After all, her heart was already with with her being bound tightly, and even if she did notice, she couldn’t return Aegis’s affection.
"Well, you know... I don’t really find Aegis all that attractive," I said flatly, eting Artemis’s eyes.
"What?" Artemis blinked. "You don’t find Aegis attractive? Leon, I thought for sure you were the type who wouldn’t care and would just fuck anyone on sight."
"Don’t take for soone who’d stick my dick anywhere," I shot back, my tone sharpening. "If anything, it’s probably because Aegis clearly doesn’t want it that I haven’t even thought about it. Simple as that."
"Hm..." Artemis tilted her head slightly, studying , her golden hair falling over her shoulder. Then she smiled faintly. "Alright then, how about this?"
She stepped closer, her presence filling the room, and leaned in. Her voice lowered, but her words carried sharp and clear through the steamy air.
"Why don’t you have a threeso with the two of us?"
"H-Huh?!"
Aegis’s eyes widened, and her shocked cry rang out so loud it bounced against the stone walls.
"A threeso... with both of you?" I repeated, stunned.
The suggestion hit like a punch to the gut. It was insanely tempting and it was sothing I never would’ve thought Artemis herself would suggest. But then ca the real question—was Aegis even okay with it?
"Is it okay with you, Aegis?" Artemis asked, turning her gaze on her.
Aegis swallowed hard, her throat bobbing visibly. She looked like she was caught in a storm, torn apart by emotions she couldn’t control. She hated —there was no question about that. But this was Artemis. Artemis, the woman she loved, standing right in front of her. There was no way she could deny her.
This was probably the only chance she’d ever get to be that close to her.
"I-It’s okay..." she finally whispered.
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