"How dare I?" Wale smiled. It was not a nice smile. All sentiments of mocking and disbelief was mixed in. "What you should ask is how dare you. How dare you point at my Master, the Crown Prince of the Empire, and show him your disgusting body? Are you trying to hook my Master in with your schemes, Madame Mallory? Have some shame. You have already been used by the Emperor of Ashtria, yet you still desire my Master?"
Mallory launched herself at Wale, forgoing the fact that she was rather lacking in clothes at the moment. Since they had already seen, then why did it matter anymore!
"Nonsense! How dare you besmirch my name? I only hold the Emperor in my heart and no one else, let alone a wet behind the ears Crown Prince!"
At this point, Wale's eyes were glacial. Had any of his siblings seen him, they would have realized that this woman had well and truly trodden over every single one of his bottom lines and caused him to directly simmer in rage.
"On the contrary. Why would my Master ever want you? Who do you think you are? The Beverley House has been gone for some time, and all that's left of you is your lowly status as an Emperor's concubine. Do you really think the Emperor loves you? There are so many women in his harem. Now that you're gone, they will clamour to take your place in his heart."
Almost as if his words had inflicted violence on her, she sobered up. Mallory felt like her thought processes had suddenly became clearer for the first time in years. For the longest time, she had been living like she was the centre of the universe, and the fact that the Emperor himself, who was supposedly the father of a nation, revolved around her was enough proof for her.
However, at this moment, she was far from her home, and she did not have any allies here either. Her former House was gone, leaving only her alive. Rather than compelling rage within her, the cold eyes that were directed at her caused fear to bubble up. Who would be able to protect her now?
Wale's words had truly struck a chord in her for the first time that night. All the other sluts in the harem would definitely try and take her place. If she brought back help, she would most likely find a beauty in the Emperor's arms, leaving no more space for herself.
Grinding her teeth, Mallory clutched her face and tried hard to contain the malice within her gaze. She smiled, but it was uglier than when she had been screaming at them. "My apologies about my conduct," she said demurely.
Though it wouldn't be enough to overturn the bad impression that she had already caused, it would prevent them from being overly harsh with her. Mallory knew how men worked. They liked to be in charge. They liked to feel that they were powerful, and they liked to dote on an obedient beauty.
It was why Mallory had clinched her position in the Emperor's heart so quickly. Everything, she had learnt from her mother, who had ensnared House Beverly's Baron. Though her birth might be relatively low in the noble scale, she knew how to act, and her manners were refined. She acted within her means and didn't complain to the Emperor when she was bullied by the other concubines, only using a few tears as she acted strong.
So, to Mallory, men were simple. If she could ensnare an Emperor, what more a little boy and a Crown Prince that was only in his early twenties? She had years of experience behind her, tested through trial and error.
When Nine moved, Mallory's eyes were glued to her every move, and Nine knew that rather than the Charm working its magic, it was more that Mallory had already hit a low place. The fear, wariness and anger could not be hidden from the shoddy acting she was using.
Nine sat down in an armchair, crossing her legs and resting her head on her propped-up arm.
"Forgive our interruption of your sleep, Madame Mallory, but as you know, these are dark times," Nine said slowly.
Mallory nodded slowly, unsure of where this was going. As Nine spoke, Mallory slowly covered herself up, appearing as if she was ashamed of her body being on display.
"What brings you to Cosmos City? For the Emperor to have sent his beloved here so hastily before any preparations could be made, I wonder what the problem seems to be?"
Mallory contained the twitch that tried to come out at the Crown Prince's words. Though he looked stunning on the surface, it seemed like this Crown Prince would be a little harder to take care of than she thought…
Mallory lowered her head, trying her best to contain the upset expression on her face. "I have urgent news from the Emperor. The people of Ashtria Empire cannot hold on for much longer. We are down in manpower as well as supplies. We hope that Cosmos Empire will lend a helping hand. On behalf of the Beverley House, who has ties in Cosmos City, we ask for leniency and that you may remember the contributions of our House previously."
Nine stared at the pathetic display before her before she broke into a laugh. It was a laugh that sent chills down Mallory's back. Was there something that she said wrong? The Emperor's beloved concubine replayed her practiced words in her mind, before paling.
Why! She must have lost her mind! Why did she blurt out all of that without a thought? The Beverley house was already long gone and eradicated from the face of the planet by the Royals in the first place. Since she still didn't know what had caused such a drastic reaction, Mallory had not wanted to say these words.
Who knew that in a moment of weakness, she would blurt out everything she held in her heart? At least it sounded like she was sincere, even if they would look down on her for her brains.
Nine raised a brow, looking at Wale, who wore the smuggest expression that the messenger could not see. Earlier, when Wale had slapped Mallory, Nine had noticed that the teenager applied a coating of something on his had earlier, where the woman could not see.
Nine supposed that it was something he had crafted himself, seeing as its effects seemed similar to those fabled truth serums. Briefly, she wondered how it worked, and made a note to prepare a space for him to work should he want to.
By the time they were done with the messenger, both Wale and Nine walked out of the inn, leaving the distraught woman on the floor. She had already spat out all the information they required, so there was no more need for her as of now. Whether or not they would send her back was another question all together.
Wale took the initiative to explain his little potion without Nine's prompting.
"What I used was not really a truth serum, but rather, something that lowers people's inhibitions. The filter between their mind and mouth lower, so they're more likely to say whatever is on their mind. Even if they try to lie, it will be very obvious."
Nine nodded. Since he was so confident in explaining what it did, it meant that he had already sufficiently tested it out. Whilst she would like to take a look at the formula, she would not force him should he not want to.
Patting the teenager on the head, Nine smiled down gently at him. She made no move to hide that she thought of Wale and his siblings as her charges. If it were Nox asking, she would tell him that she thought of them almost as her children, but to everyone else, she just seemed closer to them than what she usually portrayed.
When Wale beamed up at her, she couldn't help the small, soft smile that crept onto her face.
"Let's go. She's left us much to think about."