One month later.
"And the reason is..." Thyra frowned as soon as she heard Hure's words. "Do you think I have time for some fancy ceremony?"
"My lady, even if you don't want to, each and every noble had to go through a coming-of-age ceremony. And Justin had already given words to Baron Cook."
"Who is Baron Cook?"
"He is a merchant. He had made his way into the nobility with gold and connections. He is a first-generation noble. He wanted to make a connection with the higher nobles through marriage. Because of Justin's status, he is willing to let his daughter marry you."
"He is rich. That is a good point."
"Baron Cook has two copper mines. He also controls the port city of Irup."
"A wealthy father-in-law who is willing to sell his daughter."
"My lady!" Hure wasn't happy with the arrangement of her words. She said, "You have absorbed the essence of a beast before the coming-of-age ceremony. The last person to do so is currently the strongest general of the kingdom."
"So, I am a good stock to invest in?" Hure didn't understand the meaning, and Thyra didn't elaborate. "How old is she?"
"Melanie will be celebrating her coming-of-age with you."
"Melanie, Melanie…" Thyra repeated her name twice before asking, "Did Cook have any connection with the ducal family of Bella?"
"Worry not. We have checked. "Even though Cook's merchant had previously dealt with the dual family, there had never been any direct connection as their domains are on opposite sides of the kingdoms."
"So when do I have to leave?"
"The day after tomorrow."
"That's too soon." Thyra sighed. "Did the blacksmiths and others deliver what I had asked?"
"Yes, my lady. I heard…"
Thyra raised her hand to stop Hure as if she was trying to hear something.
"She is here," Thyra mumbled.
"Who?"
"Did you say something to Aria? Why is she always avoiding me?"
"Avoiding you?" Hure was a little confused. "She stays in the room right beside yours. How can she avoid you?"
"I don't know. Aria's footsteps were very silent, and her movements were even more so. I failed to detect them at first."
"That might be the ability of the slime essence. Talking about it, we gathered 17 common and four uncommon slime essences, and…"
"You should rest now. It isn't healthy for a pregnant woman to stay up late at night." Thyra stood up and ran towards the door.
"Just say it, you don't want to play with that girl."
Thyra just smiled and left the room. Aria's room was the one to the left of hers. She didn't even knock as Thyra barged into her room.
The room wasn't so luxuriously decorated as her own. However, the room was relatively clean and gave off a homely feeling.
Aria didn't expect Thyra to be still awake. After all, for the last few weeks, Thyra would also train with the recruits, then train with the knight trainer till the sun went down and retire in her room after dinner.
Aria would wait more than an hour before coming to her room. Although Hure had told her not to do it with Thyra for a couple of weeks, she ghosted Thyra. After that, although she wanted to, she never dared go before Thyra.
"What are you doing?" Thyra asked before she could arrange her thoughts.
"My lady," Aria instinctively responded before looking down. Thyra almost missed her words as Aria spoke in an almost-silent voice, "Have you been well?"
Thyra pulled her face up to look directly into her eyes. A wave of red appeared on her cheeks as their eyes met.
Thyra's eye moved down to her lips. Hure was taking good care of Aria, as she was the first consort of Thyra, and it was showing on her red lips. Looking at them, Thyra felt the urge to kiss them.
As she closed in, the red on Aria's cheeks grew darker. She raised her lips slightly to meet hers as she closed her eyes.
She never felt the touches. Instead, she heard Thyra say, "It's like your body still longed for mine. Then how did you resist yourself for so long?"
Hearing Thyra, she felt her face heat up. She opened her eyes only to find Thyra smiling at her. It irked her a little as she spat out, "Rough."
As soon as she did it, Aria knew what she had done and looked away. Her father had a history of abusing his daughter and other female family members. From experience, she knew the more she reacted, the more she would be beaten.
She had learned to control her emotions. Even when others were killed, she didn't shed any tears. She grabbed a knife and killed the murderer.
She had given up on living when Hure took her in. She knew she was nothing but a plaything for a noble. She didn't want to get attached to her. She only wanted to give birth to her child and leave.
'But why do I want to see her?' That was the first time she felt it. She repeatedly reminded herself that she was just a number on the list of women the princess would keep. Still, she found herself peeking at her from a distance.
Then, on the day she was attacked, Thyra jumped between her and several attackers to protect her. She thought it might be different.
Yet the ecstatic scream she heard from the other side of the wall on the same night hardened her heart. She decided not to get engaged to Thyra anymore. And she ended up blatantly avoiding her.
"You have become braver." Instead of being unhappy, Thyra was smiling at her.
'You shouldn't fall for that,' Aria reminded herself. She dared not look at Thyra as she said, "Do you need anything from me, my lady?"
"Why are you avoiding me? Did I do anyth…" Thyra decided not to ask that question. Instead, she said, "Why didn't you come to meet me?"
"My lady was constantly training the recruits. She is also tired from her own training. And…" Their eyes met for a second before Aria looked away, "There are other people to take care of my lady's needs. So, I didn't dare to bother my lady."
"Is that what they call a tsundere?" Aria had no idea what she meant by 'tsundere', but Thyra's following words let her get the gist of it. "You are jealous."
Thyra's words just irked her. However, the angrier she felt, the calmer she became. She stared at Thyra without a reaction for the first time and said, "My lady, you are noble, and I am just a commoner. I am nothing but a bed warmer for you."
Thyra frowned, not understanding what she was trying to say. But Aria continued, "Hure had brought me here to give birth to my lady's first child. I will fulfil my duty perfectly. Please don't worry about something as insignificant as my emotion."
Thyra's face continued to worsen with every word. She broke off Thyra's grip and walked towards her bed.
"If my lady needed someone to take care of her needs, I would happily oblige." With her words, Aria bent over and raised her skirt on her back, exposing her thick, pulpy ass towards Thyra.
Thyra couldn't see her face, but she felt Aria's voice quiver a little as she said, "My lady, please use me as you see fit."