There was a saying in the Blood-Smelting Kingdom that, whenever Gaiseric was in danger, his mother would appear to rescue him. This time was no different, and in a cloud of sand-colored flames, Vel'Asha appeared in her son's royal office, rushing to the king's side.
"Gaiseric!" Vel'Asha reached for the convulsing king. But barely had she touched Gaiseric's shoulders that the king uttered a guttural roar, sending his mother flying with a wild swing.
But though taken by surprise, Vel'Asha didn't suffer any damage, casually landing on her feet. Gaiseric leaped from the crystal mat, banging his fists on his chest while thick red mist oozed from his pores.
"This smell…Gorefiend Fragrance?" Recognizing the iron smell in that mist, Vel'Asha cut off her sense of smell, putting more distance between Gaiseric and her.
"Arrrgh! Frag-grance. In-invisible…everywhere. L-leave!" In a series of incoherent growls, Gaiseric blurted out—making Vel'Asha realize that her son was just trying to warn her of the Gorefiend Fragrance pervading the atmosphere.
A rare king-class fragrance hailing from the Gorefiend tribes, the Gorefiend Fragrance on the surface had the same properties as a doping drug, altering the internal organs of those that inhaled it to help them store more Sid and improve their physical attributes at a rapid pace.
Sadly, the Gorefiend Fragrance was made for powerful monsters and demon-blooded creatures. In the human body, it became a lethal, mind-altering poison.
Poor Lysander had his experts examine the fragrance, but failed to realize they didn't have the qualifications to find out the product's real properties. And instead of admitting they couldn't see through the fragrance's actual class or possible side effects, those so-called experts lied through their teeth—comparing it to the more mainstream Blood Doping Fragrance of the Angra Theocracy.
"Lys-lysander…bastard! H-how could you? My own son…trai…tor?" Gaiseric fumbled the words, shaking in despair.
In that instant, Vel'Asha realized that while she obsessed about Honoria, someone used the crown prince to target Gaiseric.
"RRRRRRRRR!" But barely had the Queen Mother processed the situation that Gaiseric uttered a guttural roar, sanguine flames lighting up his form as his skin turned red.
With frenzied bloodlust, the king lunged at Vel'Asha, one massive horn sprouting from his forehead and aiming for the Queen Mother's neck.
[Withering]
Vel'Asha snapped her fingers, causing a whirlwind of formless energies to blast through Gaiseric's corrupted body. Gray fumes erupted from the king's eyes, his bones and muscles wasting away as his Blood Smelting Gene failed to resist the Queen Mother's horrifying mantra.
Gaiseric fell face first, going from a herculean king to an emaciated sewer rat with barely any meat on the bone.
Watching her son with a wry smile, the Queen Mother joined her hands in a mudra, sending the Gorefiend Fragrance pervading the scene flying through the ceiling.
Here, Vel'Asha pulled in a deep breath, kneeling by Gaiseric's side, and starting to drain the fragrance from his body.
But if a king-class drug was that easy to get rid of, it wouldn't be worth the fame. Vel'Asha only had first-class Poison Immunity. So, while her superior abilities enabled her to drain and purge the Gorefiend Fragrance, for every bit of toxin she absorbed, the Queen Mother's skin turned paler—dark circles forming under her eyes as she shook from head to toe.
Meanwhile, Honoria held two contracts in her hands. In the left, the original wedding contract House Astalon submitted to the queen mother, and in the right, a contract of servitude.
The moment Vel'Asha returned to the royal palace, Nagini brought Honoria these contracts. Both had been signed by Mithras, only waiting for the noble lady's signature to take effect.
According to custom, the day before the wedding ceremony, the couple's elders would review the marriage contract, possibly adding last-minute terms such as extra concubines for the groom or a larger allowance for the bride, then have the couple sign the contract.
House Astalon didn't draft a particularly sinister contract, only requesting Honoria to surrender control of her wealth and assets to Mithras.
Among nobles, the bride surrendering her assets to the groom was common practice. However, this only applied when a noble married another noble. In the rare case of interclass marriage like this one, the working-class male was expected to take his noble wife's name and basically do his best to make her life a fairy tale.
But how could Cassandra be satisfied with such arrangements? The Astalon matriarch made sure that if Honoria did become Mithras' wife, she would not only lose all her assets to him but also be unable to stop him from taking concubines.
Already enraged by the whole situation, Honoria refused to sign. But now, Mithras himself was urging her to make her choice, putting her in a tough spot.
A Wedding Ceremony or an Enslavement Ceremony. She had to choose one.
However, Nagini also left Honoria a box. Inside, the noble lady found two pictures drawn by Mithras himself: a cloud of gray fog on the left, and a portrait of Nagini on the right.
The meaning was clear. If Honoria chose the wedding path, Mithras could make no promise about what the future had in store for her.
But if she gave up and instead accepted to become his servant, then at the very least he would treat her like his pet.
These were audacious words. But sadly for Honoria, from the moment she'd regained her senses, her body had been aching for Mithras' essence—breaking into fevers 24/7 as she coped with withdrawal syndromes.
Yes, Honoria had gotten addicted to Mithras' dick.
The situation was far from ideal. Thankfully, Vel'Asha knew that Elektra's silver flames carried wasting properties and assumed they were the cause for Honoria's frequent fevers—unaware that her chief court attendant was just lusting for the groom's milk.
"How did things reach this point? I am one of the five most beautiful women of the kingdom, one of the most promising junior members of the aristocracy, top 20 in net worth at only 25, and you're telling me that my only two choices…are to become a slave wife or a commoner's servant?
Mithras you vile demon spawn, why did you wreck my life?" Honoria played the victim, clenching her inner thighs as her body heated up and her cunt ached for Mithras' meat.
"Actually, I'd say you forced yourself into mine, and now I'm just trying to handle this by finding the right line between being a chad, a goof, and a man of culture." In a twister of red flames, Mithras appeared in Honoria's chambers, standing right behind the noble hussy.
Watching the projection of Mithras' shadow towering above her, Honoria bit her lips, clenching her inner thighs at maximum strength.
Mithras didn't care, wrapping his arms around Honoria's waist, and lowering his chin on her shoulder.
"My lady, tonight, the theme is destiny. We all get an opportunity to choose a new path for ourselves. And this is your opportunity.
Honoria, which one do you want to be? My bride, or my pet? I will accept your choice either way, because in one case or another, past tonight, I am the owner of your life, and the master of your destiny," Mithras whispered in Honoria's ears, and with a slick move, sneaked his hand under the bride's skirt, copping a feel of her wet cunt.