A single punch was enough to shatter William's ribs and send him flying in front of the crowd of servants. His master wasted no time in picking him up and with the help of a handful of soldiers, he rushed him to Hestia to get him healed. As ashamed as he was battered, the young prince was grinding his teeth in anger. Pain coursed through every muscle in his body and the only thing keeping him from falling unconscious was his hatred for his adoptive brother.
'That should teach him a lesson.' Finally freed from the weight of those rumours, Wolf felt his shoulders grow lighter. Through years of adventuring alongside his childhood friend, Renee, he'd acquired rank b and to have his achievement muddied by false words? There could've been no greater dishonour, at least for him.
Through efforts alone shall you reap the harvest, such was the motto of Kingdom Aestonia, a land led by the most competent at each and every sector, the kingdom ran as a well-oiled machine with very rare instances of error or corruption. Even the sitting queen was often contested for her title, but none has ever managed to hurt a single hair on her crown. The only known Rank-S personality, alive and well, only fools dared anger her.
'This brings me one step closer to making her mine, right? I can defeat William easily when the contest starts!' His chest puffed with pride, Wolf straightened himself as a flood of warm breaths rushed to his back. Turning around, he noticed the lesser maids who lived on the lowest floor gathered behind him. Some leaned against the columns for support, others biting their lips not realizing that he was looking at them, and the rest were holding each other up by clinging on each other's arms.
But cutting through them came a girl, seemingly unaffected by the beast's manly charm. Soaking in the animalistic odor of his sweat, she chuckled to herself while making her way closer to the centre of attention. Her wide faunan hips gyrated like a pendulum, and her bunny ears folded on themselves; appeared like twin hair buns resting on top of her head. As for her puffy tail hidden under her skirt, it twitched rampantly as she attempted to hide her excitement.
The girl was called Sola–none other than William's personal maid. Moving even closer, she placed a hand on Wolf's chest, and while trailing a finger to his heart, she leaned closer to his ears and whispered in a breathy exhale.
"I'll be cheering for you, prince. I don't want you to think just because I serve your brother, I'm your enemy as well," Pulling away with a giggle, she ran her fingers down his chest, and just as her fingers touched his muscles converging to his groin, she pulled them back with a jerk. "It was me who screamed what the rumors were, I hope you don't forget that when you eventually become king."
Waving her fingers at Wolf while stepping away, Sola turned to the maids and with a violent gesture of her arm–urged them to get back to their stations. Although a bit dubious of the maid's intentions, Wolf wasn't opposed to having a secret admirer under the nose of his competition.
'Best to keep an eye on her…' He thought and given her salacious figure it wasn't much effort. A man of many interests, Wolf knew he could never not be attracted to the varying female figures, and while his stepmother was first in his heart, there was plenty of room for others.
No stranger to the female form or their interest in him, he was picky for sure, but far from inexperience or a virgin. As he returned to his room momentarily he was reminded of the many secret letters by the maids, even a handful by William's playthings describing how much they wished it was him they served and not his stamina-less brother.
However, not in the least interested in used goods–he cast their interest aside and only focused on the ripe, untouched women. Only a handful made it into his rocky chambers, but when they did, the lower levels of the castle were flooded with the scent of smell, the sound of moans, and the clapping sound of flesh with each consecutive thrust. The thundering strokes often sent the servants into a frenzy. Locking themselves in their rooms, they would listen closely.
A confident man both in demeanour and body, Wolf knew that his charm was crafted by his efforts. Standing before a tall mirror, he tried to find flaws still, but to his surprise, it was getting harder and harder to find anything with every passing week. Convinced that he didn't have much he could work on just yet, Wolf reached for his wardrobe and changed into a dark coat with a violet fur collar.
Feeling power seeping from the item's fabric into his flesh, he relished the sensation while his body absorbed the coat's stats–temporarily. Being a hybrid that used both magic and martial strength, items were an essential part of his contour, for without them his physical blows–the majority of his strength, was often left performing much worse than his magic otherwise would alone.
'I beat William without my adventuring clothes,' looking at himself in the mirror, a devious smirk took over his lips. 'There's no fucking way he can defeat me at the competition. I'll show that cocky narcissist that I'm worthy to be king!'
In the midst of his inner monologue, he was interrupted by a sudden knock on his door. Snapping out of his head, he turned to face the door. Curious who it could be, he moved closer and without much caution opened the door. In doing so, he was dazzled by the golden glow of the woman standing on the other end. Covering his eyes for a moment, he allowed them to adjust to the light before bringing his attention back to the person in front.
"I heard you and William had a fight, is that right?" Like the rich taste of chocolate, Astoria's words melted Wolf's anxieties.
Surprised by his stepmother's sudden visit, he blinked a few times in disbelief. But as reality finally caught up to him, he moved away from the doorway and invited the queen in.
"Yeah we did," he responded.
With her staff firm in hand, the queen walked inside. However, before saying even a word more, she turned around to lock the door so that nobody else could listen to their conversation. As she bent slightly to grab the handle, unbeknownst to her, the faint white gown of hers grew translucent against her skin–giving Wolf just a flash of her netted panties. Cutting between her plump ass cheeks, the garment was nestled between her buttocks–leaving her wax-like skin completely bare in front of her stepson.
The mere thought of being with such a fine woman, to make her his, to spend every night with her making love–was more than enough to drive a saint insane, even so, holding himself back, Wolf stood firm before his stepmother, until she was done with the door and it was time to converse about William and the competition.