Upon reaching their assigned guesthouse, Marina's group erupted in frustration, but the Governor herself remained silent, too stunned by what had just transpired. The weight of what had happened in court—being groped by the very man she had once admired, in full view of the nobility—left her momentarily speechless.
The others, however, had no such restraint, their anger barely contained as they voiced their outrage.
"They're nothing but perverts!" Jean snapped, his face still red with fury. "How could he touch the Governor assigned by the empire like that?"
"I should've drawn my blade," Dave muttered, pacing with clenched fists. "Would've been worth the consequences."
Leslie, ever composed, adjusted his glasses. "They're actually safe for a woman to be around."
Marina turned to him sharply, disbelief flashing in her hazel eyes. "Safe? You call that safe?"
Leslie exhaled, unfazed. "Ruyi can't become intimate with women without poisoning them. Ruyel hates women."
Marina folded her arms, considering what she had witnessed. "Then what does Ruyi do with all those courtesans?"
Leslie shrugged. "Political maneuvering. Keeping the nobility entertained and under his influence. But physically? They're useless to him."
She exhaled, recalling the smug way Ruyi spoke about women 'snapping' under him during their meeting. There was something twisted in his indulgence, something that unsettled her. It boiled her blood to think that Imperial Prince Rheinhart,had fallen so far.
"What about before they were poisoned?" she asked.
Leslie hesitated, then sighed. "Before the poisoning, Ruyi was… intense. Too intense."
"Define intense," Marina pressed. She didn't know why, but she needed to know.
Leslie met her gaze. "Strong. Too strong. He was known for his hunger—his lovers were left exhausted, some even injured. It wasn't uncommon for women to leave his chambers unable to walk properly the next morning. And he was just a teenager back then."
Jean scoffed. "That's not intense. That's dangerous. Maybe he was doing it all wrong."
Marina swallowed down the unease creeping up her spine. "And Ruyel?"
Leslie shook his head. "Ruyi and Ruyel were poisoned by Ruyel's then-lover, who was also their beloved nanny's daughter. The twins had trusted the nanny deeply, especially after losing their mother at birth. She had practically raised them. But she betrayed them, working with their stepmother to poison them through her own daughter."
The room grew heavier as Leslie continued, his voice quieter. "Ruyel—or formerly Imperial Prince Rhaeil—was always cold, always meticulous. But the betrayal shattered whatever restraint he had."
He paused, his steel-gray eyes flickering toward Marina before he continued. "Where he had once been distant, he became merciless. He despises women altogether. That's why he keeps a harem of men instead—he refuses to allow a woman near him ever again."
Marina's expression remained unreadable, though her fingers curled slightly against her arms.
Leslie exhaled. "For the past ten years, they have both lived in debauchery, hating women in their own ways."
Marina exhaled, the weight of the betrayal settling in her chest. She had known deceit before, but nothing like this.
"The poisoning happened when they were nineteen—just three years after they had been thrown onto the battlefield at sixteen," Leslie continued. "Before the poisoning, Ruyi had been known for his overwhelming strength, both in war and in bed. But while the kings themselves may no longer be a physical threat to women, the nobles surrounding them have no such limitations. They are the true danger to any woman in Aeger, especially under a system that protects them."
Marina's stomach twisted. The court of Aeger was full of predators, unchecked and emboldened by its laws.
Leslie adjusted his glasses. "And if any woman in our entourage is truly in danger, it's you. Not just because you're the governor, but because you're Marina Velkas."
Marina frowned. "Why?"
Leslie sighed. "The southern noble clans once pushed for peace, believing diplomacy was the wiser path. They had been advocating for a ceasefire and negotiations for years. But their petition was twisted by the second Empress."
He adjusted his glasses, his voice dropping lower. "She presented it to the Emperor at the worst possible time—right when the war in the West was at its peak. She used it as an excuse to block crucial supplies to the young Imperial princes fighting on the front lines."
Marina's fingers curled into fists. "That issue was resolved. The Crown Princess cleared the names of the eight Southern clans."
Leslie gave a short, humorless chuckle. "That doesn't matter. History is written by victors, and to the Imperial princes—now the twin kings—it was personal. The Great General who guided them through the war was martyred, labeled a defector by that same Empress. And to them, he was more of a father than the Emperor ever was."
His expression darkened. "The Western and Northern nobles still see the South as cowards who begged for peace while others fought and died."
Marina's jaw tightened. "The South has more to worry about than human squabbles. Tempests, unpredictable ocean disasters, sea monsters, pirates from multiple species. We deal with threats daily that would make their egos seem laughable."
Leslie nodded. "True, but that won't change their perception. And even if the Aegerian nobles don't target you directly because of your status, they will go after the women in your staff."
Jean's expression darkened, his usual sharpness giving way to something somber. "My aunt married into a Northwestern military family. She loved her husband, bore him children, and thought she had a place among them. But the moment the news broke that the South had blocked reinforcements, they turned on her."
He swallowed, his hands tightening into fists. "They burned her alive. It was the eve of my uncle's return from the battlefield. He wasn't even there to defend her. By the time he came back, his wife was gone, and his family—the people he trusted—had murdered her in cold blood."
The room fell silent, the weight of his words pressing against them.
Jean exhaled sharply. "He took his children and fled to my mother's family. He knew staying meant raising them in hatred, watching them become weapons against their own blood. But no matter how far they ran, the South had already been branded as cowards and traitors. That stain doesn't wash away. Not for us."
Marina sat back, her thoughts racing. The way the nobles had looked at her made her skin crawl. It wasn't just the kings she needed to be wary of—it was the entire system they allowed to fester. The women in her entourage, full of promise and potential, would need protection.
"We need to tighten security for the female members of my staff," she finally said, her tone firm. "The court is full of opportunists, and I don't trust the nobles not to try something."
Jean nodded, his jaw tight. "Agreed. The way they looked at some of the staff—like they were prey."
Leslie pushed up his glasses. "A wise decision."
Marina leaned forward, her voice unwavering. "We stay put. No one moves without my orders. We have three years here. That's the length of a governor's term in a vassal territory, as per Imperial law. After that, we leave, and we do so on our own terms."
The weight of her words settled over them. Her team exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. Three years. They would endure, survive, and leave Aeger on their own terms—unbroken.