City of Sin Book 7, Chapter 193

Honouring An Agreement
The old steward didn’t even flinch at Coco’s mention, “I’ve gotten old, Master. I don’t have the energy I once did, and she was the perfect helper. You control her life and she still has an obligation towards you.”
“She’s a traitor,” Richard stated coldly.
“Perhaps, but nobody can live their whole life without mistakes. She might have done wrong in the past, but she shouldn’t repent for it her entire life… Cough, cough… Coco’s been working diligently, learning how to manage a territory so she can be helpful.”
Richard stared the old man in the eye. This butler had seemed to age decades in the past few years, and one couldn’t fault him. Outside of the most important decisions, he had been managing all of the Archeron territories ever since Gaton left for the Rosie Plane. Richard had yet to find someone capable of taking care of everything so well, and fruits of life or blessings of time could only do so much for those without much power. The degradation of their energy just couldn’t be helped.
He sighed softly, his gaze mellowing out, “I’ll think it over, but she can help you unless I say otherwise.”
“She was a partner you chose yourself, Master!” the man was surprisingly stubborn, “You’re one of Faust’s fourteen, you cannot just let your word mean nothing!”
Richard gaped for a moment before smiling wryly, “Well… Let it go for now, I’ll make a decision the next time I return. There’s some things I need to do now. Go send someone to the ambassador from the Sacred Tree Empire, have him tell Martin I’m ready with his order.”
He then picked up a piece of paper that he had set aside and read through it repeatedly, looking hesitant. It was an invitation from a certain Marquess Raoul of the Millennial Empire, requesting him to attend an auction in the imperial capital. The auction was held once every decade and was one of the most magnificent events of the entire Empire, only allowing saints, grand runemasters, and the most powerful noble families on the entire continent.
Richard didn’t have much of an impression about this Raoul, but the steward had made sure to add that this man was the younger brother of Prince Tumen, making him Macy’s uncle. His noble blood gave him the qualification to send such an invitation.
Attached to the letter was a list of some of the items that were confirmed to be appearing at the auction, many amongst them things that left Richard’s heart thumping with excitement. This included the heart of a valley archlord, blood of a primal giant that would allow an ogre to evolve, as well as five hundred units of divinity in pure divine crystals.
Valley archlords were the greatest evolution of primal mountain giants, terrifying beings that were extremely rare in the myriad planes. They were masters of the mountains, where even dragons had to yield. A heart of such a being wasn’t only an offering; it could substitute as a core material for a saint rune, and Richard already knew it could replace many of the materials for the battle edition of Midren. The giant blood would definitely boost Tiramisu’s power greatly, and of course the divine crystals were huge for the broodmother; they were basically a third of her growth between level 11 and 12.
Almost every item on the list was useful, and as a saint runemaster, Richard didn’t even need to pay immediately. He could just sell his runes or even just contracts to make some in the future, making it a considerable temptation. If he could obtain a number of materials he needed in a single auction, that would save a lot of time. It was the divine crystals that left him feeling uncomfortable. They were strangely ominous, almost feeling like they were targeted at him personally.
Whatever it was, this was an auction worth attending. Looking through the list a few more times, he finally nodded, “I might be going.”
“I’ll arrange things,” the steward replied, taking the letter and leaving.
Once the man was gone, Richard remained seated in his study with a great feeling of discomfort. As someone who was on the verge of mastering multiple laws, his intuition was much more profound than in the past. So-called bad feelings were like pebbles landing in the calm lake of the world; he was just sensing the ripples.
With meditating not giving him any results, he eventually put the matter out of his mind and returned to his room to sleep. Not long after, the door was opened cautiously and a graceful figure tiptoed in, carefully lying on the bed and squeezing up to him.
“Did the steward let you in?” he asked calmly.
A soft yelp sounded in the bedroom as Coco shivered in shock, shrinking to one side. However, she gritted her teeth and pressed back up to him, hugging him tightly. Richard was startled by the sheer heat coming off her body, and confused by the constant trembling. Sighing, he patted her head softly, “I’m not in the mood right now, maybe next time.”
“That’s what you said last time!” she looked him in the eye. It was very dark in the room, with a single beam of amber moonlight illuminating it, but her eyes were so bright it was almost frightening.
Coco was a timid girl, while Richard himself had grown more and more imposing day after day by virtue of his sheer power and authority. She normally didn’t even have the courage to meet his gaze, much less speak back to him. The determination she was showing was abnormal, as were the sly movements of her hands and legs as she grinded against him. He lifted her chin and pulled her mouth open, frowning the moment he took a sniff, “You’ve had schlane?”
Schlane was a famous spirit that also doubled as an aphrodisiac. He was pretty sure that Coco was drunk on it, but there were likely some other things as well. He sighed and was about to tell her off, but she forced a kiss on him before staring with sparkling eyes, “You chose me as your partner, take responsibility for it! I don’t care if you’re not in the mood, I’ll get you there!”
As she spoke, she lowered her head and kissed down his chest, slowly making her way to his penis before taking it into her mouth and getting down to business. It immediately became clear that she had no experience at all, but Richard was aroused almost solely by her fierce determination. He gave up on restraining himself, reaching out to pull her up.
…
When the two separated and lay down once more, the clock indicated that it was past midnight. Coco’s legs were still trembling, a small trail of blood running down her thighs. This was her first time, but thankfully Richard had maintained his clarity throughout the process and didn’t break her entirely.
“This isn’t like you,” he said as he laid down.
“That’s because I thought it through. I can’t keep living like I used to.”
“Oh?”
“My family needs my help, and I… I need safety as well. I don’t want there to come a day when I get kicked off this island; you’re so busy with bigger things that you wouldn’t even notice. So many people are talking behind my back every day, trying to chase me out so the position of your partner can be opened up.”
“Huh?” Richard frowned, “And why wasn’t I informed of this?”
“The steward has been keeping everything at bay, but things are getting harder on him too. Many lords with higher status than him are starting to poke their noses in, and it’s put him under great pressure. I need a child. With a child, I won’t be chased off this island, and I won’t need to worry about daily life. I don’t have any expectations of getting your heart.”
Richard stayed silent. He hadn’t known the girl’s wants were so simple, just security for her to live her life in peace. Such a small desire had changed her entire personality.
……
When Richard was having breakfast in the morning, news arrived that Saint Martin would make his way to Faust as soon as possible. He would be taking a temporary long-distance portal, which would let him arrive at the very next day. Richard hadn’t expected Martin to come so quickly, but this only made it all the more apparent just how important these three rune sets were to the man.
There was another piece of important news at breakfast. Richard had wanted to meet Nyris and Agamemnon, but the Fourth Prince was apparently holed away in his residence refusing to see anyone at all. There were no exceptions.
This response was entirely unexpected. Already having heard about the marriage being cancelled the day prior, he knew something had to have happened. The more he wondered about it, the stranger it all felt; he eventually decided to go to the royal island himself to see what was going on.