Three Neighboring Territories (1)
Dana lay on her side, staring blankly at the wall. Unia’s advice kept echoing in her head.
She had taken those words to heart and tried her best to follow them, but Dana found it incredibly difficult. Tonight, more than anything, she wanted to fall asleep wrapped in Hyunwoo’s arms. She wanted to make love with him, to bear him a son as soon as possible and bring him joy.
Moreover, she couldn’t forget the look on his face earlier that day when he heard that one of Marcus’s female slaves was pregnant. He had been openly envious. Dana, who had watched him in silence, felt utterly miserable.
Why haven’t I conceived yet? Does the goddess of childbirth hate me?
Honestly, even if she wanted to follow Unia’s advice, the moment Hyunwoo came at her like a beast, she had already decided she would pretend to lose and let him have his way. She secretly longed for him to keep kneading her breasts and slipping his hand between her legs to arouse her. But he didn’t. After being rejected once or twice, he seemed to have given up. He simply lay there with a gloomy expression, pretending to sleep.
Realizing that Hyunwoo’s touch wouldn’t come tonight, Dana finally gave in to her own impatience and shifted her position. She turned away from the wall and rolled over to face him.
“Asleep…?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately, as if he had only been pretending to have his eyes closed. She felt a surge of joy.
“Do you want to?”
At Dana’s soft question, Hyunwoo’s eyes snapped open and locked onto her.
“Can I?”
“Yes.”
Though Unia’s advice still nagged at her, Dana wanted it too. She nodded without hesitation.
I can’t follow Unia’s advice… Hyunwoo is just too precious to me. When he acts spoiled, I can’t refuse him anything. Every part of him is so lovable.
Soon she watched as a bright smile spread across his face and he hurriedly stripped off his clothes. When he climbed on top of her and took her nipple into his mouth, Dana closed her eyes, let out a low moan, and frantically recalled every technique Unia had taught her. At the same time, the anticipation of what was about to happen set her entire body on fire in an instant.
“I’ll make you feel good first.”
Dana stopped his caresses and sat up. She was eager to try out the skills she had practiced so thoroughly. She started with fellatio.
She took his hardened cock into her mouth and began moving her head back and forth with practiced rhythm. Hyunwoo was pulled into a whole new world he had never experienced before. He groaned loudly.
“Haa… Dana, Dana. What the hell happened to you?”
“Does it feel good?”
“It feels incredible. Haa… Ohh, ooh. Haa, haa.”
Enjoying the sound of his ragged breathing, Dana’s tongue and lips moved even more fiercely. After his first climax, Hyunwoo’s legs gave out completely. The moment he collapsed onto the bed, Dana gave him no rest and dove back between his legs.
That night, Hyunwoo experienced the most exquisite ecstasy, as if his body were melting away. He spilled his seed inside Dana four times. When she woke him again in the morning and made him hard once more, he came inside her yet again.
By then Haida was already awake. She had come to attend to them in the morning, but upon hearing the moans leaking through the door, her face flushed bright red and she fled in a panic.
“Huff… huff…”
Morning had come, but after pouring out every ounce of his strength the night before, Hyunwoo was utterly exhausted. He couldn’t even think about getting out of bed for a long time. It felt like a succubus had drained him dry all night long.
“Why… why are you suddenly so good at this? Were you always this skilled…?”
“I studied hard because I wanted to be loved.”
Dana smiled sweetly, her face drenched in sweat.
“On our wedding night, I’ll be even better. Look forward to it.”
At those words, Hyunwoo’s eyes widened and he tensed up immediately. It looked like he would need to stock up on all kinds of stamina-boosting foods in preparation for their first night together.
After seeing off the Storm Shield unit that had been stationed there, Pretan and his subordinates left the territory in the morning. Once they were gone, Hyunwoo entered the conference room where Marcus, Kelly, Olmati, Pasvachio, and Unia were already waiting. They all rose from their seats. He posted Mateus, the captain of his personal guard, outside the door and closed it behind him.
He shook hands with each of the five in turn, exchanged a few words, then took the seat of honor. This was the first meeting with his newly appointed staff.
“Hehe, shall we begin by discussing matters outside the territory?”
“Go ahead.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Olmati smiled and pulled four letters from his bag, placing them before Hyunwoo.
“The neighboring lords have sent congratulatory letters welcoming your appointment as lord.”
“Which neighboring territories are we talking about?”
Unia asked while trimming her nails with a dagger. Olmati frowned slightly, clearly displeased with her casual attitude during a formal meeting, but answered anyway.
“There are four territories that border our Richard lands. First is our vassal territory of Langdal, second is Metis, third is Herrera, and fourth is Cluiston.”
“Compared to them, how strong is our territory’s military power?”
This time it was Marcus who asked. Olmati thought for a moment before giving his assessment.
“Since we have Langdal as our vassal, I believe we rank third. The ancient and prestigious Cluiston family is the largest, followed by Metis, then us. The last one, Herrera, is smaller than our territory.”
He added, “However, we must not underestimate Herrera simply because it is small. Their ancestors served the Franz royal family and distinguished themselves in war. It is an old and honorable house. So they probably view our Richard family as… um, well… how should I put this…”
“Speak freely.”
Hyunwoo gestured for him to continue. Olmati scratched his head and spoke carefully.
“All three territories likely look down on our Richard family as upstart nobles. That is why each lord is probably waiting for you to come to them first and bow your head. Since our history is shorter than theirs, they believe it is proper etiquette for us to visit their territories one by one and pay our respects first.”
“So we have to go on a tour?”
“Do we really have to? They aren’t even our vassals. It feels like we’re lowering ourselves for no reason,” Unia said.
Olmati looked somewhat dumbfounded and cleared his throat.
“Hehe, Lady Unia? This is not the time to worry about pride. As Civil Commander, you should be focusing all your efforts on preparing a proper delegation—financiers, merchants, clergy, scholars, artists, and so on—for the lord’s tour. A tour is not simply about meeting the neighboring lords. It is an opportunity for exchange. Through the delegation, we can gain what we can gain, learn what we can learn, sell what we can sell, spread our culture, and promote economic growth between territories. Though our short history forces us to bow our heads for now, a little patience will bring us great rewards. We can sign trade agreements, conclude mutual non-aggression pacts, establish joint excavation teams to uncover ancient artifacts…”
Pasvachio cut in with a displeased expression.
“So even if the lord suffers humiliation at the hands of another lord, we should just endure it and watch because it’s all for the territory?”
“Well, that is to say…”
Olmati pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead, frustrated that they weren’t understanding him. His bald head glistened with perspiration.
“Pasvachio and Unia are warriors who act before they think. It’s difficult to reason with them. It’s like trying to have a conversation with lions staring at fresh meat. There’s no common ground.”
He threw in the joke to lighten the mood, and everyone in the conference room let out short bursts of laughter.
“I hate using my head and reading the room. I’d rather just smash everything to pieces,” Unia said.
Pasvachio proudly chimed in as well. “Exactly! No matter how much you scheme, war is ultimately won by the side with greater strength! Any crude trick will shatter instantly before true power!”
“Many people say that a war won through diplomatic effort without shedding blood is the true victory…” Olmati muttered quietly to himself, but neither Unia nor Pasvachio paid him any attention.
In any case, a decision had to be made. From the perspective of observing the neighboring territories’ strength and movements, Olmati’s suggestion wasn’t bad. Hyunwoo also wanted to see the character of the neighboring lords with his own eyes, so he decided to follow the chancellor’s advice.
“Prepare a tour schedule. I need to meet and speak with the three lords.”
“An excellent decision, my lord.”
Olmati’s face brightened instantly.
“Um… if we take a full delegation and tour all three territories, the cost will be considerable,” Kelly said cautiously as she opened her ledger. She compared the current balance in the treasury with the cost of the previous lord’s single tour and let out a heavy sigh.
“The moment we return from the tour, our territory will be bankrupt.”
“We’re that short on money?”
Hyunwoo’s eyes widened as he looked at Olmati. “Why is the treasury so empty?”
“This didn’t happen while I was in office, my lord!” Olmati waved his hands frantically, looking wronged.
“I’m not accusing you. I’m asking if you know the reason.”
“The previous lord spent money like it was water without any sense. What else could it be?” Marcus said bluntly as he lit his pipe.
“Because of that bastard, the new lord is left to clean up the mess.”