Book 3: Chapter 19 (1/2)

I sighed, leaving a flower at Lyra’s door. For the last week, I had left a flower at her door every day. I was being cautious and trying to buy back her trust just a little bit at a time. Well, it didn’t really seem like it was doing anything though, I just wasn’t willing to throw in the towel.

“How long are you going to do that for?” Brooke asked, standing at her doorway with her arms crossed.

“As long as it takes,” I responded.

“You know she’s just chopping them up and throwing them out.”

“Geh…” I shot her a dirty look. “She won’t talk to me or open her door. What else should I do? Kick it down?”

Brooke shrugged. “If I understood women, I’d be knee-deep in pussy right now.”

“You are a woman? You don’t get to not understand women. That’s against the rules.”

“What rules?”

“The majority! Ah… damn it… it doesn’t matter. It’s too late anyway.”

Brooke blinked. “Too late? What do you mean? What are you doing?”

I shrugged. “Apparently, my mother and I have been invited to some kind of social event tonight. The council will be there, that includes Caleb’s father. I’m supposed to bring a date. Lyra would be the best person to bring. My sister or daughter seems a little off. Apparently, if you don’t arrive on the arm of a woman, you’re making a statement that you’re interested in finding another woman.”

Brooke frowned. “Are you saying that I should get dressed?”

“Eh?” I said, stepping back. “Actually… um… how do I say this…”

Brooke narrowed her eyes as she realized that I hadn’t been giving her a roundabout way of inviting her along. I meant no offense, but they said the person on your arm also made a statement. Mother tolerated me adding Brooke to my harem. She considered it a mercy that I was taking in a poor commoner and not someone who deserved any position. I couldn’t bring her for the same reason I couldn’t bring my sister or daughter. It reflected badly on me and through extension the council.

Other than Lyra, there was Rhea, but she was in no state to come out in public. If she was seen, it would surely look badly on the noble house. In the end, I could only go alone. Brooke wasn’t that hurt though. She understood all this well enough. She was just giving me a hard time.

Brooke sighed, shrugging it off. “Well, maybe it’s a good idea that you bring home another girl. A harem of two lolis, a lesbian, a wallflower, and a girl who won’t even talk to you does leave something to be desired.”

I frowned. “What would that serve? Think about it, in six months, I’m gone. What will happen to everyone here I’m leaving behind? How will deflowering some girl do her any good? I mean, maybe Caleb will regain control of this body. Then, anyone I brought in to his harem, their future would be on me. Or, maybe he dies, in which case his harem is disbanded and who knows where all the girls go off to.”

“Unless…” Brooke said.

“Unless?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Unless you produce an heir.”

I blinked. “What? What are you suggesting?”

Brooke shrugged. “You told me yourself. All they want is for you to produce a baby heir. The previous Caleb had been trying for years and failing because his proclivities left him more likely to kill a girl than impregnate her. The best thing you can do in the next six months is pick a girl who would make a good Queen, get her pregnant, and then even if Caleb dies, they’ll at least be able to continue their family line. Then, everyone will move on. His mom will be able to toss her crazy affection onto her grandson, a more stable woman can be in power, and the harem will go to wherever harems go when he joins the council. It seems like a win/win…”

I scratched my head and let out a laugh. “Damn… that does make sense. Still, six months is a short period of time. Unless my soul is what allows me to have 50/50 babies, then the chances of having a male are slim.”

“If anyone could, it’d be you.”

I slowly nodded. “You’re right… That means… tonight… I’m going to look for the future Queen of Matahari.”

“That’s the spirit!”

I turned away and left the desolate harem halls. The answer really had been in my face the entire time. I had got so caught up in demons and politics that I hadn’t even considered the big picture. I was a man in another world. This world had a population of mostly women. From the get-go, my job had always been to breed and produce offspring. To many, this could be considered a dream. You could have unprotected sex with any number of beautiful women, and they’d thank you for it.

When I first came to this world, I had treated it like my oyster. I tossed myself at my mother, sisters, and maids relentlessly, showing no restraint. After things had spiraled out of control, I got it in my head that I had some deep responsibility toward this world. I had dreams of building a harem of women, but I was so caught up on trying to just make people happy that I lost my way a bit. I grew obsessed about the things I lost and became terrified and frozen in one way or another.

Here I was now, in another country, in the body of a Prince. It was literally a second life. A harem already existed here, and an inherent need to build and use it. Yet, I was so busy feeling sorry for myself that I overlooked what a blessing this all was. I wasn’t cursed by being stuck in this body, I was being given the opportunity to test-drive my own harem and sew my oats.

I cared for Madison, Hannah, Mako, and the rest, but I had to accept what they had accepted a long time ago. I was a man in a world of women. It was time I started acting like it.

Feeling good about this sudden epiphany, I returned to my room with my bodyguards following closely. I put out the finest wear that I could find and prepared for the night. It turned out to be a shirt and trousers with a jacket. I believe the maid called the art on the shirt batik. It was red in color, which I was told symbolized the nobility of this house. Sighing, I decided I wouldn’t let the past drag me down.

When the time came, I left my room and headed to my mother’s chambers. I had actually stayed away from her room in the past. This was the first time I was traveling there of my own volition. I had been treating her like the enemy, scared that she’d take something away from my real mother Morgan. However, the Queen was just a woman who had lost her son. She had shown me many times that she didn’t mean me any harm. Well, as long as I didn’t reveal my true origin to her, not that I thought she’d believe it any more than Lyra.

For the first time since I had woken up in this palace, I felt relaxed. I knocked casually on mother’s door. It opened after a moment, revealing a beautiful woman with light-brown skin, dark velvety hair, and an imposing figure. She was wearing a particularly fine embroidered blouse and long skirt. She was similarly wearing red, which allowed her features to be even more pronounced, especially the deep red lipstick that covered her lips.

“Baby?” She said, somewhat surprised by my presence.

“Mother.” I smiled, “Shall we go?”

She seemed surprised at my sudden change in attitude, but she didn’t hesitate to smile and finish putting on her earring before offering an arm to me. The pair of us headed through the castle and out to the front, where a hovercar was waiting not unlike the ones from Amaryllis.

“No palanquin?” I asked.

Mother sniffed. “Palanquins are for when you wish to be seen by the public. Tonight, I thought we should head to our destination swiftly and in comfort.”

I nodded, agreeing with her instantly. “Where is this event, anyway?”

Mother shot me an amused look. “It’s being held in your ancestral home, my sweet boy. Your grandfather and father put this together to raise money for the damage to the city. It’s also to alleviate concerns that you were dead or missing. You haven’t been seen in public for some time, and many of the government officials have grown uneasy. You haven’t produced very many children of late and they want to make sure you’re busy creating an heir.”

I laughed awkwardly considering how close it was to me being dead or missing. The official’s concerns were very real. I don’t know how my mother had managed to keep her city-wide search for me away from the aristocratic ears. That didn’t mean they didn’t hear things and suspect, but as long as mother played dumb and I was present, they couldn’t come up with any arguments. Who was to say I haven’t been sitting in the mansion as right as rain as opposed to working in a mine with my life on the line.

Perhaps this social gathering had been put off for months. That only meant I had to be impressive and let these people know I had things under control. However, I also worried about meeting the father and grandfather. These are men I had never seen in my life, and while mother accepted my change in personality, I wasn’t sure how these men would take it. It was possible they could grow suspicious or even cause me real trouble.

“My son…” Mom suddenly spoke up as the car drove away from the palace, an awkward expression on her face. “In the past, while you were going through your experimental phase, I tried to keep your public presence at a minimum. I picked women to join you from desperate houses, distant locations, and unimportant diplomats so that there was never a diplomatic incident.

“That said, you’ve been out of the public for many years now, and you must make sure to put on a proper presence. The woman at this event are not toys to be played with. Most of them have powerful parents. Some of them our house does not wish to inadvertently become Queen. Others, we cannot afford to offend.  Basically, listen to mother when it comes to picking the women who you bed with, and do not play your usual games.