SK4 - Chapter 10 - The Noblefrost Maidens (Patreon)

With the first challenge defeated, they recovered for the next day, and trained before attempting the second one. Nick continued his judging of criminals and practicing his Ideal, and working on his Soul Forging in between, as well as eating his demon cores.

Shara was opening up to Nick’s other wives, and he was still spending plenty of time with her at every opportunity. She cooked with Eirwen and Luna last night, and they had a small tea party where they enjoyed each other’s efforts. Shara made the tea, and Eirwen and Luna both made desserts. 

Nick wasn’t aware Eirwen could make a sort of rice pudding, but it was delicious. And Luna made some shortbread cookies with Eirwen and Jasmine’s help, not having many chances to bake.

Sable and Kaya were not out of their Ordeal run yet, putting them at close to four days inside. He wondered how deep they intended to go. The tower would pulse at each floor completion within, and watchers believed they were on the 18th already.

The party of twenty-five were ready again, the same people from two days ago gathered in front of another archway in the mall. This one was in another corner of the mall, and Nick was excited to get Lumos more resources with the reward seemingly designed for her.   

Nick drew his Soul Blade, the metaphysical blade of light growing from the hilt as he examined it. It was now looking and feeling like his ideal bastard sword–a hand and a half sword, which worked well wielding it with his shield, or without. Sharp icicles looking like teeth lined the magic cross guard, and the two-sided blade started emanating an even deeper frost from before. His efforts were making a difference, and the spirit inside felt stronger.

Luna smiled at his blade. “The spirit within it is growing, I can feel. And I don’t think just from your forging of it, but usage and battle.”

Nick thought about that, and realized she was probably right. “The sword often drains essence into it, and it’s not as though it all arrives in me, or powers its Essence Burst. From the beginning, since I used it against a bunch of rats in that cave, this Soul Blade’s focus was being forged.”

His people ready, they entered the archway in formation once more. The room shifted as lights began to coalesce in the distance, and this time, into much fewer forms. The room was larger, a mostly flat, stone corridor that was more than a quarter of a mile long.

[Test of Arms. Defeat the slow-marching metal golems, displaying your warrior and equipment’s prowess. The pairs of golems will speed up when attacked, but others still continue at their slow pace.] 

A dozen humanoid golems appeared, large and strong. They were in a line, two by two as they began their slow march at their army. The distance between each pair of golems was significant, and they moved slowly down the massive room, several football fields in length.

It seemed clear what the best strategy was. “Warriors, prepare to receive the large enemies. Indrid, pull those two to us quickly. Casters, do your best to pace yourselves for six battles. It seems this is an endurance and pace battle.”  

The orc scout’s arrow struck one of the golems in the front, and essence filled them with a blue light. Their charge more than tripled in speed, and they came stomping toward Nick’s party with increased haste.

The buffs went out onto the frontlines, along with the totemic magic adding to the mix. The warriors with shields prepared their essence and stood near one another in the golems’ paths, ready to receive them. 

The giant golems stopped, and swung their fists seemingly as soon as they were in range. With a crash and a lightly dented shield, one of the orcs was sent a few feet into the air, but Jasmine received the other golem without issue as Fang took the orc’s place in the line. 

Attacks rained onto the golems, and Nick could see the golem’s hardness. The arrows were largely ineffective, unless they used high-essence piercing shots. His Aura washed over the golems and they slowed, but the cold’s influence appeared marginal. The chains wrapped around the golems, but their strength overwhelmed the chains, even braided.

Nick, Shara, Lothar, and Renzou did the most damage to the golems, their swings cutting deeply into the construct’s essence. There was a core in its chest, but piercing into it was exceptionally challenging, as the enemy expended essence to boost their defense to insane levels. Only by wearing down their essence could they finally pierce the core, and they found the next set of golems slowly arriving not long after they killed the first.

They pulled the next set, and he pushed through his Ideal once again, his Cloak of Twilight: Light enhancing his strength. They only had about a minute before the next set of golems arrived, and he increased his own personal pace as he worked through the stanzas and caused as much damage to the golems as he could.

Shara’s Tetsubo also struck hard, removing a fair amount of essence from the golems with every blow. Their attacks were slow, but they held a deadly weight behind them as they punched and attempted to crush them. 

The threat of the orc’s weapons and armor breaking from damage was very real, but their skills with essence and their own Concepts or fragments aided them to strike harder, and cause more damage to the golem’s metallic essence. It was an excellent challenge as Nick practiced his usage of the dark and light essence, trying to perfect his combination of control and power swordsmanship on the unmovable constructs.

The warriors also found their rhythm, their flow of taking blows and dealing them against the golems. They killed the second set of golems quicker than the first, but they had lost their slight head start they gained from pulling the first set of golems. Thankfully, he knew a few people were holding back, like Jasmine, Luna, and Shak’terra.

The third set of golems got a hex of brittleness from Shak’terra, and the metallic essence lost much of its strength. It seemed it took a fair amount of Eirwen’s mana, but Nick’s Soul Blade cut deep furrows into the golem he was slicing into, and it fell after only a few seconds. The same was true of the other golem, allowing Indrid to pull the next set of them.

Luna’s Concept buffed Nick’s pack next, Fang howling as she blasted them with much of the frost shards covering the corridor. Shara’s club struck even harder filled with starlight, and Nick’s Monstrous Blow nearly sheared a golem’s arm straight off.

The last two sets went quickly as well, as Nick had reached the final stanza, and pushed himself to his limits. The casters also dumped their remaining mana, having appropriately paced themselves just in case the final golems were a little harder or they needed to speed up.

Nick was feeling like he was on the precipice of understanding the light and dark essence a little better, how to utilize it. The Cloak of Twilight was a training tool, and eventually, he should be able to accomplish much of what the cloak did on his own. As it was now, he needed the Cloak ability largely for its efficiency. 

When he flooded himself with his Redemption Concept, he would become stronger, of course. But much of the energy would be wasted, running out of light and darkness in maybe thirty seconds. The Cloak allowed him to easily control the energy for several minutes instead, and the outcome was a bit better the whole time, besides.       

[Heritage Challenge Complete. Reward: Crafter’s Consortium. The placeable structure provides an area for workshops and storefronts. Creates additional Quests with essence rewards for workers and merchants, and supplies mana for workshops.]

[You have fifteen minutes to collect the loot before you will be transported out of the challenge room.]

It was a useful structure, one that he knew Lumos would love. It would also likely provide a significant discount for the Crafter’s Quarter he was interested in. Nick didn’t know that much about crafting professions on Orion, but he knew that thanks to the essence pearls, one of the most limiting factors for crafters and how much they could accomplish in a day was their mana. 

Of course, their personal essence was used on some level too, but mana was usually what prevented them from using their skills repeatedly. It was why most were focused on the mind and soul in their progression, with only a few standing out as requiring a powerful body as well, such as blacksmiths.

Lothar laughed, and clapped his hand onto Nick’s shoulder. “Not bad at all, Chief. Your assault was relentless. Enviable.”

Renzou chuckled, and shook his head. “I’ve never seen swordsmanship like that. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how much I can learn from your style. It feels like it’d only work with that… odd body of yours.”

Lothar grinned. “You got that right. That was still a great experience for our warriors, to encounter such a durable enemy. Lesser arms would have shattered against the weight and became dull or cracked in no time. Lumos is such an important asset for your Kingdom.”

Eirwen had been rushing around, triggering Loot on some of the golems. They became dense hunks of metal, and quickly filled much of their storage units. It was a valuable take for Lumos to work with, no doubt, as they were peak of the second Stratum materials.

Fang came over for her head pats and ear scratches, and Luna enjoyed some after she finished looting as well. Then, a slightly envious Shara offered her head, requesting her own head pats.

Eventually, everyone was transported out of the room, and it shifted. A double-door formed in place of the archway, with script in Orion Common indicating that it led to The Barrows proper. 

They had found a few entrances into The Barrows in the past several months throughout the ruins, and even closed a few of the entrances off, preventing people from entering. It was because Nick had discouraged exploring it. It was filled with traps, and his people simply were not strong enough yet–the place was too dangerous. 

In Nick’s first and only foray, the area had resembled his challenge which unlocked the second floor of the Mall–the weird and dangerous obstacle course. He had dodged saw blades, destroyed a golem which burst through a wall, and then, was forced to retreat when a late second stratum creature came out of a neighboring tunnel. The underneath of his city’s essence was chaotic enough to raise powerful monsters, and at the time, he was early in the second stratum.

Nick definitely didn’t want to be responsible for reviving people on a near-daily basis or recreating their bodies, wasting his kingdom’s resources and all for some treasure. And he hadn’t, up to now, time to explore it for himself.

The Barrows were long, dangerous, and maze-like, spanning several square miles worth of underground territory. And as far as Nick could tell, might have even gotten bigger as he added Ordeals–he wasn’t certain, but he knew the mountain beneath his city had gotten larger. It was like his city was the tip of an iceberg, with a dangerous dungeon-like area under the water. 

He took a look at the door again in thought. “I think it’s nearly time, don’t you think, Lothar? To explore.”

Lothar grinned. “The monsterfolk are well-equipped to explore these types of areas, and you can guarantee their lives. It can be a job for the Adventurer’s Guild, besides. Let them map it out for you, so you can make the best use of your personal time.”

Nick grimaced. He certainly didn’t want people throwing their lives away permanently on the hunt for treasures and riches, especially when he did not really need the money. It was true that not all Adventurers were Followers, and some had actually died out in the nearby wilderness, attempting to complete the various quests of the guild. But Nick had discovered that for a person lacking certain skills or strength, The Barrows were nothing more than a death trap–figurative and literal, in some cases.

He wasn’t all that worried about anyone pilfering it for themselves. Anything truly valuable would be behind one of these locked vaults, much like the invincible doors of the Mall or the locked tomb he woke up in when he arrived on Orion, requiring someone with the Archaen Bloodline to access.

“Have a requirement that anyone going in has someone skilled in detecting and disarming traps, and then we can allow it. We have this entrance for Followers, and the cave entrance for the Adventurers Guild. I know we watch it, but have some soldiers posted on the entrance. Let anyone know that if they find the Noblefrost Family Crest, that they can provide the location for a fair bounty.”

Lothar nodded with a grin. “Good. Turon will draft up the Quests for you to approve, and then Orion will help be the judge of the value. I do think this is a good time for it, as we move closer to the third Stratum. We’ll still fill all the Climbing Slots, but this can be their focus, and without really leaving home.”

Luna said, “Aren’t the beetlefolk good at this kind of thing too? They are at home underground, they may enjoy searching this.”

“Sure. Let’s see if we can call them here to help out. They might even be able to explore in a more…unorthodox way, by digging.”

***

After a bit of rest and recovery back at home, Nick and his wives were now waiting outside of the Ordeal of the Shadow Predator. The lights had built up on it, and he had been called over as the Climbers were soon to come out.   

A beam of darkness had shot out of the Ordeal of the Shadow Predator into the sky, the images of predators brightening as Kaya, Sable, Indrid, a scalefolk male and a naga female appeared at the archway.

Nick smiled at them as he approached. “Good job, you guys. It looks like you finished the 18th floor?”

“That’s right! And we can continue where we left off if we don’t shift it to another Path. I think it’s great for Sable, the 15th Floor Boss actually gave us both something useful.”

“We both got a minor enlightenment. Mine was about the ambush, and hers was about speed, right?”

Kaya nodded. “I think it works well with my axe, and what I’ve been learning from Renzou and my dancing Ideal.” 

Nick grinned at that. “Nice, so what do you think about keeping it as is? It seems fitting for the monsterfolk people we have.”

Kaya hummed. “It’d depend on what options we have. I think it is fitting, but making it less about predators and more about hunting might be good. This had a more…bestial feel to it, which was great for Sable, but…” She looked over to Indrid, who nodded. 

“I do feel like it was somewhat fitting for many of our scouts, but misses the mark a bit. While hunting with ranged weapons is possible within, it’s almost like the challenges discourage it. Stalker versus stalker is a common theme, and even with my decent detection skills, it meant we’d always be far too close to our targets when we discovered them to use our bows meaningfully.”

Rebecca said, “Winny and I had checked it, and there was a Shadow Hunter option. It might work better to support our scouts and hunters. Changing it away from shadows might also be possible, but it’ll alienate some of your new people from Shadowvale.”

There were several races that preferred the darkness, from dark elves to dwarves that often lived underground, to nocturnal beastfolk from Shadowvale. If he removed the shadow element altogether, not only would he lose access to the special shadow teleport building, but those people wouldn’t feel at home. 

Nick thought the two paths he was missing and that he needed to improve his support of the most were the magical classes such as the shamans and Star Oni men, or any other powerful casters that might end up in his kingdom. The orc scouts and archers within the guard also lacked something fitting, but this could cover that well.

The Shaman was a common class among those in Frosthaven, even among the monsterfolk who joined. If he could somehow cover them, along with the diviners and other casters, that would be a big win. He supposed that ultimately, these were more ‘supporter’ style casters, rather than true mages. It meant that he might actually have three Paths poorly represented in Frosthaven.

Ultimately, Nick was thinking about the future. Up to the third stratum, it probably didn’t matter that much. However, this was when it started to become significantly more important to climb an Ordeal that fit their actual one, rather than just whatever was available. Part of it was a person’s talent or potential, and the resources available to them.

They said goodbye to Indrid and to the two monsterfolk, congratulating them on their success, before heading back to their home. Eirwen, Rebecca, and Shara had some food ready, after Kaya and Sable had swapped to their home clothes–shorts and camisoles. Eirwen and Luna were in their summer dresses of blue and yellow, and Fang was similarly in simple attire. Shara still favored her kimono-like robes, and Jasmine was as always in her maid attire.  

Sable joined Nick on his lap, and Kaya next to him on the love seat. Shara narrowed her eyes at this, but her expression softened quickly as she joined Eirwen and Rebecca on the couch. Nick couldn’t help but chuckle at how the cushions kind of collapsed, and it was like both girls were forced toward her indent.

Kaya smiled at all the food, and started grabbing some meats to eat. “I’m not that hungry, the Ordeal had us killing stuff a lot, so we grilled plenty of things.”

Eirwen giggled. “Of course you’re not, Sis. That’s why you only grabbed a few pounds of meat, huh?”

Kaya blushed at that, and Nick began giving out his rewards for their hard work. Sable’s tail was wagging from his ear scratches, and Kaya shivered into his touch, freezing as she ate her grilled deer meat.  

“That was some good work, girls. So, here’s what we got while you were gone.”

Rebecca went on to explain the two Heritage structures they received, and then Kaya said, “Oh! That’s exciting. I want to see this simulator, it’ll be like Nick’s VR thing he told us about, right? Then we can really go all out in a duel.”

Sable chuckled. “It does sound like fun. Holding back or worrying about a training accident is never good.”

“Here’s hoping we’ll get some interesting buildings from the other Heritage Challenges. Now that Kaya and Sable are back, we should be able to hit the two elite challenges whenever we feel that we’re ready. Probably tomorrow, after you’re well rested and rewarded?”

Shara seemed to pout at this a little, but Eirwen patted her lap with a smile, reassuring her. 

Rebecca cleared her throat. “The priestesses were also hoping to do one final run through Seraphara’s Ordeal before their time with you.”

“Oh, right.” Nick frowned in thought. “They’re not going to try to reach the third stratum, are they?”

Rebecca shook her head. “They want far more time to continue their research, and to follow Seraphara’s Ideal much longer in preparation, as they build on her Compassion, Wisdom, and Purity. While they might reach level nineteen quickly, they won’t be ready to ascend for quite some time.”

She added, “And certain Heritage Quests and structures of yours might actually increase the knowledge available to them. It’s better if they wait, and do what they can to…help you achieve that.”

Shara tilted her head. “What does she mean by that?”

Eirwen replied, “She’s talking about making Heirs–having children. Not only might Nick get some special ability once he does it, but it will actually unlock knowledge within the Ancestral Archives.”

Shara frowned. “Um… I’m not sure how I feel about that. But why, though?”

Nick snorted. “Just the way my mom and dad structured my Heritage rewards, I guess. And I do think that making Heirs is important and linked to my magic and bloodline in some way, besides.”

Rebecca added, “Orion’s goals for a stronger, prosperous people are fulfilled by healthy royal lines. It is a fact that a stable royal family leads to less chaos for kingdoms than those that crumble from a single loss. Ordeal Owners–Noble lords, provide an important aspect to Orion–Order. And it supports that in numerous ways. This is one of them.”

Shara looked thoughtful. “I see, I suppose that is much like our bloodlines. It is important that we too continue the Fatestrider line, for the sake of my clan and people.”

Nick asked, “You’re not exactly ready for that, are you?”

Shara blushed. “Um…I might have been in a bit more of a rush if my mother was gone. But now that Nick was able to bring her back, I suppose it makes sense for me to take my time.”

Eirwen asked, “If not for your bloodline, when would you want to have children?”   

Shara frowned in thought. “We cultivators often wait until we at least create our cores–in the third stratum. I guess that might not actually take that long here on Orion, but the increase in lifespan is important to find time to be a mother, without it taking away from our future’s potential.” 

Rebecca nodded. “It’s the same as us here on Orion, for us Priestesses of Seraphara. The most important thing is to establish our Concepts, which all of those interested in Nick have all done. It’s what’s necessary to ascend to the third stratum properly, and then later the fourth–and achieve immortality.”

“That’s still a big surprise. To think my mother and father would have already been at that level, but that wouldn’t have stopped a Fate Eater from killing them, right?”

Luna nodded. “That’s right. Immortal is not the same as invincible or unkillable. It just means they will never die of old age. Eternals are supposedly unkillable, a part of Orion forever.”    

Nick drank some medium-effort tea that Shara made, and Jasmine happily poured some more, refilling his cup. “Thanks Jas.” He turned to Shara, “What do you think, Shara? Does it hurt for you to think about these other girls becoming my wives, and having my children first?”

“I…” She gripped her robes by her knees tightly, a thoughtful frown on her expression. “I think… I can feel it. I know how important it is you have children, and it’s not the best time for me to give them to you. I guess I don’t mind it too much, but it feels strange. Are all of these women going to move into our home? Are they going to be…um, treated the same way? I worry…that with so many girls around, I won’t have any time alone with Nicholas at all. It already feels like it’s not enough, I want more and more.” 

Shara’s horns lit up with starlight, and the stars in her eyes brightened. Her gaze at Nick became more than a little intense at the end of her statement there, and it almost felt like she was going to grab him and bolt off to the bedroom right this instant. But she took a deep breath, and sighed.

Eirwen put down her teacup. “It’s a fair concern, as we all value our time with Hubby, too. That’s why I think we need to make a change. We would like to establish a hierarchy among us wives. We’ll call them, the Noblefrost Ladies and Maidens.” 

Shara tilted her head. “Um, what’s this now?” 

Nick frowned. Something tickled at the edge of his thoughts that, on Orion, this word didn’t exactly mean the same thing as it did on Earth. “Aren’t Maidens usually…unmarried girls? These girls we’re talking about are going to need to be my wives.”

Eirwen said, “Hehe, it’s just a name and not that important, but here on Orion, we also use that word to describe any desirable adult woman. Even Andross used it, right? And I know that Nick would probably rather not assign groups or factions among us, treating us all equal–when things started out, he wanted us all as his partners. But really though, I came up with this idea while thinking of you, Shara.”

Shara frowned. “For me? That doesn’t seem necessary then. I don’t want to be a bother. I feel like I’ve been trouble enough, compared to the rest of you. While Nick probably cared about your input, he told me you girls encouraged him with every addition to his family, including me. Which, I’m thankful for, but I’m not so sure that I’m ready to do the same.“

Luna smiled, her tail wagging. “You’re welcome, Shara.”

Eirwen nodded with a smile. “Yes, we’re happy to have you, Shara. And it’s not just for you. Your situation and concerns just led me to think more about others in the future. It’s for any of Nick’s wives and future wives, who might feel better or reassured about there being one–a hierarchy. It has its advantages in that, it sets any of his current or future wives’ expectations. The monsterfolk girls are excellent examples of this, and no doubt any future monsterfolk or beastfolk girl will be happy about this existing.”

Sable chuckled. “That’s right. Look how serious and proud Fang just got.”

Fang’s arms were folded in front of her, her back straight as her tail wagged at a slow, controlled pace behind her. Her ears were ramrod straight up, and she had a proud smile on her expression. “Hmph. Of course, Boss is Boss, but we’re the Boss Ladies. Any new Wolfen or other monsterfolk girls that want to be Nick’s mate should look up to me–er, I mean, us.”

Luna giggled. “And they already do. We’re certainly the strongest, but we’ve also entwined our Paths with Boss and his family or pack, too. Still, we’re also a bit more talented, whether from Boss raising us up, or from circumstances that led us to become more.”  

Shara said, “I see. So the Ladies are…us, those that fight by Nick’s side, the strongest and most talented that join him in the Ordeals and Trials… and the Maidens will be…what? Those that don’t?”

Eirwen nodded. “Almost. For now, that is the case, but perhaps importance might play as much a role for future Ladies. For example, if we find some princess that marries into the family, uniting ours with another Lord of Orion’s family. Even if she doesn’t fight with us and has no talent of her own, she could still earn a place within his closest family, his inner circle if you will. Another good example is even if you never fought Shara, the merging of your fate and the joining of the Star Oni Clan to the Noblefrost Kingdom might have been worthwhile enough for you to be a Lady. It was a unique thing you could offer him that others could not, that might improve the success and safety of him, and our kingdom.”

Shara looked proud of that, smiling from where she sat. “I see, though, it should be fair to say that we owed that to him in a sense, as he was our hero and saved us all in the first place. Maybe my father wouldn’t have become his Follower without me becoming his Fated, but he would have definitely become Nick’s staunch ally at a minimum. So anyway, what about the Maidens?”

Eirwen nodded, “As for the Maidens, you can think of them like concubines if you like, women that are Nick’s only. But their talent, focus and dedication to Nick, or overall importance is just not at the level of the Ladies. The Maidens will just have to accept that they are not a part of his inner circle, and Nick’s time will come at a premium. Most likely, they might rarely ever spend any time with him alone. At the very least, we Ladies just won’t go out of our way to ensure that they get it. If it happens, it happens–especially if Nick himself chooses to do so. But as I often do my best to ensure nobody is neglected and gets some of Hubby’s precious time, I won’t quite do the same for them.”

Nick was, of course, aware of the efforts Winny already took. He knew it was no coincidence that certain girls would come find him throughout the week almost the moment he became free, almost as if following some kind of schedule. It was because they were, in a sense–the other girls taking on tasks and giving them an opening to spend some quality time with him. Whether it was for a date or time in the bedroom,  

He found his wives to spend time with them as he pleased, but Winny was often handling things in the background, ensuring that each of the girls got a relatively fair amount of attention and weren’t neglected. 

He did his best too, but being a Lord of Orion who needed to focus on his kingdom and his personal progression was challenging enough on its own. It was a positive thing that he didn’t need to worry about this so much, though the truth was, Shara was his first wife who was so…needy. Jasmine could be ordered to stare at a corner of the room for a month and she’d feel fulfilled just because he ordered her to do it. The other girls weren’t quite at that level, but they nonetheless had a significant amount of patience for his time, each very giving for one another.

In all, he understood the need for this, as his dance card was just about to get impossible to manage. Grouping the Maidens together made a sort of sense, even if something about it felt wrong, to him. But he had to look at things with a long-lived lord who was re-establishing a royal family’s mindset. Even if he never reached immortality directly, he would live for hundreds of years in the third stratum. Would ten or twenty wives be too many then?

And Nick had to increase his personal and family’s power. Through his Essence Sharing, having more wives was having more power. Supposedly, Nick’s Epic-Lord class took more essence to level up, and by a significant amount. But his ability had evened it all out, and it wasn’t even noticeable. Of course, that was also combined with his multiple-Ordeal situation, and the Path of Kings Ordeal’s difficulty cranked up. 

Shara had been thoughtful after listening to Eirwen’s explanation of the Maidens.  “I see. So, you’re kind of saying that…I shouldn’t really see these Priestesses and monsterfolk, or even the few other Star Oni girls as like, fifteen plus wives or so like they are, but rather…the two, maybe three or four in terms of how much Nicholas might divide his personal time among them. It’s…still a lot. But, it’s easier for me to stomach, I guess.”

Kaya snorted. “Of course, Nick is going to enjoy his time with them girls, and he does want them, or he wouldn’t make them wives–his Maidens. But I think not only would he not rush adding so many girls, he wouldn’t do it knowing it takes away from our time in such a big way unless they did as Eirwen said–they increased our family and kingdom’s safety or his family’s overall chances of success.”

Nick said, “I definitely won’t lie and say I don’t want any of these girls as my wives because they’re desirable in numerous ways–they are Maidens. But Kaya’s right. If these girls are going to be mine forever, I do want to treat them right and make them happy. That includes you, Shara, and just grabbing a bunch of girls and bringing them home to plow, put babies in, and leave them to their own devices is not that appealing to me, especially when I know it hurts you even a little.”

Shara hesitated, but gave a wry smile, “That…is reassuring, but I think I could have lived without the picture you just painted.”

Sable looked at Kaya, sniffing, and teased, “Kaya liked that picture for some reason, but let’s not forget that Nick is still going to spend time with these girls, it’s just not going to be one-to-one with his Ladies.”     

Jasmine added, “As for whether they live here or not, we were thinking of adding another wing to this home for them. At the minimum, we’re definitely going to have a special nursery here.”

Eirwen smiled at Shara, “Would you like to help us design the shared nursery, or would you rather just assume your child will be kept in your own room? The choice is yours, of course, but we will value your input either way.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun! And, I don’t know. I don’t think it’ll feel right separating my child from their half-brothers and sisters. I’m assuming as far as Maidens and Ladies, their children can all be Heirs? Is there any hierarchy there?”

Eirwen shook her head. “There won’t be. An Heir is an Heir, and us beastfolk and monsterfolk girls are all about the pack for children. We’re used to multiple women sharing a man, and we’ve always treated all the children as the pack’s children. Still, how you want to treat your child or ours can be your choice.”

Rebecca added, “We don’t fully understand the Archaen Race, as the texts have been somewhat limited–most likely, we’ll learn more about them once we unlock more in the Ancestral Archives. But as long as they are his Archaen Wife, they can create an Heir. I know half-blooded Heirs can be born instead, but there isn’t much information about when or why that comes about, if it’s just chance, or something else.”

Nick felt, when he was in the thick of things, that he could just create an Heir by choice–even if he was in a shared dream with his wives. And it felt like it was definitely going to be an Heir. And it wasn’t that half-bloods came through making children with non-Archaen wives. He couldn’t even do it. It was like his body and mind only desired wives for anything sexual, period. 

Perhaps, it had something to do with Archaen Law and how he was bound, and he certainly saw value in only having children with those bound by it and unable to betray him or his kingdom, from a utilitarian perspective. No one-night-stands for Nick, any girl he slept with needed to be his for the rest of their lives.

Shara suddenly became thoughtful. “Are the Maidens going to get a different Soul Pact? Or is it…”

Eirwen replied, “That’s up to Hubby, but I think it wouldn’t be a good idea to declare them as such in his Pact. Remember, this is mostly about setting expectations. His promise to them in his oath should reflect that, but it’s not as though we want to set these things in stone as they become his wife. Perhaps, this can motivate some to become stronger or more important, in hopes that they can move up in the hierarchy.”

Nick said, “I’ll think about it. So Shara…you good? Your mother will revive tomorrow, and in the next week or two, I’ll probably be getting with the priestesses. Unless you are hurting over it.”

Shara gave him a thankful looking smile. “I think I’m okay. I’m not about to line up to watch, but it means a lot to me that you care, and I think I like this a lot more. When I saw the dozen monsterfolk girls shaking their tails at you, I really saw red.”

Nick thought it was a little strange that she was so okay with it, but he did remember that the Archaen Law, the Oath for wives included something about this. That getting in the way of establishing Heirs was not something she could do. However, her acceptance, for the most part, felt natural. 

Was this the oath at play, or was she coming to this realization completely on her own? It matched her cultivator mindset, that a path to power should be taken as long as it wasn’t considered unorthodox. The lines were blurred on that among cultivators, usually meaning things involving sacrifice and torture, or things of that nature. Even eating someone’s Fates was an example of unorthodoxy. But this path to power was endorsed by Orion itself, and thus should be something Nick should pursue. 

Rebecca coughed, and then she blushed as she looked away, embarrassed. “I’m with you, Shara. Though, one of them is probably going to be my mother, so I think most can understand that!”

Shara’s eyes suddenly widened. “T-That is not like a thing with you, is it, Nick? My mother is taken!”

Nick snorted. “Nah, any woman who’s taken is not interesting to me, unless it’s a Maiden in need of some heroism, perhaps. Besides, that’d be a betrayal to Myron, and he’s my bro. If your mother came on to me, I gotta live up to the Bro code and turn her down. The Bro code is almost as important as Archaen Law, in my opinion.” 

Kaya batted his face with one of her fluffy tails and snorted. “You’re so silly sometimes. How is that nonsense supposed to reassure her? She looked worried!”

Shara chuckled. “No, it’s fine. It was silly of me to be worried. Anyway, I’m interested in this nursery, but also some other things. Can we make a tea room, or anything else like that?”

“We could. The kingdom now has essence to spare for things, so we can think about customizing the place a bit more. We also have plenty of footprint underneath the Ordeal that we’re not utilizing.”

The girls all got talkative, excited about adding more to their home. They left the room to enter the Crown Sanctum to play with it, leaving only Jasmine and Nick. He sighed, and looked back at his Prince’s Chambers. “I guess, might as well get some Ideal time in. You’re not going with them, Jas? It’s your home, too.”

Jasmine shook her head. “Too many cooks. Besides, I’m here for you, Master. You’re always working hard, so I would like to be there for you.”

“It’s reassuring to always have you by my side. Let’s go.”

“Of course. Always.”