Chapter 21: The Man Behind The Throne

Chapter 21: The Man Behind The Throne

The giant massive double doors gave in easily to Lucarad’s forward motion, suggesting more strength within the skinny white-haired High Priest than meets the eye.

Ember and Beatrice followed the High Priest inside, finding themselves inside a giant throne room.

Like the other places within the palace, it seemed a pale shadow of its former glory. The hall that could easily fit twenty elephants was nearly utterly empty of decorations. The couple dozen people that were inside, standing together in small clusters, seemed like ants here. They all stopped their discussions and look at the arriving trio. Like before, though at first, the nobles looked at the High Priest, their gazes quickly switched and remained on the practically naked, big-breasted succubus. Beatrice tried no to look back at them and continued walking behind Lucarad.

Lucarad, Beatrice, and Ember walked on the wide red carpet that led directly to the throne. The throne stood on an elevated marble platform, that stretched from one side of the room to the other, was wide enough to fit an orchestra, and had five steps along its length to ascend to it.

Upon the golden throne with a narrow, five-foot back, sat an elderly man with long, unkempt grey hair and a messy beard. His garbs were worn and dirty. The golden crown on the man’s head was about the only thing that informed of his royal status. In front of him, he had a small table with a glass surface, on the same level as his knees.

Beatrice also could appreciate the look of the girl’s thin, smooth, naked thighs, which were revealed thanks to the black over knee boots and the cut-up dress that looked like a miniskirt. A separate part of the dress, attached with belts and brooches reached all the way down to the floor.

“Lucarad? How dare you show up like this unannounced?” One of the nobles scoffed at the passing High Priest.

“It’s fine!” the man on the throne spoke.

One of the guards on the platform took a step forward and announced to the approaching trio, “You are standing in the presence of king Selirius, of the Sinatus line, the eighteenth ruler of the Kingdom of Larpsus!”

The king leaned forward and put his nose on the glass surface of the table, pressing his left nostril against the glass. Beatrice finally saw a line of black powder on the table surface. The king closed his right nostril with his finger and slid his left nostril across the black powder line, vacuuming it all inside.

“That's the good stuff!” the king exclaimed as he straightened his back and shook his head. He then wiped under his nose with his finger and looked at the trio that stood within permittable speaking distance from the throne. “Now, what is it that you want from me this time, Lucarad?”