Herald of Steel

"But before that happens, I want you to be very very careful with your words husband. Do not let anything let slip to anyone." 

Lady Felicia only really called Lapitus husband when she needed something out of him, like now, where she urged, 

"And remember, if the Pasha ever asks you if you liked his gift, say yes and that you had brought a similar one some time ago."

"This will help me return the item without raising any suspicion."

Yes.

This was the punchline behind this so very long winded scheme.

For this was how Lady Felicia intended to foil Alexander's threat. 

Now that she had instructed Lapitus this, even if Alexander was to throw his reputation to the winds and question him, he would still likely fail.

And Lapitus, who was currently being distracted by his wife's loving caress on a very particular part of his body, only had the mindset to groan and nod, preventing him from thinking and asking unnecessary questions.

But he did make this additional suggestion, "Why don't we free Zulkain? We can see that it was in celebration of Lord Pasha's victory. That will help us get rid of the problem easily, won't it?" 

This was a good plan and it was not like Lady Felicia had not thought about that.

But Lady Felicia found it foolish to let Zulkain out of her sight when she was under suspicion.

Who knew what this girl would tattle to whomever?

Lady Felicia would rather follow the maxim of 'Keep your friends close, your enemies closer'.

In fact, Lady Felicia thought of going one step further, pretending to free the maid but in reality surreptitiously killing her.

But found it hard to execute while avoiding Alexander's eyes.

Thus she denied it, simply saying, "No. Doing anything like that would simply raise the topic. Keep things as is and let me handle it." 

Hence, with all this preparation, when Alexander invited Lapitus to a feast, although Lady Felicia's sixth senses were tingling, and her instinct told her to not let her husband attend it, she was unable to stop him, as her rationality trumped her superstitious heart.

'It will be alright. I have repeatedly urged him to not say anything.' She consoled, while reasoning, 'Besides, if Lapitus doesn't go, it might be seen as greatly disrespectful.'

Thus when Lapitus did not return home that night, a news given to her by a messenger, Lady Felicia did not panic.

It was something that Lady Felicia had already guessed would happen given the nature of these celebrations. 

But as it could be guessed, it would have indeed been better for Lady Felicia to stop her husband, as Gelene would come to report to Alexander the next morning with a large grin on her face.

"Master! It's done!" The black lady cried elatedly the moment she entered the room after the knock and found Alexander to be relaxing by the window of his study, basking in the spring sun while crunching on some nuts.

He had just returned from a meeting with the various council members discussing a lot of mundane things, with the particular highlight of the session being a small dispute over trade disruption due to the presence of bandits in a particular area, where the nobles involved blamed each other, both claiming that the bandits were in the other's pocket and were being used to sabotage the opposite side.

A row that Alexander found exhausting to even think about.

And then rather than waste his time trying to investigate the moves of these small, almost individually inconsequential nobles, he decided to solve this problem by simply throwing money at the problem, i.e.- he put a huge bounty of these bandits, almost five times the market price.

With such a number, Alexander was sure many rival entities would be tempted to move.

It was even possible that a few of the surrounding nobles might band together to form a raiding party and destroy this group.

And with that solution represented, his work was basically done for the day.

So when Gelene asked for permission to enter, Alexander readily granted it to her.

And then seeing her enter the room with clear indications of a very juicy story to tell, Alexander could not help but sit up straight and put on a very curious face.

"Oh! What did you hear?" He eagerly posed, while gesturing Gelene to join him across the small table.

"Hahaha, I think it's better for the girls to tell it. Otherwise, you might not believe me," 

But instead of immediately replying, Gelene chuckled so enigmatically, although her glowing face clearly suggested that she had unearthed an entire treasure of information, before she asked for Alexander's permission to let the girls in.

"They are waiting outside. May I call them?" 

'Them?' And hearing the pronoun used Alexander expressed surprise, as he thought it was supposed to be only one girl.

But knowing he was going to get the answer once he saw them anyway, he only curtly nodded, as quickly, two blue robed girls were then shuffled into the gorgeous room.

"Greetings, Esteemed Lord Pasha," And almost the instant they walked in, they bowed deeply and deferentially. 

While in the case of Alexander, the moment he laid eyes upon them, the man immediately understood why Gelene said it was 'them'.

Because one of them was dressed exactly like Lady Felicia, with all her makeup and hair done to exactly match that fair lady.

While the other was like that too, but very tanned, almost black!

When they stood side by side, Alexander thought he was looking at Lady Felicia and her shadow that had come to life!

And once the initial shock faded away, he did find the pair very attractive.

"Hehe, I thought master would like the surprise. This was sister Tayin's idea."

While from the side, seeing the reaction Gelene confidently chuckled, adding, "When I told her about the plan, she reminded me of another girl who was similar. And I thought, more the merrier right? Hehehe." 

And Alexander would have to agree with Gelene in this one as he certainly found the pair much more attractive than any one of them separately, as that chocolate color produced a very different, almost exotic aura.

Alexander showed his approval with a nod and light grin.

Following which he then turned to properly scan the two girls who had been standing there trying to look as confident and charming as possible.

Their hair, which was most likely a wig, had been done just like how Lady Felicia usually did it, their cheeks were powdered a rosy red and their lips painted a very certain red that Alexander was sure she had seen Lady Felicia wear, showcasing Gelene's intense eye for details.

Although their height and build did not exactly superimpose with that lady, if Alexander was Lapitus, he would not find it difficult to think these girls looked very much like his wife.

Finished observing them, Alexander then slowly got up from his chair, "What are your names, ladies?" while politely asking them this.

And the fair and ebony girl respectively replied quickly in a clear, sweet voice, 

"My stage name is Saima, my lord."

"And mine is Zara, my lord."

The reason the girls mentioned the particular phrase 'stage name' was because once a girl entered this industry, it was customary for them to take a new name.

It was done, one- as a way to shield one's 'true' self from this socially frowned upon profession.

But more than that, it was done so that they could choose a much more sexy name. 

Because you would not believe what some of the girls would be originally called by their parents.

Back in Thesos, in a clear showcasing of how illiterate the society was, Alexander had even seen one girl be referred to simply as 'Woman' when translated from Thesian to English.

Thus, this initiation gave the girls a chance to choose a far more flirty and even exotic name than their birth ones.

Alexander hearing the name nodded in acknowledgement and then placing himself on a nearby couch, he gestured to the two, "Please! Sit." 

To which the two girls immediately hopped to the opposite side of the couch as fast as they could, while from the other side, Gelene brought a pitcher of wine and some glasses, before sitting next to Alexander and serving him some.

So taking of his wife, Alexander then got to the meat of the issue immediately, leaning forward eagerly as he posed in a very serious tone, 

"Now, tell me, exactly what happened. Start from the very beginning. And do not leave even the tiniest thing that man might have said while he was with you two."

Since Gelene had felt that it would be better for Alexander to hear from the horse's mouth, he could bet it was probably something so unbelievable that she had felt this was the best way to remove any doubt that might occur.

And as the girls recounted their encounter, how they got Lapitus drunk, how he mistook them for his wife, and subsequent various conversions they had with him in his fugue like state, Alexander's eyes only got serious and more serious, until by the end, it was blazing!

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