Herald of Steel

As Marcus entered the red building for the first time in his life, he could not help but be taken a bit back by the sheer luxury and volume of the place.

The image Marcus had of brothels was very different from what was being presented to him.

In his mind, such establishments were supposed to be small, dingy, dark places, where men bought women with an embarrassing conscience, and then tried to finish the job as quickly as possible before quickly vanishing into thin air so as to minimize the chances of being caught.

At least that was what it seemed like to Marcus when he had gone past all those low quality brothels.

However, here the atmosphere was completely different.

There was no shame here, even though it was a house conducting morally dubious affairs.

Instead, Marcus felt like he was stepping into a palace.

Vibrant red carpets made of real wool covered every inch of the stone floor, filled with intricate tapestries and being so soft that his feet seemed to sink in them.

It looked so expensive that Marcus was afraid to even step on it.

Heavy, black curtains decorated with golden stitchwork hung in front of the many rooms situated at the side, while huge metal chandeliers hung from the top, illuminating the huge hall.

Marcus could hear the sound of music playing at the back and right next to him, a smoky, flowery smell of incense emanated making him feel alive and awake.

To his far left was a huge bar being attended by numerous bartenders, catering to the many male patrons would were seen heavily and quite loudly drinking, being often accompanied by scantily clad women, most of whom had various hands roaming over their assets.

Their profession need not be said.

At the center of the floor, was a tavern style dining area with many small tables dotted all around, which was currently occupied by even more men.

All of them could be seen drinking and dining with their friends, while the maids and waiters rushed to cater to the bustling demand, serving them all kinds of delicious food as evidenced by the smell.

While to his left was a receptionist's desk, staffed by two lithe girls in their teens- their mirror appearance making it apparent that they were in fact, twins!

These young girls still possessed some baby fat, as both their cheeks were bright and rosy, and being garbed in a gorgeous strapless red and blue gown, they looked almost like fairies coming to visit the mortal world, as the red and blue colors perfectly contrasted each other.

The dress also showed off their creamy shoulders and shapely, tightly bound breasts, and as Marcus went towards them, he could smell a sweet, fruity fragrance emanating from them, clearly showing their use of some expensive perfume.

The young man certainly would not have minded having his first time with these two sisters.

Even one of them would be more than enough.

"Welcome masters! What can we do for you?" With Marcus and Lucius finally reaching the counter, one of the sisters, dressed in red asked in a syrupy tone so, her eyes bright and limpid.

Her eyes were sparkling so much that it made Marcus feel like she had been waiting for him the whole day, and the young man was charmed at first sight.

Even Lucius was affected as he had never received such an excited welcome.

Facing the professional receptionist's inquiry, Marcus quickly attempted to regain himself and with the manliest voice he could muster, whispered, "My bro… my friend and I would like to buy some time with your girls. One for each of us. How much?"

For some reason, Marcus felt too ashamed to introduce Lucius as his brother.

While hearing the answer, both the twins had to work very hard to squeeze their lips together and not smirk, as they had been strictly instructed to never laugh at a customer's request.

"Sweet sir, I know that. This is that type of building after that." Thus finally getting control over herself, the red girl replied with a professional smile, before explaining,

"I was asking if you had a certain preference... or perhaps taste that you might want to explore tonight. I can recommend some excellent girls for beginners if you would like."

The reveal that the woman in front of him recognized him as a virgin so quickly caused the young man to lightly blush while rebuking himself for not letting his brother do the talking.

'This is my reward for trying to act manly and impress them! Fuck!' Marcus cussed.

Although the reality was that these experienced receptionists could detect Marcus's state from a mile away.

Simply the way he walked, and looked around spoke volumes to the fact that he had never been with a woman.

But it was fortunate that the girls did not reveal this, as it would have only aggravated the already wounded man.

While Marcus was recovering from his broken heart, his elder brother stepped in front to handle things from there.

"Miss, that would be great. My friend has just become an adult this winter and would love to know the joys of manhood. We would like to buy the best girl you have. Money is not an issue." Lucius had a smart, confident smile on his face as he showed off his wealth.

"Great! I will be sure to arrange it. And for you sir?" Flashing a pleased smile, the red girl then delicately posed so.

"I…." Lucius seemed ready to list his preference when suddenly he got stuck like he was having second thoughts.

And then feeling sheepish about what he was about to ask, he leaned across the table, lowering his eyes and speaking in a hushed tone. "Do you by chance have the wall butt open?"

That was the very thing that made this place famous after all and Lucius thought he would remember that place even if he forgot his parent's face.

The way that fair butt had stuck out, the way her warm flower drooled with lewd water, and the way that cute pink puckered hole puffed open and closed.

Even to this day, Lucius regretted not kissing those holy orifices when he got the chance.

"I'm sorry sir. But after words of it reached the pasha, he ordered us to shut it down citing in induced public indecency. We dare not open it again." However, if Lucius was planning to fulfill that fantasy today, the receptionist's answer was bound to make him disappointed.

This was the official reason given to the public regarding the closure of that infamous play.

While in reality, it was because after Mikaya left, there was no suitable candidate to replace her.

"I… I see. Pity." Lucius of course knew of this even before he had left the city.

But upon returning, had hoped the pasha would reverse the decision. Or even that the brothel would decide to ignore the order and continue the service regardless.

After all, that was a huge money maker for the establishment. However, it seemed Alexander's fearful reputation kept even these 'greedy merchants' in check.

'Looks like the rumors that the pasha is related to Lilith's Touch is false.' Hence Lucius erroneously reasoned to himself as such.

And then decided to change his choice, "Then are there any new virgins? Such as recently captured noble ladies sold here? I was a soldier you know. Hehe, maybe they might recognize me."

Lucius's crude joke only got an anemic pursing of the lips from the lovely counterpart, followed by a definitive no,

"We do not accept such girls. Here, every girl joins willingly. Also, most of the fallen noble ladies that the Pasha brought from Tibias have already been taken by the other nobles. There are likely no left."

"So if anyone if anyone them to you see, it mostly almost definitely a scam. At least that is whatI heard from Madam."

The Madam the two girls were referring to was of course the brothel manager- Kalopi.

And what this slightly aged woman had said was indeed true.

Any and all of those 'artworks' worth anything had already been snatched up by private collectors, or sent to Adhan as gifts, leaving little left.

At least of any value.

And even if there were, it was not like Lilith's Touch would need them.

No, the current establishment was so famous that there was no need to take in such untrained recruits.

Instead, if they wanted more girls, they literally had access to almost every courtesan in the city who wanted to join them.

And that was because of the generous conditions Lilith's Touch provided its employees.

Working girls here got a fixed salary on top of their service, good food, very well living quarters, and even access to high quality health care.

For instance, it was the only brothel that could get you the miracle salve legummum regularly.

And the way they could afford such high expenses was two fold.

One was simply through Alexander's patronage, thus giving them access to his very deep pockets and connections.

But the second thing was something of the brothel's own merit.

And that was their great service as well as the large quantities of food and especially drink sales.

It had not taken long for men to realize that drinking here enlarged their 'weapons' since some of it were laced with Ophenia's drugs.

Those things sold like hotcakes.

So much so that if you looked at the accounting ledgers, you would be forgiven for thinking this was actually a restaurant with prostitution as a side hustle and not the other way around.