Tales of a Seductress

TOAD – Chapter 66

“The mother of monsters is a myth…” One of the demons whispered.

“Didn’t the mother of monsters cause the disaster at the peace talks?” Another added.

“She’s a calamity.”

“Surely, it wouldn’t be someone so beautiful!”

Despite Oberon’s authority, innumerable voices spoke up. Whispering and muttering filled the room while every eye seemed to rest on me. I was a bit surprised that Oberon had spoken truthfully. I would have thought he’d have made something up about my presence. There were all kinds of lies he could have told to exonerate me. Yet, he had chosen the truth. Lord Tigon knew the truth as well, which was why his mouth was still open as King Oberon just gave away his most precious secret.

“The… mother of monsters…” Lord Tigon finally managed to speak, quieting down many of the voices that were just curious about what he would say next.

“Do you doubt me?” Oberon lifted an eyebrow, his expression vaguely threatening, and with just a hint of mockery.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Lord Tigon seemed to recover from his surprise with just that. “Rather, I’m worried a woman with such a reputation may not be deserving of such a high station.”

“You doubt my judgment?” Oberon frowned.

“Judgement? Of course not… however, the rumors about this woman’s ability to manipulate others proceed her. She is a wicked sorceress with strange and dangerous powers. She’s been known to conquer and brainwash when much higher than her level. I feel that such a dangerous person should at least be tested by various demons before she is given the rank of queen.”

“Hmph… you may think you’re smooth with your words, but that is only a laborious way of stating you question me.” Oberon declared while Tigon held out his hands with a helpless look, but Oberon continued before Tigon could come up with an answer. “Tell me, what conditions would be required to alleviate your concerns?”

Tigon’s smile returned and he lowered his hands behind his back. “To be a queen of the demon realm, there are certain expectations. Just you, the Demon King, are expected to exhibit absolute strength and power over all demons, a queen also must go above and beyond the typical woman…”

“Get on with it! We’re not getting any younger!” An old demon noble with a single horn coming from his forehead shouted.

“I believe that a proper test is in order. We should evaluate this woman properly and make sure that she is suited for becoming a queen.” Lord Tigon finally said as a few people chuckled over his long-windedness.

However, when it came to Oberon, he hadn’t looked away from Lord Tigon a bit. He didn’t seem to be worried or offended by Tigon’s words. It was more like he was testing the other man.

“The council wishes to decide who I chose to mate with?” Oberon asked.

He didn’t hide the mocking tone in his voice, and some of Tigon’s followers looked away in embarrassment. Tigon seemed to recover pretty quickly though.

“It’s not so simple, my king.” He gave a polite cough. “I believe that if Oberon wishes to take this woman as a concubine to father his children, no one here would object. However, the queen of the demon realm would be the queen of all of us. This is a decision that would affect all of us. For example, the human realm desires her capture and imprisonment. If we were to instead make her queen, this would create tensions with them.”

Devon nodded when he heard those words, his eyes looking in my direction for a moment until I met them and he looked away. Did Devon want to capture me? He seemed to be caught up in the past quite a bit. I knew that we took each other’s conditional virginities, but he seemed to be turning into one of those stalker boyfriends who didn’t quite know when to say goodbye. He had continued to show up in my life and seemed just a tad obsessed with me. Of course, I had murdered his entire family, but that was all in the past. Besides, they all deserved it.

Min was skilled at being expressionless, and that was what he showed me now. He looked as if everything going on right now had no connection to him, even though it was likely his presence that had made this all a problem in the first place. First, he had ratted me out, making a strange alliance with Lord Devon and through him, Lord Tigon. Then, he had gotten a bit too intimate during our dance, causing this whole situation to be tenser than it needed to be.

Although, Lord Tigon had made a good point now that I thought about it. Oberon just needed a baby. A proper royal was always best, but in the absence of a legitimate heir, there were always bastards. I could serve Oberon’s purpose just as easily as a concubine as I could a wife. Furthermore, the expectations of myself would be far lighter. Being pretty was about the only thing a concubine needed to be. I might have even preferred it. All I would have to do was fuck Oberon. I wouldn’t need to memorize names or act in court. It was a much easier path. Yet, Oberon had asked me to marry him, not just give him a baby. There had to be a reason for that.

“Are you telling me you are going to seriously invoke the ancient queen’s trial?” A voice cut in the back once again.

This was the same old man with the horn in his head who had spoken before. This time, however, he took a step forward. Besides the horn, he had a long beard that went down to nearly his waist, and he walked with a hunch, using a staff as a walking stick. Although his dress wasn’t particularly showy compared to the rest, he gave me the impression of a sorcerer or something like that. He had previously been mostly ignored by the others, but his words drew more attention this time, and it was immediately followed by hushed whispers of surprise.

“Sammuel!” Lord Tigon hissed, looking as shocked as everyone else. “I didn’t expect you to be at this meeting.”

“Hmph… why shouldn’t I?” He asked in a rather croaky, but still strong voice. “I’m still on the council the last I checked.”

“O-of course, no one would suggest you weren’t…” He started to speak, but the old man named Sammuel already seemed to be ignoring him.

He hobbled out of the crowd, heading directly toward me. His eyes were looking me up and down. Even if I had stood in front of this crowd naked, I wouldn’t have felt particularly exposed, but something about the way he looked at me made me feel like I was being peeped at. My thought instantly was that he must have had some kind of special skill that allowed him to examine people beyond the limits of that skill.

I didn’t like that feeling of being exposed. I dropped my arms and looked back defiantly. I even used my own Examine on him. If he was going to peep at me then I figured I might as well peep back. To my surprise, my Examine worked and I was able to see all of his sexual preferences. However, the thing that was most alarming about him, and why I realized he was being shown so much respect, was that he was in the fourth class, level 99. Other than King Oberon, he was the highest-level person I had ever seen.

“You like what you see?” He gave a little chuckle as he caught me Examining him.

“That should be my question for you,” I responded.

At that moment, the room had gone silent. Several people were looking at me in shock. Lord Tigon was looking at me like a fool. Even the Demon King had suddenly reached out a grabbed my arm, although it was hard to say if he was trying to protect me, or throw me to the wolves at this man’s behest. Was the old man someone so incredible?

He let out a laugh, throwing back his head, and then reached out and grabbed my hand. “You’re a rather interesting girl. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone quite like you.”

“It’s my first time too,” I responded, feeling slightly awkward. “Meeting someone like you, I should say.”

“Oh, old men like me are a dime a dozen.” He declared, waving his hand. “However, a demon queen is truly a novel sight. This is why Lord Tigon’s declaration caught my attention. The ancient queen’s trials are a custom that has never been performed. They were a relic from the formation of the demon realm that turned out to be redundant.”

“Redundant? How so?”

“Rather simply…” He explained in his aged, steady voice. “The Demon King is the strongest in the land. The ruler of the demon realm is not decided by heirs or blood, but by strength. Since that is the case, a Demon Queen has never needed to exist.”

“Never?” My eyes widened. “Not once? A demon king never felt the urge to propose to get a woman in bed?”

As we spoke in a normal voice, the crowd seemed to calm down and take a breath. Lord Tigon looked uneasy, while King Oberon’s grip on my arm relaxed and he seemed to be relieved. Getting any kind of expression from him was hard enough, so that showed how worried he had been at that moment. To me though, this just seemed like an ordinary old man.  

Sammuel let out another laugh. “A demon king by his very nature can take what he wants. If he wanted a woman, he would have a woman. He could have countless children, but those children were not bound to the throne unless they had the proper strength. Marrying such women-only relinquished a piece of the demon king’s power.”

“Exactly!” Lord Tigon called out, and when Sammuel looked back at him, he stepped back with a flush. “I mean to say that if such a woman was to take on this mantle, then it is only right that she face the tests.”

“I agree,” Sammuel responded shortly.

Lord Tigon blinked, and a few of the people around him looked at each other in confusion.

“Sammuel, you’re going to encourage this nonsense as well?” Oberon asked. “The terms of our marriage haven’t even been written. Her power could be restricted as much as the council desires.”

“No…” Sammuel shook his hand, finally letting go of my hand but still looking at me closely. “If we’re going to have a queen, then it must be done according to custom…”

“If this is what you’ve decided, then I would request that you act as the sole judge so that no one can claim impartiality,” Oberon responded.

Sammuel chuckled. “That is fine.”

“Also, presuming she passes, then the council will unanimously provide their consent?” Oberon looked directly at Lord Tigon.

Lord Tigon stiffened, but after a moment he nodded. “Yes, we will accept her as queen… if she passes.”

“Girl, the trial is extremely daunting. It was intended for a demon who would-be ruler of the realm.” Sammuel looked over at me. “Are you willing to participate in it? This is your only chance. Once the trial has begun, then you will either succeed… or die.”

“Die?” I blinked. “Just what kind of trial is this?”  

Sammuel shrugged. “It’s the trial you must pass to become queen of the demon realm. As for the conditions, I am unable to tell you until you’ve accepted. At that point, you will be bound to finish.”

I hadn’t signed on for this. Some kind of life-or-death trial to prove I was worthy of being a queen? I never thought I was worthy of being a queen. Other than the title, nothing about me was queenly. I would be better off in a slut trial. If they wanted me to show them how good I was at sucking dick, that was something else entirely. What traits did they even want from a demon queen?

I looked over at the demon king, but Oberon was as unreadable as always. Min also seemed to be completely expressionless. Only Lord Tigon seemed to have the hint of a smirk. There was going to be a time when I was going to turn him into my slave. Until then, I had no choice but to play along.

“Fine… I accept.”