Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 956: A Neglectful Husband And A Lord

The day had been unkind to Lord Haurum. The curse was one thing, but with his workload tripled, he felt like pulling his already scarce hair out of his head. His wives were of little comfort as they were no more than a distraction–distractions that he could not take advantage of, nor open up to about the chastity cage, as he knew, behind his back, he would be made fun of. Which was why he had rushed to Jeanne and Valeria’s room, hoping that they would see sense and come to him instead of going along with Joselia’s decision.

Alas, as he reached their room, however, he heard whispers of the hero’s name being discussed within the room. Pressing an ear to the door, he tried to listen at first, but being a middle-aged human, his hearing wasn’t keen enough to pick up what was being discussed. And so, enraged by the mere mention of the hero, he barged right in.

The girls inside quickly turned their heads to the door, confounded by the sudden entrance. As they noticed it to be Haurum, however, their expressions soured even more, for the trio knew exactly the type of man he was. Kledia was the first to rise from her chair and greet him with a false smile.

”I’m sorry to say this, Lord Haurum, but only a lady’s bethrothed can enter unannounced in her boudoir.”

”As if I care what some slave has to say about how a noble acts,” spitting venom through his words, he ignored the half-dragon and marched towards the other two women who’d been staring daggers at him still. ”And you two, are you truly content being offered up to some outsider? Some stranger you haven’t even met yet!”

”How is that any different than our previous engagement?” Valeria–the chancellor blade–lowered her gem-encrusted hood. ”I followed my sister in her engagement with you, but you couldn’t wait until the official marriage to get your dirty paws on us.”

”What did you–”

”And before you say another word, remember this.” Sliding her hand down her sides, Valeria grabbed her poison dagger hanging from her dark leather waistbelt. ”Your crimes aren’t a secret anymore, and the only reason we didn’t commit you to a charge of treason was that we were soon to be your wives. But now...that has changed; I would be careful with what you say lest you wish for them to be the sword that cleaves your limbs in a court.”

”H-how dare you!” Haurum yelled, his voice trembling with rage and his body shaking as he kept stepping forward.

Sitting beside her sister, Jeanne grabbed Valeria’s weapon hand and moved it away. Their eyes met each other for a moment, and although Valeria was frustrated with the lying lord, seeing the silver serenity in her sister’s gaze, she set her qualms aside and settled back into her chair.

”As for whose wives we become, lord Haurum...” Adjusting her netted white hood, Jeanne smiled at the lord with her hands pressed against her chest. ”Joselia has already made the decision, and as it stands, a man who has already killed an army by himself as opposed to a man who has cheated his own people appears to be a better suitor.”

A shiver ran down Haurum’s spine as he heard the ever-quiet and charming Jeanne speaking her mind freely. Both sisters were faithful to their god Hamelth not too long ago, but now in them he could see not an ounce of the same reservation that they once used to have.

”You will debase yourself and wed the enemy of lord Hamelth?” He whispered, his voice dripping with disbelief.

”I admit we were the last to agree to Joselia’s decision, but...” Turning her head to a closeby pict of their lord’s depiction, Valeria’s eyes narrowed. ”I see now that we should’ve abandoned him long ago. The law he was meant to uphold is lost when there’s something he stands to gain by breaking his own rules.”

Slowly turning her head towards Haurum, she whispered.

”Not unlike you, Lord Haurum. He does what he pleases and expects others to follow rules while he himself breaks those rules.”

”How can you?!” Jerking his head at Jeanne, he rushed closer; a gripping hand extended. ”And you won’t say anything to this heretic spouting nonsense?!”

”Mother Fairie chose Joselia, and I have now placed my trust in her choice more than I trust Lord Hamleth. So no, I do not have anything to say.”

”How dare you?!” Haurum’s trembling hand reached for Jeanne’s neck, only to be struck by the butt of Valeria’s knife. Grunting in pain, he pulled his hand to his chest and took a step away from the woman. And yet the hatred in his gaze remained as it were, showing no signs of abating anytime soon. ”FINE! GO AHEAD AND THROW YOURSELF IN THAT RASCAL’S ARMS! I DON’T CA–”

”What’s going on here?” Cutting right through Haurum’s monologue, a commanding voice came from the open door. As all eyes turned in that direction, they saw Raven standing right by the entrance wearing a casual fur coat and a pair of baggy pants. Scratching the side of his neck while staring at the sight before him, his toothy grin instantly got the girls’ attention and flared Haurum some more. ”As far as I remember, those gals are meant to be my wives, aren’t they?”

Cracking his neck, Raven dropped all expression and began walking towards the only other man inside the room. Pulling up his sleeves and cracking his knuckles, the hero stopped right in front of the lord and looked down at him.

”A lord, a king, a god–I do not care what you are, and from the sounds of it, nobody else here cares about your title either.” In a flash, Raven’s hand was gripping Haurum by the collar. ”Now, why don’t you act right before I have to do something about you? One of my companions is already itching to turn you into compost, and by the girth of you, that crap will probably last a whole fucking year.”

”Y-you!”

”Yeah fuck it.” Right as Haurum opened his mouth, Raven flung his body towards the door. A wave of gasps erupted throughout the room, horrified at the thought of the lord being killed by the impact of the throw. ”Ughh, Brien says you’re important.”

Conjuring a massive hand of darkness in the trajectory of Haurum’s body, Raven grabbed him before his body hit a wall and flung him right back at him. The sudden back and forth had knocked the lord unconscious, giving the hero just enough time to make him forget what had just happened with his ability to alter memories.

Letting go of him, Raven looked at Kledia.

”Have someone take him back to his room,” he requested, and despite being shocked as she was, the half-dragon nodded her head and headed out to get someone to lug the lord’s body back to his room. ”Now then, what I originally came here for.”

Losing the sour taste in his mouth left by the lord, Raven turned around to face the Highlander sisters. One dressed in pure white and pious attire, the other clad in leather and an air as thin as a razor.

”About time we got to know each other, wouldn’t you say?” Despite what had just happened, after having heard numerous tales about the hero from Kledia and other sources, the girls stared at the hero, one bashful and the other visibly interested. ”Alright then, let’s start...”

Finally, the girls had met their future spouse, and the hero had a chance to learn their intentions. In either case, after a month of learning about each other, it wasn’t going to take long for things to get a little...intimate.