"Please leave us," Saintess Xul said to Mara as soon as she entered Legion's tent.
They had been stationed at the frontlines alongside the other nobles and knights for two days now.
Mara hesitated, glancing briefly at Legion before nodding and silently stepping out.
Legion stood near the edge of the tent, where his makeshift bed was prepared. The Holy Knights had provided him with a proper bed, but he had given it to Mara instead.
"Are you avoiding me, Celestial Knight?" Xul's voice was gentle, tinged with sadness, though a small smile remained on her lips.
Legion sighed. He had told them, multiple times, not to call him by that title. Yet, no one ever listened.
"I'm not your Holiness," he replied, still standing, making no move to offer her a seat. His discomfort was evident, and he intended for her to feel it.
"The Duke requested your presence at the strategy meetings, but you never attended," Xul continued.
"I already spoke to His Majesty about it," Legion responded evenly. "I have no knowledge of battle strategies, and my presence would only be an insult to the high-ranking officers. The Duke understood that."
Xul's smile didn't falter. "I have summoned you to my tent several times, yet you never come."
Legion met her gaze, unwavering. "Because there is no reason for me to go to your tent, Your Holiness. That is where you sleep, and it would be inappropriate for me to be there, especially at night."
Silence settled between them. They held each other's gaze, unblinking.
Then, without warning, Xul slipped off her priestess robes, letting the fabric pool around her feet, revealing her bare body.
To most men, the Saintess's form would have been the most divine beauty they had ever seen. Their bodies would have reacted instinctively, overwhelmed by her allure.
Legion, however, merely closed his eyes, his expression unreadable.
Xul's smile widened.
She thought she had him.
Like every other man who had laid eyes on her, she believed he had fallen under her charm.
What she didn't know was that Legion was simply counting to ten, trying not to lose his patience.
Mara had attempted to seduce him before.
At first, he understood, she had assumed she owed him that much in exchange for his protection. Later, she had simply wanted to return the favor using her body.
But he had refused her.
He had made it clear, time and again, that he was merely following the Empress's orders, nothing more.
But the Saintess?
He had no idea what her reason was.
Slowly, Legion stepped forward.
Xul's breath hitched.
Her smile deepened, her confidence growing.
But instead of touching her, Legion simply picked up her robe, lifted it carefully, and draped it back over her shoulders, effortlessly, as if she were nothing more than an ordinary woman in his eyes.
No hesitation. No reaction. Nothing.
"I don't know why you are doing this, Saintess," Legion said, stepping back the moment she had adjusted her robe. "But please, do not do this again."
Xul stared at him, stunned.
He had rejected her.
Even Duke Aurelian had never refused her when she visited his tent at night.
Her smile vanished.
"Do you not desire me?" she asked, disappointment clear in her voice. "I can do a lot of things. I am sure I am much better than that commoner woman you keep around."
Legion let out a slow breath, stretching his patience.
"I do not keep Mara for the reason you assume, Saintess," he replied. "I keep her with me to keep her safe, because that is the Empress's order."
His gaze hardened as he looked at Xul, making sure she understood the weight of his words.
"And most importantly," he added, "I have shared a bed with the Empress, and I will continue to do so for as long as she desires."
His voice remained calm, unwavering.
"And until she no longer needs me to serve her, I will not sleep around with other people."
For the first time, Saintess Xul was at a loss for words.
She didn't know how to react. Never in her life had she been humiliated like this, not since the Holy Church of Solmara officially declared her the Saintess of Aquilonis.
And to think… it was because of that fat, ugly Empress.
"Mara!" Legion called out, knowing the woman was just outside the tent. As expected, she immediately stepped inside.
"Apologies, Your Holiness," Legion said, his tone polite but dismissive. "But I'm tired, and we have an early march tomorrow."
Xul clenched her fists in silent fury but forced herself to smile sweetly. She nodded, pretending as if his words didn't bother her.
"Very well," she said before leaving the tent.
But the moment she stepped out, her fake smile disappeared.
"Just wait, Celestial Knight," she whispered to herself. "You will be mine. I will not allow a mere, worthless Empress to keep someone like you for herself."
Instead of returning to her tent, Xul made her way to the Duke's tent.
She entered without hesitation.
Inside, Duke Aurelian sat alone at his table, his piercing gaze focused on the large map of the Frozen Sea spread before him. His brow was furrowed in deep thought.
Aurelian noticed her arrival but didn't even spare her a glance.
"How is your plan to seduce the Celestial Knight progressing?" he asked, his tone indifferent.
Xul smiled despite his coldness.
"Your words wound me, Your Majesty," she said, walking up behind him. She placed her delicate hands on his temples, massaging them gently. "You make it sound as though I am nothing more than a common whore."
Aurelian closed his eyes, allowing her touch to ease some of his tension.
"You can call it whatever you wish, Saintess," he said, voice laced with fatigue.
Xul leaned in closer, her lips mere inches from his ear. "I am only doing what is best for the kingdom, Your Majesty," she whispered as she pressed a soft kiss against his ear, trailing downward to his neck.
That was a blatant lie.
And Aurelian knew it.
His ability allowed him to see through lies, yet every time the Saintess spoke, a whisper in his mind urged him to believe her.
At first, he had tried to resist it, but doing so only gave him a splitting headache.
And truthfully? Her lies had never truly harmed him, so he let it be.
Xul's hands slid down to his trousers, and like always, his body responded.
They had been sleeping together for over a year now.
It started during last year's expedition, when she had visited his tent one night. That had also been her first year as the official Saintess, and her first time joining the expedition.
But he had made one thing clear, if she ever harbored any ambitions of becoming the next Empress, she should forget it.
He was already engaged to Celestria, the younger sister of Célion, and the court had already agreed she was the most suitable candidate for Empress.
Even when Celestria had caught them in bed together once, she had been furious at first, but after a single private conversation with Xul, her anger had suddenly disappeared.
After that, she no longer cared that Aurelian was sleeping with the Saintess.
"Hnn…" Aurelian let out an involuntary groan as Xul's mouth wrapped around him, her tongue tracing along his length with expert precision.
"Your Majesty," she purred, licking the slit of his manhood, her grey eyes looking up at him, dark with desire. "You know I'm right. We need the Celestial Knight, to serve me."
She took him deeper, increasing her pace, making it difficult for him to concentrate.
"You've seen his loyalty to the Empress," Aurelian managed to say between heavy breaths. "Even if you succeed in seducing him, he will never betray her. You said it yourself, only death can break a Knight's Oath recognized by the Celestials."
Xul pulled back slightly, licking a slow trail along his hardened length.
"Then," she murmured, grinning wickedly, "there is only one option left."
Aurelian arched a brow.
"You want me to have my stepmother killed?" he asked, amused.
Xul's smile remained.
"You know that the only reason Vaelundis continues to provide food supplies to our kingdom is because of her."
Aurelian's tone darkened.
"As long as she remains Empress, Vaelundis will continue to supply us with food."
Xul smirked. "We won't need their so-called kindness once the Celestial Knight belongs to me."
Still kneeling before him, she slowly slipped off her priestess robes, revealing herself entirely to the Duke.
Aurelian's manhood hardened even more at the sight of her.
"Once we announce to the world that a Celestial Knight serves me, that we have a fruit-bearing Malvera tree within the Empress's palace, and that we will soon capture a Holy Beast during this expedition, no other kingdom will dare to ignore us." Xul pressed her bare breasts against his length, pushing them together and moving up and down.
"The entire world will recognize that the Celestials have blessed our kingdom. And once that happens, we will have no need for the current Empress."
Aurelian gritted his teeth, watching her work.
How in the world did this lewd, conniving woman become a Saintess?
Looking at her now, if no one knew her title, they would see no difference between her and a common whore.
Once, he had questioned whether the Celestials had abandoned their kingdom by sending them a Saintess like Xul. But with the Celestial Knight's arrival and the Malvera tree's miraculous fruit, it seemed they were blessed after all.
"Let's talk about that after we successfully capture the Holy Beast," Aurelian said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up.
He turned her around and bent her over the table, positioning her against the map of the Frozen Sea.
Then, without warning, he thrust into her, rough and deep.
Aurelian was a warrior, and warriors like him never made love gently.
He didn't care if she was in pain. He had always been this way with her, from the very beginning.
Of course, he treated her with respect in public. No matter what she did behind closed doors, Xul was still the Saintess of the kingdom.
But in private, that respect disappeared.
In private, she was nothing more than a whore to him.
No different from any other woman who threw herself at him.
He didn't care if she enjoyed it. He didn't care about her pleasure.
All Aurelian cared about was releasing his frustrations into the women who offered themselves to him.
The table shook violently as he pounded into her from behind, his thrusts rough and punishing.
He was huge, but she had long grown used to it.
And despite his brutality, Xul was losing herself in the pleasure, her moans growing louder with each movement.
She didn't care if the Duke's guards could hear her.
"Harder, Your Majesty! Aahhh!" she screamed, her nails digging into the wooden table.
In response, Aurelian wrapped a strong hand around her throat, gripping her in a chokehold.
Xul's eyes rolled back, her moans turning into pure bliss.
"Shit!" Aurelian cursed, feeling his climax approaching.
He pulled out, turning her around forcefully and pushing her back to her knees.
Xul knew what to do.
She opened her mouth, taking him in as he thrust deep and fast, her tongue swirling around his length.
At the same time, her fingers worked her own clit, her breathing ragged as she pleasured herself.
Aurelian groaned, his grip tightening in her hair as he spilled his seed into her mouth.
Xul swallowed every drop.
The taste of the Duke's release pushed her over the edge, her body convulsing as she climaxed, struggling to keep her balance as she trembled.
She continued licking him clean, her tongue slowly tracing along his length as she caught her breath.
Aurelian finally leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smirk on his lips.
His expression was calm now, as if nothing had just happened.
"So, tell me, Saintess," he murmured. "Why did the Celestial Knight refuse you in his bed?"
For the briefest second, Xul's grey eyes darkened with fury.
But she quickly recovered, replacing her frustration with a sweet smile as she continued cleaning him with her tongue.
Aurelian saw through it, though.
And he smirked.
So this was the first time Saintess Xul had failed to get what she wanted.
It amused him that the man who rejected her was a mere commoner, even if he was a Celestial Knight.
Xul grinned back, finally pulling away as she wiped her lips.
"The Empress is sharing her bed with him."