Moles and Marks

Two days had passed since the incident at the royal palace. On this very night, within a lavish manor on the southwestern border of the Kael Kingdom, a brightly lit room revealed its every detail with crystalline clarity. Duke Ma’se sat in the place of honor, his hawk-like eyes narrowed, gleaming with a sharp, cold light, his expression somewhat grim. Below him stood a young man, his head slightly bowed, his face composed, yet the occasional flash of keen intelligence in his eyes betrayed that he was no ordinary person.

Hearing the details of the palace incident from a few days prior, the young man below spoke, his face etched with surprise. “Does this mean, Father, that Her Majesty the Queen acquired intelligence about the Winged Tribe’s movements without our knowledge?”

“How is that possible? Does Her Majesty possess a powerful, secret intelligence source completely unknown to us? To have relayed information to Her Majesty before you even reached the palace, completely circumventing us—such speed is terrifying! Remember, the Winged Tribe’s movements were only detected two days before your departure, and it takes at least a full day to travel from the border to the royal capital! Furthermore, this intelligence is currently under strict lockdown!”

A thought seemed to strike the young man as he spoke, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Or perhaps…”

Duke Ma’se lifted his head slightly, his somewhat cloudy eyes nevertheless sparkling with sharp intelligence. “No need to ponder further. It’s exactly as you suspect. Your first thought is impossible. She has dedicated virtually all her resources to defending against the Dragon Tribe, leaving her no energy to establish an intelligence network to ‘handle’ us two old men. Therefore, there’s only one possibility: a mole has been planted among our trusted confidantes!”

Upon hearing this, the young man’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly, yet he showed little surprise. It was an unspoken understanding that both the Queen and the two great dukes had moles within each other’s factions; he had simply not anticipated the Queen’s mole to be so deeply embedded.

However, the Queen’s own faction remained free of such infiltrators. No one possessed the audacity or the power to plant a mole within her ranks. After all, her forces were permanently stationed at the border with the Dragon Tribe, comprised entirely of exceptionally formidable humans. Furthermore, even the slightest misstep could lead to Jiu Hui’s immediate demise, and with their limited numbers, there were simply no vulnerabilities to exploit, forcing the two dukes to abandon such attempts.

After a slight hesitation, the young man inquired, “Then, what should we do?”

“What to do?” Duke Ma’se scoffed, rising to his feet. “For now, we do nothing. We’ll deal with those Winged Tribe ‘birdmen’ first, and then we’ll talk!”

Gazing at the old man before him, who exuded a wild, untamed fighting spirit, the young man felt a warmth stir within his own heart. ‘Indeed,’ he thought, ‘now is hardly the time for such trivial matters. First, we must crush those birdmen!’

“Oh, and Father,” the young man began, a slight frown creasing his brow as if remembering something. “What about the Queen’s new personal maid who recently appeared?”

At the young man’s words, Duke Ma’se’s already greying brows furrowed further. He, too, was perplexed by this sudden appearance of a personal maid, unable to fathom what the Queen was thinking, especially since she had gone so far as to reveal a hidden card just to secure the maid’s position.

“How has the investigation into her identity progressed?”

The young man shook his head.

“There has been no progress whatsoever. We can’t ascertain her origins or identity; not a single clue has emerged. It’s as if she simply materialized out of thin air.”

“Oh?” A flicker of surprise crossed Duke Ma’se’s eyes, quickly morphing into an expression of interest. “How intriguing. If we cannot uncover her true nature, then we shall leave her be for now. We will observe quietly and see what interesting developments unfold.”

“Understood, Father,” the young man replied indifferently, a slight curve gracing his lips.

“Oh, right,” Duke Ma’se suddenly interjected, his expression somewhat anxious. “It seems those beastmen in the southeast are also preparing to make a move. Make sure you don’t lose to that old fool Duke Kael’s son when the time comes!”

The young man watched his father, who was now earnest and agitated, seemingly recalling something that made him puff out his cheeks and glare. Three dark lines appeared on the young man’s forehead. Though somewhat resigned, he knew well the relationship between his father and Duke Kael, and understood it was best not to defy his father at such a moment.

“Yes, Father,” he affirmed, “I won’t lose!”

Although his father’s expectations certainly played a part, he realized he genuinely wanted to win. Walking down the corridor, the young man felt his heart begin to quicken, a thought blossoming in his mind.

As he considered the man with whom he had clashed countless times due to their fathers’ rivalry, a hint of anticipation touched the young man’s lips. ‘I wonder who will emerge victorious this time?’

****

Within the royal palace, Jiu Hui walked through the corridors, her beautiful face betraying a mix of exhaustion and irritation.

Ever since that day, two days prior, that ‘female pervert’ had gone utterly mad, relentlessly exploiting her. It had left Jiu Hui drained, weak, and utterly exhausted, to the point where her steps were unsteady. Her legs ached, she couldn’t help it. Gently, she touched the pink mark on the right side of her neck, letting out a helpless sigh before a flash of anger crossed her face. ‘So what if I didn’t pour your coffee that day?! Was it really necessary? You never said I had *that* kind of job! How is that my fault?!’ Then, inexplicably, Lisa had started putting her through some kind of ‘training’? If she didn’t pass the training, Lisa would ‘plant strawberries’ on her?

Indeed, the mark on Jiu Hui’s neck was, in fact, a ‘strawberry’ left by Lisa. Similar marks adorned her right neck, collarbone, waist, breasts, and inner thighs!

Even now, recalling that night, the image of Lisa, her face flushed and a wicked smile playing on her lips, ‘planting strawberries’ on her inner thigh, filled Jiu Hui with indignant shame. It was her inner thigh! And in this world, there were no such things as panties, which meant… ‘Hehehe.’

Today, after much difficulty, that ‘female pervert’ had finally expressed satisfaction with her ‘tutelage’—*ahem*, her training results—and granted her half a day off. Filled with simmering resentment towards the woman, Jiu Hui, her legs aching, stepped out of her room, intending to explore the royal capital she had inhabited for so long but never truly seen.

From behind Jiu Hui, Xiao Lan watched her swaying figure and spoke with concern. “Lady Jiu Hui, I truly believe it would be better for you to remain in your room and rest, given your current condition.”

“It’s nothing!” Jiu Hui declared, putting on a brave face. “Such a minor inconvenience won’t deter me, Jiu Hui!”

“Yes, yes,” Xiao Lü replied, a wide smile on her face as she observed Jiu Hui’s trembling legs. “Though, Lady Jiu Hui, your words would be far more convincing if your legs weren’t shaking so much.”

At this, Jiu Hui’s face fell, and she let out an angry roar. “It’s all that damned female pervert’s fault! What kind of hellish training methods are those?!”

Recalling her life over the past few days, a shiver ran through Jiu Hui’s entire body. ‘Terrifying!’