"Impossible! We do not accept this, Your Majesty! This is new and has never been heard before."

"We all agreed to this."

"We would also appreciate it if you took our words into consideration."

Revina was seated on her throne, her legs crossed and her face unreadable.

As always, Alex was standing behind her, acting as her guard. He, on the other hand, seemed upset and rather angry.

Before them, not too far from the throne, were three orbs, each emitting an image of the three dukes of Lumberg.

Since Revina was known to hate visitors entering her mansion—with Dorian being the exception for some reason—this was the only way they could communicate with her: through communication magic.

An audible sigh left Revina's mouth.

Her eyes rolled over before she looked towards Alex, gesturing with her fingers for him to pull closer. As commanded, Alex obeyed, moving his ear towards the side of her head.

"Is the drag-, is Dorian back?"

Alex had a nervous look on his face, wondering why Her Highness would be asking for that man at a time like this.

The dukes of Lumberg were busy expressing their disdain for the new appointment, and she was asking if the main cause of this whole thing had returned.

"Uhm… no, he hasn't."

Revina sighed once again, not even trying to hide her growing boredom. Once she had fully let out her exhaustion, she turned her attention back to the dukes.

Although, even they could tell Revina was not taking their words seriously.

Valerie was, of course, the first to talk, since of the three, he was the one who had the biggest issue with Revina's decision to make Dorian a duke.

"Your Highness, I feel like you're not taking our demands to heart. Do our words mean so little to you now? The former king never treated us like this."

"Watch your tongue. It is Her Majesty you speak of." Alex didn't hesitate to express his disdain.

Still, Revina didn't seem to care one bit about it. But she did finally speak. "If I am to understand, you all have an issue with Lord Dorian Aurelian being a duke, despite his standing, correct?"

"Yes," Valerie quickly replied.

"I feel the same. A baron becoming a duke is not something we should encourage. Giving him so much power would corrupt him too easily," Duke Gorgia added, calmer than the one who spoke before him.

Then came Duke Selviana, who also, just like the King, seemed like he didn't want to be there. "I have no issue with the kid. I only wish to see if he is indeed capable of the role you have given him in our kingdom."

That was his response.

The only response that piqued Revina's interest of the three that answered. And it didn't seem like the others liked his answer to her question either.

Revina stretched her hand to the side, taking hold of the paper Alex handed her in that moment.

She moved the paper to her lap, opened it, and read it for a while.

"In the brief moment that the rumors of Lord Dorian becoming a duke spread, a few things have been happening. First, all three of you had your soldiers pull away from the capital. The transportation of each territory's natural resources has decreased.

And to add to that, you also refused to take hold of the taxes, claiming it to be an issue from the trade line."

Revina slowly lifted her gaze from the paper and looked at them. Her eyes had a low din, showing how what she just read angered her a bit.

Apart from Duke Selviana, the rest showed hints of fear, sweat already playing at the side of their faces.

"We had no hand in it. We are also trying to understand what is happening," Valerie replied, gesturing with a forced smile on his face.

"Her Majesty is not a fool. Even a three-year-old could tell you this is the Duke throwing a tantrum to get Her Majesty's attention. Stop with the lies."

Valerie had an ugly look on his face, wondering why someone like Alex was chiming in on their conversation. Angered and all, he wasn't stupid enough to disrespect the King's guard in front of her.

"It's fine. I expected this much to happen anyway. If I had made Lord Dorian a Count, then it would have made more sense." Revina fell silent for a while, as though thinking of the next thing to say.

"If this is how you feel, then I will take it into consideration. So how about this: if Lord Dorian is able to win the vote of the people living in the Red District, then you all will accept he is the right candidate for the role?"

Duke Selviana instinctively smiled.

Valerie, on the other hand, chuckled disrespectfully. "HAH! Your Highness, I mean no disrespect when I say this, but that place falls under my territory. It's a lawless land, with rebels and mercenaries taking hold of its borders. You really think that Baron would be able to win their votes? With which money?"

"I accept. If the man proves himself, then I have no choice but to agree with your decision," Duke Selviana spoke, completely rendering Valerie's attempt at mocking useless.

"I do too. If he can prove himself, then all the better," Duke Gorgia followed, slightly raising his hand to show his support.

Valerie glanced left and right, frowning heavily at the thought of the two dukes quickly falling into the King's trap.

Eventually, he too had to give in and accept because if he opposed, his opinion had already been ruled out.

"Good. Then give me a month. I will come back with a response to your doubts," Revina said to them, rising to her feet.

"As you wish, Your Majesty." One by one, the dukes' images disappeared.

"Your Majesty, are you sure about this?" Alex quickly expressed his own doubts. "I noticed you think highly of Lord Dorian, but do you really think this is something he could do? The Red District is so dangerous, even the other nobles avoid it entirely."

"I know. It's difficult." Revina kept her back turned. "Which is why he is the only one who can do it. No one else. He can't fail." As she uttered these words, she slowly walked away, heading towards the back entrance.

Alex remained where he was for a good while, wondering why the King had so much trust in this man all of a sudden.

While he had an idea, it had to be hinted at—the fact that he fought a dragon a while back; surely that couldn't be the only thing.

Alex sighed. "Her Majesty is stressing me so much, I might actually pass out."

The very next moment, Alex was walking down the hall when a maid suddenly ran towards him, a smile on her face.

"Sir Alex, I come with good news," the beautiful maid spoke.

"News?"

"Yes. The Baron is back."

"..." It took him a second. "Lord Dorian?!"

…

Outside the castle, Dorian stepped out of the carriage, his fiancées walking right beside him.

After the battle at the academy, he made sure Steacy understood the contract she had signed before the duel, which was basically just a servitude contract with extra bonuses.

As planned, the school was now a safe place for Yelena.

Because of her performance, a lot of students and teachers had begun to respect her, making it difficult for other students to try anything with her.

And since she was the sister of Dorian Aurelian and also favored by the King, it was safe to say she would be fine at the academy.

Which meant he could now head back to the castle and handle the rest of the tasks.

Walking towards the door, the first thing he saw was Revina, Alex, and a few other maids walking out the door.

He stopped.

"What is this? Her Majesty came to greet me herself?" Dorian smiled, scratching the back of his head.

Maria and Seraphina bowed their heads in respect.

Revina had her hands in front of her, dressed in her maid outfit once again.

If it wasn't for the promise she made to Dorian, she would have bowed her head after seeing him.

He was the Dragon Monarch, after all. An ancient being respected by all races, including the gods.

"I am glad you returned from the academy. How was your trip?"

Dorian rested one hand on his hip.

"Went well, more than well. Just as you said, I was able to access the school library, and now I have all the books I need."

Revina looked at Seraphina's hand and noticed the stacks of books she was carrying.

"I see. I didn't think it would be this easy, but I guess there are no surprises with you." She looked back at him.

"Anyway, rest up. You must be tired. Once you are done, I'd like you to join the execution happening tomorrow."

"Execution?"

"Yes. Execution of the nobles and citizens involved in the elf sex trade."

...

[A/N]

Thank you for reading.

Ravina's character profile is out. If she receives enough votes, I will expand on her backstory and also add her to the harem. The rest of the heroines all have backstories linking to one thing.

Also, character arts for the other side characters will be added to Discord once we have about 50 members.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.