Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1118: Subjugate?!

"The reason I called should be obvious."

"... You want me to accept your proposal. Become a count under your crown, get engaged to Felicity, and serve as a member of your royal court as your personal mage. But, most important of all, share my secrets with you."

"Yes." The king’s reply came crisp. "I’ve thought about your earlier reservations and, in light of recent events, have deemed them logical. Your reluctance was mostly tied to one thing. Or rather, to one woman. Queen Morgana."

Quinlan raised a brow. "Oh?"

"I am willing," Alexios said slowly, heavily, "to do something about it."

A snort threatened to burst free from Quinlan’s lungs. ’You already did, you sly fox. You banished your wife from the capital city, didn’t you?’

However, in the next moment, his face steeled and his tone turned deadly serious. "With your evil bitch of a wife, alongside other nasty women like Lilith and Kaede hunting me, and now the Consortium itself tearing itself apart from the inside and selling information about me... I must be more pressed than ever and willing to accept your deal. Is that what you hope for, Alexios?"

The king’s reply wasn’t straightforward. "You have a family to think about, Devil. Congratulations on siring a healthy young daughter, by the way. Her voice sounded very lively. May she grow up strong."

’This old bastard... Warrior King my ass, he’s a devious son of a bitch.’

Quinlan remained silent, deciding to put away such thoughts for later. The king was a player as well. Quinlan couldn’t fault the man for playing the game. In fact, he even started to respect the king a bit, for he would’ve done the exact same thing if their places were swapped.

Especially because Quinlan understood that the king understood that he was a ticking time bomb. If left alone or even worse, having him ally with the enemies of the kingdom, then the current order of things could potentially be upended.

No one knew the potential he would have when he reached the levels of the top dogs, and the king certainly did not want to find out, at least not before allying himself with Quinlan.

Hence why the king was more than willing to throw the deal of the century at him, but also, at the same time, continue the manhunt. No matter the method, he couldn’t afford to let Quinlan continue growing outside his sphere of influence.

Understanding all this, instead of throwing a fit, he analyzed.

The offer was generous, too generous. A title, status, recognition, royal pardon for all his crimes, and most importantly, protection under the world’s most powerful man’s banner.

But the uncertainties piled higher than the promises. He would have to trust the king to keep his word, and trusting another man with his and his family’s future tasted like the bilest of poisons on his tongue.

And Morgana? She didn’t need the king’s permission to enter the capital to sink her claws into him. She had influence, wealth, and loyal dogs scattered across the kingdom. Even if she was also forbidden from entering his new domain, she could easily send men to ruin his lands, torch his towns, and poison his new county from afar. His family would never be safe; any appearances they made as counts would be spent worrying about her using the moment to strike.

And, lastly...

Chaos was good. Chaos was great. Chaos was amazing.

For the word ’chaos’ was synonymous with ’opportunity’ in Quinlan’s head.

There was so much opportunity to exploit in this conflict. If he raised the white flag right now and bent the knee to the king, he would miss out on all of them.

Instead, he would become powerful enough to speak with the king as equals, at which point he would be more than willing to revisit the negotiation table.

"I’m afraid you’ll have to tighten the noose a lot more around my throat, Alexios. I am feeling awfully free right now."

A chuckle sounded from the other end of the line.

Then, the chuckling ceased as abruptly as it came.

A deep, ominous declaration replaced the sound.

"So be it."

And with that, the call ended.

...

The air under Rosie’s tree was unusually calm as the faint rustle of leaves and the steady hum of mana created a rare moment of peace. That was because of the words Feng had just uttered moments before.

"Let the overly arrogant dude [Subjugate] you, and everything would change. We would have no reason to hide anything from you; you’d become an ally we can share everything with."

Those were the words that stilled the previous, lively chirping of the gathered ladies.

It took the princess an entire minute to find her voice, all the while the gathered women were looking at Feng with wide eyes. The oriental teen, in the meantime, was sporting an uncharacteristically calm expression, being far too nonchalant. It took the women some time to realize the sparkle in her eyes, which told tales about the girl’s hidden excitement.

"[Subjugate]?" Felicity gasped at long last. "Do you mean..."

"Enslave. Yes," Feng nodded.

"Jiai, this is no time for joking!"

"I’m not joking. It’s a family tradition over here. All his wives are his slaves, not just the beastkin and the annoying elf who can’t seem to leave me alone. I’m his slave as well, by the way." Feng said the last sentence with a strange tone, one that only served to make Felicity’s confusion mount even further.

"W-what?! Lord Black can’t be such a man!"

"Such a man? What does that mean?"

"Vile! Horrible! Sadistic! Cruel!"

"You’re right, he’s none of those things," Feng nodded in full agreement. But then her poker face broke to form a smirk as she added, "Well, that is as long as you ask his family and not his enemies."

"B-but!!"

"Enslaving his lovers and this future nation toppling beauty is a horrible thing to do, right?"

"I don’t see any future beauties here besides myself, but the answer is yes! Very much so!"

Feng decided to ignore the remark. "You know the guy quite well by now, princess. Do you think he’s someone who’d enslave his wives out of cruelty?"

"N-no, that’s why I’m so shocked! Also, none of you is wearing any collars! Jiai, if you’re pranking me, then I demand you stop!"

"Use that academic failure of a brain of yours for a moment. The dude is an enigma, one that has your mom riled up enough to endanger her own daughter’s life. Do you not think it possible that such a guy could have a different reason to enslave the people he considers most important other than being needlessly cruel and controlling?"

Felicity instantly sent Feng a very strong glare, but it didn’t last for long. "Ah! Can he do some strange magic with his slaves?! Is that why you said [Subjugate] and not [Enslave]?!"

"Bravo, princess. There’s hope for you yet."

"Rosie wants to become Daddy’s slave too!!!"

"You already know his answer." Seraphiel giggled while sending Feng a wink about the remark she’d received from the oriental teen.

"’Maybe later’..." Rosie brooded, quoting Quinlan.

Then the green, leafy girl pouted strongly, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and narrowed her eyes to a very dangerous level. "Daddy is stupid! Stuuuupid!!! He should have no reservations about [Subjugating] his cute daughter! None at all! Rosie deserves to become a [Subjugated] family member too! If he refuses again, Rosie will weaponize her big, teary eyes!"

Felicity’s eyes, which were once again glaring daggers at the smug oriental teen, snapped wide open. Hearing that his very daughter was so adamant about becoming his slave was far too absurd for her young brain to process.

"Haaah... I’m finally free. Black Fang can be so specific about the most random things... What a weird woman."

Came the exasperated words from a certain, white haired yandere.