Meera pulled out the sketch of the Delkoris, the Crown Prince, once again to ensure her hunch was correct. The artist had once again done a great job of capturing the Prince's details. It was almost like they had taken a picture with their hands—a colored picture.

Delkoris looked about twenty years old and had light skin, no facial hair, and brown eyes. The Crown Prince on the balcony looked thirty with a full beard, tanned skin, green eyes, and a wider forehead than the boy in the picture.

She wished her phone still worked so she could take a picture and confirm with Hilnoa that it was someone else posing as the Prince.

"My people," the fake Delkoris said. "To see you all here to come see me has filled my heart to bursting. Just now, I was conversing with your dear mayor and ensuring he is doing his best for you all. For such a welcoming city, nothing but the best will suffice."

The people cheered, and the fake Delkoris waved his hand. Some women offered themselves to him. Thankfully, that was droned out in the cheering, but Meera had to hear it all. Some people tried getting closer, but the Bleeders erected a wall of bloodstone to keep them back. That killed the mood. After some more waving, the Prince ducked back inside.

The crowd dispersed, going about their way. Meera was one of the last few people to leave as she stayed there to memorize the position of the guards and figure out their numbers. If she were to make contact with the Prince, she had to get inside the mayor's house somehow. But with this small army, it would be more than difficult, even if she did go invisibly, as there was a man posted every few feet.

Meera decided to leave before she drew unwanted attention. She went down a street where she could still see the house for a long time, and even with no crowds or people waiting to see the Prince, the guards stayed where they were. Great. Finding the queen wasn't challenging enough; now I must waste time finding her son, too.

She turned a corner, and the house went out of view. She had half a mind to return to the house, flash the disc Narikas had given her, and demand an audience with the fake Prince. If anyone knew where the real Prince was, it would be him. Then again, she could reach out to the Warlord or Hinoa and confirm if the picture they gave her is accurate before doing anything as drastic as breaking into the mayor's house.

First, I need to find a quiet place, and what is quieter than a room in a nice hotel—sorry inn.

It seemed luck was on her side as she saw a group of women moving toward the mayor's house. A group of women who were dressed very enticingly and drew the gaze of all the men. They stopped on a side street before turning onto the main road. A short man with makeup on led the women with a fancy bottle in hand. A dark liquid swirled inside. It could only be wine or some kind of alcohol.

"Now, girls, make sure you are on your best behavior," he said. "Prince Delkoris has fine tastes, and you must satisfy all his needs. Make no sounds, save one of pleasure." He went on giving them more instructions.

If they are who I think they are, that could be my way in. I hoped to talk with Narikas first, but when the opportunity strikes.

Meera came up behind the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, sir, may I join this group?"

He turned around, annoyed. "Go away. I'm the only one who can provide girls for His Highness. I will not lower myself by showing him street tramps."

"But I am no street tramp, sir." Meera smiled, pulled off her chakram, and put it under his throat, making the girls gasp. "Nothing to worry about, girls. I'm just about to have a heart-to-heart with your employer. So, what is your name?"

“K-Kalkon,” he stammered.

"Nice to meet you, Kalkon. I'm Meera. Now, you don't have to do anything really. I will be invisible when you gain entry into the house. That should be no problem for you. You just have to present me first."

"T-That's not how it works." He shook so much that she feared he was going to slice his own throat at her chakram. "T-The prince picks his own girls." He even nicked himself on her chakram, and she heard a notification bell. "C-Can you p-please take your weapon away?"

"Fine. But refrain from making any undue noise. We wouldn't want to dirty your clean robes." She pulled her chakram away from his neck. "Well, let's make today different, shall we? You will present me first and make sure you do an amazing job of upselling me, or I will hand you your head as a prize." She was about to turn invisible when she took out her coin purse and handed him about fifty gold coins. "For your service."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The girls gasped and murmured about the wealth Meera had just given him, and the man was visibly less squeamish now.

He pocketed the coins. "Right, girls, follow me, please. His Highness awaits." His confidence was back.

Meera turned on her Shroud of Shadows, and it wasn't so dark that she could be totally invisible just yet. So she turned visible again and walked on the other side of the street until they reached the mayor's house. Then, as she expected, there wasn't a single guard whose eyes didn't linger on the girls.

Then Meera activated her Shroud, ran towards the house in a darker portion of the street, used Nimbus and easily climbed over the fence and was inside the house. Once the guards finished inspecting the girls and letting them in, Meera turned visible again. But before she did, she willed her armor to change shape.

Instead of the black and gold armor, it became a black and gold dress with ample amounts of cleavage and a slit in her gown that showed off her legs. She hated dressing like this, but it had to be done.

Not a single guard or Bleeder raised the concern that they hadn't seen her before. However, Kalkon's eyes widened when he saw her among her girls. She followed Kalkon closely as he led them through the veranda to the house's interior.

The inside of the house was lavish compared to the interior of most buildings she had seen so far. Various paintings and decorative pots were adorning the house. They took the stairs upstairs and came upon a landing. Kalkon instructed the girls to sit while he talked with the Prince.

"Not without me," Meera said.

"But-But I must tell him—"

"Tell him that you've chosen me for him for tonight, and remember what I said about your neck."

He gulped and rubbed his neck. "O-Okay, follow me."

He knocked on the door twice. "Come in."

Kalkon entered and bowed to the Prince, who wore only his silk pants as he sat on the bed, eating an apple. "Just one? Where's the rest of them?"

"Your Highness, today I have a rare treat for you that not many men have tasted in this world." He dramatically flourished a hand towards Meera. "A Varshan."

The fake Delkoris scrunched up his nose. "Why would I want to be with one of them? I heard they're more frigid than their cold world."

Meera didn't know any Varshans, but she took this personally.

"Then let Meera change your mind about Varshans. Once you've—"

"Been with me, you'll only demand a Varshan," Meera interjected. It was honestly taking too long. She stepped forward. "Nay, you won't demand another girl again."

The supposed Prince breathed out heavily. "My, my, aren't you a forward one." But a fire had been lit behind his eyes.

"I apologize, Your Highness. She's new and doesn't know—"

"Out and take the rest of your girls with you," he said as he set the apple on the table. "Come, Varshan, prove your words true."

Kalkon bowed, gave Meera a sidelong glance, and exited the room. Meera dropped her pretense and walked to the bed, and as she did, her armor returned to its original shape, covering her up. Outside, Kalkon hurriedly demanded his girls to leave.

The man frowned. "Why have you covered yourself up?"

Meera took off a chakram and launched it at the fake Prince. His eyes widened at the coming death. She Stepped to her chakram at the last moment and caught it as it was an inch from his eyes.

"Now, let's begin," Meera said. "Who are you?"

"C-Crown Prince Delkoris," he stammered, staring cross-eyed at the death an inch from his face.

"Wrong answer." She bent a knee, placed it on his groin, and pressed down.

He winced and flinched but didn't take his eyes off the chakram. "Ow, please, no. Oh, stop."

"Then answer my question. Truthfully, this time."

"I am Delkoris." He winced and cried. "Please, you're hurting me."

She shook her head and pressed harder. "Lying again. Unlike the people of this town, I know what the Crown Prince looks like."

He tried to push her leg off, but she moved her chakram closer to his eyes. He stared, shook in pain, and punched the bed. "Please stop. Please, you're hurting me."

"I wonder what you do to those girls. I bet you like hurting them."

"What? AH! No, never. I-I never hurt them ev-ever. I even tip handsomely."

"With whose money?"

He just cried and cringed some more instead of answering.

"I have a skill," Meera said. "It gives me the strength of a Druvis. If I activate that and use even an iota of it on your boy down there, you won't be a boy anymore."

His eyes widened, and he stilled. "I am not Delkoris."

Meera relieved the pressure a little bit. "Then who are you?"

"I am Nikander, a friend of his. He asked me to pose as him as he searches for his mother," he dribbled out. "Now, can you please move your knee?"

Meera jumped off the bed. He put his hands on his groin and rolled around, moaning. She let him recover before asking what she came here to find out.

"I'll never be able to have kids now," he moaned. "You've broken it."

"Relax, you'll be fine. Where is Delkoris?"

"You mean to kill him, don't you?" His eyes popped open. "Oh gods, once I tell you, you're going to kill me too. The rumors are true. The Varshan empire is coming for us."

Meera rolled her eyes. She pulled out the seal that Narikas had given her. "King Rokibor heard the news that someone was posing as his son, so he sent me to confirm."

"Why didn't you show me that from the beginning? I would have come clean right away."

"The prince must've left some way for you to contact him."

"Listen, if you're here to take him home, he's not—"

"Are you going to answer me, or does your groin need another massage?"

He cupped his hands over his groin and closed his legs. "He-He said he was cutting off contact to focus on his mission." Meera moved for him. "But!" He held up a hand. "But he said to light the big brazier on the roof if I needed to get in touch with him, and he'll come when he can."

"Well, let's go light a brazier then."