PoV Duchess Beverly Greenwald
Waking up after a month of sex was something that I would not recommend.
I felt empty, alone, lacking pleasure, and feeling that I wanted that massive God Dick inside me. Doorknocker was amazing and right up my fetishes. I wanted it again, but it was on a beast-kin. I sighed as I woke up knowing that I would never have that massive Schlong in my life again.
It was sad, but life was full of sad moments.
Taking a deep breath, I left my cot and got up and dressed. It was time to update myself on all the situations. Things were dire militarily in the Empire, and the war with the Northern Beast tribes was effectively over. Withdrawing our troops was going to happen completely, as there would not even be a small contingent we could spare for the small number of fortresses we were building. It was painful, but I needed those soldiers.
I would probably even have to talk to the Kingdom of Chip to allow us access to their dungeon. Either that, or I would split the forces into small squads and turn them into Mercenaries. That would allow me more time to build up fresh and experienced soldiers faster. It all depended on whether the Kingdom of Chip would cooperate.
I sighed as my life as an offensive General turned into a defensive one that would affect the next generation. The Nobility was already starting to look at me with more wariness. I was the General in charge of the military when everything collapsed. It did not matter that for a hundred years since I took control of the military, the Empire became one of the most feared militaries. It did not matter that I was focused on another war up north under the orders of the Emperor.
I was in charge of the military. The Emperor's right-hand woman was trusted with the military completely, to the point that I could even kill Nobles inside the military. That all was on the ropes, and after a month, failing a bet which was more dependent on the other side was something that would give them something to cut into.
This was the weakest my political place was in the last hundred years, even before I became the General of the entire army. This was a perilous moment for me, and I had to find out the situation. I hated that this was where my own speculation about my current position in the military put me.
I could be wrong, but I doubted it, and I would have to plan my next steps with these ones in mind. As I washed myself and finished dressing making sure I looked like the General I was I headed to the command tent where the Aides would be waiting. The swamp of military politics would begin, and I could only dive in. A guard pulled open the flap of the tent, and I stepped inside. I saw the Aides turn toward me, and my stomach dropped as they looked at me.
Their expressions.
They were lacking something that they shouldn't be.
Fear.
No, it was not the fear; it was the respect behind the fear.
I kept my expression neutral, as this meant that someone might be making a play, but they also could not at this moment. There were various things that they could do and could not do, and one of them was that I was still the General in command of the military, and that, at least to my knowledge at this moment, the Emperor was still behind me.
Also, I was the negotiator, and no one wanted this position. As long as the negotiation was where the Empire was on the losing side, no one would ever want this position. If they wanted it, I would gladly give it to them. Hell, I did not want to be in the position to negotiate with the Beast-kin as they keep pushing me over the coals of bad deals.
I looked at them all, and I knew they could not make a play yet.
They were just getting the support.
There were only three people who could do that.
The Earl, The Baron, and the Marquis.
The Earl was an A-ranker swordmaster who watched over me while I was in the tent. He was not a powerful contender for a General position because he was in the Noble collition and the Emperor would never allow him in control of the Empire's Military, so I immediately threw that aside.
The Marquis was also an A-ranker. The man was a sniveling coward who dictated orders from the back and schemed in the dark. How he got to A rank was one of those Mysteries of the world, and he was a wizard, but I never saw him fight for real. But he was in the Emperor's camp and had a chance if everyone else was dead, so I doubted him too. He even got into his current place from the death of many around him and being the last choice. I regret that I could not find any evidence that it was him, and I still question whether I should have fabricated something to get rid of him.
Then there was the Baron, a recent addition but part of the Emperor's faction and a clear loyalist, but also a smart man, and I was grooming him to take over my position in the future when I was done. I had also told the Emperor this in the past, and if the Emperor wanted to swap me with someone, it would be Baron Alexander. He was inexperienced and only a Peak B ranker looking for that last something to break through, but was a powerful wizard that thrived in medium-range combat, unlike many wizards in the army.
"I am back, everyone," I said, my voice cold as I looked at the aides in the command tent, "Update me on the highlights of what happened while I worked for the Empire the last month," I said my word choice was deliberate, and I saw the Earl smirk and turn his head a half second later to hide it.
The Earl leaked my words from the tent.
That was clear to me now, and I held back my frown. I turned to the others in the tent, and the way they looked at me, I knew the Earl had told them. Those words were traitorous, and they were also how I liked to talk while engaging in sexual activity with such a girthy God. I could not believe I forgot about that part of myself, but the men around me had been so inadequate, for so long, that I forgot for twenty years my sexual preferences.
"Yes, General," The Baron said, but the look in his eye told me that he thought the worse of me as he began to tell me about the condition of the small contingent of troops protecting the new border and the withdrawal from the north. I listened and nodded, making comments and giving orders to assist in the logistics.
Then came the spy reports of what was happening in Border City, and my face darkened because the information could be summed up pretty easily.
The human population was happier with their current circumstances than when they were in the Empire. This meant that even if we took back control, they might rebel against us instead of welcoming us with open arms, which would make the next generation of warfare harder. I had done battles in cities, and they are not pretty.
A memory of fighting in a cramped alleyway made me frown, and I shook my head.
"There is also a concerning report we got from a spy in the north of the Beast-kin Nation." The Baron said, getting my attention.
"What is it?" I asked.
"They are building A lot. A Merchant organization from the Elven Forest started to take roots in the Beast-kin Nation and is HEAVILY investing. Like, where is all the gold coming from, levels of gold? I looked at the Merchant organization, and an Elf named Rose owns it. There are rumors that she is tied to Chelsea Loveknot. We have not confirmed the rumors, but what we have seen is almost like the Beast-kin nation is trying to build a whole new City." The Baron finished looking at me, and I frowned deeply.
"A City? IN the beast-kin nation? Wha-" I froze, not talking for now, and let myself think.
Chelsea Loveknot, the Silverhaired Beast-kin that fucked me for a month straight. Even now, thinking about her sent my womb for spins inside me. Just the thought of Doorknocker at this moment made me want to submit, and I held myself back from saying anything because of my current potential situation.
"Why are they building a city from the ground up in the middle of a war?" The Marquis asked the question I was trying to ask myself.
"I don't know," The Baron replied. "The Spy does not know, but it seems that there are also human families being sent back to work in the now growing city. The spy did not seem to be able to do more than see the outlines. It seems they are planning it from the ground u,p and the trenches and holes in the ground are more numerous than the houses or even the roads. They are also paving all the roads. This looks like it will be a massive multiyear project, meaning-"
"They are invested," I said, cutting off the Baron while lost in thought. "They are extremely invested in the place and take it as even more important or just as important as the war effort. Why the Elf Merchant, then?"
"An investor or lover?" The Earl said slowly.
I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, "An Elf lover?" I asked incredulously, "If not for their strict culture of children and repressed society, they would probably die out because of how little they procreate. No, if this is anything, it is an Investor believing in the vision of the city or has been conned."
"Or they get access to something worth spending that much gold," The Baron said, and I nodded.
"Okay, we will put that in the back of our minds. Anything else to bring to my attention?" I asked.
We talked a bit longer about the front situation, but there was not much to talk about. There was also a lot of speculation about the trenches and how to get past them. I shook my head and eventually stopped it, "No, what will happen is that when this negotiation is over, we will make our own defensive fortifications and train the Soldiers in attacking them. We will be both defenders and attackers, and damn well learn how to stop it. Until then, let's stop the speculation. We need to negotiate our way out of this one, not fight our way out of the situation."
"Which brings me to the point that the Emperor asked how things went with the bet." The Baron said, and I snapped my head toward him and frowned.
Why was the Baron contacting the Emperor?!
The Baron should not be the one who is contacted for the situation. I was the only one who could speak my mind and tell him the situation without any errant thoughts that were not my own. If the Emperor took something I wanted to do incorrectly from another party, that might be disastrous. He also never contacted others, which showed warning signs all over.
Was the Emperor facing issues in the Capital?
"I will contact the Emperor myself after this," I said, pretending not to care. "I will also get final permission to have the Crown Princess returned to us through the signing of the deal from our lost bet. It is not a worse deal, I just wish we could have our cake and eat it too," I finished.
That was essentially why the bet was approved. If we won and the Bunny-kin was empty boasting, then the Empire would have made out like a bandit. Keeping most of the slaves and our entire captured military. We would only have to give up a small number of the slaves that the nobles probably did not want anyway. They would not even have to pay a coin to kill them or clean them up. Instead, they would just ship them off.
Now, an actual neutral party would be watching over, giving credence to the Beast-kin Nation instead of the Empire, which could have just had the 'neutral' party say what we wanted, whether or not the Beast-kin party said. It would be two to one voices saying they wanted to stay.
The loss of the bet meant that we would have to negotiate for the rest of the Human soldiers in their capture. It was going to be a slow process if the start of the process was indicative of the process to come. "Has the Beasts told us when they wish to meet again?"
My question made the aide go quiet. "Tomorrow," The Earl said, and I nodded.
"I will talk to the Emperor tonight, then," I said and stood tall, and turned to walk out of the Command tent. It was time to set up some backup plans.