After Leopold made his way to the castle estate, he immediately went to his room and got his servants to prepare some specific tools for him. They were his personal servants and weren't surprised at his request since they'd known that their young master was a man with peculiar tastes.
He tied up the unconscious Ingrid and left her in his 'playroom' for now until the servants prepared everything for Ingrid's permanent stay as his new conquest. He'd only ever done this kind of a play with consensual women who'd agreed to do it with him. Ingrid would be the first whom he would convince from scratch to beg for his cock.
'I think that Solomon's harem of 365 women makes sense now… It's a genetic thing.' Leopold realized. He was a man with dominant traits when it came to sex. This had no specific history behind it, nor did it have any trauma behind it. He was just into having his women submit to him and treat him as the dominant, or superior in the relationship. He reveled in the sense of control that he got from seeing his women rely on him for their most basic decisions.
'It really is a genetic thing for men of the Solomon family to have some sort of quirk related to sex…' He thought as he remembered the stories of his father having gone to every brothel in the empire to try the women from every single place. And the same was with his grandfather, who'd fucked countless married women and cucked their husbands. He'd ruined the peace of multiple noble houses. The most prominent one was the Louis Marquess house, which was the whole reason behind the current feud between them and the Solomon house.
There were also many other political factors involved in the situation, but that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Leaving his unconscious to-be conquest tied up in his sex room, Leopold made his way to his own room and took a shower before making himself presentable. He was the heir of a Duke's house and was trained extensively in etiquette and noble mannerisms.
Even though the house wasn't in the best condition, it was still a Duke house. And Leopold had to act his part. After getting ready in silk garments that screamed royalty, he made his way to the chambers of his father. He had to talk to the man and start making plans for the future of the Duchy.
"How are you, Sebastian?" He saw the duke's personal butler standing guard outside the door.
"I'm perfectly fine, young master, thank you for asking. The master is inside." He told Leopold.
"Thanks." He said and knocked on the door of his father's chambers.
"Enter." A heavy voice said from the other side of the door. The mere voice of the Duke commanded respect and awe and Leopold looked up to his father, mostly because he was aware of how strong the man truly was. He was the only reason that the other noble houses hadn't pounced on their weakened duchy as if they were vultures.
Leopold opened the door and walked in. His father was sitting at a large desk with a stack of letters at his side. He was stamping some with his seal and some were being thrown to the fireplace at the side. The office had a large bookshelf that had books ranging from politics to nobility to history. It even had some fiction for leisure reading.
"How are you doing, Dad?" Leopold walked to the chair that was in front of the desk and sat down on it, looking at his father.
"Just the usual. Annoying paperwork. Our finances are tight after the subtle blocks from the Phoenicia Duchy." He frowned.
"And who's fault is that?" Leopold smiled and spoke with a tone that screamed smugness.
"Don't go there, Leo," Henry warned Leo with a dark tone as Leopold pursed his lips and shut up, knowing what awaited him if he kept pushing.
Deciding to get to the main topic at hand, "I was ambushed last night. The guards that you assigned to me are dead."
"Hm, yes. I'll replace— Hm?!" His head snapped in Leo's direction, "What?" He asked again.
"It was the Louis family. They'd sent a troop of Journeymen and two Expert Knights after me. Along with an Adept archer." He told his father, inwardly pondering about how the strength levels of Aura wielders were classified.
‹Novice› ‹Apprentice› ‹Journeyman› ‹Adept› ‹Expert› ‹Master›
Novices and Apprentices barely have much control over aura and can barely use it to enhance their physical abilities. Journeyman marks a significant milestone where the used can somewhat project their aura outwardly through mediums such as imbuing it in weapons or other objects. Adepts have significantly more fine control over their aura and control its use much more intricately.
As for Experts, they can directly project their aura outwardly and use it in a myriad of ways beyond Journeymen and Adepts. Masters are in a league of their own with their prowess being somewhat elusive for the common populous since there are very few of them throughout the empire.
Leo's father, as a Duke of the Empire, was at the Master grade of aura and was a heavy sword user. Knights were people who had reached the stage of Expert and were respected throughout the kingdom. It was the same with his father, he was a renowned warrior of the empire and was respected. Sadly, martial prowess didn't translate to political acumen. Something that both Leopold and his father lacked. And they didn't have the absolute power to take care of political issues with brute force.
Leopold looked at the dread that rose on his father's face and said, "I'm perfectly fine. Except for two arrow wounds on my back, but that's it. They'll heal up easily." He explained, not wanting his father to be worried.
"Oh, son… I'm so sorry. Those bastards even dared to drag you into the conflict…" His father said with a calm tone but he had a fire burning in his eyes, "A mere marquess house had the gall to target my son…" His tone promised pain for anyone who was involved.
"Sebastian." He called out.
"Yes, sire?" The Duke's butler came into the room.
"Call Rizevim. Someone has a price to pay." Henry said with a dark tone. "By your will." With those words, Sebastian left.
"You don't have to react so heavily, do you?" Leopold asked his father.
"You don't understand, Leo. I have to set a precedent. They can target the duchy as much as they want. But if they dare to lay a finger on my son, then they'll have hell to pay." Henry explained to his son, "You are the only family I have in this world. I can't lose you too…" He said with a pained tone that expressed just how worried he was about Leopold.
"Get yourself healed up at the infirmary. We'll talk at dinnertime. I have to do some important work." He told Leopold.
"Fine. By your will, Duke Henry." Leopold grumbled and turned around.
"Hey!" Henry called out.
"Hm?" He turned around.
"I love you, son. I'm glad that you came back safely." He smiled at Leopold.
"I am too, Dad. I am too…" Leo said and walked out of the room with a smile on his face.
…
"Now what do I do with you?" Leo was in his room and looked at the naked woman who was bound on a cross-shaped device with her hands and legs spread apart. Black cuffs were attached to her wrists and held them above her head while the same was done with her ankles. They were bound to the cross and kept apart, revealing her completely. Her feet weren't touching the floor and she was bound only on the support of her hands, hanging on the cross.
There was a gold choker on her neck with a green gemstone in the middle that made her look almost regal. Sadly, in her current state, she could only be considered a regal slut. And even though she was bloody and dirty right now, her beauty and sexiness weren't hidden, invoking dark desires in Leopold. He wanted to conquer this woman.
The purpose of that collar was to suppress her Adept aura power. It would also prevent her from exploding herself and destroying the castle to smithereens. The reason that this was necessary was because of the scale of damage that her self-destruction could cause. Leo was currently a Novice Aura wielder. He wasn't an exceptional talent or anything. His talent was only slightly above average. But still, his explosion could blow up enough of an area to probably kill two knights.
The self-destruction of an Adept like Ingrid would destroy far more than just the castle. And she was a very talented woman. She was just three years older than him but was already an Adept. Relying on his talent, Leo would need at least 7 years to reach the stage of Adept. Ingrid was a very talented aura wielder, by all means.
"I should get you cleaned up first, I guess…" He thought as he looked at the dirt and grime all over her body. 'It's good that aura users have much better physiques. At least she won't get an infection.' He thought as he looked around the playroom.