Enslaved - Enslaved Sister Harem - Chapter 21

“Princess Lucy!” Lord Stebes cried out. “I’m sorry for my
earlier rudeness, had I known a distinguished guest such as you…”

My sister, Lucy, was a short girl who only made up for it
with long white rabbit ears. If I recalled, she was the third daughter, exactly
in the middle for my five sisters. She had a small, pretty face, and a slender
body. Her eyes were green and her hair was white with a few strands of pink
mixed in. Her breasts were perhaps around a B. She likely had an attractive
body, but she hid it behind robes at the moment.

“Stow it,” Lucy sniffed. “We have more important manners to
worry about. Now that my reconnaissance mission has been found, I’d like to know
why a human city is manufacturing undead and sending them to an allied country.”

Lord Stebes blinked and then sighed, putting on a more
serious expression. “Wouldn’t that simply be to start a war?”

“Yes, but who is propagating it.” She reached up and pulled her ears down, stroking them like a girl playing with her pigtails.

“It must be the devils, as you already said.” The caravan leader spoke up.

“Do you believe a retinue of devilkin can infiltrate this
far north into the human realm?” I asked.

“No… I supposed not.” Lucy lowered her head, thinking for a
moment, “Perhaps the elves?”

“Nonsense!” Princess Saria slapped her hands on the table. “We were sent on a diplomatic mission!”

“It’s curious you thought I was referring to your party specifically, but now that you mention it, you would be the last party to pass by the city of Perang before it went quiet, and you happen to show up here just in time for the fruits of your labor to show themselves.”

“The undead will be attacking this city. If I was a culprit, why would I put myself in danger?”

“The best way to alleviate suspicions is to make it look like you’re also a victim. For all we know, you have a means of controlling this army, and are thus in no real danger.”

“Preposterous.”

“Enough sister…” I spoke up. “She’s not involved. Our time
would be better spent elsewhere.”  

“Why do you say that?” She shot me a look, just a hint of
loathing in her expression.

“Because she is my fiancée, and your future sister-in-law,”
I responded simply.

This brought various looks from everyone in the room. Lucy’s
look was incredulous, while Saria had a very complicated expression my face.

“I knew my bother was a selfish devil, but I didn’t realize
you were also an idiot!’ Lucy shot back.

“Was saving your life selfish, or idiotic?” I asked
smoothly, “I tend to get these things confused.”

Lucy flushed. “Do not think that because you rode out where
Lord Stebes shut the doors, that I’ve forgiven how you’ve destroyed my country
and my family!”

“This conversation has even less to do with the threat we’re
facing.” I sighed. “Perhaps we can get on subject?”

“Very well…” She said, her mouth pursing bitterly, “Then
what do you suggest?”

Although my words seemed foolish, I was testing my relationship with her. In reality, the current me had never met this woman in my entire life. I had no clue what the relationship with my sisters was. They all likely resented me to some degree, but you could never tell until you made a person angry. Fortunately, Lucy was a volatile woman quick to anger and frustration. She wasn’t thick like Bala, but she wasn’t calculating like Saria either. She was simply someone who spoke with her heart.

I figured out that family was very important to her. That was part of why I had reminded her of Saria’s future relationship to her. If she had dismissed it entirely, it would mean that family didn’t factor into her decisions. Instead, her primary anger towards me was how she felt I had destroyed our family. She had quickly dropped her comments about Saria, clearly not wanting to voice more persecution against someone she may have to call sister one day.

I also mentioned that I saved her life to see what that kind of thing meant to her. It was clear she felt some debt there. It was why she had deferred to me in the end, rather than turning to Lord Stebes. This was her showing her appreciation for my rescue. There was one other reason I had worded things this way. I wanted the group to get their guards down.

“Whether it is devils, elves, or something else, there is
nothing we can figure out by talking. We should fortify the city, survive the
night. In the morning, we send an expedition to Perang to discover the source
of the army.”

“Hmm…” Lord Stebes sat back. “I’m still not convinced an
army of undead would try to attack this city. They were sent after this caravan,
right? Even found out, they wouldn’t dare try their might on a city with thick
walls such as these!”

“The undead are dumb…” Baba spoke up. “They will follow
their last orders. If they were asked to pursue and kill the caravan, then they
will do so even if it meant charging through an army. I guess, whether they attack
or not tonight can prove how close of a command their owner has on them.”

“You got close to them.” I added, looking over at Baba, “Anything
else you could read on them? Who has this type of magic?”

“Despite being called undead magic, zombies, skeletons, and spectrals are not really undead. Rather, they’re a type of monster. Controlling them is a type of taming magic. The species best at those are humans… and beastkin.”

“Outrageous! Why would we build armies to attack ourselves?” Lucy attacked the suggestion instantly.

“As you yourselves pointed out so eloquently,” Saria grinned.
“Making yourself a victim is the best way to shed doubt.”

“You…” Lucy looked like she had swallowed a lemon. “I’ll
have-“

“Enough!” I called out. “We could blame each other all day.
You could also say whoever is doing this wants us to blame each other. Until we
go to the source, we won’t have the answers.”

I shot Saria a look. For the first time that I had ever
seen, she lowered her head and acquiesced. She actually was listening to me.
That was both surprising and a bit alarming.

Lucy bit her teeth with a click. “Very well…”

“Although, I find it strange every side seems to find themselves
so synonymous,” I spoke up, adding one more thought on the table. “You act like
factions within a species don’t exist.”

Everyone blinked, looking at each other before giving me a
questioning look.

“What do you mean by that?” Lord Stebes finally asked.

“Who’s to say the source of these attacks weren’t humans, or elves, or beastkin. Not every one of a species necessarily agrees with their King. Other factions might have other goals. It’s not necessarily any race’s fault…”

“You’re saying a human would betray the human race?” Lord
Stebe’s said those words as if they were outrageous.

“Not betray… but have a differing philosophy on what is right.
Many factions in the human realm want a war. You of all people should
understand that.”

“Hmph… only a devil would expect to be betrayed by his own.” Lord Stebe’s mumbled under his breath, but my advanced hearing could just catch the words.

I could only sigh at what I heard. Lord Stebes planned to sell the entire human realm out to the elves, and he wanted to act like another faction of humans couldn’t similarly seek the same goal. It was true that Stebes’ plan wouldn’t have specifically hurt humans. In fact, he thought he could save more people with his way of thinking. I still couldn’t even understand that level of bullheadedness.

With that, the conversation started to move back on track.
Specifically, we began to talk about what was important for preparing for the
battle. Lord Stebes would be mostly responsible for guarding the walls. As to
the gates, the weakest points, there were three plus the embassy entryway. Lord
Stebes wanted a will user at each gate. He only had one at his own employ,
which would mean that there were three gates left unattended.

“As much as it pains me,” Lord Stebes gritted his teeth, “Prince
David, will you stand in defense of the north gate?”

The North gate was the gate most likely to be attacked, so even
as he showed humility, he also gave the position that would most likely lead to
my death. Furthermore, if I failed to hold the gate, he likely planned to storm
in with a group of troops in hiding. I suspected he had a second will user.
Perhaps he himself was a will user. Prince David would fall, unable to keep the
wall, and Lord Stebes would rise. The plan was good but predictable.

“I’ll take it,” I said flatly. “Just make sure I have
soldiers backing me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of depriving you, my Prince.” He nodded
his head.

With that, Bala would take the west gate, I would take the
north gate, his will person would take the east gate. Baba would protect the embassy.
At least that was one decision that would be in my favor. If we had to fall
back, Baba’s location gave me a place to fall back to. There was little chance
he could trap me in the city that way.

This was going to be a dangerous night. The undead were
coming. My enemies were all around me. Even my allies were suspicious.

“If that will be it-“ Lord Stebes began.

“There is just one thing.” Lucy’s voice rang out. “I still
do not trust this elf woman. If you say the Prince has sworn to protect you, I
will believe it, but she may be working with the undead.”

“I am a princess and fiancée to the Prince of your nation, why
would ever do such a thing?” Saria responded, her expression impeccable, but a
hard snap in her voice.

“Then, I will keep Saria by my side,” I responded. “She can
sleep in my bedroom tonight.”

“That!” Saria explained, her face blushing.

“No!” Aeryn suddenly put an arm out, also looking quite
flushed.

“Very well, brother. If I can’t trust family in this time of
need, then all is hopeless.” Lucy responded, standing up and extending her hand
to me.

I smiled and stood up as well, taking her offered hand and
shaking it. Her handshake was firm yet her hands were soft.  When we released, it seemed to signal the end
of the meeting. I turned away and looked back at the women who had come with
me. Baba was sleeping, but Saria and Aeryn were both giving me angrily looks.

“What is it?” I asked.

“You beast!” Saria suddenly said, “You wish to make me sleep
with you tonight of all nights?”

“Isn’t that an inevitability?” I asked.

Saria’s face flushed. “It makes it feel like I’m a prisoner
who cannot be trusted.”

I reached out and gently touched her shoulder. “Saria, I do
not believe that you are involved in this in the slightest. Rather, I want you
by my side, because it’s the only place I know I can keep you safe.”

“Hmph!” Saria turned away, “Don’t think we’ll be doing
anything tonight. That event in the castle was a one time offer and you threw
it in my face.”

I smiled helplessly. “I won’t put a finger on you tonight.
Okay?”

Saria didn’t turn back, but that seemed to placate her
worries. As for Aeryn, I turned to her and cocked my head. Usually, she didn’t
express anger at me openly.

“Is there something wrong with you as well?”

“N-nothing Master!” She turned and stormed out of the room
without another word.

I felt like I was forgetting something, but it probably wasn’t
very important.

With some time to kill before nightfall, I took Saria and
Bala with me to the north gate. I checked over the area I’d be protecting. I
casually stepped in a few shops and made some innocuous orders. My hood was
completely down at this point, and I got a few nervous stares, but no one dared
to do anything against me at this moment. The orders from the Lord that I was
in charge of the North wall had already come.

I also went to the guard watch and got a list of all the
soldiers in the city. The number Lord Stebes had said were accurate. Only after
going through the list twice did I write a new list and then head to the commander
at the North gate.

 “Commander, I’ve hand-picked
these men to stand with me at the North gate.”

The guy looked at the list and blinked, seeming surprised. “Hmm…
I see no problem accepting this. I’ll order them over here immediately. By your
leave…”

The man suddenly seemed considerably happier. He was not on
the list, and in fact, he and most of his men on the North wall would leave. He
was nearly skipping away. I also foresaw no issue getting this past Lord
Stebes.

“What have you done?” Saria asked, frowning. “I saw your
list. A lot of Rookies. One might have expected you to pick the most skilled
fighters to protect yourself and the north gate, but you picked a real
hodgepodge of soldiers. That commander likely thinks you’re an incompetent man.”

She was clever enough to realize I had done something, but
she wasn’t familiar with the plan. She knew enough about me at this point
thought to know that I never did anything without a purpose.  

“The soldiers I pick all had homes and family who live in
the north area of town,” I said simply.

She nodded, but then her eyes widened at that. When one
thought about the implications, they were truly terrifying. The men who held
this gate were those mostly likely to put their life on it. I had picked family
men, almost all of them. It was a cold decision. Every man who died tonight
would have a family without them. However, there also would not be a man among
them who would dare run. Quite the opposite. Even if Lord Stebes had plans to
order the men to abandon me, they wouldn’t do it on their family’s lives. It
was a cruel choice, but it was the best I could do to ensure my survival, as
well as the towns.

“It’s time to go to bed.” I said, creaking my back. “We can
get a few hours of sleep before the undead are sighted, and that will surely do
us better in the upcoming battle.”

Saria blushed slightly but nodded. The fields around the
city were large, and from the moment they were scene until they were in range
could easily be an hour or more. Those bells would be banging, and then I would
write to the gate to protect it. I was no general, so barking orders at the men
seemed useless. They knew their command structure and their orders. I was just
there to give them a backbone.

Back in the embassy, Saria followed me into a fresh bedroom.
Mother visited for a bit, a little worried about the future battle. I reassured
her the best I could. She shot Saria a few anxious looks, but she eventually
left without argument. After all, it was Mother who had pushed us in consummation.
For all she knew, Saria and I were together now. She would probably cry herself
to sleep tonight, but there was no helping it when it came to my mother.
Desperate situations called for desperate solutions, and I planned to do whatever
I could so we all made it through this together. After closing the door on her
and settling down a bit, I took off my shoes and clothing. I could hear Saria rustling
behind me as she began to undress too.

“D-don’t look!” She ordered.

“When you say things like don’t look, isn’t that the time
when a man most wants to look?” I asked.

“Sh-shut up!”

I snickered and finished getting dressed. I got into bed
first, making sure not to look at her a single time, even out of the corner of
my eye. I didn’t want to give her an excuse to poke it out.

“H-how is it?” She asked.

I lifted my head questioningly and then saw her in her sleepwear.
It was a cute nightie. It showed a little bit of skin, but it was also a bit
modest. In some ways, modesty made Saria even sexier. She didn’t have as
attractive of a body as her sister, so what you didn’t see was definitely appealing
when it came to her. I also recognized if I ever said that to her, I would lose
my tongue along with my eyes.

“You look like you’re not ready for battle,” I admitted.

“Eh?” As my blanket fell down to my hips, she let out a cry.
“You can’t go to bed like that!”

I was wearing the undergarments for my noble garb with
padding for my armor. When I was woken up in the middle of the night, we would
need to dress quickly. It was a very practical garb.

I cocked my head. “Why not?”

“That is… just because… at least take off the padding!”

“Fine…”

I tossed off the most uncomfortable parts of the dress,
while Saria looked on in a strangely flustered state. All I could think was that
there was a time she walked into my room naked unabashedly. Sure, it had been a
ploy to assassinate me, but this new behavior was a bit hard to stomach as
well.

She finally settled down next to me, she only made me
promise three more times that I would absolutely not touch her. Silence finally
filled the room, and I could hear nothing but Saria’s breathing next to mine.
Usually, I didn’t sleep in the same bed with a woman. When it came to Aeryn, once
I was done with her, I sent her on her way. In that respect, sleeping with a
woman next to me felt strangely more intimate, and I felt myself growing a bit
uncomfortable.

“David…”

“Yeah?”

“About your sister…”

“I know…”

“You do?” Saria’s voice sounded only slightly surprised. “Of
course, you would…”

I nodded. I wasn’t planning on sleeping tonight for many
reasons. One of those reasons was the upcoming battle, which left me too
anxious to sleep. The second reason was Saria. She may be my fiancée, but she
was still a snake and I was in bed next to her. She had attempted to kill me
many times. Even if our relationship had improved over the last few months, I
was still not going to let my guard down. The second reason was my sister. I
was waiting for her to make her move. Saria seemed to drop the conversation,
perhaps confident that I had things under control or perhaps having her own
plans just in case.

The night wore on, and surprisingly, Saria’s breathing
steady and it was clear she was sleeping. Lucy would be taking action soon. The
door creaked open. A person slipped into the room. I tensed at that. I always
had to be on guard for an assassination attempt, so I was read with a dagger
behind my pillow. When a familiar scent caught my nose, I failed to act, a form
jumped on top of me.

Her face moved closed to mine. Her expression was very
haggard. She was breathing hard and sweating profusely. Her body was already
grinding against me.

“Are you mad? My fiancée is right next to us!” I whispered.

“You bastard… you did this to me…” She shot back.

“You bit me of your own… Mmmm!”

Aeryn didn’t let me get any other words in as she began
tearing off my clothing. So much for being prepared for battle. At the moment,
I was facing a far more terrifying battle, finishing things without letting my fiancée
hear!