The dragon's harem

Arad crossed the hallways of the castle right after the maid. At one point, she looked back at him, “Goddess Kali said the fight against that thing ended in victory. Are you injured, tired, or need anything that we should take care of first?”

“Not really. The battle was exhausting, yes. But I got food inside my stomach, and I don’t need that much sleep anyway.” He walked a bit faster and started walking by her side. “So, what do you want to talk about?”

Arad was large, so his steps were wide and he could cover a lot of distance quickly just by walking. Usually, he always slows down to keep up with people. But this maid seemed to be walking faster than normal to keep up with him, so he didn’t need to slow down too much.

She smiled, “I see, Lady Isdis was right. You can tell how someone feels just by looking at them.” She looked forward. “I honestly don’t know myself. We maids never got a chance to speak with you directly, and even when we do, it is usually official business.”

Arad might not know, but to come here and pick him up. First, Eris was the one who wanted to pick him up, and the maids had to beg her to let them take the job. And then, the maids fought among each other with rock-paper-scissors to decide on who to go. In fact, they almost fought at the start, but Eris threatened them that if they got violent, either physically or by words, she would have them work naked for the next week.

She sighed. “How do I explain this…”

Arad looked at her for a moment, “The maids need feedback. While serving in the private quarter is luxurious more than what any queen in the world gets, your ultimate goal is to climb the ranks and become queens like the others.”

She scratched her chin, “You knew…” She then looked at him. “Does it sound weird? In any other royal house, if the queens learned about the maids seeking to match them in power, they would be executed on the spot. But here, Isdis said that if we can achieve that rank, then no one can take it away from us.”

“I’m sure Isdis explained this, but you have several things to keep in mind.” Arad lifted one finger.

First was power; the stronger any of them got, the more inclined Arad would be to rank her up to a queen. If tomorrow one of the maids became as powerful as Merlin, for example, she would become a queen just thanks to that strength.

Second, exclusivity, and it didn’t mean what most people think. What Arad meant was that if any of them could have a quality that none of the other have, they could rank up quickly. Like Roberta, who is a talented merchant and financier.

The third aspect one of them could seek is dependency, especially when it comes to Arad’s wives. If one of the maids managed to get one of Arad’s wives to rely on her a lot, she could rank up quickly as well. That is like how Jasmine relies on D, or how Kali relies on Diana.

A fourth way would be to teach Arad something that he cannot learn anywhere else. Like how Dalla taught him slapping.

“The others won’t get in your way, play your game, and as long as you don’t get in anyone’s way yourself, you should be fine.”

The maid smiled. “There is another way, and it is if you said so. Isdis made it clear that you can do that. From what I heard, a maid already got that shortcut. The headmaid Tina.”

Arad laughed, “Tina is special. She supported everyone else until they gave her that power. If you want a quick jump, how about you speak to your queen and see if she can speak up for you? You have all the time in the world; just get her to recommend you. Like Aella did with Lexi.”

Hearing him, the maid smiled, “So it isn’t a competition, but a race without a time limit.” At that time, the two reached the door of the private quarter, and two vampire paladins were standing guard at the door. The moment they saw Arad approaching, they knelt down. “Our Lord, welcome home.”

Arad never actually came here before. He always just teleported into the private quarter instead of walking to it, and now that he saw the door, he couldn’t help but laugh. What was funny? Well, the door was fake; there was a solid wall of steel behind the wooden door.

The first measure of security was that no one could get inside unless Merlin teleported them in, or at least one of the people she allows does that. Now, those two vampires weren’t just standing guard, but they were here to teleport maids inside if they wanted to go in and out.

What was the second measure of security? Merlin is using her magic to make the inside of the private quarter larger than it is on the outside, a smaller labyrinth, to be exact. So, if anyone tried to teleport inside directly without accounting for that, they would get ejected into a special holding cell beneath the castle. There, Meryem’s ants would give the hospitality they deserve.

The maid looked at the two vampire paladins and smiled. “Can you two get us inside? The Queens must be worried about his majesty.”

The two women looked at each other and then replied in a shy voice. “Well, sadly, none of us can teleport him inside. He is our Blood Lord, so asking us to do that is like asking you to carry the entire mortal world into the sun.”

“Well, I can.” A voice came from behind them, and the paladins gasped. Arad turned around, and Eris jumped into his arms. “It’s been a long while.” Arad lifted and gave her a long, deep kiss before putting her down. “I missed you as well.”

As she landed back down, she looked at the door, then pointed at Arad. “How about I do it? I’m already better at using my divine power, so I should be able to teleport you inside without a problem. Of course, using blood magic.” She looked at him with a smug smile, and he patted her on the head. “I don’t doubt your power, but it’s probably better if you don’t try. It isn’t that easy.”

Arad was a pricolici, a being higher than a regular vampire lord and held even more power than Eris could fathom. He was the vampire who made her the vampire she is now, so moving him with blood magic would be one of the hardest things she’ll ever do.

“Don’t worry! I can do it!” She reached forward, touched Arad and the maid, then closed her eyes. “Let’s go!”

The three of them disappeared into a pool of blood in front of the two paladins, and they quickly appeared inside the private quarter. The maid looked around, “She did it!” But immediately heard Eris groan.

The moment the maid turned around, she was Eris on all four. Her skin was bright red, all of her veins bulged out and bled beneath her skin, she puked and pissed herself as blood seeped out of her eyes and ears. But that state only lasted for a few seconds as she quickly started healing right back up.

“Queen Eris!” The maid rushed to check on her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine… this was just harder than I thought.” She looked at the maid, “Sorry, I almost got you killed.”

The maid blinked, “What? You got us here safely.”

“She didn’t.” Arad was there, and he looked at them. “She barely got us halfway in when her blood magic failed to keep up. If I didn’t finish the rest, you would’ve ended splattered all over the holding cell in the dungeon below the castle.” He approached Eris, “Even she would’ve died.”

Eris stood, and the maid helped her. “I’ll go get myself cleaned up. The others should be waiting for you, but don’t start anything without me.”

As the maid walked her away, Arad looked around, “So? They are in the waiting room.” At that moment, he felt someone on his shoulders. “ARAD!” Betty sat there, and she wrapped her legs around his neck. “What did happen to Eris? Did you beat her up?”

“No. She tried to teleport me inside and failed.” Arad sighed, “I warned her before, but she didn’t listen.”

Betty nodded, “Yeah, a vampire cannot teleport their lord normally. Since she is a divine being now, she should be able to do it, but it won’t be easy. It is like trying to run with two fingers. A small part of the whole cannot move the whole.”

Arad smiled, “Running on two fingers? I can do that.” He jumped and landed on one hand, then stood on only two fingers while Betty somehow ended up standing in front of him. “You’re an exception.”

In the shower as Eris finished washing up, the maid handed her a towel. As she dried her hair, she looked at the maid with a smile. “So, how did it go? Did you get anything out of him?”

The maid’s smile faded a bit. “Not much, just some advice, general ones at that.”

Eris laughed. “Told you. But, how about this? I’ll give you solid advice. You work for Isdis, so try to serve her better. She works at her desk a lot, so massage her shoulders, bring her tea, or learn to help with her work. Don’t wait for her to ask. And those two maids by her side, Rey and Ray, they might be a bit hard to approach, but try become their friend even if it means begging them. This might not turn you into a queen, but it’ll get you up to a mistress in no time.”

“Rey and Ray? I know they are Isdis private maids, but… why them?” The maid blinked, and Eris tapped her on the shoulder. “Listen, Isdis might explain it later.” She pulled the maid closer. “I’m lying now, so this isn’t the real truth. But those are her private guards, and they won’t let you close to her until they trust you fully.”

“I get it… but, what’s the cost of this? You’ve already told me too much. You want blood?” She knew that Eris won’t give her anything for free.

“Listen, you don’t understand what danger I just put you in. You say I killed you, and you’re alive because Arad saved you. This is my way of making it up to you.” She tapped her on the back and went to put on her clothes. “With this, we’re even. You can’t use the fact that I almost killed you as leverage in the future.”