Chapter 32: Introductions

A heavy, almost crushing silence descended upon the room the moment Vienna took her place amongst the superpowers at the exquisite table. The silence was suffocating. Each and every person here, asides from Arthur, held the power to completely destroy this casino and everyone in it at any given whim, a terrifying reality that played in the boy's mind on constant repeat, if he made a mistake here, there was a high chance he would pay for it with his life. Arthur dared not breathe, he dared not speak, or rather he simply couldn't. The pressure that emitted from the collective was too great, too crushing for him to withstand. His chest felt heavy while his head felt light. He was out of his depth. This situation was out of his control, and yet even after acknowledging such a harrowing fact, Arthur remained steadfast with his reckless plan to seduce both of these tyrants.

"Is that the new servant you've been raving about for the past couple of months? He's cute," Luna spoke with a seductive purr breaking the crushing silence and replacing it with an air of nostalgia, the type of nostalgic familiarity that would only swirl amongst the closest of friends.

"Is he? I don't really see it?" Sephra chimed her tyrant-like composition now broken, and in its place lay bare her true self. Her beautiful figure sunk into the thin layer of cushion that padded her ivory throne. The tensed muscles in her face seemed to turn lax while an exasperated sigh left her pretty pink lips, and bags of black lined her beautiful forest green eyes. She was tired, and she was going to make Vienna acknowledge this fact. "Is he the reason for your tardiness Vienna? Or do you simply enjoy making people wait now?" Sephra half joked half nagged the previously apathetic Vienna, whose face exploded into a furious blush.

"U-um….No, I'm sorry, I was the reason we were late today…." Vienna childishly muttered, her expression downtrodden. Her usually distant aura had vanished without a trace in the presence of the two elders. She was like a young girl, one who an overly analytical mother had just scolded. She was…cute, too cute, Arthur might dare say. Even just hearing her pathetic whimper of acknowledgement made his heart skip a beat while his ears began to redden forcefully. "But it's not really my fault. Why were there so many annoying nobles here today, Sephra, and what's with that cage? Why were goblins fighting one another? I thought you told me the casino would be practically empty for our meeting today?!" Vienna retaliated, her face still a furious shade of crimson. She may have been late, but she still would have made it in time for their meeting had it not been for all the unnecessary holdups the maze-like casino presented them.

"Well, about that~" Sephra trailed, her previously tired eyes now lighting up with an unmistakable glint of greed, "A band of Furfur clan knights were passing through the city, and they just so happened to stop at my little casino, and you know me Vienna, I'm never one to reject free money, so I let them through to the noble quarters with the assurance that they would gamble away all their earnings from their little mission," Sephra exclaimed apparent glee lacing her upbeat tone. However, this tone would quickly turn bitter upon seeing Vienna's disinterested and darkened eyes, who glared at the half-elf with seemingly no remorse or care for her little story.

"So-," Vienna started though she was soon cut off by the soft voice of Sephra, who seemed to have predicted what the young mother was bound to say.

"So I'm the reason you're late? Hardly Vienna. Your poor time management still caused this mess, even if those knights were in the way…Oh, and they were also the ones that brought those goblins. They told me that they wanted to see them fight. I merely provided them with a means to witness such entertainment, though, of course, I made sure to charge them a hefty fee for the rental cage with the addition of a betting quarter," Sephra smiled a curt smile, her greedy eyes regaining their heavy luggage. "But I suppose we can put that in the past. After all, we're all here now, aren't we?"

"I suppose that's true…thank you," Vienna coughed.

"Hey Vivi, you still haven't introduced the boy to us. Come on~ I want to see him," Luna purred, her usually disinterested gaze now glimmering with the light of curiosity as it fixed itself upon the miniature figure of Arthur, her crimson tongue lightly trailed her cherry red lips coating the thin membrane in a light batter of translucent saliva. She wanted Arthur, or rather, she wanted to know more about this mystical child and the illusory aura of roses that seemed to swarm around him. He was different, something new, something she had never seen before. His mere presence in the expansive room seemed to enrapture her mind. He was the only thing she could focus on. When she closed her eyes, his silhouette appeared, and when Luna opened them, he was the only thing she could see.

"Oh, um, ok," Vienna anxiously muttered. She didn't want to do it. This was the worst-case scenario in her mind. She planned to simply bring Arthur into the room and leave him by her side like an ornament, something she could clutch onto when she needed support, he was hers, and Vienna didn't want to show him off to anyone else. The world didn't need to see his perfect face or dazzling star-like eyes. They were Vienna's and Vienna's only to view. Yet here she was, being forced into such a conundrum. She couldn't just dismiss Luna's plea, not after seeing her enraptured expression of genuine interest, nor could she just allow Arthur to remain as a nameless servant in the mind of Sephra, not when in the future he would be the man to stand by her side, besides hadn't she come here today for the exact reason of introducing Arthur to the two women she considered to be her only friends in this world of infinite sorrow. Why was she hesitating now? Why did Vienna no longer want to tell anyone about Arthur's existence? Was it because she didn't want the secret about the boy's strength to get out? No, that couldn't be it. Such a thought still had yet to present itself in Vienna's Arthur-obsessed mind. Then what could it be? What was stopping Vienna from showing the boy off to the beautiful women like the perfect child that he was? And that was when Vienna truly realised it, the taboo feelings she held for the young Arthur and just how far they went.

Vienna felt neither anxiousness nor any sense of reluctance towards the ordeal but rather jealousy and possessiveness. She didn't want Arthur to look at the two beauties in fear that he might fall for them instead of her, his rightful partner. Arthur was her's. Vienna owned Arthur as both a servant and lover. She loved him. She loved him so much that the mere thought of Arthur falling for anyone but her brought Vienna to the brink of despair. She didn't like it, not one bit. Vienna hated that idea. She hated it, hated it, hated it! Yet no matter how much Vienna protested the picture, she knew what she had to do. She had to show Arthur off, and if he did fall for either Luna or Sephra, well, Vienna didn't know what she'd do. They were her closest friends, but Arthur, Arthur, was her's. 'Arthur~ I love you~' Vienna slovenly muttered, her heart-shaped eyes turning towards the semi-prostrated figure of her self-proclaimed lover.

{+15 Love (Vienna Zepar)}

{+30,000 Affection points}

"This is Arthur, the newest servant of the Zepar household and my daughter Charlotte's personal attendant." Vienna boldly stated, her heart-shaped pupils returning to their previous shape as she pressed on the back of the stunned boy urging him forwards.

'We're doing this now?' Arthur couldn't help but inwardly complain. He was hoping to save his introduction until the end of the meeting, when it would have more oomph behind it. Still, alas, fate wasn't so kind to the young child, and he had to proceed with his plan ahead of time, even if that plan would bring about a self-imposed ending to whatever meeting Vienna had arranged. Immediately upon hearing Vienna's somewhat lacklustre introduction, all eyes turned upon the figure of the thinly dressed peasant, their inquisitive gazes boring into the young child with an effect rivalling that of a crowd of people.

"U-um, Hello, my name's Arthur. Nice to meet you," The boy stuttered before beaming a smile filled with childish glee towards his two eager watchers. He had to start simple. Arthur didn't need a grand introduction where he boisterously proclaimed his strength and allegiance to the Zepar family. That would be stupid and a waste of resources. He had to save that fact until the time was ripe. This was just bait, after all, for what the boy really intended. And sure enough, he got a bite.

"Hmmm, Arthur, that's a nice name." Luna seductively murmured, her voice as sweet and slovenly as honey, every syllable, every steaming breath, rattled in Arthur's befuddled mind with seemingly no end. It would be a lie to say that Arthur hadn't already been seduced by the sensual woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties despite her contrasting age. After all, she was just so sexy, so mesmerising that his virgin brain couldn't withstand the torment, he wanted her, and he wanted her now. Yet, even with this overwhelming urge, Arthur remained passive to the woman's wiles. His overwhelming will to capture the beauty outweighed the urge to simply jump into her arms. His face remained unchanged. His cheeks didn't even spare the seductress so much as a blush. Arthur protested against every unwilling change his body was trying to perform. He had to remain apathetic, stern-faced until the time was right, as much as it inwardly killed him to do so.

'Interesting, he really is super interesting. I've never seen someone so apathetic, so uncaring to my calls before. Oh, I want him~ he seems fun,' Luna commented with apparent glee, her heart skipping yet another beat for the unchanging former peasant.

{+50 Love (Luna Adeline)}

{+10,000 Affection points}

'It's working,' Arthur inwardly muttered, he knew Luna's type, and he knew how to exploit her weaknesses, from the way she craved the attention of everyone in a room at any given time to the fact she was a !@##&* Arthur had seen through everything concerning Luna's character within a matter of minutes. Luna may believe she holds power over the scared little servant, but the reality couldn't have been more different. Now was the time for Arthur's acting skills to shine.

"Now, Arthur~ why don't you come over here and let little old me give you a quick once over? I can't really see you from so far away. Come on," Luna gently hummed, her voice positively dripping with undisguised "lust" for the young child.

Vienna and Sephra watched in horror as Arthur's body began its "autonomous march" towards Luna. Vienna's eyes momentarily went dark as she observed Arthur coming to a stop within arms reach of the seductress, while Sephra merely watched the scene with a disinterested gaze.

'Sigh, yet another young child led astray by Luna's beauty. I suppose I'll have to help Vienna search for another servant after this one runs away in pursuit of an unattainable love,' Sephra mournfully thought, only to have her entire view of the boy be turned on its head by his following actions. Arthur did not stop. Instead of waiting placidly at arm's reach, he kept moving, inching ever closer to the seductive figure of Luna until his face was directly level with hers, separated by no more than a few centimetres of empty space. His dirty brown eyes bore into Luna's ruby red, quickly becoming the only thing she could see, while his soft yet warm breaths condensed against her blindingly bright white skin, wetting it with his fluids.

"Is this close enough for you, miss, or would you prefer me to get a little closer," Arthur spoke with hushed whispers, his gentle breaths pressing against Luna's cherry red lips that seemed to open and close in an involuntary manner under the added heat, her cheeks flushed red staining her otherworldly face with a crimson hue all the while faint spirals curled in her eyes. Luna was dazed, embarrassed and most importantly, out of her depth. Arthur was just too upfront, too unconcerned with being in the presence of the goddess that she was. Her beauty was usually enough to stun a man with even the simplest of winks, no matter the distance, yet Arthur managed to get right up in her face without experiencing so much as a blush.

{+10 Love (Luna Adeline)}

{+2000 Affection points}

'She's easy,' Arthur inwardly smiled upon receiving the system's affirmation of Luna's rise in affection. It was as stated before, Arthur knew her weaknesses, he knew her type, and more importantly, he knew that despite being the so-called pleasure queen, a creature of absolute impurity and sin, Luna was without a doubt a virgin, a fact Arthur had performed his most recent actions to confirm.

"N-no, you're close enough already, Arthur," Luna panted through gritted teeth. Her heart wouldn't stop beating. It was loud, deafening. It was the only thing she could hear. Her head felt strangely light yet heavy at the same time, a mixed feeling that shouldn't be possible. She couldn't think straight. Her mind was too busy replaying the same image of Arthur's magnified face analysing every inch of the uncontended masterpiece that it was, from his pale white, almost sickly skin that seemed to glow under her brain's flawed observations to his elongated and almost feminine eyelashes, every inch of the child's bare beauty occupied every inch of the pleasure queens befuddled mind, so much so that Luna didn't even notice the boy distancing himself from her sensual figure taking his rightful place at an arm's length away until she eventually snapped out of her trance like state due in part to a well-timed cough and blush combo from Arthur. This little conversation was for him and Luna only. Her facade need not disappear so soon to her peers, and Arthur certainly didn't want to ruin the surprise that awaited them when that time came.

Luna's eyes quaked under the blushing visage of the young boy. His face shone in a brilliant scarlet while his bright smile exuded an aura of utter embarrassment, had it not been she who was teased by the little tyrant, wasn't it her who had fallen under a trance just by merely being in his presence and hearing his hushed whispers, so then why? Why was he acting like he had been on the other end of a tease so deadly his heart might have stopped working? At such a sight, both Vienna and Luna's hearts couldn't help but skip a beat. Arthur was just too perfect in this moment, at least to them, like a little ball of sunshine that they dared not shadow with words of criticism. At the same time, Sephra, to the side, watched the act with a bemused smile. She had seen Arthur's voluntary encroachment upon Luna's domain with a purely apathetic facade. She had expected his face to have remained that way, so to see him now exploded into a violent crimson. Something didn't fit right with her, was he acting now? Or was his prior act one of desperation, one last suicidal Harrah as Arthur pushed the boundaries to what she deemed impossible?

Well, whatever Arthur's situation was mattered not to Sephra anymore as she returned her bewitching gaze upon the child only to see that his situation had changed once again. Plastered upon his pale white cheek lay one of Luna's slender white hands, her fingers caressing the flesh with apparent intrigue while a stray thumb traced his lips in a futile attempt to seduce the boy.

"You're a unique one, aren't you, Arthur?" Luna spoke with her naturally seductive tone, "How about I make you mine? You can work under me at my brothel, wouldn't you like that? I'm sure there would be quite a few ladies that would pay for your services, you know, especially with that cute little smile of yours. How about it, Vienna, how much would it cost me to purchase this servant of yours?" She continued her face momentarily reddening at the utterance of the question, like a school girl confessing her love to a junior only for it to return to its prior state within milliseconds.

{+5 Love (Luna Adeline)}

{+1000 Affection points}

Upon hearing Luna's suggestion, Vienna's eyes turned dark. Their emerald light was now nowhere to be found, replaced only by two spirals of infinite darkness. "No," The marquis firmly answered, her tone so strict, so stern that Luna thought she had committed the most atrocious of crimes and was now receiving the mother's final verdict. However, even this firm denial wouldn't stop the curious fox. What type of servant, no, what kind of boy did he have to be to so quickly worm his way into such a position of unmistakable stability at the Zepar family, one so powerful that Vienna wouldn't even stop to hear the foxes offer before flatly rejecting her. Now Luna really~ wanted him.

"Come on, Vienna, how much? 20 Gold, 50 Gold, name the price, and it's yours," Luna continued her twin tails dancing in the background under the false pretence that she had already won the assumed bidding war. After all, she was offering such a ridiculous price for a child who seemed all but useless aside from his slightly better-than-average looks. Yet alas, what next greeted the seductress's obscured ears was not Vienna's euphoric yet guilty voice as she finally agreed to a price but rather a prickly no-nonsense, almost murderous mutterance of absolute refusal.

"He's not for sale, not now, not ever. Arthur is and always will be a servant of the Zepar household…my servant," Vienna darkly muttered, her twin voids swirling with an absolute madness that seemingly couldn't be perceived by his captor, but the killing intent that exuded from her body indeed could and when Luna felt it, despite being an entire realm stronger than Vienna, she froze, her previously scarlet face went a pale sickly white, her two tails shot bolt upright a position they would remain in for the coming minutes of absolute silence, no words were exchanged only harsh glances.

"Is that so…well, it was worth a shot," Luna smiled a smile that certainly didn't reach her beautiful ruby red eyes. She had lost. She had been utterly defeated by Vienna's stern, almost stupid refusal of the fantastic deal she had proposed. "But it's not like I'm giving up now. Your refusals just made me crave the boy even more. You know what they say the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest and all~" Luna chuckled, announcing her defeat and subsequent rematch to the rest of the room's occupants before turning to the child she all but cradled against her bountiful chest. "I will have you eventually, Arthur~" Luna whispered. She had expected her little taunt to put an end to whatever situation they were in. That's how it should have been. She'd tease the boy with these parting words before sending him off to his rightful owner, so then why, why did Arthur still remain so close to her, and more importantly, why did he feel the need to respond to her empty taunt with a sentence that completely threw her mind into a state of overly analytical disarray.

"I know~" The boy sweetly hummed, his voice so faint, so fickle that one may have mistaken it for a passing gust of wind if not for the enclosed space. And with that cryptic farewell, Arthur stepped away from the baffled fox returning to his place beside his rightful master, where he awaited the result of his inexplicable goodbye.

{+3 Love (Luna Adeline)}

{+600 Affection points}

'That's phase one complete, now,' Arthur inwardly commented, his gaze turning from the beautifully blushing fox and over to his next target, the half-elf tyrant. 'I think phase two is going to arrive here any moment….' Arthur continued.