Chapter 58 – Lamis's Counterattack
Kaelen blinked his eyes slowly, feeling the soft light of the inn's torches hit his face with an uncomfortable weight. The feeling dominating his head was a throbbing migraine, accompanied by heavy nausea in his stomach—the exact malaise of someone who had severely overindulged in wine the previous night.
“But I didn't drink a single drop of alcohol...” the boy reasoned, wincing in pain as he slowly sat up on the wooden bed. “Was it a reaction from my body to that exotic preserve, or did the Barons try to poison us?”
With his mind still hazy and his balance shaky, Kaelen massaged his temples and tried to piece together the recent events of House Serpentis's feast. He remembered the sweet, spiced flavor of the Mormaço Jelly, gravity seeming to tilt to the side, Lady Lamis Vesper leaning over his arm with hungry eyes, Valéria dragging him away furiously by the collar... and after that, a total blackout.
He looked to the side and saw little Akra sleeping peacefully in her own bed, snoring softly while small, harmless electric sparks occasionally popped from her scaly ears. The little girl seemed to be in an infinitely better state than he was.
Two gentle knocks echoed on the bedroom door.
"Kaelen? Are you awake?" Valéria's voice called from the hallway.
"Yes... you can come in..." the young master answered, his voice slightly hoarse.
The doorknob turned, and Valéria entered the anteroom. The young tigress wore her well-fitted noble garments and carried a serious, focused expression on her face, though her blue eyes betrayed a mixture of relief and contained amusement upon seeing her fiancé sitting on the bed with a crumpled face.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, approaching and placing a steaming cup of tea on the bedside table.
"With terrible nausea and a migraine that feels like it wants to split my skull in half... but whole," Kaelen confessed, letting out a heavy sigh. "How did we end up here?"
Valéria crossed her arms over her chest, letting out an indignant huff as the corners of her lips twitched:
"Eradan and I had to carry you and Akra in our arms through the middle of the city square to the carriage and then to the inn... Although Baroness Vespera tried to 'help' by offering her guards and her carriage."
Kaelen shrugged, curious:
"Did you figure out what on earth they put in that food? The roast was wonderful and the seasoning was exotic... but the result was overwhelming."
"Eradan explained everything to me early this morning," Valéria replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "That seasoning is made from Mormaço Root, a strong root that the Lamias use to warm their cold blood. But for a human's body, that plant acts like the strongest of liquors, poisoning the mind and making the senses float. The effect on you was almost the same as severe intoxication from heavy wine."
"And Akra?"
"Since Akra has that dragon blood in her body, the effect on her was much lighter, only causing her electricity to make lazy little sparks. But Eradam said the plant weighed heavily in your blood. He had to rush to prepare a herbal tea to cleanse your body. He said that if not for that, you would be dizzy and seeing things for up to three days!"
Kaelen stared at the steaming cup with a look of deep gratitude toward the elf:
"Three days seeing things... I don't believe I would be bad for that long, but certainly the state of torpor and lack of balance would last for many hours. Eradam saved my day."
Valéria narrowed her icy eyes, adopting an irritated posture as she touched upon the subject that truly bothered her:
"And the worst of it all wasn't even your dizziness from the root... It was that cheeky Lamia, Miss Lamis! Can you believe that in the middle of the hall, with her mother right beside her, she had the audacity to suggest that the guards take you to her private room in the manor?!"
Kaelen felt a chill run down his spine, his face turning pale at once:
"Please, my dear fiancée... protect me from that girl! I'm serious, if she gets an opportunity, she's going to want to devour me alive!"
Valéria let out an ironic laugh, enjoying the boy's genuine dread:
"I know that very well! Do you think I didn't see the indecent way she insinuated herself toward you, clinging to your arm? I'm only giving you a pass and didn't give you a scolding because you were completely 'intoxicated' and incapable of reacting."
"And what happened after we passed out in the hall?" he asked, leaning forward.
"Well... at first the entire hall fell into a silence of pure shock. But after the Baroness explained what the preserve was and saw the two of you lying on the floor like two sacks of potatoes, the local nobility burst out laughing all at once! Everyone took the situation lightheartedly, and the party continued until dawn... But we were already here at the inn taking care of you."
Kaelen let out a puff of air, relieved:
"Good thing you didn't eat much of that preserve, Valéria. Otherwise, it would have been three drunks lying on the floor, and I doubt poor Eradam could have carried everyone by himself."
"If I had eaten and hadn't stayed on full alert as your guard," the tigress retorted, raising an eyebrow with a dangerous glare, "the most likely scenario would be you waking up at this exact moment in that perverted Lamia's bed."
Kaelen shuddered visibly, covering his face with his hands as he remembered the psychometric surge he had suffered upon touching Lamis's bracelet:
"I shudder just imagining it... She would use that wooden paddle on me, or make me use it on her... It gives me genuine fear just thinking about it!"
Valéria raised her head in that instant, her blue eyes sparkling with pure curiosity and suspicion:
"What paddle?! Kaelen... what are you hiding from me?!"
"It's... it's a hellish paddle!" the boy stammered in dread, trying to fix his verbal slip. "A terrible artifact made to strip away the sanity and dignity of others!... A horribly bad thing!"
Valéria took a step forward, crossing her arms with an instigating smile:
"Is that so?... Now I'm extremely curious. What kind of artifact is that?"
"Forget about it, Valéria!" Kaelen pleaded, desperate, raising his hands defensively. "Just mentioning it will corrupt you and your dignity as a matriarch! Do not go down this dark path!"
Seeing the expression of pure psychological dread on her fiancé's face, Valéria couldn't hold back and burst out laughing, making the room echo with her melodious laughter:
"All right, all right... I'll pretend I didn't hear that! But be prepared, Kaelen: she and her parents are probably going to plot some diplomatic or personal advance on you before we leave the city."
"Then, from now until our departure, you are going to stick to me the entire time!" Kaelen decreed authoritatively.
Valéria tilted her head, letting out a mocking giggle and leaning slightly over him:
"Oh, really? Is that how it's going to be? You want me to stick to you all the time?... Hmm... maybe then this is the perfect moment for me to demand my request from yesterday's bet..."
Kaelen's eyes widened, leaning back half a step on the bed with a dramatically outraged look:
"Even you have your eyes on my twelve-year-old body?!"
The two broke into laughter together, dissipating the atmosphere of tension and the boy's nausea.
At that moment, two light knocks sounded at the door again.
"Lord Kaelen? Lady Valéria? It's Miri... may I come in?" the assistant's gentle voice called.
"You may come in, Miri!" Kaelen replied, straightening his tunic on the bed.
Miri opened the door carefully, carrying a wooden board with notes on scrolls and an attentive expression.
"Good morning, Lord Kaelen. It is almost eleven in the morning, and lunch will be served shortly in the main hall," the young attendant informed, observing the boy's countenance. "Are you feeling better, sir? Do you need me to ask Eradam for any more medicine?"
"I am much better, Miri, thanks to Eradam's tea," Kaelen replied, placing his feet on the floor. "And what about Akra and Eradam? How are they?"
"Both are doing great and have already gone down to the courtyard," Miri reported with a light smile. "Little Akra hasn't been eating much lately, so the dose of seasoning in her was small, and she's already awake full of energy. And Master Eradam has spent the morning focused on studying the medicinal plants and roots he collected in the fissures."
"That explains why Akra didn't end up as bad as I did..." Kaelen reflected, before looking at Miri with a question: "And you, Miri? Why didn't you and Eradam suffer any effects from yesterday's banquet?"
Miri gave a small, timid laugh, adjusting her ears:
"Just like Master Eradam's lineage, my race does consume meat on special occasions, but our bodies appreciate and digest vegetables, fruits, and fresh grains much better. That's why neither he nor I touched the heavy Mormaço preserve last night, completely avoiding the effect that affected you and Akra."
Kaelen shook his head, letting out an ironic laugh:
"That explains absolutely everything... As the old saying from my world goes: 'the fish dies by its mouth'. I was betrayed by my own appetite for well-seasoned meat."
The young master stood up, adjusting the daggers at his waist and assuming his analytical, focused posture:
"Well, we have work to do. This afternoon I need to personally oversee the start of the workshop reconstruction, the installation of the exhaust fans, and the containment of sulfur gases with the Lamia artisans. And lastly, we need to resolve the logistics of how we are going to transport the three Dragon-Turtle eggs with us... after all, we still have two more intermediate cities to visit before arriving at the Capital of the Heteromorphs."
Miri bowed her head humbly:
"I apologize, Lord Kaelen... for not having the technical knowledge to assist you with the engineering drawings for the exhauster fans..."
"Don't worry about that, Miri, the engineering work is mine," Kaelen reassured her in a gentle tone. "I want you to take on a crucial administrative task today: speak directly with Baroness Vespera and scour the best markets and forges in the subterranean city to find suitable transport containers for the eggs."
Miri adjusted her quill and scroll, her eyes shining with professional determination:
"Understood, Lord Kaelen! I will look for containment vessels made of lightweight basalt boxes and volcanic felt, enchanted with thermal regulation runes to keep the internal heat constant, along with spring-cushioned supports for our carriages! I will ensure that Roun's eggs travel with absolute safety!"
Kaelen smiled, satisfied with the assistant's efficiency, and turned to Valéria and Miri:
"I don't know if my stomach can handle a heavy meal right now, but we have at most two more days in this city before we depart. Let's prepare to resolve everything that remains. Right?"
"Right!" Valéria and Miri answered in perfect synchrony, ready for the day's tasks.
Right after lunch, Kaelen set off toward the workshops and laboratories to conduct the final inspection of House Serpentis's facilities. Beside him, Valéria accompanied him closely, maintaining the upright posture and watchful eyes of a personal bodyguard—and a zealous fiancée.
As they walked along the wide, polished stone avenues of the subterranean city, Kaelen decided to strike up a conversation, breaking the silence:
"Valéria... do you think it's prudent for us to try to arrange some kind of artifact or container to seal the energy emitted by Roun's scale? Since we received it, that dragonic presence has attracted more looks and headaches than help..."
Valéria let out a light chuckle, adjusting her tunic:
"I think if we put the scale inside a spatial magic pouch, the aura should be completely muffled. Do you want to test it now?"
"That's a good idea... Since my mind doesn't channel conventional mana to operate these spatial containers, I confess that hadn't even crossed my mind," the boy admitted. "Let's try."
Valéria pulled out a small leather magic pouch she wore attached to her belt, took the glowing red scale Kaelen handed her, and slid it into the artifact. Incredibly, the exact second the item entered the dimensional space, the pouch seemed to become slightly heavier, and its internal space seemed to compress a bit. However, the result was immediate: the heavy dragonic pressure emanating from the object was one hundred percent contained on the material plane.
"Can you keep the scale inside there without the pouch tearing?" Kaelen asked, observing the tigress's reaction.
"It's possible," Valéria replied, weighing the accessory in her hand. "I feel a slight discomfort from the weight of the energy against the pouch, but it can be maintained perfectly."
"Then I'll leave the scale in your care," he decreed. "Regardless of the situation, it isn't prudent at all for us to walk around displaying a piece of a True Dragon. That could attract the attention of enemies and entities far too strong for us to handle right now."
Just as Valéria opened her mouth to agree, the two crossed the entrance archway of House Serpentis's laboratory complex. At the main door, Baroness Vespera and her daughter, Lady Lamis, were already waiting for them.
However, upon setting eyes on the young Lamia's attire, Kaelen froze in place, turning completely pale from sheer shock.
Lady Lamis wore a fitted corset of black silk and fine linen—a tailored servant outfit traditionally worn by scaly females during courtship rituals for other species. The garment accentuated her curves and left her shoulders and chest glaringly exposed in a provocative manner.
Noticing Kaelen's bewildered reaction, Lamis's face lit up with a glow of pure satisfaction and happiness. In contrast, Valéria's expression instantly contorted into a scowl of absolute rage.
"Baroness Vespera!" Valéria barked, her voice vibrating with indignation while her tiger tail whipped through the air. "What is the meaning of this farce?! Why is your daughter dressed in formal courtship attire for other races?!"
Baroness Vespera maintained an impeccable posture, offering a diplomatic, serene smile:
"Since this is your party's last day in our city, we wish to demonstrate the utmost cordiality and hospitality possible according to the traditions of our species..."
"Cordiality?!" Valéria snapped, taking a step forward. "Are you offering your own daughter as a servant to Kaelen? Don't you find that extremely indecent and disrespectful?!"
"Lady Valéria, understand our race," the Baroness replied calmly. "Lamias produce dozens of daughters for very few males. We do not possess the concept of strict monogamy like your clan of tiger-men, especially when dealing with individuals of superior lineage and status... such as the Spokesperson of Roun."
Kaelen swallowed hard, feeling cold sweat run down his neck at the spark of conflict:
"U-Umm... c-can we head inside?... I don't want... I don't want to waste time with the inspection..."
Lamis kept her head slightly tilted, not staring at Kaelen directly, but wearing a sarcastic smile on her lips—like a snake waiting patiently for the exact moment to strike its prey.
As they entered the vast laboratory complex, the structural change was visible. After crossing the workshop sector, which was now properly segmented by large metal sealing doors and exhaust ducts, the group advanced down a long internal corridor.
The dynamic of the walk, however, was a true veiled chaos: Valéria grabbed Kaelen's right arm with territorial firmness, while Lamis, without an ounce of shame, slid smoothly and wrapped her arms around the boy's left arm. Right behind them, Miri and Baroness Vespera chatted about the papers for the ointment concessions.
Suddenly, Lamis slowed her steps, using the strength of her tail to brake the group's advance. She positioned herself directly in front of Kaelen, her amethyst eyes shining with a brazen, burning desire:
"Lord Kaelen... I no longer care about titles. If you wish, I can abandon my position in House Serpentis and be your servant... or better yet, your third or fourth wife... as long as you educate and discipline me personally every day..."
Kaelen pulled his head back, staring at the girl in pure dread:
"Miss Lamis... I think my form of discipline severely damaged your head! You are definitely not in your right mind!"
"Stop being so shameless, you degenerate Lamia!" Valéria barked, trying to pull her fiancé back. "He is already my fiancé! You haven't even gone through the formal clan procedures, you haven't sent documents to the Capital of the Heteromorphs... How do you have the audacity to claim something like that?!"
Lamis let out a mocking giggle, looking down at the tigress with disdain:
"In our culture, it's very simple, dear... I just need to lay a few eggs with him, and all the formalities resolve themselves..."
Saying this, the Lamia cast a perverted, suggestive look at the boy.
Kaelen took advantage of the distraction between the two to slip out of both of their arms and quicken his pace down the corridor:
"I... I see a mechanical problem up ahead! I'm going over there to check the piping!"
Hurrying forward, the inventor came face-to-face with a strange junction in the corridor: an oak door in the center and two side passages bending left and right.
“Wait... I don't remember drawing this fork in the project...” he found it odd, analyzing the recent masonry. “Two days ago this sector was just a wide gallery... Did the Baroness order these partitions built separately?”
Before he could process the thought, Kaelen felt a strong, muscular pressure wrap around his torso and legs. The thick tail of purple scales belonging to Lamis coiled around his body, abruptly immobilizing him.
"Don't worry, Your Excellency... it is going to be extremely pleasurable..." the Lamia whispered near his ear.
With surprising strength, Lamis used her tail to drag him rapidly toward the left corridor. Kaelen tried to free himself, but felt his muscles weaken strangely.
"What did you do?!" the boy exclaimed, realizing his physical strength was eaving.
"Your Excellency should remember that my family is master at crafting extracts and ointments..." Lamis explained with a predatory smile. "I applied a special paralyzing ointment to my scales... It leaves the target's body somewhat numb and without the strength to react... Though there is a fascinating side effect: for warm-blooded species, the potion acts as a potent aphrodisiac!"
"Are you insane?!" Kaelen protested, indignant. "I am only twelve years old! Biologically it is impossible to produce any offspring right now! This makes no sense!"
"It doesn't matter!" Lamis retorted, sliding swiftly into an isolated rest room at the back of the gallery. "What matters is that you can educate me as many times as you want!... I will be entirely yours!"
She locked the heavy door, threw Kaelen onto a daybed, and leaped on top of him, pinning him to the mattress. Then, she pulled out an object attached to her waist: the infamous, nefarious black wooden paddle shaped like a hand.
"Miss Lamis!... What do you intend to do with that paddle?!" Kaelen stammered, his face burning with pure dread and shame.
"You know... after you gave me those spankings in the square, I still held a certain resentment against you..." she confessed, her amethyst eyes shining in an unhealthy trance. "But after you demonstrated that overwhelming power before my parents and were recognized as Roun's Spokesperson... something awakened deep in my soul! I can't stop thinking about you... and your severe discipline!"
"But I am too young! I cannot fulfill this kind of madness!" Kaelen yelled.
"It doesn't matter... you just need to beat me and teach me some manners!" she declared, raising the paddle.
This girl has gone completely crazy! the boy despaired.
Concentrating his mind at the peak of psychic focus, Kaelen forced his Psychoportation to execute an emergency Blink.
ZAP!
To his misfortune, due to the paralyzing ointment numbing his reflexes, the spatial fold only projected him as far as the room's locked door. Without the mobility in his hands to turn the doorknob, he was stuck against the wood.
I need to accelerate my cellular metabolism! he mentalized, activating Biokinesis to purge the ointment's toxin from his blood.
Before he could neutralize the poison, Lamis's tail fired like a whip and wrapped around his ankle, pulling him back to the mattress:
"Where do you think you're going, Master Kaelen?... We have plenty of time together to learn... ev-ery-thing about each other..."
That velvety tone sent a freezing chill up the inventor's spine. This time I am terribly screwed...
In pure psychological dread, Kaelen forced a second Blink without calculating the coordinates accurately.
ZAP-PLROFT!
The spatial jump failed miserably. Instead of passing through the door, Kaelen reappeared one meter above Lamis near the ceiling and collapsed like a sack of potatoes right on top of the Lamia on the bed!
"PLROFT!"
Lamis let out a gasp of surprise, but her face lit up in pure euphoria seeing the boy lying on top of her:
"I knew it!... You want me, don't you, Your Excellency?! Come! I am all yours!... You can beat me or pull my hair!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
It was at that exact millisecond that the room door was kicked open with a thunderous crash.
Valéria burst into the room, gasping for breath after searching down the corridor. Crossing the threshold, the young tigress was met with the unbelievable scene: Kaelen lying directly on top of Lamis on the bed, while the Lamia held the black paddle and screamed asking for punishment.
"You pervert!" Valéria barked, her blue eyes injected with pure fury and jealousy. "It only took five minutes away from me for you to be up to this in this state?!"
"Valéria, calm down! I'm innocent! I didn't do anything—!" Kaelen tried to explain, raising a numb hand.
Blinded by intense fury, Valéria refused to listen to explanations. She charged and delivered a precise boot kick to Kaelen's stomach, sending the boy flying and crashing heavily against the room's stone wall.
"HUFFF!" The air was knocked out of the boy's lungs, and his vision partially darkened from the impact.
The last thing Kaelen managed to hear, with his consciousness fading and his paralyzed body slumping against the wall, was the heated argument taking place in the room:
"And you, you degenerate Lamia?!" Valéria raged, her spear sweeping low. "Do you not have an ounce of self-respect to throw yourself on top of someone else's fiancé?! And you, Lady Baroness?! Is this how you educate and court in your house?! This is extremely indecent!"
Baroness Vespera, who had just arrived in the hallway accompanied by Miri, wrung her hands in absolute embarrassment:
"I apologize a thousand times for my daughter's actions, Lady Valéria!... I ordered her to be courteous and affectionate with the Spokesperson, but she has been acting extremely suspiciously these past few days... Unfortunately, I think the fault lies with the aura of Roun's scale! The scent of the dragonic presence acts as a powerful mating stimulant for our scaly species!... I offer my most humble apologies!"
Valéria glared fiercely at Lamis, noticing the shiny substance on her fiancé's skin:
"And what is this goo on Kaelen's body?!"
"It's... it's my special ointment..." Lamis confessed, adjusting her corset with a shameless smile. "It paralyzes the body's movements... but leaves certain parts extremely functional..."
"For heaven's sake, you pervert!" Valéria yelled, incredulous. "He's only twelve years old!"
Lamis held up the black wooden paddle with a pleading look:
"I just wanted him to educate me a little more..."
Slumped against the wall, Kaelen tried to raise his paralyzed arm to protest, but his vision blurred completely and he temporarily passed out, unable to endure the absurdity of the situation.
