Herald of Steel



After their little tussle on the bed, and Alexander's light nap, he woke at night, though he could not say at what time.

The sky was still blanketed by heavy clouds, and the outside was pitch black, making any such deduction impossible.

Not that Alexander was very concerned about it as currently he was feeling famished.

It seemed he had definitely skipped lunch and likely dinner too.

And as he let Lady Inayah know about this, the mature lady let out a gentle, motherly smile, informing him, "Mmnn, I guessed you might be. So I had Kesha set aside some food for you. Let me get it for you. Dinner is long over you see."

Kesha was Lady Inayah's personal maid, and as the noble lady said this, she quickly called a short, petite girl and asked her to bring the food over, while in the meantime Alexander washed his face and refreshed himself using the indoor basin, his body relaxing by the warmth of the roaring fireplace lit inside.

And by the time he was ready, the food had arrived.

And most surprisingly it was piping hot.

Alexander was not expecting that given the temperature outside and how long ago it had been likely cooked.

"I had the food be kept in the kitchen. Hope it is still hot." And as she personally served the food for Alexander, Lady Inayah's comment made him unveil the mystery.

"Thank you," And as Alexander felt the care and gentleness behind these actions, these following two sincere words conveyed more genuine affection than an entire book could.

So as he ate the thick soup with bread, he could not help but steal a glance at the pretty lady sitting opposite of him at the private dining table, and take a good look at her.

Alexander of course was not looking at her face because of her beauty.

Though she was plenty beautiful, with bright eyes, a well-built nose, and thick, luscious lips.

Neither was he looking at what she was wearing, which was just a sheer white negligee that could barely hold her marvelous assets, over which she draped a heavy coat to cover her arms.

Though with one which she did not bother to cover her torso, leaving Alexander to freely gaze into the tempting. deep valley forming in front of him.

But although such views were very stimulating for a young man like Alexander, for now, as he ate, Alexander could not help but actually reminisce about his interactions with her.

Unlike the other noble ladies of Adhania like the Queen Mother or Mikaya, Lady Inayah did not seem to have too many knots and twists in her heart, and to Alexander, she seemed like a genuinely good person.

Up until now, she had been always courteous to Alexander, even given his low origin and when he had stayed in Agnirat, the woman had been actually a very gracious host.

So this made it all the more surprising that she would foment a rebellion and even help poison her husband.

Because after interacting with her, Alexander did not feel like she was that kind of woman.

While Lady Inayah, clearly sensing Alexander's gaze, suddenly teased him, "What! First time seeing someone so beautiful, hehe?"

She was not a stranger to such looks and was perfectly okay with them.

While Alexander, hearing this only produced a light smile, and gently replied, "Haha, of course, my lady is very beautiful without a doubt. But that was not currently on my mind" as he then frankly revealed his thoughts,

"No, I was just thinking I do not know very much about you that's all"

"Especially why you choose to take part in the rebellion. I simply do not feel that you are that type of person."

"Oh, that?" Lady Inayah seemed a bit surprised at this sudden turn in the conversation and her voice turned down a few octaves, but did not choose to brush it off.

Instead with a simple wave of her hands, she very easily said,

"Well yes, normally I would have never participated in such a risky, even suicidal plan."

"Because at first, even many of us did not think the rebellion had any chance of succeeding."

"But we went with it anyway."

"For each of us had a clear motive."

"With mine being primarily revenge," Lady Inayah said an interesting word, as she then very openly revealed her past,

"You see Alex, I caught Alozmer's eye at a royal party about 15 years ago.

"He later said to me that it was my swaying butt that had caught his eyes that day… the pervert," Alexander very keenly noticed how Lady Inayah gritted her teeth in hatred as she said that word, as she continued,

"And it was then and there he decided to have me as a mistress."

"But there was a problem," Lady Inayah gave a pause here, before turning to look squarely at Alexander, "And that was I was already married."

"And not only that I had five kids, two boys and three girls!"

"So if he wanted to have me as a concubine, he needed to get me divorced."

This was a bombshell of a news to Alexander, as he had never known that or found any evidence of it, and had always thought Lady Inayah was a bachelor before becoming part of the king's haram.

Mikaya even said so when one day she had said that her father was also one of her suitors, but lost her to the king.

So what gives?

And seeing Alexander's shocked face, Lady Inayah could easily guess where his confusion was and calmed him by saying, "I can guess what you are thinking, But let me finish," as she continued

"Now, for a king as powerful as Alozmer, getting me divorced was as easy as breathing."

"Simply expressing the slightest desire was enough for his cronies to pressure my father and my husband."

"And the funny thing is when I first heard the king desired me, I was even somewhat eager to do it myself"

"Ahh the folly of youth," Here Lady Inayah's voice turned a bit melancholic as she recalled some of the less-than-savory times she spent in the king's haram.

But nevertheless, she quickly recovered from that before continuing to retell her past,

"And if that was what Alzomer wanted, if all he wanted me to do was to divorce my husband I would have had no problem with it."

"My marriage with that man was loveless and deary anyway." Lady Inayah sounded quite dismissive of her ex-husband, though her story was actually pretty standard given almost all noble marriages were loveless and political.

"But that was not enough for Alozmer. The beast did not want to simply divorce my husband."

"He actually wanted to kill him and all my children too!" Lady Inayah's lips visibly shivered as she said this, as she recalled,

" I still clearly remember what Alozmer said to me when he gave that order, 'You should be blessed to be able to bear my child. You do not need any other man'. Fucking bastard!" This was probably the first time Alexander heard this elegant curse, and it even came from deep inside her throat, showing just how much she hated him.

"And even when I bawled out my eyes, or even when my father protested on behalf of me at court, he refused to budge."

"Alozmer even had my father twenty lashes in front of the whole court just for that."

"So my husband and two sons were executed were ultimately executed. They were three and five."

"And I only managed to keep my daughters alive by tempting him by saying, 'Your Grace, my daughters will surely grow up to be nation-destroying beauties.'

'And then we four mother and daughter can serve you together.'

'Surely you would like that!' "

"And the pervert let them live just because of that."

"But there was no way I was going to hand over my girls to that beast."

"I might have suffered myself, but I would be damned if I let them suffer too."

"And that's why I killed him."

As Lady Inayah finished her long count, by the end of it she had returned to her usual self.

The events were so long ago, and given that she already had her revenge, Lady Inayah found the story much more palatable now.

While, Alexander, as he heard this, could only nod and curse Alozmer.

Killing a woman's husband and sons, and then taking that woman as a concubine.

No wonder the previous king was said to be mad.

No one except a madman would do such a thing and not expect to get stabbed in the back.

"Alozmer died too easy," Alexander made a throwaway comment, before asking Lady Inayah, "Are those the daughters I met in Agnirat?"

"Yes, the two you met are from my first husband. I did not have any children with Alozmer."

"Even the mere thought of it detested me."

"And he did not want to get me pregnant because he feared it would ruin my figure."

"So I managed to escape that fate." Lady Inayah appeared to release a sigh of relief as she said so before voluntarily adding,

"As for my third daughter, *sigh*, my eldest daughter, Iktifa died of a sickness some years later I become Alozmer's mistress."

That helped Alexander solve the mystery of meeting only two daughters, as he could only say, "My condolences," before refocusing on his food.

Alexander really did not expect that an innocent question would reveal so much about Lady Inayah's past.