CHAPTER 75: LION & KNOWLEDGE

Yuecheng woke up two days after returning to the palace.

Lan Yue was there with him, worried about their long absence as well as his son’s condition.

Meanwhile, Ayame spent another few hours in the palace library. It was smaller than the one in the Hoshigane palace, but still packed with valuable books. The library had a dozen or so tall shelves stretching from floor to ceiling, made of dark, almost burgundy-colored wood. The floor was covered with black-and-white checkered panels. Even though the room wasn’t huge, it felt surprisingly spacious.

Ayame flipped another page of a book, its pages yellowed and its leather cover marked with a magical emblem made of countless intricate geometric shapes.

Rouhuo had come to the library at her mistress’ request, carrying a blanket, a mat, and the keys to the door.

"Lock the door from the inside," Ayame ordered.

"M-my lady... are you sure you want me to?"

"We’re alone here, Rouhuo."

The half-lioness sighed. First, she locked the door from the inside, then laid out the mat and blanket between the shelves.

"I’m surprised Lan Yue let you do this," the maid said honestly.

"I said I’d be gaining knowledge to cure our son’s condition, which is partially true," Ayame replied.

"Huh? What exactly are you going to read?"

"Magic treatises. I may not have the power I used to, but it should be enough to limit Hoshizuma’s influence on Yue’s mind. I won’t let him win so easily, not after everything that happened recently."

"But he’s on our side, right?"

"Not necessarily... or at least, not completely. Right now he is, because without us – well, without Yue as his vessel, and without my brother’s kids helping, he couldn’t beat the Fourth. But after their victory, who knows how he’ll act. Hoshizuma is unpredictable; I never trusted him."

Rouhuo sighed and sat down on the mat.

"So, I can go to sleep if I get bored waiting?"

"Not a chance. I’ll be taking breaks from reading, and when I do, we’ll make love right in the middle of the library."

"I don’t want to say anything, but lately you’ve been doing that with me more than with Lan Yue. He hasn’t noticed anything, has he?"

"I don’t think so," Ayame said, flipping another page. "We keep distance in official situations. Plus, doing it with you won’t get me pregnant, and the pleasure’s the same, maybe even better... hard to say," she added, blushing.

Rouhuo smiled proudly. In a teasing tone, she said:

"Oh, you know what? Of course it’s better with me. And speaking of pregnancy – you’ve probably noticed in bed. I am trying to give you my child, heh ."

"Don’t even joke about that, Rouhuo."

"Oh, come on. Shion and Haru somehow were able to do it."

"But those were... special circumstances. Besides, even if it happened, it would cause a palace-wide scandal. Lan Yue would probably exile you and the child, or in the worst case, both of us."

Rouhuo rested her chin on her hands, elbows on her knees.

"Yeah, yeah. I’m just thinking out loud. I’m just wondering when all this will end."

"What do you mean?"

"You know... all the stuff I can’t even begin to understand, gods, the cosmos, who knows what else. I just want Yue to grow up normally, and my only worry in life to be sneaking into your bedroom when no one’s watching, heh."

Ayame silently flipped another page.

No matter what happens now, Yue is dependent on Hoshizuma, just like Hoshizuma depends on whether Yue survives. Can I somehow use that dependency to our advantage, mainly for my son? I don’t want anything more to do with that vile pig.

Rouhuo yawned. One of her lion ears twitched.

"By the way, why do you hate... you know, that guy so much? He didn’t really do anything wrong, right?"

"Other than lying to me when I, as a young woman, wanted to learn from him, nearly driving me insane, indirectly causing me to lose both legs, and then deciding to reincarnate into my son’s body knowing I hated him? Yeah, sure, nothing wrong there," Ayame said sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry. I..."

"It’s fine. Rouhuo, I’ll take care of you soon, just let me finish this Chapter and the next one."

Rouhuo hung her head low.

"How many pages left?"

"Five in this Chapter. The next one has two hundred."

"You must be kidding me! I’ll die here from boredom!"

"Relax. I’ll read it in about an hour. You can read something too. You have the chance now; I know you don’t usually do this at work."

Rouhuo sighed. She got up from the mat and walked over to one of the shelves. Her eyes ran over the spines – different thicknesses, colors, designs – but none of them looked familiar.

Finally, she noticed she was in the "Practical Alchemy" section.

Well, that was a total miss. Isn’t there something... more entertaining?

She looked around the shelves. Finally, she spotted a section labeled "Romances."

She went over, pulled out a thin hardcover book.

Oh, I know this. My mom read it when I was little.

The cover had a woodcut of a half-lioness in a gorgeous gown, her hand kissed by a knight in shining armor. Rouhuo read the title: The Lion Princess and the Cursed Knight.

Well, that’s something...

She sighed, sat down on the mat, and started reading.

Several dozen minutes passed.

Rouhuo was halfway through, her face flushed reading an erotic scene between the two main characters, described in very explicit detail.

One of her ears twitched – Ayame closed her book.

"Time for a break," the queen said. "Rouhuo, come here... I want to take care of you now."

Rouhuo, having finished the last page, was more than ready. She didn’t care about the book, setting it down roughly on the floor, and went over to Ayame. Before Ayame could say anything, Rouhuo kissed her hard, with tongue.

Then she lifted her mistress, wrapping her around her waist and holding her up.

She kissed Ayame in the air, holding her tightly against her, and then – finally, after long, intense, and passionate caresses – laid her down on the mat, pressing over her, ready to claim her...