NOVPUBAfter Erik stood up and left, Nobuntu's eyes followed him attentively, her brow furrowed, and her thoughts unknown.
Erik, meanwhile, walked with his hands behind his back and a small smile on his lips. His eyes glanced across the people around him. It was an interesting feeling, knowing that everyone's attention was on him even if they weren't looking his way.
Still, his thoughts were elsewhere. 'I doubt I'll keep her bonded as a servant forever, or marry her, but I'm looking forward to having some fun with her,' he chuckled lustfully to himself. 'The idea of making a high-strung, domineering woman like that purr in bed is… appealing.'
He was pulled from his thoughts when he encountered Kudzai. The young man's eyes were wide, and a deep blush had settled on his cheeks as he rushed out of a side door to the hall, nearly bumping into Erik. The latter immediately noticed the former's dishevelled clothes.
"Ah!" he muttered, startled, when he noticed Erik. "S— Sorry!"
Before Erik could react, the man had already rushed past him. Smirking, Erik glanced behind him to see Kudzai start pulling on his mother's clothing nervously as he said something. Erik pitched up his ears and listened in. "S— Shall we leave, Mom?"
Nobuntu, pulled from her thoughts, raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Are you sure? Did you not want to try and talk to Naeku a few more times?"
"I—" Kudzai muttered, his eyes flying around, clearly nervous and uncertain. "W— We're staying a few more days, right?"
After Nobuntu nodded, Kudzai quickly pulled her up, his eyes flying over to the side door he had just left. "T— Then let's go for now! Perhaps Naeku just doesn't want to ruin her wedding by having this conversation now!"
Confused by her son's behaviour, yet with no reason to stay, Nobuntu decided to let herself be dragged along. Since they occupied a room in the palace, they quickly left through another side door under Erik's curious gaze.
After they were gone, Erik curiously walked over to the door Kudzai came out of earlier, and almost instantly bumped into his smirking mother.
"Ah, Silvy," she said immediately, clearly amused and excited as a chuckle left her lips. "Hehe, thanks for the help."
Raising his eyebrows, Erik blinked. Naturally, it wasn't hard to figure out something had happened. "Had fun?" he asked, a little wryly.
"I did!" Runa answered, continuing to chuckle. She wrapped an arm around her son's shoulders as they walked back over to the front of the hall, where the rest of their family remained. "Very cute boy, that Kudzai. Very susceptible to a strong woman telling him what to do."
Erik smirked. Did he feel a little uncomfortable talking about this with her? Yes, but he also felt it less than before. He was slowly getting used to it. "I'm not surprised," he quipped with pursed lips. "According to Nobuntu, he's quite weak to women in general."
"Hmpf, you make a good point," Runa snorted as her eyes narrowed. "I'll have to teach him some discipline. As soon as he's mine, I can't have him be swayed by any assertive woman that crosses his path."
Erik rolled his eyes. That was not the point he tried to make at all. Still, he somehow couldn't stop himself from asking how it went. "Was it that easy? You truly haven't lost your charm, Mom."
He didn't care at all that his mother was slowly turning into a lustful predator no better than him. It still made him a little uncomfortable to talk about, but the concept itself wasn't a problem. She was his mother, after all. She could do as she wished, and he'd teach anyone who tried to restrain her an appropriate lesson.
Runa's lips curled into a grin. She shrugged as they continued slowly strolling across the hall. "Hehe, I didn't get as far as I would have liked, but yes, I've picked a good first target for my harem. He's still clearly attached to some girl back in his home, but I don't think her hold on him is as good as she probably thinks."
Her eyes shone with amusement, desire, and lust. "He'll be mine soon enough…"
Erik smiled slightly. He'd obviously told his mother about Kudzai's exact situation and decided to turn her desire to his advantage. "Just remember to go slowly, alright? You have about a week until they return to Azania, and you can't rush it."
"I know, I know!" Runa responded, throwing her hands up helplessly. "Have a little faith in your mother. I'll assess my influence over him in a week, and if I'm not absolutely sure he's ready to hear the truth about his supposedly secret girlfriend, I'll hold off on fully claiming him till I see him next."
"Thank you, Mom," Erik sighed, a hint of relief. "If he goes back and talks to this girl about supposedly false accusations against her, it will give away much of our hand. But… if you can actually turn him into our pawn instead, that will help tremendously."
"Plus, it will be a lot of fun for me," Runa grinned widely, eyes twinkling. "Honestly, I didn't expect this to be as much fun as it actually is. I already can't wait to select my second target… do you think I should allow them to play with each other?"
Erik nearly did a spit-take when he heard her question, as a shiver went down his spine. He had no desire to imagine his mother's future boy toys playing with each other. Halting in his steps, he looked at his mother miserably.
Runa stopped as well and started to chuckle at the look he gave her. "Hehehe, sorry, Silvy," she said, while rustling his silver-white hair. "I'll go talk with Leilei about that instead."
She looked ahead and smiled at the five women carefully watching their approach. "Why don't you go entertain your wives some more, huh? I think it's about time for a dance, don't you?"
Sighing, Erik shook the previous image his mother had conjured out of his mind, and looked ahead at his beautiful wives. Each of them was the very epitome of charm and allure in their own way, and he could feel the desire and jealousy that filled both men and women across the hall.
He smiled. Mostly because of the love he felt from and for them, but the feelings of the crowd around them certainly added a certain spice that he loved.
"I think you're right, Mom," he answered, and instantly stepped up to his first wife, Elora. Extending his one hand, he performed a small, cheeky bow. "My lady… May I have this dance?"
As if planned, the musicians just then started playing appropriate dance music, and Elora naturally accepted with a smug grin. "You may, Master…" she answered cheekily, still holding to their bet from a few days ago.
Naturally, everyone who heard that grew even more confused about who this woman was, but that was exactly the way his beloved liked it…
