Princess Hannah of the Jade Harem CH 56

Hannah sighed as she soaked in the tub, her back firmly pressed to Breanne's chest. She had always loved a warm bath, but since becoming a devil, she wanted the water to be scalding. The water boiled around her, caressing her skin as Breanne held her tight.

The other day had been full of chaos, with a woman coming to execute some plan against the harem. They still had no idea what the details of that plan were aside from a few words, but what they knew was disturbing. The woman was there to collect samples from key people to create what she called copies. These copies were being created in response to the danger that would come eventually and to gain control. Nobody was sure what that meant, and the woman they questioned melted before Hannah could get answers.

She recalled what happened after the woman struck, and they rushed to the room. The temple shook as Gwen and Julliesta engaged in battle, drawing gawkers from nearby rooms. They arrived to find the door damaged and jammed, but Frank the ghoul tore the wall down around it, quickly opening the way. Gwen already had the woman by the throat, demanding to know what her plan was. Jaina was down with Zillix, trying to shield her as the room burned around them. Jain was being drained by a magical dagger that Chandice later identified as a succubus's kiss. A single hit caused it to drain mana and stamina, continuing to do so until the target died or was separated from the dagger by a reasonable distance.

Julliesta was enraged to see the real Hannah and realize she had been tricked. She shouted about the impending danger and how their samples needed to be collected. Roric used his master's ability to purge negative effects from Jaina, while Hannah used her seductions to question Julliesta. She found the woman strangely resistant, forcing Hannah to pour essence into the effect. She got scant answers when suddenly the woman's neck twisted, and she died. Gwen dropped the deceased woman in shock, insisting she hadn't done it. To their surprise, Julliesta melted into a white glue-like paste that rapidly evaporated.

It was one of the most disturbing things Hannah had ever seen, and it raised the question: Had Julliesta been one of these copies? A moment later, a magical spell of annihilation destroyed Julliesta's bag and personal effects, leaving them no clue as to who she was.

It did prove that this woman had come here knowing she might be captured and taken extreme measures to ensure she could not be questioned. Once again, an enemy was lurking in the shadows while plotting to put an end to their kingdom. It soured their mood and left too many unanswered questions. The big concern was that the members of the harem could be slowly kidnapped and replaced by copies until this group had taken over.

Frank saved the day by pointing out that the slave collars protected them from such a danger. A copy would have a fake collar, and the harem’s NPC guards would know the difference. They would pounce on a copy before it got more than a few steps inside their halls. The masters would also be able to detect a fake with a casual thought, and were a girl kidnapped, they could feel the pull of the collar. The moment a girl was taken too far away, the master would know. They could also flawlessly point out the direction and distance, leading to a rapid pursuit.

If a master were copied and replaced, the opposite would happen. The slaves would begin to feel the need to return to their master, instinctively knowing where they were. A copy would still never get past the guards, but if by some miracle they did, the slave girls would know in a matter of hours.

Gisley also pointed out that she could track people by dreams. Her glitter dusted the harem, and any girl touched by it was visible in the dream. They stood out like a beacon of light to Gisley's dream powers, allowing her to spy on where they were. She could see some of the world around where they were sleeping and know roughly where they were.

One way or another, it would be impossible to steal one of them away or hide them for long. It was a soothing thought, but it did nothing to settle the issue that a new enemy had appeared.

“You are still thinking about it,” Breanne said as they cooked in their volcanic bath.

“I can’t help it,” Hannah sighed. “Why can’t people leave us alone?”

“Jaina said that the creation of the monster guild had made everyone nervous,” Breanne replied. “Julliesta told her that monster players could grow to immense power with evolutions.”

“I remember,” Hannah said as she closed her eyes and leaned back. Breanne nuzzled at her neck, prompting a smile as Hannah enjoyed her love. Jaina made an interesting comment after Hannah checked on her and Roric. Jaina said she had a conversation with Julliesta about why Frank's monster guild was so dangerous. Julliesta intimated that the ease by which monster players could be reset was a form of safety measure. The problem was that all monster players could build lairs far greater than a hero player could. They could fill these lairs with traps, treasures, and hoards of minions. Those minions grew in number and power with every evolution until a monster player owned a fortress with his own private army.

The fear was that monster players could come to dominate the world, building a vast hoard that could sweep the land of players. Thus Frank had tipped the balance by making the monster players minor nobles. Now, they could not be easily reset, allowing them to grow unchecked. Frank was, in essence, creating a private army of loyal monster players who would stand at his side for the next phase of his nefarious plan.

“Does it bother you that everyone thinks our husband is an evil mastermind?” Hannah asked.

“Honestly, I am rather proud of that image of him,” Breanne laughed. “I like that people have a healthy respect for our husband.”

Hannah wanted to laugh at Breanne’s way of looking at it. There was a measure of pride in knowing that her husband inspired fear in their neighbors. How had that little ghoul who hid behind her when they met a paladin on the road grown into a titan that made their foes tremble? She thought of the longer journey to this point and how Frank had slowly changed growing more confident by the day. He had organized the goblin attack on Moon's town and bravely walked into her tower when Hannah thought it haunted. He charged into every battle, selflessly sacrificing his safety to protect her. He offered advice but always stood by her side when she refused to heed it. It was her presence, that caused him to grow, then more so as Quinny, then Breanne, and Umtha joined them. Now, he was the center of their family, uniting them as a whole and making them stronger. Joining the harem and adding Blackbast was another step in growing his power. She began to wonder if maybe he was an evil mastermind, carefully building a home to protect his women.

“Hugh, now that you say that, I realize I am proud of him, too,” Hannah agreed with a smile. “Our husband is our champion, and he inspires fear in our foes.”

“Exactly,” Breanne agreed as her arms hugged Hannah tightly.

“So, does that make us bad women?” Hannah teased.

“Oh, every girl likes a strong man who can take care of them,” Breanne said. “But what really makes him special is his grateful, loving heart. I have never known a man who was so grateful for our love.”

Hannah smiled wider as Breanne explained it perfectly. Frank might have physical characteristics that make him a masculine man, but he didn't have the arrogance that often came with it. Instead, he was very grateful for the love of the women around him. She supposed it was because he had spent all those years alone, wishing for such a relationship. He hadn't been one of those kinds of men women often threw themselves at, giving the man a sense of entitlement. No, to Frank, every one of his wives was a gift, and he cared for them with all his heart. That's what made him so easy to love because that love was radiated back in all his little mannerisms. He was still a strong man, but that strength was tempered with humility and respect.

“Hmm, now I want to go hug him,” Hannah said as the door to their bath opened and Quinny came in. She wore nothing but her collar and a golden ring at the base of her tail. Without a word, she slipped into the pool of steaming water and settled to Hannah's chest.

“There’s one of my little dark angels,” Hannah cooed before kissing the top of her head. “What kept you?”

“I wanted to check the forest,” Quinny replied. “Umtha and I are working on an idea for an event.”

“Oh, do I want to know?” Hannah giggled as she recalled how Quinny’s events could be eccentric. Pairing that creative madness with Umtha’s distinctly non-human thinking might be a recipe for chaos.

“It's going to be a goblin event,” Quinny said. I am going to recreate some of their games and create special goblin-related challenges. Umtha wants a few combat encounters in addition to the games.”

“Any sexy clothing rewards?” Hannah asked.

“I was just thinking that,” Breanne laughed.

“Umtha has an outfit idea,” Quinny said as Hannah rubbed her side. “It's a short dress with thigh-high boots.”

“That sounds fun,” Hannah said as the three women shared a steamy embrace. They fell into silence as the terrible heat of the water soaked through their skin. Hannah loved the heat and relaxed in a place of pure bliss. They remained in the tub for over an hour, kept magically hot until the three were satisfied. Then they went to the temple wearing the barest of silks at their waists to find the newest of their family. Blackbast was in the garden, sitting beside their husband, the two leaning together in a display of affection. Frank was in his human form, the tall, muscular man with flowing black hair. Hannah always felt her stomach churn when she saw him like this. There was an instant attraction and desire, causing her to wonder if Frank had some form of seduction. She was surprised to see Webster beside Frank, sitting loyally at his side as if they were good friends.

“Why does my spider like you and Jaina more than me?” Hannah asked as they approached.

“Oh, there you are,” Blackbast said as she got up and walked to the girls. She took them into her arms one by one, shared a kiss, and then bid them to sit with their husband.

“Where is my missing dark angel?” Hannah asked as Frank’s arm went around her back.

“She wanted to visit the goblin fortress,” Frank replied. “She seemed bothered by something.”

“She had something on her mind earlier,” Quinny agreed. “She’s been upset ever since the Julliesta thing.”

“So have I,” Hannah agreed.

“There is nothing to be upset about,” Blackbast said as she sat in Frank's lap. “That woman can gather all the samples she likes. She can do nothing with them that can fool us. We were silly to overlook how the collars protect us. Thankfully, our husband has better sense.”

“But Frank isn't protected,” Quinny said as she leaned into his back. “He isn't a master.”

Hannah had thought of that earlier but hadn't wanted to voice her fears. The strange encounter with the melting woman had left them all a little unnerved. Jaina and Evalynn had gone back to the estate to see if they could learn more while Gisley took some much-needed time to be at home. She seemed to be the most traumatized of the group, worried that their home was in danger.

Breanne sat with Quinny, but all three succubi played with each other's tails. It was fun to have a tail, especially one that was so strong and flexible. They began to discuss what they should do about their neighbors' hatred of the monster guild. Frank was against shutting it down, as he felt it would betray what they were trying to build. Instead, he suggested coming up with a way to share the advantages of the monster players with their neighbors.

“We could create a kind of challenge,” Frank suggested. “A contest for our neighbors so their players can come here for experience and levels.”

“What’s to keep them from staying here?” Breanne asked.

“A reward,” Frank said. “They have to get items from the dungeon and return them to their kingdom. The one that collects the most in a month gets something special.”

“What could we offer them that would entice them to do this?” Blackbast asked.

“A night with Hannah,” Quinny said with a perfectly straight face.

Breanne snickered as Hannah swatted Quinny’s rear with the flat of her tail. She said she was not a prize to be won in a contest and was not going to reward a whole kingdom. Frank tried to be funny and suggest it was a good idea, but she threatened to bite him and bared her fangs.

“Hmm,” Frank said as he gave it more thought. “There are a lot of things they might accuse us of.”

“Like what?” Hannah asked.

“Luring their heroes to their doom so we can farm them for loot and experience,” Frank explained. “To do this right, we need to involve everybody and minimize any profit we make while giving them more.”

Hannah wasn't clear where he was going with this idea so he explained it more. If they created a contest to bring heroes from other lands in and those heroes started dying, it would cause friction. Those heroes would be losing valuable gear to their kingdom, enriching them while weakening their enemies. It would also mean they were gathering gold in large amounts, raising the alarm that they would use this to fund a massive expansion.

She assumed that meant the idea was dead, but Frank had other plans. He suggested that neighboring kingdoms needed to buy into the plan, paying a small fee. This money would become a pot that went to the ruler of the winning kingdom. Any heroes who participated would be required to carry one gold per character level, with a minimum of ten gold. If they died in a dungeon that gold would be the reward of the monster player whose dungeon they died in. However, all their other gear would be returned to an agent at the nearest spawn. Thus, no hero player would have to risk losing anything valuable.

The hero players would get excellent access to experience and dungeon loot, and the top ten heroes of every month would get a special rank in the adventurer's guild. Their kingdoms could offer their own rewards to entice their players to compete.

Frank explained how this would help their monster players grow while the kingdom made money by selling services like adventuring equipment, magical buffs, and special bonuses. The bulk of the money would go to the winning kingdom, ensuring they saw the challenge as a meaningful way to make money. They could even create a system to track who was winning, reporting the current status to Alexandria's brothel.

“Why would we do that?” Breanne asked.

“She has a lot of guests who are nobles in these lands. This way, they can gamble among themselves and do some friendly taunting,” Frank explained.

Hannah and the others were speechless as Frank laid it all out. Monster players could sign up to participate, and their dungeons would be rated for what level players would be most effective. High-level players who went to dungeons well below their level would get no points, and the kingdom as a whole would be penalized. This way, every level of player from one to well above fifty could find a reasonable challenge, and the monster players would be busy with heroes earning them points.

“Did you just come up with all this off the top of your head?” Blackbast asked as she stood up to put her hands on her hips.

“I guess,” Frank replied.

“That’s it,” Hannah said in disbelief. “They are right. He really is an evil mastermind.”

“His genius was so well hidden,” Breanne agreed.

“He is far more intelligent than he wants people to believe,” Blackbast agreed.

“I am just trying to solve a problem,” Frank replied. “The fact is they worry our kingdom will grow too powerful with all the monster players. So if we make a system where they benefit from it just as much as we do, everyone should be happy. Not to mention that if their players spend more time here, they will see we aren't the threat they think we are. It will go a long way to dispelling some of the misconceptions about us.”

“How does he do it?” Hannah groaned. “He just thinks these things up like they were obvious.”

“Frank is amazing,” Quinny laughed as Webster chirped in agreement.

“We should offer any kingdom that buys in a sort of embassy here to act as a local guild for their heroes,” Frank added. “That way, they can keep a close eye on things and see we are not cheating.”

“Again, another brilliant idea,” Blackbast said. “Did you keep this intellect a secret for a reason?”

“I am just good at solving problems,” Frank insisted. There are other rewards we could offer to entice players. We could give them access to Lovewood or even the temple here. Maybe the kingdom that won last month could have one day a week when the temple was reserved for their heroes.”

Hannah was floored by his flowing list of ideas to challenge their neighbors and invite them to prosper. It was an amazing plan, but Frank insisted he needed time to work out the details. He wanted to add reward tokens to find in the dungeon that could be traded at places like Chandice's magic shop. That would ensure her shop saw more traffic and might create a trade in magical items. He stressed that if their neighbors saw gains as a result of being open with them, they might be more welcoming.

“Frank, I never thought I would say this,” Hannah began as she looked into his eyes. “But I love you for your brain.”

“The big guys got muscles and brains,” Quinny laughed. “He’s the best of both worlds.”

“Hmm, let us fear the day he and his bride combine their skills against the world,” Blackbast warned.

Hannah tried to react offended, but her smile betrayed the truth. She always knew Frank was smart, but ever since he founded this kingdom that mind had shown tremendous skill. He was a brilliant leader, a master organizer, and a rational thinker. He dealt with political problems with a level of skill none of them suspected he had. She knew it was all in service to one goal: to build a home where his wives could be happy. He shouldered all the problems, doing his best to shelter them from danger. He was their leader and champion, and Hannah couldn't possibly love him more. She knew the others felt the same and were grateful to be a part of this family.

All Hannah could do was hug him. She could think of no better way to let him know he held her heart. Frank was a man worth loving and had the strength to lead them through any challenge to their home.