Finally, under Lucifer's lead, everyone followed him toward the ducal throne room.
They soon reached the entrance vestibule, where two Viper Guards stood stationed before the great double doors.
Seeing Lucifer approach, both guards bowed respectfully and stepped aside, allowing him and the group behind him to pass through.
As they entered, the guests from all three noble families discovered that the throne room was enormous and magnificent. A wide open floor of polished stone stretched before them. High vaulted ceilings hung with ornate golden chandeliers fitted with sunstone bulbs that flooded the entire hall with warm light.
Along both sides of the hall stood large king-sized beds, daybeds, and luxurious gem-encrusted chairs where various ministers of the duchy, as well as guests from Livingstone Duchy and Florence County, were already seated. Some enjoyed refreshments, drinks, and fruits, while others received attentive services from male and female court attendants.
An unobstructed pathway ran down the center of the hall, leading straight from the entrance to the throne at the far end. The throne itself sat upon a raised platform and looked more like an elaborate daybed of gold and deep red. Two beautiful women occupied it—Grand Duchess Mia Velmora and Duchess Amelia Velmora. Anyone could identify them at a glance.
On either side of the ducal throne hung two burgundy banners embroidered with the sigil of the Velmora family. Behind the throne stood two men of proper military bearing who looked every inch like war commanders.
Lucifer identified the two men as head knight apprentice - Graham and commander vance.
---
The moment Lucifer stepped into the ducal court room, he saw his mother, Mia, seated on the daybed-throne beside his elder sister Amelia. The two of them were speaking with Veronica, Westeria, and Jasper.
Mia wore a regal blue gown that clung to every contour of her body so perfectly that even through the fabric her protruding nipples and voluptuous breasts were clearly visible. Amelia, by contrast, wore a loose pink regal gown with a deep cleavage that beautifully outlined her pregnant belly. In short, both women looked simultaneously elegant and thoroughly seductive.
On the left side of the hall sat various ministers of Westirifer Duchy and numerous members of the Velmora family. Beside them were the seating arrangements for the HolyCross State, where Lady Aria, her two daughters, and her aunt had already taken their places; the remaining seats still stood empty. Next came the section reserved for Keilname state, where Jeffrey, Fobila, Rkliona, Fifi, and various other ministers waited patiently for the arrival of Lady Talmora and Elder Guntor. Beyond them stretched rows of empty chairs reserved for the representatives of Hektor State and Morggen State—who had not yet arrived, but were expected by tomorrow evening at the latest.
On the right side of the hall, the first section belonged to the guests of Livingstone Duchy. Duchess Velora was currently enjoying the touches and massage of her male attendants while her husband, Nicole Kidman, kissed and worshipped her body and her younger brother Kinru Livingstone feeding her fruits and rosewine. Behind her chair, the other ministers of Livingstone Duchy likewise indulged in various services from male and female attendants.
The next section belonged to the guests of Florence County. In the foremost seat sat Countess Cinthia Grace Florence with her main husband Sherek Loveheart and her two other husbands, Ambrose and Everard. Unlike Duchess Velora, the four of them were simply eating fruit and drinking rose wine. Behind Cinthia, her son Jackvert was receiving a pleasurable, intimate massage from two of the ducal maids. Her eldest daughter Lisa and second-eldest daughter Lily were both enjoying cunnilingus from male attendants, moaning softly from time to time. The remaining two daughters, Furia and Regisa, were receiving shoulder massages and erotic kisses from their other four fathers. The rest of the seats in that section were occupied by other ministers of Florence County, all of them enjoying themselves in much the same fashion.
Taking in the lively atmosphere of the throne room, Lucifer instructed Allen to guide the guests from Weilhiem Duchy, Ironford County, and Redbarn Barony to their designated seating areas.
Then his gaze settled on Westeria, who sat a short distance away with Veronica and Jasper. For some reason she is looking quite happy and occasionally smiling.
Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap… Tap…
His footsteps echoed clearly through the hall, drawing the attention of nearly everyone present. Aside from the people of the Velmora family, the Keilname family, and the Holygrill family, no one yet knew who he was. The guests from Florence County and Livingstone Duchy watched him with open curiosity.
Lucifer paid the curious stares no mind and continued straight toward the ducal throne. When he passed the seating area of the Holygrill family, he shot Aria a thoroughly mischievous smile. Aria returned it with an identical grin, her cheeks faintly flushed—then immediately raised one hand in a theatrical "I'm going to slap you" gesture that somehow managed to look both threatening and completely ridiculous.
Lucifer did not stop there. He turned next to Synthia, who sat beside Aria wearing a very clear pout of dissatisfaction. The moment their eyes met, Lucifer launched into an exaggerated performance: eyes wide with fake innocence, hands fluttering dramatically, mouth forming an over-the-top "Who, me?" expression that was so cartoonishly guilty it was impossible to take seriously.
The effect was instantaneous. Members of the Velmora family—including Mia and Amelia—along with the Holygrill and Keilname families, all burst out laughing, some of them clutching their stomachs.
Aria tried to keep a straight face, but one look at her aunt's furiously pouted expression finished her. She started laughing too—until she noticed Synthia was now practically vibrating with mock outrage and waving her hands in warning. Lucifer promptly switched tactics, offering Synthia the most pathetic, wide-eyed puppy-dog face imaginable. Aria's pretend slap froze mid-air. In truth she wanted nothing more than to pull him into a tight hug the way she always hugged her own son Harry.
Mia watched the entire exchange with growing amusement—and growing confusion. The Holygrill family was not only tolerating Lucifer's teasing; they were clearly enjoying it. That raised questions.
She fixed Lucifer with a stern look. "Luci, what was that just now? Why are you teasing Lady Synthia like that? Come here, you rascal. I'll teach you how to behave properly."
The moment Lucifer heard his mother's voice, the bright expression on his face collapsed into pure melancholy. This was not the reunion he had imagined. Allen had warned him that Mia was angry for some reason, but he had never expected scolding instead of a hug.
Seeing his face fall so dramatically, Mia's heart skipped a beat. She suddenly felt as though she had been the one to break something precious. Amelia, meanwhile, turned on their mother with open dissatisfaction.
"He went out there on your orders, facing who knows what," Amelia said, voice sharp with sarcasm, "and the first thing you do when he returns is scold him instead of hugging him. What a mother you are."
Mia felt a flicker of regret, but still argued, "He returned this morning and hasn't come to see me even once. Tell me why I shouldn't scold him."
Amelia's temper flared hotter. "So what if he didn't come to your rooms? It's not as if you didn't know he was back. You even went to greet Sir Galathor and Sir Valdren yourself. Why didn't you visit him in his room instead?" She gave Mia a knowing, teasing look. "Ohhh, I understand. Not every day you get to sample a brand-new dick, and Sir Galathor happens to be an elf. Of course spending time with him was more fun than spending time with Lucifer."
Mia opened her mouth to refute the accusation… but her recent actions had, in fact, looked exactly like what Amelia described. While Lucifer had been in his rooms, Mia had indeed been enjoying a foursome with her two daughters-in-law Silva and Selene and their grand-uncle Galathor.
As mother and daughter continued their increasingly heated and increasingly ridiculous bickering, Lucifer did not linger on the disappointment. Though still a little heartsore, he walked forward until he stood directly before the daybed-throne.
The instant he was within reach, Amelia yanked him into a fierce, almost crushing hug—before Mia could even react.
"Don't listen to this whore's scolding, Luci," Amelia declared, tightening her arms protectively. "She's just a slut who loves riding any dick that shows up. Who knows if she even kept her promise to you while she was busy fucking Sir Galathor? You and I weren't there to supervise, after all."
"Are you even my daughter, Amelia?!" Mia shot back. "How dare you accuse me of breaking my promise to Lucifer? Yes, I was eager to have sex with Sir Galathor, but I didn't even let him touch my breasts or kiss me!"
"Proof?" Amelia retorted, hugging Lucifer even tighter as though shielding him from the entire world. "You're a slut. Who knows what black magic you used on my baby brother to make him love you so much when you can't even spare him five minutes?"
"Shut up, bitch!" Mia snapped. "Just because you got pregnant with Lucifer's seed before I did, doesn't mean you can spout whatever nonsense you want! I only scolded him a little because he was teasing Lady Aria and Lady Synthia—and you saw it with your own eyes!"
A muffled voice emerged from the depths of Amelia's bosom. "Sis… Aunt Aria teased me first. What's wrong with teasing her back a little? She knows I was only playing. As for that so-called Oracle Master…" Lucifer pointed toward Synthia. "She is even worse. First she tempted me with hugs—exactly like the one you're giving me right now. Then she started asking all these questions: 'Am I beautiful? Do you like me? Do you want to be with me?' I kept answering yes, yes, and yes. Then she asked, 'Lucifer, do you want me as your woman?' Sis, I'm not lying—I really do like her. I like Aunt Aria, Sister Delya, and Sister Gloria too. So I told her yes, I want her as my woman. I even kissed her and left a hickey on her collarbone as a seal of our relationship and accepted her as one of my many wives".
"But when we reached the entrance gate of the ducal grounds—while Aunt Aria was asleep—that woman over there told me that if I don't perform well or live up to her expectations, she will take other men as her husbands as well.
"Sis, can you imagine how much that hurt? It's exactly like me suddenly telling Mommy, 'I'll take some other woman as my mommy,' or telling you, 'I'll take some other woman as my elder sister.'"
At those last words Amelia crushed Lucifer against her even more tightly, voice fierce and almost desperate. "No. Lucifer, no. I will never allow you to take anyone else as your elder sister. Our relationship is special. No one will ever take your place in my heart, and I will never allow you to give my place in your heart to anyone else. Do you understand me?"
On the other side, Mia felt a sharp stab of guilt for having scolded him in front of everyone. But what truly unsettled—and frightened—her were Lucifer's final words about replacing her as his mommy. She knew he was only asking her to imagine the scenario… and she refused to. A life without Lucifer was worthless to her. She did not want to picture it even for a second.
Regretting her earlier words, Mia pulled Lucifer out of Amelia's embrace and hugged him just as tightly. Mother and daughter now stared at Synthia with matching cold gazes. Almost every woman of the Velmora family was giving the Oracle Master the exact same look.
Aria found the whole thing rather amusing. It was the first time she had ever seen her high-and-mighty aunt—who held supreme authority within the Holygrill family—cornered so thoroughly. What astonished her even more was the fierce protectiveness Mia, Amelia, and the other Velmora family's women displayed toward Lucifer. Aria knew that kind of intensity always came with a story, and she wanted to hear it very badly.
Finding herself suddenly the focus of so many chilly stares, Synthia finally collected herself. "When I said those things about taking other husbands, I was only teasing him. Unlike others, I don't currently intend to take other husbands. I'm new to all of this. I have never been married before—in fact, none of the previous Oracle Masters of the Holygrill family have ever married or had sexual intercourse. I am the first in the entire lineage to take a partner".
"And from ancient times a woman may take as many husbands as she wishes, just as a man may take as many wives as he wishes. So even if I did say I would take other husbands… what is wrong with that? Why are all of you looking at me as though I'm some kind of criminal you're about to lock away for life?"
The gazes of the Velmora women softened slightly.
Westeria, seated only two chairs away from Aria, spoke up gently. "Lady Synthia… or rather, Synthia. You proposed to Lucifer and he accepted. By the rules of this world, you are already one of his wives—just as most of us women of the Velmora family are. In the order of things, however, you are the youngest wife of the young master. So I will not call you Lady Synthia. I will call you Sister Synthia, because we are all sisters now. Is that acceptable to you?"
Synthia nodded.
Westeria continued with a soft smile. "There is nothing wrong with taking other men as husbands besides Lucifer. It is your free will. No one will judge you for having multiple husbands, just as no one judges Lucifer for having multiple wives. If you need an example, look no further than your own niece, Lady Aria. I don't know the exact number, but I know she has more than ten husbands, and those husbands have other wives besides her. That is completely normal.
"If you prefer not to use Lady Aria as an example, then take me. You already met Allen at the entrance gate—he is my first husband, and Young Master Lucifer is my second. So there is nothing wrong with what you said. The problem lies elsewhere.
"You see, although the young master is my second husband and the husband of many other women in the Velmora family, he is still quite young. Even when he sometimes behaves like a mature adult—or a little old man—he is ultimately a boy who only turned eighteen half a year ago. He is not even twenty. And for reasons none of us in the Velmora family fully understand, he is extremely possessive of what is his… including his wives. That is why—" Westeria laughed lightly "—he doesn't like it when any of his women take another husband. He doesn't forbid it, because it is the other party's free will… but not opposing something is not the same as liking it.
"So when you threatened him—whether jokingly or seriously—about taking other husbands, it hurt his feelings."
Synthia nodded in understanding, then asked, "So does that mean I cannot marry others after accepting Lucifer as my husband, and cannot have intimate or sexual relations with other men?"
Before Westeria could answer, Veronica spoke up. "Quite the opposite. Lucifer always respects other people's choices. What Sister Westeria meant is that he doesn't like it when one of his wives takes other men as husbands—but he does not forbid it. You may take others as husbands, on the single condition that those husbands must be integrated into the Velmora family and become part of it.
"As for having sex with men other than Lucifer… he has never forbidden that either. You are free to sleep with whomever you wish, as long as it is consensual. No forced sex.
"Why are you fretting over this so much? Now that you are one of us, we will explain everything in time. But the one thing I really want to tell you is this: once you have been thoroughly fucked by Lucifer, you will never again find anyone else who can satisfy you the way he does."
---
While Veronica and Synthia continued talking, a feminine laugh suddenly rang out. "Hey, all of you! Don't act as though the rest of us aren't sitting right here! Include us in the conversation or I'll start feeling like a third party!"
Everyone turned toward the voice and found Duchess Velora of Livingstone Duchy waving at them in a thoroughly comical fashion.
Another voice followed immediately. "Grand Duchess Mia, Duchess Amelia—we are present as well, yet you have paid us no attention at all. Am I to take it that our arrival means nothing to you?" Duke Gelvin of Weilhiem Duchy asked dryly.
Mia looked toward him and Duchess Velora with an apologetic smile. "I am truly sorry for the inconvenience, Duke Gelvin of Weilhiem Duchy and Duchess Velora of Livingstone Duchy."
She then turned to Veronica, Westeria, and Synthia. "Let us continue this particular conversation another time. Our guests have traveled a long distance. Help them relax a little, and then we will discuss more important matters."
Looking once more at the newly arrived guests, Mia spoke with the full dignity of a Grand Duchess. "Guests from the far west of Westirifer—our Velmora family welcomes you to Westirifer. We hope your stay here will be most pleasurable."
With that, Mia began conversing with the heads of each noble family, their wives, and their children in a composed, regal manner—exactly as a Grand Duchess should.