275 WELCOME TO NARNIA
Tashom's suspicion lingered, but greed slowly overtook it. "You're certain there are no loose ends with the bitch?"
"One hundred percent, I guarantee it in the name of my mother-in-law," Frouer said with a smirk.
The general's lips curled into a twisted grin. "I've always wanted to taste the flesh of a noblewoman."
Frouer gestured toward a door at the back of the chamber. "Then tonight, your wish is granted. Enjoy."
Tashom stepped inside. The room was small, dimly lit, and sparsely furnished. It was less a chamber of pleasure and more a cell.
At its center, chained to a low bed, lay the prize. A woman.
The woman was a vision—long, flowing red hair cascaded over pale shoulders, and her delicate features carried an ethereal beauty. She was bound but unnervingly calm, her emerald eyes watching him in silence.
Tashom's breath quickened as he hastily stripped off his outer robes, though he clutched the silver key hanging from a chain around his neck.
The woman's gaze flickered to it. "You don't have to wear that key so tightly," she mused, her voice smooth, inviting.
Tashom paused, the unexpected conversation catching him off guard. Most noblewomen would be weeping and screaming by now, yet this one remained composed.
It intrigued him.
He smirked. "This? It's the master key to the city's magical defenses. Only I carry it. No one enters or leaves the city without my say after we close the magic gates."
"Great lord, you are so powerful," she praised.
"You'll feel my power soon enough," he added.
He reached for her, but she lifted a small goblet of wine from the bedside table and offered it to him. "Must we rush? Drink first, my lord. I'm rather shy to go right into it. Let's get to know each other a little first."
Tashom hesitated, but her gaze, steady and knowing, sent a thrill through him. A noblewoman offering him a drink? He liked the idea of savoring the moment.
"Why not?" he chuckled, snatching the goblet and downing its contents in a single gulp. The warmth of the wine spread through him, rich and heady.
She poured him another.
He took it eagerly, not noticing the flicker of amusement in her eyes as he drank. As he set the cup aside, a strange heaviness settled over his limbs. His vision blurred, the room tilting at odd angles.
"What...why are my eyes all blurry?" His tongue felt thick, his legs buckling.
The last thing General Tashom saw before darkness claimed him was the woman's serene smile and her lingering words.
"Fucking Idiot with brains under his pants."
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General Tashom stirred awake, his head pounding with the remnants of a deep, unnatural sleep. The room was dimly lit, the air thick with the lingering scent of wine and incense. Blinking away the haze, he realized he was completely naked, sprawled across the disheveled bed.
"No… I got careless", he screamed.
His heart jolted as his fingers instinctively grasped at the key around his neck.
"Thank the gods, it's still here," he muttered, sighing in relief.
As the keeper of the key to the magic defense of Debauchery city, General Tashom must protect his magic key at all costs. Going to a brothel and getting exposed to potential theft of the city treasure was risky and dangerous. Fortunately for him, his key was still there.
Just then, the door creaked open, and Lord Frouer stepped inside with his usual smirk.
"Ah, you're awake. I trust everything was to your satisfaction?"
Tashom rubbed his temple, a dull ache spreading behind his eyes. "I… I don't remember a damn thing."
Frouer chuckled. "Oh, many things happened last night. You were quite… loud."
Tashom frowned. "What exactly happened?"
Frouer gave a knowing shrug. "It would have been rude of us to peek, but let's just say you thoroughly enjoyed your time with the noblewoman."
At the mention of her, Tashom's mind sharpened. "The noblewoman—where is she now?"
Frouer sighed theatrically. "Ah, you're too late. Treasures like her don't stay unclaimed for long. Another esteemed patron—one with particularly refined tastes—purchased her before you even stirred."
Tashom's face darkened. "You should have waited for me to wake up! I would have bought her myself."
Frouer spread his hands apologetically. "Business is business, my friend. She was a rare prize, after all."
Muttering curses under his breath, Tashom hurriedly dressed, still plagued by the eerie gap in his memory. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall a single moment from the night before.
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[In the Fortress of Eoloth]
"Follow me. This is a secret tunnel I built myself—no one in Eoloth knows about it," Hanna whispered to Dassa.
Lady Dassa, the Godmother of the Temple of Hera, followed Hanna in silence, bringing with her over a hundred assassins, all peak-tier or near their peak. This was the strongest force the temple had ever sent for a single mission.
"No wonder you managed to escape this fortress so easily, you built an escape route," Dassa remarked as they navigated through the concealed passageways.
"It took months of careful planning and construction. Its not easy to pull this off under the eyes of the Eoloth family", she replied proudly over her achievement.
Lady Dassa nodded with approval. "A job well done."
Hanna led them through the fortress unnoticed, weaving through abandoned corridors and forgotten paths until they arrived at the base of a great waterfall. The roar of cascading water masked all sound, and the area was eerily unguarded.
"It's too quiet here, not a single guard around," Dassa said, narrowing her eyes. "Are you certain the dungeon is here?"
"Eoloth isn't concerned with internal defense. No one could possibly enter from the outside except through my tunnel," Hanna assured her.
Without hesitation, she stepped through the waterfall and motioned for Dassa to follow. Behind the curtain of rushing water, she approached a grand wardrobe set against the stone wall.
"There's no dungeon here," Dassa observed, skeptical.
Hanna smirked as she flung the wardrobe doors open, revealing a shimmering portal. With a playful glint in her eye, she quipped, "Welcome to Narnia."