Duke Asshat was certainly smarter than most gave him credit for.
If one couldn't be the smartest man in the room, pretend to be a fool.
He had spent over a decade in the political field, and he knew the universal truth to it. Anyone could be used, anyone could be discarded, even himself.
And so, he would seek out a way to make himself as invaluable as possible.
He knew he couldn't rely entirely on the support offered by the Order. He needed a few backup plans on his own if things went awry, and one of those plans was the golden dust he had found.
Apparently made by some foreign apothecary, Perv Asshat had given the man the resources to study and create his judgment. Once the man had developed the judge, and shared how to create it with Perv, the Duke had the man killed.
Leaving the greatest weapon in the entire world as his and his alone. A brainwashing judge that turned even the most aggressive and dominant souls into submissive, eager to please slaves, and always for the person they spent time with the most.
In other words, with the drug, he could brainwash anyone into becoming his and his alone. Its performance was even better than the same drug he used on King Oriana. That one reduced the affectee into a brain dead vegetable, but this?
This one would keep the victim's personality and skills intact, merely making them submit to him!
Of course, he knew that as many trump cards he had sounded great, the true greatness lay in when to use it. One could have the most powerful weapon in the kingdom, but if they didn't know how to use it, it would be useless…
He could have thrown it into the watery supply or at several farms to have an army of slaves, but quality over quantity.
One or two beautiful, powerful lovers eager to please him was better than a whole army of commoners…
Rose Oriana, his fiance. She was the one he wanted more than anything else, and he would have her.
He wasn't so naive that he would believe that such a stubborn princess would ever listen to him, or even from her own drooling, braindead father. Anyone with half a brain could tell that the king couldn't make independent decisions anymore, and that Rose didn't truly care to listen to the mighty Duke.
Rose was an independent thinker, a progressive woman who showed that women were just as strong and wise as men. The exact kind of woman he hated.
If he was to ever marry her, he had to get her fixed. Blackmail wasn't an option, but with this golden dust, he could rework her. Make her into a good and proper woman…
That led to a meeting between him and Rose Oriana.
She entered the room to find him enjoying a nice cup of tea, another cup laid out hot and ready on the other side of the table. She stared at him, before approaching, sitting down with him and holding the cup in her hands.
A cup that was coated with his secret weapon.
"Hello, Princess," he smiled, and she was polite enough to greet him in return.
"Lord Asshat."
"Thank you for coming tonight. I appreciate this chance for us just to talk." He sipped at his tea, and she did the same, drinking the poisoned nectar. He took a deep breath, hiding his elation with a kind smile and a silver tongue.
"We are betrothed to one another," she replied with a sigh.
The effects of the drug weren't instantaneous, but the more one consumed, the quicker and more effective the process…He simply had to be even of a smoother talker to keep her drinking.
He poured a bit more tea into her cup, before he began to speak. "I know you aren't happy with me." He gave her a sympathetic smile and she seemed surprised by his compassion. "I'm sorry. I wish we lived in a world where a woman could choose who she married, or even didn't have to marry anyone at all!"
He wanted to stab himself for uttering such rhetoric.
"That's very kind of you," Rose replied, a small smile on her face. "It is difficult."
"Especially regarding the state of your father, the King. His condition is… tragic." She took another sip of her tea, tasting the warm liquid, letting it slide down her throat and warm her veins…
He played the role of a weaker man for her, talking of the country, and the affairs around it. This went on for a few minutes as she listened to him talk, and as he did, he could see the drug slowly overwhelming her mind, easing her soul and letting his words sink deeper inside of her core.
"Your sympathy is… appreciated," Rose sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead. "I apologize for being so distant. I don't know what's wrong with me. Perhaps I'm just a bit under the weather…?"
"Well, I don't want to keep you. I suppose we should stop mincing words and get to the real reason I invited you here," he suggested. She simply nodded her head, slowly, finding her mind lost in a thick haze…
"It's about our engagement." Her eyes widened and she stared at her fiance, surprised about the topic. "It is unfair. Pushing you into a marriage with a man you barely know? It's wrong," he sighed, and she stared at him with an odd gleam in her eyes.
He knew what it was, though. Admiration. Trust. What a naive, little whore.
"You are truly so strong, so beautiful, so… independent. I'm truly impressed by your skills. Your spirit," he smiled, and Rose seemed touched by his kind words.
"T-thank you, Duke, ahh… Duke Asshat," she smiled. "That's kind of you."
He was getting close to delivering the final blow. He had to control himself. He took a deep breath, before he smiled at her. "I wanted to offer you something. A chance to cancel our engagement."
"R-really?"
Rose's eyes widened, and she seemed eager to accept the deal, even if it was with a devil. He smiled and wordlessly, he took out a bottle of red wine, pouring a cup for the two of them. Of course, this drink was also poisoned with an aphrodisiac.
He watched as she silently drank it down, before he continued with a sheepish smile.
"Yes. The thing is…" He paused, glancing down at his hands. He gave her a dramatic pause, before he smiled at her and showed his hand. "We should check if we're sexually compatible."