After his visit to Aria's chamber, Ana invited Theo to a dinner party. It was held by the noble who supported Ana to celebrate her return and to celebrate the hero that saved her. Theo, being invited like that, has no reason to decline. While he didn't like that kind of events, it was a perfect opportunity to get to know the noble of the capital city and to get closer to Ana. This was also an opportunity to prove whether Aria's word about Ana's supporter was true or not. While he found no lie in her words, he remembered his father's quote, that politicians were snakes. No matter how convincing one looked or one said, he must try to confirm their words using his own way. The party was held at a hall owned by one of the noble. He didn't know who, but looking at the building size and lavish decoration, the person must be very rich and loved to boast his or her wealth. He arrived together with Ana while Emilia would arrive later. He was wearing a brand new suit that Ana gave to him for this special occasion. It was better than the previous one and much more comfortable to wear. He couldn't thank Ana enough for it. He observed Ana while walking toward the entrance. She wore a beautiful and extravagant gown that, on purpose or not, emphasized her bust and make it appear bigger than it already was. He noticed that she was moving her head around as if looking for something. "Nervous, Princess?" Her body jolted and her face turned red. "Y-Ye, ah, N-No. I-It's fine." She was not fine at all. "Are you sure?" "Y-yes." She looked forward. "L-look we have arrived." When they entered the building, they were greeted by numerous nobles who supported her. He was thanked and congratulated by them. He would have thought of it as a mere bullshit pleasantry, if not for the lust-filled stare of some noble women. They were enthralled by his look and charm. But with Ana being there, he couldn't spend his time chatting with some random noble women. He devoted his whole attention for Ana that night. After chatting for a while with some random noble, Ana introduced him to the host of the party. He was a tall lean man with unhealthy pale white skin. Under his eyes were black wrinkles, a sign of lack of sleep. Contrasting his gloomy unhealthy face was his choices of clothes. It was shiny with white fabric and gold decoration. "Theo let me introduce you to the generous noble who held this party. Count Cobra." 'Oh,' He thought. He knew he would bump into that man someday, but he would never think of it to be this day. He put on a convincing smile. "Nice to met you Count Cobra. This is a nice and extravagant party you have here." "Hahaha. Sir Theo, you made me feel honored. But this party, this is only a small thing I could do to repay you for what you have done for our princess." 'Small thing.' that word alone conveyed his wealth and his love for spectacle. After exchanging a few more pleasantry and knowing the name of a few more important noble while eating his dinner, Theo could conclude that Aria did not lie. Ana's supporters were mostly corrupt nobles. Two of them, in particular, were a big figure in Amaryn's criminal underground. The first one was a short fat old man named Lord Rovan. He was bald and wore a monocle, giving him a fancy look. His secret businesses were smuggling illegal goods across the border and illegal slave trade. Jackal also told him that Lord Rovan bought a new slave girl legally at least once a week. The second one was a lady with the name of Milde. She looked to be in her late thirties or early forties. Despite her age, her appearance was stunning and could contest with younger women. Her light purple hair was tied in a bun behind her head. She was the owner of the biggest and arguably the best whorehouse in the kingdom. But her legal business served as a curtain to cover another less legal whorehouse reserved for rich people with questionable or outright illegal fetishes. For how Theo knew who they truly were, was for another time. Sir Arslan told him that Ana was a naive girl that trust people far too easily. She was not suited for politic, but he never imagined it to this extent. If she was this easily manipulated, he believed he could convince her to run away with him in just a month or two. Just as an example. When Emilia finally arrived, Theo wanted to speak with her in private. They went out to the balcony to speak. "Emilia, why didn't you tell me?" "Tell you what?" She asked. "These people. These nobles that supported Ana." "What? What wrong with them?" "The spy corps did not tell you?" "Tell me what?" Theo averted his gaze from Emilia toward the nobles inside the hall. "Nothing. Forget it." He left her and head inside. There were two possibilities. She was either did not know or was in cahoots with the corrupt noble and trying to bait him. But looking at her eyes and genuine confused looks, the former was more plausible. "Wait, Theo! Tell me what's going on." She called him, but he vanished among the guest inside the hall. Theo realized it now. One of the nobles here must have the spy corps and the secret police inside their pocket. It might be Lord Cobra since he also has control over the investigator and over the city guard. Theo was surprised. With this much support backing Ana and Emilia, how could Aria hasn't lost yet? Was it because they purposely prolong the conflict for their own gain, or was it because of Aria's and her supporter's competence? "Sir Theo." Lord Cobra called him. "Can we speak in private?" Theo looked at him, careful to not let his suspicion surfaced on his face. "Sure." Lord Cobra lead him to one of the side room. "I...heard that yesterday you've been falsely accused by an investigator." "Yes." He sighed. "Sadly, that's the state of this kingdom right now. Ridden with corruption. If only I know sooner, I might be of help to you. Do you remember their name?" Theo did not know what Lord Cobra intended to do with asking him this question. Was it a trap or... "Armin Ruedi and Royle Tucker." "Royle Tucker? That's the commander of the city guard! How could he?!" He was pretty good at acting surprised, but not good enough to fool Theo. He sighed. "I will take care of this. I promise. You see, I heard that Armin Ruedi and Royle Tucker work with Princess Aria behind the scene. This is the kind of future this kingdom have if Aria took the throne. We must never let it happen, Sir Theo." Now Theo understood his plan. He made sure that Theo felt the corruption first hand. Then blame it at Aria, pretty clever. ------- When it turned midnight, Ana returned back to the castle because Sir Arslan forbid her to be outside after midnight. She went back with Emilia, leaving Theo with two-faced nobles. Though the party was almost finished, so it wasn't that bad for him. Coùnt Cobra appeared again from behind, along with Lady Milde. "Sir Theo. I believe you have acquainted with Lady Milde." "Yes, of course." He answered while kissing her hand. "Sir Theo, do you have someone waiting for you back where you stay?" She asked. Theo smiled. "No. Not really." Her lipstick covered lips curved into a smile. "Count Cobra said that we have to give you a gift as a symbol of our appreciation. I hope you don't mind." With corrupt and prideful nobles like these, Theo didn't have to act all nice and proper. He could just accept the gift. "Sure, why not." "Then will you follow me, Sir Theo?" Theo followed her outside to her carriage. --------- Like he expected, she brought him to her brothel. "I hope you have no problem with the gift I'm about to give you. I heard a rumor that you are a rather....... playful man, but somehow almost never visit a brothel before." "I'm not against it or anything. I just have a pride in getting a lot of sex without having to pay for it. But if someone gives it to me for free, I'm not going to decline it." "Then it settled." Her assistant opened the carriage door and they come out. "I heard that this place is one of the best in the kingdom." Theo said as they entered the luxurious brothel. "Not one of the best, it is the best. For a lot of reason. Unlike some other brothel, we give our customers the best possible service for almost every kind of pleasure. We maintain a clean and healthy environment for both our customer and our worker. And by using magic, not only we enhance the feeling of pleasure, we also prevent pregnancy and prevent the spread of disease." She bought Theo to a special luxurious room with an extra large bed. Around the room were tools to satisfy the customers' wide range of preferences. "Girls." Lady Milde called. Three naked young women entered the room. They were stunning with their beautiful face and fair white skin. Their busts and hips were also pretty large. "I heard that you prefer these type of bodies, correct me if I'm wrong." "I appreciate all kind of bodies. As long as they are not too large or too small, I like them all." "Well, these three are our best girl. Feel free to chose and ask them anything you want." She sat on a chair in the back of the room. "Please don't mind me, I have a hobby of.. watching." Theo chuckled, he could see the lust in her eyes, like a boiling pot of water ready to overflow. Either she will join later, or she was really good at controlling it. He turned toward the three women who started undressing him. "Well. If I have to choose. Then I choose.... All of you."