Chapter 27 – The Naked Scout
Gray didn’t expect the soldiers to pass off his sentence as a joke. The military bastards were always high-headed about their positions. If Gray was still a servant boy he would be beaten to death, but now with the emblem of a noble pinned to his shirt, he had a little respect.
A respect that would soon go away if he didn’t do something.
“You can’t do that,” Ruthcroft snapped. “Sir, she is under our command.”
“Which she will be resigned of shortly,” Gray turned to Atena. “Now there are two options you can take. One, I’ll give you each a pouch of silver and you all can leave this room and forget this ever happened. Two, you refuse me and I’ll take this to the high councils. Clearly, no one would take the abuse of a soldier very lightly.”
Ruthcroft stood up, his face looking ugly. “I told you about my father, didn’t I?”
“And I closely know a certain mistress whose father is in the high councils. I just need to send one letter, and both you and your father will be beggars on the street.”
“You wouldn’t dare-”
“Oh, I would. But I think we all can solve this without conflict. Why don’t you take the coins and move on with your life? You wanted to kick her off the military, which will happen if I hire her.”
“Ruthcroft,” one of the soldiers muttered. “I think that’s the smart choice.”
“I’ll take the coins,” the female soldier extended her hand. So Gray pulled out the pouch and handed it to her. She took it with a grin. “Come meet me if you have time handsome.”
She winked and left the room in a blink of an eye. She didn’t forget to slap Atena’s ass along the way, which the girl took with a grunt.
“Traitorous Bitch!” Ruthcroft snapped, but the other two soldiers already accepted their pouches.
“Only you Ruthcroft,” Gray dangled a coin pouch in front of him. “What do you say?”
He didn’t say anything, he just frowned, and stormed out of the room, not speaking a word.
That’s a nice lesson for me, Gray put the pouch back in his pockets. Not everyone can be bought with money.
Some bastards already grew among the riches. They just needed something else.
With their leader gone the other two soldiers retreated fast, leaving only Gray and Atena in the room.
“Thank you,” she bowed. “Those sick bastards! I’m going to make them pay-”
“Oh, no you won’t. You are coming and working for me,” Gray leaned back on the table. “First, we should establish the rules-”
“With all due respect, sir,” Atena walked towards her dropped clothes. “I have no intention of working for you. I have a family to feed, and my goals lie with the military. There are only a few souls who are good enough-”
Gray walked to her clothes and kicked them away. When she looked up she motioned her backwards.
“We need to stop interrupting each other. First off, I’m not a good person. Second, I spent three pouches of silver to save you and made a not-so-powerful enemy. Third, tell me what your goals are, and what this so-called family of yours is. What are you, a young mother?”
Atena eyed her clothes as if trying to make a dash for it, but then she stood back and looked at Gray. She didn’t try to cover herself. “I want to be a commander, and my family consists of just my sister. We both came from the north. The region commander was grateful to hire me as a soldier in return for taking care of my sister after seeing my skills. But this military needs discipline.”
“It’s the way the world works. Nobles and their families always push out the weak.”
“You are a noble too.”
“I wasn’t always,” Gray kept the remaining pouch of silver on the table. “I offer you a deal. For a long time, I’ve been searching for someone. A girl who was with me. I need you to go around this entire kingdom and find her.”
“Why me?”
“Because I read your reports before I had the conversation with the soldiers. You are a good scout, aren’t you? Even when you tracked those mobs you did most of the hard work. That’s the skill I want.”
“I’m sorry sir, but with all due respect, working for you grants me nothing. Military allows me to scale up, and I gain more respect. All these bastards who groped me today will one day kneel before me.”
“Did you know why they called you here? To kick you off. And my silver will hold them only for one night. Then they’ll be back here tomorrow to grope you all over again. They’ll do that every day, even more. Or, you can have another choice,” Gray walked towards her, following the same old trick and applying magic to the tips of his fingers. “Serve for me, get a good salary, feed your sister, do the jobs I say, and live happily.”
“But-”
“I have plans. Big ones. And when someday I rise up in ranks to hold over my own private army, I promise you’ll be the commander,” Gray touched her vaginal lips, and gently brushed his fingers over them. “And you’ll be grateful that you accepted my offer.”
He fed magic, hoping to see the same lewd look on Atena’s face, but there was nothing. She didn’t react to him touching her. She didn’t push him away nor give the lewd look Andria always used to give.
She was just numb.
What the hell?
Gray probed a little deeper, and without knowing his fingers sunk in. She was wet, not a lot, but just enough for Gray to feel the moist. But her face bore no reaction.
Is she fighting it?
“Are we done sir?” Atena asked.
“Yes, yes,” Gray pulled back his fingers. “Dress up, and spend your last night here. And then,” Gray pulled out Andria’s house card. “Visit me here. I’m very much looking forward to working with you Atena.”
She just gave a nod, and then went to pick up her clothes. When she bent down, Gray took a good look at her ass.
I need to test this power a bit more, he looked back at his fingers. Or my career with seducing people will be over very soon.