Chosen Mate Of The Beastmen Empire

"Afternoon?" Nyx's face froze, a flood of awkward memories rushing in, making her want to curl up and hide.

But Aurelius grabbed her, squeezing her slender arms and legs, forcing her to stay spread out and face his questions.

"H-He kissed me," said Nyx.

"Just kissed you?" Aurelius wasn't letting it go that easily. "How'd he kiss you? Tell me every detail, Nyx."

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As he pressed her, he mischievously toyed with her burning earlobe, rubbing it between his fingers. Feeling helpless, Nyx caught a glimpse of another tall figure approaching out of the corner of her eye.

"Why grill Nyx about it? She's too shy to say," Erik said, rescuing her poor ears and cupping them in his hands. His tone was calm. "If you're that curious, I'll just kiss her again and show you."

That night, the General stayed in the palace, sharing the same bedchamber with the Emperor and Queen, and didn't leave

once.

The maids were used to it by now. When they brought breakfast, they quietly included a serving for the General too, then slipped out without a word.

Nyx groggily ate her breakfast, then flopped back for a nap. Half-asleep, she felt soft kisses on both cheeks. The touches were gentle, and the familiar, comforting presence overhead put her at ease.

But after yesterday's ordeal, her patience was shot, and she let out an irritated huff. Even when she got mad, she was still adorable. The men's hearts thumped hard. Reluctant to leave, they each stole a few more dazed kisses before dragging themselves off to court.

Banon had held power without virtue, committed countless acts of rebellion and chaos, formed factions, and deceived the people-his crimes were clear, and by law, he deserved execution.

Out of kinship, the Emperor merely demoted him to a commoner, seized his wealth, evicted him from his mansion, and sentenced him to lifelong confinement to reflect on his sins.

At morning court, Aurelius officially announced Banqn's punishment, and no one objected. When the tree fell, the monkeys scattered.

The Emperor's move came so fast that the retainers in the prince's mansion didn't even have time to pack up and flee-they got caught and judged for their past crimes one by one.

Some of his diehard followers died resisting; others, learning the Emperor had a cure for the Moonshade Poison, turned on Banon then and there, abandoning the man who'd controlled them with toxins.

By rights, they should've faced trial for their own misdeeds too, but since they'd been coerced, their sentences were lighter-given a chance to reform, they might not lose their lives.

While Nyx practiced calligraphy, the men filled her in on what they'd confiscated from the raid. She suddenly remembered three old acquaintances from Banon's household. "What about Lady Joyce, Mila, and Kaya?"

The last time she'd seen those three was at that banquet when Banon visited the Duke's estate. She'd been too busy nabbing him to pay them much mind-her memory was fuzzy, just recalling them cowering in a corner, a far cry from their old

arrogance.

"Lady Joyce was old-she passed away last winter, Erik said, stroking Nyx's hair and skipping the grim details, keeping it simple. "Mila and Kaya, like the other servants and slaves in the mansion, were made state slaves and sent to labor in the workshops.

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After that banquet at the Duke's estate, Banon's downfall left him bitter and temperamental-they'd borne the brunt of his anger, so life couldn't have been easy. State slavery was tough, but it might've been better than suffering in his mansion.

"I had them sent to the harshest labor spots," the little white cat said, perched by Nyx's hand, tail up, scratching at the rosewood table with aka-kasound. He couldn't stand seeing anyone who'd hurt Nyx live even a little comfortably.

Plus, those two were clueless-when they got dragged off, they were still cursing Nyx, yet sobbing and pleading for Banon, the guy who'd tormented them and gotten their mom killed.

Even now, they dreamed of rising with him, maybe snagging a consort gig if he made it big. Greedy and stupid beyond belief. Sparing their lives was already a mercy.

Nyx didn't share his vengeful streak-she chuckled softly, set down her brush, and reached out to pinch the tip of his fluffy tail.

The white tail hooked around her wrist in a flash, and the whole cat leaped lightly into her lap, rubbing his head against her chest affectionately. "Nyx, you've got no idea how nasty they were about me."

Even with a hundred times more guts, those sisters wouldn't dare curse the Emperor.

But Nyx was the girl they'd bullied and stepped on for years. Even knowing she was now the most revered woman in the land, they still dared to hurl insults at her by name-calling her shameless, a seductress who'd bewitched the ruler.

Aurelius skipped their exact words, tweaking them into complaints about himself to tattle to Nyx. "They called me a tyrant, said I'm brutal and heartless, even hurt my own kin."

Nyx couldn't believe it. In her memory, those sisters were bold, sure, but not bold enough to badmouth the Emperor-that was a death sentence.

She turned to Pale Wolf, bewildered, seeking confirmation. Erik paused for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yeah. They also said I sold out my wife for glory, called me spineless, a lapdog for a tyrant."

Nyx bought it, and her face soured instantly. Cussing her out was one thing-they shouldn't have dragged her partners into it.

Fuming, Nyx's little face stiffened, and she stopped objecting to Aurelius's handling of them. People that rotten deserved some hard labor to straighten them

out.

The two men exchanged a glance, both pretty pleased with how this played out. The mood stayed cozy for a while.

With no pressing state affairs, one ground ink for Nyx while the cat served as her art tool, pressing cute paw prints onto the paper with his soft pads.

They whiled away most of the day like that. But by night, the harmony fizzled out as they squabbled over who'd sleep with her.

Nyx rubbed her throbbing temples. "How about I set up a clock for you? When time's up every night, you get out of my bedr

The men went silent, tucking away their fangs and behaving themselves. If Nyx got mad enough, she'd kick them out and ban them from staying over.

Seeing them settle down, a faint smile flickered in Nyx's eyes. She didn't kick anyone out, letting them both stay.

She'd just undone one button when a soft knock came at the door, followed by Aron's cautious voice. "Your Majesty, are you asleep?"

Nyx froze mid-motion and buttoned back up. The three of them exchanged looks, frowning in unison. The steamy vibe vanished.

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Unless it was something urgent. Aron wouldn't dare interrupt at a time like this-he wasn't that clueless

Erik, the most dressed of them, threw on an outer robe and stepped out to check.

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The little white cat shifted back to human form, dressed in record time, and patted Nyx's hair. "Ill head out for a bit. Go to sleep. Nyx-don't wait up"

III come with you" Nyx said, fixing her clothes and twisting her long hair into a bun. She grabbed his hand before he could argue. "Let's go."

When the officials from the Ministry of Justice saw them appear together, their eyes nearly popped out.

Still, they'd long accepted Nyx marrying the Emperor after being the General's wife, so they quickly composed themselves. their faces settling back to normal as they bowed in greeting. Aurelius waved them up.

On the way over, Aron had already given a quick rundown of what happened- Banon had a backup plan. On the way to Four Peaks Mountain, he'd pulled a switch and escaped-nobody knew where he'd gone.

"Did you interrogate the guy he left behind to impersonate him?" asked Aurelius.

"We did-used every trick in the book, but he wouldn't say a word, practically mute," one official replied.

The officials were miserable. With Banon's lineage and ambition, his slipping away was a massive threat to the court.

Screwing up this badly, the officials in charge were in deep trouble-forget keeping their posts, they'd be lucky to keep their heads. If Banon wasn't caught and stirred up more chaos, they'd face execution or exile, dragging their families down with

them

Nyx saw them trembling-especially an old guy with a white beard who looked ready to faint-and took pity. She offered some comforting words and urged them to recall any details that might help them make amends. Leaving the hall, Erik summoned Arlong and sent him with the shadow guards to investigate. If Banon had left Hilltop City, he'd have left some trace. Aurelius called in sharper folks from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review, ordering them to grill everyone from Banon's old crew one by

one.

“He had someone pose as him to trick the escorts-chances are he'll try that again, sneaking out under a fake identity," Nyx mused.

She couldn't do much to help with this, but she also couldn't just sleep while her partners were busting their butts. So she brewed a pot of hot tea herself and stayed up with them.

After a busy night, at dawn, the shadow guards reported back. Just as Nyx guessed, Banon had taken on a merchant's son's identity, grabbed a few loyalists disguised as guards, and bolted from Hilltop City right away.

Where he'd gone was still unclear, but some of the turncoat followers coughed up a lead-Banon had some hidden forces in Yarrowfield. Yarrowfield used to be his fief. He knew it well-made sense he'd head there.

Nyx stared at the wispy steam rising from the tea, then had a sudden idea. “Summon the heir of Marquis Anders to see me.” While waiting, she casually asked the shadow guards, "You guys know about newspapers?" The guards exchanged looks. "Yeah"

Newspapers were Nyx's brainchild, a joint project with the Ministry of Works, the Imperial Academy, and Marquis Anders's heir. They came out three times a month-packed with scholars' essays and poems, political news, even gossip andnoveldrama

serialized stories.

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Unless it was something urgent, Aron wouldn't dare interrupt at a time like this-he wasn't that clueless.

Erik, the most dressed of them, threw on an outer robe and stepped out to check.

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The little white cat shifted back to human form, dressed in record time, and patted Nyx's hair. "I'll head out for a bit. Go to sleep, Nyx-don't wait up."

"I'll come with you," Nyx said, fixing her clothes and twisting her long hair into a bun. She grabbed his hand before he could argue. “Let's go."

When the officials from the Ministry of Justice saw them appear together, their eyes nearly popped out.

Still, they'd long accepted Nyx marrying the Emperor after being the General's wife, so they quickly composed themselves, their faces settling back to normal as they bowed in greeting. Aurelius waved them up.

On the way over, Aron had already given a quick rundown of what happened- Banon had a backup plan. On the way to Four Peaks Mountain, he'd pulled a switch and escaped-nobody knew where he'd gone.

"Did you interrogate the guy he left behind to impersonate him?" asked Aurelius.

"We did-used every trick in the book, but he wouldn't say a word, practically mute," one official replied.

The officials were miserable. With Banon's lineage and ambition, his slipping away was a massive threat to the court.

Screwing up this badly, the officials in charge were in deep trouble-forget keeping their posts; they'd be lucky to keep their heads. If Banon wasn't caught and stirred

up more chaos, they'd face execution or exile, dragging their families down with

them.

Nyx saw them trembling-especially an old guy with a white beard who looked ready to faint-and took pity. She offered some comforting words and urged them to recall any details that might help them make amends. Leaving the hall, Erik summoned Arlong and sent him with the shadow guards to investigate. If Banon had left Hilltop City, he'd have left some trace. Aurelius called in sharper folks from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of

Judicial Review, ordering them to grill everyone from Banon's old crew one by

one.

"He had someone pose as him to trick the escorts-chances are he'll try that again, sneaking out under a fake identity," Nyx mused.

She couldn't do much to help with this, but she also couldn't just sleep while her

partners were busting their butts. So she brewed a pot of hot tea herself and stayed up with them.

After a busy night, at dawn, the shadow guards reported back. Just as Nyx guessed, Banon had taken on a merchant's son's identity, grabbed a few loyalists disguised as guards, and bolted from Hilltop City right away.

Where he'd gone was still unclear, but some of the turncoat followers coughed up

a lead-Banon had some hidden forces in Yarrowfield. Yarrowfield used to be his

fief. He knew it well-made sense he'd head there.

Nyx stared at the wispy steam rising from the tea, then had a sudden idea.

"Summon the heir of Marquis Anders to see me."

While waiting, she casually asked the shadow guards. "You guys know about newspapers?"

The guards exchanged looks. "Yeah"

Newspapers were Nyx's brainchild, a joint project with the Ministry of Works, the Imperial Academy, and Marquis Anders's heir. They came out three times a month-packed with scholars' essays and poems, political news, even gossip and

serialized stories.

16:14 Mon, 17 Mar MOO