Chapter 17: A System's Magic

Panting on the snow-covered ground, Regriel asked while gasping for air, "Have my siblings really been executed?"

"Yes," General Artica nodded, "You were the last that remained. As for the King, he's been poisoned so that he couldn't be active. Your mother and the second wife have been imprisoned from the day the current Queen—the third wife—came to power. As they are only under house arrest, rumours didn't float around."

"How come I never knew about all these things happening in the capital?" Regriel was shocked.

"You were simply wasting money on the prostitutes. And you never cared about anything other than that." She looked at him in mockery, "And, your siblings were killed under the pretext that they were headed to join the Warrior Academy in Heroica Empire. The Queen would later announce that they met an untimely death during their training. She'll probably use a stand-in for them and announce the deaths of everyone one after another slowly after she had fully stabilised her authority."

"W-Why is she doing this?"

"For power, of course," General Artica nodded as a matter of fact, "But, the fact of the matter is that all the Princes and Princesses birthed by the first and second wife lack talent. All they have done was live prodigiously and waste the kingdom's resources. The Queen attributed it to the King's lacking genes, same for the first and second wife. That's why she did this. And, her children are indeed quite talented, enough to become as strong as me in the future."

Regriel facepalmed as he breathed in and out, looking like he was angered by the fact of his siblings' demise, but internally, he was thinking something different, 'General Artica's character remains the same. The only thing that has been flipped is her emotions towards me. Just for that, she even betrayed the Queen, someone she had been following since young.'

He laughed, 'This is one fearsome power. System!'

<Ding!>

'Display my status.'

[As you command, Host]

[Level 5 Slave Harem System]

[Host: Regriel Entropica]

[Physique: none]

[Skills: none]

[Core Skill: Slave Harem (Level 1)]

[Enslaved: Artica Striker]

There was a flood of information in his brain as Regriel understood the usage of his Core Skill: Slave Harem (Level 1).

'The Slave Harem Skill allows me to enslave anyone into my harem member. As I'm a man, it seems to only be effective against women. I need to touch their skin for the Skill to take effect. But at Level 1, I need to remain in contact with their skin for a total duration of a day before I can enslave a woman.' He nodded, grinning, 'Thankfully, I have General Artica. She's a strong ally and incredibly beautiful. Only the Queen's prettier than her.'

'But with my System, I will enslave the Queen and her daughters too, haha.' He grinned, slipping his hand into General Artica's shirt, kneading the hill within.

"We have to leave soon." General Artica said while blushing, pinching Regriel's cheek, "The driver had run away while you were messing around. If he managed to inform the Queen, we'll be doomed."

Regriel immediately broke out of his reverie, sweating in tension as he was flustered, "W-What shall we do now?"

"Relax," General Artica said as her gaze turned sharp, "I'll protect you from all harm."

She pointed at the three puppets behind her, "I brought all three of my puppets. Unless the heads of other major noble houses arrive or the Queen personally makes a move, we won't come under harm."

'Right, General Artica is the head of the Striker noble house. And, even among the four noble house heads, she's the strongest. So, unless the Queen personally takes action, I won't fall under harm.' Regriel thought as he relaxed a little, "Where shall we escape towards?"

"Even the Queen won't dare to send troops into the Heroica Empire. We'll seek refuge there." General Artica said, patting Regriel's back as she consoled him, "Relax, with me around, you won't go hungry."

'I'll gather more people in the Heroica Empire and strengthen myself. Then, I'll destroy the Entropica Kingdom and enslave the Queen. Ahh! How I wish I could fondle her mountains already.' He laughed lecherously, fondling the hills of General Artica.

Two of her puppets arrived and carried him. General Artica commanded the final puppet to destroy all traces as she fished out the weapons from the two guards and salvaged anything she could find. Her puppet then carried her and began to run through the forest at tremendous speeds, quickly leaving the place as they entered the territory of the Heroica Empire.

...

It was late into the night as the Queen was still in the study, looking through some of the older documents that involved research about the puppets. She was studying methods to better her fighting prowess, even though she was already the strongest in the kingdom.

After studying through it for quite some time, she removed her monocle, massaging her eyes as she felt strained and tired. Closing the books, she got up, stretching a little as she muttered, "I hoped he would have some knowledge from his kingdom that would allow me to break through my current limit."

After Compass Carburettor fainted, she commanded her servants to return him to his room, continuing to study after that. 'Well, he seems genuine and has an air of grace and authority around him. He's definitely not simple. I should treat him well.'

Suddenly, her servant arrived and stated, "Your Majesty, we just received a report. The assassination of Regriel has failed. General Artica has betrayed us."

"What?" The Queen was unable to rein in her composure, "Impossible! General Artica is my most trusted friend. How can she betray me? What about the Striker House? Did they take any action?"

"The Striker House is in a panic because of this issue. It seems it was General Artica's decision alone." The servant said, "The driver who had accompanied Regriel is standing outside, Your Majesty."

"Bring him in," She said, watching a servant bring in the driver who immediately kneeled and said, "Y-Your Majesty."

"Tell me everything that happened." The Queen looked at his dishevelled state, her gaze turning sinister as she heard everything the driver said.