In the separate part of the capital sits Viscount Lester, a bulbous man, with thinning blonde hair and small blue beady eyes on his round face. He wears a large, flowing silk robe embroidered with gold.

He sits on a 3 seater couch but his mass has taken most of it up.

Surrounding him are many girls no older than 20 in various states of nakedness.

All of them are messaging a different part of his body and one of them is feeding him strawberries at a set interval, with him holding a cup of wine which he sips from.

In front of him stands his servant, bowing his head. “My lord, Ralph is here.”

“That useless bastard! Bring him in.”

The servant leaves the room through a door from which Ralph enters his head bowed to show respect or fear one can only guess.

“Hello father,” Ralph says.

The Viscount throws his half-full cup of wine at Ralph, enraged.

“You bastard, how many times must I say do not call me that? Unless you want to die along with your mother.”

Ralph kowtows in front of the Viscount, “apologies my lord, I don’t know what came over me,”

“I shall let it pass this time. I hope you bring good news.”

“My lord, apologies again, but I don’t have good news.”

“Leave all of you” Viscount shouts at the girls.

Upon hearing his tone, the girls leave the room, not daring to look back in case they have to suffer the Viscount's anger.

“How are you a child born from my seed if you cannot seduce one woman? Look at me, I even seduced your whore of a mother? She can’t get enough of me. Still, she screams for me during the night in her cell. I can hear it from my bed-chamber.”

Ralph, shocked by words that he just heard, doesn’t dare to raise his head, for he feels angry at the thought of his mother.

A foolish woman who did nothing for him forced him to live a life of a commoner, but the day he found out his father was the Viscount, he thought he could escape his miserable life as a commoner and set off to meet his father.

Once he got there, he found himself arrested, perhaps because his mother had always hidden him and they were too stunned by his appearance.

Luck would have it. The Viscount recognised him and asked for his help in a matter which could see him live a life of luxury.

Ralph would have to become a lover to Madame Isabella, a woman who controls half of the capital. All commoners see her as a leader.

A simple task. The Viscount promised a life of luxury. What would a 10-year-old think of such an offer?

Of course, he took it. Now he stands before the Viscount asked to deliver.

“Tell me what is the bad news.” Viscount demands.

Ralph calms himself and answers, “There is another boy that she bought.” He didn’t say she will remove him.

“Another one? Did you make sure he ain’t a fake like the last one?”

Ralph raises his head, but the eyes are still lowered.

“Yes, I cleaned him myself trying to find anything that can be used to remove him, but he doesn’t even have so much as a blemish or bruise on his body, nor any sign of magic to show they faked him.”

“What do you know about him?”

Ralph explains his encounter with Allen but leaves out that Ralph will be freed or will be removed as a lover.

“Hmm, Lionheart’s maid, I’ll look into it. Get yourself back to the whorehouse.”

Thrilled that he might see Allen removed, Ralph walks out of the room with a smiling face.

A servant who was initially in the room quickly replaced Ralph,

“Your orders, my lord.”

“Find out more about this boy that Isabella has bought. She must have used her usual supplier. Start from him. Let’s see if we can find a use for the boy.”

“what about Ralph my lord?”

“Let him continue for now.”

As the servant leaves the room, the Viscount sits there with a smirk on his face.

“Bunch of useless idiots.” he murmurs.

“Where the hell are those whores?! Send them in.” He shouts.

Hearing his voice, the girls rush in, grabbing his different body parts and a cup of wine is replaced in his hand.

The scene was as if nothing had transpired at all in this room.