In a lavishly decorated office, where grand paintings depicting various sexual acts hung from the walls, the current ruler of Arbo sat at a well-furnished oak desk. Behind the desk was a pudgy middle-aged woman in a comfortable-looking chair, dressed in flamboyant clothing and makeup that didn’t seem befitting of her age. 

This middle-aged woman is known within Arbo as ‘Madam Susan’ who owned the most prosperous brothel in this territory, ‘Come Right Inn’. 

Madam Susan was stressed by the sudden visit of the person sitting in front of her and inquired, “To what I owe the honour of this visit, Princess Moira? Have you come to taste some of my high-class products?”

Moira voiced, “Unfortunately not, I came here personally to investigate your suspected dealings with slavers of Hoziel which is against the law.”

“Slavers of Hoziel? It seems that you are mistaken, all of the slaves within this establishment have been acquired through the necessary legal channels,” swore Madam Susan as she opened a drawer at the side of the wooden desk.

“Here are the documents that prove this,” Madam Susan responded as she slid a stack of documents across the table to Moira.

Moira looked over the stack of papers handed to her, which were the registration papers for all of the slaves that belonged to the brothel. The documents were signed off by multiple nobles, all of whom have an upstanding reputation within Dravaria. 

As Moira looked through more of the papers, however, she realised that all of the nobles were lackeys of a mighty person within Dravaria, The 3rd Sword of Queen Themis, Lady Apate of the West.

There are four Swords of Queen Themis, all of whom are extremely powerful people given the responsibility of managing and protecting the North, East, West, and South regions in the Kingdom of Dravaria respectively. 

All nobles were required to abide by and follow any rules set by the honourable Sword assigned to them, once the laws of Dravaria were not violated. Even Princess Moira, who was given the land of Arbo in the west of Dravaria to rule by Queen Themis, had to ensure that the rules set by Lady Apate were not broken by her. 

‘This has become troublesome, as I am sure that Lady Apate is somehow involved with smuggling children to our kingdom,’ thought Moira, as she rubbed her chin. 

Moira contemplated silently on her next course of action and predicted many repercussions if she dealt with this brothel that seemingly had Lady Apate’s backing, forcefully.

“I apologise, Madam Susan, I stand corrected on the false accusation which I just made,” stated Moira, as she clenched her fists under the table, away from Madam Susan’s view.

Madam Susan chuckled and then smiled as she said, “We all make mistakes Princess, I would never break any laws when gathering my precious workers.”

Moira, slightly irritated by Susan’s jovial face, questioned, “Just to satiate my curiosity, what tier of slave contract do you use for your prized workers?”

Madam Susan went on to explain that the slaves within ‘Come Right Inn' all use tier 7 slave contracts, with one exception.

“I have a special pet I have been rearing since it was a newborn, who is unparalleled in beauty and charm,“ Susan proudly declared.

“I have used a tier 10 slave contract, as he is an investment that will bring me a great fortune when I decide to sell him in a few years,” Susan explained.

A slave contract came in 10 tiers, the lower the tier, the decreasing ability of a slave to think for themselves. This results in a reduction in the mental capacity that can be permanent even if the contract was dissolved by the owner. 

The highest and most expensive contract was tier 10, which required a very skilled mage and usually came at a very expensive cost to the slave’s owner. At tier 10, there will be no decrease in a slave’s mental capacity and no damage to the slave, even if the contract was broken.

Slaves with a higher tier contract can also carry out more complex orders by their owners… this made tiers 7 and above the choice of brothel owners and the like. 

Moira, initially frustrated as her investigation had gotten complicated, became curious about the identity of a slave with supposed ‘unparalleled beauty’, especially since the words came from the owner of an upper-class brothel whose sense of beauty should be dulled by the hundreds of stunning men and women that they owned. 

Moira sighed and asked Madam Susan, “This pet of yours, is he servicing customers? I would like to experience what someone with the highest tier of slave contract is capable of.” 

“Sadly Princess, my pet is chaste and only seven years old, so he will be unable to satisfy your sexual desires. However, he still services my top clients as he is talented in giving pure but sensuous massages,” Susan replied. 

Moria furrowed her brows, making her disappointment visible to Madam Susan. 

Thinking for a few moments, Moira requested, “Alright then, how much must I pay to be massaged by this boy?”

“Massages by my precious pet are free,” Madam Susan paused, rubbing her palms together and continued, “His services are complementary to my highest clientele and is mostly used before they have their fun with my other goods.”

Madam Susan, being an excellent businesswoman, strategized that a complimentary service is a perfect way to market her valuable slave to his future buyers, without tainting his purity.  

“For free? Fine by me, I’d like to try this massage right now,” answered Moira.

Madam Susan was bothered by Moira’s sudden request but made sure to not show it on her face.

“Since it’s so late in the night, he’s probably sleeping. For you Princess Moira, I will go to my quarters to wake him, but I need you to sign a contract before you meet with him,” revealed Madam Susan.

Moira tapped her fingers on the desk and narrowed her eyes as she read Susan’s contract. 

Pursing her lips, with a frown visible on her forehead making her annoyance clear, Moira complained, “There is no need for me to sign this contract, I can give my word that I would not taint your little boy-toy, is my word not enough Madam Susan?”

Madam Susan took a deep breath for a moment and replied, “This is just simple assurance, as my pet’s life and chasteness are very valuable to me. Even Lady Apate signs-”

Moira interrupted Susan saying, “Lady Apate? Is she a regular at this brothel?”.

Madam Susan felt relieved, thinking that the Princess would be frightened by her mention of the sovereign-like being that protected the west of Dravaria. 

Puffing her chest with pride, Madam Susan bragged, “Yes Princess, Lady Apate visits this brothel of mine once a month, and is one of my many affluent clients interested in buying my pet when he is a few years older.”

Moira slowly stood up from the chair she sat on and stared into the eyes of the brothel owner who was still sitting on her cosy seat.

Moira glared at Susan from above, like an apex predator eyeing its prey, making Susan feel an air of intimidation. Madam Susan felt as if the Princess was looking down at her not only physically, but also metaphorically. 

Breaking the silence but not the oppressive atmosphere of the room, Princess Moira vocalised, “You think that using the name of Lady Apate will scare me into complying? I am Moira Justitia, the only daughter of Queen Themis and the Grand Princess of Dravaria.”

Moira slammed her fist on the table and shouted, “The fact that you do not trust my word means that you a sullying the reputation of a Dravarian royale, punishable by death!“

Moira walked forward, bringing her mouth close to Susan’s left ear and whispered coldly, “I can burn this vile establishment to the damn ground for the disrespect you have shown me tonight.”

Madam Susan left her seat and immediately bowed, saying submissively, “I hope you can forgive me, your highness' words are more than enough. I will fetch the boy immediately.”