Free Web NovelChapter 20: Valoria’s Women Leaders’ Meetings 5
After the meeting, Adam carefully retrieved the Urban Barrier Plan.
Vespera watched him with almost predatory attention.
"Be careful with that scroll."
Adam looked up.
"I know. You already told me it was worth more than some cities."
"No."
The black dragon folded her arms.
"Now that you’ve touched it, annotated it, and started improving it, it’s probably worth even more."
Adam remained silent for a second.
Then he placed the plan in his inventory with much greater care.
"Very reassuring."
Elaria adjusted her glasses.
"I advise you to work in a quiet place. If you can recapture that optimization logic, even partially, we might be able to adapt the barrier in a few months instead of several years."
"A few months?"
Vespera stared at him.
"For a barrier of this quality, a few months would already be a miracle."
Adam sighed softly.
"Very well. I’ll start by copying the main structure, then isolate the circuits I understand best."
Vespera’s eyes shone.
"Exactly."
Shiora smiled.
"He already speaks like one of you."
"No," Elaria replied seriously. "He speaks differently. That’s precisely what’s interesting."
Adam chose not to reply.
After greeting the women present, he left the meeting room with the plans, several books of runes, and a stack of notes entrusted to him by Vespera.
When he disappeared behind the door, an eerie silence hung in the room.
Then...
All the women slowly turned their heads toward Elena and Isadora.
Elena froze.
Isadora did too.
Shiora rested her chin calmly on her hand.
"Well?"
Elena blinked.
"Well what?"
Selene smiled broadly.
"Don’t play innocent."
Elaria closed her book.
"We’ve talked about Nocthar, the Sacred Empire, ancient labyrinths, and a potential world war."
She calmly looked up at Elena.
"Now, let’s get to the most pressing matter."
Lyriana crossed her arms, her eyes shining with barely concealed curiosity.
"Adam."
Elena’s face immediately turned red.
Isadora looked away slightly, but her cheeks also flushed a faint pink.
Shiora burst out laughing.
"Oh? The Grand Duchess of Valoria is blushing? That’s rare."
"Shiora," Isadora warned.
"What?" the oni replied with a huge smile. "We’re all among ourselves."
Selene nodded.
"And we’ve known each other long enough to know when one of us is hiding something interesting."
Vespera, who had been silent until then, slowly set down her cup.
"Tell us."
Elena brought a hand to her face.
"You’re impossible..."
Lyriana replied without hesitation:
"Yes. Now tell us."
A short silence followed.
Then Isadora sighed.
"Very well."
Elena turned her head sharply toward her.
"Mother?!"
"They won’t let us leave. We might as well buy ourselves some time."
Shiora applauded softly.
"Finally, a sensible decision." "
Elena buried her face in her hands.
"I can’t believe we’re actually going to talk about this here..."
Selene shrugged.
"Why not? We’ve already shared battles, political secrets, military pacts, and several nights of revelry far less chaste than this meeting."
Elaria replied without looking up:
"Technically, most of those parties were closer to orgies than simple celebrations."
Shiora smiled.
"You say that because it was your idea."
"And it was an excellent idea."
Lyriana coughed slightly, but her smile betrayed her.
Adam had long noticed the strange closeness between them.
And knew about relationships in this world.
But he still didn’t know how long their relationship had gone.
These women weren’t just allies.
They were friends.
Partners.
Confidantes.
Over the decades, they had shared wars, grief, victories, celebrations, oaths... and much more.
In this world, this kind of closeness between powerful women was not unusual.
Especially when men, few and often unable to meet their expectations, occupied a very different place in society.
Elena finally took a deep breath.
"This wasn’t planned."
All the women looked at her.
"Really?" asked Shiora.
"No."
Elena blushed even more.
"Well... not completely."
Selene burst out laughing.
"That’s a more honest answer."
Isadora placed a hand against her cheek.
"For my part, I knew exactly what I was doing."
This time, it was Elena who turned to her mother, her eyes wide.
"Mother!"
Isadora remained perfectly calm.
"What? I may be a duchess, but I’m not dead."
Shiora slapped the table, laughing.
"Magnificent."
Even Vespera smiled, amused.
Little by little, Elena began to tell her story.
Not everything in detail.
But enough.
The way Adam had looked at her.
His surprise.
His nervousness.
The unexpected tenderness that followed.
The difference it made compared to another woman.
And the way his member molded her to his image.
The strange sensation of being desired not as a noblewoman, nor as a knight, but simply as a woman.
Then Isadora spoke in turn.
With less restraint.
But also with that quiet sincerity that sometimes made her more disarming than any passionate confession.
She described the calm of the room.
The way Adam had listened to her.
The fact that he didn’t seem intimidated by her title, but that he also didn’t try to use it against her.
And above all...
The rare, almost forgotten feeling of being looked at without political calculation.
Without fear.
Without hidden agenda.
Like Isadora.
Simply Isadora.
The way he dominated her like a real man.
The way he turned her world upside down, leaving her unable to move a finger.
And the way he used her three holes without restraint, almost flooding her with his sperm.
When the two women had finished, the room fell silent.
Not out of embarrassment.
But because they all understood.
They knew what it meant to bear a name.
A people.
A duty.
An authority.
They knew what it meant to be desired for one’s power, position, or blood.
But to be desired for oneself...
That was much rarer.
Finally, Selene folded her arms.
"So he really is different."
Elena nodded gently.
"Yes."
Isadora added:
"More than we imagined."
Vespera closed her eyes for a moment.
"His very existence calls many things into question."
Shiora smiled.
"And not just in magic, apparently."
Elena threw a cushion at her from the sofa.
The oni dodged it effortlessly.
"I’m just stating the facts." "
Lyriana, silent until then, looked at Elena, then at Isadora.
"You seem happy."
Her voice was calm.
But Elena knew her well enough to perceive the nuance behind that sentence.
A hint of envy.
A hint of curiosity."
And something else.
Something gentler.
Elena smiled slightly.
"Yes."
Isadora nodded.
"I am."
Lyriana glanced down briefly.
The silence lasted only a second.
Then Shiora sat up abruptly.
"Very well. Now, let’s get to the real question."
Selene smiled.
"Who’s next?"
The room seemed to change instantly.
Elaria slowly closed her book.
"I knew we’d get to this point."
Vespera placed her fingers against her temple.
"Obviously."
Shiora raised her hand.
"I propose a simple method."
Selene looked at her suspiciously.
"If you suggest another drinking contest, I refuse."
"Only once," Shiora replied.
"You destroyed three tables."
"They were poorly made."
Elaria coughed softly.
"They came from my guild."
"So your artisans needed to improve."
Elaria stared at her.
Shiora smiled innocently.
Lyriana intervened before the discussion completely spiraled out of control.
"We should be reasonable."
All the women turned their heads toward her.
A hush fell.
Then Shiora burst out laughing.
"It’s always worrying when Lyriana becomes the most reasonable one among us."
Lyriana ignored her.
"Adam has only just agreed to help us against the Holy Empire. He’s going to work on the barrier. He’s going to begin intensive training. We can’t turn his life into another battlefield."
Selene raised an eyebrow.
"Are you saying that because you want us to be patient?"
"No."
Lyriana met his gaze.
"I’m saying that because his first time with each of us has to be done properly."
This time, silence returned.
Even Shiora wasn’t joking.
Lyriana continued:
"Adam isn’t just some rare toy found in a maze chest."
Her gaze shifted to Elena and Isadora.
"He forms attachments. He observes. He reflects. He values relationships."
Elena smiled gently.
"That’s true."
Isadora nodded.
"And that’s precisely why we mustn’t rush him."
Elaria placed her hands on her closed book.
"So, a first meeting alone."
"Yes," Lyriana replied.
Vespera nodded slowly.
"After this, things can be more relaxed. But the first connection has to be personal."
Selene smiled.
"I like that rule."
Shiora rolled her eyes.
"Of course. But there’s still one question. Who starts?"
All the women looked at each other.
For a second, no one spoke.
