Dark Born
Copyright© 2025 by Es_Orik
Chapter 24: A Fool’s End
Science Fantasy Sex Story: Chapter 24: A Fool’s End - A young man is transported to a new world as the Dark Lord, witness his rise from an ordinary college student to a being capable of causing the greatest evil.
Caution: This Science Fantasy Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Fa/Fa Mult Teenagers Consensual Romantic Lesbian Heterosexual Fiction High Fantasy Restart Magic Sharing Harem Cream Pie
Elsa couldn’t believe what was happening.
Two days ago, she had returned to the kingdom after her mission, and since then she hadn’t had a moment to simply sit still and catch her breath. There was one security meeting after another, from the Knight Order to the castle itself. The death of Lothar Djed, the Hand of the King, had caused everything to fall into political chaos. Some nobles were mournful about his passing, if only in public, while the more ambitious nobles had already begun to plot, eager to replace him. There were lots of whispered accusations and suspicions about what had truly happened, who had killed him ... there were even talks of suicide.
The talks of suicide especially caught Elsa’s interest. At first she’d considered it just the rumor mill spinning, but thinking deeper, it seemed a convenient way for everything to be swept cleanly under the rug. Elsa, as well as other knights who’d been briefed about the Hand’s death, knew that suicide was unlikely; he had been found with a dagger buried deep in his chest. While it was certainly possible for it to be self-inflicted, there were easier, and more efficient methods to do the deed. Besides, there had been no reason, at least on the surface, for the man to suddenly desire to end his life. His character hadn’t undergone any dramatic change, he had a family, two young sons, and his wife had birthed a daughter just a few months ago. But what if? Adam had told her the Hand might have only been a puppet himself, controlled by others, and for anyone to control the Hand of the King, they must be immensely powerful themselves. Powerful enough to bend all opinions?
What if they’d disposed of their puppet and manufactured a reason for suicide? One that would make the manner of his death irrelevant to the situation? It was a thought Elsa had been turning over in her mind since she first heard the rumor, but she hadn’t bothered to share it with anyone yet; nothing that lent credence to suicide had come up even once.
But all of that had changed. What had been idle speculation just a moment ago had hardened into certainty, and the suddenness of it left her ... no, not just her, it left the entire throne room frozen in shock and disbelief. Even the King, who almost never occupied the throne, sat there now, stiff as stone. None of the councilors or nobles who were also present spoke a word, a deafening silence just filled the grand chamber, pressing heavily.
And all of this had been caused by a single man; Julius.
Before the assembled court, Julius had calmly declared that Lothar Djed, the Hand of the King, had been leading the child abduction and trafficking ring he’d been working hard to dismantle. He did not hedge or soften the accusation. Instead, he presented what he called irrefutable proof—letters, transaction records, and various other documents—each bearing the royal seal, each connecting the dead man directly to the crimes. He added that multiple witnesses were prepared to testify, and all of the evidence had been meticulously organized for presentation before the Hand’s death, even going as far as suggesting that the man might have orchestrated his own demise to escape justice he knew was coming.
Elsa was shocked, not for the reasons shared by the rest of the court, but by the sheer audacity of it all. She recognized Julius’s performance for what it was ... a farce. This was all an attempt to sweep everything under the rug, just as she’d thought. The Hand had truly been a puppet, and now his masters wanted to bury their crimes along with him. They would likely succeed as well. The evidence that had been submitted undoubtedly contained everything Julius said it did, and moreover, he was the knight who had “found and rescued” the abducted children, his involvement in the matter wouldn’t be questioned.
Elsa’s shock faded, giving way to anger as her blood slowly began to boil hot under her skin. She, Adam, Elliot—they’d all been chasing smoke right from the start. The Hand was just a small piece of the whole; whoever had been controlling him was the real rot in the kingdom. Even Julius; she had thought he worked for the Hand, but after what had just happened, how he’d just utterly destroyed the Hand’s name, his “good” reputation, and his memory, it was clear that wasn’t the case, not at all. The snake Julius served whoever was pulling the strings from the shadows. Had it always been that way? Elsa wondered. Had he been threatened into compliance? Or had he simply been bought outright after the Hand’s death? A death that would now likely be dismissed as suicide. Why had they even disposed of a figure as powerful as the Hand of the King? Was it because he’d outlived his usefulness and had become a liability? Or something else? No, all of that could be answered later.
The most important question right now was who was pulling the strings?
All around, the shock of Julius’ words was starting to settle, and the silence that had seized the air gradually loosened with voices rising across the throne room, coming from both nobles and councilors. A voice demanded the documents be examined at once, another called for Julius to be arrested for slander, while a third voice countered that the evidence spoke for itself. The word suicide surfaced again, louder now, no longer whispered.
Elsa didn’t hear most of it, she followed the rest of the proceedings only half interested, with questions spiraling in her mind, one bleeding into another. There was no end.
After a time, every knight present was dismissed, Gold-Ranks included. Elsa didn’t linger to gauge the reaction of her peers who were also in attendance. She was just grateful for the dismissal and eager to put distance between herself and the throne room. She turned and left at once, her steps quick, not bothering to glance back over her shoulder once.
Outside the throne room, Elsa turned a corner, then another, the corridor narrowing as it led away from the grand wing of the castle. She moved quickly, but not quickly enough it seemed, as she heard the sound of footsteps behind her, then an irritating voice.
“Elsa,” the voice called in a fake friendly tone.
She knew precisely who the voice belonged to, and she didn’t turn right away. Her fingers curled slowly into a fist, a part of her wanted to keep walking, to pretend she hadn’t heard it, but that would be useless. He was already here, already closing the distance. She closed her eyes briefly and exhaled a deep breath, then turned to face him ... Julius.
He stood a few paces away, arms folded behind his back, his false charm set, and a nauseating smile stretched on his lips. “You left rather quickly,” he said mildly, amusement flashing briefly in his purple eyes. “I thought perhaps you might want to speak with me.”
Elsa met his gaze. “I don’t recall us having anything to discuss.”
“On the contrary, I think we have quite a lot to discuss, Elsa,” he replied. “You were investigating the recent abductions as well, weren’t you? It appears the matter has finally been resolved. I thought you, of all people, might be relieved ... even thankful.” His smile widened at the words. “But who would have imagined the Hand of the King was behind it all? I counted the man as a friend, and perhaps that closeness blinded me ... perhaps that’s why I failed to see the truth sooner.” He lowered his gaze to the ground and shook his head in feigned regret. “A sobering lesson. You never truly know someone, do you?”
Relieved? Thankful? The words struck Elsa like they were physical blows, and the anger she’d been containing boiled even hotter under her skin, her jaw clenching tight. For a moment it felt as though it might split open from the inside. But she forced herself to stay still, to remain calm, if only on the outside. She would not rise to his provocation. That was exactly what he wanted from this boasting; a crack in her composure, some small satisfying reaction he could savor. The smugness in his tone had not been accidental, it had been bait.
“No ... I think I know people quite well,” Elsa said in a cold, accusing voice.
The man’s smile didn’t so much as twitch. He just held her gaze. “People are full of surprises, Elsa ... more than you can ever know,” he replied. “In any case, it’s fortunate the kingdom has knights like me willing to protect it from any threat, even those coming from within. It’s a difficult burden to carry, but I suppose that is the oath we swore. I do wonder how this will be remembered, however...” he continued, almost thoughtfully. “Finding and rescuing those poor abducted children, uncovering a trafficking ring led by the Hand of the King ... it’s a great deed, don’t you think? Perhaps they’ll sing of it in the streets.”
That last sentence nearly broke the last of Elsa’s restraint, and she took a single step forward, a faint crease forming between her brows as her gaze hardened, no longer heated, just cold now. “I know you think this is over, but it is not ... I promise you,” she whispered.
“Not over? What do you mean? The Hand is already dead,” Julius said.
Elsa’s jaw clenched tight as he faked ignorance. Though she knew the truth of what was really happening, it was irrelevant. She could go around telling everyone about it, but without proof it would just be treated as conspiracy, and she would lose credibility.
Julius knew that, and so did whatever master he served. This had been meticulously planned, from start to finish. Whether she liked it or not, the matter was being sealed shut, and despite the debate currently happening in the throne room, he would likely walk away at the end of this crowned in praise, just as he had when he “rescued” the abducted children weeks ago. The kingdom would hail him as a hero once more. It was endlessly frustrating, and disgusting as well. They had pinned all their crimes on Lothar, and whatever questions people might have about the manner of his death would be drowned beneath the weight of the accusations, and by the time the dust settled, there would be nothing left to question.
Elsa had promised it wasn’t over, but deep down ... it felt like it was.
Without another word, she turned to leave.
“Also...” Julius called after her. “Tell our mutual friend to remain cautious. It seems the leader of the group that kidnapped him is still at large. They continue to elude me, it’s a mystery. I would hate for something unfortunate to happen to him ... again.”
That stopped Elsa dead in her tracks and she spun around, her emerald eyes blazing with unrestrained fury. The threat in Julius’s words was unmistakable, and it shattered what remained of her composure. Her hands went to the hilt of her sword, gripping tight, and for one reckless moment, she considered drawing it. But the last vestiges of good sense stopped her at the last moment. This was the castle, starting a fight here—with another Gold-Rank knight—was the worst thing she could possibly do right now. She had to be calm.
Elsa drew a quiet breath and unclenched her fingers from the hilt, but her eyes still burned with hatred. “Know this,” she said, her voice low. “If you lay so much as a finger on him, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth. I swear it to the One Light.”
Julius smiled wider, and Elsa realized he’d gotten what he wanted; a reaction. “As always, you’re such a pleasure,” he said with amusement and walked away.
Elsa watched him for a time as he walked away, forcing herself to remain still until he disappeared around the bend, and only then did she allow herself to breathe easy, once, twice, several times, until the heat beneath her skin began to cool. She couldn’t allow him to get into her head, that was exactly what he wanted. She took another deep breath, then straightened her shoulders, trying to force the encounter away from her mind as she turned back down the corridor. There were far more important issues at hand. She needed to find Elliot, tell him all that had just happened. She also needed to talk to Adam as well.
The moment Adam’s name surfaced in her thoughts, an image of him also flashed in her mind, and the sharp edge of her anger dulled, not gone entirely, just lessened, and in its place came anticipation ... and a faint trace of nervousness. They hadn’t seen much of each other since the day she returned to the kingdom, since that moment on the roof, and it was a bit surprising as they were practically living under the same roof now.
The arrangement had been unavoidable. After the inn burned down, she had offered him, Katryn, and Yara a place to stay, her home—or rather, her adopted father’s—the house where she and Adam had been training these past weeks. Her father had left it to her after retiring to the countryside, but it had been too large for a single person to live in, so she’d left it abandoned, but that was no longer the case now that it had become needed. Katryn had accepted her offer at once, her mother required more persuading. Adam, on the other hand, had appeared indifferent. Elsa had expected him to care a little more, especially given the situation between them ... after what they’d nearly shared, but she’d been wrong.
Maybe he was hiding it, maybe he was rethinking the whole thing, or maybe it meant nothing to him ... no, she quashed the thought quickly. She knew it was just fear and doubt whispering in her head, and allowing it to linger would only make her feel terrible.
She and Adam hadn’t had a chance to talk properly since that day on the roof, she’d been consumed with responsibilities, and he had been recovering from his injuries. That silence between them gave space for uncertainty to creep in, though she’d been doing well to keep it at bay so far, but only just. Hopefully, tonight they could talk, so she could better understand where they stood ... where things between them were heading.
She needed to know ... desperately.
“Thank you for helping me today, the children really seem to like you,” Lorelei said.
Katryn smiled as she settled into a chair. She’d just finished helping Lorelei put the children down for their nap. It hadn’t been easy, small children could be very strong-willed and difficult, but she had some experience dealing with them. Besides, there had been little else for her to do today. Her mother, though still heartbroken over the loss of the inn, was now speaking and moving again, and she’d gone out to visit a friend. Elsa wasn’t around, she hadn’t been around much lately, and Adam was still recovering his strength.
Being left alone, Katryn had explored Elsa’s compound, the place where they would be staying for the time being, but that distraction hadn’t lasted long. After being abandoned for so long, much of the property had to be tended, with grasses and trees being cut, and dust being cleared. Katryn hadn’t been allowed to help with any of it. So, visiting Lorelei and managing a group of energetic children had given her something useful to do.
It was Katryn’s first visit, her first meeting with the children though she already knew about them beforehand. The first time Lorelei had told her about them, she’d been surprised, and that surprise had deepened even more when she learned they weren’t hers, but the children from the orphanage she ran. That revelation had raised Katryn’s respect for the woman a whole lot. From the first moment of their meeting, she had thought Lorelei was kind; now she knew she was selfless too ... like Elsa, they both helped people in different ways.
Perhaps that was why Adam liked them both. And perhaps why he kept her at arm’s length. She wasn’t like either of them. She was neither selfless nor kind.