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“My love,” she cooed, taking the count’s hand. She had been overlooking the extensive grounds of their capital manor, her eyes scaling the shrubbery and garden that only came second to a few in Radovalsk. Unfortunately, she had seen better in the palace and found that the lavish home she had moved into did not impress her as it once did.

“You look so beautiful when you are lost in thought,” the count professed, adoration thick in his eyes.

Janice was certain that if she opened up his head to look into his mind, there would be little else other than herself within it. His old wife was long forgotten. Count Koberg was firmly wrapped around her pretty fingers. But once in a while, deep in the night after lackluster lovemaking with the now obese Count, she wondered if he would like her as much if she looked like her old self. The girl who had run away from the village seeking greatness and had won it at a great price.

The bodies buried beneath the garden both she and her husband were gazing at were not few. But Janice needed more. Ever since her first with Sir Gregory, Janice had found herself hungry, no ravenous, for something more. Satisfied, something Janice rarely ever was. Sometimes, it took everything in her to keep from drinking the life force right out of her husband’s body.

“I’m thinking about that case,” Janice mused, uncomfortable in their silence. She moved indoors, where an early lunch had been prepared at her request. She wasn’t hungry for the succulent cuts of meat and fine wine that had been set out though. Janice hardly had an appetite for such ordinary foods anymore.

“It’s preposterous. The judge shall wrap it up in less than a week’s time.” The count quickly waved off her concerns with his typical overconfidence that while annoying, had yet to fail him in his business dealings.

.....

“Maybe,” Janice conceded, although something in her told her it would not be so simple. “But what if it doesn’t?”

The count’s eyes were already on the china plate loaded high with every dish on the long table, how could he care about such matters? “It won’t, darling. Now, let us eat.”

The bad feeling remained in Janice’s stomach. “If I ask nicely, would you make sure she loses? Just to be certain?”

Count Koberg appeared flummoxed. “Why?”

Janice pouted even more, leaning on the table so her generous decolletage would enticingly appear on display.

“I just don’t like that Lady Berrick. She looks down on me, I can tell.”

The few times they had met, Janice could feel the disdain in Arabella Westmont’s eyes. The newly titled Lord Berrick was a touch inhumane. She could see it in his eyes as they possessed a feral aura like a beast that couldn’t be tamed. It reminded Janice of what she saw within herself, the beast that had taken up residence within her flesh with a hungering desire for life itself. Suddenly, Janice felt like she could see age spots on the back of her hand.

“She must think I am hideous and old. Do you think that of me, my love?” Janice asked, not noticing how her hands dug into the count’s meaty forearms and made him wince.

“Gentle, darling. Save that for the bedroom,” he laughed in a lecherous way. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. That is why I knew I had to make you my wife.”

Janice had to hold herself back from rolling her eyes. “Well, your beautiful wife must freshen up before she eats. Don’t wait for me, alright?”

She stalked out of the room before he could answer. Storming up to her chambers, Janice rubbed at the large jewels that adorned her neck to calm herself. She was a countess, Countess Janice Koberg. She possessed great wealth and fortune, her every snack and meal was finer than the finest feast from her village. Countless people had to bow their heads in her presence and she was treated with greater respect than she had ever been privy to in her life.

But none of it would last if she could not fulfill Akira’s desire to cultivate the emperor and his daughter’s relationship, before striking a brutal end to it. She very much looked forward to the latter. However, the former was proving to be difficult to establish. She herself had never been close to her father, as her mother had been her married father’s mistress.

Janice chewed at her thumbnail in irritation, which was already short and torn from previous frustrations. A knock sounded on the door.

“Come in!” she snapped, her patience low. A meek-looking maid floated into the room.

“The Count is wondering when you will return to join him for the meal,” the girl sheepishly informed Janice. She reeked of sweat and fear. It tantalized the beast inside Janice. Even if the count was deliriously clueless, she knew what the servants whispered about how often they were having to hire new workers.

“Soon, of course,” she crooned. Janice turned to face the other direction, all but licking her lips. “But first, the blasted dress is making me hot. Will you help me remove it?”

“R-Right away, my lady.”

Janice cocked her head to the side, the jeweled pins in her hair swinging with the movement.

“Can I call you Sarah?” she asked with her back still turned to the girl.

“Y-Yes, my lady?” the girl stuttered.

It was a delightful sound, one that made up for the lackluster hunt. But Janice ended up having to remove the dress herself after an impromptu meal, which was rather difficult for her to do with the many laces and strings.

Felix came at night and only at night. The count had left in the early evening to look over some merchant ships that had arrived bearing rare goods from the Old Continent, leaving a bored Janice behind. But with Felix’s arrival, she immediately perked up from where she lay on her bed.

The lacy nightgown she wore was thin and left little to the imagination. With her hair unbound and feet on display, it was little surprise that Felix’s face grew as red as a tomato. He had snuck into the mansion through a secret passage Janice had installed not long after she’d gotten married. Getting to her room was the hard part, as Felix would have to evade prying eyes and climb up the ivy-covered walls of the home to make it to Janice’s room. But Janice liked to make it a difficult pursuit. With every ache in his limbs and the rushing exhilaration in his veins, Felix would understand that of the 3 masters he served, she mattered above the rest.

“Felix.” Her voice was breathy, yet husky, teasing his ears and coaxing out a red color onto his cheeks once more. It was so easy for her.

“M-My lady,” His eyes traced over the chestnut locks that tumbled down her skin, lovingly meeting her spellbinding gaze in utter worship. That was what Janice liked about Felix, the fact that he knew that she was his superior in every aspect. In his eyes, she no longer felt like a vengeful succubus, but a god.

“That’s not what I told you to call me in private, Felix. Call me like you used to.” She blinked her eyes in a seductive manner, lulling Felix deeper into her thrall.

“Apologies, Janice,” he wheezed out, transfixed by her sight.

Janice smiled to herself. Men were so easy to manipulate with her wondrous new face. A cool breeze floated into the room before Felix shut the window behind him, so that their shared presence felt even more intimate.

“Tell me news of the princess,” she urged as Felix fought to keep his eyes from wandering up the leg that enticing dangled off the edge of the bed.

“It is difficult to obtain news of her,” Felix admitted. “As you know, she and my master are no longer on speaking terms.”

“Your master?” Janice challenged with a frown. Her leg stopped swinging and Felix looked mildly put out.

“The second prince,” Felix quickly corrected.

“Well, he must know something. Tell me something. Anything,” she hungrily urged.

“The princess reportedly received dragon eggs for her recent birthday. Princess Julia was incredibly jealous and went to go ask Prince Julian for an egg as well but she was quickly chased out. Recently my master has been spending more and more time by himself and sneaking out of the palace. It is difficult to keep track of his comings and goings.” The last bit came out petulantly, but Janice did not pay attention to his words, latching onto the first part of his response.

“Dragon eggs?” Janice could barely swallow down her gasp. Dragon eggs made her freshwater pearls and 20-carat diamonds seem as common as a random stone one might find on the ground. Once again, she had to keep her annoyance in check, focusing on her pressing task at hand.

“Only the emperor could’ve given them to her,” she quickly concluded.

Felix nodded, confused by her happiness at his confirmation.

“You consider this good news? I would have thought that you wished for nothing good to happen to the princess. And her building a relationship with the emperor is good for her.” Felix scratched his head in confusion.

“Well, you think too much!” Janice barked, before remembering to soften her voice. “I want them to be as close as can be. I want her to be cherished, to be the pearl of the empire.”

“But... why?”

“Others will naturally covet the good things someone has.” Janice was speaking from experience. “I want the princess to have it all so that it is all the more sweeter when everything is taken away. She has taken much from me. It is only right for me to return the favor.”

The venom in her voice took Felix by surprise. But he knew very well where it stemmed from and didn’t let it appear on his face.

“But what of the empress?” Janice focused on yet another one of Felix’s “masters”.

Felix huffed in annoyance. “She has not called me to her as of late. Not for a few months.”

“She will soon enough. Her son’s coming-of-age ceremony is approaching. When she does, tell me all that she asks of you and anything she tells you,” Janice sharply ordered.

“Yes, Janice,” Felix said reverently. Basking in the worship that still hung in his eyes, Janice got a bit bolder.

“Between the empress and I, who do you think is more beautiful, Felix?” she taunted.

“You by a thousandfold,” Felix pledged. Janice basked in his words, never one to grow tired of hearing praise for herself.

“My leftovers are under the bed. Can you please assist me in disposing of it?” Now that all the good information had been wrung from Felix’s mouth, she was ready for him to leave.

But before he could reach for the stiff arm that stuck out from beneath the bed, a warm hand pressed against the center of Felix’s chest. Felix let out a sigh of happiness at her touch, perhaps assuming Janice would not bother with their little game that night.

“You know how dear you are to me, don’t you, Felix?” She brushed her hand over his cheek, but didn’t go as far as she had in the past. Now that she had climbed to the heights she had climbed, from a dirty brothel to a Red House, to a mansion in East Bend, she no longer felt the need to please Felix as well.

Nothing was good enough for Janice. Forever unsatiated, always salivating at the next thing out of her reach. She had seemingly gotten it all: beauty, wealth, and a title. All for a low cost forever being sustained on people’s vitality rather than food and the eventual death of someone she already hated. And yet, Janice was deeply unsatisfied.

Don’t ask me why. Some people are just like that.

She was restless after teasing Felix and sending him off with her trash, flopping onto her bed and staring at the lavish curtains that hung down around the canopy bed. Janice wanted more. Walking to the window ledge where Felix had disappeared, Janice gazed out at the night’s scenery, specifically where the imperial palace glittered in the distance. It was the most beautiful structure in the entire empire. An ode to glory and wealth, glistening in gold and opulence. When Janice held out her hand, the palace sat within it as if her own personal treasure.

Nothing that the count gifted her could match its greatness. But unfortunately for her, such a treasure belonged to another. Her hand slowly curled into a fist. This would not do. This would not do at all. She knew it was strange that the object of her ire was the princess rather than the empress she had been appointed to serve as a lady-in-waiting. But sometimes, like most emotions, hatred did not make sense. The princess’ clever mouth and hungry determination despite her low birth had been enough to curdle the ugly stirring of emotion within Janice’s belly.

According to Felix and the few people she had managed to bribe in her tenure as a lady-in-waiting, the emperor and the princess were not as frosty as they were in the past. But the warmth that the pair shared was more like the tepid sunshine on a cool spring morning rather than the blisteringly hot summer rays that had bathed Radovalsk in its warmth for the past few days. Their relationship hit a plateau of sorts and in the years since Akira had assigned her this arduous task, she had little notion or clue how to go about accomplishing such a goal.

“What if I lose this luck...” she worried, looking at the back of her hands. Even in darkness, her vision was perfect, like a cat. She could see no lines or age spots on the unblemished skin. However, she hadn’t forgotten how they’d looked that first time in the palace when she had partially sated herself on Sir Gregory’s life force. Such fear drove her, for as much as Janice desired more, she loathed the idea of losing it all.

The mental image of herself as an old, wizened thing caused her to wince. Losing her seductive beauty was not an option. Her lips drew into a determined grimace as she suddenly had an inkling of what might bring the emperor and the princess into the close bond that Akira desired. A proper adversary.

“Princess Julia is no longer grounded, but even with the empress’ influence, she is more unfavored than a bastard,” she mused to herself with a devilish grin.

There was no one else more suitable. For as Janice understood well herself, envy was one of, if not the greatest motivator. Suddenly, she looked forward to the typically dull Ladies’ Court more than usual.