The World Dragon's Heir-Chapter 191: Albroles Palace

While the palace here officially belonged to the Duke Albroles and his family, the Dagos Royal Palace hadn’t been moved when the nation began to increase in population.

It was on the shores of Knazion Lake, and outside the city of Knazion. Once upon a time, it had been a lake retreat for the Royal Family, but as the branches of the Royal Family gained more influence, the actual Monarch had been silently shuffled away from the major population centres.

So, there were former Royal Palaces in most of the major cities at the core of Dagos.

The suite that they were led to was on the ground level, with access to a large garden, overlooked by three other suites. Prince Alex walked out to inspect the security situation, and was immediately drawn into conversation with a trio of princesses from Bostoveria.

They were attending the coronation with their elder brother, as a way of meeting more Royals and possibly finding a suitable match.

Like Cygnia, Bostoveria had an abundance of Royals in this generation, but they were also a small and densely populated nation, so it was exceedingly difficult for them to find a proper match without making every landed Nobleman a Prince consort.

However, as younger Princesses, they didn’t have any particular objection to life as a powerful Prince’s Concubine. Especially the Second Prince of Cygnia, who was known to favour his wife.

That meant, even if they were given to him in a political marriage, he would be unlikely to make life difficult for them as they idled away their days.

That attitude of unambitious satisfaction was anathema to the Second Prince, but he put on a polite face, and resigned himself to entertaining the Princesses until it was time for him to get ready for dinner.

While Alex was busy in the garden, Dominic followed the Princess into the bathing room.

He untied the laces on her dress, the same as he did every evening, and was about to leave when the Princess’s voice stopped him.

"Did you know that there is a custom among the Paladins of the Royal Order? If someone of the opposite gender sees you bare, you should marry them immediately to maintain your chaste status." She whispered.

Dominic turned around to see what she was talking about, just in time to see her dress puddle on the floor at her feet as Princess Alexis turned around.

"Perfect. Utterly perfect." Dominic muttered, mostly to himself, as he absorbed the sight in front of his eyes.

The Princess’ body was flawlessly toned, with far more muscle definition than he had expected on a Noble Lady, and crisscrossed with tiny scars from training and battles.

Dominic remained frozen in place as she took one step forward, then grabbed his horn to pull his head down to her level.

Her eyes fluttered closed as Princess Alexis pulled Dominic into a gentle kiss on the lips, then she turned him around by the horn and kicked him in the backside.

"Now out, so I can get ready. If they sent a chamber maid, send her in." She insisted, while Dominic tried to gather his wits.

"Of course, Princess. Call if you need anything."

The maids giggled to themselves when they came in and found the Royal Advisor standing in the middle of the room, staring off into space with a silly grin on his face.

"He’s down bad. The Princess is a lucky lady to have found a man so devoted." One of them whispered, breaking Dominic from his reverie.

"Ah, wonderful timing. Her Highness is preparing for the meeting in the bathing room and has requested assistance, as we didn’t travel with any servants." Dominic greeted them.

"Of course, Advisor. Will you be requiring a manservant as well? The dress code is Royal Formal, no armour or visible weapons." The maid replied.

"I will be fine. But please leave shaving supplies and scissors." Dominic requested.

The maid bowed. "We will call for a barber to come to you. There are a few on staff for last-minute hair issues."

Excellent. His hair was getting too long to stay where he put it after bathing.

By the time that Dominic was showered and changed, the barber was waiting for him, along with one other young man in livery Dominic didn’t recognize.

"Might I ask who this is?" He inquired, going for a polite tone.

"The observer from Mitfield, Lord Sorcerer. Given the recent instability in Dagos, it was deemed unwise to allow their attendants to serve foreign Royalty in private." The young man replied in a grave tone.

The barber sighed and nodded. "One of the staff tried to poison a guest. Rest assured, such a thing will not be allowed to happen again."

Dominic chuckled. "There has been a lot of that going around, as well as attacks by staff hired out of Dagos years ago. Cygnia has put much effort into weeding out traitors since the war began."

But if the barber was going to give him a trim and a shave, that meant having both scissors and a razor around his head, and Dominic could see why that would be an assassination risk.

Mitfield was generally considered to be on Cygnia’s side in the conflict, though they had not committed to sending any troops north to reinforce Cygnia’s Nobles.

So, Dominic settled into the chair to get his hair done, and tried to hide his amusement as the observer glared at the barber.

The position of barber was considered a high trust job for any Nobleman, as the barber would routinely have a razor to your neck, and that wasn’t a position that you would let a man you couldn’t trust have.

Within minutes, Dominic looked like a proper nobleman, freshly trimmed and shaved, and the barber was hurried off to take care of another client.

The maids brought Princess Alexis out a few minutes later, looking radiant in a deep purple gown with silver flowers embroidered along the length to emphasize her curves.

That had to be custom tailored for her, as the embroidery fit her curves so well, and Dominic began to wonder just how much clothing she had to carry in her storage items.

"Is everyone ready?" She asked, looking around and not finding her brother.

"The Second Prince is in the courtyard, entertaining the Princesses of Bostoveria, I believe." Dominic explained.

Princess Alexis laughed. "I should have expected that. With three other suites facing the courtyard, there would be at least one or two eligible young Nobles or Royals in the area. Being famous has its downsides."

The Prince came back in a few minutes later, looking exhausted and smelling like perfume.

Alexis giggled and winked at him. "You big softie, you never did have the heart to tell them off and make them cry. Now, should we head for dinner? It’s a bit early still, but we shouldn’t be the first ones in the room."

Prince Alex turned to the maids, who bowed politely. "Your Highness, the junior Nobles are already assembled. You would be the first Royals in attendance."

The Prince nodded once. "Then let’s get going. If they’re going to plot, they can do it with us in the room."