"I must say, the way that you prepare tea is…quite fascinating indeed. Very reverent," Maribelle mused as she accepted the cup with both hands, as Chon'sin tradition dictated. Those same traditions were met with as much care and finesse as an outsider could manage, right up to the way she sat cross-legged and everything in the barest essentials of her usual Valkyrie regalia. It scarcely mattered the state of her surroundings while she sat in the remains of a palace from that war-swept nation. Nor did it impact the impassive, stonefaced former King of that land while he awaited her appraisal near the rest of the ceremonial set. Or at least, he was a version of that same king.

Yen'fay - from a world now lost, watched the Ylissean noble with his usual closed eyes and passive frown. Even then, he could well tell how meticulous Maribelle handled herself. There were minor tells - little ticks or twitches that would give her away, but otherwise, she seemed as comfortable with the sacred acts as one born and reared of Chon'sin.

Maribelle sipped the cup with both hands - slowly and thoughtfully, as the sun shifted outside the shattered window. Truly, their choice in abode was as eclectic as their alliance had been. But travel in the dark was a danger now that the Risen roamed under the gray thrall of the reborn Grima. A common foe that had reluctantly forced him to join blades with the Shepherds of this new, arguably better world.

Better, if only that he was dead and Say'ri lived.

'Ulp'

The noble lady set her cup down as she let the taste wash over her. Slowly, she opened her eyes…above curled-down lips. "And the taste speaks for itself - this is quite wonderful…or at least it could be," she admitted.

Yen'fay said nothing - not a word, while he awaited her condemnation. He felt no anger in his heart towards her, nor shame to himself. Truly, he was curious of how she drew such a conclusion. "I believe that…hm…ah, that must be it. It is…unbalanced, I believe," she finally declared.

"Is that so," he answered, still passive.

Maribelle nodded as she slowly set her hands back on her knees and her own eyes gracefully shut. It was remarkable how…proper, her poise was, even when garbed in decidedly non-Chon'sin traditional garments. For a brief moment, it was unclear which of the two noble-born was the head of state and who was the vassal.

"Yes - much as you are, my dear."

"This is pointless."

Yen'fay motioned to rise, only for her eyes to slowly slide open and showed a steel that could match with Amatsu on his hip. "Sit. Down," she asked him politely, but firmly.

Yen'fay - the disgraced King of another Chon'sin, gave a short nod before he settled back on his knees next to her. Maribelle offered him a small smile of comfort before her frown returned as she offered him her counsel.

"I do not know what world you hailed from, and I scarce need to learn tonight. That is your battle and must be sorted in kind," she began with a simple, logical observation. One that he found no fault in while he waited for more of her words.

Maribelle's fingers curled on her knees, almost as if she sought to clutch her usual umbrella before she continued on, "However - you cannot allow these issues to blind you. Especially not your…urges," she carefully answered.

The king said nothing - not a thing, as she slowly rose to her feet. Her garb was simple and consisted only of the long leggings and the tunic of her horsebound class. It allowed no illusion of her shapely body as the eloquent, voluptuous rider stood over him. "I have seen how you're eyes wander, King Yen'fay - mere flickers that pass in a moment's time," she explained.

"...Just so. Continue, my lady," he politely confirmed at least some of her suspicions without so much as a fight. Whether it was respect for her intuition or simply to appease her couldn't be said and wasn't relevant to Maribelle's interest.

She motioned him to rise, as she herself did, and soon the two stood across the tea set. The Ylissean noble's hands went to her remaining garments as she offered him what she could provide. "I cannot offer much to your kingdom, King Yen'fay. But what I may do is to handle your current issues, here and now…in a more physical manner," she declared as she pulled her tunic up and properly exposed her voluptuous body.

"…"


"Mmmm-n-ngh!"

Maribelle shuddered and writhed as her nails dug into the exposed support beams. Her bare chest bounced and flopped against the rhythmic ruts as the potent sword of the Chon'sin king slid in and out of her velvet sheathe. His hand tightened against her upturned leg as she struggled to twist her body to accommodate.

Yen'fay kept himself at a brisk, yet strikingly subdued pace. Not a word passed his lips while he partook in the Ylissean's body, as she'd permitted him. Her own form of 'cultural exchange' left him firm and erect - honed to an edge inside her shapely, beautiful body as he rutted her again and again.

She bit back a deeper moan as her eyes spasmed and rolled up. The brief climax that had triggered from her loins passed over her in a moment's time while she let her hips roll and rock back. From her slightly dilapidated vantage point, she could just peer out through the holes in the wall and onto the misty, forlorn landscape below.

A respite - a safe house in this misty, miserly lands. That's what this war-ravaged manor had become. Stripped of its splendor and left to be picked at by vultures or opportunists. An apt metaphor for him, as the Ylissean noble took from him what he relented to lose.

But not without a fight.

Maribelle shivered and shuddered as she hunched forward and gulped down deep lungfuls of air. The fits grew worse and worse against her as she suffered through climax after climax. Intense enough to be noted, but not nearly enough to rattle or wind her. Such was her discipline and resolve that not even the might of Chon'sin could break her. Fettered though that might may be.

He felt it first as his pace suddenly shifted up. The blonde blinked as her body was pushed towards the wall while her coiled hair bounced and danced before her eyes. A precise, critical strike against her most erogenous spot left her a mess of nerves and mush as her head hit the beam with an audible thud. A sharp knock, much as the scare-deer against the rocks, signaled his own release as well.

It passed much as he wished he could - silently. Maribelle slumped to the floor, on her knees like a baseborn strumpet with but a single hand outstretched and dug into the rotted wood. Yen'fay followed her descent, as smoothly as water, while his seed filled her womb. Neither one spoke for some time until after his river had run dry.

"That was…passable," Yen'fay finally admitted as if he hadn't just seeded a foreign noble.

"I'm…. fuh-flattered to live up to such lofty standards," Maribelle panted with her usual dry, cutting edge on her weary throat. Her hand reached back to grab his wrist while his palm slid over her stomach. Her other hand remained up against the support beams, dug in by the nails.

"I wasn't aware that such tactics were openly practiced in Ylisse," he mused before he slid out of her cum-stuffed pussy and shifted up to his feet. Maribelle waited for him to offer her his hand before she rose up, with no regard for the state she'd been left in.

"Well, I may have learned a few, shall we say, tricks, from some enlightened ladies," she casually admitted with a shrug. It seemed that she had no concern for her appearance, especially in the presence of the Chon'sin King. however, whatever cavalier nature could've existed (how minute it be) evaporated in a flash as her hand reached back and touched his hardened blade. "But enough distractions - I believe you are still in need of my services," she declared.

"Fie. That is hardly necessary. This charade has lasted long enough," Yen'fay grunted and turned to leave her behind. He only made it as far as the nearby couch before she managed to catch up with him and cup her fingers over his crotch once again.

"So you say…but this seems quite more honest," Maribelle accused him as the stood by the couch. Her unburdened hand reached forward and grabbed a mostly-intact cushion as her eyes glanced between the seat below and him.

"Stand, sit - it hardly matters. I WILL be acting in your interest, Yen'fay - understood?" she punctuated her question with a firm pump.

The King of another realm said nothing against her - not her words that rang in his ears, nor the hand that glided over his cock. His eyes remained shut while the moans of the winds creaked into the forlorn estate.

"…Very well," he relented and slowly sat down before she shifted on her knees before him…