CHAPTER 1028: CHAPTER 157 - THE CENTAUR KINGDOM (4)

"F-Father, you can’t seriously believe the bullshit this man’s spewing! Everything he’s saying is a goddamn lie! There’s no way something like that even exists!"

The Prince’s voice cracked slightly, frustration boiling beneath his words. His face was flushed, veins bulging faintly along his neck. He was visibly furious, like a fire had just been thrown into a pile of dry straw.

"But they do, son," Lionel said calmly, his voice steady, almost disarming in its quiet confidence. His lips curved into a knowing smile, the kind that carried weight—like a man who had seen things beyond comprehension. "I think I already told you this, Reilhahand... I’ve seen it myself—a woman made entirely of metal. That’s not a tale or a hallucination. That’s the truth. And you know damn well I wouldn’t lie to you."

The room fell silent for a moment. The tension thickened like heavy smoke clinging to the air. Reilhahand’s brows furrowed, his tail twitching behind him as he processed the statement.

"I believe you, Lionel," he finally muttered, though there was still clear reluctance in his tone. "You’ve proven many times that you’re not a liar... even though I still hate your guts." He crossed his arms tightly, his voice heavy with both suspicion and resignation. "Still, humans made of metal? That’s not exactly something you can just swallow easily. I can’t just nod and say, ’Oh sure, that sounds believable.’ No, not at all. But fine—I’ll take it seriously, even if I have to choke it down with a grain of salt."

At least he was willing to consider it. That was already more progress than I expected.

"More than that," Reilhahand continued, his tone sharpening again as he turned his gaze back to me, "I can’t just believe you’re doing all this out of kindness. There’s always a reason. So tell me—what’s your real motive? What are you gaining out of this?"

I sighed inwardly. Of course, he’d ask that. It was a fair question, honestly. No one just goes around uniting kingdoms and picking fights with empires for fun. I could’ve told him my real reason right away, but there were layers to it—things I wasn’t ready to reveal yet.

"I want my women to be happy," I said simply.

Reilhahand froze for a second, his expression blank—then suddenly, he broke into laughter.

"Hahahahaha! What?! That’s your reason?!" he roared, slapping one of his horse thighs hard enough that the sound echoed through the hall. His laughter came from deep in his chest, full and unrestrained. "You’re seriously doing all this—for that? You’re really something else!"

Even Lionel cracked a faint grin, shaking his head slightly.

Reilhahand’s laughter eventually died down, though he still had that amused smirk plastered on his face. "I’ve heard about that incident. The elven slaves—you managed to help them free themselves from slavery, right? Never thought anyone could actually pull that off. Guess they’d been planning it for years. Still... I suppose it makes sense. And since you’re their man, that explains a lot." His tone grew more thoughtful, though there was still a hint of disbelief in his eyes. "You’ve made an enemy out of the Empire—the biggest damn country in the world. To stand against that kind of power, yeah, you’d need numbers and land. So, you’re trying to unite the kingdoms. Fair enough. Makes sense strategically."

"It’s not just that," I said, my tone more serious now. "The elven women aren’t just my women—my women also includes Sir Lionel’s daughter, and others who still have families here. I can’t let the Empire harm the forest, not when they have ties and blood here."

Reilhahand leaned back slightly, studying me with quiet amusement. "Oh, you’re a determined one, huh?" he said, his lips curling into a teasing grin. He then glanced toward the centaur woman standing beside him.

And for a moment, I couldn’t help but stare.

The centaur woman was stunning. Her presence alone could make the air feel heavier. She carried herself with this quiet grace, her every movement deliberate and composed. Her hair, as white as moonlight, flowed down her back like silk—same color as the King’s and the Prince’s. That pretty much confirmed she was royalty—his daughter, most likely. Her lower body, that of a horse, gleamed with short, smooth brown fur that looked meticulously groomed. The white tail flicking behind her glimmered under the light. There was something elegant, yet untamed about her. Every centaur I’d met so far had that same regal aura, and she was no exception—if anything, she embodied it.

"Well then," Reilhahand said suddenly, pulling my attention back to him. "I have a proposition for you." His tone turned serious, but there was still that glint of mischief in his eyes. "I’m not exactly thrilled about getting tied up with the other kingdoms—especially not the Beast Kingdom. I don’t know if I buy your motivation yet, and I still don’t trust that whole metal machine story. But..." he smirked, lowering his voice slightly, "I am interested in you as a man."

...Why the hell was he smirking like that? The way he said it made my skin crawl a little. I wasn’t sure if he was messing with me or if this conversation was about to take a weird turn. I mean, sure, I’ve got a massive schlong that could probably compete with a horse’s dick, but I was not planning on testing that theory with an actual centaur man.

"I guess it’s only natural," Reilhahand continued, chuckling to himself. "You’ve made the Queen of the Elves bend the knee to you, you’ve got a whole damn harem of women, and even Lionel trusts his daughter with you. That’s saying something." He turned to gesture at the centaur woman beside him.

"Kali here is my daughter—my one and only," he said proudly. "I haven’t appointed her to anyone yet, which means she’s still single. I was planning to marry her off to my strongest warrior, but none have met my standards so far. Now, a union between a centaur and another race might sound strange, but it’s not unheard of. There were people back then who’ve had sex with centaurs, so I think you could make it work. So, how about it? If you manage to give me a grandchild, I’ll promise my cooperation right away."

...A proposal? He wanted me to get his daughter pregnant?

It sounded weird as hell, but honestly, I could understand the appeal. Kali was beautiful—graceful, elegant, and radiating a wild charm that was hard to ignore. And, well... I’d never fucked a centaur before. To be fair, I was kind of curious.

"Say less," I said with a small smirk tugging at my lips.

After all, as long as there’s a hole, there’s a goal.