Chapter 341 – Jealousy (1) Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan King Herod of Balkath was a man with a brilliant mind. He was as eager for knowledge as he was for s3x. He had been greatly anticipating this trip to Estia because he believed he could satisfy both urges there, not only exotic knowledge, but new women. There was nothing better. He set out for Estia in secret, so he would not have to see the Queen of Balkath for a few days. As soon as he arrived, he spent his evenings in the Estia’s red light district, and was out wandering through bookstores when the sun came up. During the day, he spent his time reading books and gathering information about the royal family. When he found a bookstore he liked, he rented the whole place for the duration of his stay. That was where he was, quietly reading a book when he heard the shop door open. Thinking the shop owner had returned, he went back to the front, only to find a woman. He had forgotten to put a Closed sign on the door of the shop to keep people away for a few days. But the sound of her voice aroused him, so Herod decided to accept her as a guest. Besides, she wasn’t just a fellow reader, she also spoke ancient languages. He wanted a look at her face. Really, he had no expectations; he was just curious about who the owner of that voice was. So he pretended to fall, and grabbed for her hood, finally revealing her face. It was the icing on the cake. He had never seen such a beauty. But what struck him even more than her perfect face was how those fine features looked when she was embarrassed. He could not forget that trembling of her eyes, or the way she swiftly controlled it. That sudden coldness shook his heart. She was definitely the kind of woman Herod liked. It was a little disappointing that her eyes and hair were an ordinary brown; he thought she would look better with more striking coloration. He would want her to dye her hair, in future. Estia had many beautiful women, and he could only hope its Queen would match the beauty he had seen in the bookshop. He was curious to see why so many powerful men had risked their lives to have her. But even if the Queen was beautiful, he couldn’t imagine that she would have the same charm of the woman he had met. Without even realizing it, his curiosity about the Queen had become secondary. He wanted to know more about the woman in the bookshop. She had tried to draw a line by saying she was married, but for him, that was even more ideal. Estia valued the purity of brides so highly, only a married woman would dare to have an affair. He didn’t understand how she could have maintained such a beautiful appearance after having a child. But the more he imagined the sound of her panting with pleasure, the sooner he wanted to be in bed with her. It was obvious that she had lied as she was leaving, but it wouldn’t be difficult to find a noblewoman like that, in the small social circle of aristocrats. He just had to wait a little longer and he would have her. Herod was at ease. He always got what he wanted. *** Leah wondered what the man she had met in the bookstore was doing right now. She was curious about him. He looked like a nobleman or merchant from another kingdom, and she had wondered if he might not be involved in the counterfeit coin problem. He didn’t look like an ordinary man. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find out information about him, if he was a frequent visitor to the bookshop. Mura had stayed by Leah’s side once they returned to the palace. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺 “I will prepare your bath,” she said. “A little later,” Leah replied. “I have some urgent matters to handle first.” Mura followed Leah into her office, bending to surreptitiously sniff the Queen. Nodding to herself, she glanced out the windows to check the angle of the sun. Lost in thought, Leah didn’t notice any of this as she sat down at her desk in the office and pulled out the silver coins she had collected that day to examine them. As she had thought, all of them were genuine. It seemed the counterfeits had not yet been spread widely, which agreed with the reports of her investigator. Next time, it was not the shops in the busier areas of the city that would need to be checked. They would have to look in more discreet quarters.