Harem Assassins : King Sekton's Harem Planet, Book 2: A Space Opera Harem Adventure Baron Sord (good books to read for adults .txt) 📖

She smiled pleasantly, “In the course of my career, I have found the innocent to be few and far between, my king.”

“That stops now,” I growled. I may have only been the acting king, but everyone was acting like my coronation was inevitable. My plan was to work that to the advantage and betterment of everyone, not just me. “The law is officially changed. Nobody, and I mean nobody gets whipped without a proper trial. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, my king,” Colonel Sadys said with hasty obedience.

“And if I find out you’ve had Corporal Syx whipped without my permission, Colonel, you’ll be next.” I glared at her pointedly and jabbed an angry finger at her. “And I’ll do the whipping myself. Understood?”

“Yes, my king,” Sadys mumbled, her ice blue eyes flickering with fear. She suddenly seemed very small.

“No more whipping,” I grumbled and made eye contact with Sergeant Kane and jabbed my finger at her too. “You got that?”

“Yes, my king,” Kane nodded respectfully.

“Innocent until proven guilty,” I said, swiveling my finger between both of them.

“Yes, my king,” they said together.

I took a moment to collect myself.

The more time I spent with Colonel Sadys, the less likely hate sex with her would ever happen. You know that old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? It had never felt more true than it did now. Although Corporal Syx literally looked like Satan’s daughter with her red skin, black hair, and glowing golden eyes, Colonel Sadys — with her black hair and white uniform — looked like a hot stripper nun (and maybe a little bit like the Baroness from G.I. JOE without glasses), but I’d rather have sex with Syx over Sadys any day, and take my chances in the afterlife.

Back to the issue at hand.

I said, “Now someone tell me how this started. This spy riot or whatever it was.”

Everyone’s eyes darted around nervously.

“I caught her spying!” Dyna blurted.

“I wasn’t spying!” Syx snarled.

“You were too, Xeno!”

“No I wasn’t! And stop calling me that!”

“Why? You’re a Xeno, aren’t you?”

“And you’re a skrucking Conk!” Syx scowled.

“That’s right! I’m the Conk who caught you snooping around!”

“Maybe you were snooping, but I wasn’t!” Syx made eye contact with me. “Maybe she’s the spy!”

Dyna snorted, “That’s such a spy thing to say! Only a Xeno would—”

“LADIES!” I hollered. “Enough with the name calling!”

They both grumbled and glared at each other while gnashing their teeth in frustration.

I leaned over to whisper in Captain Theia’s ear, “Do you know what a Conk is?”

Theia muttered, “It’s short for concubine, my king.”

I frowned, “Isn’t that what every woman on this planet is?”

“Yes, my king. The word Conk is an insult women use to suggest another woman is a sycophant.”

“A suck up?”

“Yes, my king,” Theia nodded.

“Got it thanks.” I made glaring eye contact with Dyna and Syx and said, “Only one person talks at a time. Understood?”

“Yes, my king,” Dyna gushed and practically batted her eyelashes at me. “Your wish is my command.”

“Conk,” Syx muttered under her breath, looking annoyed.

I forced myself not to laugh because Dyna and Syx had just acted out the dictionary definition of Conk for my benefit, whether wittingly or unwittingly I couldn’t say. But I did want to guffaw, probably because the tension was running high and laughter might actually be the best way to release it. For me, anyway. I knew rolling on the floor braying like a drunken donkey for my own benefit was not the ideal tone to set for a tribunal hearing. The best I could manage was to clamp it down to a sniffing snicker, which I covered by pretending to clear my throat.

“Ahem.” I then said in a more serious tone, “Lieutenant, you first. Tell me what you saw.”

“Her snooping,” Dyna scowled and folded her arms across the bust of her V-cut uniform.

“Be more specific,” I sighed impatiently.

“I saw her poking around at the Main Relay Station where she wasn’t supposed to be!”

“Duh!” Syx blurted. “That’s my job!”

I said, “Sergeant Kane, is that true?”

“Yeah,” Kane nodded. “Corporal Syx has been helping out on scan detail since you ordered us to sweep the base inside and out for transmitters.”

“Did anyone scan the Main Relay Station?”

“We scanned it this morning.”

Dyna blathered, “Corporal Syx was off duty when I saw her snooping around the MRS!”

Syx sneered, “How do you know when I’m off duty? Are you snooping around? Following me everywhere I go?”

“Someone has to keep an eye on the spy,” Dyna smirked nonchalantly.

Syx launched herself at Dyna, claws out.

“BREAK IT UP!” I shouted.

Four guardswomen from Sergeant Kane’s security detail were already grabbing Syx and Dyna and yanking them apart. I did my best to avoid looking at their bouncing breasts. Damn V-cut uniform cleavage. Too distracting by far.

When they calmed, I said, “Dyna, when did you see Corporal Syx poking around the Main Relay Station?”

“Late last night,” Dyna smirked. “When I was on tower duty.”

“No you didn’t!” Syx protested. “You’re lying!”

“Check the security cameras if you don’t believe me,” Dyna said confidently and made eye contact with me. “She was there.”

I cringed.

The last thing I wanted to do was send Corporal Syx to the stockade. Or worse. What was the Zalaxian punishment for known spies? Forty lashes? Permanent exile? Firing squad? Hangman’s noose? Burned at the stake? Not that I would allow any of those things to happen, not without an extremely good reason. Honestly, the only thing I wanted to do with Syx was ask her out to dinner. Devilkin “Monster” or not, her first impression had been an excellent one, and she had proven herself on the battlefield twice already. The first time helping fight off Titano, and the second helping fight off the CyberKnights of the Spacepocalypse. That counted a whole helluva lot in my book.

Punishing her was a last resort.

But, if she was guilty of spying, I might not have a choice.

You can imagine how the “Normals” would react if I refused to punish a guilty “Monster” appropriately for something as