Forced to marry the enemy prince in her sister's place

It was Princess Penelope. She was looking around the arena for someone, most likely Niko, Hera thought. However, when she didn’t see them and was about to leave, she stopped immediately when she saw Theo.

Hera and Iris were seated in the gallery watching the whole interaction. They could see her face tighten, her back straightening.

"Interesting," Iris said.

It was interesting indeed, Hera thought.

They spoke for a while, then Iris left the Arena.

"I wonder who that is," Iris said.

"That is Theodore Diomedes," Hera replied. "Son of the prime minister."

"Ohh... That’s incredible. No wonder she acted a little shy." There was a pause. "But, wait, how do you know the man?"

"Because we’ve met."

"You’ve met?! How exactly?"

"Well, yesterday. When I went out alone. We bumped into each other at the theatre."

"How come we never saw him before that? I’m guessing he came for the banquet. And, if he’s here today, it’s most likely that he could have been here when we visited last time."

"He doesn’t have a memorable face or... I wasn’t looking at anyone else aside from Niko."

"Is that so?" Iris was grinning.

Hera rolled her eyes. "Iris, could you act normal for once?"

Iris laughed. "Alright, alright."

Theo walked towards them.

"He’s coming this way," Hera whispered.

He walked up to the gallery and gave them a curt bow. "What do we owe the pleasure of your visit, princess?"

"Good day, my lord." Hera stood from her seat.

"Good day," Theo replied with a tight smile.

"This is a friend of my sister’s, Iris."

She stood up to shake Theo.

"And we were just looking for lord Nikolas," Hera said.

"I’m afraid you will not find him here," Theo replied.

"Why is that, my lord?" Iris chimed.

"He isn’t here." He said flatly. "And I’m not sure anyone here has seen him either."

Hera sighed. "Thank you, my lord. We’ll be taking our leave then."

He bowed curtly and left.

"He’s quite the character," Iris said.

Hera replied with a grunt.

They descended the gallery stairs and entered their carriage, but Theo stepped in front and stopped them from leaving.

"Wait!" Theo called. He walked towards the carriage window. "Try the house of Callias."

"Where’s that?" Hera asked.

"You can ask around," he replied. "It’s a hard place to miss." Then he sauntered off...

"What was that about?" Iris asked with a grimace.

"Beats me." Hera shrugged. "But let’s go find this place."

They travelled back down toward the path into the city and asked people for directions to the house of Callias. They received as few frowns and silences, but eventually they reached the building.

Its exterior looked plain. There were no signs in the front, but the doors were larger than life, and also closed.

"How do we get it?" Iris asked when they were near the door.

"We could knock?" Hera suggested.

"Of course, we might as well swim in the middle of an ocean."

"I was just making a suggestion."

"It was a stupid suggestion."

"Alright then, you think of something."

Iris moved close to the door and studied it for a while. Then she saw it. A hanging rope at the far end of the door. She pulled it. A moment later, someone spoke to them from a small peephole they hadn’t noticed earlier.

"How may I help you?" The voice said.

"We’re looking for Nikolas Aetos," Iris said. "We are friends of his."

"What may I address you as? " the voice asked.

"Lady Iris Giovanni and Princess Hera of Epirus."

The voice behind the door went completely silent. A few minutes later, the door creaked slightly open, and they entered.

They are first confronted by a few half-naked women with beautiful, long hair and wispy coverings.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Iris hugged herself, trying desperately to evade their touch.

Hera was both horrified and in awe of the place. In the lower court, there was a little pool by the side with a fully unclad woman dancing on the left and another on the right, spread apart with a man moving violently through her.

The bar area was filled with drunk men. Men too old to be there with young women on both arms, caressing their bodies unabashedly.

The women and men did not seem to give a care in the world as they partook in various lewd acts. The screams and moans seemed so mechanical, fake, and somehow real at the same time.

"What is this place?" Iris asked.

Hera could not imagine what Niko would do in a place such as this. Why would he degrade himself to this level of crude indecency?

"I have no idea," Hera replied. Her voice was quiet.

"Excuse me, miss," Iris stopped one of the girls walking past them, "do you know who Nikolas Aetos is? Is he here?"

The lady looked coyly at her and giggled.

Iris and Hera exchanged glances.

"You might check for him in one of the private rooms," she said. "Did he ask that you meet him here?"

"Not exactly," Hera replied. "It was recommended to us by a friend. He said I could find Lord Nikolas here."

The girl smiled again. "Well, if you see him, tell him Maria says hi. He is so lovely."

Iris and Hera looked at each other, unsure what to say.

"That was an extremely strange conversation," Iris said.

They followed a spiral staircase and went up to the second floor. It was lined with a series of doors. A few voices cackling and laughing from inside some of the rooms.

"How exactly do we know which of the rooms to check?" Hera asked. She had a concerned look about her. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I don’t think anyone would care if we took a peek or asked a few questions," Iris said. "We’ll just open a few doors."

They went from room to room, politely asking if anyone had seen Niko, but they all answered negatively.

They opened a fourth door and were faced with a few naked men. Their genitals are dangling freely.

"Oh my goodness," Hera reeled back.

"Heavens," Iris cursed under her breath.

"Well, well, well," one of the men said. "How can we help you, ladies?"

They both turned their faces away from the men.

"We’d like to know if you’ve seen someone named Nikolas Aetos."

"Ohh... You mean Niko?" the man said. "Well, you just missed him."