Going around the world playing tennis meant that he had no time for the king. He was pretty independent and very dominant, so he did not enjoy the idea of being dicked down by the king. King Percival could tell and he left the brothers alone. He already had 2 heathy sons from the pairing, so it was fine. Percival loved Cassandra. It was very clear that he wanted Crown Prince Ion to succeed him when he passed. Princess Jannet would be a second choice. Both were Cassandra's children. She had not managed to birth another heir. Just because he loved Cassandra did not mean he did not bed others. He was a firm alpha supremacist. His heart loved his wife, but in his mind, it was his right to have omegas on his knot. Lady Elisa Lynard was a noble woman who had been busy. She was chosen as a concubine as the Lynard Family had largely stayed out of the succession chase. All of Percival's siblings died, but no one had bet on him before hand. Them coming to him afterwards was seen as very insulting. As a petty fucker himself, he called the Lynard Family.
He knew it was simply because the Lynard family was falling into debt and could not afford to gamble on this. Lady Elisa was a suitable candidate at the time and the big mating bite was arranged right away. He stayed most of the time with his wife. It would be amazing and his preference to have a royal heir conceived by his queen during his reign. That would put the child above even Ion in the succession. Whenever, he got horny for some of those omega pheromones, he went to Lady Elisa. Elsa had gotten pregnant 3 times. The latest time had born twin sons. It was the intention of the Lynard family to suck up every favor they could to bail out their family. To that end, she already submitted herself to Queen Cassandra. She pledged that she and her children would support Ion for the throne. That was what Cassandra wanted to hear. It sparked a friendship that was beneficial to both parties. Anna had advised Reilly to do the same. He balked at it. "No way! I had to carry Ash and Cedar. If they can be king, they should go for it." he said firmly. She just shrugged at it.
Xenophobia was not a bigotry that King Percival had. He took concubines from 2 neighboring nations. Both were omegas. Lord Layton was the son of a concubine that supported the wrong sibling. He was blinded as a harsh punishment and sent off. It was another way to piss all his detractors off. Lady Tilla was a noble woman a minor family. He was simply trolling the court. Lord Layton and Lady Tilla were more than happy to be used in this way. It was better them with him than if they stayed in their countries. Layton was already blinded and stripped of all royal duties. If he made any noise of unease, he would simply be murdered. Lady Tilla would just languish in her country as a minor noblewoman. Her family would make a shitty match for her and she would have to endure a loveless marriage at the edge of financial ruin. Instead of that, they lived in fancy manor houses with servants and royal children to love and nurture. It was for appearances on the king's end, so it was just a one and done deal for them. Lady Elisa was the real mistress of their royal harem.
