Concubines are quite common. It’s expected that you would pick up one or two to keep your bed warm. You were never opposed to it but you also never found any of the potential concubines that your advisors paraded in front of you appealing. They were all aristocrats, all with parents who were more than willing to sell their children to you for honour.

For years you went without a concubine. For years you heard rumours that would whisper about why you’ve never taken a concubine. You never bothered to clear the air, your personal choices are of no importance to anyone else. You could go your whole life without a concubine and it wouldn’t affect your ability to rule.

Even you couldn’t have anticipated how you'd come upon having a concubine. One of your most loyal knights, Kyle, had approached you privately and explained that he no longer wanted to be a knight. He said that he struggled to see a point in the career that he was once so proud of, that he wants time to do what would make him happy before it’s too late. He wanted to do something new before he inevitably lost his life in battle.

Both of you knew that it would be almost impossible for him to stop being a knight without losing his social status and financial security so you told him to give you a few days to figure things out. At first it seemed like an impossible task but then your advisors brought yet another set of potential concubines to the throne room. It sparked an idea.

After dismissing them you had someone fetch Kyle for you so you could discuss the brilliant idea you had. Making him a concubine. He wouldn’t be a knight anymore and it would actually allow him to move up the social ladder. It seemed like the best solution. It would allow him to still be protected but to live with more freedoms than he had as a knight. You definitely don’t plan to keep him confined when the whole point is to give him the opportunity to branch out.

It’s mutually beneficial and that’s all Kyle needs to know. He can know that it will get your advisors off your case and protect him from backlash from him leaving his job as a knight. He doesn’t need to know how many nights you’ve spent wishing he was beside you keeping your bed warm. He doesn’t need to know how long you’ve kept your little crush a secret out of respect for him and his career. Maybe that’s why you didn’t think of making him a concubine sooner, you can’t help but imagine him as an equal.

“Are you serious, your majesty? I had always assumed that you have no interest in such distractions.” Kyle murmurs, his hands clasped behind his back as he tries not to get too excited by the prospects of not only having more freedom to do as he wishes but also being yours.