Chapter 72 – Catching Up with the Royal Family

*** Queen Yumanea ***

I walk through the grand halls I earned all those years ago. The walls are covered with some of the best paintings in the land, statues of our great leaders and fighters memorialized in marble. The wood floors make my steps click, letting all know I'm coming. Not that there is anyone to hear them in this section of the castle.

The Queen's little corner of the castle. Not even my first wife or my seed is allowed in this section. Only my little Irlo is allowed in, and I just put her to bed. I'd love to join her in sleep, but I need to check if that stupid assassin guild has sent me the files yet.

The study is small, but there is only so much a single person needs inside: a simple desk, a few comfortable chairs, and a bookshelf filled with books. The one invasion of privacy is the communication mirror. A matching mirror is in the head of the intelligence office. I flick some mana at it, and it connects with its sister mirror, showing me Irdru waiting for me.

"Your Majesty," she greets as I appear for her.

"Did they send in the reports?"

"Yes, you should find them in the first drawer now," she answers as I check the drawer. The papers show up as she finishes her statement.

"Good. Did you have time to review them?"

"Yes, I only found two contracts that have anything to do with the kitsune women. Mai, a common brothel girl, and Alzi, a brothel slave. Mai is now a vampire after surviving the attempt. Countess Esmeralda is even personally training her now. Her debt was also paid off. Alzi, we believe, is pregnant with Duchess Fluvis's kids. We believe she is also the one who got Duchess Fluvis pregnant."

"Hmm, and what tie do they have to the kitsune?"

"Alzi and Mai are good friends with Yuki. They are very good friends, it seems. There are talks of marriage after Alzi is free."

It seems Yuki has finally found her target. My mother had hoped she was here just to better our relationship with the reclusive race, but when she was turned down, the only other reason for her being here was a man. Alzi would be a good pick for them. A breeder with a long life is good for a race that really struggles to produce men.

"I would say that is good friends. Anything else? Any ties with the new one floating around, Nakuma?"

"No, she seems to be friends with Yuki. What made her come here is unknown. We think she may be here to make sure Yuki and Alzi make it back home. But that is pure speculation."

"Would make sense. She's most likely here for Yuki in some way. Were there any bad assassinations going on? I don't want to assume it was the kitsune and miss the true culprit." They really got unlucky here. Didn't do their full research and got burnt by some brothel whores. I'll have to let them know about it after Yuki finishes or makes a scene. They'll need to start doing better research, so they don't have half their guild die again.

"No, the rest are pretty standard. Even the spying is tame. I imagine they know who did it, just they can't really retaliate. If Yuki calls on her mother for a bit of help, we'll no longer have an assassin guild around for a while."

"Yes, picking a fight with the best assassins isn't the smartest thing to do. Keep an eye on them. Let them fight in the shadows for a bit. It's good for them to remember they can be hunted down as well."

"As you wish, your Majesty," Irdru says with a bow before I turn the mirror off. I leaf through the papers for a few more minutes but find nothing interesting.

Irdru came to the right conclusion.

Kind of funny the only people here with any backing that can fight the guild are some whores. The strange thing is who ordered the attacks. First was Mai by the Ashmark family. I've never liked them, but I don't have any evidence of wrongdoing. Maybe Yuki will take care of them for me. I'll have to make sure they leave this information in their vaults. Yuki should pay me a little for all the chaos she's causing in my city.

The second is more troublesome. My own daughter, Adesala, paying for Alzi to die. I know she has some assassins. Why would she have the guild do this one? Did she expect it to fail? She must know she paid to have the Duchess's kids killed. That assassination succeeds, and her bid for the throne is done just as it started. Fluvis is what lets all our sea trade run so smoothly. No pirates dare to attack our merchants, knowing she'll track them down and flay their skin off and hang them from their own mast. Well, if they still have a mast after her wife's attacks.

An ending with them unable to spend the gold they stole is one they avoid.

I'll need to send her a warning. Yuki must be worried about Fluvis stealing her prize out from under her if Fluvis hasn't acted yet. Elora gets hold of this and she may have a chance for my throne. It's not the worst thing, but I've groomed Lyrei for this spot already. Would rather not have a drawn out fight for it.

I stash all the paper in a safe. You never know when you'll need to spread some juicy rumors. And what better rumor to spread than one that's true?

With nothing else needing my immediate attention, I head for my bed chamber, wondering how many of my wives I will find waiting for me.

*** Princess Elora (Alzi soon be owner and wife) ***

The move was as stressful as I thought it would be. There was so much furniture to move, supply deals to set up, carriage rides, and so little free time.

Spending my nights with my wives has been nice. We just aren't getting as much sleep. But we made it. We're mostly settled in now, making the week deadline I had set. We had two weeks, but I wanted some extra time in case things were a lot harder than I planned. But all that is left are small details.

"Honey, um, we have some requests from some nobles," Isda walking into my room. One hand holding a letter she's reading, the other on her small growing bump. "Saying a few griffons are picking away at travelers and fields inside Lady Liuva's lands, along the border of our support. It would be a good point for a survey of our lands. Should I say we'll send out a group?"

"Yes, my dear. I'll head out with my wives and a few servants. Some of these girls need some levels before they'll be truly useful," I respond. Her affinity is a weird one, household affinity. She's likely the only reason this move took a week. The benefits of the strange are always a bit hidden. It seems the house just doesn't want to be dirty in her presence. Like you could flip the salt over and it would refuse to spill to the floor.

"Alright, and the spices have come in, so we don't need to ration them out anymore. I've let the kitchen know, but I don't want people to be surprised when things taste good all of a sudden," she says, already heading out.

"Wait! I should ask you this before I forget," I call out. I've been meaning to ask if she's found who her patron Goddess is. Does she even know she's an angel? I would hope her family knew and at least made some effort to figure it out.

"What is it? I've already set out the plan for the main entrance. The current shrubs won't do. I'll have them fixed soon."

"No, it isn't about the bushes out front. You're an angel, right?"

That does get her looking up from the letter, her hand still resting on top of her belly.

"What?"

"Angel, your golden hair and all that. I'm pretty sure you're an angel," I repeat. Wait, did the royal family not share that information? They must have gone to the temples. Surely one of the priestesses would have said something? Are the Goddesses so petty they won't help each other gather the lower angels to the right temple?

"Um, don't angels live in the heavens. Why would I be one down here?" She asks, her body still frozen in confusion.

"Yes, most are. But there are such things as lower angels," I let out with a sigh. "It seems the royal families are hiding a few things. We'll have to go around the temples and find the right one. We can start with the Goddess of the Hearth or House. Family may also be a good start. You don't always get an affinity with your patron Goddess, so we may have to check around. After you ask a few, they should just point you to the Goddess."

"Are you sure about me being an angel? I'm nothing special. Boring affinity and a second child. Sure, I'm the daughter of the head wife, but still not first."

"Yes, you have natural golden hair. The only group that has golden hair is the royal dragonkin family, Alzi, and angels. Alzi has it from her multicolor hair, which is likely a gift from some Goddess. Royal dragonkins get it from their patron Goddess. So, are you the daughter of a royal dragon?"

"No," she says slowly.

"Then you're an angel. Plus, you kept up with your older sister, yet this is the first time you're running a household. You should be well behind everyone in terms of classes, yet those tits feel great in my hands. Plan a few trips to the nearby temples. Try to make it the ones I listed, but any will do to start. Your Goddess may have a mission for you, and I don't want to stand in the way of a Goddess."

"If you're sure, Elora, I'll give it a try, but I doubt I'm an angel. Wouldn't my Goddess reach out to me?"

"Depends on how deep the connection is. Goddesses sometimes can't reach their champions without a priestess nearby. Wouldn't be surprising if some angels also get lost." I should've asked this earlier. Hopefully, her mission doesn't take her away from me. She's too nice to not have around here.

"Wait, I had a weird dream of getting ravaged by Alzi a lot. Could that be a message from my Goddess? Should I check out the Goddess of Sex? Oh, that would be weird, or does she want me to be a permanent member of Alzi's bed? I shouldn't think too much about this. I'll start asking," she says, running out of my room. Her brain likely going to her first time.

Why would a Goddess want her to get pregnant with Alzi's children? Don't question the Goddess, just listen. I've got enough in front of me, no need to worry about those that can smite me with a thought.

I'm packing for a trip. It'll be good to travel again, stretch my muscles, see the country in all its glory, and help a few people along the way.