The worst part about normal dragon flights, not on a big dragon like Cinnamon, is waiting for them. You spend hours sitting in a dragon port, just doing nothing but trying to avoid going to sleep. And delayed flights can be a real pain in the ass. I was grateful that I had a crystal ball to entertain myself. It made a massive difference as I sat in the dragon port.

Still, the headache I had was an even bigger distraction. It had been building up ever since I saw the burning area outside of the cave. And it was only getting bigger.

"Someone really drowned orphanages," Joanna's words caught my attention.

"Yes," I replied.

"It's still difficult to comprehend," she said. "Why would anyone do something so cruel?"

"There are a few reasons. Hopefully, I'll be able to find out why when I talk to His Majesty."

According to Dʰéǵʰom, King Eduard the Defenestrator captured the guy who flooded the orphanages. And the culprit is the same son of Poseidon who attacked the Mr. and Mrs. Barbarian competition.

Thinking about it pissed me off. This guy shouldn't even be in this world anymore, but he murdered countless innocent children. I had no idea why King Eduard the Defenestrator hadn't killed him yet.

Soon enough, the dragon we were getting on landed. We got on it, and the flight to the capital started.

I stepped out of the dragon port into Kullestad, the capital of Greenrivers. It was twice the size of Blitzburg. Looking around, I saw that the streets were lined with whitewashed wood and brick buildings. There was a grand castle on a hill at the center of Kullestad. It stretched into the sky higher than any other building in the city. A horrid stench flowed into my nose as I got closer to the street. Looking on, I saw that there was horse manure on the road.

"It never smelled this bad before," Joanna said, her nose wrinkling. "Normally, spellcasters that specialize in water magic clean the streets."

But now, they have to put out the fires the mercenaries the son of Poseidon hired set.

"Let's just move on," I sighed.

My headache was getting worse by the second.

We made it to Castle Kullestad, where a pair of guards stood outside the entrance. They had halberds and crystal balls in hand.

"Who are you?" one of the guards asked.

"I am Saint Sir Gustav, Lord von Blitzburg," I answered. "I am here to see His Majesty, King Eduard the Defenestrator."

He held up the crystal ball so it showed my face before pulling it back down. King Eduard's voice came out from it.

"Let him in," the monarch ordered.

With that, the guards stepped aside and opened the door. I stepped inside, followed by my retainers.

The moment I stepped inside, I found myself standing in the grand hall. There was a great red carpet leading from King Eduard and Queen Eleanor's thrones to the door. Numerous guards lined the sides of the room, but there weren't as many nobles as I thought there would be.

King Eduard the Defenestrator and Queen Eleanor sat on their thrones. They were dressed in fine robes of purple and green. Their eyes were sunken in as if they hadn't gotten any sleep in a very long time. They had expressions of utter seriousness on their faces.

The prince stood next to them. I'd never met him in person before, but I recognized his face from our crystal ball calls. King Eduard the Defenestrator looked into my eyes as if he was gazing right into my soul. My retainers and I knelt.

"Rise," King Eduard the Defestrator said.

We stood up.

"I see you have returned from your diplomatic mission, Saint Gustav. I hope you bring good news. The gods know, we could use it," the monarch said.

With a nod, I spoke, "I have, Your Majesty. I made a trade agreement with the Queen of the Dark Elves that I hope you will find acceptable."

"We hold the same hopes, then. Give it to me."

I pulled out the trade agreement and brought it over to King Eduard the Defenestrator. He took it from my hand. I took a few steps back as the monarch read through it. Then, King Eduard handed it to Queen Eleanor, who also examined the deal. When she was finished, Queen Eleanor gave the agreement back to her husband.

Sweat was pouring down my brow. Nervousness blasted through my body. It was all I could do to stop myself from shaking. King Eduard the Defenestrator, a guy who likes throwing people out of windows, was reading a trade agreement I made. Not just that, it was a trade agreement he trusted me to make. The full implications of this came crashing down onto me like rocks from an angry gamemaster. He wouldn't kill me for making a bad deal, but that didn't make him any less intimidating!

"Just keep calm, Gustav. Everyone in the room can see you sweating," Dʰéǵʰom stated.

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"That just makes me even more nervous!" I thought.

Then, King Eduard the Defenestrator opened his mouth. I felt like I was going to faint.

"I am impressed, Saint Gustav. I did not expect you to get a trade deal this good," he said.

Thank the fucking gods!

Relief crashed into me like an avalanche. I held in a deep sigh as King Eduard signed the trade deal.

"Duke Armand," the monarch spoke with a slightly sympathetic tone. "Saint Gustav seems quite tired from his long trip here. Please escort him and his retainers to one of the guest rooms."

A man stood up and bowed.

"I'd be honored to, Your Majesty," he said.

Walking to the side of the room, the man motioned for me to follow him. I did so with my retainers following me.

"I am Duke Armand Redcroft," he introduced himself. "I have heard a lot about you, Saint Sir Gustav, Lord von Blitzburg."

"You have?" I asked.

"Considering how you stopped a war between three kingdoms, I would be surprised if he didn't," Joanna said.

"Well, I did that, but I only could do that because the monarchs were all reasonable people. I just got lucky."

At least, they were more reasonable than monarchs have any right to be.

"You are quite the humble man, Saint Gustav," Duke Armand stated.

"Less humble and more lacking self-awareness," Joanna muttered under her breath.

We arrived at a large room with a fancy mattress in it. The bed's surroundings were highly decorated with curtains of red and green, grand tapestries, and candle holders made of silver.

"You will be staying here while you are in His Majesty's castle. He will want to speak with you later," Duke Armand said.

"I thought guests of lord's places normally sleep in their grand halls," Johannes spoke up.

"Normally, yes, but His Majesty would not have the retinue of a Saint stay in the same place as those who are not as blessed by the gods."

That's one question answered. But I have another.

"Why would King Eduard have a duke escort me here? He could have gotten any random servant to do it," I thought.

"Well, Duke Armand is his scheme expert, so they might have a plan in mind," Dʰéǵʰom pointed out.

I held in a sigh.

"I'm going to get roped into politics while I'm here, aren't I?" I thought.

"You probably are," Dʰéǵʰom said.

Then, Duke Armand gave me a smile.

"May we speak in private, Saint Gustav?" he asked.

"Sure," I answered.

"Right this way, then," Duke Armand stepped to the side and I followed him.

He stopped when we were out of anyone's earshot and turned to me with a smile.

"Tell me, Lord von Blitzburg, what do you think of commoners?" he asked.

What? Why ask me this question all of a sudden?

"They're people, the same as us. We nobles rule over them, and that means we have a duty to them," I chose an answer that I thought would seem pretty standard.

"Many nobles were once commoners, something a lot of them have forgotten," Duke Armand said. "Even ones who were only elevated to the nobility recently. And some of those who were elevated hundreds of years ago quickly forgot. Or perhaps you could say that they remembered all too well."

I remembered everything I learned about Motteburh.

"You could say that, especially about certain places," I stated.

"Yes. And you are a Saint of Dʰéǵʰom. He rarely has saints and must have not chosen you lightly. Perhaps you have more sympathies for commoners than you're letting on?" Duke Armand suggested.

I sighed.

"Is he always like this?" I thought.

"Not all the time, but he is very often," Dʰéǵʰom replied.

"You can cut the veiled implications," I said. "I know you've been working with Krewh."

A smile crossed Duke Armand's face.

"I suspected you did, but this confirms things. Now, you want to get to the point, yes?" he asked.

"I do," I answered.

Duke Armand nodded.

"Very well. I will cut straight to the point: there are some nobles who want to turn Greenrivers' feudalism into Motteburh's feudalism. They want to ban peasants from ascending to the nobility, oppress them heavily, and shift the burden of taxes entirely onto the commoners."

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

And here, I thought my headache couldn't get any worse!

I clutched my skull and groaned. Duke Armand nodded again.

"Yes, it seems you are exactly the sort of noble I need the aid of," he said. "I intend to stop this growing faction of Motteburh lovers."

Duke Armand worked with Krewh, and I don't think Krewh would work with someone who'd be in favor of oppressing the peasantry more than most nobles are. That means I can probably trust him to be against the Motteburh scheme. I'd need to talk to King Eduard about this too. Dammit! More headaches were piling on! And also...

"Dʰéǵʰom, is Duke Armand someone I can trust to work with on this?" I needed confirmation.

"He is," the god replied.

With a sigh, I spoke.

"Okay, I'm in. What do you need me to do, Your Grace?" I asked.

"Right now, just pretend to have far fewer sympathies for commoners than you actually do. Eventually, some nobles will ask you to join their Motteburh-loving faction. When they do, report it to me," Duke Armand answered.

"And that's it?"

"That is all I need you to do, Saint Gustav."

"Then, I'll see you then," I said.

"Of course, Saint Gustav," Duke Armand stated.

We parted ways and I went back to my retainers.

"Did you have a pleasant chat?" Joanna asked.

"Not quite how I'd put it, but sort of, I guess?" I answered. "If I say something that seems out of character, go along with it. Pretend that I'm always like that."

Understanding flowed through Joanna.

"His Majesty's scheme master has you involved in something?" she questioned.

"I don't think he wants me to give any details, but yes. Just go along with anything I say, even if it isn't something I'd normally say," I instructed.

"Of course."

Astrid let out a deep sigh. She shook her head.

"I'm guessing this means we'll be stuck here for a while?" she spoke up.

"Yes. His Majesty probably has a few plans in mind for me," I replied.

"This is going to be very stressful," Astrid stated.

Johannes rubbed her back.

"At least we're not in Motteburh," he said.

"I never want to go back to my homeland again," Astrid replied.

"I'm going to be stressed too," I admitted. "All sorts of bullshit is going on, and I'm going to get involved in more of it. This is going to be very, very, very painful."

Joanna sighed.

"Exactly what I'd expect from you, Gustav. Most nobles would kill to be in the position you're in now, but you're different," she said.

"I guess I am," I sighed. "But there's nothing I can do about it now. I just have to hope that I can get through this mess."

If I could, there's a lot of good I could do. But if not, things would only get worse.

And I also had the upcoming saint meeting to worry about.