Here I was, on a dragon once again. I didn't have much time to stay in Blitzburg. When I finished everything, I made my way to the capital as fast as I could.

Cinnamon would have probably arrived at Blitzburg shortly after I left. Dr. Minos stayed there to help my parents. Without him by my side, I felt a little unsafe. He was the physically strongest of our group, and it'd be a while before I saw him next.

Well, I'd at least be in His Majesty's palace. And I was fairly certain that I'd be relatively safe there. I doubt King Eduard the Defenestrator would tolerate anyone causing trouble there.

Joanna turned to me as we walked towards the capital's castle. She had a look of concern on her face.

"Gustav, are you alright?" she asked.

"I am," I answered. "Just a little worried."

"No one will blame you for that. You're heading into a deep international situation," Joanna said.

After a moment of silence, I spoke again.

"Joanna, do you have any ambitions?" I wondered.

"At one point, I did. However, I am already fulfilling them," she said.

"So, there's nothing you want beyond what you have now?" I questioned. "No grand dreams or anything."

Joanna gave me a light chuckle.

"I suppose I would like to get married someday. Goodness knows that before magic, wet nurses needed to have children. But aside from that, I don't see a reason why I shouldn't be satisfied," she stated.

Her next words came out fast. Probably because she knew I'd say something that would make her bring this up anyway.

"I'm a knight, I work for a decently powerful family, I'm paid well, I am satisfied with my life, and I got to be your wet nurse. Seeing you grow up has been a very fulfilling experience for me. So, don't worry about my ambitions," Joanna said.

I narrowed my eyes.

"Are you just saying that because you think you don't deserve to have ambitions?" I asked. "I know you still have issues because of what your mother did."

And yes, I was being careful to not mention what they were specifically. We were in a big city, and there could be some sea elves listening in. I doubted there were any in the capital. But why take chances?

Joanna gave me a sympathetic expression before shaking her head.

"While I still feel guilt over Mother's actions, I am not going to just give up everything because of them," she said.

"You tried to once," I pointed out.

"That..."

Joanna took a deep breath.

"...is not something I'm going to repeat. Just thinking about it makes me feel awful," she stated.

So, Joanna was replacing one source of guilt with another to keep herself from doing anything stupid? That couldn't be healthy for her. But I had no idea what else to do. I'm a noble and former accountant, not a therapist. I hoped that someone in this world would come up with a theory of human psychology soon.

In the meantime...there just wasn't much I could do to help Joanna. But I would still do everything I could.

"Okay. Just take it easy. You are not your mother, and you shouldn't punish yourself for what she did," I said.

Joanna let out a soft sigh.

"We disagree on that, Gustav, but you are my lord. So, I will obey you," she replied.

Well...this was better than nothing. I doubted Dʰéǵʰom would be much help, considering how he generally dislikes interfering in human affairs. But then again, it doesn't hurt to ask.

"Dʰéǵʰom, is there any way you can help Joanna?" I thought.

"I'd prefer it if she overcame her issues with the help of other humans," Dʰéǵʰom replied. "Rather than relying on divine intervention."

I let out an internal sigh. Yup, this is exactly what I expected him to say. Still, I had to at least give it another try for Joanna.

"Isn't there something you could do, like reincarnate a therapist?" I thought. "Even if they aren't a godslayer, surely there are some gods who'd be happy to donate a therapist from their afterlife to help out some mortals."

After a moment of hesitation, Dʰéǵʰom responded.

"I'll see what I can do. There are a few gods who might help," he said.

"Thank you," I replied.

Soon after that, we arrived at King Eduard the Defenestrator's castle. His knights on guard duty recognized me and let us in right away. We walked over the drawbridge and into the great hall.

I stepped to the side with my retainers doing the same. His Majesty was holding court, and there were numerous petitioners waiting in line. While I was trying to be speedy, my plans did not warrant interrupting the king while he's holding court.

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Two men stepped up to King Eduard the Defenestrator and Queen Eleanor. They both wore Motteburh noble attire. I saw Astrid squirm a bit upon seeing what they were wearing. Johannes put a hand on her shoulder.

"It is customary in Greenrivers to kneel before the king," Duke Armand spoke up. "Even if you are a foreigner."

One of the Motteburh lords nodded.

"The custom is the same in Motteburh. However, we are not here on friendly terms and thus, have no reason to kneel to this foreigner. Indeed, it is our king's command that we do not kneel to you," he said.

"Yes," the other nodded. "The people of Greenrivers do not care about social class. So, I don't see any reason why we should kneel."

King Eduard narrowed his eyes. However, his face remained level.

"You must be blind. I see one reason," the king stated.

He pointed at a window.

The Motteburh lords saw where King Eduard the Defenestrator was pointing. They knelt before him. His Majesty waved his hand in their direction.

"You may rise," he said.

Nothing happened. Looking closer, I could see that the Motteburh lords were trying to stand up. However, some force was weighing them down. I guessed that His Majesty was using a magic spell to increase the air pressure on them. Or something similar. I'm an accountant, not a physicist.

Eventually, King Eduard released his spell. The Motteburh nobles stumbled up to their feet. They took heavy breaths. I saw an amused expression on Queen Eleanor's face.

"Tell me, what is your business here?" King Eduard asked.

"We are here to demand that you break off your treaty with Vandalland and Weltai," one of the Motteburh lords answered.

"No."

King Eduard waved his hand.

"Begone from my sight," he ordered.

The Motteburh lords shared a look of shock. One of them spoke up.

"If you do not adhere to the demands of His Majesty Louis V of Motteburh, we will make sure our class system is forced upon Greenrivers. Your commoners will be reduced to below the level of slave..."

King Eduard interrupted them with a booming voice so loud that no one in the hall could hear the Motteburh nobles.

"Sir Hughbert, Sir Alric, escort them out of the building," he said. "If they return, throw them out the window."

The knights grabbed the Motteburh aristocrats and dragged them out of the hall. They were thrown outside. I saw satisfaction and relief mix on Astrid's face.

As much as I disliked Greenrivers' system. Also, as much as I knew King Eduard was a horrible person by the standards of my old world...I had to admit that he was good at power politics. And I could see why the people of Greenrivers liked him.

After the last petitioner exited, King Eduard the Defenestrator stood up. Queen Eleanor did the same.

"That will be all for today," His Majesty stated. "You may return to your business. Save you, Duke Armand and Saint Gustav. Come with my wife and I."

As the crowd dispersed, I followed His Majesty out of the grand hall and into a long hallway. Duke Armand was with us, and a sense of nervousness flowed through me. Still, I tried to remain strong. Now was the time to start on my plan.

Provided that His Majesty spoke to me first. Unlike what those Motteburh morons thought, the people of Greenrivers do care about social class, and social inferiors speak when spoken to.

"Saint Gustav, is something the matter?" King Eduard's voice flowed into my ears.

Yes! This was my chance!

"Not quite, Your Majesty. However, I have looked into titles of various kingdoms, their rankings, and their histories," I said. "For example, in Greenrivers, the title of King always outranks the title of Queen. It's why past ruling queens of Greenrivers had their husbands keep their former titles upon marriage."

"That is true," King Eduard nodded.

"While in Vandalland, the ruling monarch is whoever took the throne first. Queen Hildoara is the first queen of Vandalland, but if she were to take a husband, he taking the title of king would not challenge her authority."

The monarch sighed.

"Are you seeking to ask me for permission to marry Queen Hildoara of Vandalland?" he asked.

This was it: the key moment. If that former Englishwoman was right, His Majesty did not want to lose someone he thought was valuable like me. Very bad judgement on King Eduard's part, but still.

Dʰéǵʰom groaned inside my head, but I ignored him.

He also didn't want to potentially bolster Vandalland with a valuable king in case of future conflict. However, King Eduard the Defenestrator is a moral man. There are some depths he will not go to but could not object to me going to.

As much as I dislike the English, I have to admit that I was impressed that she figured out I have no dignity.

I gave King Eduard the Defenestrator a deep bow.

"Of course not, Your Majesty. I would not deprive Greenrivers of my service," I said.

"Good. See to it that you don't," he replied.

"Yes. That is why, I will seek to become Queen Hildoara's concubine instead of her husband."

Literally everyone I was walking with stopped dead in their tracks. Their jaws dropped halfway to the ground. I could see their eyes open so wide that I was worried a bug would fly into them.

I was pretty sure that we just stood there for five minutes straight before anyone dared to speak. It was Duke Armand who spoke out of turn.

"This...this has to be some sort of scheme. But it's...you cannot seriously be contemplating becoming Queen Hildoara's concubine!" he said.

"Under Vandalland tradition, a concubine stays in their homeland except for special events. Their partner, for lack of a better word, visits their home where they are an honored guest. If anything, this arrangement would leave Greenrivers as the main beneficiary," I stated.

Queen Eleanor shook her head.

"Surely, you must know that Vandalland abandoned the tradition of concubinage 700 years ago," she pointed out.

"They have. However, having concubines was never outlawed," I said. "And there are no laws against it in Greenrivers either. We never had concubinage, though, so there was no need to make laws about it."

The queen placed a hand to her face and shook her head.

"Men took women as concubines, not the other way around," she stated.

"Correct, Your Majesty."

I nodded.

"Because of Vandalland custom. There were never any laws against women taking men as concubines over there. It was just seen as wrong by their society in general."

King Eduard groaned.

"I understand that the nobility have become far more sexually-equal since magic came about, but what kind of man would accept being a woman's concubine? Surely, you would not throw away your dignity that much," he said.

Taking a deep bow, I prepared my final speech.

"Your Majesty, I have no dignity to throw away," I stated.

"Listen to him, Mr. King," Dʰéǵʰom said, laughing all the while. "He means it."

King Eduard's jaw dropped again. He shook his head.

"Saint Gustav...I...what...I will speak to the Queen of Vandalland of this. Stay here until then," His Majesty stated.

With that, he left with Queen Eleanor and Duke Armand following him. I did as commanded and stayed there.

Seven hours later, King Eduard approached me with a group of guards. There was an expression of shock on his face.

"Saint Gustav, I've been looking all over for you. Where were you?" he asked.

"Right here, in this spot, for seven hours," I answered.

King Eduard the Defenestrator facepalmed.

"I meant, stay in the castle, not in this exact spot," he said.