Rene just needed one date to confirm the risk was worth taking. January had three, two planned and one unintentional—they still met just as often as before and Adelinde typically brought Matteo, but the times when the toddler didn’t come for one reason or another were a special surprise.

She felt like it was a good sign for the year, starting it off with a confirmed new love. It gave her some hope, at least—a kind of promise that she wouldn’t always hear her adopted family chatting away while she thought back to how the sun set and rose over the ocean and wondering if she could get that view in the new nation.

Even if now, she just smiled when remembering how Adelinde fell asleep right alongside her son, lightly nudged awake so she could see the sunrise.

Rene waited about thirty minutes after a date officially ended and Adelinde left before she went back to the Dazuz mansion. It made it slightly less obvious that the experience was—put in the simplest form possible—euphoric, even if all they did was talk and listen to the music around them.

Being around the time she promised, she went through the front door. She hesitated for a second when she noticed the person waiting for her on the other side.

Lord Dazuz just frowned at her, and any remaining joy faded to a more respectable level immediately.

“Am I in trouble?” Rene asked, successfully making it sound innocent enough.

“I need you for something,” he replied simply. “You’re later than agreed.”

“By…five minutes?” Normally she would try a bit harder not to bother him. Defiance came a bit easier—obedience seemed less appealing—when she still had Adelinde’s piano playing in the back of her mind. “I’ve been later.”

“What’s your excuse this time?”

“There was a guy who needed help,” Rene explained. “Believed in a new nation, recognized me as your kid. I had to deliver some things around town for him.”

The guy did exist, just as a widower restaurant owner who needed someone to serve customers while his daughter wasn’t available; he had the heritage of someone from the first island, but whether or not he believed in its replacement was debatable. It only took an hour—less than that on most days—so Rene was able to help out and still have enough time for Adelinde and Matteo.

Ignoring the fact she agreed to help a few weeks ago just so she had the alibi.

Lord Dazuz didn’t look entirely convinced, but still humored her. “Did you get paid for it?”

“Not today.” Mostly because he didn’t ask for her.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“You can keep helping, just get something from it,” he said, already turning around to walk towards his study. “And I want however much that is on my desk whenever you come back. You can get some of it back if you actually produce results from your visits to the queen.”

“You said it yourself: it’s hard to get a confirmation at his age,” Rene pointed out. Lord Dazuz sighed, slowly walking away. “Even if he can bind things, no one would know for another ten or fifteen years.”

“You’re getting more defensive than you need to.”

She tensed, but he didn’t bother looking back to see. Rene didn’t want to risk actually protesting.

He reached the hallway leading further into the mansion, then glanced behind his shoulder to look at her.

“Come on. You can get something to eat once we’re done.”

Rene silently nodded, following behind him without a word. He led her to his study, sitting down behind his desk as per usual and gestured to a stack of papers.

“I need you to send those out for me,” he said simply.

Mostly without thinking, she asked, “Isn’t that what you hire people for?”

“It’s for the effort.”

That made sense. He only ever stared at stuff for the new nation in here.

She took a few steps into the room to see what the first few papers were. Invitations for the next meeting between the more ‘vocal’ proponents of creating a new nation, it looked like; they were phrased as invitations for Elina’s birthday, despite being the wrong month.

“Next question,” Rene said, looking up at Lord Dazuz. “Why can’t you get Elina or Leo to do it?”

“Can you honestly picture either of them successfully delivering letters? Elina would babble on to half the continent; Leo would never make it past the mansion’s gates.”

That, and neither of them were much for hard work. She saw his point, even if she wished she wasn’t always given tasks like this.

“That’s your answer.” He sat back in his chair. “Besides, provided you don’t die between now and then, you’re half of our creation effort. It would be good for people to know we aren’t making you up.”

“You’re getting someone to put these into envelopes for me, at least?” Rene asked.

“I will,” Lord Dazuz replied, nodding. “All you’ll need to do is run around San Asari and some of the surrounding area for a few days; the longest trip would be delivering the rest to a train station so they can be mailed off from there. And, before you ask—yes, I’ll pay for the train.”

He had everything thought out, at least. Maybe he just knew she would ask after everything until she knew what she should expect.

“One last thing, then,” Rene said, preparing to leave the room. “When do you want these delivered by?”

She wanted to know whether or not she had to rearrange anything with Adelinde. She preferred not to cancel plans if she could avoid it.

“Start of March at the latest,” Lord Dazuz said. “That gives you the rest of February.”

Rene nodded. She could work around that.

She waited another few seconds before Lord Dazuz waved her off as per usual.

“Go get dinner. Whatever you do with your evening is up to you, as long as you stay here.”

She murmured some acknowledgment, then left. Making her own little meal was easier than asking where the leftovers were—if there were any, which itself was unlikely—and she ate alone in the dining hall, Adelinde’s music playing in her mind to fill in the silence.