Dino was sitting in his office, his desk, and the space around it was littered with papers and ledgers. He was sifting through the staggering number of reports of everything that happens in the Soul-kindom. Though today another still sealed letter is demanding his attention. Usually, Dino would only sort the reports according to their urgency before handing the most pressing matters over to his father, while he would focus his attention on the less important issues.

But now, Dino took it all more seriously and "took care" or "lost" some of those reports and requests. Depending on what would help his cause most, without alerting his father of his machinations, and while it took longer, the rare reports, with a thankful comment of an overworked noble towards him, the crown prince, made it worth it just as much as his slowly growing popularity in the lower nobility for handling the matters efficiently and quickly, instead of involving the high nobles.

Ironically, this also endeared Dino with those because they didn't need to handle such mundane tasks. Still, everything was sorted or dealt with after a while, and he had time to read the ominous letter. Dino opened the seal, an emerald-colored cord, and read it. Then, he reread it, and for good measure, a third time, only to sigh deeply and let his head flump on his desk, face first.

Dino heard the door to his office open, and someone entered.

"Bad day? The last time I saw you like that was our last school week before our finals, " a male voice asked.

"I hate those high nobles." Dino groaned, then while waving the letter above his head. "The Emeralds have agreed to "talks", but want a specific reward."

The prince still didn't look up when the other person started to gather the mess of documents and stack them in neat piles.

"Need my help?" The visitor asked.

"You know the answer, Moro. I can always use your help and advice," Dino replied, then frowned, recognizing something was strange.

It took him a few seconds more before he looked up, right into the smiling face of his old friend. Morokhan looked like he had aged a bit. The grief of losing his son had changed something in the man's look. Even the smile had a sad taint, and there was a bit of silver in Morokhan's normally darker hair.

"Moro!" Dino exclaimed, rising quickly from his chair and spilling the "black writing liquid" called dark sap. Luckily, Morokhan had brought the endangered papers to safety by sorting everything, but still, both men scrambled to use their magic to clean up the mess.

After their quick, chaotic scramble, Dino gripped his friend by the shoulders and smiled brightly.

"You're back!"

"Seems like it," Morokhan replied with a slight smirk. "You can thank Tia for that. She's a very wild but incredibly loving whirlwind."

"Tia?" Dino asked, amused. "Giving the princess a nickname?"

Morokhan shrugged because he had no defense against that accusation.

"Well, if she's fine with it, who cares," Dino stated. "How's Sophie?"

When Dino mentioned Morokhan's wife, the other man looked very uncomfortable and then sighed.

"Sophie is well and very much thanks to Tia's efforts, but she wants to resign. She blames herself for getting our boy in this line of work and you to a degree. She doesn't hate you, and you're always welcome in our home, but she can't live this life anymore."

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"I see. I can understand it and will grant her wish. How about you?" Dino asked. Morokhan was a bit surprised at the question but quickly caught himself.

"I'm okay. Sometimes, I wake up at night thinking I heard my boy. Then I remember he isn't with us anymore, and I'm in grief. All of this isn't something a few days, weeks, or even months can heal. But Mor wouldn't want his father to become good for nothing. You told me that, and I didn't want to listen. Though Tia really forced me to come out of my shell, you wouldn't believe what she was able to damage." At the last sentence, Morokhan let out a slight chuckle.

Dino grinned. "Good to see that she's helping you. At first, I was against it because she's a princess, but now I can only agree with her decision."

"You wouldn't believe it. She even managed to make Sophie fuss over her, like some sort of adoptive daughter. It's heartwarming to see those two laughing together and having those somber moments when they look at old drawings of my boy." The broken man smiled with a bit of sadness.

"So, what would Sophie do? If let's say Tiara would need to get married for political purposes?" Dino asked carefully.

Morokhan thought for a hot second, then grinned. "Probably give the groom a freezing hell as a wedding gift. Those two have latched onto each other in their shared memory of my boy."

Dino looked strange, confusing Morokhan for a moment. "Oh no. You are so dead, " he uttered, connecting the reason for Dino's dismay to the letter he had grumbled about and to his question.

"It's the only way to get the Emeralds on my side," Dino complained.

"It is also a very quick way to commit suicide by enraged Ice-empress," Morokhan replied.

"Come on, it can't be that bad. Just help me to convince Sophie to keep calm." The prince pleaded.

"No," Morokhan stated coldly. "If Tia wants to do it, then it's her decision, but I will not talk her or my wife into that idea. If it's so important to you, then do it yourself."

"That's impossible," Dino replied with an unusual bashfulness.

"No!" Morokhan exclaimed. "Tell me right now, you're joking. I leave you out of my sight for five minutes, and you're being an idiot!"

"I'm no idiot! I thought about it carefully." Dino said.

"Idiot!" Morokhan repeated, "I should have known when Tia described your new personal maid. Forget Sophie killing you. Your father will be faster."

"Not if he doesn't find out before I get the crown," Dino replied.

"You idiot bonded with a commoner!" Morokhan scolded the prince. "Do you think the other noble houses will just let that go? Tia explained your plan to me, and honestly, it is idiotic. You make plans like you play king capture! You think that having two of the big four in your bag and the gratitude of some random nobles will make you king, but all that does is divide our kin. And do you think we can afford that, with whatever had destroyed the Stony's home on the loose?"

"You didn't want to help me!" Dino complained.

"Are you a little boy? Use that thing between your ears, and don't make such stupid mistakes. You want to be king as soon as possible, then do as your father commands!" Morokhan growled, then continued.

"Well, forget it now. That spell has fizzled out. We're reworking your plan right now, and you will not force Tia to do anything. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father," Dino said, then chuckled. "Good to have you back, my friend."

Morokhan let out an annoyed sigh, but in truth, the familiarity with the situation felt good.

"Yes, also, congratulations on getting a wife. Though I question your wisdom, choosing one ten years younger than yourself. But honestly, grant Tia the same chance. Let her find somebody she can love."

"Yes, I will ask her about the Emeralds, but I will respect her wishes if she denies it." Dino agreed.

The two men then poured over Dino's plan to take the crown, and Morokhan gave a lot of pointers on how to improve upon the rough draft. Still, he had to concede that getting Orth and Saphine into powerful positions with basically the majority of Soul-kin forces was a worthwhile gamble. The problem with the Emerald family could be circumvented by empowering the food producers and subsidizing private transportation, at least if you are careful and don't tip off the Emeralds to your real intentions.