"But how could I possibly help you, my King? I'm level forty, but I am just an assassin. Not a Sword Saint. No one would believe that I am a prophet of Jukk'nala. I am just a nobody in the eyes of Berna's elite, so how could I help you achieve your goals?" She looked into my eyes as she held my hand, but I liked her gaze now, even if it was a bit terrified.

"You don't really think I would send you alone, do you?" I smiled, very amused by her surprise, as Twirll landed on her hand which was still holding mine. "Twirll will go with you,” I continued as he ruffled his feathers. “With his current look and voice, he will pretend to be Jukk'nala."

"It will be as you ask, my Lord!" Twirll bowed.

"But..."

"The diplomats who followed you to Avalon will faithfully serve you, Princess. They are currently learning how to do it properly..." I added with a smile, seeing her growing confusion. "Oh... And the three Legions stationed at Berna's borders will also join you. Thirty thousand of my warriors will be at your disposal."

"*gulp* Thirty thousand...?" Her eyes went wide in shock, and she loosened her grip.

"Fine! I can also lend you a few companies of Guardsmen, maybe a full regiment. But I can't spare any more soldiers for now." I sighed theatrically, having solid fun at her expense.

She opened and closed her mouth, trying to comprehend what had just happened. I helped her sit down and took a seat myself. She was in shock, so we gave her a few moments to recover. Elisabeth eventually looked at me with an obvious question painted on her face, so I simply shrugged.

"The reason I can spare all of my forces at this moment is simple. So far, I haven't faced any serious threats or challenges... Well, maybe Korkas..." I cleared my throat and shrugged. "Anyway. The Cridians never treated me as a serious threat, and they paid for their complacency. Your father has antagonised me, despite earlier declarations of support. He sent you here without even attempting to learn what he is facing. On the contrary, I spared no effort to infiltrate Berna and learn as much as possible in the short time I had."

"Everyone underestimated you?" She looked at me, so I nodded with a slight shrug.

"Yes. My kingdom, Arcadia, is still vulnerable, but with each passing day, this changes, and my rule solidifies. I have managed to secure a nonaggression pact with the Empire of Metaka in the east. In the south, Queen Mia Francesca of Hilgvar is my ally. In the west, my border is under vigilant protection. The biggest threat lies in the north. The Kingdom of Berna possesses great potential, and I will not underestimate it."

"I think I understand..." She nodded, still overwhelmed by shock.

"Not that much as you would like." Amber shook her head. "That's why you have much to learn before you go anywhere, Princess."

"Learn?" Her face twisted in an unhappy grimace.

"Indeed. From today on, you will attend the Royal Military Academy of Avalon. You must learn how to efficiently and effectively command the armies you will be given, after all..." I smiled softly and saw her face brighten. "You willingly and wholeheartedly accepted the oaths of loyalty, Princess Elisabeth. We have observed you for the past few days and have learned that we can trust you. Princess Elisabeth, despite what I said earlier in the throne room of Avalon, do not bother yourself with this "fiancee" thing. You have an entire life to live, and thus, as I promised- you are free. But enough of this for now! Let's enjoy the last few moments of idleness before the hardships of the following days arrive! Please, Princess Elisabeth, join our little picnic."

•••

I was lying on the blanket with my head resting on Amber's lap. She gently stroked my head, combing through my hair with her soft hand as we observed the Princess.

"Theon..." Amber started after a sigh. "I don't know if she could be your Queen."

"She is too young... Besides, I have a feeling that her fate is different from ours."

"What do you mean she is too young? She is an adult..." Amber looked at me surprised, and it seemed like the other part of my sentence flew over her head.

"An adult? She is sixteen!" It was my turn to look at her in surprise.

"Yes?" Amber tilted her head as if she couldn't decide if I was serious or if I was playing with her.

"See? She is still a kid..." I shrugged and thought this ended the discussion.

"What? No! In our world, people are considered adults when they turn fifteen!" She revealed another piece of knowledge of which I was ignorant.

"What the..." I looked sharply at her, fully expecting her to laugh and tell me it was a joke. However... "You are serious?"

"Yes! Wasn't it that way in your world?"

"No! I mean... At some point in history, probably, but during my time, people who turned eighteen were considered young adults, but still, they had to finish their education... So, usually, people were considered adults afterward. So they were usually way over twenty-one before... What?"

"So you kept your people as kids for half of their lives?" she asked, slightly terrified.

"Well... I mean... People lived about ninety, even one hundred years..." I tried to defend myself.

"Oh, really? And how much of it they spend in their full prime?"

"All right, all right! I won't force any changes besides one. People who turn fifteen will be considered young adults until they turn eighteen. We can argue about that later."

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

"What for? You changed nothing," she giggled. "After turning fifteen, people usually have to find a job for themselves, and while most kids are already skilled at something, it is the time for their first steps into independence. Sometimes, it happened that young people were forced into marriages, especially girls. But such was the life... ‘Was’ because, in Avalon, everything has changed. People are safe now and don't have to worry that the next day might be their last. So, given time, people will adjust more to your expectations."

"Mhm... If you say so, I have no reason not to believe you." I smiled, trying to wrap my head around the idea of fifteen-year-old adults. "When was the last time when we were able to just relax like this?"

"I think it was years ago," she laughed as she idly returned to combing my hair with her fingers.

•••

The next day, I was sitting in my office, buried by tons of different issues that required my approval. For the last few hours, I patiently reviewed all my pending work, and with moderate satisfaction, I re-read the report about the road network project. It seemed like the entire branch of mages and engineers had to be trained, but the work was now progressing smoothly. The first road, almost a prototype, was being constructed between Avalon and Wolf Manor. The three-hundred-and-fifty-seven-kilometre-long road was not a straight line between the two cities, but it reached a few places that could be turned into villages along with a few already established areas. In a few days, the builders should reach the first of such places...

"Theon?" Amber has been distracted since yesterday.

"Yes, Honey?"

"You were serious when you told us yesterday that everyone has underestimated Avalon so far?"

"Very serious." I nodded, curious why she asked me that.

"Why?" She looked at me with her big green eyes.

"Why were we underestimated?" I asked to ensure we were on the same page, and she nodded. "There are plenty of reasons for that. Even if we put aside the usual overconfidence and pride, there were enough economic justifications for why Josla acted that way. These justifications also explain why it was not exactly mere negligence on her part. In Cridia’s eyes, I was nothing more than a fledgling dungeon. They had no idea exactly why I had replaced the Dungeon of Blood, but they had all the right to suspect that I was just an upstart who knew nothing about the world. In a way, they were right... However, once they realised that I was different, they tried to prepare the best they could. Remember that while they expected only fierce resistance at the most, I was preparing for a full-scale war. The logistics of moving any army big enough to subjugate a dungeon is a feat on its own, especially without any reliable means of communication. Even the fact that Josla never tried to probe our defences extensively or even made an effort to gather all possible intel may be logically explained by her desire to avoid alerting me that something was wrong. Simply put, she focused on a surprise attack with overwhelming forces, and let's be fair, if she had done that immediately, she would have won."

"Okay, but you said something about plenty of reasons..."

"Yes. You must also take into consideration the internal politics of the Mortal Kingdoms. Josla and her predecessors had to secure the loyalty of the noble houses. Gradually, the Cridian nobles grew in power, and the Royals declined, becoming increasingly dependent on them. Despite being a queen, Josla was far from the absolute ruler of her own country. We have an overwhelming amount of solid proof that she was struggling to make the nobles do her bidding, so recently, she removed some of the nobles who were too independent. That only deepened the lack of trust between her and the remaining nobles since any excuse was good enough for her to get rid of them. The targeted nobles were often killed, and they always lost all their riches and influence... Anyway. She tried to pose as a strong and absolute leader, but in fact, she barely had an army under her control. If I may add, it was an army she didn’t trust in the slightest."

With a sigh, I stood up. I took a sip of water and walked toward the window from which I could see the distant city. Amber considered what I told her, and she looked at me with uncertainty after a while. "Do you expect things to change?"

"Certainly. However, that just applies to Berna for now, and I don't plan to allow them to fight on their terms." I opened the window, allowing the fresh air inside. "With Jukk'nala dead and buried in my graveyard, I have gained an opportunity to start a civil war in Berna. My plan is fairly simple. The official scripture for it goes like this: Jukk'nala, after meeting with the Gods of Arcadia, learnt about the recent activity of the servants of Void and Chaos. Deeply concerned about the safety of the world, he used his full might and discovered the traces of cultists within Berna. Infuriated by their audacity, Jukk'nala blessed Elisabeth with his power and elevated her as his prophet. According to Patriarch Dolrus's will, Elisabeth became the fiancee of the King of Arcadia, allied both countries. However, under Jukk'nala's orders, the marriage was cancelled with the consent of both sides. Elisabeth Berna, under the bright guidance of Jukk'nala and blessed by the Gods of Arcadia, is now returning home, leading three legions of her fiance, who devoted such a significant force in the hope of purging the enemies of the world."

"I suspected you were up to something, but this..." Amber slowly shook her head. "You are planning to change her into a hero."

"Yes." I shrugged with a mischievous smile. "Some people are born to become heroes. Some people are chosen to become one. Some people, however, are forced to be heroes."

"I see..." She nodded with acceptance.

I sat on the sofa, and she soon joined me, sitting on my lap. We sat in silence while I idly stoked her waist. She leaned her head on my chest and smiled.

"Amber, what I said about Cridia before. I won't allow for the decline of our authority..." I started slowly, trying to put my thoughts into words.

"I know. I studied the historic texts brought to Avalon by Knys, along with some others you had in your libraries. With time, our spies brought additional records from other countries, and I studied them all. The decline of a ruler’s power is one thing, but it's also connected with assassination attempts." She kissed my cheek and giggled. "That's why I and my sister-queens will do everything in our power to focus all available authority in our hands."

"Thank you for doing it so far..." I kissed her, enjoying her soft and warm lips. "You seem to be doing well without my help."

"Oh, we manage." She laughed and looked at me with mock indignation. "How long have you known, sneaking and peeking on our progress, hmmm?"

"Uhhh... Since Hestia joined our family?" I genuinely wasn't sure, but I was more than certain that Amber had everything under her control. "I mean... If you know what to look for, it was pretty apparent, so..."

"All right, all right! I was joking." Amber kissed me more passionately. "But I'm glad you don't mind."

"I trust the six of you with my life, Amber." I rested my forehead on hers and closed my eyes.

•••

Fravia was in the middle of a renaissance with all the projects the new city lord had pushed. The central heating and water access, along with city waste disposal and garbage management processes, significantly improved the lives of all people, and everyone was involved. Baron Murn Harker was using the knowledge given to him by his King, a man whom he had never seen, but Harker was unquestionably loyal to him. He read the orders from the capital, and his ear twitched nervously. However, instead of getting angry, his hand took out another envelope containing something called an ‘intelligence packet.’ Each order he received was backed up by additional information in the form of notes or extensive summaries of spy reports about his region. He scratched his head and sighed as the orders finally made sense. He shrugged since there would be no threat to his city if he complied, so he picked the last letter with barely held anticipation. His son had been sent to the capital with the other youths of Fravia, and he was sending Murn letters regularly. They had reached Avalon a few days ago and were in awe of what they saw there. Murn called for his wife, who quickly joined him, and they both read today's letter.