We left the Twilight Dungeon without a conclusive answer. I copied most of her library, but that was a fairly generous word for three human-sized shelves. Her explanation about the lack of a name was sound but not exactly convincing. However, I was sure that the Sage she mentioned was up to something with that name theory, but most likely, he had not finished his studies, or Twilight had not fully understood him. Whatever the reason was, I had no time to read his books at the moment. On the brighter side, Twilight and the people who used to be her slaves gradually changed their opinions about me and my Queens. I was sure that, given time, they would not only accept how I ran my Kingdom, but they all would flourish. Even Twilight, who threw a teenage tantrum upon seeing me, was coming to terms with what she had lost, becoming a vassal. Frankly, I still had no idea what kind of a core she was because, at first, she locked herself in the inner sanctum, and then I grounded her for approximately two months until she decided to act as an adult. Whichever comes first, I guess.

"My Lord?" Eva had her head tilted and held some paper in her extended hands, observing its contents from various angles. "I'm unsure if this is a joke, but Mister Teach has submitted a tax declaration for his entire fleet."

"You mean Blackbeard and his pirates?" I blinked a few times and cracked a smile, imagining the pirates sitting around the desk, fixing their glasses and making tax calculations.

"Yes, my Lord." She nodded. "He hired the Golden Quill Accounting Office from Avalon."

"Oh..." I lowered my head, disappointed.

"My, Lord! They want to pay their taxes in advance! They want to pay in various materials, such as silver and Bernan currency."

"Hmmm... So what's the problem?"

"But the Bernan currency? It's useless!" She pouted and put the letter on the table.

"Not exactly. As long as Berna exists, we can use that money to fund our operations in the Holy Kingdom or simply spend it brazenly on resources."

"Ohhh..." Eva slowly nodded. "However, I must say I'm slightly surprised, maybe even worried, that the Pirates were so quick to pay their taxes."

"Oh, I'm not concerned about that in the slightest. After all, they still count on obtaining repair materials and other supplies we promised in the deal we signed. So when they show up for the supplies in a few days or maybe weeks, they can always say they kept their part of the deal," I pointed out in amusement.

"Oh..."

"However, what concerns me is how quickly Blackbeard hired the accountants." Contrary to my words, I was still laughing very openly. "We must be very wary once he hires lawyers..."

Before I confused poor Eva even more, the doors to my office opened, and Sebastian entered. He stopped in front of my desk, and after placing his right hand on his chest, he lowered his head in a bow. "My Lord, Prince Leonard of Metaka is asking for an audience at your earliest convenience."

"So as quickly as possible, I guess..." I leaned back in my chair. "Do you have any clue what it's for?"

"Not officially, of course..." my Noble Slime scion shrugged with a slight smile. "But we discovered that the Emperor wanted to send his wife, Empress Matilda the Third, to thank you for the elixirs."

"As long as it's just pleasantries, it's fine. Tell him I can meet him in about an hour."

"As you wish, my King."

•••

"I sometimes wonder how good King Theon's spies are..." Leonard asked no one in particular.

"Well, asking the air won't help unless you are certain that one of them is hiding in our carriage, and they will answer out of the blue?" Cassmira looked at her brother with an amused smile.

"Well... Maybe?" He shrugged and stuck out his tongue. "You never know until you try."

"Considering how much Metaka's secret agencies struggled to locate them, I guess it's fair..." She rubbed her eyes. For the last month, she tried to asses the true combat capabilities of Arcadia without any significant success. "Anyways... It’s true? Mom is going to visit us?"

"Yes. And one correction: she is already on her way! That was our father's idea, and I asked for an audience as soon as I found out. I have no idea what's happening in Father's head, sending Mother without notice to the King of Avalon..." He facepalmed and dragged his hands down along the sides of his face.

"How are Arcadia's spies even related to this?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Well... I don't have any proof, but they were not surprised in the slightest, as if they just knew."

"Uhm..." The Princess simply nodded and decided to drop the subject.

A few moments later, their carriage stopped before Triskelion, and a high-ranking diplomat welcomed them. He guided them to one of many conference rooms, where the King was already waiting. After exchanging pleasantries, the Prince fidgeted uncomfortably in a very comfortable chair because it was time to inform the King about the problem in the most diplomatic way possible.

"King Theon, my Father, Emperor Darius Nineteenth, sends his greetings. In acknowledgement of the generous gift you have sent to him, he would like to express his gratitude. He wishes to visit Avalon and thank you personally, King Theon. But despite the miraculous effects of the elixirs, his health wouldn't allow him to undertake such a journey. However, he asks for permission to send Empress Matilda to Arcadia." The Prince closely observed the King's focused face and noticed the amused spark in his eyes and barely masked smile at his last remark. That would confirm Prince's suspicions about Arcadia's spies. "I asked for this audience to discuss the planning details of the Empress's arrival, if you agree to the Emperor's request."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The King leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I have no objections about the Empress's arrival. However, you should know that Arcadia is currently at war with the Holy Kingdom of Berna. The northeast routes are not fully safe."

"We are aware of that." The Prince nodded. While he wasn't aware of that at all, he was simply glad that King Theon agreed to let his mother arrive, averting a diplomatic nightmare. "She will be escorted by four companies of the most elite soldiers."

"Nonetheless, I will send the Guardsmen battalion and the full company of Praetorians to welcome her on the borders..." The king hesitated momentarily, and a grimace of dissatisfaction crossed his face. "I'm sorry to inform you that due to internal affairs, Lady Lanka won't be able to greet the Empress, and I will have to send a less important noble."

"Oh, that's not a problem, King Theon," Cassmira, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "I or my brother will be present during Mother's arrival, so the rank of the noble who will greet our mother will be less important."

The King tried his best not to roll his eyes, and only Keen Sight, a Prince's skill, allowed Leonard to realize his growing amusement and perhaps very mild dissatisfaction. However, King Theon's concerns seemed genuine this time, and Leonard could only internally sigh. The Empire of Metaka was a very important ally of the Kingdom of Arcadia, if not the most important. Proper diplomatic etiquette sometimes demanded an impossibility, especially when the other side was not exactly waiting for the customary permissions to start acting. Meeting the Empress was one of such impossible feats. However, judging by the smile on the King's face, he had found a solution.

"I will send Lady Rose to greet the Empress." Leonard tried his best not to start cheering and celebrating that decision outright. He suspected that Viscountess Rose, in fact, did not have the proper rank, but who cares? She was Rose! And he already knew that he would do everything so his sister would allow him to go.

"That is acceptable, Your Highness." To his shock, his sister replied in an absolutely neutral tone. "Is there anything we should prepare or other documents that must be signed before the Empress arrives?"

"The proper documents will be sent to the embassy in due time. But rest assured, there is nothing urgent, and it would be just a formality."

"In that case, we would like to start preparations immediately." The siblings bowed their heads, preparing to leave.

"Of course." The King nodded back, and they quickly left the conference room.

As the doors to their carriage closed, the Prince started grinning and giggling. Cassmira sighed, a bit worried about her brother, but let him calm down. However, when it wasn't likely he would calm down anytime soon, she finally said out loud, "Oh, please stop. That's creepy, brother."

"Shut up," he replied as he sat down. "I'm going with the delegation."

"Leo!" she shouted. "Have you already forgotten what the King said? The routes are not safe."

"Cass, roads are never safe." He shrugged. "Wild monsters, Dungeon monsters, bandits... It's nothing new, even in Metaka. I'm rather surprised that he was even bothered by something like that."

"I don't think he was talking about such mundane problems, brother. I'm also uncomfortable about that internal problem he mentioned earlier."

"You do realise that it could be anything? From a simple quarrel between the guilds to an actual problem?"

"Maybe... But it is still going to bother me."

•••

As the doors closed behind the royal siblings, I tapped the table, thinking about the real reasons behind the Empress's visit. Despite the potions' effects, the Emperor was dying. He was simply old, and while I was not going to experience that again, I could relate. But while I could sympathise with him, my real problem would start after his unavoidable demise. Civil war would tear Metaka, and everything indicated that it would be the worst such war in nearly seven hundred years. Neither Vettalia nor Guad had a decisive advantage over their step-sibling. Amber was even surprised that Vettalia, who was still unmarried, hadn't tried negotiating a political marriage with me. However, Amber had made teasing me about possible marriages into an art form. I never could be sure when she was joking...

"Theon?" Aoi entered the room. "I was looking for you."

"Something happened?" I looked at her clouded face, but she waved it off.

"It's nothing. I am not feeling well today. I swear that sometimes Stella is a demon in disguise. Yesterday's exam was horrifying!" She yawned, and I nodded my head with compassion. She tried to smile warmly but only managed to show a presumably positive grimace. "I wanted to ask if you really did order Janet to try to catch my Dragon Raiders into a fishnet?"

"Ah... Yes." I smiled awkwardly. "It was worth a shot. How it's going?"

"Terribly." She sighed. "No injuries besides some minor damage to the honour of a few Raiders. The net can catch about two or three soldiers before it tears despite all the magic reinforcement and composite materials, as you call them."

"Shame... I had hoped it would work." It was my turn to sigh.

"Anyway, I saw how thrilled Leonard was as he left, and even Cassmira looked thoughtful. It should be me to ask what happened." She smirked.

"Well..." I puffed my cheeks and exhaled slowly. "Their mother is on the way to Avalon. I must tell Ban to gather a battalion. He can always send cadets..."

"Why? You should send Lanka and Thiule."

"Oh, I know I should, but Irene needs her and Thiule's battalion for something at the north, and they will be unavailable for at least three months. Luna was very adamant about sending the entire battalion with them. I wanted to send Sebastian as well, but he is needed elsewhere... Ehh... You know." I opened my hands powerlessly and weakly smiled. "Life."

"Oh... Bernan spies?"

"More like diversion groups." I shrugged. "Lanka and Thiule will be supporting Dahlia's Inquisitors. I think they will be fine."

"I don't think that the Bernans have anything so deep within our borders that could rival the entire guardsman battalion," Aoi smirked.

"Hopefully." I exhaled and smiled after a moment. "Anyway, I heard that you saw the first train prototype test. How was it?"

"I never saw the one from your old world, but I'm very impressed by Ian's construction. I have his report for you." She handed me a piece of paper. "I really like it. It's fast, and even at this stage, it's very elegant."

"I hope that he will finish soon." I read his progress report and smiled, seeing that he and his team had solved the early problems.