An afternoon sun shone brightly through the window and Pyonta took in the foreign but lovely view of the Metakan Highlands. A sudden summons from the Emperor was surprising but Pyonta welcomed it as a break from her duties. The initial reason for their visit to Metaka wasn't exactly pleasant but, after the funeral took an unexpected turn, the visit almost turned into a vacation. She was lying in bed on her belly and curiously watched the Dragon Riders through the window as they performed some aerial training in the distance. A thin, silk duvet was covering her naked body as she lazily kicked the air with her feet. Jehaness Terion was busy with the Iceleonian and Metakan delegations while each negotiated on behalf of their governments. The Emperor had given him fairly vague instructions about the contracts their allies wanted and guidance about the airships they were allowed to order. Pyonta had no patience to deal with the business negotiations and she returned to their suite. Well, technically, they had two separate rooms, but she said they only needed one. While she insisted it was to cause Jehaness' embarrassment, she wasn't being fully honest with herself. She wasn't sure if her feelings were serious for Jehaness but the seemingly meek noble hid an iron core. He slowly opened up to her and she managed to find the man he had hidden inside his soul. He had surprised her on many occasions and she was depending on his reliability more and more...

Pyonta loudly sighed and took a deep breath. Her thoughts were racing and she felt tired. Before the Emperor summoned them, her days were full of work. A job she was sure that she was unqualified to perform but no one important wanted to hear her complaints. She was, effectively, a Governor of a county within an Everlight province that was as big as the country of Hilgvar on the opposite side of the Empire. Most of the Rabbitkin had moved either to her or Count Nova's county and she tried her best to facilitate the unexpected influx of people. Fortunately, life under Arcadia was much easier, although, for some people, it proved to be extremely challenging. Most of those who had been enslaved their entire lives couldn't adjust to the new reality of being on their own but, fortunately, the priests of Hestia served everyone with much-needed help. Pyonta couldn't even imagine what would have happened without their presence. They were helping to find jobs for the less fortunate or forming groups of support for those who lost their families during the time of slavery.

But, they needed work more than anything else. An opportunity that would give them a chance to regain their confidence and dignity. They needed the means to feed their families and gain much-needed pride in their crafts. When Pyonta and the priests of Hestia finally hit a dead end and she began to despair but it was Jehaness who saved her. He opened his family's coffers and employed anyone who needed a job. His shipyards required hundreds, if not thousands, of workers and he was rebuilding the network of sawmills and lumberjack outposts across her domain. He took it upon himself to connect the entirety of Everlight with the Arcadian network of magi-trains. Just like that, he solved her biggest problem but, when she tried to thank him on behalf of the Empire, he told her he only did it for her. Each time she recalled his smile back then, she blushed. He wasn't always like that. Most of the time he was sloppy, awkward, and embarrassed about the little things. She knew it was due to a history of suppressing his true feelings while living under the reign of cursed Berna. He was changing slowly but surely and she knew he had acquired a subclass he kept secret, even from her. Her eyelids were heavy...

She woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat with a terrified shriek. Once again, she had that reoccurring nightmare; the one where Bernans hunted her like a wild animal and killed her. Every time it was a different death though each time more horrible than before. The previously opened window had been closed and her favourite blanket had been added so she was warm and snug.

"You are safe, Pyonta." Jehaness's calm voice cut the darkness and she sat up looking for him.

He was sitting in a reclining chair he had commissioned when they began travelling together.

"I'm sorry, John..." She sheepishly lowered her gaze and covered herself. She had started calling him John when they were alone. "I didn't want to..."

"You didn't want to do what exactly?" He asked with a patient sigh as he slowly turned around.

She stayed silent and started slowly bending her knees attempting to do anything to avoid his gaze. He sighed once more and smiled gently.

"Finding you naked and only covered with a silk duvet was something new, I admit." She felt her face burning with embarrassment and she lowered her ears in shame. "Why?"

She waited in silence with her thoughts racing as her heart beat so hard it was about to escape her chest. When it was obvious she was staying stubbornly silent he shook his head.

"At first, I thought you had sworn some kind of personal vendetta against me. But the more time we spend together, I'm more and more at a loss."

"I'm afraid, John..." She barely managed to whisper.

"I suspected that much." He slowly nodded, but he wasn't mocking her. His voice was soft and warm. "But you don't have to be afraid anymore. You have an army at your command and you serve powerful Lords who would have never abandoned you. Finally, our Emperor, the Godslayer, Theon Avalon would visit destruction upon anyone who would be stupid enough to raise their hand against you. Woe to anyone who even thinks about hurting you, Pyonta. May the Gods forgive them because Arcadia won't. I won't."

"After every mean thing I have done to you, you don't have to be worried about-"

"Oh, please..." He stood from his chair and stepped towards the bed. She never realised how tall he was. "What mean things have you done to me? Saved my life? Helped me to shake off the years of conditioning to be a meek and mindless servant of Berna? Showed me that I'm still worthy of calling myself a noble?"

"N-no! I made fun of you-"

"Only when we were alone." He shot down her argument before she even finished.

"I embarrassed you so many times!" She covered herself tighter and finally looked him in the eyes.

"Like now? I'm not embarrassed at all." He smirked and she instantly blushed. Pyonta felt even the white fur on her ears turning red in an embarrassment she had never felt ever before. "Are you?"

"I... I-I..." She felt her voice falter. She trembled as she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"When we met for the first time, do you know what I thought?" His voice was gentle.

"That you would die?" Pyonta smiled flatly, trying to be smug, but she did it half-heartedly because she wasn't fond of that particular memory.

"That was the second thought." He shrugged with a smile. "The first thing I thought about was the stupid Bernan laws that forbade me to love a woman like you. I was enamoured with you, Pyonta. I don't think I have ever seen a woman as beautiful as you."

She opened and closed her mouth soundlessly and, finally, she swallowed hard as she found the resolve to ask a question that she was afraid to hear the answer to. "You protected me from the Bernan nobles back then... I never found the courage to ask, but please, tell me... why?"

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He tried to step away but she grabbed his hand and, she noticed in surprise, that it was incredibly warm. It looks like it was his turn to be embarrassed. "I... I couldn't let those monsters get their filthy hands on someone as pure and wonderful as you."

"Even after I revealed who I was? You protected me from that hit..." She said meekly in confusion. She didn't even bother to deny that she was pure or wonderful.

"Especially then." He admitted quietly and gently took her hand off his arm. "I fell in love with you, Pyonta Veronica Del'mira of Arcadia. I couldn't let them hurt you."

That was it. Everything she ever wanted to hear from that one single man. He had protected her when they were enemies and he risked his life to save her. Since that day, she wanted him to love her. But, she knew that she was battered and broken, corrupted by her past, and traumatised by being a slave. She was afraid that he did what he did just because of the obligations demanded by the right of hospitality. Pyonta was afraid to hear that he was just being decent. Her heart raced and her eyes filled with tears of happiness. He was already a half step away from the bed and she didn't want him to go. Never again did she want to be alone. She leaned out and grabbed his arm again but, this time, she pulled him to the bed. Her blanket and the thin duvet slipped off but she didn't care. He fell on his back, surprised as she pressed her lips to his. After his initial surprise, he kissed her back and she felt an excitement and happiness like never before.

"You stupid!" She pressed her face to his chest and hugged him tightly.

"Will you be my bride?" He asked softly and somehow managed to cover her with her blanket. "Will you marry a man whose past is riddled with so many mistakes?"

"Remember that you are speaking with the Arch Priestess of Verka, a Goddess of Vengeance!" She giggled mischievously and her long bunny ears twitched joyfully. "After everything you have said and, since you saw me like the Gods wished to create me, I would hunt you down until the end of the world if you hadn't asked!" She replied with a wide smile and raised her head just enough to look him in the eyes. "Yes! Yes, I will be your bride and you will be my groom!"

She kissed him again, with her tears of happiness mixing with the kiss. He embraced her and she moaned with pleasure as his hand slid across a sensitive spot at the base of her fluffy tail. She snuggled herself to him and hummed happily. "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we will plan our wedding!"

"With pleasure, my Love." His hand gently rubbed her back and she felt an extreme pleasure being held by him.

"How did your negotiations go?" She giggled and decided to change the subject before she exploded from happiness overload.

"Our negotiations, my Bunny." He corrected her with a mischievous smile and kissed her forehead. "Metakans ordered three Victory-class ships and twenty third-rate ships of the line. I asked Master Bjorn about his opinion and he was sure that our shipyards could easily fulfill that order within just one year as long as we have the required materials."

She blinked a few times in shock and slightly shook her head but said nothing. Upon seeing her widely opened eyes in the dim light of the room, Jehaness chuckled.

"I thought the same. It seemed impossible but, if Lord Bjorn said it could be done, then I wouldn't argue with him." He relaxed and put his other hand under his head. "Metakans wanted us to start building the frigates first and put their Victory-class ships on hold. They wanted, as well, to add a clause requiring us to assist in future modifications of these ships in our shipyards. I charged them excessively for the entire contract but it looks like they were prepared for a much larger sum. Fancy to take a guess?"

"I really don't know... One hundred thousand gold pieces?" She tried to guess and proposed the first mind-boggling sum that came to her mind but he just started laughing in amusement.

"Not even close, my Bunny. Try again."

"I think I like being called your Bunny..." She smiled and put her leg over his. She slightly tilted her head and took another shot. "Half a million?"

He made a declining humm and slightly shook his head. "Twelve million gold pieces, eleven tonnes of iron and that's just for work alone. They will provide all construction materials. If they couldn't provide the construction materials, we are allowed to extend the build time while providing the materials on our own and charging them accordingly.

"Twelve million?!" She felt how her ears flopped down in shock making him laugh but she liked his good-natured laughter. The biggest amount of gold she had ever seen at once was the five thousand pieces she had in her province treasury.

"Honestly, it was a low price, and they knew it. However, it's still enough to make us profit so I could afford to set that bargain price for our allies." He smiled calmly.

"What about Iceleonians?" She asked with a sincere curiosity that surprised her.

"I think that Metakans have put their order just for the capital ships only because of Iceleonians."

He smiled mysteriously, made a dramatic pause, and ran his hand across the base of her tail. She shivered but started slowly undressing him in retaliation. Two can play that game. Pyonta started drawing circles on a much more muscular chest than she remembered him having during their first meeting. He chuckled and hugged her tighter, making her giggle. She was so happy.

"They ordered two fully customised ships that even made the Emperor curious. I have never seen anything like that! They are large, much larger than Victory-class, first-rate ships of the line. They will be over two hundred metres long and nearly forty metres wide, with built-in hull hangars working as the docking bays for up to thirty CB-90 assault craft. Well, it's not exactly CB-90 because it's a noticeable downgrade from what we have so, I guess, it should be called CB-90e where 'e' stands for export version. Or something like that to avoid confusion. Emperor Theon called their project a Carrier and encouraged them to consider additional shielding and armour on top of proper CIWS placement once Iceleonians and Metakans finish the development of their system."

"Wait..." Her ears twitched on the sides of her head in confusion. "I thought that Emperor Theon forbade selling our technology outside or even, in some cases, to the civilians!"

"Well... I think the details would be boring for you but I'll give you the guidelines I obtained from the Emperor. A short explanation is that we can sell the same level of technology if our allies have proper magi-tech of their own or an analogue." He explained and Pyonta slowly nodded. Contrary to his beliefs, she was going to very carefully read that particular guideline. "So the CB-90e is going to be made of the best steel the Iceleonian smiths can produce, armed with weapons of their design on the hard points, their communication capabilities will be reduced as well. All in all, the Iceleonian version of CB-90, while being inferior to our assault craft, will still be far superior to most of the tall ships currently in service. In my opinion, Iceleonians made a very good decision. They are going to work on their CB-90 version in cooperation with the Metakans so it might be interesting."

"Mhm..." She nodded slowly. "And how much will that cost them?"

"Well... They don't have gold to pay us. Everything they have, they will need to use as materials to build their vessels. But they have stupid amounts of iron and other ores. These negotiations were above me but, I must say, Emperor Theon wasn't giving anyone a discount..." He exhaled the air rapidly and yawned. "Sorry, my Dear, I'm so tired... Anyway, we will obtain five and half times the weight of Dauntless in iron ore. So that's roughly fifteen million gold pieces."

"Gods..." Pyonta whispered. "I didn't know the ships were that expensive."

"They are..." He muttered with yet another yawn. He suddenly opened his eyes and looked straight into her eyes with a soft smile. "I was so afraid to tell you that I love you, Pyonta."

"I didn't even know I was so anxious..." She snuggled into him and shivered upon feeling his breath on the sensitive inside of her ear. "I won't let you change your mind, John..."

"I will love you until death do us part, my beloved Bunny." He rested his arm over her waist and Pyonta felt her head spin.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her face on his chest. They lay just like that for a long while and Pyonta allowed her imagination to run wild. She couldn't believe her luck.

"John?" She looked at him and noticed that he was asleep. Pyonta observed him with an amused gaze and kissed him on the cheek. "It's the last time that I will let you off the hook so easily. Sleep well, my beloved Groom..."