He pointed at a city. It was a rather populous city. Sitting atop the Damsace River, its lands were fertile and its waters full of fish.

“If we capture this, it is likely that they will capitulate. Am I wrong, Minister Wynt?”

“No. You’re not. Khalant’s the third biggest city in Loyra.”

“And it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that most of the supplies will be coming from there.”

“Cut that off and they’ll starve,” Haein commented.

“Can you take the city?”

“With enough men and weapons. And competent mages to back me up.”

“Do you have confidence in taking it? We cannot have a siege.”

Benjamin closed his eyes. Seemingly deep in thought, the man stayed still. His chest moved with his breathing.

“As we don’t have extensive intelligence on the manpower of the Loyran Kingdom,” Benjamin prefaced. “It is hard to say. However, if we use the old estimate of 30 thousand men, it would be possible. The only issue is if they concentrate their troops.”

“Then let’s change the question. Do you think they would be the attackers or defenders?”

“It would be beneficial for them to defend and stall us out at the frontlines. It is unlikely that they have mobilised their armies, so we must attack now.”

“Very well. Strike the strategic checkpoints. In particular, if we lure a large number of them into the Nostagt Valley, we will crush them there.”

“Hmm.” Benjamin tilted his head as he thought. “I see. You’re a cruel person.”

“It is what it is.”

The emperor only gave a cryptic smile. Still, that was that and this was this. His cruelty was an entirely separate matter. The lives of the nameless soldiers would go towards a good cause. Francis gave his seal of approval for the plan, and so did Haein. A swift victory was ideal. Nothing good would come out from a long prolonged war. The words of Sun Tzu echoed in his head. The Art of War stated that: There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.

The days passed with distant battles happening as news slowly streamed in. Haein eyed him from head to toe before nodding her head. There was a satisfied look on her face.

“Now that’s the person I married.”

“You’re looking very good yourself.”

“My, thank you.”

Haein stood up from the bed and offered her hand. With a maiden’s grace, he accepted. The two nearly waltzed out of their chambers, but of course the prying eyes of the public denied that. Behind them, the entourage never failed to follow. Did they really need that many guards?

“Think we can ditch them?”

“If you want to,” Haein replied.

“That’s up to you.”

“Well...”

Without giving an answer, Haein simply led him outside and into the carriage. 2 strong looking white horses pulled the carriage. They were alone there, save for the occasional rock that they went over. Both behind and in front of them were similar carriages full of guards. Rather similar to a motorcade.

“I saw a play recently,” Haein commented as the carriage travelled.

“Was it good?”

“Yes, very well scripted.”

“What was it about?”

“A man’s journey fighting against his fate.”

“Interesting. Did he win?”

“He won, but not without sacrifices. He lost his family and an arm.”

“But he reached a happy ending.”

“As happy as one could be with those sacrifices. Makes you wonder how much a person would need to give up just to avoid their own tragic end.”

“What would you give up?”

“Quite a bit. You?”

“Same. Who wrote the play?”

“A graduate from the Atlas called Shakespeare or something?”

“Shakespeare, huh? Doesn’t ring a bell.”

The vast green hills rolled past. In theory, he could have just called William and went to the frontlines nearly immediately. But the problem was Haein. She knew of the Saint’s existence of course, everyone did, but no one knew their relationship.

“Want to do it here?” Haein blurted out.

“Excuse me?”

“I mean what I said. Want it?”

“Can you stop being turned on for a week?”

“As if you’re in a position to ask that of me. So, wanna do it?”

“No. Time and place, lady.”

With a shake of her head, Haein sighed. The journey was rather uneventful. Just the occasional animal encounter. Nothing more, nothing less. It didn’t take long before they had to stop and rest. As nightfall came, the guards made camp.

They sourced a log for the royal couple to sit on. It wasn’t quite a chair, but it was far better than sitting on the cold hard ground. None of the guards particularly stood out to him. Generic looking strong men and women. The scars on their bodies and faces weren’t anything too amazing either. Of course, he did not doubt their skills, but appearances were deceiving. He had confidence in their skills.

Across the small camp, Katalina sat. Near him, but not anywhere close to him. Unfortunately however, she was the only one there he knew that wasn’t his wife. Edmond Ren wasn’t an imperial knight, but a holy knight instead. That man was trustworthy. Tight lipped and somewhat intelligent.

“Your Majesty,” a man began.

“Which?” Haein interjected before he could continue.

“Um, The Emperor, Your Majesty.”

“We really should get different titles,” Francis commented.

“Indeed. I believe that this is the first time where both parties are treating each other somewhat equally. Usually, it's either the Empress or Emperor taking charge of everything, and the other half is just decoration.”

“For now, let's just continue as it is. We’ll have time for it later.”

“Yes? What do you have on your mind?”

“If I may speak my mind, Your Majesty, what is your plan to win?”

“Are you worried, soldier? Rest assured, I- We have a plan. Several in fact.”

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His words barely put a dent in the soldier’s mind. His face remained full of doubt, but chose not to push it. Where was Benjamin Wynt when he needed him? The general should be making grand speeches and briefings. But alas, the minister was already on the front lines.

Most of the soldiers had already been shipped out. Right now, it was a slow war, with soldiers gradually making their way to the battlefield, while Loyra tripped over itself to mobilise. Francis’ ace, the nuclear weapons, was far from ready too. Though, of all the minor skirmishes that had happened on the front lines, the Empire had won all of them.

Their routine was mundane. Ride, make camp, sleep, repeat. Occasionally, he watched the knights spar against each other, and sometimes they just rested for a day. It took several days, but they eventually stopped at a river. Making camp early in the day, the knights set out for their daily duties.

Firewood, food, all gathered without much difficulties. Of course, when Empress Haein tried to help out, she was stopped immediately by her own knights, citing her safety. Life was boring.

They walked around the camp together. Haein grasped his hand and they said nothing. Just taking in the fresh air.

“Want to run away for a bit?” Francis asked.

“Would be nice. Got an idea?”

“Depends, you want the risky plan or the safe plan?”

“Knowing you, the risky plan will kill you.”

“Not really wrong. Easy one then. Let's go to the river.”

Haein raised her eyebrows, but complied nonetheless. They arrived at the rushing water. Trees surrounded them, and a few knights were always following behind them. The water was crystal clear, and fishes swam well past them with breakneck speed.

“So what now?”

“Depends. How likely are you to turn violent against me?”

“Is that you being excited or is that you being scared?”

“Both? I mean, due to certain reasons, I got hit a lot during sex. Out of it too, but that’s more so of her natural violence than anything sexual.”

“Do you want me to be rough?”

“I’d rather not. My bones will snap if you hit me somewhat hard. But anyway, answer the question.”

“Probably unlikely. But that depends on what you ask of me.”

“And if it's vaguely sexual?”

“Are you trying to turn me on? But just cut right to it. Having these guards with us all the damn time makes me want to die.”

“Fine. I want you to strip and go into the river. I’ll explain the situation to the guards. Make sure you start stripping within eyesight, but don’t go further than you need to. That’s all I could think of, anyway. I’m too much of a burden to run off with.”

“Hah. You underestimate me.”

Haein smirked and released his hand. She stepped somewhat into the water, it barely going past her ankles. With her hands lifting up her dress in order to not get it wet, it was an ironically wholesome scene.

“Wanna watch me?”

“No need. I’ll explain the situation.”

He turned around on his heel and approached the guards by the treeline. They saluted at his approach. With the rushing water behind him, he waved his hand.

“Hey. Could you guys help me tell the rest to not come here? We want some private time,” he motioned to the woman behind him.

Judging by what seemed to be a blushing face, Haein probably started. They nodded, and rushed back. Of course, he elaborated on the punishments that would occur if someone was caught peeping. Ranging from public shaming, to vivid and brutal torture that he wouldn’t hesitate to commit.

“All clear~” he said.

Though they didn’t know it, the message was sent to two separate people. One benefit of the Messenger of the Mystics was that it could act as both a call and an email. He had sent it, and the intended two recipients received it.

“Make your way here then.”

“Give me some time. I want to make sure that there’s no one here.”

Of course, he wanted to kill two birds with one stone. He walked along the treeline. The foliage rustled, and Katalina popped out. She removed a few leaves from her head and body, and approached him.

“I can’t believe you managed to dupe them, and Her Majesty.”

“It wasn’t hard. Just dangle some bait in front of her, and she’ll take it, especially when it's from me. And for the guards, well, it was part of the bait that I laid.”

“How did you bait her?”

“She’s a very lewd woman.”

“I shan’t pursue. It's obvious that you’re the only one who knows how to deal with her.”

“How’ve you been?”

Katalina pondered his question. Was it that hard to answer? Besides, it was just a simple opening. It had been probably close to a month, maybe more, since they had a proper conversation. Francis leaned against a tree, and peeked at the river. Good, she didn’t notice. Not yet, at least. But it was a little bit difficult to pull his eyes away from her.

“I’ve been fine, My Lord.”

“Please, no need to keep that up. How long have we known each other by now?”

“But you are more than just my lord. You are the emperor.”

“See, you’re speaking much more casually already. Made any progress with Iris?”

“Yeah. She’s a tough teacher. Unforgiving too.”

“So what have you learned?”

“Nothing new, especially since she can’t use aura.”

“Right, ‘cause she uses external magic instead. How about on the physical side of things?”

“A knight must be in good shape. But she has this sort of superhuman athleticism. It’s actually amazing. And she showed me techniques that I hadn’t even thought of.”

A soft wind blew as Haein called for him. Katalina gave a warm, probably genuine smile as he waved goodbye. The knight returned to her post, the wind blowing through her brown hair.

“I’m here.”

“Finally. Do you know how long I’ve been standing around naked waiting for you?”

“Do you really need to say that?”

“No, I don’t. But it's nice to say, isn’t it? Aren’t you going to invite that knight lady of yours here as well?”

“Ah, so you saw?”

“Of course I did. I was expecting you two to kiss, but apparently you aren’t at that stage yet.”

“Then why didn’t you stop me? Or do anything to me for lying to you?”

“It's healthy, in a sense. Nothing good will come about from you keeping it bottled up forever and ever. Though, I’d prefer if you were just honest with me from the start. You could date her all you want.”

“You have to understand that we’re not like that.”

“Does it matter? You’re probably- maybe a man. You must be feeling turned on right? Come on, there’s a naked woman in front of you.”

“I refuse to comment.”

She muttered to herself. Crossing her arms, she tried her best to emphasise her chest but he kept his sight on her face. And only on her face. He stared at her with an unamused look. Slowly, the lewd empress lost the staring contest, and squatted down in a mess of blushes.

“Uu...”

“Haa.” Francis followed her down, trying his best to make sure his clothes weren’t splashed on.

“I’ve got you now!”

With a powerful strike, she pushed him down into the shallow water. He had been had. She laughed out loud as she pressed down on him.

“Hah!” He pushed his hair away from his eyes. Well, perhaps this wasn’t so bad, so long as one ignored the background of their journey.

They returned to camp, soaked and tired. Haein had draped his arm over her shoulder, and they made their way back. Passing by the embarrassed knights, most of whom were stunned, speechless, or both. Of course, this was due in part, or maybe mostly because of their wet clothes. Empress Haein had a better situation, having kept her clothes dry on the river bank. Though, that only helped to a slight extent with her wet skin and hair. Francis did not have that luxury.

“M-my Lord!” Katalina rushed towards them.

“Yeah? Did something come up?”

“You shouldn’t be seen like this, My Lord.” She wrapped a towel around him. And in a soft voice, she continued. “Your camisole is showing.”

“Is it? I didn’t know. Thank you.”

“Wow, just kiss already,” Haein whispered.

“Your Majesty, do I have permission to-”

“Let’s just speak here instead,” Francis changed the medium. It was far easier to talk when no one else could hear.

“You gave your lady knight a Messenger of the Mystics? You’re more in love than I expected.”

“Feel free to retort however you want, Katalina.”

“Your Majesty, please don’t joke about this. You are married to My Lord.”

“Lady to lady, he’s obviously in love with you.”

“I am not!”