Ethan was walking down the street looking around, and when he saw a man with white hair or fur, he gave them a nod. The battle inside the dungeon bonded the soldiers in a way nobody could comprehend.

Ruth rested at home while Ethan did everything she did outside, like buying food. He could do that because the people inside the dungeon became their own separate company, with just infantry. Now, they were like the duchess's personal guard, only dispatched as squads.

He was passing by the square in the middle of the city, where they were building a stage. Ariadne will inaugurate the monument with the names of those who died on the raid and, to his surprise, show the recording of what happened inside the dungeon. Ruth didn’t let him drink in the tavern, but those in the company who did said nobody believed them, even with the white hair. He hopes the children don’t get nightmares after seeing the carnage.

It took more time because people from outside the duchy were coming to see, and from what he heard, some important people from the kingdom were coming. Interestingly, all merchants were no nobles. He knew all of this because his squad was in charge of the security of an area. The duchess wanted all the people to see what happened simultaneously, so the people who had already seen it because they were there would take care of security.

After getting everything Ruth wanted, he returned to his house and was immediately pushed by Ruth’s belly, which made him step back.

‘Are you still mad about the dungeon? And on that note, I don't think it is a good idea for you to see what happened there; you are with a child.’ Ethan took a knee and touched Ruth's belly.

‘Of course I am. What if you died? Yesterday, my mother said she heard it was voluntary; how could you do this for us?’ She hit Ethan with one of her fists like a hammer.

‘You two would be taken care of by her highness, just like those other families; now is too late to back down, and I receive a raise, so you can buy more things for the house and even eat sweets.’ Ethan stood up and hugged his wife.

Ruth struggled a little but stopped and hugged him back. She started to cry. She had always stayed mad at him, but the actual feeling was loss. Ruth didn’t want to love him; he was perfect in her eyes, and no one could ever replace him, so frustration built up inside her until now.

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‘Next time, at least I’m going to tell you I still have my duties, but now I expect you to understand my role, ok?’ He held her chin up, looking into her eyes.

‘Fine, but don’t ever lie to me!!’ Ruth punched him in the gut, but it was rock hard.

‘Alright, now let's eat something; I’m starving.’ Ethan kissed her before putting the things on top of the table.

At the same time, Alon was in the command room in the Duchess mansion, and with his new title of Lieutenant Coronel came a lot more responsibility, even if the job didn’t change. The material Edmund had given him when they met helped with the new structure of the duchy’s army, even if he needed to make some adjustments or think of new things to do.

He was reading the platoon leaders' report on the changes in their and the soldiers' bodies and what they could do. Because of his responsibilities, he couldn’t train like the others, so he ordered them to do this in two months to see what had changed.

They became more assertive, faster, and resilient, and missions outside the city became much more manageable. Ariadne decided that they would protect the city; she was too busy to test their performance against her, so Alon waited for Edmund to get better so that he could measure their new strength. That’s what was happening right now outside.

Edmund was running against the soldiers on the training ground, but it wasn’t close. He, too, was seeing how he compared to before, and this time, he was talking about stretching from being unable to move correctly.

‘Egor, seeing them run, I can say they are a fourth of what I was with white hair. I prefer this one; I look younger, which is nice.’ Edmund was touching his hair and smiling.

‘You look the same to me, and you are still young. I think the LC will be happy to hear the test results, but what about you now against Her Highness?’ Egor said with a curious expression.

‘Let’s see how it is!’ Ariadne spoke while walking in their direction.

‘Is going to be a good chance to test my new sword, so wait here.’ Edmund started to run toward the warehouse.

‘Your Highness, sorry for the state of the troops; we were testing their limits.’ Egor saluted her.

Ariadne looked at the soldiers, who were starting to stand to salute her, but she waved at them and smiled. They relaxed and continued to rest on the ground.

'And I’m back.’ Edmund returned, holding his new sword.

The sword Edmund was holding was new to Ariadne, but she recognized the blue from the crystals; aside from the blade's edge and parts of the handle, everything was made of crystals.

‘It takes time to charge; I need to think of better ways to charge these crystals, but it will be able to hold the line against the hero sword for some time before it breaks. Those factories the Arc and Socher company built helped me greatly; they did it for free. I wonder if I can get some free food...' Edmund was interrupted.

‘Peasant, I have things to do. Let’s go, follow me there, and keep a distance for those that want to watch.’ Ariadne started to walk.

‘Fair enough, let’s finish this.’ Edmund followed her and, like before, just dragged his sword on the ground.