“You are his new wife, eh... you're nothing special.”
A day has passed since the dragon army returned to their kingdom, after Coldness Divine made the necessary preparations to establish connections between the army and her husband. Only now does she have the time to meet the newcomer.
Absolute Prominence.
“Coldness Divine, this may just be a concubine, but don’t expect any submission from me. I am under no obligation to establish good relations with the other wives.”
“Hahaha, does a mere level 300 dare to respond to me?”
As Coldness Divine reaches for her neck, Absolute Prominence simply smiles.
“You know the meaning of my existence, do you want to ruin everything over some jealousy?”
Coldness Divine holds back from gripping the new woman's neck too tightly, fearing that a slip might be enough to kill her. For a few seconds, she remains in this situation, then snorts and releases her.
Coldness Divine snorts. "That was just a greeting, I wanted to know what that woman was planning, but it was foolish of me to ask the puppet.”
Absolute Prominence is confused by her words, ‘What is this woman talking about? Me, a puppet? Absurd.’
“If it was a greeting, I can withstand this degree of humiliation, but only this once. I may be of lower level than you, but it will not always be so. Once the expansion stabilizes, I will be allowed to increase my level beyond the limits of the Inferior Plane. Then, this discussion will end very differently than today.”
Coldness Divine looks Absolute Prominence up and down and smiles disdainfully. Once she walks away from her, all the contemptuous look disappears from her face.
“That Memory and Emotion Rewriting magic is dangerous, a woman like her could easily be turned into this... Hah, even digging up her worst feelings only got me that response. Indirectly mentioning that her memories have been altered wasn't enough to make her suspect. If Lawrence hadn’t asked Serene Will to give me that magic, would I be just as vulnerable?”
Without having acquired immunity to mental manipulation, Coldness Divine fears she might distrust even her own memories.
After sighing, Coldness Divine stops thinking about Absolute Prominence. Her previous act was just that, an act. She wanted to uncover the true intentions of that woman, but only discovered the dangerousness of that magic.
Absolute Prominence won't be a threat unless Serene Will is.
“Hm? What is this?”
“Open it.”
Sky Petal heeds the words of Coldness Divine and opens the luxurious container. To her greater surprise, she finds it contains nothing but sand, ‘Strange, Coldness Divine wouldn't gift me something so simple.’
After a closer inspection, Sky Petal frowns, sensing that this sand is much different than it appears.
“Its properties are very unique, only spiritual herbs with very high growth requirements would benefit from them. What exactly is the origin of this sand?”
Coldness Divine could predict that the second wife would discover the peculiarity of this sand, her response did not disappoint her. “It comes from the Sacred Land of the dragons, millions of years ago a dragon that should not possess emotions wept there, giving rise to what you hold in your hands. How much of that is true I couldn’t say, but... It is true that it must have a very deep bond with the dragons, I can feel it.”
Sky Petal sees the seriousness of Coldness Divine and looks again at the sand in the container, this time with bright eyes. “I need to run some tests, only then will I know how useful it can be to us, but before that...”
She hesitates for a few seconds before asking: “How much of this sand exists?”
“As much as you desire, but it requires a very special procedure to extract it. I have someone exclusively reserved for that job. When you need more, do not hesitate to ask.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Sky Petal does not understand the meaning of Coldness Divine’s smile, but since she is being given a gift, she gladly accepts it. Both walk to the courtyard reserved for the planting of spiritual herbs. In the sight of hundreds of herbs, each emitting a mystical aura, it is more fitting to treat this place as a pristine field than a simple flower garden.
Coldness Divine takes a deep breath and exhales, her entire being cleansed of impurities with this single action. Sky Petal’s talent is truly amazing to replicate so many high-grade spiritual herbs without taking any shortcuts.
Coldness Divine looks at her and says: “The pill recipes we've acquired are not keeping up with our level increase, their improvement does not solve the problem at all. But Lawrence plans to use your name as a refiner to get more of them, when that happens, will you be okay on your own?”
Originally, the fertility pill was intended to be used exclusively to make money from its sale, but the purity of the pill brought with it that Sky Petal acquired a name as a pill refiner. It is not necessary for them or Lawrence to do anything, they are sure that at the next auction, moths will be attracted to the light.
This connection will be used to reach Sky Petal, and there is only one way to do it.
“Even if it doesn't look like it, for me doing this is not difficult, it’s... fun.”
Coldness Divine believed she was taking care of Sky Petal, that she would not overexert herself, but forgot the fact that she may look human, but she is not.
“Even so, there must be a limit to your growth.”
“Hm... When you put it that way...” Sky Petal stops to think and quickly discovers something, “Manpower. This might be easy for me, but if I wish to replicate it on a mass scale or if by chance I incur too many losses during a refinement, I will need a great amount of supplies that I alone cannot provide. Therefore, I would need manpower.”
Coldness Divine nods, “When the time comes, I will make sure to mention it.”
They continued talking for a while, until by her own will, Coldness Divine decides to say goodbye. When this happens, she hears a scream from behind her.
“Thanks for the gift!”
She would like to smile, thinking that she has done something good, but she cannot. She knows she is doing this to foster a talent, not to make friends. Though perhaps, just perhaps, Sky Petal is the person closest to being so. But from there to achieving it, difficult.
In the distance, she can see Lawrence and coincidentally their gazes cross.
‘Having just one weakness is enough for me.’
+++
Capital Lakeleaf, Sky Blue Mountain Kingdom. Inferior Plane.
“Euphony, once this war ends, your father... The king will want to position you as the new queen to silence the opponents, at that time a new century will begin, it will be the era of glory for the Sky Blue Mountain Kingdom.”
Doneire Fable speaks cheerfully about the future of both. He is the fiancé of Reminiscent Euphony, and thus, the king consort. He will not possess the same power as his wife, but it is enough for him to be by her side and support her no matter the situation.
“All the resources of the Dajhir Kingdom will be at our disposal, with them we can once again raise the kingdom. No one will threaten us again.”
He has limited information about the events of the war, his vision is much more hopeful than that of the leaders of the noble houses and the royalty. Because of this, he is unable to decipher the look of the woman beside him, his fiancée.
Reminiscent Euphony listens to her fiancé's words until she can no longer bear wanting to say the words she has long hidden within her.
“The kingdom will always be in my heart above all else, I will be willing to do whatever it takes if it is for it.”
She can predict the future much more accurately than the man beside her and knows that the weakness they will find at the end of the road is not as simple as it seems.
“Will you still love me despite the decisions I will make?”
She wants someone who understands her, even when she will no longer be by his side.
Doneire Fable looks at his fiancée’s sad eyes and takes her hands warmly, whatever his woman is thinking, he will find out eventually, but this is not the time for half-spoken words, there is no room for doubt.
“I will always love you and be there when you need me, I promise.”
Those are the only words she wanted to hear. Even though it might be the last time, she approaches her fiancé and kisses him. The decisions she will make from now on may lead the kingdom to glory, but she will lose everything.
“I disagree.”
In the personal chamber of King Gray Solstice, he states his opinion without restraint, because only he and his daughter are present.
“That man comes from the Divine Plane, why would he want to meddle in our wars? His sacred magic means nothing, he is not someone with a good heart. His intentions are malicious, he will lead us to ruin! He wants to use us as his backyard for who knows what. If he really were a ranker, his gaze would be set on the Divine Plane, not this place! It's a mistake to trust him!”
Reminiscent Euphony clenches her fists, crumpling her dress. “I know. I know that man is planning something, but if we do not accept we will have no say in the future. At least with this, I will be able to save as many lives as possible. I will be able to acquire a position where I can decide the future of the kingdom, if we do nothing now, we will be left with nothing.”
“I will not sacrifice my daughter for the kingdom!”
“Listen to yourself, you would never say something like that, Father.”
“…”
King Gray Solstice realizes what he has said and stops, all his anger disappearing in the following seconds. With a look that Reminiscent Euphony has never seen in her entire life, he approaches her and hugs her.
Her face changes immediately upon hearing the words her father has whispered.
She pulls away from him and screams: “Who have you been talking to?!”
He is glad to see his daughter's concern, but this is something he must do.
“One day I will save you, I promise.”
This is not the promise of a king, but that of a father.
