Chương 1000: 1030 - Three Months

With a long, contented sigh, Leon slid beneath the surface of the pool-sized bath. The water was almost scaldingly hot, with steam rising from the water's surface. But to Leon, its heat was delightfully comforting, heating him down to his core and relaxing his muscles until he felt like he was nothing more than a puddle of flesh at the bottom of the bath.

He didn't stay beneath the surface for long, despite how comfortable he found it; he stayed below for long enough to admire his ladies, who were largely relaxing closer to the shallower edges, and then returned to float on the surface. The bath was in the center of a small private courtyard, with the water open to the sky. The area was, as was only right and proper for his palace, heavily warded against unwanted observers, so he and his ladies could bask in the light of the sun in peace.

And he did just that, having spent months on Arkhnavi, where getting a glimpse of the sun was incredibly rare. But as if the city was rejoicing in his presence once again, the weather had been nothing but warm and sunny in the two days since his return. Of course, until heading out into the bath, Leon hadn't seen much of the sun; he'd spent most of that time alone with his ladies, resting and recuperating after all that had happened since leaving Aeterna.

In that time, the issue of heading back out into the world and participating in society again was raised a couple times, but Leon largely brushed it off. He wanted just a few days alone with his family before having to deal with anything else. Of course, what he wanted and what he got wasn't always that similar. As he surfaced, he felt the water ripple with power, and he was dragged back over to where most of his ladies were waiting.

Cassandra, Elise, and Valeria were all sitting there—Elise and Cassandra were as naked as Leon, but Valeria had wrapped her body in a towel—while as he came to a halt, his head coming to rest just above Elise's thighs, Maia appeared beneath him, an impish grin on her face.

"You're not getting away that easily, my dear," Elise said as she let her arms drift across Leon's chest and arms before tightening around him in an embrace that told him he wasn't going to be drifting away from her again.

"Only an idiot ignores politics," Cassandra added, her voice surprisingly soft for how reprimanding her words were.

"Politics abhor being ignored." Leon wanted to snipe back at them both about how that's why he had ministers, but he knew that was a mistake. He was a King, and he wanted to take that duty seriously. As much as he enjoyed spending time with his family, he was getting a bit antsy about seeing to his duties.

"Before we get into all that," Leon said, "How's Mari'Kha settling in?" Valeria answered, "Gaius left a report earlier today. She was introduced to Nestor and the giants via comm lotuses. They've spent the past two days endlessly discussing her suit, and I think there was a suggestion that Nestor was going to fly back to Stormhollow to see it in person."

"Figures that's why he would come back, not to see me," Leon said without a shred of bitterness. He understood; one of the biggest things pushing him to get back out into the world was the promise of further study into enchanting and magical engineering. He had a lot to share with Nestor, too, such as the enchantments that Tir had shown him beneath the monastery, which Leon was sure Nestor would get quite the kick out of.

"So," Elise said after silence fell for several seconds, "are you finally ready to hear what you've missed?" Leon frowned but nodded. He'd been far too busy either telling them of Arkhnavi or taking at least one of them to bed to listen to anything more than a brief overview of what had been happening on Aeterna in his absence.

"I'll all ears," he said.

"I hope you'll be at least a little bit tongue, too, husband," Elise replied with a gentle smile.

"Dealing with diplomats in your absence has been… trying, and though we've been doing our best, there are still many issues that need your input before they can be resolved."

"Then let's start with the most pressing," Leon said as he shifted around to lean against the edge of the bath with his wives, lover, and mate.

"The most pressing is the diplomat from the Sentinels," Elise informed him.

"He has a message that's meant for your ears only. He's been quite insistent on that, and refuses to leave it with any of us, or to leave at all until he could gain a private audience with you."

"Odd," Leon stated.

"Any idea what he might want?"

"Tell him your theories," Elise said as she turned her emerald eyes toward Cassandra.

"I was going to, bitch," Cassandra replied without a shred of heat in her voice. Elise yelped a moment later, but not due to anything the Imperial Princess did, but rather because Cassandra punctuated her statement by pinching Elise somewhere Leon couldn't see.

"You two seem quite comfortable with each other," he observed as Elise gave Cassandra a faux outraged expression and splashed some water at her.

"It's been a long few months without our dear husband here," Cassandra responded in a playfully mocking tone.

"We've had no choice but to console ourselves in your absence…" Leon cocked an eyebrow and grinned at the implication. He ran one hand over Elise's body and reached for Cassandra's, only for his hand to be lightly slapped away.

"We still have work to handle, my King," she sternly said.

"There's a lot of work that involves this, too, that we should handle," Leon said with a suggestive tone, though he already knew what the answer would be. Elise gave Valeria a look over his shoulder, and a moment later, all the water around him froze solid. He gasped in surprise at the sudden chill, though with nothing more than a frown sent at his silver-haired lover over his shoulder and a quick channeling of fire magic, her ice rapidly melted.

"Business first," Valeria said, "then pleasure."

"You make it sound like the two are separate," Leon quipped before turning back toward Cassandra.

"But you're not wrong. So, what's the Keeper doing?"

"My grandmother has informed me that there have been some curious movements amongst the Sentinels lately," Cassandra explained.

"Ever since the wars that saw your Clan… removed from power here in Aeterna, the Sentinels have controlled your Clan's old capital." Leon silenced her with a stern glare and a raised finger." Our Clan," he corrected.

"Right," Cassandra said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Right. Have to keep that in mind."

"Spouses don't generally join Houses in the Sacred Golden Empire," Elise elucidated for Leon.

"She will one day bear strong, powerful, and wise members of the Thunderbird Clan," Leon said, reaching out for her once again though with less lascivious intentions this time.

"If that doesn't make her a member of my Clan, then I don't know what would. But even if you don't… even if my wife is all you ever are, then I'll still always consider you a part of my Clan. You're a part of my family, full stop." Cassandra smiled at him as she drew his hand down to her abdomen. In the almost two days since his return, Leon had confirmed with his ladies that none of them were yet with child.

He'd done his best to contain his disappointment when learning that, especially with all the preparations that they'd made before he left to try and conceive, but it had been hard, and he was sure some of it bled through. Part of the reason why he'd holed up in the palace for so long was to try and make it clear that whether or not they had kids, he still loved them all. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"We'll make it happen," she said, to which Leon nodded.

"But to get back on topic: the Sentinels have always considered the ruined capital to be absolutely off-limits. No one's allowed there, and if they find that anyone's trespassed, they are publicly executed."

"Harsh," Leon stated.

"I can't help but wonder how many Clan artifacts remain to be discovered there if the capital has been protected from looters."

"We might get a chance to find out," Cassandra continued.

"The Sentinels have apparently been preparing some kind of expedition into the capital—or so we think. My grandmother thought that the Keeper was abandoning his principles to try and get his hands on Thunderbird equipment, but then the Sentinel diplomat showed up on the Thunder Kingdom's shores, and opinions changed. The current assumption is that the Sentinels are preparing to grant you access to the site."

"It won't come for free," Valeria cynically stated.

"Nothing ever does," Elise added.

"Stupid humans," Maia grumbled as she poked her head above water for a second.

"Should just head over and take what you're looking for."

"If only it were that simple," Leon said. He knew Maia was only expressing frustration and not actually advocating for some kind of conflict with the Sentinels over access to the site, but he would be a liar if he tried to claim that he'd never at least considered just going there and seeing what the Keeper might do in response. For now, though, he was content to let the Keeper decide if and how to answer Leon's request for access.

After all, he had his Kingdom already working on everything of critical importance, to the point that he was sure even Nestor's needed wisp repair tools had a good chance to be replicated within the next century with the dead man, the Ravens, and Mari all pooling their knowledge, so he didn't think there was anything he specifically needed from the site. He'd love to get any cultural or historical information from the site that he could get his hands on, though…

"I'll speak with the Sentinel diplomat first, then," Leon stated.

"I'm now very interested in hearing what he has to say."

"Other than him," Elise said, "the other three Empires have also sent diplomatic missions, all asking for permission to establish embassies."

"That can be easily arranged," Leon said with a smile. He could understand the Ten Tribes' desire to remain aloof and disconnected from the goings-on of the mainland, but this kind of international recognition was invaluable. This kind of diplomatic interaction would help to ensure that their new peace would last.

"It has also been brought to our attention," Elise continued, "that the Pegasi States have been badgering the Sunlit Empire to back them in making reparation claims against our Kingdom." Leon sighed again, this time a little more exasperatedly. He could understand their anger, too. Eighty-thousand years of war weren't so easily erased, but he was reluctant to pay any kind of reparations.

His Kingdom would need all of its resources when he led it to the Nexus, and he doubted any of the Pegasi States would act against the Thunder Kingdom without the backing of at least one of the Empires.

'And even then, I can't see any of them moving without two or more Empires in their corner…'

"Ignore that for now," he said.

"Maybe if they try and make some claim with this directly, then we can address it. But until then, just pretend that we don't see them pressuring the Sunlit Empire to press their claims."

"Not like the Sunlit Empire can do much to pressure us, anyway," Valeria stated with an almost vicious grin that was quickly mirrored on Cassandra's face. The Sunlit Empire, Leon knew, was far from stable. Arcaion remained in power, but he'd yet to lay claim to the Imperial title.

As it was, there were quite a few competing factions that were forming in the Empire's power structure, and without a clear Emperor there to manage them, these different factions were starting to object to Arcaion's continued control over the government. Leon wasn't worried, though, since Arcaion still had strong international support.

Keeping the Sunlit Empire down was in everyone's best interest, and he doubted Ilion or Evergold would allow Arcaion to ever be put out of power when he'd proven fairly amenable to their interests so far. He just hoped that the man would reach the tenth-tier soon, as that was essentially the only roadblock he was facing to declaring himself Emperor.

There were a few distant relations to the Empire's Imperial Family, but they were all extremely magically weak, and none of the factions were backing them, which Leon found quite notable.

'No one in that Empire wants to support their previous Emperor's extended family,' he noted.

'Consequences of being a shit monarch, then, isn't it?' He silently vowed to take the lesson to heart. Sunlit was such a terrible Emperor that without him being there, exerting his will with his tenth-tier power, the people practically turned on his family.

"What about Heaven's Eye?" he asked, addressing the final foreign power of much consequence. The Bull Kingdom, of course, had an embassy already in Thunderhaven, but they were so far away and so comparatively weak next to Heaven's Eye and the Empires that he hardly counted them.

"My mother has been having quite a bit of success recruiting locals into the new branch," Elise said, almost glowing with pride.

"The Tower is rising ahead of schedule, and we think there are only a few months left until we can have our grand opening. Heaven's Eye will be doing business on Kataigida before the year's out!"

"They're moving fast," Leon observed.

"As well they should. Have we had any word from the Director lately?"

"He's been sending us regular updates on most Heaven's Eye operations," Elise explained, "but there hasn't been much of anything of concern in those reports."

"No news is good news," Valeria stated, to which Leon was tempted to agree.

"Has there been any news about Anshu?" he asked, which drew a frown from Valeria.

"No," she said as her sapphire eyes narrowed in concern.

"We've not had any communication from him at all since he departed before you left."

"Nothing?" Leon asked, seeking clarification.

"Not even a letter or call on a comm lotus?"

"Nothing," Valeria confirmed.

"I can ask my grandmother if there's been anything coming out of the Raj that might indicate he ran into some trouble," Cassandra offered, though from her tone Leon knew she didn't think that would turn up much.

"We should try and look into this," Leon said.

"Anshu was always punctual with his updates when I had him infiltrate the Saltwater Road. If he's not updating us now…"

"I'll put out the word of what we're looking for, then," Cassandra said, and Leon nodded in gratitude.

"As for the rest of the retinue," Leon continued, "I'll be speaking with them all individually later, but has anything come up in the time I've been gone that I should be made aware of?"

"Anna asked Eirene to marry her," Valeria said, and Leon's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"Eirene said yes. No wedding has been scheduled, but you should keep that in mind."

"Wow," he said.

"Anna did tell me that she was thinking about this, but I thought she would wait a while longer. Good for her. For them both."

"Alcander's going to need paternity leave soon," Valeria added a little hesitantly as she sent looks of concern to Leon's other three ladies. Of the five of them, she was the only one not yet trying for kids, though she was still sensitive to their feelings on the matter.

"Sofia's due in about four or five months."

"Good for them," Leon said a little more flatly, though he meant the words.

"Alcander can have all the time he needs. I wish them both luck in raising their kid."

"Maybe they can save a little for us?" Elise responded, the quiver in her voice betraying her true thoughts despite her otherwise light tone. Leon smiled at her and held her closer, while Cassandra snuggled up on the other side and Maia rose out of the water to plant herself in Leon's lap, her back pressing up against his chest. Leon held them close, then gestured Valeria closer to join them.

"Any other pressing concerns?" Leon asked.

"None that spring to mind," Valeria said.

"Helen's been working hard at something, but I'm not sure what it is. It might be worth going to her first out of everyone else."

"She's been burning through materials like crazy," Elise said.

"The cost exceeded even Nestor's experiments before he ran off with the Ravens to make more golem frames for the giants." Leon's eyebrows shot up.

"That much, huh? Wasn't she working on refining Hesperidic Apples into concentrated juice?"

"I think she'd get angry if you were to phrase it so crudely," Elise said, "but I think that's what she's doing, yes." [Huh,] the Thunderbird whispered from his soul realm. [Trying to recreate ambrosia. Unlikely to succeed, but maybe…?] [What's that?] Leon asked. [Just what she's trying to make: refining the power contained in Hesperidic Apples into the single most delicious beverage in the universe. Does wonders for gaining strength. If you had a hundred bottles of the finest quality ambrosia in the Nexus, you'd be guaranteed to achieve Apotheosis, Leon. Of course, the 'finest bottles' are extremely rare, but if you could establish a way to make ambrosia before you even left this plane, even if that ambrosia is low-quality, then you'd be in a fantastic position to rapidly gain ground once you reach the Nexus.] [Sounds like Helen needs some support,] Leon replied.

He quickly relayed what the Thunderbird told him to his ladies, and excitement began to grow regarding the promise that Helen's research held. Talk even turned to possible information regarding ambrosia hidden away in the Clan's old capital on Aeterna since the Thunderbird clarified that all great Clans had their own infrastructure for brewing ambrosia, and hers was no exception. In other words, there was even more incentive to try and gain access to that palace complex in the near future.

With that excitement buoying them, Leon and his ladies got out of the bath. There was some temptation to drag them back to bed, but Leon refrained. There'd be time for fun and making children later; right now, it was time for him to head back out into the world and actually be a King.