Somah leaned back into his seat as the throne room cleared. The witnesses who had beholden the brutality Aqua had used to deal with Lira were left speechless. The spymaster was a powerful caster that would be difficult for anyone to deal with, yet the 'Servant' had killed her in the blink of an eye.
While he wanted to ask and possibly recruit her into their war, the glare his wife gave him told him everything he needed to know.
Do not dare say anything now. He smiled as he repeated to himself that he was grasping for straws, but his queen knew something he did not.
His daughter and the duo of servants that followed her left, leaving him and Soleah alone at long last. With a wave of his hand, the remaining guards stationed around the throne room made their way out.
Finally alone… He wanted to hold his wife, yet he needed to discuss the powerful entity she had managed to ensnare.
"Soleah…"
"I know what you want to ask, it's about Aqua, right?"
He nodded; there was no point in hiding anything from his dear wife.
Soleah turned to face the king with a mischievous smile and jumped into his lap with her hands wrapped around his neck.
"Don't you even think about ensnaring her into our army with your tricks." Her face turned serious, and her brows furrowed; if her husband made a wrong move, he would have ended up like Lira.
Their lips got closer yet just as he was about to taste them, Soleah pulled back, "You may ask why~"
"Why?"
"Because you would die."
The king's eyes widened. The Queen stared into his eyes, making sure that her words struck deep.
"But…"
"No buts. When I first talked to her, she almost burned me alive for even suspecting that I would attempt to use her for our goals." Soleah wiggled slightly, allowing herself to adjust on her dear's lap.
Somah's eyes widened as he reeled back, "She is that dangerous?"
"Incredibly so, but don't be afraid of her. The only thing you must avoid is trying to make it seem like you want to use her; all she wants is to be left in peace."
"I see…" His head slumped slightly, and he understood his wife's warning, yet a risk was worth it if he could obtain some kind of leverage…
Slap
"I can read you like a book!" She grabbed his cheeks as she forced him to look at her. "I tell you, do not do anything stupid, what will I do if I lose you?! Do you think I would want to live without you?! Aqua could become a bigger threat to us than Savages and Lira if you try to pull your underhanded tricks."
His cheeks flushed as Soleah's eyes teared up.
A droplet of tears hit his face as she hugged him tightly, "I love you, please, for me, do not attempt to use her for our gain. We will manage the war on our own, trust me!"
He groaned for a moment before cracking his neck, "Sure… I can tell you are scared of her, and for a good reason."
The image of Aqua brutalizing Lira with such speed made him shudder.
"You don't even know the half of it, my dear Somah. Also, I am not afraid of her despite being cautious of anyone powerful like her; she is rather sweet."
"Like the fact that you lied that she worked for you before?"
"Hah~ I knew you caught me."
"Some lousy husband I would be if I couldn't see when my beloved is lying to me. I would guess you had befriended her?"
The Queen nodded.
That means that even if I don't do anything, that woman would feel some sympathy for us if we are on the verge of defeat.
A relaxed sigh escaped his lips. Not all was lost; while losing Lira would cripple them for a while, Soleah's befriending of a powerful entity like Aqua was a step toward recovery.
"How powerful is she?" He brought his face closer.
Soleah grinned as she gave him a quick peck on the lips, "Powerful enough to swipe away our kingdom with a single move if my suspicion is correct…"
"What?!" He snapped away from her.
His hand planted on his face, "Why did you not tell me before?"
"Yes, I could have, but I doubt you would have believed me. My love~" She giggled for a moment, "Also, it was better to let you show her capabilities on Lira like she did, than for you to die when you inevitably do something rash."
"That terrifying? I see…" Somah knew better than to mistrust his Queen's judgment; she had never been wrong at judging someone's character, and thus, he would not dare go against his Soleah's wishes.
The room went silent for a moment as the duo stared into each other's eyes. Soleah blinked slowly and seductively before speaking, "So, darling. Now that Lira has been dealt with, I will have my hands full with rebuilding spy networks… perhaps I could leave it to Taz or Aurora…"
A small chuckle escaped Somah's lips, "I will leave that to you, I have the war to deal with after all. Especially as we lost one of our most powerful elites… May the gods help us if the savages get a wind of it."
"My dear, I doubt you need to worry that much about it. I will make sure that information networks are tighter than ever!" Soleah lifted her head with pride despite sitting on her husband's lap as if she were a young maiden.
"I know you will, my dear Queen." Somah smiled wryly as he pushed Soleah closer to his body.
"Also, I had a request to make from you, my king~"
His head snapped toward Soleah, "What is it?"
"The Academy is about to start, and I believe Sheira should start attending, lest she falls behind her siblings, especially after the recent development. I believe it's prudent to invest in her education."
"Soleahhhh…" The king exhaled slowly. "When did I ever forbid any of our kids from pursuing education? Come on, just tell me what you want to say."
Her fingers trailed over his chest. "Azure has worked so hard, and after the recent kidnapping, I wanted to allow her to go with Sheira."
"My darling, you do realize she is an important military asset. I can't keep sending her on missions, even sending her to Red Dawn was a gamble that we almost lost…" The moment the name of the kingdom left his mouth, his eyes widened.
"You mean…"
"Yes! Aqua will go with Sheira, and Aqua has a strangely high opinion of Azure, thus it has a higher chance of making her like our kingdom enough to actually protect us if we lose this war."
"You know how much I hate relying on something out of my control…"
"Well, this time around, attempting to control Aqua would be like wrangling a hurricane, an overall bad idea. So be a good boy and let me make her consider this place a home, and if I am correct, we will have a proper goddess protecting us very soon."
"I dread to think of what she did to make you have such a high opinion of her; if it were anyone else saying this type of thing, I would have had them imprisoned."
"Oh my, you would want to keep me in a cage now?" Soleah placed her thumb on Somah's chin. "Already tired of me always being on top?~"
"No…" A blush spread over his face, "It's tiring always being in charge, you know…"
"Is that so~" Soleah smiled as she placed her forehead on her husband's.
"Here is the deal, you let Azure go to the academy with Sheira and Aqua, and in exchange, I make tonight very special for you~"
"P..promise?" He couldn't help but stutter at the promise. It had been too long since he had an opportunity to engage in intimacy with his beloved.
"Of course~ Have I ever broken a promise to you?"
He shook his head. "Though you do realize only nobility may attend the academy, of course, I am not doubting you, but she might have trouble being accepted."
"That's where you come into play. I want you to give her a title, perhaps a Countess to start with, this way we won't have the Academy burning to the ground because someone decided she was a lesser noble. Of course, Land might be an issue, but we can handle that later, after all, Lira owned a lot, and I think one who dealt with the perpetrator deserves some of it."
"Darling… land ownership is hard work. I believe that she is powerful, but Stewardship of a domain is both stressful and difficult. If what you said about her is true, then it would be counterproductive, especially something as vast as a county."
Soleah hummed as she pinched her chin, "True. Alright, I say we only grant her a title, for now at least, and for all that is divine, do not give her responsibility of nobility."
"I get it, I get it… Can I talk to her soon?"
"No. I don't want you to say something stupid and get yourself killed."
He slumped into his throne; his curiosity was at an all-time high, yet he needed to obey his queen when she spoke with such seriousness.
"Hey! Why such a gloomy face? This is for your own good!"
"I am letting go of a potentially tide-changing asset for you, you know?"
"Hah, that's what I love about you!" With a chuckle, she approached the throne and climbed onto the King's lap, and locked her lips with Somah's.
They separated for a moment. "I will let Azure go to the Academy for one semester; we can't afford to not have her at call more than that."
"Perfect~" Soleah winked before locking her lips with her husband once again.