The legitimate and sole rule of the human Empire King Klisser Foster’s ass hurt. He had been riding for hours on a horse next to his beautiful, comfortable, and expensive, carriage, not able to go inside because his soldiers’ morale would raise if he marched outside with them. He did not fault them for this, though. After all, he was asking them to fight and possibly die for him, so this much discomfort wasn’t enough to stop him. That didn’t mean he liked it. His ass would keep this flat shape for days, he reckoned. And he couldn’t voice his problems out loud.

“Your Majesty, it’s showing.” a female voice coming from his side awoke him from his thoughts. Instinctively, his back, who had slowly hunched forward during the ride, was straight again. His eyes, almost closing from the tiredness, became wide open, and his expression transformed from annoyed to dignified. His transformation was fast and sudden as if he had done it a thousand times before, and anyone watching him would see a weary person transforming into a dignified king in a single instant.

How would he live without his assistant, Irhiva? She was one of the few people who knew of his less-than-royal habits. Stuff like not paying attention at meetings, eating sweets outside mealtime, his highly embarrassing sleeping positions, the fact he normally wasn’t so dignified as everyone else thought he was…

He caught himself, stopping his musing and standing straight once again.

“Why are we going to war again?” he asked her trusty assistant for the second time today.

“Because elves attacked, sire. We cannot let them walk away freely.” she answered. It had always been the same answer every time, always told with the same tone. It was incredible, really.

“We both know how it will end. Why are we organizing this farce?” he added, spicing up things a bit.

“This ‘farce’, sire, is costing us hundreds of thousands of gold coins every day.” she answered mercilessly in return.

The king dangerously swayed from side to side, his horse almost throwing him off, before he activated his Skill, [Royal Comeback]. The horse calmed down, Foster’s body effortlessly stabilizing and riding with grace fit of a king. Even the horse seemed to walk with his head held higher.

“The Chorster and Glenan family will fit the bill, as they were the ones pushing for magical carriages. If they won’t pay, I’ll seize their domains and titles, just like I promised.” the king’s voice was unbreakable and unforgiving, his demeanor as majestic as a dragon. Then the Skill stopped, and he was a normal person again.

“You always say that, sire, when using that Skill. But I find it hard to believe.” his adjutant answered deadpanned, completely ignoring his previous behavior.

This was the fourth time he had used this Skill today. One when waking up, changing from a sleepy idiot with dribble running down his chin to an imposing and completely awakened king. One when eating breakfast, the falling bread and butter caught faster than a human could possibly move, saving him from a stain on his apparel. The last when getting out of the carriage, transforming his tumble down the steps into a magnificent landing with a double somersault. The soldiers had clapped at that. And now this. The fun part was, most Skills had one charge, and then they’d go on cooldown, the length depending on the Skill used. Not this one. Oh, it had started with one charge and a day to recharge. Then, maybe because some Gods had taken pity of him, these charges had become two. Then five. Then ten. He wasn’t sure if he should be grateful for the help or incensed because someone clearly thought he needed them, but conserving as many charges as possible was important, and his right-hand had just made him waste one for no good reason. Sometimes he wondered why he kept putting up with her. Then he remembered she was the one responsible for managing the Empire, the one behind his success. Why couldn’t he leave the crown to her? Or at least take her as his wife? She was so much better suited than him at this job, there wasn’t even any point comparing the two of them. But no, royalty had to marry nobility, and a simple peasant wasn’t worthy of him, bla bla bla.

Worth my ass he wanted to retort but couldn’t. He wasn’t worthy of her, not the other way around. He had never wanted the crown, coming with many benefits, yes, but so many responsibilities, intrigues, subterfuges, backstabbing, nobles’ babbling, brides flirt-

“Your Majesty, it’s showing.” the de facto queen called him out again, springing him back to his noble disposition like she always did.

“Would you like to marry me, Irhiva?” he asked for the thousandth time. He was still unmarried with no heir. Someone had to resolve this situation, and there was no better woman than her.

The pale-skinned woman turned her thin body to him while riding, her luscious lips and green eyes capturing the king’s attention like no other woman had ever managed.

“It’d be more trouble than it’s worth it, sire, and you know it.” she answered with her merciless attitude the same way she had done a thousandth times. Sometimes he wondered if she was actually interested in him. That hardly mattered, though. She had never abused her power even once, something very rare, following his agenda of bettering the Empire and its citizens’ life. She had improved her life as well and their current situation worked perfectly for both parties, so they were willing to keep it like this. Especially after all the trouble he had gone through for having a peasant as an assistant. Probably his father had died so early because the outburst at the time had cost him a few dozens years.

His father, lovely father. He had gone and done a disaster in his time, or at least that’s what Foster thought. And Irhiva too, so he was probably right. He had started a campaign against the giants, invading them in their continent, Orune, for no damn good reason other than to expand the Empire. And he had lost! That had sent the royal family into debt with the other great noble families, and the previous king had found another target against the elves to the east, leaving the beastkins to the south alone, even him realizing attacking them would have been stupid given the economic benefits they brought to the Empire. He had managed to win for sometime but lost against a forest. A damn forest. The fighting tactics the Empire was so proud of worked against them in that environment, where the strength of the single mattered more than the whole. With no way to form into ranks inside the thick forest, the elves repelled every attack with their guerrilla tactics, forcing the humans on the defensive and, in the end, to sue for peace.

The royal family had thus become little more than a puppet to the other great noble families, forcing their will on the full of debt ‘ruling’ family. Which right now meant himself, not his father, because his father had died, leaving him this damn Empire full of shi-

“Your Majesty-”

“It’s showing, yes, I know.” he cut her off, his face calm again.

And now the elves had struck back. Luckily, his handywoman was prepared, because of course she was. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was prepared to face a God. Maybe he should ask her. They had cleared a path from monsters in the northern sea of the Ivirill continent, meaning his elite troops could infiltrate the elves' land from the east, where they didn’t expect it. She had trained those troops to work alone in a hostile forest, and they were good if the reports weren’t embellished. And they weren’t, because Irhiva would never accept such a thing. As far as the king was concerned, they’d go to the frontier, show a bit of force with their new troops, scare the elves enough to accept peace, and they’d go back home. That would be ideal…

“Your Majesty, a scout is coming.” Irhiva informed him from the side.

He turned, following her gaze, a young man on horse coming towards them, the soldiers parting to let him pass.

He bowed to him from the top of his horse, a feat Foster admired. He had no idea how they did it. Last time he tried he almost toppled over. “Your Majesty, the city of Chilog is in sight. We should arrive in two hours.”

The king nodded, his royal behavior rehearsed hundreds of times. “Thank you, soldier. You are dismissed. Go rest for now.” he said, not sure if he should allow the young man to rest, but not caring either way. This boy was barely fifteen, and he seemed ready to pass out. The least he could was to let him rest. Other scouts could take his place, anyway.

The messenger bowed, thanking the king before moving away. Why were they still using these obsolete methods of communication? Ah, yes, magical eavesdropping…

-------

The king was sitting in a room of his cousin’s castle, together with various generals, colonels, and who knows whatever that guy in the back was, with his ridiculous mustaches. His head hurt, people talking over each other, the volume rising and rising to be heard by the others. It always ended like this. One would think people would learn from the experience, that screaming over each other didn’t bring anywhere. They’d be wrong, as every. single. meeting was like this.

A man to his right, a colonel probably, asked him a question. Not only did Foster barely hear the word “Majesty” over the chaos, but he wasn’t paying attention to him either. That guy’s mustaches were so… imposing, actually. They were thin, going up and wrapping on themselves, coiling twice before ending in a beautiful tip. Maybe he should try them himself. They were not so ridiculous...

“Your Majesty, answer ‘Two hundred men will secure each supply convoy, with five of them being elite troops functioning as scouts.’” Irhiva said in his ear through a magical item. Whoever had invented these items should be rewarded.

The king stood up, clearing his throat, silence slowly descending onto the room once again. He turned to the man who most likely had asked the question. “Two hundred men will secure each supply convoy, with five of them being elite troops functioning as scouts.” he said, parroting Irhiva words.

“Will five elites be enough, sire? They seem too few to have a significant impact on the fight.” the same man asked. Good, he had spoken to the right man.

“Each of them is level fifty or more. They might not seem many, but each of them is incredibly capable.” the king repeated each word coming from Irhiva, almost slipping up when mentioning level fifty. Holy- this wasn’t written on the reports. Was it? He couldn’t remember, having just skimmed through them.

The room was clearly on the same page, judging from the murmur the news created. The king’s eyes wandered through the room, studying the various pieces of expensive furniture, tapestries, and adornments. It was a decently sized room, able to host thirty men with space to spare. On the table in the middle of the room was a map of the continent, or at least what the Empire knew of it. The west part, mostly. The north had mountains hard to climb and move through, with powerful monsters nesting in and on them. And that was the less hostile and most mapped place, after the west, with possible resources to mine out. Marshes as far as the eyes could see dominated the south, with nasty monsters and little resources to be made. The east was, of course, elves’ territory, filled with dense vegetation and hostiles sapients and monsters. On the map were pawns symbolizing the armies, both of the Empire and the enemy. Irhiva had told him to keep their plan secret until the last moment, for fear of spies, and he had complied, trusting the woman’s judgment, only mentioning the elites with the vanguard.

The entire afternoon and evening passed talking about strategies, numbers, movement of troops and many other war preparations. The king followed Irhiva words throughout the meeting, the woman hearing what was being said through the same item in its ear. It was such a shame they only had a few dozen meters of range…

After the end of the meeting and everyone else vacating the room, the king and his cousin remained alone, Padrik speaking first.

“Your Majesty, what is your plan for the half-monster abomination?” he asked, trying to keep his voice impassive but with a bit of rage escaping its control.

Ah, yes, this was interesting. More than the war anyway.

“I wish to hear [Archmage] Mizhal and Vroantu side of the story. I know they both have interacted with her. Summon them, please.” the king asked his cousin, who bowed and exited the room, carrying out his order.

“Irhiva, you have nothing to do with this, right?” he asked the empty room.

“No, sire. Humans have tried and failed this experiment in the past, so I decided it wasn’t worth pursuing.” Irhiva answered through the earpiece. Pragmatic as always.

“Wait, we tried? How do you know that?” the king asked surprised, realizing what she had said.

“I read it, sire. Books in the hidden section of your library were speaking about experiments conducted in the past.”

“My library has a hidden section?” he asked, confused. “I never liked that place. What did you discover?”

“The Empire already tried once with the Barkorz family and once with your family, sire. The Empire suspected other nations had tried before being unified under the Empire’s flag, but we have little details on their process. Still, we are sure there were at least two more tries before the Empire’s ones, none succeeding.”

“Mmh… And you think my cousin is responsible?” he asked.

“I can’t say, sire, but if I had to take a guess based on previous and current interactions, I’d say no. Moreover, your cousin’s rooms are empty of any proof. Too empty. It’s like he never even tried to investigate the fact. Someone has covered up every trace.”

“I see. Why is this one a success, then?” the king asked.

“I don’t know sire, but I can take a guess. I’ve read the extensive reports on the two previous experiments the Empire carried out. They both approached the problem the same way, probably using hints from previous records now lost. They used a concoction to slow down the heartbeat of the victim, then opened their skull and put the monster core inside the brain.”

The king almost spat out the wine at the explanation. At least he didn’t need to use a charge of [Royal Comeback], as he was alone. Why were people so sick?!

“There were many problems with this procedure, as you can imagine, but two stuck out from the others. First, there was no concoction to slow down the heart enough so that the body would be considered dead, and there wasn’t one to speed up the heart after the procedure, so they could only wait for the person to recover or die. The second is that the brain of a human fills the entire skull, forcing the monster core to damage the organ. Suffice to say, there was no success, and they called the experiment off both times after a few hundred casualties.”

“So, where does this leave us?”

“Whoever succeeded in this experiment solved both problems, together with other minor ones. Silvy, the girl transformed, is a half-elf. They might have a different brain structure, resolving that problem. And some new ingredients found only on this continent might resolve the first problem. After all, they did the first two experiments before the invasion, when monsters still roamed the sea between the two continents.”

“Before the cleaning. Hm. So, we have no idea who is responsible, and we don’t know how it was made. And we have a war on our hands. Any good news?”

“The two [Archmages] are on their way.”

“How is that good news?” he asked, the door opening a few seconds later, the two [Archmages] walking forward and bowing down, his cousin following them.

“Leave us, Padrik.” the king said, Padrik bowing again and exiting the room.

“So.” he started. “I doubt I need to say why you are here. Please, tell me about the girl, Silvy.”

The female archmage, who was quite hot by the way, narrated her encounter with the girl, how she had discovered who she was, her investigation and all the experiences with her. The king retained attention for most of the story, thanks to his interest in the tale, but the archmage’s puppies were quite distracting. Gorvan sometimes spoke up, adding stuff to Lindrl’s story.

“So you believe she’d be willing to work for the Empire?” he asked the two archmages at the end of it.

“If you make her a good offer, possibly.” Lindrl answered calmly.

She’s just a kid the king thought. How can I ask her to fight for me? And the situation here is worse than I thought. So many people outside the walls, living in slums… what is my cousin doing?!

“Fine. Thank you for your time.” he said, dismissing them. But Lindrl didn’t move.

“If I may ask, what’s your intention, sire?” she asked.

He tapped on the armrest, pondering if he should say it to them.

“Don’t tell the truth, your Majesty.” Irhiva advised him. Interesting.

“I’ll try to enroll her in my forces. If she doesn’t accept, I’m willing to wait for a change of mind. After all, she’s still young.” he answered.

“I see. Thank you for your kindness.” Lindrl said before bowing and going out of the room with Gorvan.

“Why shouldn’t I tell the truth? How did you even know what was the truth?” he asked Irhiva.

“I know what you want to do because I know you, sire. Lindrl will never let the child go and will oppose your order.”

“Very well. I trust your judgment, as always. Now, I’m going to eat, then sleep.” he stood up. “I have a monster to interrogate tomorrow. I can’t wait.” he said sarcastically.

------

So many people. Why were there children in here as well? What was this, a circus?!

The throne room was packed. It was dozens of meters wide and long, but people were one next to another, almost stepping on each other’s toes. And the noise! Everyone was talking, and this room was designed so that noise easily moved from the throne to the room and vice versa. Meaning he could hear every single conversation going on. At once. His head was already pulsing, and he had arrived thirty seconds ago, sitting on the throne with his trusty right-hand and bodyguard, a Platinum Rank adventurer, at his side. Should he ask for silence? No, that wouldn’t fit with the protocol. Someone else should, someone close to his position…

The king’s eyes scanned his surroundings, focusing on Padrik, his cousin. Perfect!

He waved at Irhiva, who immediately understood (How was she so good?) and went to give him instructions. He seemed a bit offended at the order, but he stiffly complied anyway.

“Silence! His Majesty wishes to speak!” he screamed, the room dead silence a moment later.

Wait, the king thought, mildly panicking. I didn’t want to speak. I just wanted the others to stop speaking. Oh well, here goes the fourth charge of the day.

His demeanor changing from frozen to dignified in a second, he spoke with a regal tone, loud enough for everyone to hear but not enough to be considered screaming. Truly a perfect ruler.

“We are gathered today to judge a half-monster, a creature not supposed to exist. I shall question her loyalty, her purpose, and her creation. Together, we’ll understand what we’re dealing with. Now, bring her in!” he ordered majestically before the Skill subsided.

Wait, that’s not what he wanted! He wasn’t ready to face that! He could still feel the cold sweat on his back. Damn, he just hoped six charges would be enough for today. He’d probably have to wait tomorrow to interrogate her in private so they recharged. Maybe he should try to be friendly-

The doors opening, a cage being led inside the room interrupted his musing, a small girl inside, chained and restrained. And everyone was looking at her.

-------

Noises kept coming from outside her cell. And this one was a real cell, like the one she had imagined.

Metal bars blocking the exit, with only a bucket and straws as bedding. Not that she needed either, but they were there. Unlike food. No one had brought her anything, food or water. Not that she needed either, but still, she was mildly offended. This cell was one of many in a long and dark corridor, the door leading outside the dungeon to the left of it.

They had left her here for two days. Or maybe three? The sun didn’t reach here, so it was hard to keep track of time. Still, she was locked in a dark dungeon below the castle, with no one to talk to. The guards were outside, and there were many, judging by the noise filtering through the door, sometimes opening it and letting the light through, some guards checking on her to see if she was still there. They looked at her in disgust, but Silvy could see the fear behind their eyes. Of course, she was still restrained, those people not believing she wouldn’t run. She could have freed herself, but this wasn’t the time. There was the encounter with the other nobles before the private visit from the king. She’d have to make a decision at that time.

While thinking of this, the door opened, many steps coming towards her. Usually, only three people checked on her, but these were more. They filed to the sides, a single guard opening the cell and bringing Silvy out the dungeon, where a cage awaited. And after being chained inside, she was moved up through the stairs, until a familiar big door was in front of her, leading to the throne room.

So many people were inside, all of them watching her, the silence pressing heavily, the only sound the guard’s steps and the rattling of chains. They left her in the middle of the room, the guards never leaving her side, the king watching her sitting atop of the throne, the governor a bit to the side together with many others. The silence prolonged for thirty long seconds, Silvy staring right into the king’s eyes and him staring back, unmoving.

Then the king changed, his eyes becoming resolute and his demeanor implacable. He had finally shaken himself free from fear.

“Dear subjects, what’s in front of you is a half-monster, a creature that shouldn’t exist. But don’t take my word for it. Guards, test her.”

Test her? A guard from the side nodded before walking up to the cage, pulling her arms closer. He took out a flask, a single drop falling onto her hand.

Silvy looked behind, seeing her right hand slowly corroding and smoking away, not responding to her orders. She tried to move away, but the restraints stopped her, the guard almost losing the grip on the chain. That was holy water! And it was so effective she could feel fear.

“As you can see,” the king continued with a more down-to-earth voice “holy water is effective against her. She is an undead.”

The nobles in the room started whispering away, the king raising a hand and speaking a moment later. “Now that we have confirmed her identity, I shall question her. A few mages will confirm your statements, Silvy, and the collar will prevent you from controlling your aura, so there’s no point in lying.”

The king stopped, waiting for Silvy to react. She raised an eyebrow. What was she supposed to say?

“All right.” she answered. He might be the king, but right now he was treating her more like a monster than a sapient, so there wasn’t much point being respectful. The guards at her side visibly stiffened, together with a few nobles, but the king ignored her lack of etiquette.

“Let’s start. Do you answer to a master?”

“No.”

He looked to the side, three people nodding together to confirm her statement.

“Do you work for someone?”

“No.”

“Do you plan to harm the Empire in any way?”

Damn. Lie or truth? Did it matter? “Yes.”

The mages nodded after recovering from the shock, the nobles around muttering.

“Why?” the king asked, ignoring the commotion.

“... I wish to talk about it in private, sire.” she said. She hoped he’d accept, even only for fear of spies or traitors.

“Fine. But are you working against the Empire alone?”

“No.”

“Interesting. Very well. Let’s say I set you free right now. What would you do?”

“...I’d… go back to learn magic, sire.”

“To go against the Empire in the future?”

“No.”

“And what is your purpose, your goal? Were you created with some goal in mind? Do you know it? Or do you retain free will?”

“I don’t know, sire. I believe I have free will, but I might be wrong.” she answered, now uncertain.

“Do you know who created you?”

“Yes.” she instantly answered.

The king leaned back on his chair, tapping his finger on the armrest in thought. Silvy could barely see his lips moving, but she did not understand what he was saying, his face turned to the ceiling. After a minute of people whispering between themselves, the king spoke again.

“Very well. Bring her away. I’ll ponder this matter and pass judgment soon. In the meantime, if someone has something to say…”

Many voices spoke one over the other, Silvy brought away and back into her cell. Maybe the king wasn’t too bad, but then again, was this his real character, or was it a facade to lower her guard?

-----

Back to his room, the king plopped down onto his bed, lying down looking at the ceiling, Irhiva elegantly sitting on a nearby chair. She had changed so much from the first time he had seen her, so tomboy and over the top, now a real lady, better than many noble ones, in his opinion. But the two of them weren’t here so he could admire her etiquette.

“So many pigs. Did you hear that Faerun guy? It sounded like he wanted to keep her as a sex slave. I have goosebumps at the thought. Why can’t I eliminate people like him again?” the king asked, knowing the answer.

“Because the royal’s treasury is filled with other noble families’ gold, sire. We are in debt, thanks to your kind father.” he chuckled at her remark. “That means we can’t do as much as we want. The situation has improved, but we have still a long way to go. This war might not be a bad affair after all.” Irhiva said with a conspiring tone.

The king turned his head to the side, looking at her. “Seriously? We spend hundreds of gold with every step of our army. How is that helpful?”

Her eyes turned malicious. “Because we’ll win this war, sire. I’ve trained elites because I knew we’d go to war again soon. And they’ll carry us to victory. And once we have won, two noble families will pay for it and we’ll take the spoils, alleviating the pressure on us.”

“You really have high hopes for these elites. Why, though? I read the report, but I might have forgotten some parts. Most of it. Maybe all. I might not have read it at all.” the king said shamelessly.

Irhiva didn’t bat an eye, used to the king’s antics. “Each of them is level fifty or above, trained to survive and thrive in forest regions populated by ferocious monsters. They can move through it like a shadow, and they’ll be able to win any engagement against elves, as long as they aren't against their strongest troops and aren’t heavily outnumbered. Once the elves’ scouts are removed from the equation, they’ll be forced to face us or go blind. That will assure our victory. We can win an open confrontation, and if they retreat into their cities, we’ll be able to siege them one at a time without fear of reinforcements.”

“That sounds comforting. But we won’t reach that point, right?” he asked.

She nodded. “Most likely, the elves will sue for peace after realizing they are going blind and we are attacking two fronts at once with soldiers capable of keeping up with them. You may squash and conquer them if you wish, your Majesty, but that’s not what you want, right?” she said sitting on his bed.

“I don’t, you’re right. A commercial pact and free access to each other’s territory is a much better deal. If we manage to do it, some elves might migrate to the Empire. Once there are enough of them, my [King] class will upgrade to [Emperor], succeeding where my ancestor failed.” he took Irhiva’s hand, the woman not refusing his touch.

“But there’s something I don’t understand.” he continued. “Why didn’t you let me ask more questions to the girl? I felt the interrogation was too short.”

She nodded, explaining calmly. “Because of what she said, your Majesty. She is working against the Empire, but not of her own volition. This city is very far from the capital and might separate from the Empire if we do nothing. She has information about a conspiracy and speaking to her in private would be ideal.”

He suddenly sat up. “They might silence her! We need to increase the security, now.”

Irhiva put a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him. “I’ve already sent Redshield, don’t worry. He won’t let anything happen to her.” she forcefully pushed him down again, moving above him and leaning closer to his face. “For tonight, I’ll be your bodyguard.” she sensually said.

He held her head, kissing her. “Once I’m Emperor, no one will stop me from marrying you.”

“With time, your Majesty.” she whispered back, embracing him. Sometimes he wondered if she was interested in him or only his power. Then he recalled how he had found her on one of his undercover excursions in the capital, a simple barmaid. Her mind was sharp and cunning, and by the end of the first meeting, she had realized he was a noble, by the second she had pinpointed his identity as the prince. And when discussing his problems, she always had incredible and effective solutions. Her talent wasted in that tavern, he had hired her as a maid in the castle, letting her secretly advise him from before and after his ascension to the throne. She had predicted the war outcome months before the actual end. She had predicted his father's abdication, missing the right date by a single day. That reminded him…

“Have you ever devised a plan to face a God?” the king asked before the situation escalated too much.

“Would you be surprised if I answered yes?”

“No.” he simply answered.

He was in love with her. He wasn’t sure she was with him, but that was fine. Even if she wasn’t, he could see she was a good person, and that was enough for him.