For a mail system that was said to be private and secure, word certainly got around quickly. Only a few days after Ruena sent the official invitation to Valen, she suddenly began to receive endless piles of letters from the nobility of Altea warning her of the dangers of what she was about to do.

  She found everything from the vague stereotypes of Valen being the root of all evil to actual legitimate concerns detailing the risks of interacting with such a despised species. After all, Valen were openly despised for a reason. They openly sold charms and offered spells capable of interfering with souls themselves. It was certainly risky.

  However, Ruena knew that there would be no way to pull Velcorna down from her seat of power without taking some major risks. Not only that, Xandus had offered her a chance she couldn't ignore. One of the mysterious Valen titles was her ancestor, the first Duke Alodan, and possibly the only Weaponsmaster who could teach her.

  "Lady Alodan, there is another letter," Leopold announced as he entered.

  "If it is the same as the rest, just burn it. I can't deal with all of them," Ruena snapped, already irritable from the endless parade of letters from the supposedly concerned noble class.

  Leopold hesitated. "This one you might need to check first," he told her, "It is from the Duchess."

  Ruena grimaced and snatched the letter from him. It was from Velcorna Alodan, just as he said. The overly elegant handwriting already got on her nerves before she even opened it. What would it say? Warnings and threats disguised under fake concern? Or would she mock her for turning to someone so far removed from standard society as some sort of desperate act?

  "My dearest daughter,

  I had know idea you had such resourceful connections. I had once hoped to win over the Valen myself, but failed. I'm sure you will be introducing your guest to your mother. After all, you still need powerful backing for the Valen to be accepted into society.

  With love,

  A concerned Mother."

  “A concerned mother?” Ruena repeated in disbelief, “She didn’t even try to hide the fact that she is up to something.”

  “Don’t you already have powerful backing?” Taiga asked, “Though she probably has no idea you have a powerful sorceress like Crystal on your side.”

  “Backing isn’t an issue if I really need it,” Ruena confirmed, “I don’t want to rely on their help any more than I actually need to. The Valen King is one thing, since this is part of a deal I made with him before I returned here, but I can’t accept favors from nobles haphazardly. Alodan cannot afford to be in their debt.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  While this was true for the endless overly helpful nobles that had sprung up, Ruena was most concerned about Densooth. She knew all too well that being in his debt was dangerous. In times like these, she usually relied on Soral to power through with his endless magic and charisma, but even he had no power in a noble society. At least not yet.

  “Actually, I might be able to help a little soon,” Soral spoke up, answering her thoughts as if it were only natural, “I think the rumors should reach the City of Altea before Xandus arrives. They won’t all be good rumors, but some reputation is better than none when dealing with nobles.”

  “What kind of rumors are you spreading?” Ruena asked, a bit warily.

  Soral frowned a little. “I’m not spreading the rumors. People are spreading them about me on their own,” he corrected, “Don’t pay too much attention to them. Last time I heard them they got way out of hand.”

  “Rumors usually do,” Ruena pointed out, curious about just how things got out of hand for Soral to be so nervous. Then again, if he really had become king overnight it was impossible to avoid some kind of malicious rumor coming up, “It can’t be worse than the time you gave cupcakes to the daughter of one of our clients and she mistook it as a proposal.”

  “Please forget about that already,” Soral complained, hiding his beet red face in his hands, “I managed to squash all the rumors that I am secretly in love with the princess, so don’t worry.”

  So there had been rumors he was secretly in love with the princess. Just what kind of rumor was it that Soral couldn’t do anything about? Perhaps she would have to ask Leopold to investigate this later since Soral didn’t seem to have any intention of telling her.

  “Won’t people find it suspicious that you are a king if you always stay by my side?” Ruena asked.

  “About that, kings have no privacy,” Soral admitted, “So they already know all about my ability to travel instantly. Since I didn’t use portals in front of anyone it is technically not illegal so it should be fine.”

  “In that case, we should show off the fact that you are by my side,” Ruena decided, “It might help cut back on all of these unneeded warnings from unrelated nobles.”

  Soral was instantly standing tall and grinning again. “Of course. I actually have an idea for the perfect stage to silence them,” he announced, “We should take the opportunity before Xandus arrives so he doesn’t get all the credit.”

  “King Xandus,” Ruena corrected, “What kind of stage did you have in mind?”

  “I found a genius in Vista,” Soral told her smugly, “With his help I will be starting a new business. I may not have much sway as a noble, but my business side has always been successful.”

  Ruena couldn’t deny that. “You found a genius, huh,” he said, “Where was he hiding?”

  “In the dungeon,” Soral answered immediately.

  It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. This was hardly the first time Soral had taken in a criminal based on whatever story he heard in their thoughts. Since there was no way she was going to be able to stop him, Ruena just repeated King Xandus’s earlier advice.

  “Don’t rely on your ability too much. There are people who will use it against you.”

  “It’s okay. The previous royal family was corrupt,” Soral assured her as if that explained everything, “Why else would they let such incredible talent go to waste?”

  Ruena was still a bit wary. She really shouldn’t be worried about scammers pulling wool over the eyes of someone who could hear thoughts, but sometimes Soral was just too innocent. “Let me meet him once first before you go public,” she demanded. She could at least see what kind of person he was with her own eyes.