WIEDERGEBURT Act II: Chapter 34

The caravan dropped us off at Capistrana. Kari and I didn’t spend the night in the city and made our way post haste to Vesperia. This involved traveling through a mountainous region, but the mountains were neither large nor very dangerous, though we did have to worry about the occasional D or C-rank Demon Beast.

Vesperia was located in what would be considered the north-westernmost section of the Northern Plains, far above the peninsula where we had returned to this world, and about two months travel from Midgard by Strut-drawn carriage.

While it seemed far removed from the rest of the continent, the truth was that about two dozen smaller towns and villages were located further north. These towns and villages were situated in a cold and arid climate. Because the land up in the mountains was so barren and cold, very little crops could be grown, though in exchange for not being able to grow crops, the mountains were rich with natural minerals and ores that were coveted across the land.

Vesperia was the trade hub for all these villages. That was how it had managed to become so prosperous despite its out of the way location. And yet…

“Oh… no…”

We had finally reached Vesperia, but what we discovered upon reaching our destination was nothing more than the ruined and burnt out remains of a once prosperous city. Buildings had been gutted. Some lay crumbled, nothing more than debris littering the ground, while others at least looked mostly intact but were missing good chunks of their infrastructure. As we got closer to the city, our hearts felt like they had stopped.

Lying on the street were numerous corpses.

“No…” Kari whispered as she held a hand to her mouth.

“So it’s true. The Sekbeists really did destroy the city.” I clenched my hands into fists.

Kari sucked up the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. I myself was feeling pretty distraught by the sight. She took several moments to calm herself, sucking in deep breaths as her grip on her ranseur tightened.

“Let’s see if we can find… any survivors,” she said. “We might also find something or someone who can tell us what exactly happened here.”

“I guess that’s all we can do, huh?” I said, reaching behind my back and wrapping my fingers around the hilt of the Dragon’s Tail Ruler. The by now familiar leather handle comforted me as we made our way into the city.

For whatever reason, it looked like Vesperia had been abandoned after being ransacked. That didn’t seem to be how the Sekbeists operated, but then I remembered that Vahn, the city I was using as an example, had a Dweorg-made facility with a Warp Gate. There were one or two ruins located around Vesperia, but there was nothing in the city itself, so there was no reason to occupy it.

I glanced at one of the buildings we passed and grimaced. It was a small cafe that Kari and I would frequent after returning from an expedition. The glass windows were shattered, one of the walls had been destroyed, and I could see the body of the owner lying in the middle of the cafe. Kari saw where I was looking and stifled a gasp.

Perhaps her pained response was the result of what happened several years ago. Before coming to the Northern Plains, we had created a community of survivors from Nevaria, but our group was eventually forced to flee into the Endless Desert to escape from attacking Demon Beasts. I think she and I were more sensitive to this kind of destruction because of it.

“Let’s go to the Explorer’s Guild headquarters,” I suggested. “There’s a shelter located underneath the building. If anyone survived, I’m sure they’d be there.”

“That’s a good idea.” Kari’s eyes gained a resolute hardness that came from the life we had led up to now. She was sensitive to the destruction around us, but she had grown strong enough not to let it show.

Tonight, she and I would probably cry in each other’s arms, but now was not the time.

As we were making our way down what should have been a well-maintained road, a loud noise caused us to stop. We looked around and found several Grunts coming out of a building across the street. The hideous creatures with their chalk-white skin, blood-red eyes, and stooped visage paused when they caught sight of us. Our two groups stared at each other, and then the Grunts released something that sounded like a war cry.

Kari and I sprang into action.

There were only three Grunts. Using the Flash Step, I appeared beside the first one, raised my Dragon’s Tail Ruler, and channeled lightning through the weapon as I swung it down. My ruler sliced through his face and chest, carving a deep furrow that caused blood to spurt from his body like a fountain. The Grunt fell back and released a death rattle, but I was already on the move.

Kari killed the second Grunt, appearing before it within an instant and impaling the creature on her ranseur. She had stabbed it through the throat. After pulling out her weapon and flinging off the blood, she mercilessly stared at the creature as it fell onto its knees, and then pitched forward. During the time it took her to kill that one, I had already beheaded the last of the three Grunts.

“It looks like there is still a token force here,” I said with a soft sigh.

“They must be looters,” Kari theorized, biting her lip. “Or maybe they are searching for survivors.”

“If that is the case, then it’s imperative we find the survivors before anyone else does,” I said.

The Explorer’s Guild Headquarters was located in the very center of the city, in a massive plaza marked by a fountain of Vesperia’s founder. Said fountain was currently no more than derelict ruins. The arms were missing, the head had been smashed apart, and though the body remained mostly intact, nothing about the once elegant figure appeared the same.

Similar to the fountain in the city plaza, the Explorer’s Guild Headquarters was no more than a ruined structure, though it appeared to be more intact than many other buildings. The windows had been shattered and a few holes had been smashed through the walls. One section in the east wing looked like it had collapsed. However, aside from that, it was in better shape than almost any other building.

“Do you think our sect mates defended this place with their lives?” asked Kari.

I shook my head. “Considering most members of the Explorer’s Guild don’t have any combat abilities to speak of, I can’t imagine they did.”

All members of the Explorer’s Guild were talented Spiritualists, but their talents laid mostly in their ability to explore and excavate ruins, not their aptitude for combat. Kari, myself, and a few others who excelled in fighting were exceptions to the rule.

“Let’s check out the inside,” I said.

“Should we split up to cover more ground?” asked Kari as she and I walked to the front door.

“No.” I shook my head. “I’d prefer it if we stuck together.”

She nodded. “Two heads are better than one and four arms are stronger than two.”

We entered through the main entrance and stepped into the foyer, which had seen better days. The tiles of the floor were cracked. Several places looked like someone had smashed apart the floor with a hammer. A number of columns lay broken and their remains were strewn across the floor.

Kari and I ignored the staircase on the opposite side and entered a side passage. We passed through several rooms, and then came upon a hallway lined with black tiles. As we began walking down it, a door to our left suddenly opened and an Elite walked out.

“Survivors?!”

The Elite seemed shocked by our presence, but we didn’t let him say anything more. I held out my hand, pointed two fingers at him, and launched a beam of condensed lightning and water that shot through his head. The Elite fell backward and crumbled to the floor. Smoke poured from the hole in his head.

“You’ve gotten really good at manipulating the elements,” Kari said.

“I haven’t had much choice.” I sighed and tugged on my bangs. “With everything that’s happened, it was either learn and grow stronger or die.” I raised my free hand and stared at it. “Also, maybe it’s because I’m not completely human, but manipulating the elements like this feels more natural.”

It wasn’t something I thought about often, but I was beginning to realize more than ever that I wasn’t human—not completely. I’d always found it odd how I could manipulate elements without channeling my Spiritual Power properly through movement like Kari and the others. At the beginning, it meant very little, but now that I knew about the other eight worlds, I understood a little more about what kind of unusual existence I was.

“That isn’t a bad thing.” Kari smiled at me. “Your unique abilities have saved us a number of times.”

“I know.” I smiled back.

We continued traveling through the headquarters of our Explorer’s Guild, killing a few more Grunts and Elites that were also searching the building. I wondered how long these Sekbeists had been searching. It seemed as if there was only a small token force, which meant they probably assumed everyone who could be taken and or killed had already been dealt with. After cleaning out all the Sekbeists, Kari and I traveled down to the third basement level and stopped in front of a stone statue.

The statue depicted a large man with more muscles than I would know what to do with. His bare chest was chiseled and his abdominal muscles, arms, and legs were covered in veins. Despite his masculine body, his expression seemed almost comforting. This was the founder of the Explorer’s Guild.

Kari went up to the statue and pushed in the toenail of its left big toe. A loud rumbling suddenly echoed around the room as a wall behind the statue slid open, revealing a passageway. We didn’t hesitate to travel down it. Kari produced a light sphere to help guide our steps as we walked down a set of stairs, and then came upon a door.

I knocked on it. “Hello? Is anybody in here? It’s Eryk and Kari!”

There was a brief moment of silence before…

“Eryk? Kari?” a voice said from the other end. I recognized it, but before I could say anything, the door opened and Felicia burst out. “Eryk! Kari!”

Before either of us knew what was what, the delicate-looking woman with thin arms and legs wrapped us up in a hug. We were so surprised we couldn’t do anything. That was when the woman—who looked more like a child than an adult—began sobbing.

“Do you two know how long we’ve been waiting for you?! Where have you been this whole time?! Markus even suggested you were dead!”

“We’re sorry,” Kari apologized for both of us. “A lot has happened. We can fill you in later, but for now, please tell us what happened.”

Felicia nodded as she led us into the room, which had a lot more people than I realized. As the members of our guild, their families, and the people they managed to save greeted us, I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed this incident wouldn’t be a complete repeat of Nevaria.

I had to be thankful for the little things.

***

When Empress Hilda claimed that someone had destroyed my home, she really meant it. I’d gone to the house I’d bought from the Eieran Family and discovered that it was nothing more than ruins. The walls had all been blown out, the ceiling was gone, and the furniture had been destroyed. How Empress Hilda managed to salvage my alchemy set, alchemy pills, and the jewels I had converted my valis into was beyond me.

It was all very suspicious.

Since Lin and I no longer had a home, Empress Hilda had told us to stay in the Imperial Royal Palace. I already had a room there. However, now that I was basically being told—ordered—to stay with them, the room had been converted from a simple guest bedroom to my own personal bedroom. The desk now had my beginners alchemy set sitting on it. A chest had been brought in to store my alchemy pills and jewels. The dresser contained several sets of clothing similar to the one I had been wearing. Apparently, Empress Hilda had ordered her servants to buy those for me after discovering my home had been destroyed.

Very, very suspicious.

Most of that first day after being informed about what happened to my house had been dedicated to having all my stuff moved into this room from a storage closet in the palace. It was a solarity task. Kari, Fay, and Lin had gone off on their own to do their own thing. I didn’t know where they were, but I guessed the two human girls were helping Lin study our language.

Her progress had been remarkable. She’d already memorized all the syllables, but now she was learning the rules of our written language, like how certain syllables such as “ah” and “ee” couldn’t be used in conjunction together. This would have been considered the second step in a person’s primary education.

As for me, after putting away all of my belongings, I found myself in a meeting with Empress Hilda.

Well, I called it a “meeting”, but it was more like an informal tea party.

We were sitting inside an extravagant room decorated in simple but elegant furnishings. The walls were made from stone and lacquered wood. A simple but soft carpet was underneath us as we sat at a small table with two chairs. As always, there was a maid situated by the door, ready to serve us. Standing behind Empress Hilda was Valence.

Valence was Kari’s blood-related father. He was a powerfully built man with a face that appeared hewn from stone. His medium-length blond hair went just a little past his shoulders. The color, while blond, did not have the golden hue of Empress Hilda or Kari. It was darker, more of a dirty blond than a true blond. However, his eyes were the same blue as Kari’s. He was currently wearing the gold-crusted armor of the Imperial Royal Guard. Given how much more ostentatious it appeared from normal armor, I assumed he held a high position within the Imperial Royal Guards.

“I wanted to speak with you about those alchemy pills we discovered in your possession while salvaging what we could from the wreckage of your house,” Empress Hilda said before taking a sip of tea. She was wearing a simple red dress, elegant but also highly sensual, as it showed off the magnificent lines of her body.

“You are referring to the Three Way Spiritual Widening Pill and the Body Forging Pill, right?” I asked, also drinking some of my tea. I glanced at Empress Hilda over the rim of the cup as she smiled at me.

“Is that what they are called?” Empress Hilda hummed before continuing. “I’ve noticed that neither of those pills are on the market currently. The Alchemist Association has recently made serious inroads in regards to the refining of alchemy pills. It’s no exaggeration to say that they have become one of the most powerful presences within Nevaria thanks to the new pills they are selling with the help of the Valstine Family.” She paused. “You are the one who introduced those pills to them, are you not?”

“That is correct.” It wasn’t like I’d made my involvement with the Alchemist Association a big secret, so there was no point in denying it. Actually, hadn’t we already had a similar conversation after the Spiritualist Grand Tournament, or was I imagining that?

Empress Hilda nodded. “May I ask why these particular alchemy pills are not being sold?”

Her words made me consider what I should tell her, or rather, how I should put what I wanted to say gently. I would tell her the truth., of course That said, I couldn’t afford to be rude when speaking.

“I’m sure you’ve had a chance to test those pills out yourself, or have one of your husbands do it for you.” I glanced at Valence, but he offered no sign of being uncomfortable. Seeing him not give anything away made me sigh. “The Three Way Spiritual Widening Pill is an alchemy pill that helps widen the Spiritual Pathways and recover Spiritual Power. Meanwhile, the Body Forging Pill is one that helps the body naturally recover from exercise, thereby increasing both the speed of recovery and strengthening the body two or three times more than normal exercise can achieve.”

I set the cup down and leaned back. The tea was all gone. The young servant girl who’d been standing beside the door noticed this, came up, and refilled the tea. I thanked her with a smile, but she just blushed and scurried back to the door. That made me frown a bit.

“These alchemy pills are very useful for strengthening a Spiritualist in both body and spirit,” I continued. “However, because of that, they are also incredibly dangerous.”

“How do you mean?” asked Empress Hilda.

I traced the rim of the cup with my finger. “Let’s say I gave this recipe to the Alchemist Association and had them create these pills and sell them on the open market. Now these pills are available to everyone, including mercenary groups, criminals, and sketchy nobles like the Leucht Family.”

“And so you wanted to keep them off the market to avoid inadvertently helping people who may do harm to Nevaria.” Empress Hilda nodded as she followed along with my reasoning.

“Right now, Nevaria is in a precarious position,” I began. “We’re beset by Demon Beasts on the outside, and while we appear unified on the inside, that isn’t really true. There are many people who would do this city harm if they thought it would help achieve their goals. The Leucht Family is the greatest example of this. We can’t afford to let people like that gain any more more power.”

“I understand your reasoning, but you must also admit that keeping these pills to yourself will only hurt Nevaria in the long run,” Empress Hilda said.

A sigh wanted to escape me, but I held it in. “I know. While I have probably let my paranoia get the better of me, there is another reason I kept these alchemy pills from everyone.”

“And that is?”

“Kari and Fay.” I leaned forward just a little and looked Empress Hilda square in the eyes. “I’m sure you’ve realized by now that I’ve been helping Kari with her training. At first, I gave her those alchemy pills to help increase her physical strength and Spiritual Power while she was trained by Hellen Brynhild—and before you ask, no, that isn’t the only reason she’s grown so strong. It takes more than alchemy pills to make someone strong.”

Empress Hilda placed her fingers against her lips and giggled, her blue eyes crinkling with mirth. “I was not going to say anything. I am aware of how much potential Kari has.” She set her hand back on the table and gently tapped her index finger against the surface. “So what you are saying is that you wanted Kari and Fay to reep the benefits of these pills before anyone else. Am I understanding this correctly?”

“Kari, Fay, and Lin mean more to me than life itself.” I shrugged. “What sort of man would I be if I didn’t want the people I love to be stronger than anybody else.”

“You are doing everything for their sake, aren’t you?” said Empress Hilda with an almost wistful sigh. “You really are a dedicated young man. I’m almost disappointed you aren’t at least a few years older. I’d gladly marry you if you were.”

I glanced at Valence, who still said nothing. What did he think of his wife making such statements? Then again, he already had two brothers—the term used to describe husbands who were married to the same woman. I guess it didn’t matter to him if another was another.

“Even if I were a little older, I’d still be in love with Kari,” I said.

My words caused Empress Hilda to break out in honest to goodness laughter. I personally didn’t see what was so amazing, but maybe my flat-out rejection of her, the empress, was something she found refreshing. I couldn’t say for sure.

“Truly, you are an amusing young man.” Empress Hilda wiped several mirthful tears from her eyes as she calmed down, and then got back to business. “I understand your reasoning, but I would still like you to release information on how to refine those alchemy pills. I believe the benefits to be had from such pills far outweigh the potential repercussions, especially now that the Leucht Family has disappeared.”

I still felt leery of releasing these alchemy pills onto the market, but I did see where Empress Hilda was coming from. There was also the fact that she was the empress. It wasn’t like I could just deny her. I actually respected what she was doing. She could have ordered me to release the alchemy pills, but she was trying to convince me instead.

“Then how about this,” I began. “Instead of releasing them into the open market, I will first give these pills to the Astralia Royal Family. You, your husbands, and your sons can use them to further strengthen yourselves, and then you can release them to select individuals among the Nevarian Spiritualists and Imperial Royal Guards who you know are loyal to Nevaria. Once you’ve gained the benefits of these pills, we’ll have the Alchemist Association release them on the open market.”

Kari, Fay, and I had already reaped all the benefits that could be had from these two alchemy pills. Our bodies could not be strengthened any further by the Body Forging Pills. Likewise, our Spiritual Pathways could no longer grow any wider.

There were a few other alchemy pills I planned on refining that would strengthen us both physically and spiritually, but that was in the future. A lot of the ingredients I needed for those pills were harder to come by. It would take several expeditions deep into the Demon Beast Mountain Range to acquire the ingredients I needed.

“I believe that is an acceptable compromise,” Empress Hilda said at long last. “In fact, I quite like this idea. You are very cunning, aren’t you?”

“I just want to protect the people I love,” I said.

“I understand.” Empress Hilda’s smile became gentler, more tender. It made my stomach squirm a little in discomfort. Was this what a mother looked like when she was staring at her son? “Also, you will be pleased to know that we have begun producing those crossbows and ballistae. We do not have the money to build watchtowers like the ones you showed us, but it might be possible in the future.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I said in genuine happiness. “I hope this will help provide further protection for Nevaria.”

I spoke with Empress Hilda for a few more minutes, but our conversation was eventually interrupted when Kari, Fay, and Lin barged in and dragged me off to the courtyard for training.

***

My meeting with Stelys Valstine came a few days after my conversation with Empress Hilda. I had asked Fay to return home and deliver a letter to her father, asking for a meeting to discuss our future relationship. My letter didn’t outright say, “I want to discuss marrying your daughter.” or anything of that nature. I made it sound mostly like a business proposal.

When the day arrived, I made sure to dress in my best outfit. The pants were made from the hide of a Demon Beast, so they were quite durable. A white undershirt tied together at around the wrist with black bands was just barely poking out of the black vest, which was fastened together with silver buttons. I’d thrown a blue shoulder cape with gold embroidery over the whole thing. To be honest, I felt very uncomfortable in this gaudy clothing, but this was an important meeting.

I was not the only one who had dressed up.

Fay was wearing a red dress that traveled down to her ankles. A slit on the left side revealed her lean, muscular leg and the reddish brown boot covering it. Gold ran along the hem, sleeves, and chest of her outfit. Some areas were emphasized, such as the V-shaped embroidery that showcased her slender waist and gorgeous hips. The cutout in her chest revealed the valley of her breasts. Her outfit was finished off with a pair of red gloves made from Demon Beast hide.

“You look really good in that,” I said to Fay.

“T-thank you,” Fay stuttered.

“To be honest,” I continued in a casual, conversational tone, “seeing you in such a magnificent dress makes me want to take you out of it.”

E-Eryk!”

I chuckled as I reached over and placed my hand over hers, which were currently clenching the fabric of her dress.

“Sorry,” I apologized. “While I am actually being serious, I’m mostly trying to cope with how nervous I am. I have never done something like this before.”

“I-I’m kind of surprised to hear that you are nervous,” Fay admitted.

But I just smiled at her. “I’m about to ask the father of the woman I love for her hand in marriage. How couldn’t I be nervous?”

“Then… I am glad I’m not the only one who is nervous,” Fay said with a small but genuine smile.

The two of us were sitting in the waiting room before the meeting hall. It was just a wide room with some chairs, a few columns to support the ceiling, and some portraits of past family heads.

In most normal circumstances, Fay would have been in the meeting hall and standing beside her father as I asked for her hand in marriage, but she had decided to go against traditional conventions and was with me instead. That made my own nerves a little easier to bare. Of course, I calmed myself by lightly teasing Fay.

Before our conversation could continue, the doors to the meeting hall suddenly opened and Bertrand, the butler who personally served Fay and Stelys, stepped into the waiting room.

“The head and elders of the Valstine Family will see you now,” he said.

“Thank you.”

I didn’t let go of Fay’s hand as I stood up and pulled her along with me. For her part, Fay just gripped my hand tighter, possibly out of her own nervousness.

The meeting room was nowhere near the size as the one Empress Hilda used, but that was perhaps to be expected. The Valstine Family was minor nobility. They had earned their title about two hundred years ago. Compared to the Eieran, Leucht, and Kriger families, which were all over one thousand years old, they were a relatively new family.

Fay and I walked past six chairs with old people sitting on them. There were three on each side of the red carpet that traveled from the doorway to the raised platform where two chairs sat. One was occupied by Stelys Valstine. The other was empty.

Stelys Valstine was not a big man, but he had a broad chest and shoulders, thick arms, and an athletic build. His red hair looked similar to Fay’s. However, his was a more reddish brown. His hair, traveling down to his shoulders, complimented his thick beard. It also matched the dark, fur-lined robe he was wearing. His massive hands were resting on the armrest as the two of us stood before him and knelt in a show of deference.

“Lord Valstine,” I said in a clear voice that rang throughout the meeting hall, “I have come to request your daughter’s hand in marriage.”

I didn’t waste time with pompous words and flattery, getting right to the heart of the matter. That was all I could really do. However, I must have said something wrong, or maybe I presented myself in the wrong light. The six elders, five men and one woman, were muttering in dissatisfaction.

“He asks for Fay’s hand in marriage but offers nothing in return? What a rude brat.”

“I understand that he is the victor of the Spiritualist Grand Tournament and is favored by the Astralia Royal Family, but really, a person can only be so forward.”

“I did hear that he’s been helping Fay with her training. I believe we should hear him out.”

“Hmm… just recently, I heard that he and Fay traveled with Kari Astralia into the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Rumor has it he defeated an A-rank Demon Beast, but even so…”

Stelys Valstine let the elders talk amongst themselves for a bit longer before raising his hand for silence. When the last elder had settled down, he peered at me with his green eyes and said, “I once offered you a chance to marry my daughter and you turned me down. I am wondering why I should allow you to marry her now?”

I bit my lip as guilt settled in my stomach and refused to leave. It was true that I had denied his offer the last time he asked if I wanted to marry his daughter. However, things were different now… or so I believed.

“When you first asked me if I wished to marry Fay, I declined the offer because I wasn’t in love with her. What’s more, I had already given my love to Kari. I did not believe it would be right if I married Fay when I was already in love with another woman.” While the elders muttered a bit more, I could see Stelys nodding, prompting me to continue. “I still love Kari, but I have grown to love Fay just as much. She has become just as important to me. Before, I did not believe I could make her happy. Now I do.”

I was still kneeling beside Fay. While my gaze was primarily on Stelys, I could not help but glance at the girl beside me. Her lovely alabaster cheeks was currently just a little red. She must have noticed my stare because she turned her head and caught me looking at her. While her cheeks grew warmer, her smile also grew wider.

Stelys noticed this. “I can see that you truly do care for my daughter. However, if she were to marry you, I am assuming it would not be as your Primary Wife?”

I hesitated for a moment. “That is correct. It hasn’t been revealed yet, so I would like to ask that you keep this quiet, but Empress Hilda has given me her blessing to marry Kari. Given Kari’s position as the princess of Astralia, the only position suitable for her is Primary Wife.”

The girls had told me in private that they didn’t care about who was in what position. However, while this issue didn’t matter to them, it would be a political scandal if Kari was anything other than my Primary Wife. Empress Hilda had already informed me of this during our conversation the other day.

My admittance that I was marrying the princess of Nevaria caused the elders to stir again. I couldn’t see their faces, but I imagine they were shocked.

“That is all well and good, but my question still stands.” Stelys Valstine frowned at me. “Why should I let you marry my daughter?”

His words caused the elders to suddenly cry out.

“My Lord! This man is marrying the princess of Nevaria! If he also marries Lady Fay, then our political power will increase!”

“Be reasonable, Lord Valstine!”

These elders were quick to change their tune, but I guessed knowing who else I was marrying would make anyone do the same. It honestly disgusted me. I hated having to play these political games, but if this was what it took to be with Fay, then I’d shove my feelings on this matter aside.

“Silence!” Stelys Valstine shouted. The elders grew quiet immediately, but he didn’t even pay attention to them. His eyes were on me. “I demand you answer my question. Eryk Veiger, why should I give my daughter to you?”

I didn’t know what sort of answer he was expecting from me, but I couldn’t think of any logical reason he should give Fay to me. To be honest, I didn’t think he even had the right to give her away since the choice should have been hers to begin with. Still, I tried to think about this from his perspective. What reason could I give him to let me marry Fay? Should I talk about how Fay marrying me would elevate the Valstine Family in the eyes of their peers? I didn’t give two shits about that. There was only one thing in this entire issue that mattered to me.

“Because I love Fay and can make her happy,” I said.

Stelys Valstine raised an eyebrow. “Is that it?”

“Yes.”

Stroking his beard, Stelys Valstine turned from me to Fay. “Fay? Do you believe this man can make you happy?”

“Yes.”

There was no hesitation in her answer, which surprised me. I had expected her to blush and stutter at being put on the spot. Maybe she had been mentally preparing herself while her father grilled me.

“Are you sure?” Stelys Valstine asked.

“I am, Father.” Fay glanced at me again, and this time, her smile was wide and not accompanied by a blush. Her seductively narrowed eyes were so tender I thought I might turn into a puddle. “There is no one in all of Nevaria who could make me happier than Eryk.”

“So I see,” Stelys Valstine mumbled before standing up. “In that case… Eryk Veiger, I give you my blessing.”

I froze for a moment, but then I shook myself out of my stupor. “You mean…?”

“Yes.” Stelys Valstine finally smiled, though it was hard to see behind his beard. “I give you permission to marry my daughter.”