I slowly buttoned my shirt, my eyes fixed on Mirabel as she stood across from me.
"You shouldn't put faith in the church."
She gave me a sharp look, her brows subtly raised in suspicion. "Is there a reason you're saying that?"
I let out a long breath and sank into the chair behind my desk. The weight of the morning already pressed down on my shoulders.
The documents were a scattered mess across the wood, half-read proposals and official decrees blurring together in their bland urgency.
This office was a prison, elegantly carved and drenched in sunlight, but a prison nonetheless.
A place meant to bind me to duty, to routine, to expectation.
I had hoped, with Nicole's return, she might step in and manage some of this responsibility.
But apparently, this was the king's burden. A title I wore with increasing disdain.
Light streamed through the tall windows, warming my skin like an invitation to escape.
Yet across the desk, Mirabel's gaze remained cold. Her presence alone could chill the very air in the room.
"I don't think we should ever rely on a single organization," I said, lifting a quill between my fingers.
"Not even the church. We have to be watchful, balanced. Stoic."
She said nothing, only continued to study me as I sifted through the stack.
Most of the paperwork was mundane. Authorization for local projects, squabbles between nobles, court matters needing my seal. All routine.
But a few stood out.
The army had submitted a formal request. Recruitment initiatives. Expansion of training programs. Strategic realignment.
Necessary? Maybe not immediately.
If Fertical challenged us directly, they would collapse within a week. Our current force outmatched theirs in both strength and morale.
Still, training for future conflicts was a precaution I would not ignore.
Bamdia would back Fertical, that much was certain.
They had lingered too long at the edge of diplomacy, too eager to claim glory through secondhand victory. I would erase them too.
This world is plagued by vermin.
I dipped the quill into the inkwell, signed the page, and set it aside.
"Get me a map," I said without looking up. "I want to begin marking out potential war zones."
Mirabel nodded and crossed the room, her footsteps light but certain on the marble floor.
"Do you want the world map or just the kingdom?" she asked, pausing at the edge of the bookshelf.
I considered it. "World map."
She crouched low and pulled out a large scroll sealed in gold-threaded ribbon. Returning to the desk, she unfurled it across the surface.
The parchment spread before us like a battlefield yet to be touched.
And I, with quill in hand, began carving new lines across the map.
"Fertical will march first," I said, drawing a black arrow from their southern border toward ours.
"They'll come through the forest edge where the canopy thins. A direct route, but easy to predict."
I mapped out their likely paths with calm precision.
Mirabel leaned over my shoulder. "Are you accounting for Bamdia?"
I looked up and gave a faint smile. "Of course. Bamdia lies directly east of Fertical. Their nature is opportunistic. They prefer flanks and sea routes."
She frowned slightly. "You rely a lot on intuition."
I sighed, lowering the quill. "If only you knew, my love. Trust me, Bamdia will join the hunt for glory. It is in their blood."
She nodded, her eyes scanning the eastern coast. "Then we should send Malachi to Fort Havel. If they try to land from the sea, he'll hold them back."
"Exactly. Bamdia has several naval outposts hidden among the islands just beyond our eastern shores. We can't let them anchor unchallenged."
Her finger traced upward across the map toward a separate landmass. "And Camelot? Didn't King Nalfred settle troops there before…?"
My father, it's been a while since I heard someone use his name.
I chuckled, easing the tension she had accidentally gathered. "He did. A minor outpost, mostly to test how far his ships could reach. I'll have Kivana sail there.
Mirabel sank down into my lap, exhaling deeply. "So we'll hit Fertical with Malachi while keeping Bamdia busy attacking from Camelot."
"Precisely. When we've weakened both, then we strike harder."
She tilted her head against my chest. "You're doing better than before. More focused."
"Better, yes," I said, brushing a hand through her hair. "But we can do more."
Her eyes lifted to meet mine. "Like what?"
I tapped the southern edge of the map. "Uthopia. What do you think of beginning trade with them?"
Her brow furrowed. "Uthopia? Would that really help us right now?"
In Anstalionah, we rely on hunting during winter and coastal fishing during the warmer months. Farming is nearly impossible here.
The beasts in our forests are saturated with mana. You need trained soldiers just to bring in food.
"They could help with our main problem," I said softly.
"So you want to import food from Uthopia?" She said, confused.
"Not just food. Infrastructure." I said, lifting the quill with a smile.
Uthopia is the southernmost kingdom and one of the most stable. Their cities are woven into their trade routes.
If we gain credibility with them, we can modernize our ports, secure winter supplies, maybe even shift our economy toward something sustainable.
Mirabel stood and leaned over the map again. "I heard they use floating markets and mana-powered carriages."
"They do. And more importantly, they're neutral. For now. If we partner with them before the war ends, they might favor us over Fertical."
"And Camelot?" she asked, pointing to the western landmass. "They recently tamed wild dragons, didn't they?"
I nodded. "If we could negotiate with them, we might gain a few dragonbound riders to bolster the skies."
Mirabel chuckled. "That would certainly frighten Fertical's army."
"No. Using them to improve our trade would be more efficient. Flying creatures are rarely tamed, especially dragons."
She frowned. "Alright, then what about Giah? You know they hate war."
Giah was the central kingdom and one of the most powerful, rivaling even Uthopia in manpower. They might interfere if we showed too much strength.
"Simple. We draw out the war by leading Fertical's troops through the forest."
She smiled brightly. "You're hoping that with the new trades with Uthopia, we could do this."
She ruffled my hair and chuckled. "You sly little snake."
"As for Dangu," I said, placing a dot of ink on their capital, "they are the westernmost kingdom and close allies of Giah. They may help if Fertical steps out of line."
They shared borders with Fertical, Giah, and Anstalionah. It was definitely the longest kingdom.
Mirabel pointed southwest on the map. "What about Veritas?"
Veritas was the most troublesome of all the kingdoms, aligning itself with the Golden Authority.
They more or less controlled that cursed kingdom, and with the ongoing war against Falsus, the kingdom to their east, they were occupied.
I sighed. "I only wish Uthopia wasn't directly beneath them. Trade would be much easier if it weren't so complicated."
Mirabel took a deep breath. "It seems you've thought all of this out. So, what do you plan to do while you wait?"
I looked back up and smiled. "Spend all my time with you, training, that is."
She placed both hands on my cheek and kissed me softly. "You know just what to say to a woman, don't you?"
I chuckled. "I doubt something so barbaric would work on anyone but you."
She shrugged. "It doesn't need to. You're my one and only, as I am yours."
[Nicholas almost felt guilty leaving her to run this place by herself.]
That damned voice was right. I was trying not to think about it, but it was true.
My departure from this kingdom needed to happen after the war ended and I was married.
I would leave Mirabel here to rule, and the kingdom would prosper. That was my goal.