"Hello, Aditya. It has been a while."
"It's good to see you again Laura. How have you been doing?"
Around one week after killing Simon, Laura along with her personal Maid Kate had come to the Istarin Empire to meet Aditya. Unlike her previous visits which weren't official and were mostly kept a secret from everyone, this was an official meeting between the Emperor of the Istarin Empire and the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace.
"I should be the one asking you this question." Laura had heard of what had happened in the Southern region. What she heard was the public version of it. Aditya didn't reveal too much about the culprit or about the organization. Only top officials, dukes, and the people that Aditya trusted knew everything about this incident.
"Well, what can I say? Things have been a little bit rough for me." Meanwhile, Watson served them tea with some delicious snacks.
"Please enjoy yourself." Watson then nodded at Aditya before taking his leave. Since he was no longer the acting Prime Minister of the Istarin Empire, his presence wasn't needed here. Ever since Watson had stepped down, he has been moving away from politics and the affairs of the Empire and let Spencer handle all of it.
Picking up the cup of tea, Aditya took a sip. "So what brings you here Laura if you don't mind me asking?" Aditya asked.
"It has been a while since I came to the surface world. I decided to take a break from everything and come to the surface. Also, there are a few other reasons why I came here. Besides, hearing what happened, I was worried so I came to check on you." Laura took a sip of the tea. She had to admit that this tea was really delicious. It was easily one of the best teas she had ever had.
Since this was an official meeting, Aditya had spent a carriage along with 500 troops to escort Laura and Kate to the Capital.
"So how is everything going in your Empire?" Before Aditya left, he had secretly hunted every single one of the Old nobles who wanted Laura dead. These old nobles were like pests. The fools refused to change the laws and stubbornly held onto their old traditions which were doing the whole Deep Sea Palace more harm than good.
"After you left, there wasn't anyone who stood against me. You have removed the biggest obstacles in my path to becoming the Empress. Within my first week of becoming the Ruler of the Deep Sea Palace, I was able to get rid of the remaining small problems. And since then, things have been sailing very smoothly." Laura said with a smile while taking another sip.
"Is that so..." Aditya wondered why Laura was here. It only has been 4 months since she became the Empress. Although the Deep Sea Palace wasn't as big as the Istarin Empire, it would have taken her more than 4 months to stabilize the whole Empire and finish her work. Even before she took the throne, the Deep Sea Palace had been without a ruler for more than 6 months. After Aditya killed Lewis, the Empire didn't have a King. Hence a ton of administration work had been left to be finished. He thought it would take a lot more time for Luara to finish these works.
'I guess I underestimated her.' Aditya thought in his mind.
"Aditya, looks like you're on a winning streak, huh? Congrats on expanding your empire even more," Laura said, a hint of teasing in her voice.
At the sound of her words, Aditya felt a slight twitch in his right eye. His empire, nearly the size of an entire continent, had just expanded further a week ago. With that growth had come an avalanche of added responsibilities and never-ending tasks.
"Yeah, Laura, because what I really needed was more paperwork and sleepless nights. But hey, at least I've got more land to worry about now," Aditya replied, his voice dripping with sarcastic amusement.
"Hahaha!!!!" Hearing this Laura couldn't stop laughing.
"Our little King is really hard working. He works hard both in his work and even harder in his bedroom." Hearing these words, Laura spat out the tea from her mouth. Her cheeks were slightly red. Laura tried her best to control herself from laughing out loud. Even Kate looked like she wanted to laugh but she controlled herself.
Turning her head to her right she saw a beautiful woman. The woman had long silver hair and fair skin. She was tall and had a curvaceous body.
She walked towards them with a teasing grin on her face.
"....Aditya wondered if he should spank Lilith's ass. But knowing that doing that would be wrong he kept quiet and decided to get his revenge on his woman later.
"Aditya, she is...." Laura was surprised to see this woman. This woman was really beautiful.
"Her name is Lilith. She is Sasha's mother." Hearing this even Kate who had been stoic this entire time was surprised. Laura was even more surprised. Sasha had left a deep impression in her mind.
She didn't think Aditya would be able to tame that wild girl and make her and her mother live here. She had to admit she was impressed.
She had kept trying to end Laura's life over and over again. If not for Aditya she would have died.
"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty. My name is Lilith." Lilith slightly bowed her head before she sat next to Aditya.
"I won't apologize for what my daughter did since this is what we do. Or at least this is what I used to do and now my daughter does in my place. It's our profession." Laura nodded her head. She didn't really hold any anger towards Sasha. It was the old nobles who had paid her. She was even kind enough to tell Aditya about the clients who hired her.
"Also you can rest assured. Our organization won't accept any bounty on your head." Hearing this Laura inwardly felt relieved. Now she doesn't have to worry about being assassinated ever again.
"Thank you. Aunty, you're more than welcome to visit My Deep Sea Palace whenever you want."
"Sure I will. I will also bring Aditya with me." Lilith excitedly said.
Cough!!!!
"Let's not get distracted shall we...?" Aditya reminded them that this was an official meeting. He also knew that he couldn't Lilith do whatever she wanted. If she was allowed to do whatever she wanted then things might go in the wrong direction just like before. He really can't trust this Succubus.
Laura became serious upon hearing this. Fortunately, Lilith also became quiet. "Aditya, today I am here to make the Alliance between us official." Since Laura still hadn't become the Empress of the Deep Sea Palace, she couldn't make an official alliance with the Istairn Empire but now she could.
"The Istarin Empire is happy to be an ally of the Deep Sea Palace." This official Alliance was a big thing for the Istarin Empire. Now Empire will have an even stronger influence on the world stage. And this official Alliance with the Deep Sea palace was going to bring a ton of benefits in the short and long term.
"I have been meaning to ask. Why not make a link between our teleportation arrays?" The teleportation array in the Deep Sea Palace and Istarin Empire weren't linked. If there wasn't a link between two points, then it is not possible to use the teleportation array. Linking the teleportation arrays will make traveling to both Empires super easy. Both of them can come and go to see each other whenever they want.
"I also have been thinking of doing this." Laura was more than happy to agree. It was a hassle to travel for hours to reach the Deep Sea Palace or for Laura to reach the Istarin Empire. Through the teleportation array, a lot of their precious time could be saved.
Aditya and Laura discussed the affairs and the workings of their alliance for the next few hours. Both of them discussed the terms and conditions of the alliance.
While they were discussing, Lilith suddenly interrupted them with a suggestion. "Instead of making a new alliance, Laura why don't you just join The Triumvirate Alliance." Hearing this both Aditya and Laura paused and then exchanged glances.
"I don't mind if that's okay with you, Aditya," Laura replied. The Triumvirate Alliance was the current strongest alliance in the Dying Isle continent. Joining such a strong alliance would only benefit her. She also would be one step closer to erasing the boundaries between the surface and the oceanic Empires.
Lilith's suggestion wasn't something that Laura had thought of before.
Aditya thought that Laura wouldn't want to join the Triumvirate Alliance so he never invited her. He thought she was only interested in becoming an ally of the Istarin empire. "Why would I mind? In fact, I welcome the Deep Sea Palace with open arms. But forgive me for saying this but since I am not the leader of this alliance, I would need to ask the Echo Dominion Empire, and The Hephaestus Kingdom's opinions on this before I could make any decision."
Although the Triumvirate Alliance didn't have a leader and all matters of the alliance were discussed by three members, everyone knew that the Istarin Empire was the unofficial leader of this alliance. This alliance formed as a result of the war with the Oracle Alliance. There is no doubt that the Echo Dominion Empire and The Hephaestus Kingdom will agree to Aditya's suggestion without question.
Aditya knew this. But he respected his alliance members and wanted to know their opinions before making any decisions.
Laura smiled understanding this. She knew that even if Aditya made him the leader of this alliance both the Echo Dominion Empire and The Hephaestus Kingdom would accept it.
"I don't mind."
"If that's the case, then I will call for an alliance meeting. Laura, in that case, you might need to wait in the Istarin Empire for one or two days."
"I don't mind." She replied with a smile. This was a really big step for her Empire as well.
"Lilith, would you mind showing Laura around the Dragon Palace? Sorry, I can't personally show you around as I am going to write two letters to the Echo Dominion Emperor, and The Hephaestus King, explaining the whole situation to them."
"Not at all. Thank you for having me."
Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!
