Another two days went by.
Since Setsuna and Lilin were both awake, he would regularly visit them both in the morning and the evening to keep a check on them.
He was glad to see that they were indeed healing fast.
Though, for some reason, Lilin was healing way faster than she should have been able to.
Sol wondered if it had to do with her identity and the blood in her, but she shouldn't have awakened any ability
A matter worth pondering about.
Aside from this, he had been quite surprised when Athena joined the assembly in the place of Tyr.
He, of course, understood what it meant and was happy for her.
He had been even happier when he had learned about the thieves.
Sol wasn't naive enough to believe that corruption could be erased.
As long as he didn't fundamentally change the mind of all the nobles and workers under him, it was impossible to do so.
Still, he believed that there was some limit to not cross and he was happy to see that all his ancestors had the same opinion.
He needed examples to set things straight and make everyone follow the rules. Tacit and explicit.
As such, since a bunch of fools delivered themselves to him, he happily set a decree to punish them by taking away one-fourth of their fortune.
He also condemned them to use another fourth of their fortune to invest in the development of structures to take care of orphans, old people, and wounded soldiers.
After all, since they stole from the family of soldiers, they should give back tenfold what they stole.
He also permitted the black knight to capture the nobles who refused to comply.
Of course, he couldn't use such a heavy hand every time. But as he was now he could easily use his age and inexperience as an excuse.
Then the other Duke would come and pacify the nobles. Good cops/bad cops.
Once the decision about the punishment of the thieving nobles was passed, they began to delve into more pressing matters such as the war.
With winter approaching, they were pretty sure that Wratharis wouldn't attack them.
Winter in this world was extremely brutal, fighting a war during such times was crazy, since the casualties would be three or four times higher than in normal times.
This was exactly why,
"The chances that he attacks us during winter are extremely high ."
Camelia announced suddenly.
Everyone stopped discussing and looked at her.
Sol asked simply, "What gives you such confidence?"
Doubt could be clearly heard in his voice.
Camelia was shocked, the fact that Sol doubted her words left her somewhat baffled.
She also understood just how shallow she had been previously.
Sighing, she continued, "The one who informed me is the Supreme daughter of Patientia."
Sol tapped his finger on the table.
He was weighing the situation. Then asked Milia.
"I forgot to ask, but how is the relationship between the royal family and the church in Wratharis?"
Milia, who stood up behind him bowed and answered, "From our report, since the crowning of the new king, the relationship between those two had been extremely strained."
Sol nodded. Of course, he couldn't simply believe the information given by the crown's shadow either.
So he turned once again toward Camelia.
"What does that supreme daughter want?"
It was impossible to have given such information for free.
If Lustburg won this war, it would be able to claim a large amount of lands and could seriously threaten the safety of Wratharis.
"The death of the king."
A heavy silence fell in the room.
Everyone was surprised by this news and couldn't help but ponder about it.
Sol was shocked as well, but he had access to information that helped him connect the dot.
'They want Setsuna to become the queen.'
Only a Blessed could officially become king or queen.
But what would happen if a ruler died without any crown prince or princess ready to replace them?
Such cases were rare in history, but generally, the goddess would choose the immediate and closest relative.
"Does the Wolf have any children or is there any Royal Blessed aside from him?"
"Not in our knowledge."
‘As I thought.’
The plan was pretty simple. Kill the king. Setsuna becomes blessed. Take her as a queen. Everyone is happy.
… As If such a thing was possible.
There were simply too many unknown variables in this situation.
What's more, this was just a speculation of his. Perhaps they had another candidate in mind.
He needed to ask Setsuna if she had sisters or brothers or cousins.
But he doubted it.
Like all powerful magical beings, the fertility of blue wolves was extremely weak. Getting one child was already impressive enough.
Some did not even manage to give birth in all their life.
"The discussion stops here. Lady Athena, I would like you to inform Duke Tyr and begin to prepare countermeasures for an eventual fight during winter."
Humans were, on average, far weaker than beastmen.
Even though the information was still suspicious, it was better to prepare and avoid bad surprises.
"Understood."
Sol then turned toward Hermes, "Duke Hermes, contact Aunt Theresa. I am free to meet her tonight in the tower."
They needed special engraved weapons for this war. Using cold steel would be dangerous.
What's more, Greed Dike had been pretty pissed and the law they set put them in disadvantage. Thankfully, Theresa was a member of the council and should perhaps be able to work on something.
"Your will shall be done."
After getting Hermes’ answer, Sol faced Arachne,
"Duchess, your talent as a seamstress will be put to test. How many people would you need to help you create enough clothes and cloaks that could protect soldiers from the cold?"
Arachne closed her eyes for a short moment before nodding, "I need none, my golems will be enough."
Sol shook his head, "This is truly good news. But I would like to use this occasion to create more employment. I give you the right to recruit between two to three hundred women or men experienced in tailoring. Of course, you can also use your golems on the side."
Arachne did not seem pleased, but she understood that this would be helpful for the country. So she reluctantly accepted.
"Now then, if you could please leave. I have some matters to discuss with the supreme daughter."
It wasn't that he lacked trust in them.
But he did not wish to share Setsuna's past without her permission.
What's more, he didn't know how they would react if they knew they could have control over the potential future queen of Wratharis.
Sharing glances furtively, the two dukes and Athena nodded and saluted before leaving, followed by Milia.
He was now alone once again with Camelia.
"So, let's discuss shall we?"
