Sol could be seen walking in the hallway with his retinue composed of Milia, Clara, and a few maids who specialized in internal governance.
“Where is Isis?”
“The lady is visiting the museum with miss Sheherazade. She should be out for the rest of the day.”
Sol nodded in understanding as he took the piece of paper another maid gave him and started reading through it at a fast pace.
“What am I looking at exactly?”
“A proposal from Count Ross about the construction of a new hospital.”
“Hmmm…”
He signed the paper and gave it to Clara who was already holding a huge stack of paper in her hands. “Put this proposal in the list of projects I might be interested in working on in the future.”
“Understood.”
Clara nodded in response and gave a signal for another maid to come forth, “Your Highness, some of the nobles asked for the date of the new maids' selection.”
When a few of the old maids or the maids who found someone they loved decided to retire, it was time to hire fresh blood and incorporate them into the working force of the Tower.
Of course, with how stringent Milia was, she made sure to leave no leaks. Those who left received many prohibitions both written and magical in nature with certain death as an outcome in case of betrayal.
In the case of new maids, their status didn’t matter much since Milia would screen out all the problematic ones and only leave the most promising, trustworthy, and excellent candidates.
“—And why am I looking at this exactly?”
Sol frowned his brows as he spoke. This was part of Milia's job. It had nothing to do with him.
Milia coughed slightly to hide her embarrassment and the shame she felt in handing over this task to her Lord. Indeed, normally she would have simply dealt with it herself but this time it was quite complicated for a mere maid, officially speaking, to handle. After all, whenever nobility was thrown into the mix, the need for absolute authority was a must.
“This time the daughters of a few Counts and even some Marquis are part of the candidates.”
“Oh? Would those pampered girls be able to handle the job?”
“Some of our current maids are actually from noble families. But the few in the new batch aren't here for a job, per se. They are more in line to be an open invitation for an alliance by the nobles. After all, your highness still has no official fiancee.”
Milia’s words made Sol chuckle bitterly under his breath when he realized that he had indeed had no one to officially take the mantle of his Princess consort or Queen consort to be exact.
Truth be told, he was quite happy with this situation. He had the women he loved and cherished for himself and they returned the sentiment wholeheartedly. There was nothing more that he could ask of from them.
While a ceremony might be interesting, he was hesitant about naming only one of them as his wife. Official or not.
Doing a marriage for one of them would create a sentiment of insecurity and unfairness for the others. Of course, another reason was the bloodbath that might follow should this happen.
Sol was not blind to the insanity of some of his lovers and knew very well that sometimes, all people needed was a little nudge to truly have the strings of rationality snap within them.
“Refuse them.”
His answer was clear and concise.
Sol liked putting his hand on his maids and having a good time with them every now and then. But all of this was based on the condition that they knew it was just a casual fling that might or might not come again.
The daughters of those nobles would come with the goal of becoming his fiancee or concubines. Rather than making them waste their time and affect their future marriage prospects, it was better to stop this fiasco at its roots.
Inwardly, Sol also had to admit that he was simply not particularly interested in normal humans anymore as future mates or even future fling prospects.
At least, to this date, the only pure human he was interested in was none other than Camelia.
“Very well.”
Milia shrugged her shoulders, having expected this answer from the start. But it was still a necessary process and she was not willing to make Sol’s decisions by herself. That would just be too arrogant of her.
Like this, they continued walking while working on the papers. It was a weird sight for some but Sol loved this since it was very efficient. Or at least it seemed efficient to him and that thought in itself was enough for him.
Right now, he wished to observe the training of the Black Knights. Royal Knights in the center of the Capital generally didn't participate in war.
But he wouldn't let it fly this time. The aerial advantage of Wyvern riders and the speed advantage of the Nightmare Horse riders were too important to miss out on in this war. It could also be a surprise element for them that would give them an edge on the battlefield.
Even more so in winter where mobility will become a decisive factor overall.
His march stopped short when he spotted Lilith far in the distance. She was wearing a light blue dress that gave her an aura of aristocracy.
It was quite unlike her usual revealing robe or battle gear. Right now, Lilith looked more like a curious princess who was completely lost and clueless in unknown territory.
The maids’ expression grew concerned at this sight. For a moment, they thought they were facing Lilin but it was only later that they realized it was, in fact, the Queen herself.
They didn't know why she suddenly became younger but this didn't stop them from bowing.
"Your Majesty!"
"Oh."
Lilith nodded with a smile before facing Sol.
“Hi. How are you doing?”
Sol greeted her in a soft tone. He had not seen her up close for some time now. At least not since the time he saved her within his dimension.
He had been very busy and had to discuss with Luxuria and Aurora. In fact, soon he had another meeting with Luxuria in order to Iron out all the details of the deals.
Lilith smiled, "I have never felt better. I was searching for Lilin but I do not see her."
Sol looked at Clara who nodded in understanding and responded to her query, "Princess Lilin has been out for a few days to participate in the extermination of a few bandits. She should be back in a day or two."
"I see. Heh. Too bad. I guess I will have to wait for her then."
Sol tilted his head at Lilith's current demeanor.
She was…quite a bit different from her usual self.
A little too much even.
He waved his hand at Milia, "Please proceed to the inspection without me. Call Athena and Ares. They will support you."
"Understood."
They all bowed and left the premise, leaving the two behind.
Now alone, Sol and Lilith faced each other.
There was a light smile on Lilith's face as she looked at Sol.
"There are many things I want to say. About how thankful I am. About what I want to do in the future. But before all that, I have been thinking about something quite funny."
His eyebrows rose in interest, "You intrigued me. What is it about?"
Lilith chuckled as a mischievous light twinkled in her eyes.
"See. I was thinking… Should I call you papa now?”
If Sol had a drink he would have spat it out in her face then and there.
