The rest of the procession went by pretty normally.
Sol made a few of the scarlet knights stay close to the place where the dungeon was located and ordered them to set up a perimeter surrounding the area. Even though he had already placed a solid defense against most, if not all, types of dangers... there was always that small percentage of luck playing a role and fucking up everything for him.
On the way back to the capital of Lustburg, inside the royal carriage, Lilin couldn't help but hum or simply giggle to herself. Having her own official knight order made her feel giddy with immense happiness.
This made her feel like she was walking in the same steps as her mother and while this would have bothered her slightly in the not so distant past, now she could not help but feel a sense of pride swelling up within her at that thought.
Of course, having her own knight order also meant that Sol believed in her and would let her take care of a battlefront in the war against the Wratharis kingdom.
"Don't be so happy about this. In terms of experience, you only fought some measly bandits together. I will either have Tyr or Athena accompany you and be your superior and guide while you get familiar with the know-how on how to lead a battalion of your own."
War wasn't a game and for all his ambitions, Sol was indeed not a god. He could not cover the entire battlefield and could not protect Lilin 100% of the time.
Lilin pouted slightly at his words but in the end, nothing could take away the happiness she was feeling right now. This caused Sol to leak out a tired sigh.
Of course, while he was acting strictly, in reality, there was no way in hell he would let the safety of his women be left to fate if he could do anything against that.
He planned to have Isis place her King-ranked undeads in the shadow of both Setsuna and Lilin.
Because of all the conventions, using undead was clearly forbidden in a war and would cause worldwide outrage. He would not use them to win the war of course...
But if his loved ones were to be in any form of danger, then the war convention could burn in the ninth level of Tartarus for all he cared.
He was only willing to accept those rules as long as they posed no danger to him and his loved ones. It was as plain and simple as that.
While Sol was dampening Lilin's mood with cold and hard facts, Lilith was simply looking at Setsuna in silence.
Now that there was no onlooker to see through her changes, Setsuna had taken off her cloak and Lilith was able to see the great changes that had happened to the vulpine girl.
Crossing her legs and leaning back slightly on her seat, she asked her the question that had been nagging at her mind and most likely everyone in this place.
"Now that you are a Blessed... How will your relationship with Sol... change?"
Setsuna was currently both the slave and Knight of Sol and fully belonged to him. But now that she had become a Blessed and would eventually become the Queen of Wratharis, this obviously could not continue.
"Nothing much has changed. She is still mine. Only the label will change."
Sol answered quietly while gazing into Setsuna's eyes, "Of course, if you do not wish to follow our previous status quo, then it's also fine by me. It's up to you."
For Sol, Setsuna had never been a slave and he never treated her as one either. Even her functioning as a Knight did not see much use since he rarely got out of the castle in the past.
For him, Setsuna was, and would always be, a friend and a lover. The fact that she had become a Blessed changed nothing about that fact, of course, as long as her feelings for him didn't change, that is...
"You already know my answer. Furthermore, I can now fight for the position of the official wife."
Setsuna grinned while looking at Lilin who glared back at her with fury in her eyes.
In the past, Setsuna always felt ashamed, even if a little, because of her position as a slave and a princess without a Kingdom. She never tried to fight for the main seat because she knew how impressive all the women surrounding Sol were.
But now... Now that she had become a Blessed and would surely step on the throne of her Kingdom, she had all the rights and reasons to fight for the main seat.
"If Sol is married to the Queen of Wratharis, this should make the conquest easier, right?"
This was indeed so, and this was also one of the reasons why Sol had used less than savory means to make Pandora his ally.
Now, he already had Envilya and Wratharis in his pocket. Southern Pride would depend on what Nefertiti could cook up in the meantime, but he had unconditional belief in her.
'I guess this leaves Gluttony, Greed, and Slothein.'
He felt like he was progressively crossing things from a grocery list, and this was rather funny in its own twisted way.
As for the talk about marriage, Sol would obviously not have only one of his women have the official position of wife and leave the others as his concubines.
He was the first to admit that he did not love all his women equally. But though he did not love them all in the same way or at the same level, he would absolutely never treat one worse than the other.
They were all more than worthy of becoming his queen, and he was happy to have them on his side.
'Well, I won't say this now though.'
He laughed inwardly. He wanted a better occasion to announce this decision of his. His crowning would be the perfect moment for that.
Meanwhile, Lilith simply smiled quietly while observing Lilin and Setsuna bicker about the position of the main wife. She couldn't help but feel a little emotional at this scene.
She remembered how, not so long ago, she had called Sol, who at that time had not even gone through his awakening, to talk about his incoming marriage.
It had only been a few months until that time, but so much had changed between then and now.
She was just an insomniac with suicidal tendencies and a dying body. Sol was a young prince with no power and a mind full of naivety. Her relationship with Camelia and Lilin was as bad as it could be, and there was a rebellion brewing in the background.
Fast forward to now and everything was so different that it felt like a whole new timeline. They were all stronger, be it mentally or physically. They all went through a rough path, but a clear sky was opening up for them to receive them.
'I wonder what you two would feel if you could see this.'
For the first time in her life, Lilith was able to think of Mars and Blaze without feeling bitterness or pain in her heart and mind.
This was another small step forward for her.
"So now, will you two form a contract?"
Setsuna and Lilin fell silent while the vulpine girl's gaze landed on Sol.
This was perhaps the one thing she had been waiting for all along.
"We will. Though it depends on Setsuna now."
Setsuna smiled a little before taking Lilin's hand with a mischievous smile on her face. "Well... I have one little request."
