The story of the Elf Queen

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After taking several large sips of water from the silver goblet Aneta handed her, Sivila leaned back in her desk chair, closed her eyes, and rubbed her tired eyes. It was already deep night outside the palace window again, and the rest was not even close. She had only gotten some sleep when an urgent call awakened her. After that, she did not sleep a wink the rest of the night and all the next day. She'd had to cancel a few appointments, completely focused on the disaster. Well, not a disaster yet. But it had a good chance of becoming one if not dealt with promptly.

Another call made her open her eyes and assume a queenly appearance. Relatively proper, since she had never been able to do her hair properly, and her girls had to tidy it up on the run, between endless calls, reports, briefings, urgent meetings, and handing out orders. Dressing had to be done the same way. And eating. And even use the restroom!

"I'm listening."

One of the additional artifact mirrors, urgently taken from the queen's storerooms and placed on her desk, shone. A moment later, Turiel was reflected in it. Her friend and lover looked no better than the queen. Dropping her greetings, she immediately got down to business, beginning her report.

"The situation is dire, close to critical. The coastal areas of the Upper City have been looted. Midtown has been looted almost completely. Many destroyed and burned buildings. The Lower Town is the least affected, but only because there's not much to take in those slums. It's a good thing that with the help of the Forest Guard companies they managed to prevent looting. So many dead, so many more kidnapped. All the big ships in the bay have been stolen, except for a couple sunk in a magical battle. Augustus is in a wild frenzy, tearing up and going to demand from the Confederacy a new Naval War with the Islands.

Wrinkling her nose, Sivila shook her head:

"They won't go for it. A full-fledged Naval War would require enormous effort and expense, and bring nothing but losses unless the Islands could be captured. And there is little chance of that, given the favor of the Lady of the Seas towards the Islanders."

"I realize it myself. August understands it too. But he has to say something."

"What about Christian? Did it hit him hard?"

A shadow ran across her friend's face for a brief moment:

"He's alive. His wounds were treated by Mistrael. I used our personal supplies so as not to distract the court healer. He has enough work to do at the moment. The final blow from the Conqueror of the Seas was too strong and broke through the castle's shield. Mistra is now staying at his bedside. He should be fully recovered in a couple of weeks."

"I'm glad to hear that. We can send more help if we need it. And Mistrael should make the most of this situation. Let her personally change his bandages and nurse him. That will bind him to her even more tightly."

"We've already decided that. August needs help now. And it's serious help, Sivila. The city's been badly damaged. The sea fortifications are almost completely destroyed, and rebuilding them will require a great deal of money and resources. The trading houses and guilds are howling and tearing their hair out over the losses. Our dear Confederate neighbors, and not only them, have already sent several offers of help. Not gratuitous, of course."

"What is being offered and what is being asked for?"

"Various. The Council of Endoras is willing to allocate gold and silver but at interest."

"I'll bet they are."

"The Sun-worshippers offered very generous assistance in rebuilding the city, both in money and resources. In exchange for permission to establish a full-fledged temple in Morgrave within the city limits, with free preaching and sanctuary. Or allow them to build a monastery near the city, with a chapter of the order of their paladins."

"Which will be the first step towards complete subjugation of the Theocracy of the Sun. We know, we've seen it before."

"August said pretty much the same thing."

"What else?"

"The ruler of Normgrave, the honorable Duke Darmond, offered quite generous aid in gold, grain, and timber. In exchange for dynastic marriages to Augustus. Christian with any of his daughters, and his son and heir with any of Augustus' daughters."

After a second of silence, Sivila said thoughtfully:

"This option will have to be considered and discussed with the High Emissary. In the morning, he and the Supreme Treasurer will contact you and August to discuss the amount of financial and material assistance from the Forest. I have been able to negotiate with them that some of the aid will be gratuitous. I've already sent you the details via our private communication channel. As well as some other instructions on what happened. Read them."

"I will."

Saying goodbye to Turi, Sivila extinguished the mirror, then leaned back in her chair again, closing her tired eyes. Damn Islanders. And yet she had spoken. She warned them three thousand years ago when they were still scattered clans of sea raiders and robbers! Even then, it was clear that they had to take control of the region and nip this infestation in the bud. But of course, back then Forest had other concerns and more urgent matters to care about. They always do! As a result, they got first the Island Principalities. Then the Island Empire, which for several centuries swept all control of the Middle Sea under its feet. How much labor it costs to destroy it, even to recall it is terrible. And even though it was not completely destroyed, it was only reduced to the size of a kingdom, which was a huge victory. At least, it was possible to have some sort of action on the Middle Sea.

The queen's delicate maiden's hands laid on her shoulders and began to massage them tenderly. Sivila smiled placed her palm over Aneta's hand and squeezed it affectionately:

"Thank you, my dear. How do you like your new valet?"

"Wonderful, my lady! We're all very grateful to you!"

Without opening her eyes, Sivila smiled weakly. The audience with her cousin, who was more than eight times younger, had been very fruitful. He quickly realized the situation he was in because of his stupidity and ambition. Eh, youth. When she had just turned three hundred years old, she too had been sure that she had gained that very, legendary elven wisdom, knew everything, and understood everything. However, very quickly she realized that it was not so. But in her case, at least she had avoided such unpleasant consequences as the conception and birth of a half-blood child.

Gilraen, on the other hand, has yet to learn. He'll learn. Then again, males had it easier than females. Of course, he wasn't thrilled to be the father of three half-blood daughters. But she'd sweetened the pill for him. One of the perks of a reduced retinue was that you always had a few positions on hand to which you could assign whomever you saw fit at a moment's notice. The previous afternoon, the cousin had officially become Her Majesty's new valet, a full-time member of her retinue with all the rights and duties that come with it.

Traditionally, an elf appointed to this position was responsible for the activities of the queen's human servants or maids. He supervised the fulfillment of their duties and was in charge of their maintenance, conditions of confinement, the addition of those who had retired, the recruitment of new ones, and their training. A very honorable and responsible position. True, in Gilraen's case, it would be entirely formal. Of course, Sivila would not even think of entrusting him with the control of her girls, as she had informed him directly. In fact, he would be the unofficial lover of her maids, and if he performed well, he would remain unofficial. Also a real position and another leash for his cousin. Because this position, of course, is not honorable for the firstborn, especially if it is announced as official. Quite the contrary. To be in the position of the lover of a human servant or maid is a very bad offense. Well, or the servant must somehow be incredibly outstanding. More often, both factors must coincide at the same time. In this case, it was more of the latter. So it will be unofficial and remain so unless Gilraen does something stupid.

Of course, everyone around you will understand. Auntie and Sis would be very happy. There was no doubt about that, which made her feel warm. There is no doubt they will try to thank her, so it will be necessary to calculate the possible options and take countermeasures. But officially, from the outside, everything will look as if she noticed a talented and energetic young man. And decided to give him a chance to prove himself by bringing him closer to her and immediately appointing him to such a responsible position. If he could cope with it, and if he was diligent in his studies in thirty or forty years, it would be possible to petition for his transfer to the diplomatic corps of the Forest. Perhaps to the position of junior emissary to some of the Confederate cities. Which she'd told him about during their conversation, too. And that was a pretty good career, especially for such a young boy. It might be risky, as everyone had just seen, but there was no other way.

After listening to the queen and considering her words, Gilraen agreed. However, he said he would have agreed to join her retinue and serve her without being recruited through the bed. Sivila replied that in that case he should have been more decisive and expressed such a wish to her directly. The queen added to herself that she needed him for nothing. But as another jab to her dear relatives, very much so. It would have to be properly covered from their anger.

After the cousin had fully agreed to her terms, he was given a thorough checkup and examination. This was a complete surprise and not the most pleasant surprise for him. However, he didn't object, quickly agreeing that a person as important as the queen couldn't bring anyone close to her without proper vetting. Not even a close relative like him. So Gilraen was checked even more thoroughly than Fiorel had been after the ball, something he still suffered from an agonizing itch and desire, but steadfastly did not show it. The new valet was checked from the tips of his fingers to the tips of his long ears, then thoroughly interrogated with the use of medium-sparing alchemy and a whole set of amulets aimed at detecting lies. As well as traces of faded memories, hidden magical oaths, contracts, seals, curses, and more. It took a fair amount of time, and by the end, the unhappy and ambitious young man was completely exhausted. And Sivila, having failed to find any trace of him, was even somewhat disappointed. To be honest, she had expected until the last moment that the whole thing would turn out to be an attempt by her dear aunt to plant an agent.

But so far, everything indicated that Gilraen was indeed acting entirely on his initiative. He really wanted to make a career and gain fame and respect at court. Well, that happens quite often too. Though one would still need to keep a close eye on him, something she had instructed Astra and her girls about beforehand. And at that moment, she handed the exhausted valet over to her girls, who were already getting impatient.

Speaking of him. Smiling, the queen opened her eyes and touched the control crystal of one of the mirrors, causing its surface to ripple. A moment later, it reflected one of the guest rooms of the queen's quarters. On a wide and comfortable bed lay her new valet. On top of him, the naked Mariana was on top of him, moving her hips rhythmically and tilting her head back with her lip bitten down in passion. Her white and gold toga lay on the floor next to Gilraen's clothes. On her still flat tummy, the golden light glimmered faintly in intricate patterns down to her womb. Her slender body glistened with sweat droplets.

Katrina was sitting on Guilraen's face with a very satisfied expression on her face. He held her by the hips with both hands while the queen's maid raised and lowered her pussy against him. The patterns on her belly shimmered with a golden light far brighter than Mariana's. It was obvious that Gaia's blessing had just received another portion of "fuel", which the girl had squeezed out of the hapless father. After that, she switched places with her friend.

"Have you had your "refreshment" yet?"

Massaging the queen's shoulders, Aneta quietly snickered:

"Yes, Mistress, in the morning."

"Good. Don't forget to drink all the alchemy I gave you. Did you remember to milk Titty?"

"Twice, first in the morning and now tonight. She's become so docile. You've trained her well, Mistress."

Sivila grinned to herself. When the dark one had started lactating, the queen had enchanted her enlarged tits so that she couldn't pump her milk. She had started lactating very early, and she was lactating a lot. The blessings, enhancing magic rituals, and very high-quality alchemy had been cast on Titty. For the first time, she tried to resent being "milked" by human maids. Sivila smilingly took her and Astra to one of the living rooms in the palace dungeon. Furnished with furniture, bathing, a restroom, and everything needed to live comfortably. Only part of the room was partitioned off from the other by a wall of clear glass enchanted for strength. And in the partitioned-off part sat five goblins. Among those that were specially bred in the dungeons of the palace for known purposes. Unlike their full-fledged wild relatives, they were much shorter and completely devoid of hair and intelligence. Only basic instincts. At the sight of three elven women at once, one of whom was almost naked, they became wildly excited, literally sticking to the glass, and began to masturbate frantically.

There were three not-too-large holes in the wall. The goblins couldn't fit through them completely, but they could put their thin hands through them. Two of the holes were at chest level, one at waist level. Under each hole was a small shelf for the goblins to stand on. Between the upper and lower holes was a rounded bulge towards the goblins, so the belly wouldn't prevent the pregnant dark one from standing tight against the wall. At the sight of these cuties, Titty went into a quiet panic. The satisfied Sivila hugged her affectionately, kissed her on the cheek, and whispered in her ear that since she didn't like her girls, she would use the goblins. She left the shocked dark one alone with them.

Titty lasted 24 hours. Then the aching pain in her nipples, the agonizing itching, and the pressure in her breasts did their work. Gritting her teeth, she walked over to the wall where the green babies were continuously rampaging. If it weren't for the three separate cleansing amulets, the entire glass would have been covered in goblin seed by now. The queen's maids continuously monitored the dark one in succession, and when it did break, they immediately summoned Sivila. And all four of them watched her with great interest. Titty, walking over to the wall, carefully leaned forward so that she could slip her nipples through the top holes. But at the same time trying to stay so that from the hole that was just opposite her bosom, it would be impossible to reach her. Naive. Of course, that was Sivila's plan. And the trained babies, still licking greedily, did not react.

It was only when the dark one, gritting her teeth in disgust and humiliation, was close to the wall that they began to do their business with a joyous squeal. Two of them, shoving off their rivals, climbed up on the stand, and each of them clung to the dark one's nipple with their long, rough tongues. Sucking like leeches, they pulled as hard as they could, pulling the dark one's tits as far to their side as possible. To immediately grab them with their hands and start squeezing them roughly, squeezing out the milk. Another one, pushing away his rivals, slipped his hand into the lower opening and began to work it between the dark one's legs. He squeezed and pinched her pussy and the bead of her clit, then slipped his fingers inside Titty's pussy as deep as he could reach. With his other hand, he rubbed his hard cock as hard as he could. This continued until the dark one's breasts were empty. During this time, the goblins had time to change each other, and as a result, each of them had a chance to taste both Titty's breasts and her pussy, which had cum twice, much to the goblins' delight.

When her "milking" was over, the dark one managed to pull herself away from the wall, to the disappointed squeals of the goblins who clung to her bruised breasts and pussy. Then she climbed into the bathing tub and, opening a stream of hot water and shivering, began to scrub herself desperately. All this elicited only smiles and laughter from Sivila and her girls. After waiting for Titty to calm down, the queen visited her pet and asked her what she preferred in the end? Her girls, or the goblins? The dark one, of course, immediately chose the former. To which the queen added with a smile that for her bad behavior, she would have to ask them politely to milk her every time. Otherwise, she would be here again. Except there would no longer be a dividing wall. The threat worked perfectly. Since that day, the proud daughter of the Underworld had become surprisingly polite and meek in her interactions with the queen's maids. On a couple of occasions, Sivila had even allowed her sweet girls to go beyond mere breast relief in her regard.

"It's just an outward submission for now. It'll take a hundred years to fully train her. Unless you break it with magic, of course. But that's boring and vulgar. So be careful with her."

"Of course, Mistress."

At that moment another call came over the closed direct line. The queen opened her eyes and touched the control crystal of the binding amulet. When she saw who the call was from, she sighed tiredly and placed her palm on Aneta's hand:

"Go get some rest, my dear. We have another challenging day tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mistress."

When the maid left the office with a bow, Sivila activated the protection again, then signaled to Astra, who stood silently in the corner of the office. The bodyguard understood the queen without words and both elves left the queen's office through the secret passage. Moving through the hidden corridors of the palace, they soon reached the wing where few people were allowed in without special permission. There, at the exit from the hidden corridor into the main one, a pair of Secret Guard agents were on duty. They bowed briefly and opened the door for them, and one of them said:

"Please follow me."

Without a word, Sivila and Astra followed him. A few minutes later, moving through the high corridors of the wing of the palace housed the headquarters of the Forest Secret Guard, they reached a pair of tall, handleless doors of polished dark wood. Bowing briefly once more, the agent withdrew, and Sivila knocked briefly. Given what had happened, her visit would not arouse suspicion, so at least it would be one less hassle. A few moments later, the doors opened silently and the elven woman stepped inside. Behind the doors was a vestibule. There were chairs for visitors waiting for their turn to be seen and a desk chair with the agent on duty. In this case, the agentess. She glanced around at the arrivals, bowed briefly, and said:

"You are expected, Your Majesty."

With a brief nod, the queen passed through another handleless door that opened before her. Astra remained waiting in the reception area. When she entered the office of the permanent Head of the Secret Guard, who was her age, Sivila nodded and greeted the elf sitting behind the huge desk. He looked, as always, unperturbed and indifferent. But it was clear that the past twenty-four hours had exhausted even him. As soon as the doors closed behind the queen and the protection was activated, he threw aside etiquette, pointed to the empty seat next to him, and said:

"We have unforeseen problems. Big problems."

To herself, the queen scowled. Who doubted it?

"What's the matter?"

"Zitrael has been kidnapped."

The queen raised her eyebrows:

"I'm aware of that, and we've taken action on her....."

"Zitrael was kidnapped from the islanders," the Head of the Secret Guard cut the queen short.

From what she heard, the queen was momentarily taken aback.

"How did it happen? What is known?"

"The agents covering her mind during the operation managed to contact her briefly. From what they could understand, the sorceress who was breaking her had captured the islanders' ship with her friends and stolen it. She didn't have time to say anything else, she had to cut the connection, Ashuir might have spotted her. In all likelihood, they were heading for Sakhib-Nera."

"Damn it! So that's where the desert whore's gone! We thought she was hiding somewhere in or near Morgrave. Nice move. I was so hoping we could capture her after all. And Luaval is in the hold of a ship bound for the Isles," the queen said doomedly, mentally assessing the magnitude of the impending problem.

For a few seconds, there was a tense silence in the office of the Head of the Secret Guard. The queen was the first to break it:

"Can you get her out of there?"

The elf was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head cautiously:

"It has always been difficult to work in the lands of the South because of the peculiarities of the population. Just like the Islands. There are very few agents, most are local and cannot be considered completely reliable. For the last centuries, we've mostly concentrated our efforts on the green-skinned to prevent the emergence of another Great Horde. There is no one of Luaval's caliber among the agents in the south at all. They won't be able to organize an operation to evacuate Zitrael before the sorceress breaks her."

Pensive, the queen drummed her fingers tensely on the table.

"How long can Zitrael hold out until the point of no return? With as much support as possible?"

The Head of the Secret Guard replied without hesitation:

"My agents estimate we have three weeks if we don't reveal our support and utilize all available resources. If we ignore the secrecy, we can hold it twice as long."

"So we'll focus on the fact that we have two weeks," the queen said thoughtfully.

After a moment's silence, she said in a doomed voice:

"Have your agents in Sakhib-Nera begin preparations for the evacuation operation. Gather information, and prepare special equipment. They can use an Emergency Kit if necessary. But they have to be as careful as possible to avoid spooking Ashuir."

The Head of the Secret Guard raised an eyebrow:

"And who's going to perform the operation?"

"Luaval, I have no other candidates."

"We have no prepared portals on the Islands, and it will take at least a week to organize a ship."

"They won't be needed."

The Head of the Secret Guard realized what the queen was getting at once:

"It's very dangerous."

"He can do it. There's no other way to get from the Islands to Sakhib-Nere."

After being silent for a few seconds, the Head of the Secret Guard spoke slowly and thoughtfully:

"This could work. How fast could he get to Sakhib-Nere through the Underworld?"

"It's hard to say, you'd have to check with Luaval and look at maps of the Underworld in that region. But I think he's guaranteed to get there in five days. If he moves quickly, he could make it in three days."

"Three days. Hmm..."

"Is something wrong?"

"This Zitrael situation has complicated things. I was counting on Luaval to get more than just her off the Isles. Many have been taken prisoner. The High Emissary gave me four inquiries today from various interested parties, all willing to offer a great deal if we could get the people they wanted and cared about out of the clutches of the Islanders."

"It would be very difficult... It was one thing for one experienced Dungeon Hunter. It's another thing for him to have to drag a bunch of other humans with him. Let me see our maps of the Underground."

"One moment."

Reaching out, the Head of the Secret Guard pulled a roll of enchanted paper lying on the edge of the table. Spreading the paper on the table, he touched a small, intricate seal pattern in the center of the paper with his finger. A moment later, the outline of the lands surrounding the Middle Sea began to appear in great detail on the blank paper. There were many markings and notations. Only they remained faded, but on top of them were added other outlines, clearer ones that marked the known territories of the Underworld. The queen and the head of the Secret Guard gloomed as they surveyed the area between the Southern lands and the Islands.

"That's a problem."

Almost half of the Underground territory they needed was occupied by a vast underground sea. Marked as a particularly dangerous territory. The elves were silent for a few seconds, then the queen spoke carefully:

"We can ask Bravlin for help."

At the mention of the current King of the Undermountain, the slightest shadow of irritation appeared on the eternally impassive face of the Head of the Secret Guard.

"The bearded short guys will ask an exorbitant price for it, no doubt about it."

"I see no other option. Luaval alone could still make it this far. But with a crowd of surface dwellers, it would be very difficult. Again, there's no point in taking them to Sakhib-Nera. They'll be taken through the Underworld to the edge of the Forest."

For a moment they were silent, after which the queen made up her mind:

"Let's try it. Let the High Emissary handle Bravlin. I'll authorize the negotiations, and you explain the details to him. I'll take care of Luaval. I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

"I'm not a doubt. Should I start looking for the next noble dark one?"

"Look for a matriarch. Preferably two. Ideally, you know which Houses. And contact all your agents on the Islands. Tell them to do their best, Luaval's going to need a lot of help. Motivate them in any way you can. Even one man who's never been to the Underground won't be easy to get through. Not even a few."

"Of course."

"All right, then we'll consider that problem resolved. What about the main operation? I haven't had time to get the details because of the attack."

The Head of the Secret Guard put the map away, making it pristine and clean once again, carefully put it aside, and then spoke:

"Please read it."

With these words, he handed Sivila several sheets of paper scribbled in painstaking handwriting. The records of the interrogation of Vinatir de Vaar Gras. As she read them, the queen grew darker and darker. When she had finished reading the last of them, she put them aside and looked the Head of the Secret Guard in the eye:

"It's just as we suspected."

He nodded faintly. Then they got up from the table together and went into the next room, where no one else was there. It was another office. But on one of the walls, on a special board, there were numerous sheets of paper, written in different handwriting and connected by thin threads. Some of the sheets had portraits of humans and elves imprinted on them with special amulets. Stopping in front of them, the Head of the Secret Guard carefully attached another sheet of paper, with Vinatir's portrait, in the center where several written sheets were already hanging. Then another. The careful addition of the scheme took nearly half an hour. After that, he and the queen step back, looking at the final result. In the center of the diagram was Vinatir's portrait, from which three threads stretched to three groups of sheets. His mercenaries. From them stretched the threads to the portraits of the seven Firstborn, surrounded by many scribbled sheets. And up from Vinatir was a single thread to a blank sheet of paper with a single question mark.

The situation was extremely troublesome, confirming the suspicions of the Queen and the Head of the Secret Guard. Over the past forty years, Vinatir de Vaar Gras had organized and successfully carried out, with the help of his mercenary teams, the successful kidnapping of three elves and four elven women within the Forest. The result is very impressive. Especially if we take into account that his men did not possess really outstanding skills, being solid professionals, but nothing more. The secret of their success lay elsewhere. Vinatir de Vaar Gras was sincerely convinced, and with good reason, that he was secretly working FOR the good of the Forest, ridding it of those his handlers pointed out to him. Or curator, since he had never seen him in person, communicating with him only by means of an artifact-diary, clearly, according to him, of elven work. Which had been placed in his office many years ago, along with a deposit and a proposal to start cooperation. Through the diary, he received detailed information and instructions that ensured the success of his ventures.

Schedule and routes of Forest Guard patrols, locations of border secrets, and traps. The safest possible routes of approach and departure to the intended targets, their descriptions, with an indication of their strengths and weaknesses. As well as how to "process" them and to whom to sell them. In addition, for each operation, he received a considerable sum in gold or silver. Each time in a new place in a special chest, the location of which he received through his diary. He was also given and regularly updated password-reference, in case he encountered agents of the Secret Guard. That was why when the kidnapped peddler saw Darendil in his Secret Guard uniform in front of him, he calmed down so visibly.

Vinatir decided that it was an unfortunate mistake, caused by the fact that, as he put it, one hand did not know what the other was doing. During the interrogation he behaved confidently and completely calmly, hiding nothing, being sincerely sure that there was nothing to blame him for. He bemoaned his dead guards and praised the professionalism of the Secret Guard agents. When asked about Zitrael, he was hesitant at first but then confessed honestly. At first, his goal had been simply to test a new potential mercenary team through his men. When they had, to his surprise, done well, he had even considered writing to his superiors through his diary about acquiring her. In order to get instructions on how to get it back. But after learning through his own interrogations exactly how Zitrael had gotten captured, he nearly smashed his forehead with his hand and decided to keep such a brainless fool for his own personal use and rid the Forest of her stupidity. The latter was practically a direct quote.

"Well, we're one step closer," the Queen said slowly, sliding her gaze along the threads from one group of sheets to the next.

The Head of the Secret Guard nodded briefly:

"But there is still a lot of work to be done."

"What do you suggest we do with Vinatir?"

"I suggest we follow the seventh pattern. Let him go with apologies and compensation. Let's present it to him as if what happened was really an unfortunate misunderstanding due to the personal initiative of an overzealous field agent."

"Do you think that makes sense?"

"There's a chance his handler didn't find out about Vinatir's abduction. The Island King's attack on Morgrave plays to our advantage in that regard. If we keep a constant watch on Vaar Gras, we can try to pinpoint the moment when he will be contacted again. Since his old artifact diary was destroyed in a fire set by burglars storming the mansion. Much to my dismay."

"Indeed, it would be very curious to read it. I don't think anything would come of it. It would be too easy. But it's worth a try. Proceed as you see fit and keep me informed."

"Of course."

After saying goodbye to the Head of the Secret Guard, the queen, accompanied by Astra, returned to her chambers. It was only a few hours before dawn. After letting her go to bed, Sivila closed herself in her bedroom, pulled off her dress, and collapsed tiredly on her bed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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