"That's' exactly the problem, Your Majesty." Lith replied. "Tista has learned from and can't add much to my skillset whereas Solus possesses useful abilities that complent my own.
"On top of that, Tista's beauty makes her too noticeable. She is unsuitable for any covert mission. Solus, instead, has a more discreet presence and can help add Magus nadion to the list of my helpers."
"Magus nadion?" Duke Tanash echoed in confusion. "Isn't she one of your Demons now?"
"She is, but Demons are not mindless slaves." Lith said and Locrias and the Demons snarled at Tanash. "More like loyal business partners. I can't force Magus nadion to do anything she doesn't want to but if Solus cos along, nadion will protect her."
The lie served two purposes. Giving Lith a valid reason to bring Solus along and discourage those who were still planning to kidnap the mbers of his family to get their hands on nadion's work.
Once the news about nadion's defiance spread, people would shift their target to Solus who was not only a much tougher nut to crack than people like Elina but she could also return to her stone ring if necessary.
The fact that Solus was the last living mber of nadion's bloodline and that the Ruler of the Flas had returned from the dead to protect her was already public knowledge. Solus wouldn't get in more danger than she already was.
"A cunning but ruthless plan." Sylpha nodded. "Yet I must ask you, Magus Verhen, aren't you worried this ploy may sour your relationship with Magus nadion?"
"No, because I won't force Solus to do anything. I will ask her to accompany only after explaining to her the dangers of this mission. If she accepts, nadion won't have any reason to resent as long as I ensure Solus' safety."
"In this case, you have our permission to share the information we've given you today with Great Mage Solus Verhen." ron said. "Major Yerna, exchange your contact rune with Magus Verhen.
"Magus Verhen, complete your preparations as fast as you can and let Major Yerna and us know when you are ready."
"I'll wait for you in Kophar and set our base of operations." Yerna said with a warm smile on her face. "It's nice to see you again, White. You have co a long way from the grumpy, sassy student I rember."
"It's nice for too, Captain." Lith smiled back. "We'll have ti to catch up once we et in Kophar. See you soon."
He gave the Royals a shallow bow before turning around and walking to the palace's Warp Gate.
The Royals used their Awakened senses to eavesdrop on the conversations that started as soon as the double door of the Throne Room closed behind Lith.
"Have you seen that? nadion refused his summon even in front of the Royals!" A Marquis said.
"She's a Magus and she's dead. What did you expect?" A Baroness said with a scoff. "She has no reason to play nice and people like us have no leverage. If we ss with her descendant, nadion might craft weapons for our enemies, or worse, cursed objects for us!"
"Damn, I had almost forgotten about Kandria's plague." A Duke shuddered at the ntion. "I feel almost sorry for Verhen."
"I'll never forget it, instead." Duke Tanash snarled at his oblivious peer. "My Household almost collapsed because of it! Why do you think I wanted Magus Verhen to take care of Kophar? He's the only one we can trust in a crisis like this."
"Yeah, like he did for the Black Star." Said the Marquis.
"And Kogaluga." The Baroness added.
"And the War of the Griffons." Tanash pointed out and many nobles intervened one after the other, enurating the achievents that had turned the son of a farr into the Supre Magus of the Kingdom.
The King covered his mouth with his hand, pretending to be in deep thought while he was actually hiding a smirk.
'Letting them remind each other of Verhen's accomplishnts is much more effective than listing them myself.' ron thought. 'This move killed two birds with one stone. We have a potential solution for Kophar and quelled the Royal Court's unrest.'
'Three, my dear.' Sylpha pointed out. 'Verhen has also laid his trap. There's a chance ln takes the bait and we get rid of him for good.'
'True.' ron telepathically nodded. 'Still, this victory tastes bitter. As you pointed out earlier, we have manipulated the Royal Court but there's no telling if, in turn, Verhen manipulated us.'
***
As Lith approached the Warp Gate of the Royal Palace, Locrias jumped from one noble's shadow to another and left the Throne Room.
'The plan worked.' He said as he returned to Lith's Void Sigil. 'Everyone thinks your relationship with Ripha is shallow at best. Once the rumor spreads, the pressure on the rest of your family should decrease.'
'Morons.' nadion sneered. 'But that's how I like my enemies. Stupid and predictable.'
'The Royal Court is not our enemy, Mom.' Solus replied from the stone ring. 'They are our allies.'
'Fickle allies.' nadion snorted. 'The kind that would turn their backs on you the mont they gain more from your death than from your life. Trust , Solus, you'd better deal with them like you would with your enemies.'
'I agree with Ripha.' Lith cut the argunt short. 'What matters is that everything went as planned. We've killed three birds with one stone and if ln takes the bait, the kill count will rise to three birds and one giant turd.'
***
Solus already knew everything about the mission and Lith could have departed imdiately yet he waited two days before contacting the Royals.
Solus was supposed to be unaware of the mission and he pretended that convincing her to join him had required quite so effort. It would increase his contributions and make the Royals value her presence more.
Lith used that ti to explain his next move to his family and set a few final safety asures into place.
"I will be away for a few days and even if no one attacks Kami, soone might still try kidnapping one of you guys." Lith said. "Rember what I've taught you and always wait a few minutes inside the Mage Association after using a Warp Gate.
"Give the Queen's Corps the ti to establish a periter and check for arrays before leaving the building and everything should be fine."
"Don't worry about us." Elina squealed with joy as Valeron the Second ran to her in his baby form whenever she called him. "We have Tista, Abominus, Onyx, and Shargein. We should be safe."
Valeron was already able to walk when Lith had brought him to his house and now he was also able to run around without tripping. Much to Elysia's chagrin, she couldn't even walk in her human form.
She envied her rival and looked at her stumpy body as if it had betrayed her.
"Don't worry, baby girl. You'll soon be able to run too. You just need to grow up a bit more." Kamila felt Elysia's frustration through the Dragon scales.
"No!" Elisya replied. "No, no, no!"
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