Strongest Incubus System

Damon, Ester, Aria, and Elizabeth finally caught sight of Mirath after several days of travel.

The city appeared on the horizon when the carriage reached the top of the final hill. Damon expected to immediately recognize the low walls, the few watchtowers, and the disorganized cluster of houses that had existed before his departure. Instead, he spent several seconds looking through the window without being certain they had reached the right place.

The walls had been expanded.

They were not merely taller. A second line of stone surrounded the new districts built around the original city, with towers distributed at regular intervals and guards patrolling wide walkways. The road descending from the hill had also changed. The dirt path had been replaced by tightly fitted stone blocks, wide enough for four wagons to travel side by side without interrupting traffic in the opposite direction.

Caravans entered and left through the gates.

There were merchants, workers, small armed groups, wagons loaded with timber, and even an organized line for animal inspection. Farther away, Damon could see smoke rising from new workshops, rooftops that had not existed before, and a circular structure erected near the western district.

He pulled his face away from the window and looked toward Elizabeth.

"Are you certain that is Mirath?"

Elizabeth did not answer.

She sat across from him, one hand holding the curtain open and her expression completely still. It was one of the few times Damon had seen her without an immediate answer. Aria noticed the same thing and leaned over the seat to get a better look outside.

"It is Mirath," she said. "That crooked tower is still near the center."

Damon searched for the indicated point and found the old tower almost hidden among larger buildings.

"It looked far more impressive before."

"Because there was nothing around it for comparison."

Ester observed the city through the other window.

"The expansion appears planned. The houses were not built at random, the streets have separate drainage channels, and there are medical posts near the gates."

Elizabeth finally spoke.

"I did not authorize a second wall."

Damon looked outside again.

"Perhaps they built the wrong wall by accident."

"No one builds a wall by accident."

"You would be surprised by what motivated people can accomplish without supervision."

Elizabeth continued staring at Mirath as though expecting part of the city to disappear as the carriage approached. She was the Baroness of that territory. She knew its treasury, production, taxes, number of workers, and every problem that had existed before she left for Arven.

When she departed, Mirath had been stable.

It was neither wealthy nor influential, but it functioned. Elizabeth had left one of her most loyal subordinates in charge of the main affairs, trusting her to maintain order, resolve urgent problems, and prevent any administrator from taking advantage of the Baroness’s absence.

She had not imagined that woman would make Mirath grow like this.

"How long were we gone?" Aria asked.

"Too long," Damon replied.

"Not long enough for a city to double in size."

"Perhaps everyone worked very quickly."

Ester turned away from the new buildings and stared at Damon.

"That is not an explanation."

"I am also not responsible for the city."

"You are never responsible when the problem has not exploded yet."

Damon leaned back against the seat. The journey had allowed his body to recover some of the strength lost in Arven and during his excessively intense farewell with Morgana, but he still looked more tired than he wanted to admit. The lines left by Vorn remained confined to his wrist, protected beneath a fresh bandage Ester changed twice a day. The Heavenly Ice Body was stable, and the Heart of Arven had disappeared from his senses once they crossed the border.

For the first time since waking from his coma, Damon was returning to a place he could consider familiar.

The problem was that Mirath no longer looked familiar.

The carriage reached the beginning of the line in front of the gate. Two guards approached to perform the inspection, but one of them recognized the small crest engraved on the side of the door. The man froze, looked at the symbol again, and then ran toward the guardhouse.

A bell began to ring.

Elizabeth frowned.

"Why are they sounding the alarm?"

"Perhaps they recognized you," Aria suggested.

"That was not the bell used to announce my arrival."

"Maybe they changed it."

The sound spread across the walls. Other bells answered from within the city, but the gates did not begin closing. Instead, the guards moved the wagons away from the center of the road, opening a direct path for the carriage.

The nearby people began to look.

The information passed from one guard to another, then reached the merchants and workers waiting in the lines. Damon could not hear every word, but recognized Elizabeth’s title being repeated several times.

"The Baroness has returned."

"That is her carriage."

"Make way."

"Notify the Administrator."

Elizabeth slowly released the curtain.

"Administrator?"

Aria looked toward her.

"Your subordinate gained a title."

"I did not create that position."

"Perhaps she did."

The carriage crossed the gates before Elizabeth could respond. Mirath’s interior only confirmed that the view from the hill had not been an exaggeration. The old main street had been widened. The more fragile buildings had been replaced by two-story houses, organized shops, and warehouses with signs indicating which goods they accepted.

Narrow channels ran along the sides of the streets, carrying clean water toward public fountains. Patrols wore new uniforms, workers repaired roofs, and groups of children crossed the square accompanied by women wearing similar clothing.

"Is that a school?" Damon asked.

Elizabeth looked through the window.

"Mirath did not have a public school."

"It does now," Aria said.

Farther ahead, a long building occupied the space where a collection of abandoned warehouses had once stood. A sign identified it as a treatment and recovery house. Ester leaned closer to watch the people entering.

"There is a medical wing."

"We did not have a medical wing that large either," Elizabeth replied.

Damon ran one hand through his white hair.

"You left a subordinate in charge of the city, and she decided to finish your work."

Elizabeth looked at him.

"My work was not unfinished."

Aria pointed toward a paved street.

"Technically, it was."

"I kept Mirath functioning."

"She made it function better."

Damon nodded.

"It seems you were replaced."

Elizabeth remained silent for three seconds.

"I was not replaced."

"That seems to have bothered you."

"I am not bothered."

"You are speaking more slowly."

"I am evaluating."

"You are bothered while evaluating."

Ester touched Damon’s knee with the tip of her boot.

"Do not provoke the person who controls the property where you intend to rest."

He decided that was a reasonable argument and returned to observing the city.

The inhabitants watched the carriage pass, but there was no fear or tension on their faces. Some waved. Others merely watched with curiosity, trying to see who traveled with the Baroness. Damon realized that many of them had probably never seen Elizabeth in person. Mirath had grown enough to receive entire families during her absence.

"Where did all these people come from?" he asked.

Elizabeth examined the clothing, wagons, and shop signs.

"Smaller territories to the north. Perhaps also villages affected by debt and shortages."

"Refugees from Valcair?" Ester asked.

"Some may be. Seraphine’s lands were already deteriorating before her capture."

Aria pointed toward a series of small flags hanging between two buildings.

"That marks temporary housing. Your subordinate must have created a reception system."

Elizabeth still did not answer. The farther they advanced, the more obvious it became that the growth had not been uncontrolled. Someone had planned every district, separated workshops from residences, organized the markets, and constructed lodging before allowing new people to settle.

The subordinate Elizabeth had left behind to prevent problems had done more than keep Mirath stable.

She had transformed stability into expansion.

When the carriage reached the central square, the Baroness’s old mansion appeared behind a renovated wall. The main building remained almost unchanged, but two wings had been added to the sides. One was administrative. The other seemed intended for the guard and document storage.

Damon looked toward Elizabeth.

"Your house grew too."

"I can see that."

"Did you leave instructions for it?"

"No."

"Perhaps it was another accident."

Elizabeth did not dignify the provocation with an answer.

The carriage stopped in front of the steps. Guards formed two lines, servants approached to remove the luggage, and a man ran forward to open the door. Elizabeth descended first, immediately recovering the posture of a Baroness despite her obvious confusion.

The people gathered in the square fell silent.

Then they bowed.

"Welcome back, Baroness Elizabeth."

The greeting crossed the entire square, far too organized to be spontaneous. Damon descended next, followed by Aria and Ester. Several gazes were immediately drawn toward his white hair, bandaged arm, and still slightly pale face.

Damon ignored the curiosity.

He was more interested in the woman who came running through the mansion entrance.

She wore a simple set of dark clothes, carried three thick books against her chest, and had ink stains on her fingers and the side of her face. Her hair had been tied hastily, with two loose strands near her eyes. Four assistants followed behind her, all carrying documents, keys, or small wooden tablets.

The woman stopped in front of Elizabeth.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

The subordinate looked at the Baroness as though still trying to confirm that she had truly returned. Then she placed the books into the arms of the nearest assistant, approached, and hugged Elizabeth tightly.

The entire square remained silent.

Elizabeth slowly raised her arms and returned the embrace.

"You took too long," the woman said.

"Arven had more problems than we expected."

"I sent twenty-three letters."

"I received some of them."

"You answered three."

"I was busy."

The woman stepped back and examined Elizabeth from head to toe, confirming there were no visible injuries. Only then did she seem to remember that hundreds of people were watching. She recovered her posture, cleared her throat, and bowed formally.

"Welcome to Mirath, my Baroness."

Elizabeth looked toward the new buildings, the distant wall, and the assistants carrying the books.

"What did you do to my city?"

The subordinate blinked.

"I administered it."

Aria covered her mouth to hide her smile.

Damon made no attempt to hide his.

Elizabeth pointed toward the new walls.

"That is not merely administration."

"We received many new residents."

"And the school?"

"The children needed an education."

"The medical wing?"

"People became ill."

"The streets?"

"The wagons kept breaking."

"The second line of walls?"

The woman hesitated for the first time.

"People needed to stop entering without paying the correct fees."

Damon leaned toward Aria.

"She built a wall to collect taxes."

"It is a good justification," Aria replied.

Elizabeth heard them.

"Do not encourage her."

The subordinate finally looked toward the three companions. She recognized Aria and Ester first. When her eyes reached Damon, she spent several seconds studying his white hair.

"Are you Damon?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"How much work you intend to give me."

She looked toward Elizabeth.

The Baroness released a tired sigh.

"That is him."

The woman approached Damon and extended her hand.

"Many people waited for you to wake."

Damon shook her hand.

"Elizabeth mentioned it."

"She did not mention the hair."

"It is recent."

"Nor the arm."

"That too."

The subordinate looked toward Ester.

"Is he all right?"

"No."

"I am," Damon answered at the same time.

The woman quickly understood which answer she should consider true.

Elizabeth climbed the first step of the mansion.

"I want a complete report on everything that happened in Mirath since my departure."

"I already prepared it."

"How many pages?"

The subordinate gestured. One assistant handed her the first book. Then the second. Then the third.

Elizabeth stared at the volumes.

"That is the report?"

"It is the summary."

Damon began laughing.

Elizabeth turned toward him.

"You are participating in the review."

The laughter disappeared.

"I just saved Arven."

"And you just returned to Mirath."

"I need to rest."

"You can rest while reading."

"That is not rest."

Aria picked up one of the books and tested its weight.

"Perhaps it would be better to return to Arven."

Ester caught Damon by the shoulder before he could retreat toward the carriage.

"You wanted a bed far away from mines, prisons, and rituals."

"I did not know it would be surrounded by reports."

The subordinate opened the mansion doors.

"There are also thirty-six urgent matters awaiting the Baroness’s decision."

Elizabeth stopped on the step.

"Thirty-six?"

"Forty-two, but I resolved six this morning."

Damon looked at her with genuine respect.

"I like her."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment, breathed, and entered the mansion.

Mirath was larger, wealthier, more organized, and apparently far more demanding than when she had left.

Damon followed behind, already understanding that the three days without meetings had ended before they even began.

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