---Leon POV---
The five of us arrived at the palace a short time later. With Clarice’s help, we were granted entry without issue. We headed to Prime Minister Atlee’s office first before seeking an audience with the Queen. Just as Clarice was about to knock and announce our arrival, the door flew open. Duke Redgrave stopped cold when he saw us standing there.
“Lord Aremus, your timing is impeccable!” He ushered our group inside. As we shuffled in, he spotted the ornately decorated box in his daughter’s arms. “Angelica, what is that?”
With a radiant smile, she showed off my homemade gift. “Father, Leon made us homemade confectionaries! I’ve tasted nothing like them before. Would you like to try some?”
Vince nodded. It pleased him that Leon had gone to such great lengths for his brokenhearted daughter. This simple act reinforced the duke’s belief that Leon was the perfect man for his darling daughter.
Angelica picked a piece with bits of raspberry and handed it to him. After a visual inspection, he popped it into his mouth. The instant he bit down, bitter and sweet flavors flooded his mouth. His eyes widened.
“Good lord, these are heavenly!” Vincent savored every bite before swallowing. “Just where did you learn to make these sweets, Lord Aremus?”
“Sir, please call me Leon. I hope to be your son-in-law one day soon.” I grinned. “As for where I got the recipe, it came from an ancient text I am translating. Based on what I have translated thus far, it appears to be an old cookbook.”
“Say what now?!” Prime Minister Atlee leaped from his chair. As a seasoned food connoisseur, he was elated to try some ancient cuisine. “My beloved Clarice, could you please share just a bite with your dear old man? I would be eternally grateful.”
Clarice giggled, having already foreseen his request. She selected a piece of orange coated in dark chocolate and dropped it into his open hand. The instant it touched his skin, the shameless man shoved it straight into his mouth.
“It… it is so delicious!” A content tear ran down Bernard’s cheek as he struggled to stay upright.
‘Leon, my boy, you have my undying gratitude. After Clarice lost her engagement to that bastard Jilk, I never thought I’d hear her melodic laugh again. Now, not only has some color returned to her face, but I also had the chance to taste a small piece of heaven. From this point onward, I swear to you, I will support you to the end of my days. Just please don’t let my Clarice suffer heartbreak again, and… give me a few grandbabies to spoil. Haha!’
While the two men chatted with their daughters, my attention drifted to an official document sitting on Bernard’s desk. It bore the unmistakable seal of the Principality of Fanoss. Princess Hertrude was requesting an urgent meeting with the Holfort Kingdom to discuss the next steps for defeating the Rachelle Holy Kingdom. In the first paragraph, she explicitly stated that they would only accept me as the Kingdom’s representative. Anyone else would be turned away at the border by her people.
‘It would seem I left quite an impression on Her Majesty. Not sure if I should be happy or concerned.‘
As I skimmed further down the correspondence, I learned what she and her faction had been up to since we last met. They had utilized the intelligence extracted from Garret—the sleeper agent we had apprehended a while back—to clean house. It was during this quiet purging that they came to discover how close the Principality was to destruction.
Hidden subterranean complexes beneath several nobles’ residences had been constructed as staging grounds for a coup d’état. Magic Knights and advanced weaponry had been smuggled across the border, unknowingly supplied by the Voldenowa Holy Magic Empire. According to recovered documents, hundreds of veteran enemy knights were scheduled to be smuggled in soon, a catastrophic deployment that would have gone unnoticed had they not acted in time.
‘So, they got their hands on some of the Empire’s Magic Knights, huh? Wonder if I could convince Hertrude to let me have one, or examine one at the very least.‘
The Empire’s Magic Knights were on a completely different level from the rest of the world. Their units were built by hand with parts they had developed and tested. While others had to scavenge old parts to field a few thousand ancient units, they had tens of thousands armed with bleeding edge magi-tech.
“So, what brings all of you here today?” Vincent asked Angelica and Leon.
“I’ve been advised that before I can sell these sweets on the open market, I must get Queen Mylene’s approval. We came here hoping to squeeze in a brief meeting during a gap between her meetings.” I turned to Bernard with a smile. “Is that possible?”
He nodded. The Queen usually disliked unscheduled visits, but if sweets were involved, Mylene would make time.
“Of course!” Bernard glanced back at his calendar. “I believe Her Majesty just finished a financial meeting. Give me a moment, I will send someone to see if—”
The sound of clicking heels echoed from down the hallway. A few moments later, Mylene flew through the doors, her eyes sparkling like gemstones. Without hesitation or shame, she stuck her hand out to me with anticipation.
“I hear you have some confectionaries you want me to sample.” Drool formed at the edges of her mouth. “Please present your goodies… I mean, dessert samples!”
Startled by her timing, I checked our surroundings for signs of her agents. Outside the eight of us, there were no other presences nearby. The closest people were a group of armed soldiers rushing toward our location. If I had to guess, they were her personal bodyguards.
‘I have heard it said several times that women have a sixth sense. Is Mylene’s sweet detection? If so, that is quite a unique gift.‘ I retrieved a box of chocolates from my inventory. “Please forgive the plain presentation. Aside from their boxes, I didn’t take the time to wrap the rest.”
“No need to worry; I understand. These lucky ladies are your fiancées. It is only natural for you to take extra time to make theirs more presentable.” Mylene cracked the lid open. She took a deep breath, taking in the pleasant aroma.
“I envy you, ladies. This is the first time I’ve heard of a man making his fiancées homemade sweets. Most men just throw gifts at their partners, hoping one or more will please them. I can tell Leon put a great deal of time and effort into making these.”
Mylene set the lid down on Bernard’s desk and began sampling the chocolates. After giving her honest opinion on a few of them, the panting guards arrived at the door. Upon seeing their Queen eating unknown food, their commander flew into a panic.
“Your Majesty!” He staggered forward. “Cease eating those things immediately! What if they are poisoned or worse?”
“I… refuse…” Mylene said as she chewed. “Lord Aremus is an honorable man. He would never stoop so low as to poison me.”
When her guard reached for the box of chocolates, Mylene bolted behind me. She refused to let anyone ruin one of the few joys afforded to her. “No! You cannot have them.”
The frustrated guard sighed. He wanted to confiscate them, but he knew better than to tangle with Leon. Leon’s reputation preceded him as a powerful man with zero tolerance for nonsense and games. None among them was brave enough to test if the rumors were true.
“My Queen, you will put me in an early grave.” He took a few steps back. “Lord Aremus may have your trust, but it is we who shoulder the responsibility for your safety. As the commander of your personal guard, please allow me to sample at least one piece to quell my concerns.”
Mylene agreed to his compromise, offering him a piece from her box. The older man accepted it, and with a pale expression, ate it. A sudden burst of bitter and sweet notes filled his mouth.
“That was quite delicious…” He scratched his head with embarrassment. “Forgive my rudeness, Lord Aremus. Do you intend to sell these on the open market? If so, I’ll buy several boxes for my wife and three daughters.”
“With the Queen’s approval, I intend to sell them in the coming weeks. Do I have your blessing?”
Mylene gave me a thumbs up. Her mouth was stuffed with chocolates, making her cheeks puff out like a chipmunk. She looked adorable, but I stopped myself from doing anything rash.
“Much appreciated, Your Grace.” I lowered my head in gratitude. “I also have a few other products I’d like you to try at your leisure. They are beauty products I’ve reproduced from ancient texts.”
While I had infinite wealth at my fingertips, thanks to Luxion, I had to be careful about flaunting it without a suitable cover story. My chocolate store was just the first step in generating continuous “legal” operating funds. Once my shop was established, my plan was to open a beauty shop, a brewery, and a restaurant. Between these four, especially the beauty shop, I would have plenty of capital to purchase Lost Items and territory.
‘With Luxion’s help, all four should be fully operational in a month or two. After that, it’s full speed ahead on my spaceport and rebuilding my legion.‘
The only problem I had yet to resolve was creating my Space Marines. While Luxion could alter genetic code to create the form of one, without gene seed, they’d be cheap imitations. Malcador was of no help in this area. The Astartes Project was developed in secret by the Emperor of Mankind and a scientist named Amar Astartes. She died long before Aremus’ creation, and her research was destroyed by the Emperor or Lion El’Jonson; we were not sure which.
“Lord Aremus, how about we take this matter to my study? I want to hear every detail about the beauty products you mentioned.” Mylene tugged on my arm, still munching on chocolate.
“Wait a moment!” Bernard slid between us with an apologetic expression. “Before you take him away, we need to settle Princess Hertrude’s correspondence. She will expect a response from us soon.”
Mylene’s playful demeanor vanished as her business persona took over. She put the chocolates down as Bernard handed me the document on his desk.
“Lord Aremus, I am appointing you as the royal envoy to the Principality of Fanoss. You have full authorization to act on our behalf. Please do not let your country down.”
“As you wish, Your Majesty.” I bowed. “If I may, I would like to request permission to take my adventurer’s party and fiancées with me.”
Mylene turned to Bernard and Vincent for their input. Both men nodded.
“Permission granted, pending approval from the Principality.” Mylene’s expression softened. “Now, let’s go to my study!”
She snatched the candy box back up and led our group away.
Join the Discord group: .gg/YTYN36rRzZ
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter