Rowena’s brow lifted slightly as she listened to what the old elf was saying. "Wait a minute, Cedric. Are you saying Tatiana engaged the griffins all by herself?"

"That is correct, my lady. By the time Commander Aldren’s unit reached the nest site, Lady Tatiana had already driven every remaining griffin from the mountain. Our hunters were also able to move through the nest without any resistance and were able to clear it thoroughly. However, Commander Aldren estimates, based on the scale of the dispersal, that the griffins are unlikely to return to that range for several centuries."

Hearing this, Rowena absorbed everything Cedric had revealed to her, then slowly leaned back in her chair as a soft smile graced her lips.

Not only had Tatiana decided to help them fight against the griffins, she had even helped them get rid of the nest as well, and Rowena couldn’t help but feel she owed her a very good meal as thanks for the help she had provided.

Maybe she would ask Austin to help make something delicious for the dragon lady as her own little way of saying thank you.

Rowena pondered on this before pushing the thought aside for now.

"Thank you, Cedric." Rowena thanked the old elf as she tried to focus on what she had initially been doing, but to her surprise, she noticed Cedric was still in the room.

And so, she raised her head to notice the slight furrow between Cedric’s brows.

Since she had become Countess over the past centuries, Rowena had spent a good amount of time with Cedric by her side, so she knew when something was troubling the old elf.

"What is it, Cedric? Is there anything else I need to know?" Rowena asked, and the old elf inclined his head.

"Yes, my lady. There is."

"Then tell me."

"Countess, I’m sure you’ll recall that for the past three centuries or so, the poisonous air saturating Blacksand Forest kept the region’s more dangerous beasts in a state of prolonged illness and weakening. Many of the creatures that would ordinarily have posed a significant threat to this territory have, until recently, been too compromised to venture far from their territories."

"Yes, I know of this, Cedric. What’s the point you’re trying to make?"

"As you already know, my lady, the poison has been gone for several days now. But for centuries, the deadly air in Blacksand Forest acted as a natural wall. It prevented the monsters living in the forests beyond it from ever passing through. None of them could survive long enough to cross it."

Cedric continued. "But now that the poison is gone, that wall is gone with it, and for the first time in three centuries, there is nothing stopping those creatures from passing through Blacksand and making their way toward our borders."

Rowena was quiet as she listened to what Cedric had to say.

Her fingers were still resting against the desk as Cedric continued.

"But there is also the matter of outside attention. Blacksand Forest has been poisoned and impassable for three hundred years. Scouts, adventurers, and kingdom surveyors from neighbouring regions have long since written it off as a dead zone. But if word begins to spread that the forest has recovered, and it will eventually, it will only draw curiosity toward us, and curiosity from the wrong quarters could attract considerably more than scouts."

In other words, it could attract the attention of rival kingdoms hoping to weaken Greymoor Kingdom by claiming Elmfield as their own.

Rowena understood this even though Cedric hadn’t been too blunt about what he had just said.

She had spent centuries managing her territory from one crisis to another, so she knew what Cedric was asking of her.

After all, if there was anything she had learnt over the years, it was that the difference between a problem and a catastrophe was usually nothing more than how much time you gave yourself to prepare.

So if she sat down and did nothing about this problem Cedric had noticed, it could definitely become a catastrophe in the future.

"I understand, Cedric. Thank you very much."

"My lady. What do you suggest we do about this?"

"We prepare, Cedric. After all, we definitely have the funds now that we didn’t have before. So we must begin drawing up plans to reinforce the southern outposts and expand the garrison. I want Commander Aldren’s assessment of what additional fortifications he believes are necessary, and I want it before the end of the week."

"Of course, my lady. I’ll get to it right away." Cedric bowed with a smile on his face.

Ensuring his Countess’s safety was the promise he had made to her late father, so it really made him happy to see Rowena taking proactive responsibility in ensuring the safety of her territory.

"Oh, and Cedric?" Rowena called out to the old elf before he could turn to leave.

"Yes, my lady?"

"Make sure the hunting party is properly compensated for yesterday. All of them."

"Already arranged, my lady."

"Thank you, Cedric."

Hearing Cedric’s words, Rowena sighed softly as she watched him bow a final time before making his way out of the study, pulling the door closed softly behind him.

She sat for a moment in the silence before reaching for her quill again, resuming what she had been doing with the hope of finishing as soon as possible so she could spend the rest of the day with Austin.

****

Two weeks passed.

And in those two weeks, Elmfield County had changed in ways that would have been difficult to believe for anyone who had known the territory even a month prior.

The roads connecting Rothenburg to the three villages had been widened and resurfaced.

Even the crushed pathways were repaired as well.

Several houses in Greenwood Village that had been leaning at worrying angles for years were also properly reinforced.

The walls of these houses were straightened and their roofs were rethatched as well.

Even Arkgard and Dustmoor villages showed similar improvements as well.