He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Titam kingdom. "

"What, that’s unexpected. Why? It’s just a commercial kingdom."

Atheline shrugged. "And that’s it, Terah and Gladia have been to war almost every twenty years which means they couldn’t care less about Gladia, this is even advantageous it allows them to invade the kingdom and dominate since they have the military power while Titam..."

He took a sip of the tea and also fed Lilith from the same cup before placing it back on the side table.

"Continue. "

"Titam is on friendly terms with Gladia since they depend on it economically, if they abandon it at the first heartbeat, it will destroy their reputation. It is a kingdom ruled by nobles and the fact that you spared them the other time will dull them. Didn’t their king request an audience?"

Lilith was quiet for a moment then nodded.

"I think it’s quite the opposite my love," she calmly said.

"Why?"

"I don’t know," she smiled at him then shrugged," how about we make a bet, the winner gets to fulfil one request."

"About what?"

"Which kingdom will cave first?"

Atheline smiled. " Sure but do not complain when you lose."

"Haaa, as if."

"Well, I’ve never lost."

She reached towards a nearby stack of papers. Several documents marked with names and investigation records appeared.

Atheline accepted them.

"Council members?"

"Yes."

His eyebrows rose.

"You suspect the council?"

"I suspect everyone."

It was reasonable but possibly unhealthy. He scanned the list. Most of the names were familiar.

Military commanders.

Economic advisors.

City governors.

All these people were people who had served the empire for years.

Lilith pointed at several.

"These are under observation."

"Why?"

"Unusual financial movements."

She pointed at another.

"Frequent private meetings."

Another.

"Destroyed correspondence."

Atheline listened carefully. The list wasn’t random. Every name had a reason attached. He remembered Lilith saying she would start an investigation but he had only thought it would be for those who lived within the Court.

But seeing this proved how thorough she had been. Every suspicion had supporting evidence. Which was exactly why it was dangerous.

One name stood among them.

A councillor who appeared entirely ordinary. Someone he had personally encouraged Lilith to look into. It seems his suspicions were not baseless.

Councillor Renault.

Atheline felt a strange sense of irony. The answer sat directly in front of them and remained invisible.

Lilith continued speaking.

"I’ve already started investigations."

"How extensive?"

"Very."

Atheline immediately became concerned for the privacy rights of several nobles.

"Define very."

"I sent shadow units."

"Are you removing the present spies?"

She shook his head. "There are places no spies can reach."

He nodded.

"That makes sense," he quietly said, "... Where?"

"Every estate connected to the suspects."

"That’s a lot of estates."

"Yes."

Atheline laughed softly.

"Of course it is."

Lilith looked entirely unapologetic.

"I also ordered searches beneath them."

He blinked.

"Beneath?"

"Lowest floors or rings."

He immediately understood. She will be able to access hidden chambers, secret vaults, meeting rooms, and smuggling routes.

To make matters more complicated, dark elves were very good at building the underground which unfortunately meant traitors tended to be as well.

"No warrants yet?"

Lilitg stared at him.

"You’re adorable."

"That’s not an answer."

"It wasn’t a question."

Atheline accepted defeat again. Which was a common occurrence.

Lilith reached for her tea then paused. Her gaze shifted toward him.

"You look better."

"Hm?"

"I can notice the difference between now and morning."

Atheline looked away. The dream lingered in the back of his mind reminding him that he had gotten rid of that sad smile that she carried.

"You worried?"

"No."

He faked being shocked.

"You checked on me."

She stared at him flatly.

"You were sleeping."

"You sat beside me for two hours," he persisted.

"I was reading."

"There it is again."

Lilith looked irritated. Which usually meant she did not argue.

Atheline smiled into his tea. A few moments later she quietly stole one of the biscuits from his plate which he noticed.

The afternoon continued peacefully. Talks about the reports slowly gave way to smaller conversations.

The state of the court.

The hunting competition celebrations she had witnessed from the balcony while watching the projection. Which nobles embarrassed themselves during that period? The answer to the last question involved alcohol and a decorative fountain.

"This is why you shouldn’t drink too much."

"I don’t get drunk," Atheline said, disappointed that he had missed it.

"You say that then I’ll pick you up inside a fountain drunk one day."

Atheline chuckled. "This is one of the things I am proud of, there is no alcohol that can affect me to that level. I have a high tolerance."

She smirked.

"Let’s hope you’re right."

Outside, the golden light continued to dim. The palace felt strangely calm despite the storm gathering across the continent.

Maybe because neither of them was rushing. The world could wait an hour or two.

Lilith eventually set aside the final report. And for the first time all afternoon, genuine fatigue showed on her face.

Atheline noticed it immediately.

"You should rest a little," he said glancing outside.

"I don’t feel like it."

"Did you eat your lunch then, you’ve been moving through the day."

"Yes."

"An actual meal. Not the deserts we’ve been eating?"

He was met with silence.

"That’s concerning."

Lilith looked away. Which answered the question.

Atheline sighed and then reached for a nearby bell.

She frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Fixing a problem."

"I don’t have a problem."

"You skipped lunch."

"That isn’t..."

"It absolutely is."

Several minutes later food arrived. She accepted defeat with surprising grace. Mostly because she was actually hungry.

He watched with amusement as one of the most feared individuals on the continent quietly ate while reviewing military reports.

An image no foreign kingdom would ever believe. Eventually, the documents disappeared entirely.

The room darkened as evening approached. And for a brief while, it felt like nothing existed beyond these walls.

Then Lilith suddenly spoke.

"Something bothers me."

Atheline glanced toward her.

"What is it?"

She rested her head lightly against his shoulder. An unconscious gesture. One she didn’t seem to notice.

"It’s about the war... The question," she said quietly, "is whether they’re trying to start a war."

Atheline stared out the window. The sun had almost disappeared now. Darkness crept across the Mountains

Far below, lights began appearing one by one. Like stars forming across the court.

For a long moment neither spoke. Then finally he spoke quietly.

"What if they aren’t?"

Lilith looked up.

"What?"

Atheline’s expression grew thoughtful.

"What if war isn’t the goal but a means to an end?"

He was met with silence.

She frowned slightly. Because suddenly a worse possibility existed and judging from her expression she had just thought of it too.