Underwater

Chapter 14: The Outburst

"Your majesty, would you like to take a break?" Osharus asked.

"No," Delwyn replied flatly, channeling his wife.

The year was winding down to a close. At this time of year, he was always extra busy. Many people waited till the last minute to send in their reports, so he was getting the brunt of it. In addition, many of these documents needed to be completed before the new year, so he had to rush to finish his work Moreover, he had to read through all the reports and formulate a plan for the coming year. Policies had to be renewed, issues had to be solved.

There was so much more paperwork than usual that he hadn't slept with Reina for a few days. By the time he got to her room, it was nearly dawn and Reina wouldn't stir no matter what he did to her. He refused to ravage her while she slept, so all he could do was grab a few hours of sleep beside her before returning to his office.

If he wanted to partake of his wife's body, he needed to finish his work on time for once. He couldn't afford to take a break.

Moments later, someone knocked – but not on the door. On the window.

Delwyn lifted his head from the document as Ealar opened the window and let himself in.

"Ealar," Osharus greeted.

"Your highness. Duke Brucht." The dark-haired spy with mousy brown hair bowed to the prince and his aide. "I'm afraid I don't have good news for you, your majesty."

Delwyn almost laughed. Ealar was his spy and he was in charge of the unit of shadows that the prince employed. If Ealar was coming to see him, then it was almost certainly not because the news was good.

This is great timing. Delwyn thought to himself sarcastically, placing his coral-quill in its holder. "Just give me your report, Ealar."

"The anti-imperialist faction has managed to recruit Marquess Finn to their side," Ealar said.

Delwyn groaned. Marquess Finn ran a successful shipping business in which he transported goods between kingdoms. It was an incredibly profitable business. Originally, Marquess Finn chose to stay neutral because he was content with his wealth, but the power of greed was not to be underestimated.

They were getting stronger. With Marquess Finn to fund their efforts, who knew what they could do?

"Additionally, I was sent to deliver a message from the border knights. Chiwyth has begun to move. They have upped their production of weapons recently."

The fact that Ealar was the one delivering the message meant that it wasn't common knowledge yet, and the Dawn Knights entrusted the shadow to deliver the message covertly. There would be panic across the country if the news of Chiwyth gathering their strength became widespread. As Chiwyth had declared war against them repeatedly over the years, the empire was waiting with bated breath for when the Chiwythians would strike again.

"...Continue to monitor Duke Inacht," Delwyn spoke, his voice low. "Try to find out if they have any concrete plans on how they plan to overthrow me."

Delwyn's mind flashed to the Moon Migration ball where Duke Inacht had approached Reina. At the time, he hadn't thought of asking her – he hadn't trusted her enough to do so. And since then, many things had happened, so he had forgotten all about it. Perhaps I should ask Reina about it...

"As for Chiwyth, send a message to watch them, too. Tell them to be vigilant – Chiwyth knows of our monitoring base, after all. The first thing they'll probably do to spark off the war is target them." Delwyn looked to Osharus. "Anything to add?"

Osharus shook his head.

"I'll take my leave, your majesty," Ealar said, then disappeared back out the window.