228 Chapter 228

Ainz' arrival in Hoburns drew instant attention. The ink black carriage with its magnificent red and golden trim pulled by massive sleipnirs, and the dual lines of soldiers on horseback ahead and behind in gleaming bright armor taken from Nazarick's own treasury were quick to draw the eye. As an added measure, he doubled his escort to include soldiers in runecrafted gear, making the spectacle diverse to the point of being awe inspiring. His banners flapped in a breeze that wasn't there, enchanted so that they would always wave, it was pure indulgence… but it had an effect as the carriage rolled through the streets.

The soldiers of the city looked down at their own armor, steel for the most part, and touched it as if it just occurred to them that their pride in their equipment was misplaced.

It wasn't until, at every block, the herald announced that the Allfather of the Kingdom of Nazarick had come to throw back the threats to their lives that the cheers began in earnest.

Ainz looked outside the window of his carriage, extending his powerful, thick arm to wave to the population. His escort for this mission was made up totally of humans, 'Going in with undead would have been more impactful, but probably counter productive for now… to make the world that my children can thrive in in safety, I must ease everyone forward…'

Cheers became more genuine and more frequent as word spread faster than the carriage rolled, and though the guards of the city did their part in keeping the roadway clear for his procession, it was really the people that Ainz was interested in.

They were rather dirty, most of them, but they were adequately fed if not overly so, but their numbers were lower than he expected given what he knew of the population. 'I did specify that casualties should be kept down… but then again, even Albedo can't control everything. Humans have an abiding love for killing each other…' He recalled the brutality of his world and it only compounded his resolve. 'I will do whatever it takes… my children will live freely one day…'

His nerves still got to him as the distant castle loomed, it towered over Nazarick in size, at least 'above ground' though he doubted it was much larger given how much of Nazarick was below.

The great spires of the castle rose to spear-like points that seemed to stab the sky, even with magic to account for some of the work, Ainz couldn't help but be impressed. His mouth made a little 'O' as it loomed ever larger on the long road within.

He couldn't help but think, 'If I were undead still, I doubt I would care much for this… I don't miss that emotional dampener, not even a little bit… even for the difficult things. When Demiurge works out how best to 'resolve' this little problem, I will have to specify just what needs to change and what needs to stay the same.'

Finally he reached the long straight stretch that would carry him into the inner courtyard of the castle.

The last portcullis ground its way up with a steady clinking noise even he could barely make out, and then he was within. The carriage came to a stop and his servants, acting by rote as if they'd done it for a lifetime, moved to open the door and allow him out. They were boys of lesser nobility, tokens of Re-Estize whose families were looking for a chance at settling some of his vast unclaimed lands. In this they demonstrated their superior knowledge to the Wolf Queen and Wolf King of Carne, who hadn't thought of such methods of diplomacy until it was done. 'Still, they were quick to respond by offering to contribute to the buildup from their massive forest harvests…' Between the two human nations there would be years of work and profit ahead.

But these… These were Re-Estize noble youths, most under the age of fifteen, but still gifted in poise and prepared to represent their houses well.

Their short hair was cut off at the ears and their clothes embroidered with thick padding at the shoulders to create a mild bulge which made the bright red and black dyed fabric 'pop' more to the eye.

They wore white leggings to protect their skin from dirt, and short brown leather shoes with brass buckles, all polished to a shine.

Ainz gave them a polite nod as he descended from the carriage, and the boys blushed bright red, their faces beamed with bright smiles even while they bowed to their master.

From atop the steps, Kelart and her escort gasped as they watched him look at his servants while he spoke to them, they were hasty thereafter, and he began to make his way toward the red carpet that was rolled from the center steps all the way to stop just in front of his feet.

'He speaks to them, looks at them… nods to them…?' Kelart observed his curiously familiar behavior toward his servants, and her head began to race. The human king of Nazarick was a truly towering man, head and shoulders above herself, and though he wore the robes of a caster, and carried a golden staff in hand which even from where she stood, she realized was worth more than a king's ransom, that all felt like it was merely surface adornment. He drew the eyes by presence, and they could not let go.

Her breath began to quicken as he came closer, his steps were slow, measured, every inch a King, which set his earlier behavior toward his servants even more at odds than before in her mind.

When he put a single foot on the base step leading up toward the wide open double doors, she shouted, "His Majesty! Allfather of the Kingdom of Nazarick! We bid you welcome!"

On either side of the steps stood a row of servants in bright blue and white garments holding long brass horns, they put their lips to the small ends and blew, trumpeting his arrival to alert the whole of the palace within to the coming of the foreign King.

Kelart gave a deep bow to the lord, in part out of respect, but in part because the moment she looked at his face… 'My God…' She'd thought, 'It's like being in the presence of a deity who has come for tea…'

She swallowed when bent forward, his chiseled jaw and bright, sparkling eyes seemed to look into her very soul.

"Thank you for the welcome… Kelart Custodio, isn't it?" He said, and Kelart struggled to get her breathing under control.

"Y-Yes, My Lord." She said as she slowly straightened up and pushed her freely tumbling brown hair back behind her again.

"Pl-Please, let me take you to my Queen and tell me of your journey…" She spun on her heel and led the King through the hall. "Please pay no worry to your servants," she said when she saw him glance over his shoulder, "the people I left behind will see to their comfort."

He nodded once and kept quiet. 'Don't say something stupid, you prepared for this, Ainz, you studied protocol from Draudillon, dignity and reserve… just don't forget that.'

'A man of few words… truly as a King should be…' Kelart's already high estimation of the man went up even further, 'And yet he has the common touch, his servants appear to be eager to attend him, not merely going through their duties by fear or by rote.'

"The journey," Ainz said, cutting off her thoughts, "was uneventful, thanks to the demihuman trouble we took a circuitous route… I admit I was somewhat disappointed. I have heard a great deal from your people about the Queen of Frost. Is it true she was once a human?"

Kelart pursed her lips as shame welled up in her soul.

"It… It is, Your Majesty. But I would, if it is acceptable to you, prefer to leave those questions for my Queen to answer, the story is a long one, and I will not lie to you, it is not our proudest tale."

"I see." Ainz said, "I have asked something insensitive in a difficult time, I trust that bowing my head is apology enough."

He then did exactly that, Kelart looked at him and blushed a deep shade of red. "Your M-Majesty! I'm merely an advisor to the Queen I… I shouldn't be bowed to by a King."

Panic rushed through Ainz when he realized the misstep, his heart and pulse raced, but so did his mind as he sought to cover for his error in protocol. "We are alone, and a King has wounded your heart. What kind of King does not apologize for that?"

It was a nonsense phrase, really, but the effect on Kelart was immediate, she stopped walking, turned, and bowed to him once more.

"You are everything I hoped a King might be… my fears are greatly eased by knowing you even this much, My Lord." Kelart said with a sudden appearance of tears in her eyes.

"Lady Custodio…?" Ainz whispered as if someone might overhear.

"I love my Queen. I have always loved my Queen…" Kelart said, it was almost a whimper, 'Why am I saying this… I barely know him… I shouldn't…' but the words tumbled out anyway.

"Her dreams, her ideals… I gave up everything I believed in to help her, because I believed in her most of all… did things I shouldn't have done, and some of my mistakes have hurt her badly… but more than happiness for my Kingdom, I want happiness for my Queen. Forgive my tongue, Your Majesty, I shouldn't speak of this to you… but for some reason I cannot help myself." She grabbed one limp dangling arm with one hand and forced herself to straighten up, though she could not meet his eyes. "My Queen is innocent… of rough things… She knows nothing. I feared what that would mean for her in the… the time ahead."

Part of her wanted to say more, 'I'm giving her up to you… I'm letting go of stupid desires for the sake of tomorrow…' But she had at last caught hold of the tongue that betrayed her will and cut off her words before she revealed the true nature of her love for her Queen. 'I wonder if he will have worked it out anyway… I said too much…'

Ainz cleared his throat, "I… see. You have nothing to worry about, but we should not keep your Lady waiting, should we?"

"Oh- Oh, of course!" Kelart exclaimed with such dismay that she practically jumped out of her skin when she jerked herself around to put the King at her back again as she led him toward the throne room.

When they reached the throne room Ainz was unsurprised by what he found. The layout for most throne rooms seemed to be more or less the same as he observed in other Kingdoms. The throne at the far center, nobles lining the sides where they could speak among one another, standing only, nobody seated, they were dressed in a fashion somewhat more subdued than the servants, though blue and white colors were a running theme in doublets, pants, and dresses that flowed down to the ankles…

"The Allfather of the Kingdom of Nazarick, comes to the Queen of the Roble Holy Kingdom!" Kelart called out, and a single loud drum followed her words, and then as Ainz approached the throne, the rest of the room gasped as Calca, clad in a dress slit to the thigh, stood up from her throne. The blue lining around the white came to a point at the base of her throat and the royal symbol embroidered in the brightest hue of blue immediately drew the eye to her chest.

'A breach of protocol if ever I saw one. Queen Draudillon never stood for her visitors, nor did anyone else.' Ainz recalled and felt his confidence grow just a little bit further, it spoke to the nature of her situation.

"The Queen welcomes her guest with pleasure." Calca said in a birdsong-like voice. Ainz felt his magic detection ring suddenly go off, a faint warmth on his finger, and for a fraction of a second, he hesitated a step. 'Right… she is known for using magic in cosmetics…' He recalled and took the remaining steps without hesitation until he was before her throne.

"I am honored by your hosting me." Ainz said as the Queen raised her arms and held them out toward him, she didn't descend from her place, standing up was breech enough.

"You are too kind, Lord of Nazarick." She said with a resounding echo, "If it pleases you, we have prepared a banquet in your honor…"

Ainz kept his face as neutral as he could, recalling his life as a salaryman and looking at what he expected based on his observations of other Kingdoms. Jumping straight to a feast was uncommon at best, the only time he recalled it… 'Yes… when Solution and Sebas took our teams to the Draconic Kingdom… dire straits… just like when a business or a department is in trouble, they jump quickly to the social event to build bonds rapidly…'

"I would be delighted to sample all that the Holy Kingdom has to offer." Ainz said, and mentally smacked himself. 'That might be taken the wrong way…' He thought, recalling what Albedo said, and the contents of the letter requesting his aid.

Only then did the Queen descend from her throne and offer out her hand for the black and red robed mage king to take, her fingers slipping into his own with grace and delicate motions, contracting only slightly and raising her eyes to meet his face, she flashed a charming pearl white smile up at him that was framed by ruby lips that could only be done with the aid of magic enhanced lipstick.

He nevertheless went with the moment… and hoped for the best.

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Neia looked at the empty town, "This is the third one. The fields are burned or cut, and nothing of value remains… they're just… gone." She said and looked over her shoulder to the rest of her initial guard. "They knew we were coming…" She concluded, her wings snapped out with annoyance, her teeth gritted, "It doesn't matter, they have to feed everyone they keep from capture… and there's only one place they can go."

"Kalinsha." Vijar said as he came closer.

Neia nodded. "Exactly. That city can hold everybody, but I don't believe their scouts caught us… have any of our scouts not returned?"

"A clutch of spriggans, My Queen." He said in his rough sort of way, she heard his talons scrape over his palm, Vijar, she knew, had grown fond of spriggans. They let his people rub against them, and they would often scratch their fur, making for a kind of quiet ecstasy that though Vijar wouldn't say he loved, she often found him engaged in.

"That's it then. If it is Remedios they sent to deal with us, I have no doubt she tortured the Spriggans for information, and probably got it. She thinks nothing of doing terrible things to nonhumans and humans alike." Neia remarked her palm opening and closing, scraping talons over scales to create a light scratching noise like nails over a chalkboard.

"I see." Vijar said with a quiet growl underlying his words.

Neia looked over her shoulder to the giant catman, she glanced up at him, her ice blue eyes and frosty breath hit him with the full force of a winter's fury. "Burn the town. Take your time, turn the whole thing to ash. It will slow us down, but I want them to know I'm coming."

"And then… Kalinsha?" Vijar asked.

Neia laughed, "No… no not at all. That was my plan, but if Remedios is so eager to give us a free hand out here, we'll take it. She, and probably the Holy Queen, are thinking I'm going to just take the cities and move on, why should I play into their hands? We're going to draw the bitch out, burn every single town and village on the way to Hoburns. We'll see how she likes holing up there when her precious Queen is in danger."

"She won't like that, I take it?" Vijar asked.

"No, no she will not like that at all." Neia said, and began to bellow out a laughter that spread from her, to him, and to those much too far away to know why they were laughing.

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Illyana handed the last paper over to the doppelgangers operating in Hoburns, hours of writing and approving writing from the doppelgangers left her weary and drained, she slumped forward with her head on her forearms and expelled a large exhausted breath against the shiny table, fogging it briefly just as the last doppelganger closed the door behind it.

"No wonder she had us doing this, huh?" Skana asked with a sparkle to her eye as she looked at the weary elf woman. "Beer? Wine?" She asked and Illyana looked up and nodded while keeping her sharp-featured head resting on her slender arms.

"Yes… I swear, they may be good seducers and talkers… but they have no idea how to write things that make sense… editing… that's what they call this… I don't know how people manage it." Illyana rolled her eyes with a groan. "And ah, yes, wine. Thank you." She said and watched with still-steady disbelief as the human woman went, without complaint, to the little enchanted cabinet that kept their drinks cool. Skana bent forward and bounced alternating back and forth on her feet and hummed while she rummaged.

It was strange still, to see a human lift a finger for her. A wondrous thing, even. 'Maybe because she's a peasant… maybe because she's just... so free-spirited…' Illyana turned the curious thought over in her mind, Skana was easily the most free-spirited person she'd ever seen. Always quick with a song, a joke, or a quiet flirtation, she seemed to care nothing at all for anything but pleasure, and accepted Illyana without any hint of reservation.

"Hey… Skana?" Illyana said with a hesitant look that went first away from the auburn haired woman with her head in a cabinet and then toward her again.

"Yeah?" Skana asked as she got out a bottle, then saw Illyana's face, and reached in for a second.

"How come you didn't tell His Majesty everything… you had more than money on your mind… I know you did. So… why?" Illyana asked, and to her surprise, Skana did not meet her eyes, rather she set the bottles down on the floor and put her head back in the cabinet to search for another bottle.

"Because the first thing… m-money… it's all I really wanted." Skana did not pull her head from within the cabinet, though from where she sat, Illyana could see the woman's arms were no longer rummaging. "The rest… I just felt like if I said what else… he'd say I was a liar… it was really like meeting a God. I c-couldn't say anything else…"

"You don't mean that." Illyana said as Skana finally emerged and pulled out a third bottle, and then took up the first two and approached the table.

The shapely oval face of the human woman still bore a smile, but after months and months with her, almost every day, Illyana knew it was just plastered on, it didn't come from within.

"Sure I do." Skana said, shifting it to a smirk as she set the bottles down on the table one by one and went to fetch cups. "I'm a greedy, selfish peasant, I love pleasure, sex, dancing, singing, that's all I want to do and all I've ever done. I like being me, it's a great grand party, all of it, and then we die. Why pretend otherwise?"

Illyana sat up in her chair and was quiet while Skana poured into cups of stone, listening to the sloshing red liquid fall into the gray ornate chalices, she held her hand out to accept the first cup that her companion poured, then waited until Skana had poured one of her own and sat in the opposite chair.

"Then why haven't you sold us all out?" Illyana asked, and Skana's bright green eyes briefly widened.

Illyana focused her bright blue on the human, "I'm not a human. Neither is our Mistress… you'd be a heroine of your country, gain wealth beyond measure, a noble title… sell us out, send me back to hell… you should have no loyalty to either of us… but here you are."

Skana looked down into her cup and dipped her finger into the red liquid, twirling it around a little, "I couldn't do that to you." She blinked her eyes almost too fast to follow. "I like to party, to do all those things but… that doesn't mean other people's unhappiness means nothing, ya know… it's just-"

"Some things are worth more than money?" Illyana gave a knowing smirk to her companion.

Skana laughed and removed her finger from her cup. She took a long drink, drained it and then held her cup out and picked up the bottle to refill it.

"You tricked me. Sneaky elf." Skana's chuckle was matched by the smirk on Illyana's face which grew noticeably larger.

"See, you're not so bad. You don't have to pretend to be loyal to only yourself, that's just… silly." Illyana said and let her own gentle laughter fill the space between them before she finished her own cup.

"I guess. But it's true also, serving something is just not my style, it never was. I get what I want and move on, that's what I know, and it's why I've laughed a lot more than my mother ever did, I'm just… happier, being on my own. Cut and run when things get troublesome and move on, we all get the same end, so why live harder than I have to?" Skana asked and drained her cup.

"So… if all you care about is pleasure…" Illyana raised a golden brow at the human and asked another question, "How come you haven't made a pass at me. I know you have played with women before."

Skana did not blush, instead her face became very grave, her smile and laughter were gone and her eyes actually shut, if not tightly, a heavy breath came out and her hands shook a little. "Because my race is why you ended up where we found you… I admit, you're beautiful… I like you… but nothing I could do with you would ever make me other than just like the ones who made you live in a nightmare. Even I've got standards."

Illyana took that in and looked down into her cup. "Are you telling me you actually feel… guilty?"

"Little bit." Skana answered in a clipped sort of way, spitting out her words. "I can't really tell what's fun for you and what's going to make you cry… and I don't want to make you cry. You too pretty for that, you get me?"

Illyana nodded a little, "Layers upon layers, with you, Skana. Layers upon layers." The elf reached over and tousled the auburn haired woman's soft strands, then sat back and held out her glass, "Top me off, would you?"

Skana's eyes went very tight for a moment, before the touch on her head passed, and she nodded to her companion before reaching for the bottle again to tilt it out over the waiting cup of stone.