Coming of War

Count Agist gathered his most trusted friends in his war room. The layer of dust that covered everything inside it showed many years of disuse. The cobwebs were dense enough in some spots that one could hang laundry from them.

After picking up a dust-covered map, Morgan sneezed then said, "Milord, how about we have the maids clean this up first, and we meet in your study for now."

Looking around at the others and their hopeful expressions, Count Agist agreed.

Isadora and Lorraina were already standing outside in maid outfits, ready to clean.

Count Agist opened his mouth to object to Lorraina's presence, but he gave up when he saw her pure smile. He was honestly happy that Isadora had another woman to talk to, even if the other woman was a demon.

Count Agist, Dion, Morgan, Nicholas, and Thomas continued down the hall towards Count Agist's study. Each of them expressed their gratitude to Isadora and Lorraina.

Isadora entered the war room and then dropped her cleaning tools in dismay after seeing the disastrous state of the room.

Lorraina patted Isadora on the back and said, "This is nothing! You should've seen the size of the spiderwebs I've seen! I've seen spiders bigger than a wagon!"

Isadora shuddered at the thought and didn't ask further. She then pumped herself up mentally and planned out mentally what she needed to do.

"Lorraina, can you grab that giant broom and duster we keep for cleaning emergencies?"

"The one that is bigger than Agi's ax?"

"Yes, that one, and we'll need mops and a large basin. I will start removing the documents that we do not want to get damaged."

Lorraina quickly disappeared with barely a sound while Isadora tried to pull a table out of the war room into the hall.

Isadora felt the table was heavier than expected and struggled to pull it out. She heard a familiar soft and seductive voice say, "Oh, sorry, I was just so focused on reading..."

Isadora looked up and saw Lillica sitting on the table she was trying to move. She was wearing her similar white dress while holding a book she pulled off from one of the dusty shelves.

"Allow me, sweetie..." Lillica said casually. She gracefully slipped off of the table and then used one finger to flick the table out of the room and have it slam against the opposite wall. She managed to use just the right amount of force not to smash the table.

Lillica then sauntered past Isadora and whispered, "Lorraina trusts you. I don't. Lorraina is innocent and naive, so if I feel you are endangering her, I will not hesitate to end your life."

Isadora nodded, then gathered her courage and said, "Lor... Lorraina isn't a child that needs to be protected. She is... she is kinder than most humans. You could learn a lot from her!"

Isadora felt the blood leave her face as she confronted Lillica directly.

Lillica smiled calmly, then stepped closer to Isadora, their faces just inches apart. Lillica leaned in then whispered, "I'm glad she met you." then gently patted Isadora on the cheek.

Isadora was a bit surprised at her reaction. She expected Lillica to be very angry since Isadora felt Lillica hated others going against her in any way.

"I'm glad you care for her."

"Of course, that much should be obvious. Even if we're not blood-related, she's my one and only sister." Lillica said haughtily.

"You're right, my mistake." Isadora suddenly didn't feel as much goodwill towards Lillica with her arrogant response, but she admitted it suited Lillica.

Lillica turned to walk out of the room, causing Isadora to notice a dark butt-shaped dust print on the seat of her dress. "Ummm, Miss Lill..."

Lillica interrupted Isadora by saying, "Do not fret. I'll put it back when I finish reading."

Isadora smirked and didn't try to say another word.

__________

Count Agist, Dion, Morgan, Nicholas, and Thomas settled in Count Agist's study. While a bit cramped for the five men, it was much better than the dirty war room.

"So what can be inferred by this declaration?" Morgan asked plainly.

"I was kind of hoping one of you could tell me that..." Count Agist replied.

Count Agist wasn't a fool, but he couldn't figure out why the King would have the nobles fight amongst themselves for the dukedom of Agistania.

"Maybe..." Nicholas started to say but stopped when he saw Thomas rummaging through Count Agist's drawers. "What are you doing, Thomas!"

"I'm kinda hungry. I thought Agist would have some snacks tucked away."

Count Agist plainly said, "Bottom drawer on the right."

Thomas opened the bottom drawer on the right and said, "No snacks, but..." He pulled out a small note and held it up for everyone to see.

"Thanks for the snacks, sweetie! - L"

Count Agist gripped the armrest of his chair firmly. He was confident it was Lillica, but he knew it could be Lorraina. Count Agist couldn't help but notice a slightly jealous look from Morgan, whereas Dion, Nicholas, and Thomas had big grins.

"It was definitely Lillica. Only she would be devious enough to sow confusion while Lorraina would admit eating his snacks proudly." Count Agist thought to himself.

"Ahem! Carrying on, what are all of your thoughts?" Count Agist said, trying to keep everyone on track.

Thomas started laughing from behind Count Agist's desk.

Nicholas said, annoyed, "What's so funny?"

"Oh, come on, isn't it obvious? Morgan, this should be an easy one for you!"

"If you have a serious answer, out with it!" Morgan said.

"Alright, alright... So get this... The King wants to reduce the whole country's power because he has been replaced by a body double from one of the southerners. With our power reduced, that would make us ripe for invasion by the alliance of the southerners and the church!"

After several seconds of dead silence, Thomas spoke again, "Well, that's just what I read in a book once."

After a few more awkward seconds of silence, the sound of someone taking a bite out of a crunchy snack resounded throughout the small room.

The five men turned to see Lillica leaning against the doorway, a book in one hand and the other half of one of Count Agist's snacks in the other.

"Oh, don't mind me, boys, I just heard something interesting. He's not far off, though." Lillica said teasingly.

Count Agist felt happy to see Lillica but did his best to hide it and said plainly, "Do share..."

"Gladly!" Lillica sauntered between Morgan and Nicholas, walked up to Count Agist's seat, then casually hopped into his lap.

She flipped open a few pages from the book to reveal a small map of the Kingdom of Feldland. "It's not a big map, and size does matter, but it will do." Lillica then winked playfully at Count Agist while slowly grinding into him.

Feeling her against him like this, Count Agist found himself getting aroused, and now he couldn't push her off, or he would get exposed.

"First, the church doesn't need an alliance. Their forces are enough to rival any single Kingdom, but they're spread across multiple kingdoms. Secondly, the King doesn't want to reduce the whole Kingdom's power, just the three Dukes'. Most likely, the current Dukes see Agistania as more territory for themselves. They will send representatives to their chosen Lordling and offer them support. If you don't receive one of the three, that means they do not think you can win or be controlled. The King must have something in mind that the Dukes will not like. Royalty and nobility do not always work together."

After a few moments of thought, Nicholas was the first to speak, "So, Thomas was actually quite far off, yes?"

"That's your take on this?!?" Count Agist said, slightly frustrated.

Lillica laughed then said, "Well, yes, but the male ego is quite fragile, so it is best to stroke it sometimes." She then made a stroking motion with her free hand while staring at Count Agist.

Count Agist felt his manhood swell up as it poked Lillica while she sat on his lap. Lillica merely smiled and then started to get up. In a panic, Count Agist held her back to keep himself covered.

"Well, if you insist, Agi..." Lillica said seductively.

Morgan frowned while watching Lillica and Count Agist's act. Still, he knew he had bigger things to worry about and said, "So, I'm assuming we're not going to side with any of the Dukes since Agistania was once your family's territory, milord?"

"Of course we're not!" Count Agist snarled.

"We do not have nearly enough forces to control our territory, let alone all of Agistania. We have just over a hundred knights after taking over Flint and Farmington. Each dukedom has thousands!"

"In that case, why not get warriors where each is worth dozens of knights?" Thomas said. "I mean, if we could get 100 Agists, what army could stop us?"

"Great idea Sir Thomas, and I think I know just who we can talk to," Lillica said with a mischievous grin.