I met with J

"Kristy!"

Indeed, she was met face to face with none other than her head mage.

Kristy laughed at her reaction, and she walked over, "Hello Queen Lyn, your slave has returned."

Lyn rolled her eyes and hits her playfully on the shoulder, "You should have sent word that you were coming. Ah, did you welcome her properly? Allen?"

The exhausted-looking man exhaled, and Kristy laughed, "Don't mind me, I just arrived two days ago. You should focus on dealing with the angry mob and let this poor guy take a break."

Lyn examined Allen's expression; his eyes seemed bloodshot. His face color pale and he looked much frailer than usual. The frown on her face deepened, she walked over and tugged on his cloak, "Get some rest?" she softly said.

Allen who seemed daze finally snapped out of it.

"Lyn."

She smiled warmly at him, "I'm back."

...…

Lyn knew the majority of the people in the room wanted answers and preferred if she spoke about her absence. But when she saw Allen's condition, she couldn't turn a blind eye to it. After she sent the doctor away, she entered Allen's room and closed the door. A deep sigh passed her lips. Here's another stupid person, how careless. Lyn walked over to where Allen lay fast asleep.

She brushed his loose hair from his face and murmured, "I'm sorry that I'm shackling you to me even now."

Even though she turned him down, she still relied on him like this and caused him a lot of stress. After the one-month period was over, Lyn should have sent him back to his Kingdom. Back to his people. Lyn knew if she asked him to go back, he would return. Allen is only here until she says so, 'I shall leave whenever you have no more use for me.'

"So intimate."

Lyn didn't react at first until the person kicked up a fuss. Lyn sighed, "You need to stop that bad habit of yours, Kristy, entering through people's windows is anything but healthy."

Indeed there was none other than her head mage perched on the window.

Kristy laughed, "Can I go in?"

"Of course."

The magical barrier she created let Kristy through, and her friend pulled up a chair, "I need to talk to you about J."

"What about her?"

"I spoke to her recently."

"Eh?"

….

Kristy looked unsure of where to start, but eventually, she broke the silence. "She stopped the war at the border."

"Eh??"

"Honestly Lyn, she personally admitted to me that yes she would break the treaty with the Mist Kingdom. But under temporary conditions because of complaints from her people. When I spoke to her, she seemed normal."

Lyn paused, "Any chance you were getting tricked?"

"Zero."

"Then the demon must let her go sometimes. Sure the demon can have its way in the main castle. But in town? And for other diplomatic matters?" Lyn thought it was strange, this entire time while there have been rumors regarding J's supposedly odd behavior. Not many people knew about it. None of the townspeople or the Kingdoms they do trades with, about J acting oddly, Lyn tapped her hands on the table, "So, he must have let her go."

Kristy nodded, "I'll make some wild guesses too, I'm guessing he's doing this to shift the public opinion. Other people will then think it's the Mist Kingdom stiring trouble. With the way, J greeted me on the battlefield and stopped the fight. You'd honestly think there's nothing wrong. Of course, since I was the one who personally confirmed the demon possession in the first place, it spooked me."

"She was normal?"

"Extremely, overflowing with that usual warm ray of sunshine aura of hers," Kristy trailed off, "So we even sat down and had a chat. She told me straight up while she did receive complaints, for a while now she planned to do this. You knew about the Snow Kingdom's situation right?"

"It kept expanding, more and more people from other Kingdoms wanted to trade with them. They were growing as a country far too quickly and large, many held their suspicions but never asked."

"That's the issue here. If a Kingdom like that is seen acting friendly with another Kingdom, what do you think others will think?" Kristy asked but didn't wait for a response, "It's only natural that J did what she did."

".."

"I thought that would relieve you."

"Tell me, Kristy, I know I was oblivious. But what were the chances of J liking Kazuya?"

Kristy paused and deeply exhaled, "Well, you guessed it. But I don't think you have to worry too much. She won't bear a grudge and start this whole fight because of it. However, I can tell you this. I always felt like J had an inferiority complex towards you."

Lyn blinked.

"I mean, I don't mean to compare the two of you. But during our times in the academy. You always excelled at everything, and J always came second, with me in third. I never cared about my rank or the prestige that came with it. But J did. The Snow Kingdom's family politics is a lot more complicated than that of the Mist. They stick to the traditional rules more than the Wind Kingdom does. Back then especially. I caught a glimpse of it only once, during the end of our first month into the academy. We had the trial run month and then the exam to see whether we would stay."

Lyn nodded; she remembered the test all too well. After all, Kazuya greeted her with a bouquet.