Chapter 264

'That priest was a lucky find.' Albedo reflected for the thousandth time. Since the Roble Holy Kingdom had fallen into Ainz' hands and the Holy Queen into his bed, Albedo returned there many times. The movement against corruption headed by said priest was thoroughly effective, and it was rendered more so by the aid of Albedo's shadow demons. Accidents happened to the corrupt, some were injured, some were killed, some were only humiliated. But it was now a growing cultural belief that divine retribution punished the corrupt who were not punished by the state or the temples.

As a result, the priests were a busy lot, but only one of them had Albedo's attention. 'That one, wise in the ways of love…' Whenever she visited the Holy Kingdom in disguise to speak with her agents, or to deliver Skana and Illyana somewhere for some task, she stopped by the temple to visit the young priest again.

"There is power in a simple touch that needs no mana to work, love doesn't need to be hammered, only gently tended. It isn't a sprint, it's a marathon." Every time she visited, she picked up something different from him, and the results were manifesting before her eyes. Sometimes he threw in a short story or anecdote of some romantic thing, the latest of which was her little sleeping ploy to recreate his story of two lovers traveling together.

'I didn't mean to actually fall asleep!' She wanted to cry out as soon as her eyes fluttered open and she realized that the carriage had stopped, the sun was down, and she could hear the heartbeat in Ainz' breast again.

Every fiber in the created being that was Albedo screamed at her for being a failed servant who slept while her master was awake, her hands, her feet, her whole body tensed as she prepared to gush her apologies.

She stopped as soon as she saw his face. "Welcome back." He said to her and kissed her forehead, "The reception is delayed, but that's the point of being a King. They abide by your schedule, not the other way around."

For the first time in his life Ainz felt a rush of gratitude toward the imperious bosses of his old world who thought nothing of keeping their subordinates waiting. 'Without them for an example, I might have felt the need to wake her.'

Albedo sat up, an excited blush on her face, "So… we have a little time, My Lord?" She had a sultry look on her face and swung herself over his lap.

"We do." He said, and didn't object when she began to move her nimble fingers over his clothes.

...Earlier that day…

Queen Enri Emmot-Bareare wore her finest garment, a gift from the Queen of Re-Estize herself who was famous for both her kindness and her wardrobe, made of golden silk. It was straight, but with a wider base for free movement of her legs while being firm at the waist.

Her husband wore no weapons, but he did wear the armor given to the village by the Allfather of Nazarick himself. 'We can't produce quite what they can, not yet… but we are growing…'

Her thoughts, like her curtsey, froze when the door of the carriage opened and the Allfather leaned forward and put a finger to his lips. Behind Enri and her husband, an array of trumpeters, legions of admirers, and other dignitaries from various cities and towns were gathered and all had open mouths ready to cheer… but when Enri's hand went up with a sudden order to stop…

Not even a single toot echoed from the horns. For a moment, fear and dread pounded through the hearts of those who saw her gesture. The Allfather pointed to Enri and Enfi, and curled his finger toward himself.

She came close with slow, steady steps. 'Whatever it is, I will support our village's savior…'

Her heart went from pounding with dread, to fluttering the moment she came close.

"I don't want to wake her, she's fallen asleep." Ainz mouthed the words, and Enri's heart melted. His pregnant wife, asleep against his chest, and he refused to leave the carriage so that she could continue to sleep and share his body's warmth.

She felt her husband's hand come to her hip in a gentle embrace and give her waist a little squeeze as if to say, 'I wouldn't move either.' And her heart melted more for the man she loved.

"May we pass by and bow before going inside?" She mouthed the words and pointed to the residence that was to be her home.

"If they can be silent." He mouthed back, "I'll come in when she is ready."

Enri slowly closed the carriage door, then her feet swept her over from place to place, she moved faster than she had even over the battlefield that won her people their independence from Re-Estize. She whispered her instructions and had them quietly passed on, and Nfirea, seemingly reading her mind, planted himself a few feet from the carriage and pointed at his feet where he stood.

The whispers were swift, the servants dismissed, and within minutes, men and women of power and station accustomed to striding with loud confidence into every hall, crept like thieves in the night, taking care that every step be silent and not even a pebble should roll to make a noise.

Only when Enri raised a hand and gave her husband thumbs up did he return to the carriage, open the door again, and waved for the first nobleman to step forward to bow to the Allfather and his mate.

Enri watched them pass by with awed faces, it wasn't a magnificent scene out of some grim battlefield where fortunes were won or lost and the fates of men and nations were settled. But standing before the carriage door in all its magnificent wealth, each man and woman who looked within saw for themselves why the Allfather refused to move. The radiant Albedo, her belly only just barely beginning to show, had a contented, beautiful smile on her face as she slept. The Allfather's arm lay protectively around her body, her wings fluttering ever so slightly. The expression on his face, so very serene, content, his rugged face was regal toward them, but after every nod, his eyes went back to her as if to say 'I didn't wake you, did I?' to the sleeping mother of his unborn child.

The royal couple of the Kingdom of Carne understood completely, but for those accustomed to power and for whom marriage was a mere convenience to advance family interests, the term, 'romantic love' was redefined and ignited in their hearts.

The obviousness of his love for his mate, such that no affair of state would be allowed to disrupt her rest, matched only by his evident protectiveness over her and the child she bore, was witnessed by one after another, after another, after another, who came to pay their respects.

After the last were gone within and only Enri and Nfirea remained close to the door, the couple paid their respects again. "We will wait up." The King of Carne mouthed, then winked at the Allfather, he suppressed his wince when his wife pinched his hip, but Enri could not suppress her own confident grin before she echoed the sentiment.

They closed the door again, and left the Allfather and his mate in peace.