He has had beautiful awakened trying to kill him for awhile and beautiful sisters at home to somewhat build up a tolerance to "good looks". I think he just doesn't really care about appearances. I mean... he was open to the idea of dating a phoenix, and he himself is like 15M tall.

Was the castle is not a gift? How can you give something to someone then turn around and ask them to pay for it? Lith would not have agreed to any debt. Can he even take the kingdom's awards seriously at this point? This is a bad move on the King's part. If he wanted to assign a punishment, he should do so, and not ruin his credibility in the process.

This kind of shows how weak the royals are. They are not the true masters of the land. They may know of the secret counsels and the balance of power, but have no real way to properly compensate people who won't take a title, swear loyalty and disclose their secrets. And the people who will do so are far weaker and less valuable than the other old, entrenched powers/factions.

Sort of... The fief for Trista is a trap to bind her directly to the kingdom and king. The Adamant however is a great reward considering that it was so difficult for her to distinguish herself before. Lilth himself had to speak up on her behalf and was still mostly rebuffed.

Oh in that case... let me come down so you can eat me like you requested.

Great, real helpful Miss Snark.