How the happy years go by.

Gently, I wriggled myself from her embrace. My eyes automatically slid across her stomach, already visible under her robe. I tried to wait this time, I really did. But I was a weak man when it came to her erotic body. I gave her the year she needed to recover, counting every day to the end of this phase. 

After that, we got barely any sleep. Her period returned the second year, and then every month, without a delay. She started to be nervous as our effort seemed to be unproductive.

Our daughter, Hellen, was already three years old when Valleria barged into the council room with glowing eyes and joyful news. Her second pregnancy. This time, the whole empire prayed for a son.

And she did the most. Every evening, she spent a whole hour in the cathedral.

Alba stood up from the usual spot she was sleeping in as she noticed I was awake and came closer. I reached out and briefly scratched her behind her fluffy ears. The pup that Valleria originally wanted ended up clinging to me instead and grew into a massive animal in those three years. 

It was no longer a clumsy pup.

I picked this female for a simple reason. The pup was calm and naturally very food-motivated, which made the training so much easier despite her wild blood.

She trotted behind me, following my every move as I made my way into the council hall like every morning. The situation by the borders grew in intensity. 

Jacob, one of the royals of the allied country and my friend, died last spring and Aaron, his older brother, used it as an excuse to terrorize everyone around. Except for us.

We were able to state our dominant position in a single afternoon. 

It will be a friendly tournament, Aaron said. More like a trap to draw me out of the capitol. I made sure to come with five thousand of my best warriors and after they saw my battle armor I designed myself, they started to call me The Devil. 

I chuckled. 

Maximilian I, the Devil. 

The tournament itself ended quite soon and I could see Aaron's obvious nervousness. We signed new agreements and I even promised Hellen's hand in marriage to one of his sons the day she turns 15. I honestly wasn't sure I intended to keep my end of the deal, who knows what will happen in following years?

With everything pointing at his early defeat, I couldn't be really sure. 

I passed Peter, walking slowly towards the council hall with an open book in his hand. Appointing him among the council was one of my best decisions.

Once he learned how to read, nothing could hold him from the library. He guzzled on any piece of information he could possibly find, sucking it inside his head like a dry sponge.

I got the impression that he is gradually trying to behave more and more like a father figure to me, after finding out he has six children with his wife and even a few adopted, already grown up. When Peter realized that with his new responsibilities came also the privileges, he took his wife in the capitol all proud and happy after buying a nice house, walking her all over the palace, showing her everything he found pretty.

It was a comfortable sight and I felt a deep regret that my own father wasn't able to show a piece of respect towards the late queen, despite the fact she gave up everything for him. 

Since my mother left the capitol five years ago, I have had no news from her. And I didn't care. I knew her as a cold and withdrawn woman, caring only about the newest trends in clothing and other shit.

As soon as I sat down, it dawned on me. Today was the end of the month. Last month's sitting was ahead, that's why everyone was nervous. I swore in my honor that nothing said on this date would affect their status or health. Or the number of limbs, but I felt like the slightest shit irritated me in the last few weeks. 

I tried to look as relaxed as possible without being overly suspicious, curious about how different than usual this meeting would be.