CHAPTER 48 Paint the Castle Pink

Keith

It was a beautiful morning to fly over his kingdom, and Keith enjoyed the view. It helped that he'd had tea before this flight with Hubert, or he wouldn't have been in such a good mood.

Being at nearly a hundred percent mana for the first time in a long while might have also helped.

This also gave him an excellent opportunity to see how the roads were faring in the west, with most of the soldiers moving around in preparation for battle. There was significantly more mundane foot traffic than he would have assumed with a war on the horizon, but Gren's Keep was far from the Drendil border and full of beast people who could take care of themselves.

He did note seeing Sir Vainbark and Lady Hazelglade of the elven Hollow in passing. They were riding unicorns of all things, and Lady Hazelglade was actually riding the young heir to Goldenhoof's herd. It still made Keith uncomfortable that he couldn't remember the colt's name, so he made a mental note to check his physical notes later.

He couldn't wait to get the report of what they were doing on his desk … though he could guess it had something to do with Duke Briarthorn's daughter. She was notorious for going missing during her lessons.

Keith didn't panic when he arrived in Gren's Keep and still hadn't seen Henrietta. They had probably just missed each other somewhere on the road.

Keith wondered, was it just him, or did he spend a lot of time not panicking about Henrietta?

He settled Hubert in an elm close to the town's entrance and disconnected.

Just in time for the chaos that awaited him back at his inner sanctum.

There were twelve days left until St. Veralyn's Day, and Keith was wondering if he should scrap the plan and just go destroy Drendil now.

No one would even know. Alright, everyone would know. And everyone would also tell him "I told you so." Which he couldn't be sure was worse than his necromancer having a nervous breakdown in the castle lobby.

"What do you mean Julia is on her way? Rufus!" The petite blonde paced back and forth, roiling black tendrils lashing out subconsciously as she waved her arms about with delicate, dramatic flair. "How could you not tell me?"

The commander general looked pained. "Her rooms are already made up. Please, Chloe, this isn't the first time Julia has visited—"

"Nothing is ready! I'M NOT READY! Dear gods, what am I going to wear!"

Keith was halfway down the stairs when she noticed him. He flinched.

"And you!"

"Listen, Chloe," he started. "We were wondering how to tell you—"

"With your words," the necromancer said. "Like an adult."

"Chloe, I've something important to tell you." Keith joined them on the main floor.

She looked leery. "What?"

"Julia is on her way here to see you," he told her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. We thought you might try and paint the castle again."

Chloe deflated a bit, grumbling, "You owe me one."

"I do." Keith nodded.

"I don't," Rufus teased. "I was just doing as I was told."

Keith pushed up his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose. Chloe glared at the beastman.

Suddenly, there was a ruckus outside the main castle entrance, and they all turned toward the castle's double doors. They burst open violently, one heavy wooden door hanging slightly off its hinges.

"Chloe!" A woman taller than a bridge troll but shorter than a giant dwarfess ran up to the necromancer and swept her into a twirling embrace. "My love!"

"Julia?!" Chloe couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, watch the armor."

Keith and Rufus looked away politely as the two reunited. Rufus leaned in close to Keith and said, "You know, she could use that favor to paint the castle pink."

"She wouldn't."

"But she could."

"If she did," Keith surmised, "then maybe Drendil wouldn't recognize us and just march right on past."

"Ha! As if anyone from Drendil would make it this far." Rufus chuckled.

"What about the two sock thieves we found loitering at dawn in Henrietta's wardrobe?"

Rufus scoffed. "They don't count. They aren't a part of the army."

"How are things coming along with them?" Keith peeked; Chloe and Julia were still passionately saying hello. Julia was the only woman that Keith had met that could be more … just more, than Chloe. At the same time, the countess really grounded his necromancer—when Chloe wasn't having an existential crisis that Julia might visit, that is.

"I've mostly broken the first." Rufus shrugged. "She was instructed to kill Henrietta and/or retrieve all of her Drendil possessions."

"And they assumed everything would be in her sock drawer?" Keith asked incredulously. "Or that she was hiding in her closet?"

Rufus shrugged. "Maybe that's where she kept things at home. I haven't gotten that far yet. Honestly, I don't think I'll properly break them before the war. Not if we want useable intelligence. And I'm not willing to do that."

"I see." And he did see; torture gave poor results. Rufus's techniques could give actionable information, but took much longer.

"Your Viciousness! General Rufus! Greetings and good fortune." Julia hailed us. The two were finally finished. As was expected, the countess immediately got to work. "Where do you want me in the war efforts?"

He respected that in a person.

"First, I'll have Chloe show you to your room," I told her. "She only just found out you were coming, so there might be a bit of … remodeling left to do. To suit your tastes."

The second they were finished, Keith was sure that Chloe would tear Julia's room apart and put it back together again. At least now she would only do it once, and not every day leading up to her visit.

Julia blushed slightly at that. The dark skin of her ears turning a ruddy pink.

"I'm sorry I didn't properly call ahead," she apologized.

"You could have at least told me," Chloe pouted prettily. She was still holding Julia's hand.

"For the second," Keith continued, "I'll have you defending Chloe. I don't want you involved in the greater war effort; that could be politically costly for your mother."

"I don't need—" Chloe began hotly.

Keith cut off his necromancer, "Since she'll be busy running around resurrecting people."

Julia smiled and squeezed Chloe's hand. "No arguing, love."

"Since that's done." Keith pushed his glasses up and surveyed the three individuals in front of him. "I have an announcement to make."

Rufus, Chloe, and Julia all looked at him expectantly. Keith smiled.

"I'm taking the weekend off."