"See the first members…?" Ivonne mumbled, a little shocked that Estella not only decided on one lover already, but implied there were at least two.
Finished with the prices, Aesterix joined in again. "When we return home I'll have the mines bought, and find the contractors, it should be no problem." He said to Estella.
Nodding, there was a one day break once they returned before they attended the party where she'd officially call it off with her fiancé, what a headache. She was thankful that Aesterix was so willing to help her, since she definitely needed that day off.
As much as they enjoyed their free time to talk, a butler soon came out to the garden and called them in for dinner, a silent thank you from Estella.
Dinner was quite quiet today without any random outbursts to announce aloud, until the end. Just as the king was about to excuse himself, Estella began to talk about business, frightening him into sitting back down.
"I'd like for my crest design to get its official approval." Estella said as she nodded at Fenrir, who brought over the papers they were using earlier. Pulling the one on the very top, she admired it again for a few seconds before showing it to the king from across the table.
Too scared to ask her to hand it over, he nodded. "I think it's good, but if you don't mind, what is the animal you've chosen?" He asked, perhaps it was the thorns of darkness that scared him, but he looked like he wanted to reject it if he could.
"Is a lotan. A sea serpent with seven heads, they're quite beautiful apparently they can be the size of ships." Estella told what she heard from Fenrir, trying to make the beast sound fierce like the other ducal crests.
Giving his approval once more, she excused herself before the king. "We're shopping tomorrow afternoon for winter clothes." She said halfway towards the door.
Although it looked like she was just telling Fenrir, she looked over her shoulder to the group at the table. "If you need winter clothes, any of you may come along, especially you two." She looked from Aesterix to Hyre, the one who'd be living in the north and the one exploring the north with her.
Beginning to leave again, Felix decided to ask to confirm. "Anyone?" If she really meant it, why did she say that specially? Wouldn't she just need the people going to the north to buy winter clothes?
Sighing, she turned to look at the young boy. "You're going to need winter clothes if you're planning on coming to my social debut, and some for Aesterix's." She said so matter of factly.
"When we return I will immediately go to the north and he will go to war, there's no time to shop. I'd like to buy our clothes now and leave them here, so I may pick them up and he will be able to after the victory celebration." Estella said, thinking ahead.
She wished she'd take tomorrow off, but sometimes there were more important things to do. "I'll go." Hyre said curtly, while Aesterix happily agreed to go.
"I'll go as well, but when is your social debut?" She asked, already understanding that it was not an option to refuse being invited and going. She guessed it was Estella's way of saying you may visit.
Although she didn't actually plan a specific date, she knew what to do first. "A month and a half after victory. I'd like to stay here for two weeks during that time, where the kings will call the dukes or their representatives for a council meeting to introduce myself." She claimed while looking at the king briefly before the queen.
"Then the queen shall host a tea party where I will invite my guests, even if people were to be skeptical of me, they cannot deny me in front of the queen, nor when I talk about already attending a council meeting. Prepare yourselves, you've been given time." Estella said before leaving, not listening to any protests that may pop up.
As long as she showed her ground at the meeting with the dukes, she would be known as a proper duchess. The one thing she didn't need were rumours about how a woman could rule and then evolve into something else when she wanted to created a harem. Bad rumours would scare her beauties away, she thought.
"Are you sure you'll be okay with a council meeting and tea party so close together?" Fenrir asked as they got back into the room taking their seats.
Shaking her head, she laughed a bit. "We'll find out, won't we?" She had never attended a meeting with pressure as high as this, or attended a tea party, but she's played enough games to figure it out, she thought. She also had her secret weapon.
I don't really have to worry about the tea party, she convinced herself. She was the sister of the hero, duchess, and villain. No one would really try to pick a fight with her, she hoped.
Looking at her, he sighed. "You've done crazy stuff so I won't worry about that. But I've got to ask, how do you intend to make the other dukes recognise you?" He questioned.
Reaching for one of the many books they bought earlier, Estella began to flip through them. "You're forgetting something important." He said, trying to find a page about elves.
Tilting her head, he asked what it was. "I'm not the one who needs to be recognised, they need to be recognised by me." She declared as she found what she was looking for, reading into it.
As she was about to ask him about elves, he piped up, "What do you mean by that? You know that you're the new duchess right, compared to the country's founding descendants?" He asked.
Though she wanted to roll her eyes at the obvious she decided to explain it to him rather than leave him hanging in case he ever decided to be petty again. "My knights." She said, causing him to let out a huh, before an oooh.
"You plan on building up your magic knights first during the first three months, and bring them with you to the capital. Once they see you with a knight squad like that, they have to show you at least some respect." He revealed, but not completely getting it yet.
Why would she bring her knights, unprompted? As if reading his mind, she gave him the answer. "Isn't it obvious, I'm bringing them to meet their captain, the hero and darkness user, Aesterix." She said.
Sitting straight up, he slightly glared. "Why is he the captain?" He hissed out. He was truly a defensive cat, she couldn't help but think.
After getting him to relax again, she explained. "If you're my personal knight, the captain's spot is open. And who else would be captain of my magic knights, than the hero of the country?"
Although it made sense, he was still a bit unhappy. He knew Aesterix would want to be her knight even after winning the war, but thinking about his face just annoyed him to death.
"Are you sure they'd be happy with a human as their captain?" He asked, still trying to find excuses. Nodding her head, she didn't doubt it even for a second.
"They're all sworn to me in the end. If they want to be captain, they'd have to beat him first." She said. Good luck with that, though. Umbrage magic was incredibly powerful, and if he uses it for three months straight, she could only imagine how much power he'd have. Good luck to anyone who wanted that title.
Grumbling, he took out a piece of paper and began to work on the uniforms while Estella continued reading where it left off.
Elves tended to be tall, with great bodies, according to the book. How she couldn't wait to meet one. Shaking her head, she went back to focusing on where they were located.
Apparently, they were in almost all countries, just difficult to pinpoint. However, if you find a beautiful village in the middle of nowhere or see a specific bird, there was a high chance to find them.
Pulling out her book of beasts, she began to find the bird once more, in hopes of finding more information.
"It looks like a crazy owl." She muttered as she looked at the picture, trying to engrave it into her mind. The more she looked, the more it freaked her out a bit.
It had long hair with the head of a typical bird, and had owl-like ears. Instead of two eyes it had six. The top set seemed to always cry, the middle set seemed to stay mainly closed except for the night, where they'd move around in a frenzy staring at things. Finally, the bottom set were just regular eyes.
The chest was similar to an owls, and so were the feet, the wings were a lot longer and wider, though. It seemed to have a variety of colours, but they were mainly green, red, or white.
"I wonder if their colours vary based on environment." She muttered, looking at where they're found. According to it, their bodies could survive almost any temperatures, depending on where they're born. With fingers crossed, she hoped she'd manage to find one.