"Thank you for your mercy, your Majesty."
After hearing Nereus Artheus' apology, Abel Morningstar waved his hand.
"You may rise and take your seat."
"Thank you, your Majesty."
Nereus Artheus stood and bowed once more before taking his seat. However, he did not forget to glance at Hades Agriad with unveiled hatred and coldness.
Whether Hades Agriad perceived the glance, no one knew since Hades Agriad had not looked up from the ground even once.
"To say that Nereus Artheus or the Artheus family would bring about the fall of Sparta just because Lady Eris had her vision after the death of Commander Kael is foolish."
Without sparing a glance at Hades Agriad, Abel Morningstar spoke while looking at the remaining family heads.
"We all know how much sweat and blood the Artheus family has given to Sparta. So to doubt them just because of a 'related' connection to Lady Eris' vision is also foolish."
"We can all take, for example, the deeds and bravery Commander Kael Artheus exhibited during the war. How many Spartan commanders do you think would be able to show such bravery and loyalty even in the face of death."
Abel Morningstar's gaze became sharp, and the family heads shivered slightly when his gaze landed on them.
"I will not allow Sparta to fall apart. Especially due to a civil war that's caused by a stupid seed of doubt and suspicion."
The hall became silent and oppressive as Abel Morningstar's aura spilled out. This continued for a few more seconds, and then it stopped.
Thud
"Thank you for defending my family, your Majesty."
Nereus Artheus spoke while kneeling on one knee with his head bowed.
"You should not thank me yet." Abel Morningstar calmly replied. But then his tone became serious, "Although I trust you, that's not to say I trust every single member of your family."
"Make sure to investigate your family thoroughly and make sure that nobody in your family is plotting against Sparta. I won't be surprised if some individuals plan on doing something foolish to avenge Commander Kael Artheus."
Abel Morningstar furrowed his brows.
"It's been a while since a Grandmaster of Sparta died." He mumbled with a pondering expression.
Everybody remained silent, not daring to interrupt the king's thoughts.
Approximately six seconds later, Abel Morningstar looked up with a serious expression.
"Although we have no idea what could be the cause of Sparta's downfall in the future, as the pillars of Sparta, we have to do our best to prevent such a future."
"All of you must investigate your families thoroughly just as I've said to Nereus. Make sure none have plans to destroy Sparta, and if you find any, execute them immediately and give me the information you found of their plans."
Abel Morningstar ordered with a cold and emotionless tone, and the family heads nodded.
"We understand your Majesty."
Abel Morningstar nodded, and then he looked at Lysithea Scironides.
"The Scironides family has always been in charge of the sea, ensuring that Sparta would always be safe from unknown sea attacks and sea beasts. I want the Scironides family to increase the security around the sea. Investigate the sea for any hidden and unknown threats. If you find anything that can threaten Sparta, I want you to give me a detailed report."
Lysithea Scironides bowed.
"I understand your Majesty, but we would soon be approaching winter so the seas would become more dangerous, and scouting the sea for hidden threats would become more dangerous."
Abel Morningstar pondered briefly while tapping his finger on the table.
"I'll temporarily provide more resources to your family. Provide a list of things you'll need for this project and send it to me."
"Understood your Majesty." Lysithea Scironides replied with barely contained joy at the mention of more resources for her family.
Abel Morningstar ignored her and looked at Aeson Meltas.
"As for you Aeson Meltas, the Meltas family is in charge of the Great Wall of Sparta. I want your family to check and improve the Great Wall. Make sure to improve it in any way possible, and also repair any damage that has been done to it."
"If your family also needs more resources for this, I'll provide them. Just make sure to send me a list of what you'll need."
Aeson Meltas bowed, and the bones on his long beard made a soft clanging noise.
"Understood your Majesty." Aeson Meltas replied, but his tone was much calmer and did not contain the same excitement that Lysithea Scironides had.
Abel Morningstar nodded and looked at Zephyr Proclide.
"I'll need you to subtly increase the number of your family members among the Spartan guards. I've come to realize that the number of lazy and nonchalant guards has been increasing as of late. The enemy can take advantage of this and sneak into our kingdom."
"Although this doesn't require a lot of resources, I'll still provide more resources to your family since I know your family members would need an incentive to join the Spartan guards."
Zephyr Proclide bowed.
"Thank you for your understanding your Majesty. I'll make sure to get it done with utmost perfection."
He replied with a resolute tone, and Abel Morningstar nodded. His gaze then shifted to a family head who had not spoken a single word ever since the meeting started.
This family head was Hekate Anaitis of the Anaitis family who were the fifth-ranking noble family in Sparta.
Hekate Anaitis was an extremely beautiful woman, the second most beautiful woman among the family heads. Aside from her beauty which could also be ranked as a nation toppling beauty, there were two things that were more unique about her.
One was her eyes.
Hekate Anaitis' eyes were dual-colored. Her left eye was red while her right eye was blue.
The second unique thing about her was her clothes.
Hekate Anaitis wore a long and large black robe that would make the perverted wonder how much assets were hidden underneath. Not only were her robes large, but on her head was a long and pointed black hat that made Hekate Anaitis look like a mage.
However, despite all these, Hekate Anaitis had an expression of boredom and hidden impatience. Abel Morningstar noticed, but he was used to it, and so were the others.
"Hekate Anaitis, the Anaitis family is in charge of the runes, formations, and arrays in all of Sparta. I want your family to inspect all the runes, formations, and arrays in Sparta. If you can, improve all the runes, formations, and arrays so that Sparta's security and safety would become much better."
"I'll also provide more resources to the Anaitis family. Just provide me with a list of the things you'll need."
At the mention of 'more resources', Hekate Anaitis' eyes brightened like stars, and a bright smile instantly appeared on her face, replacing the bored expression she previously had.
"Understood your Majesty!"
Abel's mouth twitched and he could not help but have a bad feeling about the future state of Sparta's treasury. He shook his head and decided to focus on the remaining family heads.
He looked at Nereus Artheus.
"To not be impartial, I'll also be providing more resources to the Artheus family who are at the forefront of most battlefields. However, the increase in resources would not be much since I believe the current amount of war resources is more than enough."
Nereus Artheus bowed.
"Thank you, your Majesty. No matter how small the increment is, I'm sure the soldiers would be pleased."
Abel Morningstar nodded, and then he looked at Hades Agriad.
"The same goes for the Agriad family. Since your family occupies more battlefields than other families apart from the Artheus family, I'll also be increasing the amount of resources sent to your family."
Hades Agriad bowed and replied with a neutral tone.
"Thank you, your Majesty."
Abel Morningstar gave no response, and then he looked at two family heads.
"The Sciritae family and the Dorieus family would be given classified orders in the future. Expect them."
"Understood your Majesty."
The two family heads replied at the same time, and Abel Morningstar nodded. He then looked at Eris Demeter.
"I'll need to have a private conversation with Eris Demeter after this. The meeting has concluded."
All the family heads bowed.
"Yes, your Majesty."