***Midhold, Royal Embassy***

***Angrod***

Months pass as Celes and I slowly settle into a rhythm of spending time with each other and taking care of our own projects while somehow juggling the rule between us and our relatives.

Celes is busy with her lab, though she never forgets to pester me with her probes and syringes. I would be mad at her if it weren't for the fact that she always makes up for it with chocolate as an apology.

Things are developing well with my shield-breaker project and so I decided to join the university and earn a degree. By abusing my authority as the king it was easy enough to ignore the classes and take just the tests, saving me a lot of time. Most tests are no problem thanks to my experience. And if I don't have what it takes, I just read up on the necessary knowledge.

Having a degree doesn't get me anything, but I am of the firm opinion that a king should have the educational status befitting his position. It's about how I am seen by the public.

What kind of bad example would I be for our future kid if I became known as the king of the world who didn't even try to finish his education!? Wouldn't my child get the impression that knowledge and competence are unimportant?

Anyway, I want to be a good example. Someone who my offspring can look up to.

But right now... I am really pissed!

While sitting on my throne I have to endure witnessing utter stupidity in all its glory and all I can do is listen and grind my teeth.

Once a month, I have to sit court and listen to the little aches and problems of nobles and representatives of the common people.

Some of these cases enrage me. Okay, most of these cases enrage me.

Those people always find a way to circumvent the law and end up pestering me with their struggles.

Having too many and too few laws is always a problem for a society, and I am glad that my current one isn’t yet at the point that having a lawyer is an absolute must to even understand the language of the court.

In the past, I have always tried to keep it that way, but these people are testing my limits.

My courtier gestures towards the two parties which are involved in the next case.

Drem Snowden, the leader of my guard is standing at attention next to my throne. He is also the chief of security for my personal facility, though he is more often inside the embassy since I took over some of my duties as the king. Which I am right now very tempted to just hand off to my mother or my parents in law.

Doing menial work on my shield-breaker project would be so much more interesting, even if my presence wouldn't accelerate anything.

Drem is a strong looking guy with huge muscles and bear-ears. His personality is also similar to a bear. Very silent, very grumpy, especially after I had a very earnest word with him about the possible implications of failing his duty. We are in a strictly professional relationship since that day, but I found that his work-ethics improved, and that’s the important point.

“Come forward!”

I call in the next case after dealing with a really stupid quarrel between two smaller houses.

Two nobles enter the throne room and bow to me. One is an older woman in a white dress and the other a young, gaudy looking guy in extravagant clothing.

My courtier rifles through her documents, seeking to give me a summary. She is essentially a secretary who was originally chosen by my mother. “These are Duke Sharen and Baroness Kuizen. They have a quarrel about two servants who are taking care of their lands. Both of their estates border each other and it seems like their subjects had an affair with each other. The relationship resulted in a child.

“The issue is that both servants had a stipulation in their contracts which ensures that they get the necessary funds to give their offspring the necessary education, in exchange for accepting a lower payment than it is the norm. Now the lord and lady are quarrelling about who is responsible to fulfil the contract, which only states that the best education of possible offspring has to be ensured.” She finishes and closes the document.

I raise an eyebrow. Translation: neither of them wants to pay for the child’s education and hopes to force the other person into fulfilling the contract. So in other words, these two cheapskates are trying to wriggle out of the contract with their servants who already accepted to work for a lowered salary and are providing cheap labour.

I ask the courtier how much these servants get and she tells me.

They are serfs, for all intents and purposes.

Although everyone has access to education by law, it still costs money to send a child to one of the better schools. I assume that the contract’s wording ensures a level of education which the parents couldn’t afford otherwise.

It’s hard to rise from a low position in society, but I somehow have to admire those two servants who didn’t manage it for themselves. They are still trying to give their child a better opportunity in life.

I think there is an easy solution to the problem.

“I think the easiest solution would be for both parties to hold up the deal they made. Your servants made two separate deals with you and you acknowledged these contracts. There is no logical reason why you wouldn’t be beholden to a contract you signed yourselves.”

Duke Sharen shakes his head. “But if we both pay-out our servants, they would get more than they really need. The contract only states that the child’s education must be ensured. If both of us ‘ensure’ the child’s best education, we would pay our servants much more than they need.”

Baroness Kuizen's nods quickly, affirming her consent with the Duke.

Leaning forward and resting my lower arms on my knees, I place the tips of my fingers together. “The situation and the strangeness of such a contract aside, there is just one thing I don’t get. How do you two even know of the other's contract?”

Duke Sharen scratches at his black jacket, clearing his throat. “That is…”

“We employ the same lawyer,” Kuizen interjects. “And we talk with each other.”

“Very interesting.” I narrow my eyes. “An outsider like me might think that there is something very strange going on. I wonder what would happen if I would set a few investigators on the case… just to satisfy my curiosity. Let them dig around, so to speak.”

I scratch my chin. “Either you two are very generous employers – because, correct me if I am wrong, paying for a high-level education is much more than any mere servant could earn in a lifetime. And, isn’t it very likely that those two servants would have kids at some point?” I turn towards my courtier. “How old were the servants when they signed the contracts?”

He rifles through the document. “Twenty-four and twenty-one.”

I blink. “It seems like a really bad contract for the employers. How expensive does that make the servants compared to normal pay-rates?”

“Six or seven times the normal loans,” she is quick to answer.

Turning back, I study the two nobles, trying my best expression at ‘Are you two just stupid, or are you cheating slavers?’ “I wonder why you would think that those two employees might never have children?”

Sharen clears his throat. “My king, you must be jesting. Launching a full investigation because of such a trivial matter...”

I clap my hands together, making the two peons flinch. “That’s great! Which means that you are going to honour both contracts in full!” I look at Snowden, wanting the two bastards to hear every word. “Make sure that someone looks in on the situation now and then. I also want to know why the servants aren't here, since this matter is clearly affecting their lives. We don’t want to have something strange happen to them.”

Addressing my courtier, I smile. “And look up that lawyer and set the police on him. I don’t want any more cases of his making it onto my desk in the future.”

“A- a- a wise decision, my king!” Kuizen bows to me, followed by the Duke. Neither of them looks as happy, just as it should be. I strive to have anyone think twice before they seek my audience.

I wave for them to leave, hoping they get the hint before I decide to do something that won’t only end in a financial loss for them. “Next!”

***

After a long day of hard work – mainly solving issues through the good old method of blackmail and the abuse of power – I can finally lean back in my throne and use one of my newest handheld tablets to check on the progress of my projects.

It seems like everything is going well. There is hope my final solution will be ready in time.

“Angrod!” Celes calls out to me from behind me, causing me to drop the tablet.

I wince when it clatters to the ground, a large crack appearing on the screen. “Damned glass! I should have stuck to plastic, even if it scratches.” I turn in my throne to look at Celes.

“Hahaha. You look like you almost got caught building something that would end the world.” She chuckles and pats my head. “Don’t be so jumpy. Oh, and before I forget! Eat that!” She holds out a few pills in front of my face and gives me a glass of water.

Phew! She has no idea how close to the truth she is.

“Oh, please! Stop it. You are feeding me with strange pills day and night. I am surprised that I didn't get sick!” I try to decline the so-called vitamins. Celes sure became a real health freak when she found out the reason for the royal bloodline’s child problems – a simple lack of vitamins.

Our bodies have to get the resources for their high performance from somewhere and the lack of those resources leads to… let us call it reduced performance.

“Do I have to lay you over the knee and force feed you in front of the secretary and your guard?” Celes asks without any emotion in her voice and raises an eyebrow.

“Hm. You wouldn't do that. Besides, I doubt that you could catch me.” I nod at her belly which gained considerably in size. “Are you sure that you aren't hiding twins in there?”

“I understand your current confidence in your ability to escape, but let me assure you that it is completely unfounded. Especially in my current state, being caught fleeing from your wife wouldn't just hurt your image, it would destroy it.” Celes looks down at me with a confident smile.

I notice that the courtier is listening to the exchange expectantly. She has furry ears, probably some kind of hamster, and she decided to dress in a professional-looking suit. “If you tell anyone about this conversation I will make you a nanny for the child and bet with Drem how long you survive.”

The secretary goes pale and nods.

“I wouldn't bet on such a serious matter, sir,” Drem answers with a cold voice. “I have heard from Rose that looking after the royal offspring is indeed a matter of life and death, though I think that it’s manageable with enough care.”

I take the pills and eat them. “Hooh? So you think you could take care of a child with the strength of several adults?”

“I am confident in my own survival, sir,” Drem announces.

“You hear that, honey? We have a volunteer.” I smile at Celes and get lightly smacked over the back of my head.

“I won't leave my children in the care of anyone who isn’t a part of the family. And if you don't do your share in watching after them, there won't be any chocolate anymore!”

The secretary grins at me and I stare daggers into her. No choice. I swallow the pills and drink the water.

“Are you done for today?” Celes asks, tugging at my shoulder.

“Hmm. I think so, why?” I get up.

“Then come. I need something from you.” She pulls me with her and leads me off to the private area of the palace.

“You know how this looks?” I ask, grinning.

She sighs. “I don't care. You should be mature enough to stop your teasing.” She leads me to the living room and picks a few documents from the table. “Look! It's a boy. I made some pictures with your new CT scanner! What should we name him!?” She grins at me while she shoves the black and white pictures into my face.

“Yeah, I see. Hmm.” I smile and nod. “What do you think of… Casus? That’s Latin for chance or downfall. It would fit, especially since we didn’t exactly plan for him.”

Celes’s expression stiffens. “No.”

“But-”

“No. He was planned for, even if he came a little earlier than expected.”

“He-”

“No. Or do you want to say that you didn’t want him?”

There is clearly no arguing with her right now. “As you wish...” I swear! Sometimes it’s like she can read my mind… which is actually a frightening thought, now that I think about it.