“You want live wolves, don’t you?” I say to Ronan.

  I look for the seed of darkness, but he must still be with the cook. The truth is, wolf pups are adorable—soft and fluffy. Personally, I’d rather ride a live wolf than a bone or zombie one.

  “Yes. And ants. I would like the giant ant queen to swear loyalty to you.”

  Those are neither cute nor adorable. A grimace of disgust escapes me.

  “My lady,” he insists, sensing my reluctance, “ants are strong. They can be great workers. They can lift many times their weight. And we are in the same situation as before: I have a limit to the number of my undead friends.”

  “By giant ants, do you mean the ones that attacked you and that you now have several here?” the prince asks.

  “That is right.”

  “And wouldn’t that make Convergence easier to locate?”

  “No, because they are in caves under solid rock, beneath the mountains to the north and west.”

  “If that’s the case, I don’t see the problem—beyond it being an additional burden for Bianca, and we don’t know whether she has a limit.”

  The concern about me possibly becoming evil—or being controlled by the system—is still speculation. But it could be real.

  “Like I said, if we notice anything, I kill them. Can we, my lady?” He looks at me, and his expression shifts from blank to one filled with eager hope, like a small child asking for something he’s desperately excited about.

  I sigh.

  They’re workers. They can handle excavation and earth-moving tasks, so the totem and Ronan won’t need to ask me for help. That’s the decisive point, and I realize it.

  I think if Ronan hasn’t used that argument, it’s because he’s convinced working in the caves strengthens my earth magic and that I’m some kind of lazy student who needs incentives.

  No comment.

  “Alright,” I grant him.

  “But if you notice anything, anything at all, you tell me,” my prince says.

  “Of course,” I assure him with a warm smile.

  “The pup should go too, to level up. And orcs and goblins—animals give them experience.”

  “If the pup goes, I’d prefer to go as well. Shall we split up?” I propose. “Vincent goes to the orc settlement, and I go to the ants. And then we’ll deal with the wolves.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Vincent agrees.

  “Well thought, my lady. When Vincent returns, he will give us information about the wolves that could be useful for planning how we annex them. And so Convergence will have the bear’s territory, the ants’, and the wolves’.”

  “Ronan, those territories are part of Alverdan,” Vincent reminds him.

  “Details. For animals and creatures, they are their lands and the boundaries they respect.”

  “But we will respect that it’s my parents’ jurisdiction.”

  I intervene before Ronan says something. Just in case.

  “Of course. Your idea that when we participate in the games we ask for part of this marquisate is very clever. That way they’d all be my vassals and, through the oath of loyalty to your father, his as well.”

  Then an idea crosses my mind and I frown. When his father decides he’s old enough and passes the crown to his son, will Sigfrig be my lord, and therefore the lord of all my vassals as well?

  Because I haven’t sworn anything yet, but my father the count has. If they give me my own title and lands, I’ll have to swear vassalage.

  “Bianca?” Vincent asks, noticing something’s wrong with me.

  Normally I’d tell him it’s nothing, but not anymore.

  “Sigfrig. I don’t like the idea of Convergence being his.”

  “Don’t worry. I trust him, he’s my brother. I already told you that, before knowing who you are, my plan was to support him in his reign. But trusting him, having faith he’ll do right by the kingdom, doesn’t mean I don’t find what he did to you at the party a total disgrace and a lack of chivalry.”

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  “He did it to you too. I’m yours, not a sharp weapon he can take from you.”

  His features darken.

  “I know. I’m very aware. And also fortunate that you want to be with me.”

  He loosens the tension with which he’d clenched his fists and smiles at me.

  Yes, the best part of being his is that I’m with him because I chose it—and I choose it every day. With his brother, I’d only be the sword bearer and a powerful mage. With my prince, I’m his companion and his equal.

  “Me too, that you asked me to marry you.”

  I lose myself in his eyes and we begin tilting our bodies toward each other. At that moment Ronan asks:

  “Should I leave you alone?”

  Boom.

  It’s the strong beat of my heart reminding me we’re not alone but are in a conversation with Ronan and in the middle of the goblin cave.

  “Sorry, Ronan.”

  Vincent laughs and I feel myself turn even redder.

  “Besides, what will you do while we go on our respective missions? Want to come along against the ants?”

  “I would like to. Though I will try not to intervene until we reach the queen’s chamber, since we do not gain experience while the pup, the goblins, and the orcs do.”

  “Perfect then.”

  “When would be a good time to leave? Tomorrow at dawn?” Vincent suggests.

  “I imagine...”

  Since I’m not very sure, I look at Ronan. He’s a better strategist than me.

  “No problem. Then I will make some preparations and afterward I will go to Clearhaven to raise one of those two orcs to ask him questions—that way we have the perfect reason for why Vincent knows where to guide the soldiers tomorrow. Then I am going to visit the orcs with the bear king. Vincent, are you coming to Clearhaven?”

  “Yes, thank you. That way I can coordinate with the army officer in command.”

  “In about thirty minutes at the cave entrance,” he tells him.

  “Perfect, I’ll be there.”

  Ronan leaves, and I stay a few more minutes with Vincent, this time as alone as we can be in the middle of a cave populated by goblins, bears, and undead.

  “I’ve removed the barrier spell, it consumes a lot of mana,” Vincent warns me.

  “No problem. All this we’ve talked about reminds me of something I wanted to ask you. And it’s fine if someone hears it.” I smile at him.

  “Tell me.”

  Oh... he’s so handsome... And when I smile at him, he smiles back.

  Focus, Bianca, I scold myself.

  “If Mary is on our games team at the academy, can we try to get her lands and a noble title too? Or would that be too much, since I’m already asking for myself?”

  “Bianca, Mary, even if she doesn’t participate in the games, is going to be a noble. It doesn’t matter if they don’t give her a title—some heir will want to marry her, making her a baroness, countess, or whatever applies.”

  “Because she’s a good person and pretty?” I ask, not very clear on the reason.

  Until now, and also in the otome game, I’ve only seen nobles marrying each other.

  Well, Mary could end up marrying the prince or one of the other romantic interests, but only because she was one of the possible protagonists.

  Vincent, hearing me and seeing my confused face, laughs.

  “Of course not, Bianca. It should be for that, but in reality it’s for her high affinity for light. Any noble would be more than proud to pass that affinity to their children and grandchildren.”

  “What if Mary falls in love with another commoner?”

  “That would be romantic but tragic: they would never have children.”

  “What?”

  What is he talking about?

  “You really don’t know? They didn’t explain it to you as a child? Oh... sorry,” he tells me, realizing, remembering I’m not exactly the Bianca he’d assumed when he met me. “Okay,” he continues, “it’s not known exactly why—it’s suspected it might have to do with mana—but the fact is someone with magic can’t have offspring with someone without magic.”

  “But what about nobles? Not all have magic, some are born without it.”

  “Those nobles marry other nobles without magical affinities, and in the case of being heirs, the title and lands pass not to them but to the next sibling.”

  “What if they’re only children?”

  “Either to the closest relative with magical affinity or to the king to dispose of that title and those lands in the games.”

  “I had no idea...”

  “All this makes Mary very valuable, since she not only has magical affinity but has it at a high level. The higher the parents’ affinity, the more likely the children will possess magic.”

  “So if you’re a commoner and have magic, it’s like a direct promotion to noble?”

  “That’s right. Unless it’s a low affinity, you don’t reach the games, and no other noble sees fit to marry you. In that case, you either wouldn’t marry or would marry a commoner and have no children.”

  “So Mary can’t be the illegitimate daughter of a commoner woman and a noble.”

  “Only if her mother had magic. But sometimes a new bloodline of mages is born in a baby who shouldn’t have any magical affinity, and yet possesses an exceptionally strong one. That child is an indigo. Mary could definitely be one.”

  “Like a witch matriarch?”

  “Witch?”

  “The term is used in my world for mages whose magic is transmitted only from mothers to daughters. The matriarch would be like the founder or most powerful ancestor.”

  “Yes, something like that,” he answers after being thoughtful for a while. “But didn’t you say there was no magic as such in your world?”

  “No, but people love to fantasize and invent stories they write in books.”

  By the way, in this whole dialogue about Mary, it might have been good for Ronan to be here. So he’d realize he might have a lot of competition with my friend. It would be best if he invited her on a date soon, before someone else does what Theodore already did.

  “Your world is curious. I think I should prepare to leave for Clearhaven too. See you later, Bianca.”

  He approaches and deposits a kiss on my lips that leaves me completely breathless.

  “See you,” I whisper and stay mesmerized watching him walk away.

  What does he have to do? Because going to Clearhaven doesn’t require any preparation. Maybe eat something? Oh, maybe go to the bathroom... which here is more like the forest.

  Well, I shake my head to clear my thoughts and resign myself to what I hope is my last task of making bricks. First I’ll stop by the cave that serves as a kitchen to grab something to eat. It’s not slacking or delaying the task... it’s just that I don’t feel like it at all. I’ve noticed my stone control has increased, but it’s so monotonous and boring...