Catherine was lying in bed and staring at the incredibly magnificent ring on her finger. It was made from a carved sapphire framed in gold and platinum and, judging by the gemstone's clarity, it must have been absurdly expensive. Yesterday, when Arthur took her to Benjamin's store, everyone was still shaken after the recent attacks. However, since his store had been directly attacked the previous time, Benjamin had hired more guards. In this more recent attack, they had defended themselves without any problems. She wasn't surprised anymore when Benjamin himself took care of Arthur's requests made at a seemingly unreasonable hour. Even Master Viridian and his daughter were hurrying to facilitate the man who simply didn't care at all that the entire city was stopping and taking a breath after the attack. He needed to buy things, and such insignificant things weren't going to stop him.

  Abigail had scooped up and taken away Cate's insanely decorative slave collar and returned with it barely an hour later. Even with the work taking only that short a time, it was obvious that it wasn't a slave collar anymore. It had became a breathtakingly beautiful necklace, with another sapphire flower framed in the very place where the runestone had previously sat. Arthur noted that the gemstone matched her eyes and, for some reason, that made her insanely happy. The female clerks were as excited as she was when they took her on a shopping run where she obtained all of her other necessities. She bought new dresses, training clothes, accessories, and whatever else she needed, or even just fancied. When she returned to Arthur, who had stayed behind with Master Viridian and Abigail, the Dwarves looked completely exhausted. However, once Arthur put a delicate tiara on her head, she couldn't help but gasp. She didn't recognise the woman looking at her from the large mirror. She was a beautiful princess, not the enslaved daughter of a murdered merchant from just a couple short months ago.

  To be so incredibly happy seemed so impossible. She had no idea that she held the dream of something like that happening. But now, she couldn't stop being excited. Catherine didn't remember exactly how or when she returned to the apartment at the Baron's mansion, but when she woke up, she was still wearing the magnificent dress and was lying in a soft bed. Arthur... Wasn't there...

  "Where is he?" She asked herself with slight disappointment as she sat in the bed and stretched with a yawn.

  'Your man is taking a bath.' A lazy voice answered in her head and she looked around in alarm.

  However, she quickly spotted Eira who was comfortably napping on a very large pillow.

  "Good morning, Eira." Cate said from the edge of the bed as she placed her feet on the cool stone floor with a blissful smile. "I hope you slept well."

  'Very.' The Lynx stretched her paws and rolled her tongue in a yawn. 'If I knew that I could live like this, I would definitely have become a familiar much earlier.'

  "I don't believe that you would have liked it. We both can only live this fairy tale life because of Arthur." Cate chuckled at the lazing lynx.

  'Oh...' Eira looked up at her and snuggled herself deeper in the pillow. 'In that case, everything is as it should be... I'll stay like this a little longer...'

  Cate chuckled again seeing that Eira had dozed off. She didn't remember buying such a nice pillow, so it must have been Arthur who considered her familiar’s needs while Cate was too shocked, excited, and exhausted from the events of the day before. The sun was already up and the heat had started seeping through the window because someone had forgot to close the drapes. Probably Arthur. She giggled, knowing that he was never going to change his habits. She stored the dress that needed refreshing and put on... Cate smiled to herself. She didn't exactly need to put on anything now... However, before she could surprise her fiancé again in the bath, he entered the bedroom with closed eyes and a towel on his head as he was energetically drying his blonde hair.

  "Oh, you woke up! That's great, my Dear, because we have a lot to do today. In half an hour, we will have breakfast with Sion and Felix." He said, more sensing her presence than seeing her.

  Maybe it was better because she wasn't happy with what she heard. "Half hour?! I need to get ready! Gods! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!"

  She ran past him to the bathroom. The mood she had been in when she woke up was gone, replaced with a far less exciting perspective. She wasn't a maid anymore... She was worried and anxious because she didn't feel ready to act as a lady...

  ???

  Arthur sat at the table, casting happy glances at a slightly nervous Catherine by his side. He knew that she was nervous about her perceived lack of etiquette, but, from his experience, he knew that truly powerful people, like Emperor Theon, bent the etiquette to their needs. Arthur simply copied the Imperial etiquette that favoured honesty and simple politeness over pompous and mostly empty protocol. They ate breakfast interrupted only by sporadic, but mostly random, exchanges. Arthur knew that both Sion and Felix were nervous, but it seemed that Elene wasn't aware that Arthur wanted to have a very serious discussion today. She engaged in chit chat with Catherine, who seemed extremely grateful for it. Behind Felix were the same two Paladins while nearby, Amos also stood available. Once breakfast was over, Elene attempted to leave the room and take Cate with her, but Arthur stopped her. She sat nervously near her husband because this was a situation that wasn't common in their culture.

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  "Before we start our discussion, and I will be very insistent on receiving answers to my various questions, I must show you something." Arthur smiled in a way that calmed down the Cardinal and the Baron, who nodded with eagerness. "I assume that you trust everyone gathered in this room. Especially you, Cardinal, because what you are about to see is going to be shocking."

  This time, the Paladins simply lowered their heads in humility, knowing that Arthur didn't want to offend them, but he also didn't know them. The Cardinal only nodded with a reassuring smile, unable to find proper words. Because of yesterday's display of absolutely one-sided dominance, Arthur's prowess and power was enough to stop anyone from saying too much. Arthur brought out the second communication device he received in the Arcadian supply crate and selected one of the three recordings he wanted to show them. Before starting, however, he put a small statue on the table.

  "I have activated a privacy barrier." He informed the group. "No one is going to be able to hear us speak."

  Both men looked at the statue with a gaze suggesting they needed it and they needed it now. Arthur placed the communication device on the table and played the recording. They gasped when a full-sized, slightly translucent holographic image of Emperor Theon Avalon looked at them as if standing by the table. Everyone could immediately recognise how powerful the man was simply by the aura and mana signature used to make the recording. For a moment, the air was heavy with the mana of the Emperor.

  "I won't take much of your time, Arthur." Theon Avalon, as usual, spoke without beating around the bush. His voice was powerful and pure. "I give you a single order, my Inquisitor. Survive. Whatever you do and as long as it doesn't hurt Arcadia, you are free to do. As an Inquisitor of the Arcadian Empire, you are obliged to abide by our laws, but I realise those might be troublesome in a foreign country. As such, I exempt you from full adherence to the letter of the law as long as you remain faithful to its spirit. As an Arcadian Count, you will represent my authority wherever you go. If you decide to make friends, they will be friends of Arcadia. If you find enemies, you will destroy them, if possible, because they are the enemies of Arcadia. I believe in your resourcefulness to fulfill the orders you were given. Remember, if you don't like the country you are in, just conquer it and change it. Theon Avalon, out."

  An even deeper silence covered the room. Arthur, in amusement, observed the reaction of the gathered people. Catherine was absolutely shocked, but she wasn't scared. Sion and Elene were pale, while Felix seemed to take it calmly. The Paladins and Amos were absolutely calm, as if they weren't concerned in the slightest. Without giving anyone time to comment, he played another recording. Now, the gasps were even louder and, honestly, he couldn't blame anyone. The woman who replaced the Emperor was the very definition of the word perfect. She looked toward the front of her stance with a soft gaze as her nine tails were perfectly visible behind her. A Kitsune who had achieved the pinnacle of her power. Her presence radiated in the room leaving no doubt about how unimaginably powerful she was.

  "I don't want to waste your time with assurances that we are looking for a way to bring you home, Arthur, because at this point those must be boring." She began with a steady voice. "However, there is, perhaps, one thing that my husband forgot to tell you that he most probably considered obvious. You have received supplies that you are free to use and, hopefully, we will be able to send you some more. I lift all your restrictions. You are free to use your full power and might to survive. If you decide that we are taking too long to get you home, you are free to act at your own discretion." She closed her stunning eyes and slowly shook her head. "This shouldn't have happened, Captain, however, I believe that you are fine. We can't send Praetorians to aid you, and sending any of the Guardsmen is not feasible at the moment, and you know the why of that. I want to assure you that you have our full support. Good luck, Arthur. Empress Luna va'Theon, end of recording."

  He smiled when the image of his Lady disappeared. It was time to show them the last recording. Another unbelievably perfect woman stood in front of everyone, but this time, the feeling that washed over the room was completely different. If the Emperor and Empress were inspiring and demanded respect, it was solely due to their individual power that the recordings projected. This wasn't the case for the woman standing before them. Everyone, except for Arthur, who himself stood at attention, was forced to their knees. The person in front of them was born to be worshipped. Without any introductions, everyone knew that she was a Goddess. She was as perfect in her beauty as the Kitsune had been, and wore a similar royal gown and crown. Behind her, radiating the same might and authority appeared more Gods and Goddesses. This time, Cardinal Felix and his Paladins looked more than just worried.

  They were terrified.

  "We know that you are alive, our Paladin." Her gentle voice made everyone shiver as she smiled. "I believe that my husband permitted you to do anything you want, and my Sister Empress clarified everything else. However, there are things that neither Theon nor Luna can allow you. But I can." She briefly stopped as if she wanted to correct herself and smirked. "We can."

  "We hereby grant you the title of the Herald of the Pantheon of Arcadia." All the Gods and Goddesses of Arcadia said in dignified unison as they raised their hands. When he watched this message for the first time, he had actually obtained the title, and with it, power he had never dreamt about. "Good luck, our Herald. Use our power well and remember that we will bring you home. Empress Hestia va'Theon, end of recording."

  There was total silence in the room as the power of the Arcadian Pantheon faded. Arthur helped Catherine up to sit on her chair as if everything just revealed were something completely normal. He poured her a cup of juice and almost finished his own glass of watered-down wine. However, the Saftians were heavily shaken after the display. This was something that he greatly appreciated. His Lord and Ladies might be far away, but no one could dare to say that he made everything up.

  "I see that you may have some questions, so I would gladly answer them before we proceed to answering mine." Arthur smiled cheerfully and lifted his glass for the few final sips of wine. "You may ask..."

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to and who edited the chapter!