"What the heck did you put up as winner's reward?" Solus asked while keeping an eye on the small-scale war taking place in front of her, to make sure that no one got hurt.
"All the ice cream they can eat." Lith replied.
"But their mothers never allow them to eat more than one bowl for dessert." She replied. "Did you make a deal with Rena and Selia to motivate the kids?"
"No, but I didn't lie either since one bowl is all the ice cream they can eat." He said with a smug grin. "That will be another important life lesson for them. Always read the fine prints."
"You're a jerk." Solus laughed.
The battle remained at a stalemate until it came to close combat. At that point, Lilia and Leran shapeshifted into their hybrid forms and overpowered Aran and Leria before they could cast any more spells.
"That was unfair!" Leria grumbled on their way back home. "If only we had a hybrid form like you, uncle Lith, we would have won."
"No, it was a fair fight." Lith replied. "Lilia and Leran used everything they got, just like you did. Also, you knew that they could shapeshift and you had the advantage of having already played this game a lot in the Desert whereas it was the first time for them."
On their way back to their respective houses, the magical beasts suddenly stopped with fur raised. Protector's children sniffed the air, emitting a low growl that resonated with their steeds'.
'This is odd. I'm certain that the Queen's corps has surrounded us ever since we came out of the woods. If there was any threat, they would have intervened already.' Lith said via the mind link.
'There are a few people waiting for us ahead.' Solus shared with him the readings of her mana sense.
'An ambush?' Lith took War out of his pocket dimension and started weaving spells.
'No, unless you consider sitting in the open an ambush.' She replied. 'They are all human, with soldier-level life force and the weakest of them has a yellow core. Only one of them has enchanted equipment but it's nothing that you couldn't cut down with a single swing of your sword.'
Behind a small hill, there was a group of five people and as many horses. Four of them looked like knights, wearing armor and standing around the man that was their lord in a square formation.
The fifth man, instead, was dressed like a noble, wearing hunting leather pants and a jerkin over a fine silk shirt. He sat on a comfortable padded armchair, yet his expression was tense.
He couldn't have more than twenty, about 1.70 meters (5'7") tall, with dark brown hair and eyes.
"Baronet Frenon Hogum." Lith didn't even need Solus's help to recognize him. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to welcome you and your lovely companion back home, Archmage Verhen." Hogum stood up, offering Lith his hand which he shook. "I also wanted you to know that my petition to the Court was nothing personal.
"As the noble in charge of overseeing the development of Lutia, it was my duty to listen to the citizen's complaints and act in accordance with the law. I have nothing against your father and I have the utmost respect for your achievements.
"I came to visit you to clear any misunderstanding that a cold reading of the events might have aroused and to make sure there is no grudge between us."
Frenon Hogum had changed a lot from the last time they had met. After being bitterly humiliated by a child younger than he was in front of the nobility of the Lustria County and even Marchioness Distar, Frenon had turned his life upside down.
He had stopped indulging in comfort food, dedicating his life to the study of magic with the hope to get admitted into one of the six Great Academies to clear his name.
Once he failed and had to resort to paying his title as a mage from one of the lesser academies, Hogum had used his skills to develop his fief, becoming a ruthless politician.
Everything he had just said to Lith was the truth.
Hogum didn't linger on the past anymore and had no reason to make a powerful opponent out of an Archmage. The Baronet had simply tried to exploit the famine to increase his status and influence by becoming the biggest landowner of the Distar marquisate.
Now that his plan had failed, however, his only option was to limit the damage.
"I have no grudge against you, Baronet." Lith said, making Hogum inwardly sigh in relief.
"Yet I can't help but notice that you have chosen a precise time and place for this meeting. I have returned to Lutia for a few days, yet instead of sending me an invitation, you waited for a moment when I would be surrounded by the Queen's corps and in the company of my little brother.
"If I were a betting man, I'd say that you feel guilty for your actions or are at least scared of their consequences."
Hogum tensed up. There was no animosity in Lith's voice but everything he said sounded like a threat. To make matters worse, he had seen through Frenon's setup and was politely calling him a coward.
"You misunderstand me. I know that you are a busy man and that you would hardly have the time to visit me just to discuss such trivial matters. I came here today only because I knew that I wouldn't disturb either your work or family." The Baronet said.
"Which means that somehow you knew my schedule." Lith nodded in gratitude. "Someone is keeping an eye on me for you and since no spy could get past the Queen's corps or my magical beasts it must be one of the farmhands."
Hogum wanted to deny everything, but the more he talked the more Lith unraveled his plan so the Baronet remained silent.
"To thank you for the precious information you have provided me today, Baronet, allow me to give you a piece of advice. Be careful when playing with embers because it takes just one spark to burn down an entire household."
Lith friendly patted his back while moving past the Baronet, without using any more strength than a regular human. Yet Frenon froze in terror feeling the searing heat that Lith's hand emitted.
"I understand." The Baronet said, but the group never stopped moving nor turned around.
'I treated Verhen like a fool and he made a fool of me, again.' He actually thought. 'Yet despite his threats, I still have nothing to fear. Pelan's report will taint his reputation just like his Tiamat friend hogging the Dragon's corpse.
'With the support of the Pelan household and of what is left of Deirus' faction, Verhen's political influence is negligible. If I don't give any of his allies an excuse to get rid of me, I'll be safe.'
"Thank you very much. My evening will be quiet today." Selia said when Lith brought her kids back.
They were dirty and smelly, but also so tired that they didn't protest even when they discovered Lith's treachery.
"But Mom, don't we deserve a prize for our victory?" Leran said with literal big puppy eyes.
"You deserve a prize alright. Here is one bar of soap each.." Alas, it was an old family trick they had abused until Selia had become immune to it.
