Rivelius made his way up to Cordelia’s study a while later, with the permits Rolin had handed over still tucked under one arm.
She looked up the moment he stepped through the door, setting her book aside.
"You’re building an army," she said.
Rivelius crossed the room and set the permits down on her desk instead of answering directly. "Rolin’s men arrived today. A hundred of them, along with beasts and supplies. He’s granted trade permits for the farm as well."
Cordelia picked up the papers, glanced over them briefly, then looked back up at him. "You always do this," she said. "Dodge a question by answering a different one entirely."
[10 EXP received.]
[Marital Instinct — Lv. 4 → Lv. 5 Achieved.]
[Reward: +50 Strength, +100 Vitality, +200 Speed.]
[Strength (STR): 961 → 1,011 ↑]
[Vitality (VIT): 801 → 901 ↑]
[Speed (SPD): 2,638 → 2,838 ↑]
[Marital Instinct — Lv. 5. EXP: 3,500/8,000 to Lv. 6.]
She looked at him for a moment, something amused crossing her face. "You know dodging a question that obviously only makes it more obvious there’s something worth asking about, right?"
Rivelius said nothing. He simply watched her, weighing quietly how much of the truth she could actually handle.
Cordelia tilted her head slightly, and mouthed the word — what? — without any sound behind it. She seemed to be enjoying the moment far too much to actually voice it.
[Wife mood: Playful.]
[Play along. You might actually be good at this.]
Rivelius considered her for a moment longer, and decided, finally, that a partial truth would serve better than another dodge. It also occurred to him, almost as an afterthought, that this was as good an opportunity as any to actually test what all that reading of hers amounted to in practice.
"The men," he said. "I intend to train them into a real fighting force, not just household guards." He paused. "Given what I’ve seen of your reading habits, I’m curious what you’d actually do with a hundred untrained men and no immediate threat to prepare them for."
Cordelia’s smile widened, sharp interest slipping into teasing rather than replacing it. "You’re testing me."
"I’m asking a question."
"Sounded like a test to me."
[Wow. She’s highly perceptive.]
"Do I get a reward if I pass?" Cordelia added.
Rivelius looked at her, genuinely caught off guard for a moment. "A reward?"
She nodded, entirely serious despite the smile still lingering. "A reward. You’re giving me a test. It’s only fair I get something for passing it."
Rivelius studied her smiling face for a moment. "Fine. I’ll give you anything you want, so long as it’s within my power to give."
[200 EXP received.]
[Marital Instinct — Lv. 5. EXP: 3,700/8,000 to Lv. 6.]
Cordelia considered the question for a moment, and when she spoke, it came out fully formed, the way everything she said seemed to when she’d actually thought it through.
"A hundred untrained men with no immediate threat, and no urgency," she said. "I wouldn’t drill them into soldiers first. I’d break them into smaller units early, no more than ten or twenty to a group, and assign each unit a single experienced trainer they answer to directly, not a rotating instructor. Men fight harder for someone they know personally than for an abstract chain of command." A pause. "I’d pay them well above what they’d earn anywhere else in the county, enough that leaving would feel like a genuine loss, not just an inconvenience. But I wouldn’t stop there."
She met his eyes.
"I’d give them something to actually belong to. A name for the unit. A symbol, a banner of their own, something that isn’t House Kane’s but theirs. Men will die for a paycheck if they must, but they’ll fight far harder, and stay far longer, for something they feel is genuinely theirs to protect." A small pause. "And I’d also make sure every one of them knew, personally, that their commanding officer had already proven herself worth following. Which, from what I saw today, you’ve already managed without my help."
Rivelius said nothing for a long moment, watching her with something close to genuine surprise settling into his usual flat expression.
"I saw from the window," Cordelia added, still holding his gaze.
[She’s gooood.]
Silence settled between them for a moment. Then Cordelia tilted her head. "So. Did I pass the test?"
He answered after a beat. "What do you want as a reward?"
[100 EXP received.]
Her face brightened.
She thought it over for a long moment before finally settling on an answer.
"An afternoon," she finally said. "With you. Alone."
She looked down as she said it, something shy slipping through despite the confidence she’d carried through the rest of the conversation.
Rivelius went still, thrown again, in the exact way she seemed to specialize in.
"That’s what you want?" he asked, his voice carrying genuine confusion.
Cordelia looked up, and nodded faintly.
[New Task: Say yes.]
[Reward: +200 Agility, +500 EXP.]
He didn’t understand why she’d chosen that of all things as her reward. But staring into her eyes, he found them genuinely expectant, waiting for an answer she clearly already hoped for.
"Fine," Rivelius said. "Pick a day, and we’ll go."
Cordelia beamed, unguarded and bright, the shyness from a moment ago gone entirely.
[Reward: +200 Agility, +650 EXP.]
[Agility (AGI): 992 → 1,192 ↑]
[Bloodline Awakening: 4% → 5% ↑]
[Marital Instinct — Lv. 5. EXP: 4,450/8,000 to Lv. 6.]
Rivelius noticed the reward sat higher than what had originally been promised, and decided, wisely, not to ask why. He’d learned that particular lesson already.
His eyes drifted back to Cordelia. She wasn’t looking at him now, gaze dropped, but the happiness on her face hadn’t faded at all. He let himself watch her longer than he normally would, noticing it happening, and not looking away as quickly as he usually might have.
Rivelius left Cordelia’s study some time later and made his way toward the training grounds, drawn by the sound of steel and boots against dirt.
A group of roughly twenty men had gathered there, weapons in hand — swords, spears, a few bows slung across shoulders — alongside a handful of guards overseeing them.
Reyna spotted him and crossed the distance, saluting properly, though something in her expression when she looked at him carried more warmth than the gesture strictly required. Not the kind that belonged to a soldier and her lord. The kind that belonged to someone who’d already, fully, chosen a side.
He noticed it, and said nothing.
"Why aren’t these men settled into their quarters yet?" he asked instead.
"I asked for volunteers, my lord. Anyone with prior combat training or experience with beasts, to step forward first. It seemed wiser to know where we actually stood before starting from scratch with everyone." She gestured toward the group. "Twenty-six answered. Seven of them have some background in beast handling as well."
Rivelius considered that, and found the logic sound. He let his eyes drift back over the group, and caught sight of Darrow near the edge of it, sword held loose and easy in one hand, laughing at something a guard beside him had said.
"I want to train," Rivelius said after a moment. "Not now. But regularly. With you."
Reyna’s expression shifted, hesitation flickering across it. "My lord, I don’t think it’s wise for me to be the one—"
"You won’t hurt me," he said, cutting her off, before turning to face her fully. "Or would you?"
Reyna shook her head immediately. "No, my lord. I would never—"
"Then what are you worried about?"
Reyna went quiet for a moment, something in her posture settling, the argument dying before it could fully form.
"It’s settled, then," Rivelius said.
"Yes, my lord," she said quietly.
He turned back to watch the men, with his hands clasped loosely behind his back.
Reyna glanced at him once more before doing the same, and the two of them stood there together, watching the drills continue in silence.