The Guardian Chef

***(Graeval's POV)***

Cuding. The capital of the Thirus Kingdom is located right in the center of the nation. With a population of at least 250'000, this town was built on the shores of Lake Verher and whose royal citadel and noble quarters are located on the neighboring island, connected to the mainland by the gigantic Arnmack bridge. Since its foundation, there has never been a ruler or a subject who has never been proud of this fortified city, and still today it is the representation of the prosperity and safety of Thirus as no one has ever managed to conquer it militarily. Of course, it is also the representation of the typical medieval society as it is divided between agricultural districts where peasants are resident together with their wheat fields and therefore under the direct protection of the sovereign, the working-class district where people of lower and middle class live, while on the island there is the neighborhood of the nobles and the citadel: an enormous fortress that is the heart of the political and administrative life of the kingdom.

"I have to admit... it's impressive." I said looking at it from above

"It's certainly more elegant than Crasthorn."

"Do you mean the destroyed capital of Deshatia?"

"Yes... well, I already knew that our capital was not who knows what magnificence, but it certainly fulfilled its role." Lilith explained as I held her in my arms.

Right now I'm floating thanks to my telekinetic powers and since it would take too long to walk, I decided to fly here.

Hm? Use the portal? It was not possible. While it is certainly very useful for traveling long distances, the flaw is that I need a clear picture of my destination in my head. It is no coincidence that I have memorized Fago and its surroundings and I continue to update my memories. But when it comes to a place I've never visited, I'm helpless and even photos or drawings can't help me, as I have to 'touch' the specific place with my senses: smells, colors, sensations, etc.

Staying away from the main street, I landed not far away so that we can immediately return along the main street. Even though I have empowered my illusory powers, Lilith still wears a travel cloak with a hood to hide her face... after all, even if disguised, her beauty is palpable.

In front of the southern gate, there was a long line and so we also queued and when it was our turn, we were able to pass the guards and the inspection without much problem... apart from a few too bold looks towards Lilith when she had to uncover her face. I made sure they have nightmares for at least three days.

At the beginning of the main road, many people were walking around, but soon various stalls and nomadic merchants began to appear, intent on selling their wares until we entered the square. Full of life, stalls, and with a fountain in the center, the square is surrounded by various buildings decorated with statues and in some even with frescoes represented mainly festoons or architectural decorations. In particular, two buildings that were recognizable by their insignia stood out: the Guild of Mercenaries and the Guild of Merchants. But what I found truly magnificent about this square was the carefreeness derived from everyday life. Carefreeness that infected even my wife and me.

"We don't have an appointed hour to keep..." I began, taking her hand delicately, "would you like to wander around these markets?" I asked kissing her hand

"... Of course, my love." she replied slightly red and lowering her gaze to unsuccessfully hide her splendid happy smile.

Pulling her gently, we immersed ourselves in that daily party. Merchants shouted to attract customers, wives with children or other traders approached the interesting stalls trying to secure the interested product, while groups of children played not far away and the city guards made the usual patrol.

We wasted some time in that life, stopping in front of some markets that sold costumes, jewelry and buying a snack when I found some interesting dish to try and maybe replicate it. But what took us the longest of all was from a fortune-teller we noticed on the roadside.

"Why don't we try it too?" Lilith asked me

"You know I don't believe in these things."

"So what? It can be fun." she said pulling me towards the fortune teller

"Welcome." greeted us the fortuneteller

An elderly lady sat behind a wooden table wearing the typical worn-out clothes of a commoner; her gray hair was held together with a ponytail, but her eyes are a deep black in which a spark of wisdom shines. The olive skin was wrinkled and sagging, but the hands were calloused, a symbol that she did manual labor.

"What do you want to know from this poor old woman?"

"Let's see..." Lilith began turning her gaze to me "let's start, with love." she stated lowering his gaze and sitting down.

I bet she's all red. I thought, giggling. In the end, she too is a woman in love. Maybe the old lady understood what I was thinking and even she giggles with her hoarse voice.

Taking the tarot deck, she handed it to Lilith and asked her to shuffle. Once finished, the woman took the top four cards from the deck and laid them on the table. She then began by raising the top card showing its name

"The lovers. The card that most represents love and therefore it seems that you are made for each other..."

she turned over the next card

"Fact supported by the Empress, as it seems your beloved is always ready to do anything for you." at that sentence Lilith smiled gently taking my dress.

The old woman turned over the third card

“The death…” when she said the name of the card, Lilith gasped, but the old woman chuckled “Don't worry, it's not always a bad thing. It symbolizes that something will happen and that could bring a change, but whether positive or negative... I don't know."

She turned over the last card

“It will bring you joy and happiness. This is the meaning of the Stars. It seems that fate is very favorable to your union... no, it seems that you were born to be together."

Uao... she sure can do with words. After that, she took the deck and laid it out in a straight line

"Take one and turn it over." Lilith did and what came out “Ara. You caught the Angel. It looks like you will face a change in the near future, that will force you to make a decision."

"What is it about?"

"I do not know. Fufufufu" said the old woman with a chuckle "And you? What do you want to know?"

"I'm okay." I said raising my hand "No offense, but I never believed in these things."

"Even if you don't believe it, you might still give it a try." she began by putting the cards together and then handing the deck to me

I had no intention of doing this, but after meeting Lilith's expectant gaze, I took a deep breath and shuffled the cards. When I returned it, I told her what I wanted to know

"Tell me about my future."

The old woman smiled and also with me he took the first four cards and then placed them on the table. She began to turn them.

“Unbeknownst to you, there is a conspiracy going on that will affect your life. Or so, says the reversed Moon."

she turned over the next card and there, the old woman winced slightly

“The Devil upside down. A great evil... this conspiracy is perpetrated by pure evil."

She turned the next

"Justice says that it is an evil with which you will have a showdown..." she turned the last one "and that you will win, restoring balance in your life. This is what the Sun represents."

When she spread out the whole deck, she started to tell me to draw one, but without giving her time to speak, I placed two silver Vahkels on one of the cards

"Thanks for the answers and the entertainment." I started and then took Lilith's hand "shall we go?"

"Huh? Wait up! Why not-"

"I already told you, I don't believe in these things."

"Buuuh. What a killjoy." Lilith said making an adorable childish expression and then turning to the fortune teller “Thanks for everything. Good day."

As we were leaving, the lady greeted us with a resigned expression.

***(Fortuneteller's POV)***

The youth. I thought as I watched that couple leave.

I took the money the young man left me and in the meantime, I turned over the card on which he had placed it. Oh, dear! I looked again in the direction of the couple who were no longer visible. It seems you have a very... interesting future.

The card on which he had placed the money was that of the Emperor.

***(King Edward's POV)***

The pile of documents on my desk finally seemed to begin to diminish.

Well, if nothing else, I have something else to think about... a week has passed since I sent the letter to Guardian. I certainly did not expect an immediate response if the letter reached the addressee, but neither was it said that it would reply. However, the more time passed the more worried I was and the worries only increased given the state of things.

Starting from the internal issues, after having managed to deploy the armed forces to deal with the bandits, the most pressing problem at the moment is the division of the nobles into the three factions: the faction of the crown prince, the faction of the Hero and the faction of the interventionists.

I'm getting old. I am now 60 years old and maybe I will be able to follow the political and administrative issues of the kingdom for another 9-10 years at best, but the problem comes later. When I made Valerio my only heir in case something happened to me, all the nobles were in favor of this decision as they know how reliable my son is... of course, we talk about it before the Hero sent by the mighty Aphy arrived. Since its appearance, many nobles have begun to change their minds about succession or foreign policy and these things only got worse when the war with the demons ended.

The Crown Prince's faction continues to support my son and is mainly composed of influential nobles such as Dukes, Marquises, and Counts with whom Valerio has close ties because he has known the heirs since childhood or during the academy. He is a natural leader like my late brother was and he is capable; but lately, he's been getting impatient and the pressure from the other factions is perhaps causing a change in him.

The Hero's faction is made up of nobles of rank less than or equal to that of Viscount. After all, he fought alongside them and suffered with them... which Valerio did not because he is aware of his weakness in the management of military affairs.

In some ways, it could be said that the Hero has the support of the army, while Valerio has the support of the civilian officers... in other words, they are opposite poles. My son knows well that the Hero does not want the throne, indeed he has noticed that the title of Duke was accepted only to marry my daughter that is her sister... and yet, he still feels threatened. Perhaps, it is also the fault of the interventionist faction.

This third faction that wishes to use the Hero to expand the borders... has created certain pressures since our allies joined, albeit unofficially, the anti-Thirus coalition and Ludmilla Westhead's unexpected conspiracy made understand how much has grown the greed and impatience of the members of this faction. I don't know what they have in mind anymore.

Outside the realm, Thirus is always one step away from war. Thanks to Guardian and the return of the niece of the King of Yedal, we have been able to strengthen our alliance which until recently had become increasingly tense. Thanks to this security, Thirus can breathe a sigh of relief, but cannot relax. While Yedal can act as a buffer state, it can't do much against the Gaborg Kingdom and especially the Ridian Empire.

Even if they were not linked by the coalition promoted by the State of the Church, Ridia has always been an empire whose military power is as well known as it is feared, not to mention that it has continually crossed swords with neighboring countries and especially with the Confederation of Penistono.

Gaborg, on the other hand, is a nation whose population is mainly composed of beastmen and they are famous for their incredible physical performance. They have always been closed as a nation and have often fought with the Empire, but they have established excellent relations with the Kingdom of Yedal since before the war against the demons. So it could be said that they shouldn't cause any problems, but in reality, this is not the case. Their race has always been persecuted and hunted because they provide highly prized slaves especially in the empire that believes in human supremacy. As a result, they are always distrustful of the human kingdoms, and since we have also linked the Hero to the kingdom by making him marrying my daughter... If necessary, they would be able to launch a preemptive strike on the northern beaches.

One thing that has always been a source of relief, however, is the fact that the state of the Dragonkin, that is the Principality of Kreryn, has always been very conservative and isolated, rarely accepting merchants from the outside. It is true that lately, the Archduchess of their ruler has opened the borders to allow goods to enter freely, but even during the war against the demons, it has maintained its neutrality without ever siding with the demons or with the humans. After all, with a few exceptions, they have always been disinterested in the outside world.

Looking at the map that was on my left, the eye fell on the State of the Church, that despite being far from Thirus, its Templars are posted in the churches of the main cities and therefore represent the greatest of dangers, since it is like having invited an army within its borders. Furthermore, priests are instinctively instructed to speak to people's hearts. In other words, if the Papessa* were going to do something against us, the priests would become excellent resources as they can easily manipulate an uneducated mind... Too many problems.

*since, apparently, there is no correct English translation for Papessa, I decided to leave it in Italian. For your information, this is the Italian female version of the title Pope. If any of you can give me a correct translation of this term write it in the comments, please. Thanks a lot.

"You certainly has many if you have to think about this Kingdom, your Majesty."

A metallic male voice spoke, making me jump. When I turned to the source of the voice, I saw it: a man whit an iron mask covered in a worn-out cloak. The man was leafing through one of the books of the library in my office

"I was surprised when you sent me that letter." he began closing the book and turning to me "But... I admit that you sent it to me much earlier than I thought."

He put the book down on my desk and then stood in front of me. Placing a hand over his heart, he made a small but elegant bow.

“I am Guardian. It is a pleasure to meet his Majesty, Edward Calsay Belmont."

"How did you get in?" was the first question that came naturally to me to ask

“Using some of my powers. After all, I admit that you intrigue me."

"I intrigue you?"

“You used a very modest tone in the letter. I was expecting a hint of arrogance, but I didn't find any."

*Sigh* It seems obvious to me... I started thinking and sighing at the same time. If you are as powerful as the Hero claims, I certainly cannot treat you as an inferior person.

"Wise choice."

"Wise?"

“Not to use an arrogant tone. You are truly a wise King."

"No, I do not think so."

I've always had to go with the flow... follow the course of events, bringing much suffering to both the people and my family. Someone like that cannot be called Wise.

"*Sigh* I understand." he began sighing "Coming back to us, I wanted to officially ask you for an audience tomorrow."

"What?" I asked surprised "I thought you wanted to talk now since you're here."

“What we have to talk about cannot remain alone between us, and I believe that your family and those who know about me have the right to meet me. Besides, you seem pretty busy right now." he stated pointing to the pile of documents on my desk “I think that tomorrow you will have enough time to dedicate to me. So, I wish you a good day."

Saying those words and making another bow, he disappeared. Just as he had appeared out of nowhere, now he disappeared into thin air. I couldn't frame that mysterious figure and in my heart, I prayed that tomorrow's audience does not cause another problem for the kingdom.