“Good, that settles the issues with Eliana and the baby and you as the father.”
“Have those issues really been settled though?” I asked, feeling a headache coming along.
Eliana was unconscious in my arms, and the King was petrified. That sounded like the exact opposite of settling. Meanwhile, Prince Edward, now set to become King Edward, was handling all of this surprisingly well. I was expecting him to freak out a bit more.
“Deek Deekson…” He suddenly said, a serious expression on his face, which since sitting in the throne, gave him a very noble air.
“Y-yes!” I stood up straighter.
“You are more of man’s man than I had ever thought. You not only had aims for my sister, but you also took my mother too. I’m not sure if I should kill you or respect you.”
“However, I’ve already accepted you as my brother, so naturally you and my sister is something I fully endorse. If you marry her, then we will be brothers in every sense of the word. She clearly loves you, so I only see this as a matter of time.”
“However, I cannot condone you having my mother!” His face grew enraged.
“Oh, nonsense…” Elaya broke in, stopping him from continuing. “You know as well as I do that I’m only a piece of your mother. Even resurrected, I wasn’t a pure spirit, but a spectral monster deformed by a curse. Although I was given a body, that doesn’t stop the fact that I am not the same woman I used to be. Although I see you as my son, and I am glad you see me as your mother, I am free to choose my own life, yes?”
“No buts! I will be with my Master in the future. It is the choice I made, so please don’t try to get in the way.”
“R-right…” He took a breath, “Very well, in that case, it’s all resolved.”
Was Prince Edward actually a momma’s boy? It took only two sentences from her to completely topple his previous attitude. He didn’t even have anger on his face anymore.
“I’ve already gotten the votes needed to promote you.” He continued on as if ignoring my comments. “You are now Count Deek Deekson. Your salary has increased to one thousand gold a month. I will award you another eight Knight tokens. You can also select one item from our treasury. I also meant to tell you, but that life insurance is not needed. As a high noble, we will resurrect you. That’s why you woke up in the castle the last time you were here.
“Ah… is that so…” I guess that made sense that they would keep all of their nobles on such a thing. “Wait, does that mean… Lord Reign?”
He nodded. “Unfortunately, he has a great deal of support with the other noble houses, enough that attempting to dispose of him would be an issue. Fortunately, promoting a noble only required a 1/3 vote, whereas disposing of one requires 2/3.”
“Is he truly that powerful?”
“Perhaps… it’s close enough where finding out for certain may cause the royal family to lose power. So, you can understand why I’ve been pushing you to deal with it on your own, never mind the possibility of getting the Imperial Cloud Meadow involved.”
Eliana moved in my grip and finally blushed. “Th-th-the answer is yes!”