"There will be no second attempt." Raaz shook his head. "They would have never dared to make a move against me if not for our prolonged absence."
"And my rocky relationship with the Crown." Lith added the part that his father had left out not to make him feel responsible. "I'm not a kid, Dad. You don't have to sugarcoat the truth for me."
"Correct." Raaz nodded. "You may not be a kid, but you'll always be my son. I know how heavy the burden you carry is despite all of your efforts to make it look as if it's nothing. You can't blame me for trying to help you however I can."
"Thanks, Dad." Lith said.
Raaz heard those precious words so rarely that they moved him, making him wish he could do more. Yet he kept walking, pretending that nothing had happened.
"Now that the sowing of my fields has started and with you being a hero again, making another move would be suicidal. Also, you have my word that if they do, I'll not stand in your way. Being good is one thing, being stupid is another."
After that, they didn't say another word until they reached Zekell's house.
They spent lunch talking with the blacksmith and telling him about all the marvels of the Desert while he brought Senton and Raaz up to speed about the most recent events.
"I'm not going to lie, Lutia's growth is good for business, but it's also a pain in the ass." Zekell said after sending out the children to play. "The newcomers blame Lith's enemies for everything that goes wrong with their business and consider him a threat to their safety."
"This is ridiculous!" Raaz lost his composure, forcing Lith to calm him down. "Lutia has one of the lowest crime rates in the County thanks to the Queen's corps. It's only thanks to Lith that no noble dares to bully us and that of our caravans get attacked even outside the city.
"Criminals are too afraid of retaliation from Lith or the army. On top of that, the Warp Gate in our barn allows the Kingdom to dispatch troops at a moment's notice. Our village- I mean, our city has never been safer!"
"You need a more delicate touch with the dough, dear." Elina said, dipping a cookie in milk to make it soft enough for human consumption. "If you compress it too much, instead of crunchy cookies you get cookie-shaped rocks."
"Sorry, I'll do better next time." Solus wolfed them down, instead.
'After everything I went through, I deserve a break. The diet can wait for tomorrow..' She thought.
Chapter end
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