Chapter 278

Ainz found himself enjoying the next few days in the thriving Kingdom of Carne. Though he could see that Albedo's eyebrow twitched at being surrounded by so many of what she counted, 'lessers', that was mitigated by her chance to be in Ainz' company for hour after hour.

'I wonder if she's even listening to the guide?' Ainz asked himself, and tightened his hold just a little, their arms were linked as they walked, the Wolf Queen and her King themselves acting as guides for the pair, with the former adventuring team, the Swords of Darkness, acting as their bodyguards and walking on either side and at the back of the visiting royal couple.

"...Thanks to Your Majesty's aid we've expanded our farmland a dozen times over, and thanks to your provisioning we're able to sustain our population while our harvests grow to compensate. And of course our debt for the weapons and armor that were provided to us will continue to be paid on time. I realize our wooden structures are not exactly grand…" Enri waved a hand over toward the crudely made wooden structures, and her husband quickly chimed in.

"...But these are only temporary, place holders really. As we import stone from the dwarves, we'll put more permanent structures in place, we've budgeted for the next five years, and my projects on alchemical production and my personal experiments are finally bearing fruit. I tested my purple potion on some wounded soldiers and it worked perfectly. Your majesty will be getting those shipments soon…"

This was an area where Albedo did have some work related interest, and she perked up at that, "So you have actually improved on your magical processes?"

"Yes, Lady Albedo, we've made great strides, but they come in leaps lately, it turns out some of the elves had their own techniques for refining some plants, and by combining their blending methods with ours we are yielding better results than I ever dreamed by ours alone. My… my grandmother would have loved to see this…" He looked away wistfully for a moment, then perked up and added, "I doubt we'll be producing red potions any time soon, but we are making progress, and our wild and growing city will be something even the greatest Kingdom will be proud of."

"Are you sending anyone to the tournament?" Ainz asked, he spoke a little louder than he normally cared to, but the growing and expanding city was filled with a cacophony of noises from hammers, saws, and other tools. Goblins seemed to make up most of the labor force, but a handful of his loaned skeletons could be seen doing some of the work as well, hauling heavy loads back and forth. In addition, some lamias used their natural climbing ability to ferry loads up the taller structures to enable the construction to progress, with scaffolds being more like ladders that stronger races could use to move materials without effort. A number of ogres redoubled those efforts, and as such it was obvious that the boomtown of Carne would be rapidly expanding for some time to come.

"The Swords of Darkness want to go to provide an exhibition and show off your gifts, so they will be going, but in addition, my Goblin Champion will be going as a competitor." Enri explained, she looked over her shoulder and gave Ainz a little smile, "I've warned him to be careful, but it seems men of all races simply can't resist a chance to show off their manliness, even if it means taking a drubbing with a stick." She gave Albedo a knowing look, and at that the succubus could only chuckle and cling a little closer to her lord.

"They are… irrepressible, and that is part of why we love them." The matronly voice of the pregnant succubus was rather more gentle than her usually icy tone, when it came to subtle praise of her Lord, it seemed she was far more indulgent towards those she might not otherwise have looked twice at except to crush.

Days of such tours, dinners, and toasts within the rising palace and within the rapidly expanding heart of the Kingdom of Carne were halted only by the arrival of the three carriages in the courtyard.

The blue and white of the Roble Holy Kingdom, the blackwood of the Kingdom of Demalbion, and the gold and red of Re-Estize slowed to a halt at the newly built palace gates in perfect sync with one another, the bodyguards, human, elven and orcish alike, and their drivers, came to an equally slow halt and never parted from their positions except in the synchronized performance of their duties.

The first driver descended from the carriages as the royals and nobles of the Kingdom of Carne and the Kingdom of Nazarick came out to welcome them, and an honor guard of mixed races from elves and goblins to humans and lamias lined the way toward the palace. A new carpet rolled out, pushed by two children no more than eight and clad in fine silk clothing, their little hands batted and pushed at the carpet until it came to a halt in front of the first carriage.

The Holy Queen was the first to emerge, her dainty step falling on the thick red just as the two children stood and moved aside so that they were stiff and at the ready with arms at their sides at the right and left of the carpet they just rolled out.

Being the hosts, the Wolf King and Wolf Queen took the lead, with Ainz and Albedo following at their heels, the Allfather and his mate towered over the hosting monarchs, and so kept steps short to avoid any mishaps.

As the Queen stood at the far end and waited, her driver returned to the top of the carriage and drew his forward to allow the next one to move into place.

The orcish driver wore polished armor that glinted in the sunlight rather than simple dress clothes, a reflection of the martial heritage from which he came, though he moved with the same certainty as any servant of royalty. His thick green fingers clasped the handle of the carriage door and when it opened, the Queen of Frost emerged and descended into the light of day. Her tail lashed a bit at her back, and she was clad in green armor over which was painted a dragon whose claws clutched a series of arrows. At her back a half tabard hung from about her neck, too narrow to be called a cape, it still fluttered a little in the afternoon breeze. Her talons clicked as she placed her hand over her heart and inclined her head with courtesy toward her approaching hosts.

Her carriage too, moved forward, and then the Queen of Re-Estize emerged, clad in a broad, crystalline-like gown that might as well have been made of snow for the purity of its whiteness, it caught the light and glinted even more than the pale skin of the Queen of Frost, and the Golden Queen gave a deep curtsey in turn.

When the royal couple from the Kingdom of Carne came close, the Wolf King spoke, "Normally we'd be doing some introductions for ourselves but, I understand that you have a far more important introduction to make, Queen Bessarez, so why don't we do that first?" Nfirea said, and as if he'd rehearsed it, he stood aside to allow the Allfather of Nazarick and his wife to step forward.

Calca felt her heart pound in her breast, 'Please… please… Please don't let this go wrong…' Jealousy over lovers was not unheard of, nor was betrayal of a wife in favor of a lover, nor betrayal of a lover in favor of a wife… and it was always possible he would reject their son. 'He might deny fatherhood, he might have been pressured by the mate he loves…' The long buried fears of the monarch remained buried, coming out only in the faintest tremble as the now, white haired beauty stepped forward.

'His beloved, she is radiant… like someone carved by the gods to the vision of perfection…' Calca thought of Albedo, and though her own confidence in her beauty was never lacking, it was at this moment, challenged by the pregnant winged woman at the side of the Allfather.

"Husband." Calca said, raising her eyes to meet his rugged features, clad as he was in magnificent black and red robes befitting a monarch, "When you were last in my capital, we were husband and wife every night, many times, and for many hours, and when you left to return home after saving my Kingdom, you left another blessing behind." She shook her child in her arms just a little, rocking him back and forth, she crouched down and laid her swaddled infant at the feet of the Allfather of Nazarick, then straightened up and hid her fear behind a mask of dignity.

"I name you as the father of Aurelion. I was with no man before you, I was with no man after you, as my companion, Kelart Custodio, and your own royal guards, can attest. This is your son. This is our son. I swear on my life, he is the trueborn son of Ainz Ooal Gown and Calca Bessarez, the true heir to the Throne of the Roble Holy Kingdom, and a Prince of both my home and the Kingdom of Nazarick." Queen Calca said while putting a hand over her breast, she made a little half bow, then straightened again to wait for what he might do.