**********

Wolt and Zen entered the room and sat themselves down at the head of the meeting table. With Zen sitting on Wolt's lap.

"What do you have to say about yourself, Fel?" Wolt asked with a straight face.

"Uh... I'm sorry for throwing a teacup at you, Your Grace." I apologized. What was a proper apology in this world? Should I kneel to the floor or set fire to myself? Maybe both?

"Hmph, well, no harm done. I guess it's ok. Just don't do it again." He said quickly. 

"What? You're not going to kill me?" I asked incredulously. I was expecting threats of execution left and right because of my previous experience with Asholle. 

"What? You would have been dead ages ago if we executed people because of that. We would lose half of our population! Do you know how many times people have thrown tea at me?" He chuckled and continued, "anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I didn't want to tell the Margrave that his daughter died in my mansion." 

Darq raised his hand like a well-behaved child in elementary school. 

"Yes, Darq?" Wolt asked.

Darq explained that he could take all of the necessary magic stones North to get them recharged. Duke Westboye was skeptical but accepted our solution because Darq pitched the idea to him.  

"That leaves…my reputation. It is hard to change public opinion, but I suppose I'll give you a chance to fix this. As for the gangs, Darq can send some heads flying, and that should make them lay low for a while," Wolt offered casually.

Darq nodded at his suggestion while giving me a thumbs up. 

"Thank you, Your Grace. I'll start tomorrow. I promise to change the public's opinion to favor you." I looked down at the table and added, "once again, I apologize, Your Grace."

**********

I got straight to work after a good night's sleep and a well-balanced breakfast of wine and cucumber soup. 

"Darq, could you do me another favor?" 

CRUNCH CRUNCH

"Is it about executing gang members? I can get started on the beheadings in an hour or so. I'm eating grape candy and need to brush my teeth first," he responded with puffed cheeks. Loud crunching noises filled the awkward space between us.

[Grape is clearly the superior flavor. The Duke of the North can attest to its tastiness.]

"Uhhh no. Darq, please don't kill anyone today. You're already fixing the magic stones for me, so I'll handle the gang situation myself."

I asked him to send a falcon to request guards from the North. Wolt's guards were few in numbers since the cholera outbreak from the last employee appreciation party.

"You should receive guards from the duchy within a week. How many do you need?" he asked as he wrote out a request.

Scribble Scribble CRUNCH CRUNCH Scribble

How is he so loud and efficient?!

"That fast?! It should take at least two weeks if they are coming from the southernmost part of the duchy, three if they're coming from the marquisate. And about 25? Not too many since we are only clearing a single gang." 

"We live in the snow, and we are constantly at war. Our horses will outrun any other horses on dry flat land in peacetime," he explained as he crammed another handful of purple star candies in his mouth. 

Perfect. I needed to enlist Wolt's help next. 

**********

I nervously knocked on the door to his office. He said everything was fine, but I didn't t trust the volatile guy. 

"I'm here for our 3 pm meeting, Your Grace," I yelled through the door just in case he didn't hear my knocks.

"JUST A MINUTE!!" A muffled voice came from inside. 

Eventually, the door cracked open, and a disheveled Zen peeked out at me. His face was flushed, and his breathing ragged. He skipped a button while fixing his shirt.  There were some discolorations on his neck and collar. 

I facepalmed and groaned, "Zen. I sent a message ahead of time to avoid this."

"I'm sorry. I tried to tell him that we had an appointment, but..well, you know how affectionate Wolt can be." Zen apologized and opened the door for Sheraton and me.

Wolt laid on the white chaise longue with an upside-down book in his hand. 

"Hey, Fel! I just got to an excellent part of this book and wanted to finish it before our appointment." He waved the upside-down almanac around before he tossed it behind the couch. 

Wolt sat up and did the creepy "come hither" hand motion with his index finger curling into his palm.  Zen closed the door and obediently sat at the therapist's couch's end. Wolt laid back down with his head on Zen's lap.

Sheraton and I sat down across from him on a regular white couch. 

He cupped Zen's face with his hand and then traced his finger down his neck and collar...

AHEM!

I cleared my throat. "I'm here to discuss the gang fights." 

"Yes, yes, I know. What do you want from me?" He continued to trace his finger down Zen's shirt. He arrived at a button and pulled at it.

"I need to offer a bounty for the capture of the Blue Krips gang members."

"You don't need my help for that," he frowned as he struggled with the button. 

"I need your seal."

"What? Use your own." He hooked his finger around the button and pulled. The force shot the button towards my face.

I jumped when Sheraton's fist flashed in front of my face. 

"Sheraton!" I snapped as I clutched my chest. She lowered her hand, and a button laid in her palm.

Wolt whistled at the feat. "You have a damn fine bodyguard. Go marry her before someone else takes her," he remarked with a wink.

What the hell? She's been her maid since childhood, you pervert! 

Zen just smiled at me when I looked at him for an explanation.

SLAM!

Sheraton slammed the button onto the coffee table, commanding everyone's attention. The impact rattled the poor little table. The flower vase wobbled back and forth until it finally tipped over.

Her hand nimbly palmed the vase and replaced it onto the table.

"My lady wishes to use your seal to credit the Westboye Duchy for the eradication of the gangs," she said firmly, her cold gaze fixed on the shrinking young man.

I crossed my arms and nodded, "That is exactly why I need your seal."

Zen ran his fingers through Wolt's hair and said, "It'll be a big boost to your reputation if we take care of the gangs, hun."

"Yes, yes, I know. I don't have enough guards here to handle such a large hunt. Everyone either moved away or died from dysentery. Or asthma, we have a lot of people dying from that after their training for some unknown reason." Wolt held up his hand to the ceiling and looked at his rings.

"I will be using guards from the North Duchy. I need some guard uniforms from you. And your seal, of course." 

"Urgh. Since you're back to your old self, I guess I can trust you. Here, go wild." He pulled a golden ring from his right index finger and tossed it at me.

Sheraton caught it with her panther-like reflexes. 

"Thanks for catching it," I held out my palm to retrieve the ring.

She held my hand and slipped it onto my index finger. It was way too big— 

The boys snickered at us.

"Sheraton! You can hand it to me next time. Anyway, thank you. I'll bring it back as quickly as I can," I said as I clutched the ring.

"No need to rush. I can use my duchess' seal ring." Wolt kissed Zen's ring, then his finger, then the back of his hand...

AHEM!

"Before I leave, why are the Bloot and Krip considered to be a criminal gang?" I asked. I was having second thoughts on my plans. What if all that they were accused of was gambling? Or drug trafficking? We shouldn't execute people for non-violent crimes.

"Besides the murders, theft, rape, arson, weapons, and drugs trafficking?" Wolt responded, "I would have them go through our judicial system, but we don't have the manpower to process that many criminals."

"Oh, ok, I guess that's plenty of reasons for immediate execution." I nodded.

I can make Wolt look good and save lives; it's a win-win for me. So why am I so uncomfortable with this?

"They also dabble in forbidden soul magic," Zen added.

"What now? I thought we only had everyday magic." I asked.

"Soul magic isn't real," Sheraton interjected.

"It's forbidden because it requires human sacrifices. Not many people even know about soul magic anymore because it was outlawed over a hundred years ago. I doubt that the current gangs even know what soul magic is." Wolt shrugged before he went back to molesting an embarrassed Zen.

"We should be on our way, my lady." Sheraton abruptly stood up and held out her hand. I gladly took her hand, and we left to prepare for the next phase.