My Kingdom Building Done Right!

"Good work earlier, Leone," Daedalus said as soon as they returned to their house inside the mountain. "You handled everything to the best of your ability."

"Thank you, Daedalus," Leone replied before sitting on a chair. "Hassan, I can finally talk to my mother again tonight, right?"

A black mist rose from the young man’s shadow in response, which then transformed into his masked guardian.

"Yes, Young Master," Hassan replied. "Also, please do not forget to introduce Yuni and Aria to the Mistress."

"Well, I plan to introduce Yuni." Leone sighed. "But I don’t know if I’m ready to introduce Aria to her yet."

Daedalus and Hassan said nothing, understanding that there was no need to rush the young man. After all, they already knew that Leone was the type who took relationships seriously.

If someone forced something or someone onto him, it was more likely for him to resist it.

"Young Master, there’s one more thing I want to tell you," Hassan said in a serious tone. "I didn’t get the chance to tell you back then since I thought that I, alone, am enough to protect you.

"However, the Mistress did give me a magic scroll that can summon three more of my colleagues to my location. The summoning takes about half an hour, so it’s not something that can be instantly used during an emergency."

"Oh?" Leone arched an eyebrow. "By colleagues, do you mean people who are as strong as you?"

"In a way, yes," Hassan answered. "I mentioned in the past that I go by Number 5, right? With the magic scroll, I can summon Number 6, 7, and 8 to act as your bodyguards during the war. Just like me, they have their own specialties, and I believe they will greatly help out in keeping you safe."

"But Hassan, if we summon them, wouldn’t that weaken the hidden forces protecting my family?" Leone asked.

He would rather not summon people to his side, especially if it would weaken the defenses of the Frontera Family.

"Don’t worry, Young Master," Hassan replied. "Before I was sent to find you, the Mistress had written a letter to her family. I believe they will provide additional support to the Frontera Viscounty."

His mother’s side of the family belonged to the Radiant Empire.

Funnily enough, his father had fallen in love with his mother during a gathering to host the envoys of the Radiant Empire who had come to visit the Kingdom of Britannia.

Leone didn’t know much about her mother’s family. The only thing he remembered about them was that her family was also nobility. A fairly high one at that.

She was supposed to marry a noble from the Radiant Empire. However, after meeting Leone’s father, she decided to elope with him instead.

This angered her family, which was why they decided to cut ties with her.

Or at least that was what Leone originally thought.

"Hassan, is my mother on good terms with her family?" Leone asked. "I thought they disowned her after marrying Father."

"Young Master, it is not my place to say this, but... I also used to belong to the Radiant Empire," Hassan replied. "While the Mistress’ family began to treat her coldly after she married your father, they still sent us to make sure that no harm would come to her. That is proof that they still care for her very much."

"Then, Hassa, can you tell me about my mother’s family?" Leone suddenly felt curious about his relatives after hearing the assassin’s confession.

"I think it will be for the best if you ask your mother instead, Young Master." Hassan smiled helplessly. "I have already said too much. The Mistress will punish me if I say more without her permission."

"Fine." Leone didn’t want to put his protector on the spot, so he decided to stop prying into her mother’s family.

A few hours later, Leone went to find Yuni and Ulric to tell them about his meeting with his mother.

Since he planned to introduce Yuni to her as his "girl friend," he thought that he might as well ask Ulric to come along so he could also talk to Leone’s mother.

Yet, by sheer coincidence, Kael happened to pass by Ulric’s house and overheard their conversation.

"As expected of our wise, handsome, and magnanimous Great Chieftain!" Kael exclaimed as he pushed the door open and walked inside as though he owned the place.

"So tonight is the long-awaited meeting between our future in-laws, huh? Wonderful! Say no more! I’ll go fetch Aria at once. She mustn’t keep her future mother-in-law waiting! Hahaha! What a glorious day this is!"

Before Leone could utter a single word back at him, the sly old fox had already fled the room.

It was as if Kael feared that if he lingered for even a second longer, Leone would refuse to let Aria join them.

"Ugh..." Leone pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache coming on.

Yuni couldn’t help but giggle as she wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Don’t worry," Yuni whispered with a smile. "I’m sure everything will work out."

Ulric watched Kael disappear down the hallway before turning to Leone.

"Leone, do you want me to tie Kael up?" Ulric asked in all seriousness.

"No." Leone let out a helpless sigh. "Knowing Kael, even if you tie him up and lock him in a room, he’ll still somehow appear at the last possible moment with Aria in tow."

Yuni smirked, while Ulric nodded thoughtfully, as though he completely agreed with Leone’s assessment.

Neither of them doubted Kael’s ability to pull off such a ridiculous feat. He was quite capable in that area. Perhaps the best in the Borderlands.

When night finally came, everyone gathered inside Leone’s home.

Kael was all smiles, while Aria fidgeted in the ceremonial dress that her grandfather had forced her to wear.

Aria was already charming in her own right. And her current clothes only enhanced her beauty even further.

Her grandfather really knew what he was doing, making sure that the first impression of their in-laws would be a good one.

While Yuni didn’t wear her ceremonial robes, she was wearing a dress that Daedalus had crafted for her when Leone bought some fabric from the Arcane Shop.

Aria also received something similar from the grimoire, which she had originally planned to wear.

However, Kael said that first impressions last, so it would be best to wear her ceremonial dress, which highlighted her charms.

"Is everyone ready?" Leone asked as he took out the obsidian crystal that he would use to talk to his mother.

""Yes.""

Leone took a deep breath before speaking out the password that would activate the artifact.

"Familia."

A moment later, a faint light appeared at the center of the crystal ball, which meant that a connection had been successfully established between him and his mother, who had also been waiting for this day to arrive.