The rest of the month was uneventful as expected. Seo-Yun was hurt, so there was no way she could get back at me. In fact, I strongly believed she had sustained more damage than I did in the battle.

Last time I checked, the Omen Pulse left me in the hospital for six months. I knew she was considerably stronger than me and should have developed methods to deal with wounds inflicted by dark talents, but I believed she would require at least a month to recover.

As for Princess Alisha and her son, I didn't even bother with them. They were holed up in the second ring, surrounded by a persistent dwarf army trying to reclaim their lost pride and bring down their fortress.

With Seo-Yun injured, they should have a harder time defending against the dwarves, so it was expected they'd struggle more to deal with the enemy. Their hands were tied, and they couldn't get back at us either.

This gave us time to build. Solinthar was low on resources, but the six kingdoms weren't. With their tributes, the construction of the Hall of Unity—which was the chamber where all members of the cabinet would sit to discuss important matters regarding the empire—was going well.

The noble district had been expanded smoothly, creating room for nobles from the other kingdoms planning to move to the capital.

Unfortunately, the construction of the embassies for the six kingdoms was a bit slow.

Putting civilians to use, imperial road networks were being constructed to create safer and easier travel routes for all six kingdoms. The construction was slow, but it was a work in progress.

As agreed, a week later my extra 60,000 troops arrived in the capital, giving us roughly 136,000 soldiers. 70,000 were infantry—swordsmen, spearmen, and shield bearers. 35,000 were archers.

Another 30,000 were cavalry units, and the remaining 1,000 were mages.

With this, Solinthar was close to its prime and nearly ready to take back the second ring.

In preparation for this, Varius was given the task of gathering wood and every other siege material needed, and I went a step further by sending scouts to the valleys.

By the third week, they returned to inform me that the orc and elf armies had blocked the exits of the two valleys, numbering over 50,000 troops each.

They must have caught wind of everything happening in Solinthar, so they planned to use the valley to their advantage, just like the empire did over the years.

The situation was tricky and needed more deliberation before a move could be made. Our large numbers meant nothing in a narrow valley.

— One Month Later —

Huff! Huff!

I exhaled loudly while Reina played her flute gracefully.

[Song of Healing]

Silver sweat ran down my body, seated at the center of the room with my legs crossed, forming a small silver pool beneath me.

This had been my life for the past month, and during this time I realized I made the right decision keeping her close. The healing process was slow, but it lessened the pain over time.

After a month of this, a good amount of the moon's energy had been expelled from my body. I was far from peak condition, but strong enough to fight.

The melody faded and my tensed body relaxed. My nostrils twitched at the scent of vanilla, which came from the silver liquid pooling beneath me like mercury.

I had no problem with the scent, but after perceiving it for a month straight, I was already tired of it.

"I was unconscious for a week and ended up spending a month trying to recover. That's five weeks," I muttered.

"That means five days have passed in your world," Reina said as she walked over to me and offered her hand.

She looked pale and slightly thinner after using the Song of Recovery and Harmony back to back for an entire month.

"Do you have something to do back there?" she asked, but I didn't respond immediately.

I stared at her for a short while before taking her hand and pulling myself up.

Once on my feet, I grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her back until she fell on the bed. Her eyes widened with a mixture of shock and excitement, as if she was expecting something more—but nothing followed.

"You don't have to worry yourself with my activities. No more healing sessions either. It's time for you to rest and recover," I told her, and she pouted with an annoyed look.

"I thought you were finally going to reward me for my hard work," she said, and I rolled my eyes and walked over to the rocking chair.

"What do you want as a reward?" I asked while sitting and crossing my legs.

"You…" Reina sat up and licked her lips seductively. "I want you to have me—all of me. Even if it's just once."

Her words made me pause for a few seconds before responding.

"And your powers?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Buzz!

"What?" Reina stuttered.

"Have you forgotten? Once your purity is gone, your powers vanish as well," I said, my brow still raised. "Once your powers are gone, of what use are you to me?"

Buzz!

Reina's eyes darted around frantically, as if looking for something she'd lost. After some seconds, she lowered her head and apologized.

"I'm sorry… I was so selfish I didn't think about how my desires would affect you negatively," she said, and I nodded.

"Just remember, everything and everyone around me serves a purpose. Once they cannot live up to my expectations, they will be discarded." My words were harsh, but my tone was calm. "I know how you feel about me, and I know you can't help it. That's why I allowed you to get close and touch me without consequences. But don't ever entertain the thought of taking it beyond that."

Bam!

Reina dropped to her knees and pressed her head to the ground.

"I'm sorry!" she said with a shaky voice, and I sighed.

Women overreact a lot.

"That's alright. Go back to bed and rest." I said while rising to my feet. "I'll get some servants to clean this place up and also have them prepare something for you to eat."

Reina nodded silently and slipped into the bed with her head lowered. Strangely, she avoided my eyes and covered her entire body with the duvet as if she were hiding from me.

"Women," I sighed.