Cheers and celebration erupted as the carriage rolled through the city of Ehmvier. Kanae peered out the window to see hundreds of people tossing flowers onto the road. Even a belltower she didn't recall existing in the city heralded their return. Arenade stuck the entire half of her body out of the opposite window, waving at the citizens.

It wasn't just the two of them that Ehmvier welcomed back, but also the thousands of soldiers who had marched to Savir, too. Loved ones reunited. Others mourned. Kanae retreated back into the carriage to the laughter of Alicia.

"What?" Kanae asked.

"You're very clearly loved." Alicia reached up and plucked a woman's underwear from her horn.

"That's the people of Ehmvier for you. I think we're treated more like celebrities than queens though." She chuckled.

"Queens? Empresses!" Arenade came back in to correct her. "Ahh. To think, I would rise to such fame to be called an empress. Empress Arenade. Hehe. Hehehehe…"

They rolled their eyes at the high elf. As Arenade returned to the fanfare, Alicia breathed an amused breath.

"You miss your sisters already?" Kanae asked.

"I do. Very much. But we've become too reliant on each other. Some time apart will do us well. Besides, I much rather not stand in their way of Amethyst Hall work. They would fuss over me too much if I was still there," Alicia explained.

"Well, the Sisters of Sin might not be your sisters by blood, but there's plenty who will fuss over you in their place during your stay," she assured her.

"Thank you." The succubus rested her head on Kanae's shoulders.

Before they had left Radevic, Alicia expressed interest in going with them to the Commonwealth. Of course, Claudia and Hilde protested, but she didn't want to be a burden to either of them while pregnant. An order hall wasn't exactly the best place to raise a child either.

But Alicia wasn't the only one to come back. Petyr, too. However, the paladin didn't plan to stay in Ehmvier. She was headed straight for Rudura village on her pegasus to reunite with her harem of incubi.

The carriage finally rolled to a stop in front of their castle. Kanae and Arenade stepped out first, each offering a hand to help Alicia down. Edina landed with her undead dragon, accompanied by Kanade and Suvee, who had elected to ride with their squirreling aunt. Both girls came flying up to Kanae after the long journey.

A parade of castle guards and Sisters of Sin awaited them at the courtyard, where flowers were in full bloom. Petals danced past their feet as they returned home. First Sister Lilith and High Priestess of the Ehmvier Branch Zadris were kneeling at the front of the welcome party.

"Empress Kanae, Empress Arenade, and Princesses Kanade and Suvee— welcome back!" Both of them beamed.

"Ohhyoooo! What a nice ring, hearing it from someone else!" Arenade shuddered like she was orgasming.

"Lilith, find Alicia a nice room near my bedchamber and make sure she has everything she needs. I want at least two Sisters of Sin with midwife experience to look after her. Zadris, walk with me. I'd like you to catch me up on the country's affairs," Kanae said.

They bowed again. Lilith singled out some Sisters from the group behind her, and a pair of half-succubi emerged to race to Alicia's side.

"Kanae." Arenade tapped her on the shoulder. "I'm going to go bring the kids to school. They're dying to say hi to everyone. After that, I think I'll check out the church and meet the bishop that the Grand Eye ordained. Have to flex my status, you know?"

"Alright, just don't get too full of yourself…" Kanae sighed.

As everyone departed in different directions, Zadris joined Kanae in a stroll through the low hedges of the courtyard. She noticed the brand new opal earrings on half-succubus' ears and recalled what Meidina had said before.

"So, you and Lilith?" Kanae teased.

"Oh!" Zadris blushed. "Did you hear it from Lilith?"

"Meidina, actually. Sorry for finding it out if you had meant to keep it a secret."

She shook her head and giggled. "There is no secret. After our falling out a few years ago that split the Sisters of Sin, we've since had to work together more tightly following your absence. It brought us much stress, and we often sought each other out to lift the burdens. Lilith is… quite incompetent when it comes to romance, but I oh so adore her attempts."

The way Zadris spoke fondly of Lilith made Kanae's heart warm. It sounded like their feelings were genuine. She couldn't help but wonder if forcing them to have sex with each other back then might have contributed to this though.

Zadris shifted gears upon realizing that she could go on forever about Lilith. She began with the food. The Commonwealth exploded after incorporating fingercrabs into farming. They could double the supplies being sent to Savir and still not worry. Excess harvests were exported to Artaggon, some even overseas to tropical island nations.

A letter had come in from Lynn Alton a week ago, the now eldest child of House Alton following her older brother's disappearance was in line to inherit her family's titles. The high elves still didn't suspect her of being a half-succubus.

According to Lynn, Guillaume Pyrelle's ascension to emperor had been postponed. He was inevitably going to become Emperor of Ortesia one day, but following the humiliating defeat of Vernon DeSalle and his younger brother Arnault Pyrelle in Avanesse, bureaucracy had taken a turn for a slower pace as the power struggle between the High Houses continued. She planned to keep Zadris informed but had to be more careful going forward.

Rown Company recently completed an arm of the Imperial Span leading to Highgreen. With summer upon them and the snow had receded back into the northern mountains, they planned to try constructing into Artaggon, specifically the Cup of Carsin. Prospects did not look great though.

Inquisitor Gretchen Redbaron had rooted out hundreds of Ortesian soldiers left behind from the invasionary war. It was getting harder and harder to find any more, but not as a result of her search. She strongly believed Temptation sent out succubi to scour high elves as livestock.

"Aside from that, no moves from Temptation since?" Kanae asked.

"Labelle tried to seize the cult temple that rose from the lake near Barkwen. The combined efforts of Empress Arenade, Inquisitor Gretchen, and the high elf Andora thwarted her. Your wife has since turned into a tourist attraction for curious visitors ever since," Zadris explained.

"Arenade… what?" She slapped a hand to her own face.

Well, at least the cult had one less flying temple in their arsenal. Kanae recalled the battle in Avanesse. How its immense power was capable of charming so many people.

Zadris continued, "The cloister in Varu did spot a similar temple flying past some months ago. Attempts to get close were met with fierce resistance."

That was definitely Ambrosia's temple. One day, Kanae was going to have to reckon with the Cult of Lust and Depravity. Hopefully, it wasn't going to be any time soon. Better yet, find a peaceful solution.

"Oh, by the way, the sorceress Elizabeth Bedlam said she was going to be teleporting her tower into the city. Have you seen her?" Kanae asked.

"Elizabeth arrived a few days ago," Zadris answered as a matter of factly.

"Where…"

Zadris led Kanae around to the back of the castle, where the tower in question was right up against the side with almost no clearance between them. Fortunately, the walkway which would have connected the tower to Aidenhall palace was facing away from the castle. That could have been disastrous.

"Eliza, damn it! When you said 'convenient', I didn't think you meant right against my castle!" Kanae yelled.

"It looks fine to me!" Eliza stuck her head out a window that faced the wall.

"What part of this is fine? Your tower is practically humping the castle wall!" She groaned.

The sorceress beckoned Kanae upstairs. Relenting, she took a raincheck with Zadris to finish her reports later and ascended the tower. Eliza was sitting on an open deck that faced into the verdant countryside fields of what used to be No Man's Land.

A bottle of wine and two filled glasses on a small round table awaited Kanae. Eliza picked one up to hand to her and then grabbed the other.

"The Grand Eye was right. Ehmvier really is beautiful around this time. You're a lucky woman to own all this land." Eliza leaned back in her lounge chair and sipped from her glass.

"It wasn't always like this. Used to be untamed forests. Plenty of tracts of land were infertile, too." Kanae still found it hard to believe how much had changed since then.

"And you know what started it all? The Writ of Divine Lease. You've put the Commonwealth on maps. Cartographers are now rushing to update your country to the Empire of Sin." She grinned.

Kanae buried her face into both hands. If only she could rewind and choose a better name. Well, what's done was done.

"Am I finally getting a clear answer about why you're here?" Kanae asked.

Eliza placed a hand over her chest as if insulted. "So nosey! It isn't as if I'm up to anything. Archbishop Patrice and I are birds of the same feather. Unlike her, she's been granted a position that does not easily allow her to stray from Radevic. Savir was a very, very rare exception. I'm here in her academic stead and capacity to document, study, and learn more about the Commonwealth. After all, much of this land is still uncharted. What better way is there than to accompany you around? My tower is also at your leisure to use, within reason. Although, I am in need of more magic crystals after its last teleportation."

"And that's coming out of my coffers, I'm assuming?" She laughed.

For the rest of the day, Kanae spent it addressing the matters of her people. The citizens of Ehmvier weren't the only ones, but also the commonfolk across the country who made the trek to the capital. A long line had formed from the throne to beyond the castle walls.

Kanae resolved land disputes, poaching incidents, kissing babies on the head from parents seeking her blessing, and even more outrageous things like women asking to be impregnated by her or transformed into a half-succubus. Twenty men had proposed to her. One had sold all his belongings to buy a diamond ring.

Apparently, a nobility class had developed in the Commonwealth. Kanae only found this out when they came to offer tributes to her, their empress.

When night fell and there was seemingly no end to Kanae's royal duties, castle guards shooed the audience home, urging them to come back tomorrow instead.

"What's the point of leaving the throne? I might as well glue myself down if I'm back here in the morning!" Kanae slumped down and lamented her fate.

"Ex… Excuse me, the crown isn't taking any more audiences tonight!" a troubled guard cried.

Kanae glanced up to see Renya strolling down the throne chamber.

"Relax, guy. I'm tight with the queen!" Renya brushed him aside, walking right up to Kanae to perform a silly overexaggerated bow.

"Renya! I thought you were still in Radevic?" Kanae descended to meet her.

"Only for a bit. Thedia and I were only half a day's ride behind you guys. I'm not staying long. I'm heading all the way up to Highgreen to personally see if building an Artaggon arm of the span is possible. Also, I've got these babies to start building." She waved in her hand a cylindrical wooden container.

"What's that?"

The dark elf grinned. "Schematics to Avanesse's most closely guarded secret— edirashems. I tell ya, these take some crazy shit to make. The Commonwealth ain't the kind of place to build something as big, but I can make a smaller version to fit on the Imperial Span. I won't be able to make them without the right resources though, and who better to help me source them than an empress whose empire spans half the continent? Whaddya say, partner? Want to negotiate a deal?" She licked her lips and added, "One where both of us benefit greatly?"

If past experiences were any indication, doing business with Renya was usually accompanied by plenty of fun.

"Arenade isn't back yet. How about we discuss privately upstairs in my bed chamber?" Kanae offered.

"It would be my pleasure." Renya took her tricorn hat and bowed.