Kaelara now held a unique position in Zorat’s life.

Aside from the fact that she’s been very helpful in bringing down her beloved father....

She also has within her the only other rapid means by which Zorat can improve his strength, so his body can channel more from his soul.

Elowen explained that if it wasn’t for her insistence to her father, citing the crucial fact that Kaelara had been of major help in bringing down her father....

Both Kaelara and her mother would have been executed along with other immediate relatives of the ministers who have now been executed.

However, even if their execution has been placed on hold, as direct relatives of the former grand vizier....

Both mother and daughter will be kept imprisoned for the foreseeable future, or used as bait to lure Victor, now that he has escaped and has probably fled the kingdom entirely.

Elowen was quite concerned about Kaelara’s current state as her best friend...

So Zorat assured her that they would surely find a way to help her out or maybe get her out, consoling her expertly before the princess relaxed and retreated into the main palace.

Zorat would surely be getting Kaelara out for his own needs. Though for now, he had a lot coming up, so Kaelara would have to be a little patient.

No matter how important it is to Zorat that he got stronger.....

Getting his hands on the divine authority fragments is what’s most important.

And the means to procure his fourth divine authority fragment would present itself to him in a few hours.

With everything taken care of in the main palace for now....

Zorat made his way back through the palace grounds until he reached his cabin on the fringes of the palace domain.

There, he saw Myrra was still hard at work with her new hobby, and when she saw him approach, she excitedly ran over, abandoning what she was doing, and jumped into Zorat’s embrace.

Myrra smelt of maple and something sweet mingled with sweaty, cushioning breasts against his chest, with a softness to her entire form that melts so satifyingly in Zorat’s arms.

Zorat understood that Myrra must be feeling closer to him after the other night, which was completely normal, and he actually encouraged it since such a night might have to repeat itself so Zorat can hasten the analysis of her skill rune.

Even though Zorat wasn’t particularly excited to do it with her again, considering his current predicament.

After that...

Zorat saw Florielle run out of the cabin; she must have heard the movement outside, but as she came upon Myrra hugging Zorat so.....

Her earlier momentum, which was aimed at jumping into Zorat’s arms as well in greeting, as she had always done, transformed into a professionally graceful movement expected of normal maidservants.

She bowed slightly in welcome to Zorat before turning around and heading back inside without saying another word.

Zorat noted the crestfallen look on Florille’s face as she turned and returned inside....

It seemed she had a lot on her mind, which reminded Zorat that she was actually about to say something to him when those knights from the palace had interrupted.

Zorat was curious about what bothered her so, because Florielle wasn’t the one to think too deeply about things.

She’s always been free-spirited and playful, always wearing her emotions on her sleeve.

Zorat regarded her playfully because that’s how he’s come to see her. And that’s exactly how he liked her to be.

Hmmm...

What could have caused this change?...

While Zorat was contemplating the need to soon engage in a deep talk with Florielle, Myrra, who was still in a needlessly long hug with Zorat....

was feeling a sense of fulfillment.

Both at finding the courage to hug her lord like so....

Which was more of her body reacting before her conscious brain could make excuses....

And seeing the defeated look on Florielle, whom she now sees herself in a competition with, because she assumes her lord had also shared such intimacy with Florielle.

Even though she finds herself being more fond of Florielle every day, she also couldn’t deny the fact that she had been envious of the kind of close relationship she shared with her lord.

Myrra gleefully returned to her hobbies after a while, and Zorat was left alone with his thoughts as he ran a cursory inspection of all the wealth currently piled up inside his spatial repertoir.

For imperial coins, they were in the millions.

To put things into perspective....

There are three main currency denominations in this world:

copper, silver, and gold.

One hundred copper coins equals one silver coin.

One hundred silver coins equals one gold coin.

But one hundred gold coins does not equal one imperial coin....

One imperial coin is equal to a thousand gold coins.

A well-to-do family of four in the kingdom’s capital, where the prices for goods and services cost more than in other provinces, can survive and live healthily for an entire year with just a few gold coins. While a commoner’s household can even do that with one gold coin.

The prices of everyday items and necessities are usually in copper coins. Luxurious items are priced in silver, and only big noble houses can deal in gold coins for very special goods.

Usually, gold coins are used to live luxuriously by nobles and maintain their life of riches and status.

To the noble lords, it’s used in large quantities to maintain a kingdom’s provincial regions, to fund small armies for those regions with weapons and armor, to feed battalions, or to purchase special awakener goods.

The nobles in charge of these regions, depending on how big the provinces are, might even have imperial coins in hand and trade amongst themselves with them. But it’s very limited.

Imperial coins are the kingdom’s wealth; commonly used in transactions between kingdoms, and to funnel into other states or provinces in a liquidated form as budgetary needs.

It’s also used to fund, feed, weaponise, train, and deploy thousands of elite soldiers to defend the kingdom against demonic forces and rival kingdoms as well.

Basically, to fund the enormous budgetary needs of the kingdom.

And most especially, they are used to acquire artifacts and armaments when one kingdom wishes to sell and the other wishes to buy, or when the holy sea hosts its annual event, where all kingdoms send their representatives to bid for artifacts or armaments.

These artifacts are priced at such ridiculously expensive levels that if you don’t hold enough imperial coins, you might as well forego any dreams of acquiring a single one.

A kingdom without enough imperial coins is vulnerable in so many ways.

And considering the special state of Ursula Kingom at the moment, being heavily dependent on other kingdoms for massive imports and trades of goods....

Losing all their wealth could not have come at a worse time.

They might offset this perilous state with the seized wealth from the executed ministers and Voctor, but that would only last a couple of months at best.... That is, of course, if nothing happens to the seized wealth before then....

Hehehe