☀️ Arselia and Akonia

Erephir listened and watched with bated breath.

I am an exception to this rule, and by the will of fate, I was destined to share one soul with the well-known Aconia.

"A soul? The Suzerain announces this so simply... Commendable honesty and courage, but still, I don't know what kind of reaction to expect. Although, perhaps it's better this way than if rumors started spreading from the Mindjins. Yes. It may be dangerous, but it's better this way."

With a wave of her hand, the crown of Melesar flies off the head of the death knight and falls to the floor, demonstrating his true nature to those gathered.

"Oh. It seems he's not a vampire. But in general, he looks quite good, in my opinion, the crown was unnecessary; just powder and makeup him, and no one would even realize he's not a human."

Minutes later, there was no trace of the undead, and in its place was a full-fledged human. — O-o-o! — Having witnessed the miraculous healing that had taken place before their eyes, the crowd immediately changed its opinion. — Long live Empress Naria! Long live Empress Naria!

— Long live Empress Naria! — Erephir joined in. This is what people are waiting for, a small miracle, understandable to everyone. Now it was possible to believe that everything would be alright, even if the undead had every chance of being redeemed.

Let what just happened serve as a demonstration to you that aliens can be just as human as you and me, and miracles are possible, the main thing is not to stop believing in them and tirelessly work to make them happen.

"I'm glad for Gara, but what about the mandate? Surely everyone is thinking about it now... It's dangerous. I wouldn't have done it in front of everyone... But. But I could be wrong; the Suzerain knows her subjects better than I know these people."

"That's right, let's put the paranoia aside. We need to be happy for our brother; the rest is not important; we'll worry about the rest later.)"

Sonata Reim, Erephir Linel Darvening, come to me.

"It seems I'm going to be exposed too... I hope it's just about my green-auric nature, and not a trial for sacrificing the city."

The girl's face showed nothing but loyalty and a sense of duty, but still, she did not expect the following words... The dragon always seemed to her a dangerous topic to reveal, but instead, the Suzerain acted simply and directly. Were they being honored as heroes? Were they being honored as heroes? After all these years, it seemed almost impossible that heroes would really stand before a cheering crowd. Usually, at best, they receive some flowers from the hands of villagers, but much more often, they don't even get that, and it's good if they don't get spat on. That was the past experience... But now, Carneol was officially recognized. Only Erephir was on the "stage," but in fact, she represented the entire group and shared this honor with them, and it was possible to see how many people in the crowd were looking at the place where she, Erephir, had just stood, and where the other comrades were. Although it was also noticeable that Sonata alone attracted even more attention, especially from men. How can they look at alien empresses when they have Their Own One here, oh, people...

The redhead smiled warmly and accepted this high honor as best she could, with a fist placed on her heart and all the rest, in a knightly, but also in a feminine way. She had no need to speak, because the Suzerain did not make the slightest pause, and Sonata was silent, but the nonverbal gratitude of the Nozenro was boundless and corresponded to all the norms of ethics and aesthetics, so as not to cast a shadow on the House.

A separate thought: how useful the dress turned out to be, thank you, Penny...

Now, having learned that one of her dreams, about reforming Carneol into a knightly order, had come true, the newly promoted commander awaited the speech of the adopted daughter, whom she had seen in person for the first time. I wonder what kind of person this Aiyano is... Es Dee Esra Arual? Or, in the case of adopted children, is the surname inherited differently? It wasn't announced yet, but it will become clear.