Rena and Lucius walked side by side. Following behind them were Lyrah, Natali, and Kalliope. Rena was shocked when Lucius told her earlier in the day, but apparently, King Verdayl provided him with unrestricted access to Eroa's embassy. They were out on the town because they were on their way to meet someone there.
Lucius declined to answer who would be present, but he was in a hurry to arrive, so it had to be someone important. Rena pondered who it could be, but nothing seemed to make sense logically.
By this point, the capital of Arcadios seemed to return to normal. The shopping stalls returned to being concentrated in the market and the streets were no longer overflowing with people. Rena was glad things had returned to normal, mostly because even though everything else went back to the way it was before, Lucius was still here.
There was a small part of her that was concerned. He was not really built for the hustle and bustle of city life. Negative interactions with him and a stranger had the potential to go very poorly. In the past, he had to be concerned about people's perception of her as a pursuant to the position of heir to House Petra. However, now that was no longer the case.
Not only was she out of the running, but her father formally disowned her in a private letter. All that was on top of her marrying into a new house. Her reputation was no longer considered as important as his own... which did not matter to him.
Rena released an exasperated sigh but then smiled. They reached the gates of the embassy, which was manned by a contingent of beastman guards twenty-four-seven. They had a large collection of guards, maid staff, and diplomats staying at the embassy, but there was still plenty of space for Lucius to have a small section of it granted to him for his own use.
The guards let them pass through the gates with a simple nod from Lucius. They also gave a polite bow to everyone as they passed by. The interior garden was rather pretty, but most of Rena's thoughts were occupied by whoever was waiting for them.
"Don't worry," Lyrah whispered. "I'm sure everything will be..."
"L-L-Lucius... is that... you?" a familiar but slightly older voice called out the moment they shut the door behind them. Standing there with a hand covering her mouth was Rubellia. Her hair had a few streaks of gray that were not there before, but other than that, she looked about the same.
"Oh my." Rubellia gasped. "Lucius, your mother is the Oracle?"
"The person who birthed me does seem to be the Oracle, yes... though I think something more interesting is Miss Natali's connection to us."
"Oh?"
Natali cleared her throat and attempted to talk at a normal volume. Her voice came out scratchy and broken, but Rubellia could hear her at least: "Mylene and Derrik... Wayne's cousin. I am... Derrik's daughter."
Rubellia started to tear up a little more and rushed to hug the girl. "Oh, my dear, I know Wayne received letters about you from Derrik after your birth. To think I would get to meet you. Oh, you are just so precious."
"Mother," Rena squeaked out. She was slightly nervous calling her that. "I want you to know I have not forgotten what you told me before I left for the academy. I want you to know I am trying my best."
"Mother!" Kalliope shouted out from the corner. "I ask for your permission to become Lucius's second wife! He is heir to a beastman house so having multiple wives is normal."
Lucius sighed and glared at the wolf-girl, but she held firm in her resolve. Rena had gotten used to this behavior by this point. Lucius had told her that Kalliope was the reason he was alive, so there was no way she could look poorly on the girl. On top of that, she wanted to become subservient in the wife role, placing Rena at the top of the hierarchy... if it was normal for beastmen... then maybe...
"Can it, Kalliope," Lucius growled