There was a large party after the ritual. While most people had no idea what had happened the growing trees and the gentle storm had been impressive. And they knew that the dryads were here to defend the town from monsters.

Lucy woke up after a while and was delighted with her additional tail. So was I. I spent the night exploring it in detail.

The next morning at breakfast Nira brought me a message. The young succubus maid knight looked a lot more confident these days. It was nice to see.

"My lady, Baron Finn and Baroness Ariya have arrived. They are requesting an audience." Nira said.

"Huh? Any idea what they want?" I asked.

Nira tried to hide a smile. "My lady, you are their liege lord. And you have not talked to them since becoming countess. They have not even officially given their oath yet."

That was a rather polite way to remind me that I had neglected my duties. Maybe Sandra had sent them an invite even. Oh well…

I looked at Lucy. "Hey, we are both ruling here. You need to be there as well."

"Politics are your thing. I am more here to smash stuff. And eat the corpses, if tasty." Lucy replied.

"Maybe there is something in our county that requires smashing. Anyway, you should meet them too." I insisted.

Lucy sighed. "Sure. Hey, you can just invite them to lunch or so."

"Now that is a good idea!" I replied.

"My lady, I think giving your oath is normally a more formal procedure, with them kneeling…" Nira said.

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"We are not all that formal here." I replied.

Nira bowed, looking amused. "I shall inform them."

At least our staff enjoyed my antics. That was good. Because I had no intention of becoming a proper lady, or something like that.

Lunch itself was not very formal. We did not use a banquet hall, just a regular room. It was just Lucy, myself and our two guests.

Baron Finn Marsh entered first. He was dressed in an elegant robe. His snow white hair was long and his eyes looked old. Being an elf it was hard to judge his age. His almost black skin showed that he was a night elf. When he looked at me I saw tears forming in his amethyst eyes.

"Lady Delphinium…" He sank to his knees. "I thought your entire line was lost."

Oh. He thought I was actually related to the night elves who once held this territory. I quickly stood up and hurried towards the man, who was likely old, if he remembered the previous rulers so fondly.

"Rise, Baron Finn. I might be Amaya Delphinium but I am afraid I am not a descendant of the people you once knew. I am an archfey." I explained.

The man looked into my eyes and smiled. "We all carry the blood of the fey. I do not know how you unlocked this power but I am glad that it is you. You know, you look like Yuki Delphinium."

He clearly had decided I was part of that line. Oh well, I tried telling him. If the thought made him happy… I guess the initial idea had been for me to pretend I was of that line. Back when Loriel had offered the county as a reward. Me becoming an archfey had changed a lot though. I certainly felt like I could be more open.

"Countess Amaya, Countess Lucy, it's an honour." I heard a different voice. Baroness Ariya Amaryllis had entered as well. The woman had deep red eyes matching the color of her hair. It was tied into a ponytail. She wore a ruby necklace and a white robe with red accents. It contrasted her obsidian skin nicely.

"Hi." Lucy said, waving from where she was still sitting at the table.

"Oh, where are my manners!" Finn stood up and straightened. Then he bowed to Lucy.

"Greetings, Lucy Delphinium. I have heard great things about you. Is there a grand wedding planned, by chance?"

Wedding? I had not given that a lot of thought. I was certainly in love with Lucy. I looked at her. Her tails were wagging, suddenly. Did I want to spend my immortal life with her? Yes. Yes I did.

"Lucy, do you want to marry me?" It was not a very romantic proposal. It was not planned. But somehow the words left my mouth.

Lucy stood up and walked towards me. She placed her hand on the side of my head. "Of course I want to." Then she kissed me.

It was a long kiss. Afterwards I noticed our guests blushing, just like myself.

"Ahem. So. Anyway… I guess we do have a wedding to plan." I managed to say.

"That is great news." Finn said.

"But we have other things to discuss as well." I added, trying to change to a less embarrassing topic.

I discussed my train plan and my ambitions for our county with our guests, while Lucy just sat there looking smug. Finn and Ariya were certainly impressed with the idea of a train. They gave me an oath of loyalty and promised to help my project in any way they could. I did not need money but maybe they could help me recruit some skilled people. It was a rather productive meeting. It looked like I had two solid allies who would help with my plans.

Of course, I now also had a wedding to plan. Thankfully I had a lot of servants to help with that.

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