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Sunstar stared at Li. The man did not glower, for it seemed that he had spent so much time fixing his jaw muscles to a kind of stoic half-smile that it was impossible for him to make much of any other expression. Instead, it was his eyes that emanated with emotion, their golden glow flickering with evident but controlled displeasure.

Li felt Tia\'s hands tighten their grip around his neck. She was not comfortable in Sunstar\'s presence, and it showed. But Sunstar did not continue to direct his gaze at Li, instead, he turned his muscled neck to stare at lord Lys, knowing that the weak lord was a far safer option to antagonize. The lord shrunk into his seat, and that made the two heads worth of height difference between the two that much more evident.

"It seems that in the city of Riviera, state secrets flow free like wine at a tavern," said Sunstar to Lys. The lord opened his mouth like a fish gasping on land, but now words came out. Sweat began to form on his forehead as his skin turned several shades whiter.

"Now, now, there is no need for this discord," said the duchess pleasantly. "Especially when we are on the eve of battle. Come, Sunstar, you must understand the easterner\'s position. He is beholden to a god and people we are not familiar with. It would be unbecoming of us to force our wills upon him."

With her words, any sign of discontent in Sunstar disappeared, and seeing this, she continued to Li.

"I am grateful that you have chosen to aid the people of Soleil, and I will treat you and your followers as a fully sovereign force. There will be no issues with this. After all, I have afforded the crown prince of Enna the very same privileges."

"Enna is a vassal state, your highness," said Sunstar. "The crown prince brings his army of Ennans knowing where his allegiances lie. Though you may invest in him independence as general over his own people, in the end, he fights solely for the crown."

"I did not think I would be repeating myself so often in one day," said the duchess with a sigh. "I do understand your concerns, my dear Sunstar, but now is not the time to levy them. We must pursue unity."

"Of course," said Li. "If I am to be an independent force, then, in a way, my services should have a cost attached to them, no?"

The duchess preemptively raised a hand to bid Sunstar from talking, and she nodded to Li. "Of course. I would not wish any of my precious people to fall under the hideous effects of the rot. What is your proposition?"

"I provide the cure to the soldiers and common folk when I can. Your people benefit. In return, my people must benefit too. Give them leave of this lockdown. Let them return to their fields and the forest. Allow them to live in service of the divinity and livelihood they have chosen.

With my cure and strength, they will have no threat to worry about, nor will they spread the rot to Riviera. More than a fair trade, I should say, for sharing the cure to your people as well." 

"I had thought, upon hearing of your might, to ask you to join the war camps. That is why I had the Sunforged bring you here when possible." The duchess cocked her head and put a hand to her chin. "I am not denying your request and yet, I must ask you to understand if we do not involve you as actively in our war-related strategics as if you were a general under the crown. Simply a matter of state secrecy and an understanding that we will be acting with the assumption that your aid is not guaranteed."

"A wise assumption," said Li. "Do not view me as an enemy, but do not see my people as expendable tools and numbers to play with, either. Then, have we reached an agreement?"

"We have. Between you and me. But of course, as the law of the crown dictates, the lord of the city must give his consent." The duchess looked to Lys with an even smile and an analyzing look reminiscent of a focused viper eyeing its prey. So lord Lys, what say you?"

Lord Lys looked to his left, to the duchess, then to his right, to Sunstar, and could only give out several shaky nods.

"Good," said Li. "Tell your armies to not interfere with my movements. I will try my best not to interfere with yours. I will assume that by sunset today, my people will have full leave to move to their fields."

With that, Li promptly turned around and left, not wanting to stay a moment longer in an environment where Tia felt uncomfortable.

The next stop was the farmer\'s guild where Li was scheduled to meet with his administrators and give them a rundown of what he expected once he left. For what he was doing now was far above anything in scale he had ever done before.

He fully intended to use his might to spread the name of the farmer\'s guild as much as he could and plant the seeds of new communities of farmers and priests throughout the lands he traveled. On the way to the guild, Tia spoke.

"Scary shining man," she said, remembering Sunstar.

"A small man pretending to be big," said Li. "You, Tia, will have nothing to fear for him. If ever he harms even a hair on top of your head, he and life will go through quite a thorough break up."

"Not scary because strong, because papa always stronger," said Tia. "Scary because…empty. Sometimes, I see people. Can tell they are good. Or bad. Angry or sad. But shining man – no good, no bad."

"Hm," said Li. He trusted Tia\'s observations about living beings. She seemed to have a better knack for it than Li did, at the least. "Then what about the duchess? What do you think about her? A good person, or a bad person?"

"Good, I think," said Tia, but she fell into a contemplative pause. "Don\'t know," she corrected. "Can\'t see her heart. But she seems to have good words for papa."

"I\'ve come to realize that nobody will have bad words for me. At least, they will never say them in front of my face." Li mentally shrugged. He could care less of what machinations mortals and other such drivel concocted against him so long as they did not interfere with him.

At the least, it was interesting to note that not even Tia could accurately see into the duchess\'s heart. Li had initially thought that perhaps he could not read the duchess because she was simply too experienced at hiding herself. Though he prided himself over being able to accurately assess how someone was by snaking his way through the corporate ladder in his past world where everyone was out for each other and put on fake faces, he had to admit the duchess\'s veil was impenetrable.

But Tia\'s observation was something beyond just experience. It was supernatural. Like how Li\'s eyes could see the flow of life, it appeared that she could see the flow of good or bad in others. It made her sharp in combat, capable of reading signs of aggression, but it also made her an incredible judge of character.

That Tia could not read the duchess suggested her inscrutability lay beyond human training. Li did not personally have enough investment to investigate, but he would get Alexei to do so the next time they met.

For now, as Li approached the vine covered doors of the farmer\'s guild, he had his people to attend to.