Chapter 538: The war council
(Mia frostines POV)
We had just returned from the Elven Kingdom when the celebrations began.
The Authority had pulled every political string available to stir up noise across Etheron. In every district, my ascension to Rank SS before the age of thirty was being broadcast as if it were some kind of divine revelation. My father, ever the politician, capitalized on the moment with a grand banquet that reached even the outer borders of Etheron.
I hated it.
The hall was filled with nobles, military elites, and representatives from the Authority—each one trying to shake my hand or propose an alliance or some veiled favor. None of them cared about what I’d endured or the sweat and tears it took to reach this level. They only saw value. Influence. Leverage.
What I really wanted... was to spend time with Zero.
But of course, I couldn’t. I was trapped in a maze of etiquette, formal dresses, and forced smiles. The entire night, I had to watch Saintess Amelia make small gestures, brushing her fingers against Zero’s arm, leaning in to whisper, laughing a little too often. My blood boiled. I’m not proud of it—but I couldn’t help wishing there were rules... maybe something from the Church that forbade a Saintess from forming romantic ties. Or a social law that restricted such relationships entirely.
The hypocrisy wasn’t lost on me.
Even during our return journey from the Elven Kingdom, Amelia always found a way to linger near him. Her playful demeanor, her ease of speech, and her tendency to act out emotional little dramas... it got under my skin. Sometimes, she’d pretend to argue with him over the smallest things, just to have more time in his attention. But I had one edge.
Unlike Amelia, I had mastered every cooking class in Eldoria. Every. Single. One.
And it showed. When Zero praised the meal I had cooked, the look on Amelia’s face was unforgettable. She didn’t say anything, but I saw her expression falter. She looked defeated.
I couldn’t help but blush with pride. For once, I felt the truth in that old saying: "The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach."