"Only that?" Hisui narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced.
Toma nodded again and again, but his gaze drifted away on its own.
"Yes, yes. Your father would never lie to you."
Hisui: ...
Although she did not really believe her old father's assurance, as his daughter, she could not press him too hard.
And seeing that Hisui had stopped questioning him, even if she still looked doubtful, King Toma secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Fine. He admitted it, he had lied to Hisui.
The reason he valued Kabe so highly was not only because of his strength and potential.
The most important reason of all was that Kabe was close to Hisui in age, and Toma had plans to recruit him as a royal consort.
Most of the other Wizard Saints were already old. Even God Serena, who still looked young, was already in his thirties.
Of course, for royalty, an age gap of ten or even twenty years was not really a problem.
But when there was already an even younger candidate right here in their own country, why bother looking far away instead?
Besides, Toma did not believe Kabe would be any worse than Serena in the future.
With his talent, by the time he reached that same age, there was every chance he would achieve even greater heights than Serena ever had.
And a Wizard Saint who could become a son-in-law, one of their own family, was naturally far more attractive than someone like Makarov or Jose, who on paper belonged to Fiore, but in truth were completely outside royal control.
Although Hisui was clever, she was still young and lacked experience.
Toma worried that if one day he suddenly met with misfortune or was struck down by illness and passed away, Hisui might not be able to suppress the crafty nobles and ministers of the kingdom.
And at a time like that, an outstanding royal husband with overwhelming strength and prestige would solve that problem perfectly.
What was more, this husband would be an orphan, with no family power behind him, so there would be no need to worry about outside relatives growing too influential and weakening the crown.
...
Even though rumors said that Kabe already had several women around him, and was even engaged to the daughter of the Heartfilia family, Toma did not consider any of that a major issue.
All he needed was for Kabe to hold the kingdom steady and give Hisui an heir to inherit the throne.
The more Toma thought about it, the more delighted he became, increasingly convinced that he had made a brilliant move.
Still, the matter had not even begun to take shape yet, so he could not possibly explain it to Hisui right now.
If Kabe refused in the end, would that not leave him utterly humiliated?
'Better to first send someone to invite Kabe to the capital and test the waters before saying anything else.'
He had only just formed that thought and begun considering who to send, when a figure appeared in the gardens from afar.
It was Defense Minister Danton.
Though already advanced in years, he came striding rapidly toward the king and princess, and by the time he arrived before them, sweat was already rolling down his forehead.
Toma and Hisui were just wondering what could have happened to make such an important royal minister so urgent, when Danton, after finally catching his breath, bowed and spoke at once.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, according to the report just received from the city gate guards, the newly appointed Wizard Saints Lord Kabe and Lady Irene have entered the royal capital together."
"Who?!"
Toma's voice instantly shot up by several octaves, startling all the attendants nearby.
Thinking the king had not heard clearly, Danton hurriedly repeated it in a louder voice.
"The very same Lord Kabe whom Your Majesty has often kept an eye on, and Lady Irene, who defected from the western continent and was granted the title of Wizard Saint by the Council just a few days ago."
"It really is them! They actually came to my capital? Could they be here to see me?"
Toma began pacing excitedly with his hands behind his back.
He remembered how he had previously asked Jude to pass along a message, promising Kabe a noble title.
Perhaps this visit was for the express purpose of seeing him and having that promise fulfilled.
Give it! He absolutely had to give it!
Toma was already thinking about making Kabe his future son-in-law. How could he possibly begrudge him a single title?
Not only that, Kabe had also brought back another newly appointed Wizard Saint.
And if Kabe was capable of persuading Irene to switch sides and join Ishgar, then if Toma could convince him to keep Irene in Fiore as well, would that not mean Fiore was about to strike gold?
The moment he thought of that, Toma could no longer remain still. He immediately grabbed Hisui by the hand and said as he walked,
"Come. You are coming with me to meet the great hero of our kingdom."
Danton abruptly raised his head and hurried after the king and princess in large strides.
"Your Majesty, the gate guards only said that the two lords entered the city. They did not say that they wished to seek an audience with Your Majesty."
Toma halted his steps.
Short in stature, he tilted his head upward to look at Danton, but the authority in his voice was unmistakably that of a king.
"Then go invite them. Tell them I am holding a banquet at the palace and intend to properly honor the great heroes of our kingdom.
Do not tell me that a man in charge of the defense of the nation and the capital cannot even find two people right under his own nose."
Danton bowed his head at once in alarm.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty. This servant was foolish. I will go invite the two lords at once."
After saying that, Danton turned and rushed out of the gardens even faster than he had entered.
And after scolding Danton, Toma also calmed down a little.
Then he turned and looked at Hisui, who was still dressed in an ordinary outfit and had not made any effort to dress up.
Immediately, he released her hand and urged her anxiously,
"Hisui, quickly return to your chambers and put on your most beautiful dress."
Hisui: "???"