“Her lands will be selected from those of the Grand Duchy of Essagor to further strengthen your bond and her family name will be inscribed among those granted by the Crown.”
Despite the arrays, Zinya fell to her knees sobbing and needed the help of the Royal Guards to stand up since no one but them could move.
She didn’t care for the rumors or the barony. Zinya had no interest in the now Royal-conferred last name.
The reason she was crying out of joy was that the Kingdom was finally acknowledging her husband’s efforts and sacrifices. For once, he wasn’t standing out of the spotlight, letting others take all the credit.
This time, he was at center stage, and even though the wonderful words that the King had said about Vastor couldn’t make up for the years he had been ignored and treated as a joke, it was an excellent start.
‘I can’t believe that these stupid people finally see you as the wonderful man you are, Zogar.’ She thought. ‘Yet what’s truly amazing is that even while you were having your moment, when after years of anonymity you had every right to think solely of yourself, you chose to share it with me.
‘When the King asked you what you wanted, you put me first again. Gods, please, don’t let anything bad ever happen to him.’
Despite the Royal Guards’ best efforts and Lith’s help, Zinya was crying so hard that they had to conjure a chair for her as well. The white and golden robe gave Lith the same authority as a Royal Fortress armor and he used it to bring Kamila next to her sister.
Kamila nodded at him in a thank you, doing her best to calm Zinya down.
Once the applause for Vastor ended, the King turned to the last member of the unexpected group of heroes.
“Mage Solus Verhen, we’ve never been properly introduced but the people of the Kingdom know you well. During Magus Verhen’s stay in the Desert, you helped him to craft the DoLorean and then to develop Void Magic and the Tablets.
“According to what he told me, you’ve agreed to share your contribution as well and for that, you have our thanks. Once the War of the Griffons started, you joined our ranks as the Golden Knight even though you had no reason to.
“You were born and raised in the Blood Desert, yet you shed your blood and sweat for a foreign country. You have protected the innocent citizens from Thrud’s soldiers and you have risked your life along with our best mages to stop the Golden Griffon.
“Ever since you moved in with the Verhens after reuniting with your long-lost relatives, you have blessed us with your knowledge, strength, and friendship. For all this, you have our sincere gratitude.
“Mere words aren’t enough so I hereby make you an honorary citizen of the Kingdom.” A full set of IDs and a contact amulet appeared in front of Solus, yet it was what was written on the papers that truly shocked her.
“Now you are not a guest anymore and this can be your home as well, if you choose so. Also, the Crown cannot ignore either your talent or your achievements, Great Mage Solus Verhen.”
The title was already engraved in her documents and Solus was still staring at those words.
The Royal Guards helped her to don her deep green robe, something that was awkward to look at since in her daze Solus didn’t cooperate, and moving someone as heavy as her was no easy feat.
“Please, keep blessing us with your presence. You have my word that we’ll put your gifts to good use.”
The crowd was stunned as well so the applause started small. Aside from Lith, his family, the Ernas, and the Queen, everyone else was too dumbfounded to move a muscle.
They had heard of the Golden Knight, but they had expected a Tiamat-like monster, not a petite young lady. Picturing her riding on top of a Raiju fighting against Divine Beasts dozens of times bigger than her was something that seemed out of a fairy tale.
On top of that, Solus’ contribution to Lith’s opus was amazing, no matter how small a role she had played.
She had been officially recognized as someone who not only had proven to be worthy of the trust of the Supreme Magus of the Kingdom, but also who had been able to understand and improve his research.
The noise snapped the nobles out of their stupor and once they noticed who was clapping, they rushed to join the bandwagon. The applause rose like a wave, starting from those near the Verhen and spreading throughout the Banquet Hall until it became deafening.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Solus wanted but failed to say more.
Her eyes were teary and her voice was close to cracking.
‘I was content with being the Verhens’ guest. I expected to be treated as Lith’s plus one as always. Instead, I’ve been recognized for *my* work. People are praising me for what *I* did.
‘I don’t care for the Great Mage title as much as for the IDs. Now I can use the Warp Gate network of the Kingdom by myself. I don’t need anyone vouching for me or making up some lie to cover up my existence. I’m my own person.’ She thought.
Solus had no interest in glory or fame, what truly mattered to her was being finally seen as an individual. Her life was being acknowledged as something more than just Lith’s stone ring or Menadion’s tower and it meant a lot to Solus.
Much more than she would have ever believed.
The Queen dismissed them and called more people to receive their prizes. One member of the army and another of the Mage Association each stepped forward.
They represented their respective organizations and were tasked with receiving the praise and the rewards for the contributions of all their colleagues.
Master Warden Vorgh had been chosen from the army ranks while Kwart from the Association.
Yet after his seat had been just offered to someone else, the Archmage knew that those nice words weren’t addressed to him, and every gold coin the Queen awarded him with just made his feeling of loss grow stronger.
Once the Royals were done with the awards, the people in the Banquet Hall were free to move and mingle again.
“Congratulations, Friya.” Morok shook her hand. “You becoming a Great Mage was long overdue. Too bad that Nalrond had to miss this moment. I’m sure that he would have loved to share it with you.”
“Thanks.” Friya smiled at first and then sighed heavily, admitting that the Tyrant was right. “I guess I can’t be angry with him anymore. Poor Nalrond, he deserved a kick in the ass, but not one this big. Gods, I miss him.”
She clenched her deep green mage robe, feeling it heavy with remorse. Her family and friends were there to share that joy with her, yet she had left out from one of the happiest moments of her life the man who had never abandoned her during her darkest hours.
It put a chink in her achievement and made the grudge she had against the Rezar pop like a bubble.
