Janis knew the Empire would wage war again, she was just hoping it would wait for a long time.

  Still, as she stood on the review stand the people around her had hastily erected and watched a company of soldiers after another march past, she reflected that at least they wouldn’t be caught unprepared. Honestly, she had pretty conflicted feelings on the matter.

  A part of her was even a little resentful that Regina seemed to have left any duties that had to do with commanding the army to her. Not that she was alone, of course, Ben and Max and the others were doing their part. But Janis was the crown princess and she was the crown’s designated representative for leading their people in battle. She knew any resentment was groundless, of course; as the Empress, Regina had more than enough other duties to take care of. It made sense to split the responsibility a little. Besides, while Regina was hardly stupid, she wasn’t really a general.

  Luckily, Ben as the official Marshal of the Empire was doing very good work.

  “Enlistment is up by ten percept from st month, Your Imperial Highness,” the local commander said. “We will be able to muster a new company soon.”

  Janis nodded, briefly gncing at the man before she returned her attention to the soldiers passing by on the open parade ground. The marching troops had finished and were now followed by ranks of cavalry. All of them currently wearing firearms in addition to cavalry sabers. They did make a pretty picture.

  “You have done good work, Colonel,” she praised. “It is reassuring to know that the northern border will be that much more secure, relying on a solid defense in this province.”

  He smiled, obviously pleased, just as she’d intended. And while Janis was here to raise morale, she wasn’t lying. Obviously, judging the local garrison by their performance on an occasion like this would be fwed, but she could still tell they were disciplined. The colonel and his subordinates had seemed competent. It was the st stop on her current route, and she’d definitely seen worse.

  There were even a few recruits for the Star Guard here. She’d scheduled time to speak to a few of them ter. Regina’s pn for that outfit seemed to have worked so far; they were truly seen as an elite that other soldiers aspired to join, even if they hadn’t really proven themselves in war yet.

  “You seem to have handled the transition from disparate levies to a proper army well in this county,” the commander of her current escort from the Star Guard noted. Jay was a senior drone, one of the highest officers in the Guard and honestly probably a little too senior to just py escort for her, but she guessed he’d wanted to see the northern defenses for himself, too. Not that Janis objected to having him with her.

  “Yes, we are fortunate to have many true patriots who are eager to do their duty to the Empire,” the colonel responded. “It perhaps helps that the Count is away, having taken a position in the capital, to be frank.”

  Janis smiled slightly. That was good to know, but she didn’t want to risk an answer being taken the wrong way, so she didn’t say anything; just refocused her attention on the inspection of the troops she was here for, which was coming to an end.

  She paid particur attention to the artillery pieces they had. Which wasn’t many, this wasn’t the most important garrison or the rgest, but they did show off a few. Janis watched a drill to make sure they knew how to use them properly, occasionally asking a few more questions of the local commander. She had no real concerns here, it had been a rather rexed visit so far, and it continued in that vein.

  After the review, she talked to a few of the veterans who would be joining the Star Guard. Again, Janis didn’t ask any hard questions or give them a hard time. She probably could have still kicked them out, but there was no reason to. This trip was mostly to be seen and raise morale. And these soldiers in particur had been carefully chosen, she didn’t really think a few minutes’ conversation would do a better job at deciding if they were suitable.

  It took a few more hours, talking with the local officers and promising to help sort out a few issues, and then they finally left. Janis rolled her shoulders as her entourage departed the gate of the military base, mostly just a few buildings with a fence around them. “That was the st of them,” she said.

  Jay smiled slightly. “Saving the best for st, then?”

  She gnced at him. “I don’t think there’s enough reason to make such a distinction, honestly.”

  “Fair enough, but I wasn’t really talking about the garrison here.”

  Janis sighed. “Let’s just go to the market and look around a little, perhaps?”

  They had already spoken to people at the local lord’s hall, where they were quartered. However, with the local count away at the capital and nothing much happening there, it had been pretty boring and quiet. But there was a reason Janis was paying attention here. This city — or more like a rge town, perhaps — was the closest city to the Esemen and also pretty close to the Western Confederation. Trade ties had been strong. There were reports of growing tension — when were there not, though? — and Janis wanted to look around personally, besides just inspecting their defenses.

  It didn’t take long to notice that the prices were rising, once they reached the market. Of course, Janis and her escort of several Star Guard soldiers attracted a lot of attention. She smiled and nodded, accepting greetings and blessings from people, occasionally exchanging a few words. After the first wave of interest died down, she walked past a few stalls, looking at prices and talking to a few of the people. The market was also ringed by storefronts, and she chanced a look inside several of them as well.

  Overall, it wasn’t hard to tell were the problems y. There were a few goods you generally got from more southern parts of the Empire here, and others that were imported from the neighboring countries. Trinkets and household goods crafted in a certain style unique to their origin, or goods imported from even further away. Expensive wines were a particurly interesting choice, since she could also look at vintages and no one found it strange that the princess would be looking at fine wines. The best ones supposedly still came from several regions around the Rhine and almost certainly passed through the Western Confederation. The same was true of other luxury goods, but also religious idols from Esemen or books from certain writers.

  Not that the tter was a rge concern, the Empire was far ahead when it came to books. Also many other things that had benefited from Regina’s introduction of new knowledge and techniques.

  Overall, it was easy to see prices were up, especially from Esemen. That was a concern. There had been minor tax hikes and tariff increases that could expin rising prices on imported goods from the Western Confederation, but not from Esemen. As far as she knew, the tariffs hadn’t changed. And the Imperial government certainly should have been informed. That meant merchants were probably less willing to come to the Empire, driving up prices for their goods since there was less supply for the same demand. That seemed to be born out by what she saw. She wasn’t aware of any epidemics or rge-scale disasters in Esemen that would have affected it, though.

  Janis quickly shared her specution with Jay when they had a bit of privacy, who nodded. “Our informants in the east still aren’t the best, but we can definitely look into that,” he said. “It could be that the Esemen government is putting pressure on their merchants to avoid the Empire. They would probably deny it if we asked or compined.”

  Janis nodded, frowning. Making your citizens avoid coming to a nearby country could be seen as a sign for a prelude to war, to avoid them getting caught up in it. But if the Esemen were actually pnning to attack the Empire soon, there would be more signs of it. Of course, they could just be thinking long-term.

  She talked to a few more people, getting some information and taking a few mental notes on things to look into. Reports of this would have probably reached them sooner or ter, anyway, but it seemed like a recent development. If only they had more spies in Esemen to confirm for them what was happening. Unfortunately, the Esemen were annoyingly good at avoiding or catching them, from what Janis heard. It wasn’t really her area of responsibility.

  Still, it put her in a contemptive mood even as they finally returned to their quarters to eat dinner before heading back. At least she had also managed to pick up a few things at the market to bring back as souvenirs, especially for Kiara. Dinner was quiet and uneventful. The sparse staff left in the mansion clearly tried their best, but it couldn’t compare to the usual fare at the pace. Maybe I’ve become spoiled, Janis reflected. The different courses and extra-sweet dessert would have seemed extravagant to her a few years ago. She limited herself to a single gss of wine, while her escort didn’t drink. Then they left, mounting their Winged Drone Mounts and taking off into the sky.

  At this point, Janis was used to traveling like this. The ease and speed was simply unequaled. A carriage might have been more pleasant, especially on the new roads and with a decent suspension system, but she pulled up the scarf she’d brought for this reason over her lower face, tucked her gloved hands ft against the drone’s back and ignored the wind and chill of the air, with the ease of practice.

  A part of her liked to feel like she was still a warrior and not some spoiled princess, she had to admit.

  The trip took several hours, and she distracted herself by diving into the psychic link and catching up with several drones she hadn’t talked to in a while. The sun was setting in the east and she spared a few moments for appreciating the sight before it got dark. Their flying drones didn’t care, able to see well enough at night.

  Finally, they reached Cera. The drones circled once around the city before they nded in a secluded courtyard at the back of the royal pace. Janis hopped down, stretching a bit, and checked on her escorts via the psychic link out of habit as she walked inside.

  The pace was pretty quiet at this hour, although it rarely completely slept. Janis gnced around, dimissing Jay and the others with a wordless feeling of thanks, before she headed to the wing where the royal family of Cernlia kept their quarters — a short distance from the suites given to the Imperial royals and Janis’ own bedroom.

  Kiara was still awake. She had dressed down for bed already, though, her hair falling freely down her back and slippers peeking out from the hem of a night robe. There was no one else around. Janis opened the door quietly, smiling at Kiara and stepping in before closing it softly as well, setting down her bag beside it for ter.

  By the time she turned back around, her girlfriend was in front of her, reaching up to tangle a hand in her hair and kiss her. Janis eagerly recipocrated, putting her arms around Kiara’s waist and back. After a few seconds, she deepened the kiss, teasing Kiara’s mouth open and exploring it with her tongue.

  “You’re te,” Kiara said as they finally broke apart and she stepped back, breathing a little more heavily.

  “Sorry,” Janis said. “I spent a little longer in the st city than I thought. The Esemen are causing the prices of goods to rise.” She shook her head, then stepped further into the room and took off her jacket. “I appreciate you waiting up for me.”

  Kiara smiled slightly, though there was still a bit of tension in her expression. She clearly decided to leave talking about the Esemen for ter, and only said, “Of course. What sort of lover would I be if I didn’t greet you on your return? Besides, the bed is cold and lonely on its own, I require your presence in it.”

  “A well-rested one, hopefully,” Janis smirked, stepping forward again after she’d kicked off her shoes and starting to slowly lower Kiara’s robe from her shoulders. It did present a very enticing sight; she liked Kiara in full regalia, but there was something different about such an intimate moment. “And does that mean you don’t want to use my bed from now on?”

  Kiara seemed to hesitate for a moment, before she pushed a strand of Janis’ hair behind her ear. “I don’t mind either way, of course. But Mother and June already know about us, if they catch you creeping around at night it won’t be an issue.”

  “So do the Hive,” Janis pointed out. “There aren’t really any more outsiders here than in this wing. It’s fine, though.” She sighed. “I wish all this secrecy wasn’t necessary.”

  Kiara tensed slightly, which Janis could sense as her fingers were currently exploring the best path under her nightshirt. “Well, I don’t have any intention of risking my reign any further.”

  Janis shrugged, stopping her movements. “You know I’d never push you into something you’re not comfortable with, Kiara. And I do appreciate that we have some more privacy.”

  Kiara nodded, then lifted a hand to trace Janis’ lips and chin with a soft touch. “I know. I don’t deserve you, my love.”

  “I beg to differ, my queen. You’re mine and I’m not giving you up.”

  Kiara smiled and they leaned in for a kiss, softer this time. But when Janis moved her hands again towards her breasts, Kiara shook her head, drawing back. “Not today, love. Let us simply go to sleep, we need to start the day early tomorrow.”

  Janis nodded, a little disappointed, but she was pretty tired. She knew it wasn’t because of their location or surroundings; Janis still wasn’t a psychic, but she had gotten very good at separating her mind from the psychic link and keeping that barrier up subconsciously.

  Instead, she quickly changed into one of Kiara’s shirts and then climbed into bed with her. Her girlfriend pulled her closer and Janis absentmindedly traced a finger down her neck to her colrbones. Maybe it was the monster in her, but she wished she could just bite her here firmly, mark her girlfriend for everyone to see. Leave a visible reminder that would remind her girlfriend she was here, that she belonged to her and was cared for and protected, when Janis couldn’t be there.

  Pushing the thought aside, she wrapped her arms around Kiara, enjoying her warmth and letting the steady beat of her heart lull her to sleep.