Ariadne was again in her office, reading the reports on her tablet. Over the months, everyone in her duchy has been using one of these devices to deal with bureaucracy, making it easier to read everything without the mountains of paper that would cost a fortune by themselves. The paper is only used to pass transactions outside the duchy using the printer Edmund developed.

  Her eyes turned to the phone as it rang, and her hand ?grabbed it. Though it was not long before she used the device, putting it over her right ear felt natural.

  ‘Hello, this is Ariadne talking.’ She spoke in a soft voice.

  ‘Ho ho… Duchess, it is a pleasure to ?talk to you.’ He laughs.

  ‘I don’t recognize your voice. From what village are you talking? What is the problem?’ Her voice showed concern.

  ‘No, no, no. I’m not from any of your villages; this is the king of Markaz, the one you wanted to talk to.’ He said it in a playful tone.

  ‘How do I know you are telling the truth? Where are the merchants?’ She got up and looked out the window.

  The king used the phone on Markaz in the castle to point at Persia, sitting across the table.

  ‘Your Highness, this is Persia talking; do you have questions?' Persia pressed the phone against her ear.

  ‘Yes, is he the king? How is he using the phone? You are holding against his ear or something?’ Ariadne looked down at where Edmund was lying again on the grass underneath the same tree.

  'Yes, Your Highness, he is the king of Markaz, and no, he is using this and other devices by himself.’ Persia scratched her head while looking at the smiling king.

  ‘How? I don’t understand.’ She used her other hand to tap the window.

  ‘I don’t know; he wants to talk to you again, your highness.’ Persia gave the phone back to the king.

  'So, duchess, let’s just go straight into business; it doesn’t matter how I can use your devices; it's too soon for this conversation.’ Daw lay back on the couch, looking up.

  ‘Humm, fine, it is not like I can force you to tell me. I want to form this partnership, but it needs to be a secret, Your Majesty; nobody can know.’ She opens the window.

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  ‘That is the best for me, too; I already have the tribes to deal with, and I don’t need the Lavan on my back either; these two gave me a good deal about the devices.’ The king smiled.

  He grabbed a small frame to his side on the couch, and while looking up, waiting for what the duchess was going to say, he saw that the image on the frame was a portrait of his wife; this time, she had a gentle smile, calm, pouring all over his body, relaxing his muscles and mind.

  ‘Your majesty can use the devices to trade with the tribes, and maybe the war will be over; you could even have better relationships with the kingdoms.’ Ariadne opened the window.

  ‘Well, that will never happen. This animal said that they would make my wife a slave 14 years from now; they just need to die.’ His expression turned serious.

  ‘But it would be good if, in the future, you could ally with me so we can help one another.’ She put her head outside, looking at Edmund.

  ‘You don’t need me right now, duchess; I certainly don’t need you; you need money and resources; that is what you need.’ Daw returned to his usual position and put his wife's portrait aside.

  ‘Humm... I understand. If your majesty has any more questions or something more, just use this phone and call me, your majesty.’ Her eyes were focused on Edmund.

  ‘Ok, duchess, I hope we can see one another in person.’ He looked again at the portrait of his wife.

  ‘Ei!!! Peasant, go back to work!!!' She shouted.

  The sound made the king pull the phone away from him. Right after the final word left her mouth, she realized what happened, but the only thing she could hear from the other side of the phone was a burst of hysterical laughter right after the call had just ended.

  Edmund opened his eyes, sat down, and looked up to see Ariadne with half of her body out of the window, looking at what appeared to be her office phone.

  ‘I’m working!!!’ He shouted back.

  'No, you are not; that is just sleeping; at least sleep in your bed; you are distracting the maids!!’ Her voice was laudable and strong.

  The maids passing by were startled by the duchess's words and quickly ran inside the mansion.

  ‘See? They don't like it.' Ariadne pointed at the maids running.

  Edmund negatively nodded while standing up, looking up from where the duchess was shouting and shrugging his arms. Seeing this, she returned inside and closed the window again after putting the phone in its place.

  ‘Duchess, what was that all about?’ Edmund opened the doors.

  ‘I was talking with a very important person, and I was distracted by you lazying around underneath that tree.’ She closed her eyes and started to massage her forehead.

  ‘I said it before; I thought it was calm outside, and sometimes the maids gave me food, which was just a win for everybody.’ He smiled.

  'That's what I was talking about; you are distracting the maids; they are even giving you snacks, peasant. What is this? Is it your vacation or something? Know your place.’ Ariadne slammed the desk with the palm of her hand.

  ‘Fine… I will hide deep in the forest if that is everything I’m leaving.’ Edmund turned around.

  ‘No, peasant! You don’t need to do that; you can use that couch right there, and I will open the windows. This way, you aren’t going to distract the maids and deep in the forest. If something happens, how am I supposed to get a hold of you?’ The duchess pointed at the couch while looking at Edmund’s back.

  Edmund walked to the couch, lay on it, put a small pillow behind his head, and crossed his arms. His eyes became heavy as the couch was better than his bed. A relaxing feeling came through his body, and his mind was now a blank slate on which he could build everything he wanted.

  Ariadne sat on the chair on the right side of the couch, closer to his head, with her tablet in her hands and her eyes fixed on the text as she resumed her work.

  ‘This is much better, Your Highness; I don’t know how to thank you.’ He spoke in a soft voice.

  ‘Just stay here...’ She whispered to herself.