My (Monster?) Hero Life

"You'll catch a cold!" Lilly stamped around to the other side of Rysa's bed and forcefully covered her with the blanket.

The forced smile on her face was twitching under the strain as she attempted to prevent herself from slapping this cougar! Kace quickly averted his gaze so that Lilly could not see that he was almost tempted by Rysa's offer. Now that his line of sight with her was broken, some clarity came racing back to his mind.

"Ah, Grugda said that you wanted to see me?" Kace returned his gaze now that it was safe to do so.

"All business and no fun… Still, that has its own appeal." The blanket rose and fell with the heavy sigh that Rysa let out. "Have you decided what you will do with this place?"

Kace's eyes lit up as Rysa immediately touched on the problem that he was facing. It sounded like she already had something in mind, which would be a great help! Kace tried to keep the excitement from his voice as he replied.

"No… We're having some… Issues…" Kace frowned as he recalled the possible candidates. 

"I thought so…" Rysa yawned and stretched her arms, which made the blanket 'accidentally' slip yet again.

However, Lilly was on point. Almost as if she were a newlywed wife that had spotted a potential home wrecker. Her hand dashed out and caught the edge of the blanket before anything could truly be revealed. 'Thank you!' Kace silently praised her in his mind. He had to keep his thoughts clear in case Rysa was going to try to negotiate with him. 'Let's face it… If she did this with no one around to stop her, it would be easy for her to gain a favourable deal.'

"What do you have in mind?" Kace asked slowly, as his eyebrow arched.

Rysa's attention was on Lilly when he posed his question. They were staring at each other with an incredible amount of intensity. There was almost electricity sparking because of the atmosphere between them, but the tension disappeared as soon as she turned her eyes to Kace.

"I was thinking that it would be a good idea to have my son take charge of the region…" Rysa raised a hand from the blanket to caress her cheek. "He's still young, needs to socialise and has to learn what it means to be a ruler. Of course, I'll provide him with reliable aides and lend him my support."

Kace's eyes narrowed as he gazed at Rysa's face. 'So, she was aiming for a favourable deal…' Kace's mind raced as he tried to think of a compromise that would suit both parties involved.

"I can agree with this, only if you allow a few of our people to serve as his advisors. I admit that without your help we probably could not have taken the city. So you have some claim to it." Kace paused to gauge Rysa's reaction.

Rysa's eyes went wide before a smile played upon her lips. "Silly boy… This city was part of my territory before the heroes stole it from me. You've only aided me in liberating it. So naturally, it should be returned to me…"

Kace frowned as he understood what she was saying. The problem was that they had no way of confirming if the city had really belonged to her. For all he knew, the heroes could have built the place, and she was trying to snatch it for herself.

Rysa chuckled when she saw the look on Kace's face. "Don't worry. I know that my claim doesn't really hold up after so long. So here's what I suggest we do."

Kace's relief flashed across his face as he turned his attention back to Rysa. For a moment there, he thought that they were going to get into a dispute. But apparently, Rysa had just been playing with him.

"How about this? My son will be in charge for now. Anyone that you have in mind can serve as advisors alongside those that I'll provide." Rysa gave Kace a knowing look before continuing. "Your council can send someone more 'appropriate' at a later date. We'll turn this city into a joint neutral stronghold. A place for both of our forces to gather together. At that point, the city will be split in half. My son will rule my half and your representative will take charge of the other."

Kace frowned as he mulled over Rysa's words. It seemed like a good deal on the surface, but they still had to hand over half of the rights to the city. But if that meant having a legendary monster, or two acting as its defenders, then it was a worthwhile transaction. Plus, having a mutual staging ground for future wars would benefit both parties. 

However, Kace was stuck wondering if the council would uphold their half of the deal if he agreed to it. He knew all too well that the council members were becoming greedy. They wanted as many territories under their control as possible to increase their own shares once everything was over. It was not as if the surrounding area of this city was small. 

'Rysa should be able to enforce the deal. Right? I doubt that they would risk pissing her off just for this.' Kace raised an eyebrow as he considered the pros and cons. In the end, he made his decision.

"I'll accept this deal on behalf of the council… However, I can't say that they will be pleased about it. I hope you can be patient with them and convince them this is the best option." Kace chose his words carefully. He wanted to make sure that Rysa knew that he had no hand in it if things went south. 

"That's good enough for now." Rysa heaved a sigh of relief before sweeping her gaze over the others. "Can you leave us alone for a moment? There's something I want to discuss with Kace in private."

Grugda raised an eyebrow at her request, but Lilly appeared reluctant. She was concerned that Rysa would 'lure' Kace away from her. 

"Don't worry, little dryad. I won't do anything." Rysa flashed a warm smile that did not settle Lilly's worries at all.

"I'll be fine…" Kace spoke up, as he had the feeling that Rysa was being serious.