The Rise of the Black Plain

Upon seeing Minos for the first time, Ruth's parents unhurriedly looked at him, assessing this person who had made their little girl leave home.

But considering the stories the two had already heard about Minos, they no longer underestimated this young man from the northern region.

All the Spiritual Saints of the Gray Clouds Sect already knew about the rumors of Minos being about to become the king of Vogel. That was impressive, something that could eventually put him in an advantageous position similar to leading the most prominent sects in the Empire.

That's even considering that he would not have full powers!

So even if he had no future within this sect, Minos was still quite promising, considering Vogel.

But he did not just have that. Minos could also already be considered quite strong and talented, given his level and age. Thus, Vince and Elise's opinion of him now was different from the one they had years ago when Ruth left.

Before, they thought that Ruth was making a mistake in marrying Minos, that she deserved someone more capable, another youth from the Empire, preferably. So much so that they had not even attended their wedding since such a thing went against what they believed was best for her.

But they had allowed Ruth to go since, in the Spiritual World, few powers used the idea of arranged marriage. Usually, people decide who they will marry or have relations with. Then, it was unusual for families to get in the way of relationships like the one these two had or the one Minos' father had with Maisie.

However, parents would always have their opinions of what would be best for their children regardless of whether or not they accepted their children's 'mistakes.' So these two had not previously agreed with Ruth's decision and let her go without giving their blessing.

And because of this, they felt a bit strange at the moment, seeing how Minos had exceeded any expectations they might have had and still helped Ruth reach level 62.

When Ruth left for the northern region to live there, they even doubted if she would be able to reach 7th. But, seeing this woman not far from level 63, they were impressed with her level and Minos, the one likely responsible for this.

Vince then sighed and showed one of his hands to Minos. "The pleasure is all ours, young man..."

Minos and his father-in-law shook hands, as Elise said. "You have turned out better than I had thought... But it is a pity my daughter was not as lucky as this young Archbishop."

Gloria blushed as she saw the look on that woman's face, who was clearly unhappy to see Ruth's 'competitors' there.

Minos then laughed and said. "Don't worry, mother-in-law. We are working on giving you some grandchildren."

Hearing this, Talia, sitting on a sofa, looked at her parents, incredulous at what Minos was talking about. 'Is he saying he will have fun with my sister for our parents?'

Vince closed his eyes and tried to ignore the meaning of Minos' comment, looking only on the bright side. "I hope you will be successful. But there is no need to rush. There is plenty of time for you."

But Elise had something different in mind as she looked at Ruth.

She whispered to her daughter. "Don't listen to your father. Do as much as possible and get pregnant before that blue-haired girl!"

"Mom!" Ruth blushed.

"What? Do you want your children to be left behind in the succession of this family of yours?" She smiled at her daughter. "I already know you do a lot of that, so just focus on putting the pleasant together with the helpful!"

Vince did not listen to his wife and daughter's comments and asked Minos. "What do you intend to do with Vogel? Are you truly going to rule this state?"

As Minos' father-in-law, Vince's most significant interest was in this young man's success since this would mean that his daughter would be well off. As for other matters that were of minor importance to him, things his wife would be the one to worry about.

Ruth seemed happy, so everything else was irrelevant to him apart from the Stuart family position!

Hence, as they relaxed in that living room, Minos began to speak. "Well, for now, we're going to get some benefits from that state while ensuring peace in the region... Then, after things settle down, we'll see what happens."

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" Elise asked, interested in how someone at the level of Minos could accomplish something so difficult to accomplish.

Minos laughed and looked at his wives. "We'll figure it out."

They smiled, knowing he did not want to discuss his agreement with the Emperor to prevent it from spreading.

To fool an enemy, sometimes you had to fool your allies first!

Since the four northern states were enemies of the Empire, the imperial family had to keep their plans secret even from their vassals and subordinates. Otherwise, information could leak out, and Minos' plans could go from bad to worse.

Vince and Elise tried to press Minos for some more time, but he and his wives cleverly avoided giving details about their plans regarding such a thing.

After this, the two experts gave up probing the matter and asked questions concerning the Black Plain and the Stuart family.

They wanted to know why Minos did not move to the Empire or if there was a possibility that he would go to live in Vogel, a much better place than the Black Plain.

But Minos and his wives explained to these people that the situation in the Black Plain was not as bad as they imagined. Not only that, Ruth even said that they should pay a visit before giving a definite judgment about such an area.

Abby and Gloria added several positive pieces of information about the Black Plain to the conversation, showing how much that place had grown in recent years and its potential.

After talking for some time, those three relatives of Ruth's understood her situation on the Black Plain better. But before the conversation was over, Talia led Minos into the kitchen for him to drink some water.

...

"Talia, I didn't expect that you were Ruth's sister..." Minos commented to his sister-in-law as he drank his water. "At that time, I realized that your kiss was different from hers, but I had no idea of your identity."

"Shh!"

"Don't talk about it!" She said in a low voice, a little nervous.

"And when are we going to talk about it?"

"We'd better forget about it! You know how wrong it was. So we'd better just pretend it never happened." She said, speaking close to him to ensure that only the two would hear that.

"Are you sure about that? You seemed to want it so much more back then..." He suggested after placing the crystal glass on a table there and approaching her.

"That was many years ago. And I was out of my mind at the time!" She defended herself, not wanting this man to have the wrong image of her.

"I don't think so..." He put her against a wall and grabbed her slender waist.

Gulp!

...