Chapter Text
Cor was so happy Flora made him buy some formal wear for Prompto. He double-checked that his own suit was properly fitted, checked on Prompto’s a fourth time then turned to glanced at the silver and gold necklace that now adorned Night. (Night had drawn blood when Clarus had made the mistake of calling the thing a collar.) As Night was in his mini-form, it wrapped several times around his neck with the carefully crafted symbol of the Caelum Dynasty visible.
Aulea laughed as she watched Cor fuss, “You all look handsome, Cor. Do try to calm down before the envoys arrive.” Prompto nodded sagely, as though Aulea had revealed some universal truth, and patted Cor on the leg in a gesture that was clearly meant to be soothing. Cor sighed, dropping down to pick Prompto up in a hug. Prompto transferred his patting to Cor’s head, making Aulea laugh all the harder.
“Why does Regis want Prompto here again?” Cor grumbled as they were motioned towards the entrance hall.
Aulea lightly swatted Cor on the arm, “You know full well why. Noctis has to be there and he’s a lot calmer if your son is there to keep him occupied while we talk.” Cor grimaced even as Aulea’s acknowledgement of Prompto’s official place in his life made him feel warm and strangely sated.
Prompto was his son and that was it.
...
“That... thing belongs in our custody.” The snobbish, soon-to-be-dead Niflheim asshole repeated as he looked in disgust at Prompto. His crying, terrified son currently shaking in Cor’s arms. That man was dead. Cor bared his teeth as his hand reached for the hilt of his sword but before he could unsheath it there was a hand on his shoulder, and several dozen crystalline swords pointing at the Niflheim envoy.
“I think it may be best if you took Prompto and Noctis out now.” Aulea’s voice was calm and soft but her eyes betrayed how furious she was. Cor wanted to cut the bastard to pieces but a single look at his son made him nod. Prompto needed him and that would always come before his desire to kill someone.
Plus he was quite certain Aulea, Night and Regis would make them beg for mercy as soon as the kids were no longer in the room. Cor would simply request the video of the event from Monica later.
Calming Prompto down took some time, his son overwhelmed by both the ceremony and the lies spouted by the so called adults from Niflheim. Noctis had been very helpful by shoving plushies after plushies at Prompto until his son had given a wet giggle and looked up from his place on Cor's chest.
By the time the others joined them, the two boys were sleeping, curled up together in the plushies and blanket nests they'd ended up making. Cor raised a brow at their arrival. Strangely enough Aulea and Regis had changed clothes. Cor couldn't see any traces of blood on Night either, which was a good thing as the chocobo went straight to the boys and joined them inside the nest.
Aulea smiled primly, "There's been a change of plans. Our guests had to leave suddenly so we have the rest of the day free. Why don't you and Prompto join us for supper?" There was only one possible answer.
Cor grinned, satisfied by what his friends had likely done to protect his son. "Why not. I recall that Regis and Clarus want a yahtzee rematch." The men groaned as Cor and Aulea tried their best not to wake the sleeping children with their laughter.
When the new envoys arrived, Cor made a point of bringing Prompto along. Night had squawked and argued with him about it but eventually agreed with doing so when Cor explained why.
He didn't want Prompto to be scared of doing something because of a single bad experience.
Still, Cor had had to make his own concessions. A glance at the full-sized, royally-adorned Night - who was alternating between glaring at the doors and preening Prompto and Noctis in worry - had Cor shaking his head. "Stop that, Bird. They look, and will be, fine." Night turned his glare on him, which Cor steadily ignored.
"Announcing the Niflheim envoys!" The guard announced as the doors finally opened. Cor straightened, his hands clasping behind his back as the first person entered the throne room. “The Chancellor of Niflheim, Ardyn Izunia! Lord of Besaid and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jol…” Cor’s attention went from the Chancellor, dressed in layers of clothes, scarves and with a weird wing on his arm, to Night as the chocobo had gone still and tense.
Cor took a half-step towards him and whispered, “What is it?” If Night was reacting so strongly to someone in the party then Cor wanted to be prepared. Night glanced over to Cor and gave a minute shake of his head. Cor gave him a look but couldn’t press without alerting the Niflheim envoys. So he settled for the next best thing by keeping close to Night and the kids.
The rest of the introduction went well except for the way Chancellor Izunia’s gaze kept coming back to Night whenever he wasn’t talking. There was something odd with the man, though Cor couldn’t put his finger on what exactly. When the envoys were politely sent to their rooms to ‘prepare’ for the evening’s ball, Cor relaxed a bit and turned to Night. “Alright, what was that?”
Prompto tilted his head and asked, “Did something happen?” One of his hands was petting Night absentmindedly while the other held Noctis’.
Cor knelt down as he replied, “Night noticed something that’s all. Are you and Noctis hungry?”
Twin exclamations of “Ya!” answered him, making his chuckle. They all moved to a dining room, where food was brought out for them. Cor waited until Prompto and Noctis were busy before telling the other adults about what he’d noticed.
Regis frowned and turned to Night, “Could you tell us what was bothering you?” Night looked uncomfortable but eventually he gave a stiff nod, and grabbed his blocks.
i know ardyn
hes dangerous really dangerous
“Was he part of Besithia’s team? Or involved in Niflheim’s… projects?” Asked Aulea softly, glancing over to the kids.
Night shrugged.
in a way
besithia used his dna and the scourge plaguing him to create the basis of the mt process but
Here he paused for a long while before resuming.
im not sure how involved he was in the process itself
“The Chancellor is infected?” Clarus frowned, “He showed no signs of it. Are you sure?” Night nodded firmly.
“He’s already under watch but I’ll tell them to be careful.” Cor said. “For tonight, would you prefer to stay with the kids?” The plan had been to have Regis keep Night around as another line of defense since no one would think a chicabo could fight. If Night preferred not to face Chancellor Izunia then Cor would simply assign more guards to the event. Night seemed to think about it, looking at Prompto and Noctis for a few moments before he shook his head.
“Is there anything else we should know, Night?” Aulea asked gently. Night shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he shook his head. Aulea smiled, “Alright. Thank you for letting us know about the Chancellor.” She clapped her hands together, grabbing the kids attention and declared, “Alright, we should start getting ready for the evening’s festivities.”
Three hours later, Cor watched Chancellor Izunia as Regis and Aulea were announced into the ballroom with Night being held in Aulea’s arms. It was likely why he noticed the oddly focused look in the Chancellor’s eyes, yet it wasn’t directed at Regis or Aulea but rather towards Night. More interesting was that the man appeared confused and shocked more than anything.
It didn’t last long and Cor had to admit he was impressed by how fast Chancellor Izunia went from confused to wearing a perfectly polite smile. He watched as Chancellor Izunia approached the royal couple, giving a bow before straightening. “Thank you once more for your grandiose welcome, your Majesties.”
Regis gave a regal nod of his head at the comment, “I am pleased you find your welcome here to be to your liking, Chancellor Izunia. I can only hope you enjoy the rest of your stay as well.”
The Chancellor smiled politely at that then turned his attention to Aulea. “If I may be so bold your Majesty, you look quite radiant tonight. Perhaps it is the presence of such a rare breed of chocobo that enhances your image? I assume this little one is related to the black chocobo that stood by your son’s side.”
Aulea’s smile was sharp and her eyes glinted with amusement. She shifted Night to one arm and extended her hand towards the man in front of her. Chancellor Izunia returned the smile as he brought the hand to his lips as custom indicated. Lucian custom that is. Another oddity to add to the man’s eclectic persona. She demurely said, “His name is Night, a gift our dear Marshall brought back during his latest trip outside of Insomnia. He is a darling and is quite beloved by everyone who meets him. And yes, he is related to the chocobo you saw earlier.”
“I see. A great gift for a great lady. Marshall Leonis has excellent taste.” Chancellor Izunia bowed again then stepped back to allow others to approach them. Cor hummed to himself thoughtfully as he made his way around the crowd to one of the food laden tables. He watched as the nobles and officials mingled with one another with careful consideration to rank and position, but his gaze kept returning to the Chancellor.
Night seemed to be wary of the man but also pitying? Cor wasn’t sure what to think of the man himself. Chancellor Izunia had a reputation for being eccentric but effective at his job. There had been attempts at finding out more about the man’s past, where he came from and such, but nothing had come up. It was as though the man suddenly appeared one day and Emperor Iedolas had named him Chancellor then and there.
The ball ended without any issues, with Aulea and Regis bidding their goodnight sometime after 1 am. Cor stayed at the ball, even though all he really wanted to do was find his son and go home, but something told him that keeping an eye on Chancellor Izunia would prove useful. When the man slipped away without a word to anyone, Cor followed quietly.
Chancellor Izunia walked through the Citadel halls as though he knew them intimately, walking without hesitation towards some destination that only he knew. Cor kept his first instinct, confronting the man, under control since Izunia was not heading towards any important locations. When the Chancellor finally stopped, it was in one of the inner gardens, one dedicated to the Oracles by the Founder King.
A statue of a woman, presumably an Oracle, stood surrounded by carved sylleblossoms above a fountain. Izunia stopped right in front of the statue, gazing up but Cor couldn’t see his expression from where he was. Still, it felt like a solemn moment, a private one.
Wark.
Until it wasn’t anymore. Cor was shocked to see Night, in his normal size, warping into the garden. He placed his hand on his sword, tensing up in case he needed to interfere. For now, he would wait and see what would happen.
Izunia turned to face Night, Cor didn’t know if he’d been surprised by Night’s appearance or warping ability but his expression was politely blank. Night and Izunia stared at each other as seconds ticked by until the chancellor took his hat off and gave a sweeping bow, “It is quite a pleasure to meet such a magnificent beast.” He straightened and plopped his hat back on his head, his gaze turning vicious as he took a step forward. “But I must ask, who are you really?”
It wasn’t Night who answered but a dark haired woman who simply appeared by his side. Izunia actually took a step back before stepping forward once more, his face a mask of fury. The woman inclined her head as she spoke, “This one is who you have been waiting for, Ardyn. He has sacrificed much to offer you peace and mercy.”
Izunia’s laughter was cold and chilling, and came to an abrupt end. “Mercy? Peace? How dare you mock me with such lies Gentiana! Your so-called Chosen King is a mere toddler, not some unnatural chocobo!”
Toddler? Was Chancellor Izunia referring to Noctis or Prompto?
Cor knew the name Gentiana, a messenger of the Astrals that had recently started living with the Nox Fleuret. He also knew about the prophecy that tied the Crystal to the Lucis Caelum family. But Night? Being a chosen king? Cor was lost on how to take this statement.
Night warked angrily and pecked at Gentiana. Somehow Cor wasn’t surprised by the utter lack of respect he held for a messenger of the Astrals. Gentiana didn’t react to the movement but kept speaking. “The King would like to offer you a choice, Ardyn Lucis Caelum.” Wait what??? “To overthrow the Prophecy with this one’s help, to regain the life that was denied to you.”
Gentiana opened her eyes as the temperature dropped suddenly. “Or face the True King of Light here and now, and fulfill the Prophecy tonight.”
Cor decided this was enough and stepped out of the shadows. Both Izunia and Night seemed startled to see him walking towards them but Gentiana merely closed her eyes once more and inclined her head slightly in greeting. He came to a stop beside Night and demanded, “What in Ifrit’s name is going on here?”
Chancellor Izunia expression smoothed out into the same polite mask he’d worn most of the evening. “Ah, Marshall Leonis. What a timely arrival you have. It seems I have lost my way and…”
Cor interrupted, “I don’t care what excuse you give me Chancellor. What I want to know is what in Ifrit’s balls is going on here? And if you even think about hurting my son or nephew, I will kill you.” He turned to Night and Gentiana. “What’s this about this idiot being related to Regis? And what do you mean overthrowing the Prophecy?”
Izunia looked amused at the threat, which kinda pissed Cor off. Before he could do anything about the smug asshole, Night warked again and Gentiana spoke. “The Marshall does not need to worry about the young Chosen King for the Chosen King from Another Time will ensure his safety.”
What on Eos? Cor was even more confused. “I have no idea what you just said. Speak plainly or shut up.” Izunia apparently felt this was hilarious as he started laughing.
Gentiana simply kept talking. “The Prophecy has been completed once before but the Chosen King wished for a chance to find another Path to Dawn. The messengers of the Oracle agreed with the Chosen King and returned the Chosen King to the time of his Birth.”
“As a chocobo.” Cor said in disbelief.
Gentiana looked away and if Cor had to guess at the meaning of the gesture, he would have said she was embarrassed. “The Bladekeeper did not agree with the messengers of the Oracle and sought to interfere. The Guardian of Dreams helped this messenger in keeping the Chosen King’s soul intact but at a price.”
“Unbelievable.” Chancellor Izunia snarled. “I beg the Astrals to change my fate and get tortured by my fiancee until I can do nought but admit defeat. Yet this pathetic excuse for a King asks for the same thing and you bend backwards to help him?” He took a step forward towards Night and Gentiana, his eyes starting to drip a black substance that could only be scourge. His skin turned pale and seemed to become thin as more scourge flowed from the corner of his mouth. “How DARE you! I did everything you asked! I bore the pain of healing my people! JUST. AS. YOU. ASKED!”
Cor moved instinctively, placing himself between Night and Izunia. His blade sang out as he drew it from its scabbard and aimed at Izunia’s throat. Regis might want to strangle him for killing Niflheim’s Chancellor but Cor would burn before he allowed Night to get hurt.
His eyes widened as Izunia merely stopped his attack with his bare hand. It felt as though he was trying to cut through mythril. Izunia smirked and shoved the blade away with an arrogant smile. “Careful now Leonis. It wouldn’t do if you were seen attacking the esteemed Chancellor of Niflheim, now would it.”
Before Cor could do anything more than grit his teeth, Night was between them. The chocobo’s armiger hovering protectively around Cor as Night screeched at Chancellor Izunia. From behind him Gentiana spoke again. “The Chosen King warns the Accursed not to threaten those under his protection. The Chosen King demands the Accursed provides his decision.”
Izunia didn’t immediately answer, taking his time to look at the royal arms. “So Gentiana’s words are true. Not only do you have the Royal Arms but also the Oracle’s trident and that idiot Regis’ sword.” Both Night and Cor bristled at the way Izunia spoke about Regis. Izunia rolled his eyes at their reaction then gave a mocking bow.
“Very well King Noctis Lucis Caelum. Since you appear to be truthful, I shall hear you out.” Izunia straightened. “But perhaps we should discuss this some other time. It appears we have some more interlopers approaching.” Cor could hear them too, footsteps from the hall. He glanced to the side for a moment but when he returned his attention towards the Chancellor he found the garden empty.
Gentiana, Izunia and Night were gone as though they had never been here. Cor stood shocked for a moment before he dismissed his sword and shook his head. Ifrit’s balls, Cor had so many questions. “Night better explain what in Eos this was or I will sit on him until he does.” Cor mumbled as he dismissed his sword and started making his way to the nursery.
The most pressing question was, why had Chancellor Izunia addressed Night as Noctis?
Night was back by the time Cor woke up the next morning, looking as though the confrontation in the garden had never happened. Cor wanted to sit on the bastard until he answered all his questions but Prompto and Noctis were cuddling with him, looking comfortable and happy.
Fine, his interrogation could wait until another time. Cor had things to do anyways, with the Niflheim envoys here for the next week. Grumbling to himself, Cor left to find Regis and Clarus in order to go over the safety precautions for the day. He nodded to the guards standing along the hall, subconsciously checking that they were all in their proper position, and that each of the guards were the ones assigned to the position for this shift.
He’d relaxed a bit by the time he opened the door to Regis’ office only to tense up again at the sight of a pale Regis with his head in his hands, Aulea looking worried by his side. Clarus was nowhere to be seen. “What’s wrong?” He asked, closing and locking the door behind him. His mind whirled with possibilities and what if’s. Then he noticed something very strange.
Regis wasn’t wearing the Ring.
It was Aulea that answered Cor, Regis apparently unable to do so in his shock. “The Crystal Hall was broken into last night without anyone alerted. The Crystal was shattered into pieces.” She then jerked her head towards Regis’ naked finger. “We found what was left of the Ring when we woke up. The Wall is still up though which isn’t supposed to be the case if the Crystal is removed from its case.”
Cor’s mind went straight to the weird event he’d seen last night. “Shit.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Night probably knows something about this.” Regis and Aulea both turned to stare at him. Cor grimaced and recounted what he’d witnessed.
“And you’re certain Gentiana named Night as the Chosen King?” Regis asked.
Cor nodded, “And Izunia called him Noctis. He also said that this Chosen King was just a toddler.”
Aulea’s expression had gone from thoughtful to downright furious. She smiled at Cor, her voice deceptively even and gentle. “Cor, please invite Chancellor Izunia to have breakfast with us in an hour. I think we’d best go have a talk with Night. Please join us once the invitation has been delivered.” Cor straightened and gave a formal bow, it was always better to do so when Aulea was on the warpath, then turned around and left to do as she had commanded.
The Niflheim envoys had been assigned suites on the opposite side of the Citadel which gave Cor plenty of time to think. Based on last night’s events, it was likely that the destruction of the Crystal and the Ring were related to whatever other method Night had mentioned. He was curious as to whether the Chancellor would even be there when he arrived at his quarters.
He half expected the suite to be empty when he knocked on the door. Instead Chancellor Izunia’s voice called out, “Come in!” with an almost sing-song quality to it. Cor was wary by what might have been done for that kind of tone to appear in a suspected-sadist’s voice. Opting for caution, Cor took a few seconds to summon his sword before pushing the door open.
His gaze quickly took in the rooms in search for anything unusual… Well, what Cor would assume as being unusual for the rooms of someone like Chancellor Izunia.
Nothing unusual in sight.
Cor felt a moment of disappointment before he shoved it aside in order to focus on Izunia. Who was currently half naked on the attached balcony, apparently sunning himself with a content smile that somehow seemed...out of place. “Chancellor?” Cor was glad the man had some underwear on at least.
Chancellor Izunia turned to face Cor with a large smile. “Ah Marshall Leonis, how are you faring this wonderful morning?” Okay, Cor was officially creeped out by this sudden personality change.
Cor took a deep breath then delivered Aulea’s invitation quickly. “I am well Chancellor Izunia. Their Majesties would like to invite you to breakfast with them in an hour.”
“Wonderful! I do believe we have much to discuss and the earlier the better.” Izunia’s smile widened as he started nodding to himself. “Please tell them I shall gladly accept their kind invitation.” For a moment Cor wanted to ask what had happened to put Izunia in such a good mood but his instinct screamed at him that it would be a big mistake to do so.
Instead Cor gave a bow to the man, and left as quickly as possible. He made his way back to the nursery where Night had been barely half an hour ago. The hallway was so silent his footsteps echoed. The guards were stiff and the almost squared glances they shot him as he approached said plenty.
Aulea rarely got visibly angry but when she did? It was better for everyone to stay out of her way.
One of the guards, the only one who appeared unconcerned by whatever had occurred, pointed him to a sitting room. Cor tilted his head in thanks and made a mental note to keep an eye on the guard, Titus something if he remembered correctly. He knocked on the door before entering cautiously.
Aulea stood with her arms crossed, glaring at Night who looked both angry and subdued at the same time. Regis was slumped in one of the chairs, looking a bit better than before but more exhausted as well. Cor would have to make sure mimosas were part of the breakfast offerings if he wanted Regis to survive the day.
Aulea glanced at him then returned her attention to the misbehaving chocobo. “His answer?”
“He’ll be there.” Cor answered. He moved to stand by Regis. “Has Night said anything?” He whispered while keeping an eye on Aulea.
Regis nodded, “We’ve confirmed that he is from the future at least. There is no other explanation for him having my sword as part of the Royal Arms. Whether he is our son though… We were just debating whether a dna test would be of any use considering he’s a chocobo right now.”
Cor swallowed back a snort at the suggestion. Still the confirmation that Night came from the future was hard to digest. What had happened to make him decide that coming back was better than whatever future he might have found in his time? Cor wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.
His attention was drawn back to Night as the chocobo started writing to answer whatever Aulea had asked.
the crystal broke because bahamut is a sore loser
and an ass
look ardyn can explain it all much easier than me
he can actually talk you know
i just want to sleep and cuddle with mini me and prom
Night left the block there and carefully edged away from Aulea as he made his way to the door and freedom. Cor watched as Aulea started muttering to herself until she turned to drop onto Regis’ lap. “I don’t care if he’s some future version of our son, that bird is infuriating!”
Regis snorted, putting his arms around his queen, and started rubbing her back soothingly. Cor took that as a sign that he should get out of there, something he did with relief. As the door closed behind him, Cor heard Regis laughingly say, “He gets it from you, my dear.” Aulea’s outraged screech was thankfully cut off by the soundproof door closing.
He spent the time before breakfast watching his son and nephew sleep, waking them up in time for them to get dressed with Night’s help. (He wasn’t going to call Night by his nephew’s name. It would be weird but also very confusing.) Regis and Aulea were already there, as was Izunia.
If Cor had been weirded out by the chancellor’s behaviour that morning, he was beyond creeped out when he heard the conversation he’d walked in on. “...so the weaknesses of the airships can be easily used if you recruit strong hackers. I would suggest the young Eliza Noru, they go by the moniker SeventhGhost on hacker forums so it shouldn’t be too hard to find them. Niflheim has tried to recruit them a few times but they found out about the MT cloning program so they refused.”
Was Cor hearing correctly? He glanced at Night, seeing the annoyance and resignation in the way his feather rustled for a moment, then decided to concentrate on the kids. At least Cor had some idea of what to expect from them. As he filled the kids plates with fruit, bacon, and bread; Cor listened to the sheer amount of information Izunia was now providing the monarchs of Lucis.
Before Cor could stop himself, he asked, “Why are you telling us all this?”
Izunia stopped talking and turned to look at Cor, a slightly embarrassed smile on his face as he answered. “Well, Noc...Night pointed out that I was projecting my anger towards the wrong people.”
Regis tapped his fingers against the table, “Does this have anything to do with the conversation you had with Night last night?” Izunia nodded. “Night said you would explain. I,” He glanced at Aulea and corrected himself, “we would very much appreciate it if you could do so.”
The tale that Izu… no, apparently it was Ardyn Lucis Caelum after all. Shit, this was all so confusing. Cor was glad he wouldn’t have to deal with the political nightmare that would come from this, “this” being the chancellor of Niflheim defecting to Lucis and providing them with all the information they could want about Niflheim’s military and civilian resources.
“This” being the fact that Bahamut had apparently been planning on the near-annihilation of humanity through the prophecy he’d given to Regis’ family two millennia ago.
“This” being the destruction of the Crystal as Night, who was a thirty-year-old Noctis who’d died to destroy the scourge!, had killed Bahamut and used the Bladekeeper’s power to clear the Scourge from Eos and Ardyn.
“This” being the realization that the Lucis Caelum lineage that should have been the rulers of Lucis was not the Founder King’s but rather that of his erased brother.
“Fuck.” Regis moaned as he processed everything in his 113th great-uncle’s words.
Aulea and Cor both hissed, “REGIS!” as Prompto and Noctis looked at each other, giggled and starting repeating the word over and over again.
Right, time for the kids to leave and Cor to go help Clarus. He was not dealing with this.
15 years later
“Come on Dad!” Prompto shouted from the living room. He heard Night give a wark as well. “We’re going to be late to the party!”
Cor rolled his eyes, “We still have an hour, Prom.” Still he put away the Crownsguard application he’d been reviewing to join his son and their chocobo. “Do we need to stop and grab anything for Ignis?”
Prompto danced from one foot to the other, filled with anxious and anticipatory energy even though this was not a new event for them. “Nope! We went with Iggy to grab everything yesterday. We just have to bring the presents.” Cor nodded and grabbed his keys, motioning for his son to grab the three sparkly boxes they’d wrapped that morning.
The drive to the Citadel was filled with talks of Prompto’s plans for the charity auction he’d been organising with Noctis, Night sleeping through the ride as he usually did. Cor hummed and gave his thoughts on things when asked. It was always nice to see Prompto so excited to do something. Cor was very proud of his son as he pursued his photography passion.
“Prom!” Noctis greeted their arrival by hugging Prompto, as he’d done since they’d first started playing together. He then turned and hugged Night, laughing as the chocobo started preening him. Ignis gave a more sedate greeting as he grabbed the gifts and added them to the huge pile already overflowing from the table.
Cor grabbed a beer and went to join the rest of the adults. “How did the meeting with Solaria go?” He asked Regis as he dropped into one of the seats.
Regis was relaxed, Aulea half-draped over him with a cocktail in hand, so it couldn’t have been too bad. The new empress of Niflheim was much more reasonable than her grandfather had ever been, and was as happy to keep the still-fragile peace that had started a bit over a decade ago. Regis lifted his beer to his lips and said, “Pretty well. She’s agreed to bring up an increase in trade between our countries and re-opening Galdin Quay as the main trading hub. She has asked that we involve Galahd since she’s apparently been introduced to their spiced meats and thinks it would get popular in Niflheim if introduced to the nobles.”
“Huh, Drautos is going to be happy to hear that.” Cor said with a smirk.
Aulea laughed, “Sure he will. He’ll also make them pay at least 3 times the price we do.” They all laughed at that. Titus Drautos, once a crownsguard and now the official trade representative for Galahd, held a well-known grudge against Niflheim for the destruction of his hometown decades ago. He’d been rather gleefully extracting as much money as he could from the empire and using it to rebuild what Galahd had lost during the war.
Their conversation drifted to other, more-pleasant topics including the charity auctions that would be held and attended by the royal family over the next month. Cor smiled proudly as Prompto was officially given a commision to update the online catalogue of the Citadel gardens. Prompto deserved to be appreciated for his talents and passion. (And Cor would silently deal with anyone who said otherwise even if Monica kept reminding him that he couldn’t kill anyone just because they insulted his son. She did however turn a blind eye to his not-so-discreet investigations into said people, especially when the number of arrests for fraud or blackmail had increased.)
Finally, the person they’d all been waiting for arrived. As the door opened, numerous shouts of “Happy birthday, Ardyn!” filled the air. The once-chancellor beamed at their greetings and the party began.
Cor relaxed as he watched his admittedly odd family having fun together. And to think this had all started with a black chocobo who could warp, and a blond toddler with the brightest smile he’d ever seen.