Jason still had a lot of questions about this situation, and from what he had seen, it was obvious that Riyala had the most knowledge about it, so he followed after her to try to get more information from her. Jason and Riyala left the nobles behind and walked out of the throne room, and once they had gone far enough from both the nobles and the guards, Jason put his hand on Riyala’s shoulder and spoke in a calm voice.
"You need to relax."
Riyala turned to Jason in shock for a moment before her face fell slightly, and she eventually sagged her shoulders a little while releasing a sigh. Jason had noticed how tense Riyala was back in the throne room, and he knew that she was just putting up a front to make sure that no one saw any weakness in her! But Jason could tell that Riyala was worried! The reason for this was simple. Jason had asked the system what the odds were of them overturning the decision of the Overlord when they went to meet with the council, and the answer he got was not what he wanted to hear.
[The system believes that Riyala’s request for an audience with the council is only going to buy the user time. Most requests that are presented to the Council of Nine and One never end up being overturned. This is because the Supreme Overlord of the user’s Primordial Domain is also a member of the council, and the other members of the council will be hesitant to go against one of their own members for political reasons. The only possibility that the system predicts happening is for there to be a reduction in the sum that the Supreme Overlord asks for, but there is a high chance that Earth and Radagan will still be forced to pay an unbelievable amount of gold coins for their actions.]
Jason had felt anger rising in him when he read through this tab. It was basically saying that all this was just some show for the council! The Supreme Overlord was also a part of the council, so there was every possibility that they would stand behind their own member just so that they would protect the power that they hold over the worlds in their Primordial Domain! If they sided with Earth and Radagan now, then there was every chance that the worlds under their control would see that as a sign of weakness and begin to go against their decisions as well! It was foolish and idiotic politics, but Jason couldn’t deny that it was a very real possibility! Jason had to find some other way to bypass this. He knew that what the Overlord was seeking was just a cover for what he really wanted, so Jason had to find out the truth.
Jason looked over to see that Riyala also had a contemplative look on her face, and she was staring at the ground in deep thought. Jason asked her if she was okay, and Riyala nodded and finally looked up at Jason.
"Yes, I just didn’t think something like this would happen. We just managed to get away from one tyrant, and now another one is trying to take everything from us. I know... I know we can push the verdict back for a long time if we waste time during the council meeting, but decisions like these usually never get overturned. They can reduce the sentence, but we’ll still have to pay a lot of money. We can’t bear to pay so many gold coins right now. We need all the money we have for rebuilding!"
"Has something like this ever happened before?"
Jason’s eyes narrowed as he asked this question, and Riyala shook her head.
"Not to us. It’s just rumors we’ve heard from worlds in other Primordial Domains. The Council of Nine and One aren’t evil, but they rule their Domains with an iron fist, and if they see any world trying to undermine their rule, they’re not going to stand by and do nothing. It’s possible that they might even force us to pay just to use us as an example."
Jason frowned when he heard this. It sounded disgusting to him, but at the same time, he understood that this was just how politics worked. Especially when you are practicing a brand of politics that relies on the power you hold over others. If you use a few examples to show people what you are capable of, then no one would dare to go against you, and you could keep others in line without any effort.
’I fucking hate politics.’
Jason clicked his tongue in irritation as this thought crossed his mind, and he felt Riyala touch his arm gently to draw his attention. Jason turned to look at her, and he saw her smiling up at him. There was a sad look in her eyes, but he could see that she was trying to cheer up and not let the recent events get to her.
"Let’s not allow this to ruin our celebrations. We haven’t done anything wrong, so we’ll present our case to the council when we go for the trial. Until then, we can just focus on rebuilding what we lost. You already went through so much for us, you shouldn’t have to suffer this situation just because you helped me."
Those were wise words, and Jason couldn’t help but smile as he realized how much Riyala had changed. The Riyala that Jason knew in the past would have been shaking in nervousness, but she had gained a lot more clarity after she took on her responsibility, and she was now able to handle stress without letting it get to her at all. Jason put his hand on Riyala’s head and ruffled her hair slightly, and Riyala blushed and ducked her head in embarrassment! Jason chuckled at her reaction and spoke calmly.
"There’s no need to worry about bothering me. I already told you before, you’re important to me, and I always protect those who are important to me. We’ll think of a way to overturn this decision, and if we have to go up against this council to fix things, then we’ll do it together."
Riyala felt her face grow hotter when she heard Jason’s words, and she suddenly stepped towards Jason and grabbed him into a tight hug! Riyala wouldn’t have done something like this with others around, since she needed to maintain her image as the priestess, but since it was just her and Jason, she felt like she could act a little spoiled. Jason was surprised by the hug, but he smiled when he saw Riyala press her face into his chest to hide her blush. Jason gently patted her back as he heard her speak softly.
"I love you so much, Jason. I really, really love you."
Jason closed his eyes and nodded to Riyala’s words, but he didn’t bother to respond to her. Jason was already in a difficult situation with Gina, so he didn’t want to make things more complicated by responding to Riyala’s feelings right now. He needed to talk to Gina first and settle things between them. Jason couldn’t deny that he felt something special for Riyala, but no matter what he felt for her, it was nothing compared to what he felt for Gina, so Jason would focus on fixing his relationship with Gina before trying to give Riyala a response.
Jason pulled Riyala back slightly so that he could get some space from her, and he saw that Riyala’s cheeks were still bright red from her blush. She was giving Jason an intense stare that promised a lot of things, and Jason saw Riyala trying to lean forward for a kiss. Jason pulled back and spoke calmly.
"Riyala, wait-"
"Am I interrupting something?"
A voice suddenly spoke up from down the hall, and Riyala pulled back from Jason immediately! Riyala turned around, and she released a cute sound of distress in the back of her throat when she saw Gina standing there with her hands folded across her chest and a raised brow. Jason looked towards Gina curiously, and he sent her a message using their mental link.
’Is everything alright, Babe?’
Gina turned to Jason when she heard his voice, and Jason was surprised when he saw a light blush appearing on her face before she shook her head and turned back to Riyala. Gina didn’t respond to Jason’s question; instead, she walked over with a measured pace and stood right in front of Riyala. Riyala seemed to have shrunk multiple inches in the short time it took Gina to reach her, and by the time Gina was standing in front of her, Riyala was almost hunching over with nervousness. Jason prepared to step in in case Gina lashed out at Riyala, but he was surprised when Gina turned to speak to him.
"Babe, can I talk to Riyala... in private?"