You stayed here for a few more minutes talking with her, and learnt that the dwarf woman's name was Ulmth Redbrawn. Your elf, your goddess, and you then went to Alia's room again, this time to privately talk about what to do from here.

The issues of weddings, holy missions, and the immediate future all lay before you. Herta opted to rest her head on your lap while you and Aila discussed other matters. You brushed the goddess' hair with your hand as she napped.

"I can handle the embassy." Aila said.

"Are you sure?" You said. "Didn't they figure out that you fell in love with me? And you mentioned your cousins are supposed to be these clever people, too."

"I'm sure I can." Aila brimmed with confidence. "I was feeling in the clouds after I thought you confessed to me, and I ended worrying about silly things while neglecting my responsibilities. The only reason they're worried right now was because of that. Sure they might know that I'm going out with a guy, but I'm almost sure they don't know who you are yet. At most, they have a vague picture of you and some second hand knowledge." While Aila was being optimistic, you couldn't help but think about that bureaucrat that talked with Aila's cousins. You tell your newest wife as much, and she thinks about it. "Well, either way if I show that I'm still doing my mission then they'll be thrown off for a bit. I could easily say that I've been working with the Academy to find out more about the wands, which is true by the way. It's completely understandable that I disappear for a few days so I could figure out more." She paused. "Master." She added your title, the word tumbling out of her mouth as though it's the most important part of her vocabulary.

"Feels like they'd react better if we're open about things." You said.

"I wish it was," Aila looked forlorn. "But trust me on this. If it was only my parents, I'd be all for that plan. But my cousins are the type of nobles that would try to get as many concessions out of you as possible, demand that you come to Elfalior to be their personal architect... and usually act like the snobbish High Elf stereotypes you see in the satire section of a newspaper." She sighed. "But I know they care about me, and might even leave this to my parent's judgement if they hear it from me, since they've always thought of me as a baby. Although it would've been better if my father or the old ambassador were here in their place."

"Alright then." You didn't like the sound of these guys. But you still had hope that Ayane at least could be able to talk with them. "Tell me how we could contact the ambassador or your parents without dealing with..."

"Paimene and Valatea. And you already know they're brother and sister." Aila mentioned.

"Those guys, thank you." You said. "But I wanna know if it'd be worth going directly to the king or the ambassador without dealing with them, or if doing that would cause more headaches than we need right now."