Key To The New World

5

And I, having thanked the gods for being still alive and I have living children, just sat in the temple enjoying the peace and quiet. The basket, as usual, disappeared into the air, which surprised those few parishioners who were in the temple. My escort was sitting next to me, not moving more than half a meter away from me.

- Rest, - said Eugene sitting down next to my guard - I was told here that you were going to go to the spark.

- Will you come with me?

− Yes. I didn't even see her. And it is, in fact, a great artifact. And I don't like your relatives asking about my personal life.

- Didn't they marry someone?

- Uh-huh, for you.

I looked at the man in surprise.

- And what did you say?

− Misalliance.

I just smirked.

“And I wouldn't want to leave my children here, and you probably wouldn't either.

I looked differently at the man whom I have long considered my close friend. Our children can be like us, they can live a very long time, even too long. And not the fact that it will have a good effect on them.

“It is highly undesirable for you to become a couple on this planet,” I heard the voice of the Goddess. “You will be a good couple, but not here. And he is right, long life is a great test for beings. And some may become like the dark magician you must destroy."

"But what about Saan?"

“His children will live like other dragons. And you should take the next spouse from the dragons .

I left the temple thinking.

- What did the Goddess tell you? Eugene asked calmly.

I told him our short dialogue.

“There is logic in this,” the guy told me with a smile and pointed to the carriage with Maxim waiting for us.

“Maxim,” I said in surprise.

− What? Can I wait, my beloved grandmother, - he said with a smile. Are you going to the desert? - nodded - you should take a horse and change clothes.

"That's not a problem," she said with a slight smile and quickly changed her outfit to a riding suit.

- What a beauty you are.

We returned to the palace, they brought us two horses and Maxim insisted on additional protection and insisted on taking hardened maples. We made good trips to the spark and back, but to no avail. There were no messages. I wanted to cry out of frustration and disappointment.

Zhenya allowed himself to lightly hug me and pat me on the back.

“I hope they have their reasons,” he said. “Will you allow me to study its structure?”

- Yes, I'll sit outside.

A couple of days later, walking around the palace, she reached the art gallery and went up to the portrait of her first husband. In the next picture, we were depicted together, only on it I had already changed my appearance to a more mature one.

“You don’t have rainbow eyes here,” Maxim’s wife Natalya said.

- I'm used to hiding them.

- Why, this is your highlight, feature. Your eyes are mesmerizing.

- Yes, but it attracts unwanted attention.

She hugged her relative by the waist and stroked her big tummy. Natalia was again expecting a baby.

Maxim wants another son. Any child is welcome.

- Miroslav and Anyuta did not have children for several years at first, and then how it started. Mom then rejoiced that after the seventh there were no more children.

“Eighth,” Natasha quietly corrected me.

- Yes, I definitely didn’t count myself. In general, after me they went business. It was fun in the palace, so many pranks. I don't know how our parents survived. And then I got married, and my brothers and sisters were sent to Runit to study and destroy the Runit Academy in the capital. Poor rector, I don't know how he didn't curse them. But the academy miraculously survived, as did the palace.

A little later, she reached the office and opened the closet with her diaries. I flipped through the very first of them.

− Do you read? Maxim asked.

− Yes. I also delivered the diaries to the collection.

Maxim saw two more filled shelves.

- Can I read them?

"Yes," she said embarrassedly. - But that's not all. I'll bring more later. Better to keep it in one place. And you already need another closet. This is where the place ends.

“I prepared the secret room. I and my heir can get into it, and then also only the ruler and his heir. And, of course, you.

Maxim pointed to a large painting behind his desk. It depicted a young couple. Me and Eric a couple of years after we got married. Eric had our son in his arms. Maxim showed how to find a hidden lever and open the lock. Behind the painting was a passage and a secret room. Spacious enough.

“It is protected from fire and water, and special enchantments have been placed here so that everything that is here is preserved in the form in which it came here. It doesn't really apply to people. Today the servants will start installing the bookcases and move your diaries.

- Put a desk and an armchair here, it will be comfortable to sit and read. And perhaps something to write.

When the bookshelves were set up and my diaries moved and arranged in chronological order, I brought in a few more boxes. Which managed to bring from a spark and one from Runit.

“Did you decide to set up your little treasury here?” Maxim asked with a smile.

- Almost. She transferred jewelry from a spark and something else, - she showed him a set of diadem and necklace.

“Wait, that’s the Empress’ set!” - Maxim exclaimed and quickly looked around to make sure that no one was around. - What then was handed over at the coronation of Thalia?

− A copy. You see, I can't deliver them without killing myself. I'm lucky that there are no such problems with female attributes of power. Apparently due to the fact that there used to be harems.

“But then you become an acting empress.”

“Maxim,” she told him with a smile, “now they call me the dowager empress or the queen mother and in that spirit.

“But the artifact says otherwise.

“She will need it if there is no one left from the family in Runit except her,” Evgeny said behind Maxim. “I brought some defensive artifacts.

- I have no words.

- That's good, - Zhenya said - it's better that no one knows about it. And then they can kill Nadenka also with a number of these attributes. Hope, I just can’t understand, have you stopped trusting Runit’s treasury?

- Too many people have access to it and it makes me nervous.

"Are you sure you're not a dragon?" - Zhenya asked with a frank smile, almost a mockery - It's typical for dragons to create their own personal treasures.

Maxim laughed.

- And there is something in this, only Nadezhda decided that it would be safer to leave her treasures in Mariysk.

- And what's wrong with that? I asked with a slight frown.

- Nothing, I'm flattered. You still consider Mariysk your home, your homeland.

- Probably, so far most of my life has passed here. And I'm not afraid to say the most joyful and happy.

Maxim stopped smiling. He hugged me, and I felt like a younger sister, who is in the arms of an older and wise brother.

“Zhen, will you set up a security system here?” And make sure you can get in too.

- Thank you for your trust. Then I'll hide some of my toys here. Some of my ideas are too early to release into the world. And for some I will be torn to shreds to get blueprints.

“I haven’t felt this way in a long time – as if I had become a boy again, who hides his secrets and treasures. It's nice to feel involved in your secrets.

- Most importantly, do not try to take my inventions outside this room. I will also expand it magically, it will become much larger. And in a good way we will have to come here regularly. And you need to make another secret entrance. So that if suddenly something we could go out and go not from your office. Few things happen.

− Logical, but safe.

“Believe me, I've been a little crazy about her safety lately. Hmm, you have a beautiful garden here. Water from it will be the second entrance and exit to the secret room. The entrance will be tied to blood and a few more troubles. Do not worry, I will not disassemble the wall. Nearly.

While Eugene was finalizing the treasury, I again strolled through the palace garden. Nikita was only glad that I was resting in Mariysk. And we regularly communicated with him through the crystal:

− Arthur is trying to woo your future student. She constantly runs away from him, although I see that she is interested in him.

- It turns on his hunting passion, nothing is useful to him after that girl. She was already sent to the border, - she saw how her grandson's face changed. - Nikita, what did I miss again?

“She kind of committed suicide in the dungeon.” Although most likely help her lay hands on herself, and framed her as a suicide. And before this incident, her family disowned her so that her act would not denigrate them.

“No decent words come to mind,” she said to her grandson. Have you already investigated how this happened?

Yes, but no one was found involved. They checked the whole shift, they did not leave, and no one heard anything.

- How did she die?

- Poisoned.

− How? Someone must have sent her poison.

- Bah, I understand everything Tyrone and Eric checked everyone. But they never found how or from whom she got the poison.

Did she have guests?

− No.

“Maybe I should go back and check the whole shift myself?”

- Don't worry, they'll find it.

After this conversation, my daughter called to me.

− Mom! Turning around, I saw Darina rushing towards me.

- Darina, - I was surprised. - Where are the boys?

She was immediately embarrassed, and I felt that she was trying to hide something from me.

- Darina, - she said sternly, noticed how Maxim left the palace with his wife and children - Did you tell them?

- Nikita, I first contacted him to find out where you are.

Waited for Maxim to come. The daughter greeted him slightly embarrassed.

- I have a feeling that I got either two sisters, or grown-up daughters. I can't bring myself to call any of you grandmother.

- I would be glad if you just call Darina, and not grandmother.

- Darina, where are Vlad and your sons?

“Mom, you understand,” the daughter hesitated.

- Tell me like it is, what have they gotten themselves into?

- Vlad brought Daniel with his next fight over one girl. It would be nice if they just grappled, they smashed part of the palace in the second guise and almost died themselves. In general, Daniel punished them. At first he cured naturally, then he forced the two of them to work out the repair of the palace by military service.

- What about your sons?

- Well, they just fell under the hot hand along with Sasha and the rest of the men. In general, everyone who is under a thousand now howled. Daniel arranged first the exercises, then something else. I don't know, I wasn't initiated. They sent me to you, this is actually an additional punishment for Sasha. Like he was supposed to follow Vlad. Vlad is a teenager now, and behaves accordingly.

“It’s not bad to be a teenager at three hundred years old.

- Maxim in terms of human age is about twenty, or even eighteen. He is sometimes serious, even too much. And how the roof fell in love and went. It would be someone to fall in love with, this girl does not twirl them alone. But he, like a blind man, does not want to notice the obvious.

- Potions?

- No, definitely not, I immediately checked. I would be glad if it was so simple and they just drugged him. That at least the brain fell into place. And so I want to kill him myself.

- And how long are you to me?

“I don’t know, definitely not for one year. Daniel decided to seriously teach them a lesson.

“Did most of the palace get destroyed?”

- No, it was just his office and ballroom. In general, my favorite part of the palace.

The daughter took her arm in embarrassment and somehow looked into her eyes like a child.

- How are you doing?

- Okay, she's alive. Recently returned from practice. Shall we go to the tea room?

Upon arrival, my daughter was with me all the time. I felt that she was so calm and that she missed her husband and children less. The next day, upon the arrival of her daughter, she decided to resume her training. I changed into a training suit and went to the gym where the guys still have wrestling classes. The classes have already ended. Looking into the hall, I found a couple of teachers.