It took less than four days to track down and get rid of all the various monsters that had come down the mountains to gnaw at Grindenwald's town-folk.

The seven new army recruits that I had dragged along got a bit damaged in the exercise, but nothing that a bit of healing magic could not take care of.

The eight of us were now sitting around the camp fire on the night before returning to the capital.

One of the recruits had been a chef before joining my army, and had cooked up some of the more edible monster meats.

The only way to eat most monsters was by drowning the meat in heavy spices - otherwise the taste was too gamy for most palettes.

Today the chef used curry, which worked nicely.

After finishing my portion of monster curry, I leaned back on a tree-trunk a bit away from the recruits.

Eyes closed, enjoying a moment of rest.

In one hand I jingled a few of the monster cores we had collected - I'll be handing them out to the recruits later as a nice bonus.

My ears are sensitive, so I heard all the whispered conversations around me, even though I was not interested.

Until I caught the name of a certain town.

Maldeva...

That was where Katiana first visited after fleeing her abusive step-mother, wasn't it?

"So did you hear? Someone recently cleared the Maldeva Dungeon again." [Recruit 1]

"That's the ninth or tenth time that ever happend, isn't it?" [Recruit 2]

"Who cleared it?" [Recruit 5]

"No idea - they never came forward. Only reason we know is that the entrance was blocked for a week while it reset itself. And all the adventures that had been trying to clear it were suddenly tele-ported outside..." [Recruit 1]

"That's one big dungeon tho, isn't it?" [Recruit 7]

"Yeah, I heard it had over fifty floors..." [Recruit 1]

"Oh, I went there once - the first two floors are so easy kids can clear them. Then the next ten floors are simple enough for a beginner. But after the thirteenth floor, the difficulty explodes..." [Recruit 3]

"Eh? So how far do most people make it?" [Recruit 4]

"I heard you have to be able to reach at least level forty to even get a chance to join the Duke's 100..." [Recruit 3]

"And I heard that six of the 10 people that ever cleared the dungeon are part of the 100's commanders..." [Recruit 2]

"Whaaaat? Amazing! I'm a big fan of the commanders and the 100, but to think they are that strong?" [Recruit 4]

"I heard the Duke's mother and some of the Duke's ancestors had cleared that dungeon. " [Recruit 5]

"Has the Duke ever cleared the Maldeva Dungeon?" [Recruit 6]

"Not that I heard - but he cleared the impossible Death Trap Dungeon in the dessert of Ralgelia." [Recruit 5]

"Yeah... Twice." [Recruit 1]

"No-one else has ever cleared the Death Trap ever before, as far as we know." [Recruit 7]

"Just goes to show what a monster our Duke is... I mean, we personally saw what he can do these last few days, didn't we?" [Recruit 4]

"Shhh... don't ever say that aloud! You'll get us all in trouble!" [Recruit 7]

Oho? Recently cleared by an unknown?

I had forgotten about a dungeon being near Maldeva... also explains the presence of that monastery.

The nuns and monks of the Goddess of Creation - who was also worshiped as the Goddess of War in some countries - are known to be the warrior faction of the church.

So they were obviously stationed near Maldeva to prevent any monster floods from the dungeon.

I'll need to task Shadow in getting a-hold of whoever cleared the Maldeva Dungeon - after all, when clearing a dungeon a very rare drop occurs - and up until now all the rare drops from Maldeva were in my family's and my army's possession.

And in some cases those drops are dangerous enough to threaten the Empire...

Best have such items be protected by my family.

I arrived home safely.

Because I had only been away for a bit, a smaller group of servants greeted me, which was fine according to protocol.

Again, my steward and my "wife" stood at the head of the greeting committee.

"We thank our Lordship for his hard work..." [Stephanus the Steward]

He bowed curtly as he spoke.

Again, I strode up the tall woman standing next to him.

Today Katiana was clad in another modest but obviously high-end dress.

From my steward and the estate accounting books, I knew she had not used any of the estate's moneys to procure any of her dresses - not that I would have minded much if she had.

So she must have some resources of her own.

Which made her claim to be my wife even more mysterious.

What was her goal, exactly?

And again, no extra adornments or jewelry was visible, and her face seemed to have no makeup on it.

Her hair hung loose down her back, with a single simple clasp holding her hair in place behind her head.

Again, I gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Today she smelled of sweet cinnamon apples...

Katiana must be getting used to me - her almond shaped eyes did not grow wide this time, but simply looked into mine.

"Greetings dear husband of mine - I see you have returned in one piece." [Katiana]

"Of course..."

"Lunch is soon served... shall we?" [Katiana]

And the same as the first time we met, Katiana linked her arm into mine and pulled me along to the dining room.

I looked down at her as we walked.

Being so close I was reminded again - although she was tall - how extremely fragile and delicately built Katiana was.

Last night, a brief madness came over me, and I almost suspected this fairy like creature to have just maybe - in one in a million chances - might have been who had mysteriously cleared the Maldeva Dungeon.

Being this close now and feeling her soft and gentle hands on my arm I realized - silly me.

There was no way this fine flower of womanhood could have even survived past the fifth level - let alone reach the fiftieth.

After a pleasant lunch with my "wife" - where again various never seen before dishes were served - I was called to the court on some trivial matter.

It was past midnight by the time I could return, and Katiana had already retired. 

I found myself standing in front of the door to her rooms - but in the end, did not want to disturb her.

My steward approached me just before I entered my own chambers.

"My Lord, may I ask a question before you retire? It is not urgent but a bit troubling..." [Stephanus the Steward]

"Speak."

"My Lordship, while dusting the dowager Duchess' quarters, one of her maids noticed that Lion-Grim was no longer resting on its reinforced stand. Did my Lord perhaps send it to our smithy to be cleaned?" [Stephanus the Steward]

Huh....

Lion-Grim, the lesser twin of my star-metal sword, Bear-Grim, and also the sword of my mother, the dowager Duchess.

"No... Strange. I still feel its presence in the manor, so it cannot have been too misplaced. I will look for it in the morning."

My steward bowed curtly.

"In that case, rest well, my Lord." [Stephanus the Steward]

Since Katiana arrived, there have been several strange occurrences in and around the estate - none of them seem to be related to her.

At least, I have no proof yet that she was involved in any way.

After all, correlation does not imply causation.

And with her exquisitely fine arms, she was already not a possible suspect in Lion-Grim's misplacement.

Fainswift

Thank you all for reading up to now and thank you for your comments. Please note I have added a glossary with added background on people, places, and things, so feel free to go check that out as the story progresses!