After tugging on his boots and tying the broad sword to his back, Brokon stomped toward the door, still in his rumpled pajamas.
"Marriene! I'm going to the guild now!" he called out.
From deeper inside the house, his wife's voice came back, confused.
"Honey? At this hour? Isn't it midnight?"
Brokon scowled, adjusting the sword strap. "That damn Lioness asked me for a favor."
A moment later, Marriene appeared in the doorway, hands on her hips and a patient smile on her face. "Honey… don't talk like that. He may be your cousin, but he's still our ruler. Wise and fair, too."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Brokon muttered, waving dismissively as he stepped outside into the cool night air.
While walking toward the guild.
"That damn Lioness…" Brokon grumbled as he trudged down the quiet street, knights trailing after him. "Keeps asking favor after favor. Last time, he ordered me to hire high-level adventurers just to fetch him some elf special fruit."
