The Goddess' Champion

The mood was grey and they all noticed.

For an entire month Constantine did nothing but train with Penelope... every single seduction, every single offer to a nightly passion for retribution was rejected... Caroline and all of Constantine's ladies were starting to get affected too.

Stella and the concubine's days were sadder than ever, he and Isabella would periodically go around the Parcival Mansion to see how their kids were being treated... apparently, for the first two or three weeks the kids were depressed, but afterwards, the love of their new parents engulfed them... and that was when the true pain came for Constantine, forced to imagine his children forgetting him.

He felt so much wrath, how could an entire year of love he gave them to be forgotten in less than a month, Caroline had to interject and tell him that such an outcome was for the best, it would have been way more difficult if they were given in adoption later since by then they'd be attached.

'Are you willing to see them suffer further?' When she asked that, Constantine had to shut up and accept that indeed, his children forgetting him sooner was for the best.

Another two months and nothing had changed, but he stopped going to that mansion with Isabella... it was no use for that torture, he was unable to share his children's happiness... hence, he stopped going. He tried to be happy, imagining that they were having a great time but when he saw them smile and laugh while playing with someone else, it was so much jealousy that he'd rather stop going.

It would be a month more before the ceremony of graduation took place.  Another incident occurred that drew him down, his dear friend Hector abandoned the kingdom to go back home together with Saline, apparently, he was being recalled by his noble family and hence he departed.

Nova knew she needed to do something, each day was sadder than the last and she knew she was the one at fault, it had been her decision even if assisted by Stella... she was convinced that the decision was for the best whenever she looked at her happy children, but at what cost? her heart had been broken beyond repair and he relationship with her son was drifting apart, the past day she even wondered if he still loved her, a thought that had never crossed her mind.

"Maybe this is how it had to be..." The Queen said during their tea party. She wanted to play the role of a wise lady, but the bags under her eyes told stories.

Swan used her fan to conceal the same bags while Penelope sipped her tea, only she hadn't been affected, only she was hundred per cent certain that the best decision had been made.

Isabella wasn't saying a single word and Caroline was checking some documents, also with bags under her eyes.

"Where is he?" Isabella asked, they were having some appetizers, delicacies prepared by the Kingdom's maids, but she couldn't eat more than one.

"He's training the juniors. We have to do something..." Caroline placed her papers aside and decided to tackle what she considered was an important subject that she hadn't disclosed.

"I guess we do, but, why all of the sudden?" They all wondered why her tone sounded so solemn.

"He told me yesterday evening that he wanted to go to the front against the Heatherfell Kingdom." The future Queen bit her lips in outrage, she couldn't believe it when he said that.

!!!

All of the ladies, even the calm Penelope, gasped.

"Is he mad!? There is not even a war!" Stella yelled in disbelief, this was pure recklessness, one thing was that he was sad and they could all understand and even try to support him as much as they could, but going to war merely to feel better... she couldn't support that, he merely had to say a word and most generals of the royal army would agree with him, his Count status didn't really represent Constantine's influence, right now he was more popular than the King himself.

"He's going to create a war to feel good about himself!?" Swan added a piece of her own, this was the worst possible situation.

"He wants to take back territory for the Kingdom? no, that will be his excuse, Constantine..." Penelope added and stood up, ready to go to her disciple's place to put some notion in his mind, but her wrist was held by Caroline who shook her head.

That wasn't going to solve the problem.

"Mother..." Instead, she looked at the crestfallen Isabella.

"..." The latter remained silent, she knew she was the one that needed to fix this, but her proactivity to even try and strike up a conversation with her son was almost null, let alone try to convince him from stopping, she even thought, if that was going to make him feel better then perhaps he should really go to war.

It never came across her mind that he would lose a battle, the worst that would happen is that he'd be labelled as a tyrant, to Nova, that wasn't in the least important.

Caroline continued, "I tried to convince him but he won't listen, you have to-" her words were interrupted by a pessimistic Isabella.

"He hates me... he hasn't spoken to me once in two months... not even a good morning, he won't touch me, he won't hug me... when we're in the carriage he doesn't look at me, just looking at my eyes once is the most he has done. I tried to talk to him, he hears me... but that's it, he won't answer." She sobbed, this situation was breaking her.

"At least he has crossed eyes with you, with me, not even that." Stella sobbed harder, she was the one to suggest this, so naturally... she'd receive some hate too. Still, as the wise Queen she didn't think she made a wrong call, the happy expression in those children said it all, and if the sacrifice for that was her relationship with her lover, so be it.

Alas, she wouldn't be let off.

"You two have to fix him." Caroline pointed at her two 'mothers' as if she was giving missions away, it wasn't a request, it was an order from the future queen!

"H-How!?" They asked.

"I don't know how you're going to do it, but you have to do it... I refuse for my dearest to remain like this. He's going to go to the front and he's going to make our kingdom look like tyrants, annexing all territories and slaughtering everyone in his path, but that won't make him feel better, it will be worse, so before that happens you two better move your big butts and think about something. Come, Penelope." Having said her words, Caroline stood up and left the table together with Penelope, whatever those two had to talk about, nobody knew.

"Good luck, I hope you realise how pent up we all are and don't slack." Still with her fan, Swan stood up to follow the small entourage of outraged lovers.

"..." Isabella and Stella were left in this tea party to think about what they would do.

"This is quite the odd mission to be tasked by Caroline, don't you think?" Stella giggled despite the predicament they were just placed in.

"H-How can you laugh? what are we going to do?"

"You're asking me? you have been making love to your son since he was fourteen..." The Queen glared at her friend.

"..."

"If someone knows what he likes and hates is you, why are you so afraid? he doesn't hate you, he just resents the decision that we took, the fact that he hasn't personally gone there to take his children back despite his pain... he also agrees with this, even if he doesn't like it."

"So he doesn't hate us?"

"Of course not! that brat is just fighting his own desires and trying to be stubborn, holding onto resentment, do you think I don't see his gazes? whenever you bend down he looks at your butt reluctantly."

"R-Really?" Isabella couldn't believe it and no, she didn't feel those gazes, but now that she thought about it.

Whenever they ate together he'd also look at Stella's cleavage before standing up and leaving the table, so he's quite pent up as well.

"Yes! come on, you're his mother. Don't you know how much of a pervert he is?!"

"I think you're exaggerating, he's not really that perverted."  Isabella fidgeted, she had lost a great deal of confidence in her beauty in the last few months.

"..." Stella crossed her arms like 'are you for real?'

Mother and mother-in-law, no less.

"You and I have to do it, Isabella... come, I know exactly what he will like." The Queen pulled her best friend out of the room in order to prepare their set-up.

As a matter of fact, she didn't know what he liked as much as Isabella did, but... she knew what MEN liked, and he's a man.

Isabella sighed and followed her, wishing that whatever she had in mind would work, she was pent up and filled with stress. Her only relief, her son, wasn't available.

It had to be tonight.