“Oooh.” Cookie opened his eyes wide and put his ears back.

“Exactly,” Gaston said. “The line to satisfy Ruk Minoody was long enough to wrap around a planet, figuratively speaking, of course. He loved it. While he kept killing them one by one, Sophie infiltrated his knights, got herself promoted to his personal guard, and challenged him for the throne in front of his entire court.”

Gaston paused and sipped his wine slowly, milking the moment for all its drama.

Cookie bounced up and down in his seat. “And then what?”

“She won. They made her their queen.”

I had a feeling I knew where this was going and, judging by the grin on Sean’s face, he did too.

“The Office owed her a favor, and she claimed it. They asked her what she wanted, and she said she wanted George.”

Sean laughed.

Gaston’s eyes sparkled. “Sophie finally decided to stop trying to live up to other people’s expectations. She knew where her happiness lay so she reached out and grabbed it. She had asked George’s consent before demanding this arrangement.”

“And he consented?” Sean asked.

“Enthusiastically. The Office didn’t want to give George up. He is brilliant and he’s a born workaholic. They bargained back and forth for a month. Threats were made. Things such as ‘You offended Ruk Minoody, here’s his head, honor the bargain, or I will get offended’ were said. Finally, they came to an agreement. George is allowed to work four months out of the year.”

“Consecutive months?” Cookie asked.

“Not necessarily. He can do it in chunks, but the total duration cannot exceed four months. The rest of the time he has to attend to his duties as the royal consort. Sophie must approve every job he takes as an Arbitrator or he can’t take it.”

“Oh, sweet cosmos,” I murmured. “And he’s okay with it?”

“He loves it,” Gaston said. “She conquered a planet to marry him. It was the proof he always hoped for, and now he can be with her all the time. George is his own worst enemy. The man doesn’t know the meaning of work/life balance. Now he is devoting all his energy to the person he loves most, and he is taking his consort duties seriously, the way he takes everything. Before I left, Sophie was presiding over a court case. George was reading a book on child rearing next to her. The defendant, one of their better fighters, challenged him. George put down the book, killed this veteran in two seconds, and went right back to reading. He is an excellent duelist, you know.”

Sean shook his head. I knew what he was thinking. That kind of arrangement would never work for us.