Less nervous was not the same as not nervous. She was concerned that boys would not want to marry them if they were too muscly. I just shook my head. "There are all types of me in the world. I assure you, there are some very secretly submissive men that would have no problems being told what to do by an assertive woman with a pretty face." She frowned at me. "A 'man' like that is not worthy of my daughter." she shot back. I smiled at her. "It is possible. But what if they like telling boys what to do and exactly when to do it?" I teased. She smirked back at me. Grissell said "That's what your marriage is for. You don't need to be a pervert about it." I walked closer to her and cupped her chin in my hand. "Speaking of all that, when we get home, I'm in the mood to listen to you... really closely. You'll tell me what you want me to do for you then, will you?" I said with a sultry voice. She blushed. "Oh don't worry. I'll tell you what I want. And I'll tell you exactly how I want it!" she blustered as she pushed me to regain composure. That was how we spent the evening doing chores. We cuddled.
I was totally fine with that. I already had 6 amazing kids to take care of. We did not need to be too hasty. Having her watch the training session put her at ease. Not only were they not touching weapons, they were alone learning magic. She was still insecure about the other children in the guesthouse. Having something that special only for her daughters made her feel more confident. She was the wife. She was the one I lived with. She was the one I slept with, even if we were not doing anything sexual at all. Her position in the household was unquestioned. If I was only going to push my daughters into this field of magic and not any of my sons, Grissell could feel safe with that knowledge. I doubted that the boys would even care about it. That did not matter. What mattered was that my wife thought she and her daughters were much better off than my bastard children were. That, in a stable marriage between nobles at least, was how things should be. I cared for Grissell and all of her family. Alard, his wife and Yon were constant guests. They all were literate in Common because of me.
Literacy brought perks and a natural raise in station. Being able to read and write meant that he was able to sign contracts that he actually could enforce. You could just rip off an illiterate peasant. They could not write their own names, so they just made a signature mark on a page. They had no clue what they were signing, so any shitty clause could be in there. Even the good ones that were in the peasants favor could be forgotten with time. It was not like they could point out the breech in contract. Even if they were bold enough and clever enough to remember it and state so, that meant nothing as the legal system was classist by nature. That person would have to be a real piece of work to lose in court to a random peasant. Alard and Yon were able to rise in the ranks of their guild almost immediately. It brought them in a lot more money for the jobs they were doing. When Yon got married, I made sure to remind him of the benefits of literacy. "Make sure you teach your kids. The younger the better. If they are more educated, the better jobs they can get in." I told him. Yon nodded his head.
