“That breakfast you were all invited to... Unbelievable,” she said. “And Baldur gets a new wife out of it?”
“A wife thirty years younger than he,” Eliza added. “Hardly something anybody would willingly agree to.”
“How unfortunate for the girl. The rumors about his son are none too flattering either.”
Lily told me that all the other attendees at the emperor’s breakfast were now engaged, or soon to be. I took the opportunity to ask if she knew what had happened to the young man who’d told me to get Eliza to safety, but his fate was unclear—Lily had little personal interest in him, and she simply didn’t know. As for the girl who had been pushed from the tower window, that was something of a common occurrence.
“Hush money pays for quiet, end of story,” said Lily.
Eliza and her fiancé had heard all of this before and simply sat through it a second time, cringing.
“How about Vice Captain Lubeck?” I asked. “Does he have a fiancée now?”
“Lubeck... Ah, you mean the crazy one.”
“Crazy...?”
“Nobody with a firm head on their shoulders willingly works under Baldur’s command,” replied Lily, plainly.
I wonder how exactly it was that she remembered the guy.
“He’s taken a liking to you, hasn’t he?” she continued. “You’d best be very careful. Boys like that one aren’t the type to give up easily.”
“I gather he doesn’t have a fiancée, then.”
“The emperor ordered that position to be taken by you, yes? Until he rescinds that command, it remains.”
“I would very much like for him to simply give up...” I muttered.
“Perhaps pick a gentleman with whom to start meeting frequently,” said Lily. “That, or it might not be a bad idea to engage with several, in fact.”
The bewitching duke’s solution was nothing if not a wild one.
“The Lubecks are an established and distinguished military family,” she explained. “Any wife is expected to be a pure sort, and one who dedicates her life to the protection of the house and its children. It’s the men who lead, by matter of course. Any lady deemed too frisky and disreputable will be summarily turned away.”
“Oh, I... Erm, I see...”
“Or perhaps you might make me your playmate?” offered the duke. “No strings attached, I promise.”
She smiled, her lips so full and voluptuous. She had such a magnetism to her that I felt drawn in, even knowing full well the rumors that surrounded her person. I had to remind myself that she was like a beautiful, but ultimately poisonous, flower. Simon, meanwhile, had taken to covering his fiancée’s ears in an attempt to keep her from falling under any spells herself.
“While I do appreciate the offer, I must respectfully decline. A woman of your charm would only leave me helplessly obsessed. I’d cause you no end of trouble, I’m sure of it.”
“Oh, I apologize for being so presumptuous. You’re so friendly with His Highness, you see, that I assumed it was all just a matter of course for you.”
Uh...what?
What is that supposed to mean?
I was just about to rise from my chair when another guest arrived—Reinald. He did not have Nika by his side this time and had instead come with Moritz. Eliza and Simon excused themselves at the prince’s arrival, but not before offering reverential bows. It was expected of them, but all the same, Duke Tuna couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of it.
“You don’t even remember her, do you, Your Highness?” she said. “That’s the very girl you asked me to take care of. Show a little interest in the people around you, would you?”
Lily had noticed immediately that Reinald did not remember Eliza. I hadn’t picked up on it at all, but Duke Tuna was a very sharp woman.
“I will as soon as they prove their worth,” he replied.
“I didn’t tell you before, but her parents happen to be the head of the engravers you asked me to introduce you to. If it’s value you’re after, they have it in spades.”
“I see. Then consider her committed to memory,” he said. “In any case, I apologize for arriving uninvited, Karen. How are you feeling?”
“Much better, thank you. I’m up and walking about without issue, but admittedly the rest of the house seems to think otherwise...”
“You’d be wise to pick your outings carefully. And as for your hair... No changes as of yet?”
“Please, pay it no mind. It’s only the color that’s gone. More importantly, it looks to me like you’re here on a business matter of some importance?”
“Yes, indeed. Lily, are you done?”
“No. As you can see, I’m in the company of a most adorable young lady. It’s only natural I get to know her before anything else, no?”
“I don’t suppose you could curb that habit of yours, could you?”
“The greatest spell is that of fleeting love—it trumps all. And if you can’t offer me anything better, best give up while you can. In any case, did you find what you were looking for?”
“It’s coming later. Right now, I’ve business with Karen.”
There was a unique air about the two of them—one you only ever felt when people had an especially close relationship. I saw a glimpse of it in that moment, of something that could not easily be put into words. It was only when Moritz cleared his throat that the air turned once again serious. Clearly, he wasn’t in the mood for games, but when was he?
“Let me get to why I’m here, then,” said Lily. “The emperor called me for an audience a few days ago.”
I assumed that whatever they discussed had something to do with me, and boy, was I on the money. The duke’s eyebrows bent into a fierce, hateful frown as she went on.
“He said he wanted my counsel and explained that he believed Lady Conrad worthy of a reward for her recent achievements. He asked what I thought, and as a loyal subject of the empire, I said of course she deserved a reward. It was then that the emperor said he wanted me to give her part of my own region as that very reward.”
Her words were so clear that they sent a chill through the air, followed by complete silence. My head started to ache, but I kept composed.
“I struggle to understand why the emperor would suggest such a thing,” I said. “If I might ask, how did you respond?”
“Oh, do you happen to think I have the right to tell the emperor I abhor his ideas?”
“Is it in response to you having brought Eliza under your care?”
“I’m certain that has something to do with it. But I don’t care about that. I don’t regret what I did.”