With that vague goodbye, the marquess left the room. After seeing him off, I returned to my private quarters and began playing with the chessboard.
The man was an enigma. I thought about him as I moved gray pawns around on the board, knocking others over. He may have been the most honest of the Great Five, but that didn’t change the fact that he was still one of them. He probably spent more time concocting schemes than anything else.
He’d clearly known about the disappearances for some time now, meaning he had let those children be kidnapped long before he ever informed me. And if he knew that Lord Beckford was behind it, then he must have told the rest of the Great Five about Beckford’s actions—likely seeking allies in his own scheme. Perhaps he thought there was nothing to fear if his cohorts were all in on it. I saw no other reason why the marquess I met with tonight would have such knowledge of Étoile.
“What a troublesome man,” I muttered.
He’d denied any ties to the circus, but he’d forced me into his debt by relaying that information. I could not let my guard down. Perhaps his social standing dictated that he had to inform me, seeing as his current position was quite complicated. A long time ago, he had sworn fealty to me, likely because he saw the hatred I held within.
My hatred was for the Great Five. I had immense magical power and all five Sacred Swords on my side. The magnitude of those truths probably scared him. In the history of our country, most rulers only had enough magic to summon one or two of the swords at most. With all five, I could easily reduce a whole region or two to dust if I put my mind to it. He likely saw me as a disaster waiting to happen.
It was understandable that he didn’t want a potential explosion to be pointed in his direction, and so he’d chosen to submit to me. But he had been unable to prove his loyalty to the crown during my time as the Doll Princess. I had no political power whatsoever back then, and I had to act the part of a helpless princess who couldn’t use magic at all. Part of my act was to goad the Great Five into laying their corruption out in the open, but still.
Regardless, this particular marquess couldn’t provide me with public support as I acted out my play. To do so would have ended in him making an enemy out of the other four houses. And if he had been found out during that time, I wouldn’t have been able to assist him either. He understood that, hence the delicate balance he’d maintained with the Great Five. It was all to protect his own family and his citizens. Thinking of him caring so much prompted a chuckle from me.
Don’t stop entertaining me, Marquess.
What move would he make next? I’d already torn down my doll facade and begun my campaign of vengeance. I was excited to see how these developments would influence his trajectory.
I let out a sigh, having finally finished reading all the documents given to me earlier. I had spent another day entirely on busywork. The documents covered two subjects: how to handle the kingdom’s mages and reports from the spies sent to Celden.
The contents of both were so much worse than I anticipated. My mood was abysmal. First of all, the treatment of the country’s mages. The things Alicia told me long ago were like a fairy tale compared to the reality of the situation. There wasn’t much strife between those with magic and those without in the capital, but wandering even just a tiny bit past city limits painted a completely different picture. Some parents outright disowned children with magic, and there had even been instances of entire families ostracized simply for having a magic-wielding child.
The reports coming from Celden were even worse. While I knew that Celden forbade magic, I had no idea how severe the persecution of mages truly was. According to the nation’s own written laws, people with magic had no human rights whatsoever. It appeared that children born with magic were executed immediately upon discovery. Celdenian society’s fear of magic propagated the idea that all magic was inherently evil. Like a primitive society hunting down witches, it was a truly gruesome situation. The majority of mages within the Celden Republic were slaughtered by the state.
The only reason anyone with magic existed in Celden at all was due to the rare circumstance of a magical child being born to parents with no magic themselves. As long as Celden’s attitude toward mages stayed the same, the killings would continue. I took another long breath.
No. My mood is too dour now. No amount of deep breathing would be enough to clear my thoughts.
Trying to lift my spirits, I made my way to the palace’s library. Books lined every wall, reaching all the way to the ceiling. The morning glow peeking in from the windows in the otherwise dark room gave it an alluring atmosphere. I picked out a book detailing the kingdom’s history from one of the shelves.
“Ah, Queen Luxeria. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
The young woman’s remark caught me completely off guard.
“Hello, Freesia. Sorry for moving around the palace without letting you know. Where’s Alicia?”
“She was looking for you. Have you not seen her?”
“I’m afraid not. I’m sorry for causing you two any trouble.”
“I see. I’ll let her know, then.”
“Oh, wait,” I said. “Excuse me, Arthur?”
“Yes, my queen?” the man in question replied.
Arthur was one of my escorts, a knight assigned as personal guard to the crown. My guards were the bravest, most loyal, and most skilled knights in the kingdom—the best of the best. The two knights who had stayed by my side since I shed my mask at my coronation were Arthur and Howard.
“Can you let Alicia know I’m in the library and that I would like her to prepare some tea?”
“But, Your Majesty…”
“We are within palace walls, remember? One of you being briefly absent is unlikely to lead to any trouble, given the might you both wield.”
Arthur and Howard were both trained directly by Commander Aaron. They could defend me from most threats, so long as the enemy wasn’t exceptionally talented.
Freesia butted in, “Queen Luxeria, if it’s just speaking to Alicia, I can—”
“I wish for you to stay here and speak with me.”
“If that is what you wish, then I accept,” Freesia acquiesced.