The next day dawned. I could sense how thoroughly ill at ease I felt, likely due to my upcoming meeting with Lord Slade.
Alicia noticed as well, showing her concern for me. “Your Majesty, are you all right? Do you feel sick?”
“I’m fine. I just have an important guest arriving today. It would appear I am not immune to a case of the nerves.”
“Ahh, so that’s it.”
“Alicia, I want my dress and makeup to be especially perfect today. If you could do the honors, I feel that I’d be able to stand up to Lord Slade. Can you help?”
“With pleasure!”
She did precisely as I asked, with Freesia joining in to hurry things along. Their combined technique made me look about 30 percent prettier than usual—it felt that way to me, at least.
“Thank you, Alicia, Freesia. I feel more capable than ever now.”
The appointed time came soon after. Lord Slade arrived in my meeting room right on schedule. He and his men bowed before me, awaiting my response.
“It is good to see you,” I said. “Raise your heads and relax.”
They politely did as commanded and sat in the seats in front of them. I grinned as I faced them from the other side, thinking to myself how utterly shameless this all was. The Great Five had a duty to report to the kingdom’s ruler once a year regarding the state of their region. In reality, they dropped by several times a year as a matter of business. These meetings were little more than semiformal periodic greetings.
Once they’d said their piece, I said, “I see. It is heartening to hear Lord Slade’s region is as healthy as ever.”
“It’s all thanks to the royal family’s support. May we continue to prosper in peace,” Lord Slade replied.
Now was my chance. I activated my magic, but something felt wrong. Why can’t I hear their thoughts? My magic was flowing as normal, so it should work!
I attempted to compel them to answer a simple question: “Might I ask what sort of magic the men accompanying you are capable of?”
“Their magic, you say?” Lord Slade remarked, a complete nonanswer.
Silence settled in. My magic wasn’t working.
“Right, then. Who is this man?”
“Alvin,” Lord Slade replied.
“Noted. He is not a member of House Slade, is he? Yet you brought him along to face me. He must be quite the talented guard.”
“Not at all. He is a skilled assistant of mine, merely here as part of his duties.”
“Very well. My apologies for jumping to conclusions.”
After a bit of frivolous small talk, Lord Slade and his men left the room.
The moment they were gone, Tommy appeared. “Goodness. To think the queen’s magic would fail to function.”
The room was empty, save for the two of us. He hadn’t entered through the door, so nobody knew he had come in at all.
“It must be due to the magic of that man he brought with him. Alvin.”
“Could it be Lord Slade himself?” Tommy suggested.
“Absolutely not. I have heard his thoughts in the past.”
“And I confirmed there were no other hidden men he brought with him. Meaning Alvin is the only possibility.”
I gnashed my teeth. “That miserable wretch!”
“I thought it was rather odd that he had someone with him who wasn’t a Slade. He absolutely lied to you about him being an assistant. He had to be some sort of guard.”
“No better guard than one who can protect him from the effects of magic, certainly.”
“Does that mean he knows about your magic?”
“He shouldn’t, but it’s not out of the question. A few people who know my secret still live.”
Only a scant few people knew about my magic: Alicia before her memory loss, my late parents, and the one secretive marquess. If anyone else found out, I made sure to erase their knowledge of it with Heart Realm. And the one marquess wouldn’t casually leak such information to other members of the Great Five. He was well aware I’d know it was him who let the secret slip.
“Well, regardless, it seems we must do something about Alvin if we are to solve the mystery of Lord Slade,” I said.
“It seems that way,” Tommy replied.
“Much as I’d like to order an investigation right away, I believe patience is required here. We should take our time and plan it out.”
“Why wait?”
“You’re still injured, are you not?”
Tommy let out a small sigh. “I am your pawn, Queen Luxeria. Losing a pawn will limit the moves you can make on the chessboard.”
“That’s beside the point. We’re talking about House Slade here. I could only ask you to take on that snake’s house when you’re in tip-top shape.”
There was a knock at the door, and Tommy vanished.
It was Gilbert who walked in. “Excuse me… Hmm? Where did Tommy go?”
“I’m right here,” came Tommy’s voice. “You’re sharp to figure that out, Gilbert.”
“I figured you’d be the one talking with the queen after her meeting with Lord Slade.”
“Oh, that’s it? Gotcha.”
“As it turns out, there was something I wanted to confirm with the both of you. May I borrow some of your time?” Gilbert asked.
Despite them both being my closest confidants, Gilbert and Tommy didn’t meet very often. Tommy was often out of town for days or weeks at a time, while Gilbert was constantly busy. Their schedules rarely aligned, so it was uncommon to hold a meeting with both men present.
“Give your report. Tommy and I just finished our conversation.”
“Very well, then.”
Gilbert’s report outlined the personal affairs of those living in the royal palace. There were currently two factions within the palace walls: those aligned with the Great Five and those completely unattached to them. Gilbert concluded that reforming this situation was necessary to bring about the downfall of the Great Five.
“Is this a list of palace residents we must expel?” I asked Gilbert, shaking the long list of names he’d handed me. I needed to be confident that this was a list of those with ties to the Great Five, whether by blood or otherwise. And if that was the case, I needed to know what reason he would have to show this list to me.
“To put it bluntly, it is a list of those who have committed illegal acts,” Gilbert replied.
“Quite the long list, is it not?”
“It is the result of numerous incidents piling up over the years, I’m afraid. Many atrocities were committed in the name of the Great Five, and we must be thorough to eradicate the festering corruption.”
I heaved a sigh. “I see.”
There was little else I could say regarding the infection that had run rampant in my own palace. Gilbert checked with Tommy whether the information he presented was correct while I skimmed through the names. Tommy answered Gilbert’s questions without hesitation; his memory was quite impressive. I watched them converse as if I had no knowledge on the subject.
“That is all I have to report.”
“Understood. What effect will expelling these people have on our government’s operation?”
“Well, it will certainly do more than nothing. However, I did find out the minimum number of people needed to maintain each ministry of our kingdom. I plan to reassign the people we have on hand after expunging the rot.”
“All right, then,” I said. “And this same sort of plan is in place for other regions as well?”
“Of course. The first phase of our political purge is already complete.”
“As brilliant as ever, Gilbert. I see no problems, then. Please continue your report.”
“Right… Actually, I think you should go see Freesia and Alicia. They’ve been worried sick.”
“Ah, true. I did give them plenty reason to fret this morning.”
“That may be unrelated, but I believe the brunt of their worry concerns the tea party in five days’ time.”
“Hm? A tea party?” I had completely forgotten we had one scheduled. It took me a moment to remember anything about it. “Oh, yes. With the ladies of the Great Five.”
I’d dismissed it as an utterly unimportant gathering, but perhaps I could use the situation to my advantage. The thought made me smirk.
Tommy understood what my sinister smile meant. “Queen Luxeria, don’t tell me…you’re going to set the Great Five’s women against their own houses?”
“It is not the most desirable method, but I’d rather this than some ridiculous ordeal. Tommy, no investigations should be done until the tea party has ended. Focus on recovering.”
“Message received, Your Majesty. I’ll rest up as much as I can.”
“Now, Gilbert—if your report is finished, I’d like to make some arrangements ahead of time.”
They acknowledged my orders in tandem.
“I’m counting on you two.”
“Got it!”
“Yes, my queen.”
I parted ways with them, making my way to Alicia and Freesia.
The moment Freesia spotted me, she said, “Queen Luxeria, we’ve been expecting you. Could you please help us decide on a venue for the tea party?”
“I’m more concerned with your well-being, Your Majesty,” Alicia chimed in. “Are you all right? Was it hard having to meet with men you dislike?”
“Alicia! The queen has a very important tea party to attend in five days to establish her authority. How dare you interrupt something so vital!” Freesia scolded her.
Their little spat made me chuckle. “Oh Alicia, thank you for worrying,” I said. “You both helped me tremendously with my appearance earlier. We can speak about other subjects later, Alicia. For now, let us decide on a venue, like Freesia suggested.”
And so began our strategy meeting for my next battle.