Chapter 31:
Slice Her Heart Asunder
TODAY WAS THE FINAL DAY BEFORE I SET OFF from Anhalt’s royal capital. I attended a farewell party in honor of my peace negotiations with Villendorf. Princess Valiele, her corps, and I, Faust von Polidoro, made a party of sixteen as we gathered around for a small celebration of sorts. That had been the initial plan, anyway.
“Mother, why are you here?” Princess Valiele asked.
“Why did you think that I wouldn’t be present?” Her Majesty replied. “How could I refuse to lift even a finger before you lot go off to negotiate an important matter that could very well decide the fate of our kingdom?”
Queen Liesenlotte took a sip of her wine. At least she had common sense; since this party was open to others, she wasn’t in her usual thin veil that gave me full view of her body. She was enveloped in a proper dress. She looked as audacious as usual, but that only amplified her beauty as a woman.
Her backless dress exposed her skin and her enticing nape, but the front of her outfit was properly closed. I was a boob guy, simple as that. I had some resistance when it came to napes. I used my index finger to internally point and call a warning. Be careful of her nape, check! Those magic words were all I needed to maintain my calm.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the same resistance to boobs. My body refused to listen. And so, I breathed a sigh of relief that my poor cock wouldn’t be pained by her massive rack today.
“I thought you’d left Villendorf entirely up to my sister—Princess Anastasia,” Princess Valiele said.
“The situation is no longer so simple,” Her Majesty replied. “I’d refrained from publicly speaking about it to help Anastasia save face, but our situation is rather dire. I can say with no exaggeration that we’re just barely hanging on by a thread, and that we’re reaching our limit.” Queen Liesenlotte’s bewitching eyes turned to me. “Faust von Polidoro.”
“Your Majesty,” I replied.
“Even if you fail to negotiate peace, our kingdom shall not fall. However, should Villendorf try to invade us once more, many fiefs by the border, including yours, may be stripped away from us.”
I know that, I thought. Why do you think I accepted this role? Frankly, I’ve been scammed. I internally cursed the queen, but I knew that Anhalt had done its best—I had no reason to complain. After all was said and done, this was the only course of action they had left. That was why they’d gifted me a new suit of Maximilian armor and promised me a handsome reward if negotiations went well.
“Valiele, should your mission be successful, I also intend to raise the ranks of everyone in your corps,” Queen Liesenlotte added.
“Really?!” Her Highness gasped.
“Do know that the financial officials will nag if I give your knights another promotion after only a month—two, if we include the trip back. They must wait a year until they receive their next promotion, but it will be assured.”
The corps almost shouted with joy when they heard the queen’s promise, but they immediately fell silent. It was insolent to scream in front of Her Majesty, and several members hastily covered Zabine’s mouth to suppress her voice. Good for you guys. I’m really happy for you all. Now then. I welcomed an increase in rewards, but that naturally only meant one thing.
“Sir Polidoro, Valiele,” Her Majesty said. “I must speak with you both and would like for you to step away from this party for a few moments. Follow me to my room.”
Yeah, called it. Sounds like more trouble. Maybe she just wants to touch base about our negotiations. As it stood, we could only return the items that Duke Astarte had stolen from Villendorf. We had nothing else to offer, leaving us stuck in a terrible negotiating position as we headed to Villendorf. Does Her Majesty have some sort of plan in mind?
The three of us moved to head to her room. There was no need to call for guards, though I sensed the presence of the queen’s corps from the corridor. Princess Valiele’s corps stayed in their places to await our return, suppressing their thirst and hunger.
“You may start the party without us,” Her Majesty ordered.
She then left the room, and Princess Valiele and I followed. We stepped out into the corridor.
“I won’t speak of anything important until we reach my room,” Her Majesty said. “Ah, why don’t we enjoy some small talk?”
“Certainly,” I replied.
The queen and her two corps members walked in front of us as Her Majesty suddenly took on a teasing tone.
“Are you two still chaste?” she joked. “Ah, my question was unnecessary, wasn’t it?”
“Please stop,” Her Highness replied.
“Agreed,” I added.
Valiele was still fourteen and a bit too young to play around with page boys just yet. I was twenty-two. In this Middle Ages-esque fantasy world, it was high time I got married, though the rule of age for men was a lot laxer than for women. Even if a man entered his thirties, he’d be welcomed into a household of a widow for her to remarry. But for the sake of my fief, it was vital that I sired an heir as soon as I could. Since I was currently the only heir to the Polidoro fief, if I died, the land would immediately be claimed by the royal family. I absolutely couldn’t die. I need a female knight of valor who can become the lord of my house and perform military service in my stead. Or a reliable wife who can manage the fief while I’m away.
“Both you and Anastasia are stubborn, Valiele,” Queen Liesenlotte said. “Admittedly, I was chaste as well until I met my late husband. Dalliances with page boys bring far too many complications.”
Page boys were sent to the palace from all throughout the kingdom in hopes of cajoling high-ranking bureaucrats. These boys even aimed for the seat of prince consort if they could. The closer they were to the heart of the palace, the more benefits they’d bring to their regional lords. Her Majesty muttered her thoughts as we walked along.
Sounds like honey trapping. In a nutshell, the boys sent to the royal palace were all part of a honey-trapping scheme, and the Anhaltish royal family was aware of that—the regional lords were acting well within their rights.
If so, they’re all incompetent. Just the other day, one of Princess Valiele’s corps had discovered a page boy mocking me and reported it back to the princess. She, in turn, spoke of the incident to Crown Princess Anastasia, who flew into a rage like a crazy, cannibalistic demon. I’d heard that the page boy had been sent back to his fief. He’d angered the royal family and had become hated by all. No one could tell when disaster would strike or what exactly their downfall would be, but that page boy’s future would certainly be a dark one. If one wanted a boy to take care of them, there was no better place than the palace, which hired boys from throughout the kingdom.
Still, I wonder why Crown Princess Anastasia became so angry just because I was mocked. I guess she was being considerate in her own way—we’re comrades in arms from the Campaign of Villendorf. Her appearance might have been terrifying, but her personality was anything but.
“I didn’t choose to marry my late husband, Robert, simply based on the impression I received from his documents,” the queen ruminated.
She spoke of the late prince consort, and frankly, I was a bit interested to hear about him.
“He was also one of the people who was sent to the palace as a page boy,” Her Majesty said.
“Father hailed from the household of a duke, didn’t he?” Princess Valiele asked. “I thought he was raised preciously by his family.”
“Indeed, he came from the house of a duke. He was a muscular man as well, and I doubt anyone expected him to do any sort of honey trapping.” The queen paused for a moment. She muttered, “Perhaps that’s why I fell in love with him.”
She pointed to the gardens. A breathtaking rose garden proudly sat in the corner of the vast space.
“See there?” she asked. “My husband planted that rose garden with his own two hands.”
“That’s Father’s work?” Princess Valiele replied. “I thought I’d heard that he created something else.”
“He spent a mere two years as a page boy of the palace. He only laid down the foundation of the garden, though he continued to maintain the space even after we married.”