With the king’s icy stare upon her, Sophie dropped her head low. The rope binding her stung, but what was she to do? “I am Sophie. I serve as Lady Lunatietta’s lady-in-waiting in Obdrael.”
That was all made-up. She did work as Lunetta’s attendant, but she wasn’t a citizen of Vyce’s kingdom. But that wasn’t for her to say here and now. Sophie dropped low enough to plant her forehead on the marble floor beneath her. The floor looked like it’d be very painful if you landed on it. Or rather, it looked expensive.
“Do you not think it improper that one such as a lady-in-waiting might so address a king?”
“Truly, it is as you say, Your Majesty,” Sophie replied. “But I must relay a message from my king.”
“A message...?”
The king ordered Sophie to look up. She obeyed, slowly getting to her feet.
For what it was worth, the reason that the less-than-diplomatically-minded country of Magyck existed as a nation was because its magic-focused culture outshone others by far. It was said that roughly a third of the preprocessed magic gems imbued with magical energy were produced in the kingdom. Unless a kingdom was a military powerhouse with an almighty witch (like a certain nation), they’d never even think to fight against Magyck—that was simply the sort of kingdom it was. Difficulties procuring magic gems would cause plenty of issues, and having the might of magicians used against you in battle would be just as much of an issue, which was why most nations had no ties with Magyck. All they could do was submissively accept that merchants were obtaining and selling magic gems.
Due to this, Sophie didn’t know the king’s face, nor did the king know hers.
She put on a smile, grateful for the situation. “I am deeply grateful for your generous words.”
“I don’t need your thanks,” the king bit back. “Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t even deem to look upon magically ignorant rabble such as yourself.”
He was the absolute worst.
Yet Sophie smiled.
He was pure, unfiltered “chosen people” ideology at its finest. And he was a walking pile of excrement to boot. The king thought anyone who couldn’t use magic was less than a person, but he ordered his own daughter not to call him father, despite her astounding magical prowess. Part of Sophie wanted to take those oh-so-blurry grand ideals of his and kick them to the curb, but that wasn’t her role in all this.
Sophie looked at the golden-eyed man, taking extra care to make sure her seething hatred didn’t spill out into her own brown eyes. She carefully fixed her smile in place. “The betrothal of Lady Lunatietta to His Majesty should have been a symbol of the peace between our two kingdoms.”
Indeed, that was what it should have been.
As Vyce’s own kingdom had continued to grow, Magyck had soon found itself surrounded by vassal states under Vyce’s control. The elite in each nation had nervously watched the situation, wondering which nation might invade the other and when. However, when Vyce took the second princess of Magyck as his fiancée, the tensions had seemed to settle for a time.
In that sense as well, talk of the engagement held a significant meaning for the kingdom, but still! Still! To think that after just one year they’d pick a fight with the king of the kingdom they’d made peace with. Just how foolish could their king be?
The fact that Vyce had had to ask if they thought nothing of their kingdoms’ promises to each other—that line alone probably told it all.
The king of Magyck looked down upon anyone who was unable to use magic. He might as well have been saying, “Oh, you’re going to get a new dress? I can’t hear what you’re saying over how much I’m laughing!” But even if you pointed out that everyone would buy new dresses if they could afford it, or that even if you don’t buy a new dress, you won’t go dying from it, or even that the dress isn’t what really matters, it wouldn’t get through to them. They didn’t have the sort of ears they needed to hear any such objections. And if you didn’t have any ears? “Oh, wow! I can’t hear a thing they’re saying!” Instead, the king only spoke with his royally inflated sense of self that was firmly locked in the past. It made for a terrible nuisance. He was a stain upon his own kingdom! A stain!
Wait, what was I thinking about again...? Oh, that’s right. It was about that idiot of a king who seemed to think that pacts between nations were on the same level as children’s promises to play together.
“In addition to your violent acts in other countries, you attacked His Majesty and have forcefully brought Lady Lunatietta back to her homeland as if she were a criminal...”
Just what are you even thinking? Are you an idiot? You have to be, don’t you? Don’t you think it’d be a good idea to give up the throne this very moment? At least...that was what Sophie wanted to say. But then again, if Sophelia had been the sort of iron-nerved simpleton who could say something so bold, she never would’ve suffered a day in her life. Telling a lie was nothing at all to her.
“This must have caused quite a problem. His Majesty does not wish to further inflame the conflict with you any more than it has already progressed. Might you please inform us of your own motivations?”
“I see...” the king replied. “So you’ve found out full well that those savages are no match for my kingdom then, have you?”
“His Majesty hopes to keep the casualties to the absolute minimum. If there is anything that our kingdom may do, I only ask that you tell us.”