Chapter 15
Kinesia, who had been studying, looked up in surprise. She made a vague nod of greeting and flipped through the book.
She was looking at a book that looked like something from Luxor.
“What’s the use of reading ‘The Monarch’s Duty’?” I clicked my tongue, and Kinesia pulled the book toward her and tried to explain.
“It’s a basic textbook on rulership.”
“You still read a textbook?”
“I keep reading it. I want to memorize it and be a good queen.”
“That’s admirable, but there are things more important than a useless book like that.”
I snatched the book out of Kinesia’s hands. She moved to take it back, so I closed the book with a sharp smack and shoved it behind me.
Kinesia sprang to her feet.
“Give me the book!”
“Never mind that — come with me.”
Kinesia reached longingly toward the scattered books, but when I pulled on her clothes she made a small noise and allowed me to tug her along.
She stayed silent for a while and only asked where we were going after we reached the first floor.
“Where are we headed?”
“They’re having a tea party hosted by the queen today. I’m going there.”
The moment I said that, Kinesia stopped dead in her tracks.
I tried to pull her along, tugging harder, but she didn’t follow. Huh? I turned my head quickly and saw Kinesia’s expression was cold.
“Tea party is more important than the Monarch’s Duty?”
What was that scornful look, like seeing a relative from a poor household demanding extravagant things as a tantrum? It made me pretty irritated.
She must be seriously misunderstanding something.
I turned to face her with a serious expression.
I let go of her clothes. After making sure no one was watching, I nodded for her to bow her head.
Kinesia sighed deeply and bent her waist, and—
“Ugh!”
I gave her a flick on the round of her forehead.
“How dare you look away so insolently in front of your sovereign?”
Kinesia rubbed her forehead with a displeased face.
Her eyes still bothered me, but she was young; I wouldn’t gouge them out yet.
“You don’t like balls, tea parties, hunting tournaments, and those sorts of affairs, do you?”
“Of course not. They waste the treasury and time on needless luxury.”
“That’s only if you get nothing out of them.”
I turned around. This time I didn’t need to pull her by the collar; Kinesia followed behind me.
As we approached the greenhouse, a servant opened the door for us.
A burst of speech and laughter poured through the gap. At the same time, I felt Kinesia flinch.
She tried to put on a composed front, but her hand was clenched tight with tension.
“Ria, Kinesia.”
Queen Ottilie came out with a warm, amiable voice and called to Kinesia. Immediately, the laughter stopped.
People who had been chatting cheerfully at their tables all turned toward the entrance.
Kinesia’s right foot slipped back.
I watched the nobles and gave Kinesia’s heel a slight prod to set her back in place.
“Chin up, shoulders back. Are you going to show weakness to those beneath you?”
“Beneath me?”
Kinesia looked at me in surprise.
Poor thing — because she’d been ignored by the flashy types in the council chamber, she had never supposed the nobles could be her subordinates.
“If you become king, who do you think you’ll command if not those people above you?”
After a light retort, I approached the queen.
Ottilie’s gloomy face brightened.
Ten round tables for four were already fully occupied. Some tables even had an extra chair for five.
But Ottilie sat alone.
“Hmm.”
I let my gaze sweep the room.
‘There aren’t any ragged ones here,’ I thought.
Everyone was sparkling and smiling. The smiles were edged with thinly veiled mockery; they looked anything but friendly.
They covered their mouths with fans and snickered — you didn’t need to listen to know what they were saying.
I sat next to Ottilie.
I also seated Kinesia, who was trembling like a newborn fawn.
Ottilie tried to hide her bitterness.
“What brings you two here?”
Kinesia kept her head bowed, a fist resting on her thigh.
I told her again not to bow. She didn’t listen.
I clicked my tongue and answered for the sealed-lipped Kinesia.
“Just to see how the grown-ups entertain themselves.”
A servant brought tea.
The nobles at other tables soon turned their attention to me and began whispering among themselves.
While I watched them, Kinesia leaned in and whispered to me.
“What on earth are you thinking?”
I smiled lightly and took a sip of tea.
After watching the nobles a little longer, I set my cup down and gestured for Kinesia to come closer.
Perhaps because of the earlier flick to the forehead, she recoiled.
I almost decided not to tell her, but then grabbed her shoulder and pulled her nearer. Her torso tilted to the side; I leaned close to her ear and whispered.
“Look.”
“What?”
“There’s no one sitting close to the queen at a tea party she organized. Why do you think that is?”
“They’re snubbing her.”
“Well, you can’t say there’s no intention, but—”
They hadn’t come to the queen’s tea to spite her.
I lightly smacked the back of Kinesia’s clenched hand.
“Kinesia, read the flow.”
On the surface, they laughed and chatted, but the group had split into two. There was almost no dialogue between those two factions.
At the center were ladies who clearly looked wealthy.
“They’re here to avoid being compromised by each other.”
To be frank, the king and queen were husks — hollow macarons, showy on the outside but empty within.
They’d keep up appearances, but they probably didn’t care about the king and queen’s honor or reputation.
The royal couple themselves weren’t the type to take offense at being slighted; they lacked the authority to do so.
So if one person ruled the social scene, the queen’s tea would have been deserted.
But if there was a rival, things changed.
Just by deliberately not attending the queen’s tea, one could hand an opening to a rival.
I told her this much, but Kinesia reacted as if it didn’t matter.
“Everyone knows Countess Getelin and Marchioness Nefert don’t get along,” I said.
“What are you thinking when you hear that?”
“What should I be thinking…?” she replied, as if puzzled.
I stared for a moment, thinking she must be joking — but surprisingly, she was speaking the truth.
Truly a daughter of Luxor.
I surrended to the situation and indicated the nobles with a nod.
“And what do you think when you look at them?”
They were all busy flattering the lady in their camp. Occasionally they’d scoff at the other side as if it didn’t concern them.
“…They look servile.”
“Not your impressions.”
Frustrated, I thought: she’s so helpless. I had to do everything for her — feed her thoughts in, move her jaw, even massage her throat so she’d swallow. Pathetic.
“Watch their faces while you listen to the conversation. Then you can learn their likes and dislikes — and their enemies.”
“You want me to flatter them too?”
Don’t forget: I still had to help her swallow.
“If you know what someone likes, you can make a deal; if you know what they hate, you can harm them. And if you know their enemies—”
A noblewoman approached at that moment.
“I’ll be leaving now, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Marchioness Nefert, for gracing us with your presence. Travel safely.”
She gave me and Kinesia and Ottilie a cursory glance with no real feeling, made a slight curtsey, and then, before leaving, shot a disdainful look at Countess Getelin.
After Marchioness Nefert left, many nobles gave perfunctory bows to the queen and followed her out.
I watched that scene and continued.
“You can take care of someone you don’t like comfortably.”
Kinesia’s eyes followed the departing figure of Marchioness Nefert.
“So the enemy of my enemy is my friend?”
“Friend? Don’t be ridiculous. It’s for when you want to snub someone without getting your hands dirty.”
Kinesia’s eyes widened.
“Balls, teas, and other gatherings where many nobles assemble are miniature maps of political currents. Look closely and you’ll see a lot.”
Her gaze moved back to the mouths of the people still clustered in conversation.
I leaned in and whispered, focusing on their talk.
“Who hates who, who’s close to whom, who smiles face-to-face yet hides a dagger behind their back — you identify those things.”
“And then?”
“Use that information to remove opponents. The best method is to do it without using your own hands.”
“So you’re telling me to sow discord?”
“If necessary.”
“That’s too petty.”
“Was the humiliation you suffered justified?”
Kinesia fell silent as if she’d been struck. Her golden eyes looked slightly dazed.
I couldn’t blame her. What I’d told her was not the kind of thing her little book on rulership would have taught.
But this is reality.
