Zenny's painful groans echoed across the lawn. She lay on a flat wooden board while a woman struck her back repeatedly. Inside the hall, the empress glared furiously at her daughter. Charys stood before the high-raised podium where her mother lounged, her teeth gritted.
"I will dismiss every teacher who failed to teach you that a woman does not impress by displaying political knowledge, especially when no one asked for it!" the empress screeched. "And of all people, you lectured the Duke? What is wrong with you? Was your punishment not enough?"
Charys' eyes trembled. She hadn't expected that someone in the palace had already reported her encounter with the duke.
"We barely even spoke—"
"Don't you understand, Charys?" The empress took a sharp breath. "Don't you think some of the people who work here... work for the Duke? Has it never crossed your mind that he's waiting for you to make a mistake—so his people can report it straight to your father?" She glared. "You let your emotions get the better of you!"
The empress slammed her hand on the desk. Fortunately, a servant had reported it to her first, and she had stopped anyone else from bringing it to the emperor.
"Mother, I want him so," Charys said defiantly. "And I won't be anywhere else except as the Varyn Duchess."
"Then behave well!"
The empress's eyes blazed with fury.
"But I've already told you—you just need to offer the Ubian lands to the duchy. If Father is worried, then a marriage between him and me should—"
"Fool!" The empress cut her off. "If your father did that, the Varyns and every noble in Tenusa would see it as a grave injustice. The Ubian lands were theirs to begin with!"
"Who cares what the nobles think—"
"You!" the empress stopped, too angry to argue. "Go to your hall. Don't leave for two days!"
Charys tried to protest, but when she saw the guards begin to approach her, she drew a sharp breath and turned away.
...
IT WASN'T LONG before Kaelian heard the news about his new assignment. His brows furrowed. He immediately knew this was the duke's doing. That man must have understood the complicated relationship between Father and me.'
The duke knew the emperor would welcome the idea. It gave him a way to leash his own son and tighten his control through the Treasury Office.
"He must have used his connections at the palace to put me in this position," Kaelian chuckled. "I still wonder who these people are. I've never noticed him being close to any ministers or courtiers."
"The palace is full of secrets. A vast, tangled web of people connected to the eight great clans," Vinz said. "And with the Varyns' influence... it would have been easy for him to orchestrate this."
"I wonder how his network works." Kaelian smiled bitterly. "So this is his response? He won't leave the Rashets' iron ore alone? The Treasury Office, huh? He's arrogant if he thinks placing me there will trap me."
But in the back of his mind, he was furious. This turn of events had truly pissed him off. He couldn't move freely now. Not with his new intelligence guild.
"Tell Father I'll come back to the palace after the Queen Dowager's banquet."
After all, he couldn't appear too eager to take over the Treasury Office. That was the duke's first trap. And Kaelian—who had survived brutal politics since childhood—knew better than to underestimate it.
...
WHEN DORIAN arrived at Viridian House, Cherry stood at the entrance and greeted him. "Your Grace, Young Master Rashet is here."
Dorian said nothing and walked past her. He found Levon sitting in the lounge of the main hall. Levon rose when he saw him.
Levon exhaled. "Let's talk."
Dorian went to a side table and began pouring a cup from a decanter. His mouth curved, almost amused, before he took a sip.
"Dorian," Levon paused.
"Spare my sister from all this mess. She's barely seen life outside her hall. No matter how brilliant she is, she's still innocent when it comes to real cruelty. If she marries you, she'll face enemies far worse than anything she's known. She's already suffered enough. And if the princess—"
"I'm sure you've seen what happened to the women who tried to take her place?"
Dorian's calm, almost unserious tone only annoyed Levon more. Dorian even gestured for him to take a drink. When Levon just stood there, silent with anger, Dorian shrugged and took another sip.
"This is about the mess that comes with her if she's with you. She deserves safety—"
"Safety?" Dorian's voice was sharp. "It's much safer in Viridian House than it ever was in Rashet Manor."
Dorian's words struck Levon in the chest. Because they both knew the truth: the elders and the Nox women had conspired to make Nyasia's life miserable. And yet, Dorian had not moved to destroy the manor.
Maybe Nyasia had stopped him. Maybe there was some kind of deal between her and Dorian.
Still, Levon frowned, as if Dorian was granting some great favor simply by not interfering.
He was about to speak up again when the head guard, Rain, entered the hall. He greeted the men and glanced at Dorian, who raised a brow. Rain carried sensitive information. He waited for a sign: a motion toward the study.
But none came.
Rain quickly realized the visitor was Young Master Rashet. The brother of Second Lady Rashet. And the duke trusted him.
"With the map's shape, we can now confirm it can be recovered in Velladova family's farmlands," Rain said.
"Velladova?" Levon muttered.
Vellodova was a noble family that belonged to the eight great clans. Marquis Uran Vellodova was the current head.
"I didn't know Sinopia was this capable," Levon said, his tone bitter despite a hint of reluctant admiration.
Up until now, he had no idea what the seal's true power was. All he knew was that it had belonged to the late crown prince, the current emperor's own brother. And he understood that if someone like Dorian possessed it, it would tip the balance of power in Tenusa.
"Take over the iron mine," Dorian said. "If you can't handle that simple task—if you manage to ruin it—then don't expect me to take you seriously when it comes to the future duchess."
Levon looked at him.
"I see," he scoffed. "But right now, you're supposed to be the man who's after the iron ore. And I'm the brother who walks into your manor to confront you. What do you think?"
Dorian's mouth curved, amused.
"We'll have to be enemies."
*