Despite still feeling out of sorts about the day before, Ryu forced a cheeky smile and batted his eyelashes. “Is it working?”
“Oh, for goodness sake,” Saki muttered. She swatted him with the dishcloth, but obligingly reached up to the top shelf where a large jar was tucked into a corner. “Here. Take two, then get out of my kitchen,” she said with a wink. “And you’d better make it snappy. Your mother will be back soon, and you know what a fuss she makes if she catches you snacking between meals.”
That got Ryu’s attention. “Mum’s here?” He grabbed two cookies – chocolate-chip, thank the Goddess – and stuffed them into his pocket.
“She wanted to talk to Chie about the wedding ceremony at the Goddess Festival, and-”
“I have made my decision, andthat is final!”
A door on the far side of the kitchen burst open, and – speak of the devil – Chie came marching through, Her Majesty the Queen hot on her heels. “I am not marrying Dai, and I’m truly sorry if that messes up your festival, but I don’t love him, and he doesn’t love me.”
“Love between soulmates sometimes developsslowly,” Elise said, waving her arms in emphatic gestures. “You have to give it time togrow, time tosmouldera bit before it catches light!” She caught sight of Ryu watching them, and her appeasing tone turned to exasperation quick as a bolt of lightning. “Ryu, what are you doing in the kitchen this time of the morning? You have an exam to be studying for.”
“I was just getting an apple,” he said automatically. “I’m going straight back to my room to study after that.” Saki, bless the woman, had swiftly hidden the cookie jar the instant Elise had arrived. She made herself busy now wiping down the workbench, her expression bland and professional.
Apparently satisfied with Ryu’s answer, Elise’s attention was swiftly returned to Chie. “The Festival is scarcely three days away! How are we supposed to find a replacement wedding couple on such short notice? There’s no time to have a new dress made and to teach them all the details of the ceremony. Not to mention the embarrassment to the palace! What would people think, to hear that one of our guests of honour has decided to elope with a… amismatch?” The term was used to describe couples who married someone other than their soulmate, and Ryu flinched as his motherflung the word carelessly at Chie. In a lot of people’s minds, being called a mismatch was little better than being called a whore.
But despite the insult, Chie stood her ground, and Ryu couldn’t help but admire her for doing so. “How can you expect me to throw myentire lifeaway, marrying a man I don’t love?”
“He is yoursoulmate!” Elise wailed, looking utterly aghast. “The Goddess created you for each other!”
“I’ve told you, I love Kage.”
“Kage is abutler,” Elise said, as horrified as if Chie had just declared she wanted to marry a rabid squirrel. “Dai is the son of a wealthy businessman-”
“Dai’s entire family look down on me. Ever since I was matched with him, they’ve treated me like the ugly, embarrassing cousin that no one wants to invite to the family barbeque. Kage loves me for who I am, not just for some birthmark the Goddess stamped on my ankle.”
For a moment, Elise seemed lost for words. But she recovered quickly. “Well, I must certainly hear what Kage has to say about this,” she declared, sounding flustered. She looked about the kitchen and spotted Saki, still pretending to clean the spotless workbench. “You there! Saki! Go and fetch Kage.” Then she added, perhaps a little too optimistically, “I’m sure there’s an amicable way to resolve this.”
With a bow and a polite “Yes, ma’am,” Saki quickly left the kitchen, leaving Ryu standing awkwardly by the wall while the Queen and Chie argued. He took two steps towards the door, hoping to make a quiet getaway…
“Ryu, perhaps you can get young Chie to see reason?” his mother said suddenly, making him wish he’d just stayed still. “Finding your soulmate can be a daunting thing, but surely you would understand the importance of obeying the Goddess’s wishes?”
He would what? When he wasn’t allowed to find out who his own soulmate was and he was pretty damn sure his parents wouldn’t let him marry them anyway? What kind of twisted game was this?
Chie was standing with her arms folded, no doubt aware that she couldn’t just turn around and leave, but looking entirely unimpressed about being lectured by yet another member of the royal family. She’d been working at the palace for just over a year, but aside from discovering that she made the best cookies this side of Palarn, Ryu hadn’t had much of a chance to get to know her.
But despite the inevitable disapproval from his mother, he wasn’t prepared to play her game this time. “Well, since I’m not even allowed tomeetmy soulmate, I can’t say I’d know much about it,” he said, not bothering to disguise the belligerence in his voice. “But for what it’s worth,I don’t think anyone should beforcedto marry anyone else, soulmate or not.”
It was hard to tell who was more surprised by his answer, Chie or his mother. They didn’t get much of a chance to react, though, as Saki returned just at that moment, a young man in tow.
“Kage Yasu, Your Majesty,” Saki announced, bowing to the queen.
Elise looked the butler over, indignation written all over her face. “Kage Yasu. Your position in the palace is third butler, correct?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Kage said with a bow. Third butler was a low position, predominantly seeing to the needs of commoners who visited the palace. Kage had been working here for about three years, and as far as Ryu was aware, he’d always performed his duties with care and diligence. “I usually work the afternoon shift, but with all the preparations for the Festival, we’ve been asked to work a bit of overtime.”
“And do you have a soulmate?” Elise asked next, no doubt hoping he didn’t. If he hadn’t yet found his match, it would be a relatively easy argument to suggest that he should do so, before marrying someone else.
Kage hesitated a moment, his eyes flicking across to meet Chie’s. “I do, Ma’am. But she’s from Arctesia. My family have very traditional views, and they would never allow me to marry an Arctesian.”
“I see,” Elise said, scrambling now that she didn’t have the answer she’d been expecting. “And you’re no doubt aware that Chie has a soulmate? One who is perfectly willing to marry her, despite his family’s objections?”
Unlike Chie, Kage seemed to take the queen’s censure very seriously. His face turned bright red, and he struggled to find his voice. “That’s not… I’m sorry, Your Majesty. But that’s Chie’s decision to make, not mine. I love her,” he added, though the admission came out with an unsettled waver to his voice. “I just want her to be happy.”
Elise looked dismayed. “But Dai is an alpha. And Chie is an omega. But you’re abeta. If Chie marries you, she’ll have no opportunity to ever have children of her own.” Recent advances in medical science meant that with appropriate hormone therapy, beta women were now able to bear children – though it often took four or five cycles of treatment for them to fall pregnant. Unfortunately, no such advances had been made with allowing beta males to father children.
“Uh… if I may?” Ryu interrupted, managing to keep a straight face. “I’m sure that fact has already occurred to Chie. And I’d just like to point out that I have the same views about forcing people to have babies as I do about forcing them to get married. If anyone cares about my opinion.”
