“Then how about a warm cup of—”
“I-I said I’m fine.”
Hearing the irritation in her mistress’s voice, Ludis closed her mouth. Maxi felt sudden remorse at being snappy for no reason.
“I-I will…let you know if I do,” she mumbled, her face turning red. “I truly…do not have an appetite for anything at the moment.”
Ludis gave her a small smile to indicate that she did not mind and returned to her sewing. Feeling like an overanxious child, Maxi began pacing around her chambers. That was how she passed the afternoon until the blare of a kopel sounded outside.
Maxi’s head jerked up. Two long blasts. That meant that someone of high status had come to the castle. She hurriedover to the window to see a group of about forty envoys carrying the banner of the royal family. Cold sweat trickled down her back as she watched them enter the gates. Had the king sent a mediator, just as everyone had expected?
“L-Ludis…please help me get ready,” she said, her voice shaking. “W-We have guests.”
Maxi was in such a hurry that she almost stumbled over a bump in the carpet. Ludis steadied her and helped her to the stool in front of the mirror. When she was seated, the maidservant skillfully rolled Maxi’s curls into a hairnet in the blink of an eye. Ludis then heated a clothing iron, which looked like a rod with a flat iron plate at the end, and smoothed the wrinkles on Maxi’s dress.
After meticulously assessing herself in front of the mirror, Maxi draped a velvet cloak over her shoulders and hurried out of the room. Through the railing, she spotted Riftan and the knights greeting the guests below. The tight tension surrounding both parties made her freeze.
Princess Agnes stepped out from the royal retinue that filed into the hall. Relief washed over Maxi; at least one of the royal envoys was someone who held Riftan in goodwill. When the princess began speaking, however, Maxi’s relief dissipated at her grave tone.
“I have undertaken this long journey in all haste to bring you His Majesty’s message,” Agnes said solemnly. “I hope you will forgive me for coming unannounced.”
Riftan regarded the princess coldly before turning away. “If the message is so urgent, I assume it cannot wait until you’ve rested. Please follow me. Rodrigo, take Her Highness’s guards somewhere they can rest.”
As Riftan began climbing the stairs, the princess, the twoknights flanking her, and four opulently dressed attendants followed.
Maxi reflexively hid behind a pillar, intimidated by the hostile atmosphere. Could she intrude on their conversation when it was so fraught with tension? Not knowing what to do, she hesitated before making her way toward the drawing room. She did not wish to return to her chambers, where she would be all alone, tormented with anxiety. And frankly, was she not the main reason all of this was happening?
Mustering her courage, she approached the arched mahogany door. The knights and the veiled attendants standing outside threw wary glances at her. Maxi paused and was about to greet them when she heard the princess’s icy voice from inside the room.
“His Majesty has made it very clear that he will not condone a war.”
Maxi flinched and froze on the spot. Riftan’s furious voice followed.
“The crown has no right to interfere in this matter. You failed to keep your word to protect my wife, so what right do you have to deny me?!”
“Please remember whom you are addressing!”
The heated exchange carried on before everything went quiet. The princess’s heavy voice finally broke the silence.
“I have no excuse for my failure, but that is a personal debt I must repay. I come to you now not as Agnes Reuben, but as the king’s messenger. I ask that you show me due respect.”
Riftan mumbled something in a tone too low for Maxi to make it out. The frigid tension behind the door had her scared stiff. She found herself neither able to enter the roomnor walk away. Cold sweat prickled her back as she stood rooted to the spot.
Once again, the princess’s tight voice came through the door.
“His Majesty does not want to jeopardize the stability of Wedon. I’m sure you are well aware of the Duchy of Croyso’s territorial dispute with Dristan. If the duke were to lose a significant number of his men in a war with Anatol, Dristan would never let the opportunity slip through its fingers. They will attempt to reclaim the eastern part of the duke’s territory, which will be a heavy loss for Wedon.”
“Stop your exaggerations!” Riftan snapped. “Plundering another territory is a clear violation of the armistice. Dristan would never dare to openly disregard it.”
“Dristan has reasonable grounds to do so,” Agnes retorted. “The eastern parts originally belonged to their kingdom. The lands should have been returned after the treaty, but the duke asserted his claim when he married a Roemian princess. If Dristan points to that as their reason, even Osiriya won’t be able to intervene.”
Maxi stiffened at the gravity in the princess’s voice. She sounded even more somber as she continued.
“The balance of power among the kingdoms is the only thing sustaining the armistice. If that balance breaks, no treaty will hold any sway. It could collapse all order in the Seven Kingdoms.”
“There have been disputes between the kingdoms for all kinds of reasons evenwiththe armistice,” Riftan growled. “If one war is enough to dissolve it, then it would’ve collapsed a long time ago!”
“Have I not just explained to you that any conflict between Anatol and Croyso won’t end with only one war?” Agnes shot back, her voice rising. “We simply cannot allow anything that would weaken Wedon’s power and give Dristan the opportunity to invade. If you insist on going against His Majesty’s orders, he intends to ask Osiriya for reinforcements to stop Anatol.”
