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She leaves.

The door closes quietly.

I look down at the ruined tagetes.

The correct response would have been to remove it by hand. The correct response would have demonstrated that her provocation held no power. Instead, I answered with magic and allowed her to leave satisfied that she had exposed the reaction she sought.

I sweep the ash into my palm and drop it into a silver dish.

The surviving petal clings to the neptherium.

I burn it separately.

The solarium continues its advance through the household.

By the next morning, the corridor outside Fiona’s chambers smells of damp soil and crushed leaves. Two days later, trays of seedlings occupy the southern landing because it receives stronger light during midday. Briar begins carrying a small knife for trimming roots. An elderly servant from the kitchens volunteers to mend broken planting boxes. Joran authorizes the repair of an interior cistern pipe after Fiona demonstrates how much water is being lost through its cracked seal.

None of this requires my attention.

All of it reaches me.

Requests appear among military accounts and tithe reports. Glass panes need replacing. Hinges have corroded. A brazier must be moved farther from dry planting tables. Fiona wants clean sand, rendered fat, willow bark, rirzed cuttings, and permission to examine the household stores of medicinal herbs.

I approve what serves the stronghold. I deny what does not.

She responds to every denial with another request, narrower than the first and more difficult to reject.

On the fifth day, Sarveth joins me in the study with a list of winter expenditures.

“The Lady has reduced the requested lamp oil by half,” she says.

“Then there is no dispute.”

“She replaced it with a request for mirrored plates.”

“No.”

“She anticipated that answer. Beneath it is a request for polished copper scraps.”

I set down the report I am reading. “Why?”

“To direct sunlight toward the rear planting shelves.”

“She may use whatever scraps the smith considers useless.”

Sarveth makes a notation. Her silver gaze remains lowered, but I know the pause that follows.

“Say it.”

“The household is adjusting.”

“The household has survived greater disruptions.”

“Certainly.”

“You disagree.”

“I observe that the western servants now wager on how many requests the Lady will secure before each evening meal.”