Chapter 11: I'm not foolish, I'm innocent
She slumped into her chair, breathing hard, and completely at a loss for words.
Phoenix leaned closer.
"Relax, Isabelle."
He sounded pleased.
She squinted at him, grumpy, and spoke in a low voice. "Those are interesting words from a man who promoted a gardener I spoke to for five minutes to the position without telling me."
His face shone with mock innocence, and he placed a hand on his chest. "Ah~? You didn't want him in your harem?"
This! This man! What the hell is he plotting?!
"Ngghh..." She leaned her forehead into her palms. "Of all the handsome men in this palace, why do you have to be in my harem?"
"You wound me~." Phoenix whined dramatically. He moved from his position on the chair beside her to lounge across her lap, draping his torso over her legs much like a cat might.
Isabelle knew for a fact cats have claws and also that this particular concubine did, too.
"Perhaps Her Majesty can punish me~?" He purred.
"Oh you bet I'm punishing you...!!" She hissed, jabbing him with her finger on his back.
Uselessly.
He seemed to enjoy it, in fact.
He took a sharp intake of breath, arching up like she'd just electrocuted him with pleasure.
"Hmmm~! Just like that, my dear~!"
"Pho-!!!" She quickly caught herself, glancing around at the people looking at them. She blushed fiercely.
"You stop that!" She huffed, finally. "Not in public."
He chuckled all too good-naturedly. Rather suspiciously as if he'd been putting on a show from the start.
"I shall, if Her Majesty rewards me privately."
She did not like how he phrased that.
But rising to the bait would be playing his game, so she only gave a long-suffering sigh and looked over to Lyov - and Alexander - who sat patiently near her, observing whatever musical number Phoenix had distracted her through.
Lyov seemed to be able to keep up with whatever the singers were doing, but Alexander was glancing around in bewilderment, trying to understand what was happening.
Ah...I can't sit here and ignore the two of them. Alex looks lonely...even if Lyov looks...super entertained. What the heck is even happening out there.
"Erh...Alex?"
He sat straighter and looked in her direction, brightening like a flower reaching for sunlight. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
She hadn't planned anything to say.
"....Are you...enjoying the show?"
He draws in a breath and reaches up to rub at the back of his neck. "It's very....colorful and stimulating. I'm much more used to the sedate world of plants."
She giggled, not meaning to laugh at him. "It...is very different, isn't it...! I...uh...can't even really keep up with all the...action, I think...what even are they all...dancing about?"
His laughter was nervous.
"This is the story of the Second Princess Kelsa." Lyov said smoothly, eyes glued to the performance.
"Kelsa is said to have been born with magical power so great she was destined to become the greatest wizard since the Ancient Empress Nia. The Kingdom rejoiced at her birth, and her parents prepared lavishly for their daughter's future, hiring instructors and mages from all over the world to prepare her for her future."
He sounded rather...fond...of the story...?
"...The Princess had many suitors from a young age. There was a great tournament held to determine who could win her hand, and nearly every strong man in the world turned up to vie for her hand."
Lyov gestured to the ongoing musical.
"You see, fifty men signed up to take Kelsa's hand, which terrified her father. He feared that if he betrothed her to the winner, the spite and jealousy would turn the tournament into a blood bath. He's about to call off the entire tournament, when a certain warrior steps forward with a suggestion."
Lyov points to an actor. "His name is Reguard."
"Mm, I didn't catch that. Reg-uard? Or Re-gard...?" Alex asked, tilting his head.
Lyov hummed in acknowledgement. "Either."
Isabelle squinted at the performance. Technically she could follow along now that she knew what was happening.
But it was still odd to hear a man singing about a non-aggression pact.
"But what was the point of this?"
Lyov blinked, turning his head to look at her. "...Forgive me, your majesty...I thought it was fairly self-explanatory."
"No no, I understand the story and Reguard's solution. I just don't understand how this has to do with my coronation...?"
Lyov looked at her as if - well - she was a complete fool. Or perhaps worse - as if he were trying to decide why she would pretend to be a fool.
"...The story of Princess Kelsa is the story of the founding of Nevremia. With every coronation we celebrate each previous ruler that led us to today."
"...Ah--...ha!" She pointed at him and nodded. "I-I'm glad you knew that, Lyov. You described it much better than I, so now I'm sure Alex won't be confused."
I'm sorry, Alex, but I can't risk being overthrown by my own harem...!
It's a matter of life and death!
And survival.
Phoenix smiled in a very evil way, the kind of smile that made her heart skip for fear. "Did you want to know how the story ends? The one your beloved country was built upon, I mean?"
"Aha....um. I know very well how it ends, Phoenix." She drums her fingers along his back. "But you seem eager to say it, so~"
Lyov seems to find amusement in the situation, and settles back comfortably to observe the conclusion of the play.
"Yes, my Empress is wise, she knows how it ends, of course." Phoenix turned a dazzling smile her way, that made her angry and flustered all at once. "Shall I continue the story for Alexander's benefit~?"
She frowned, narrowing her eyes at him.
"...Sure, if you'd like. Tell him how the story ends, Phoenix."
Two can play this game, Phoenix.
"After Reguard convinced Kelsa's father to hold the contest by signing every participant in a magic contract to ensure they respected the final victor of the contest, the ultimate winner was selected: Prince Ducard of the South. A proud warrior from a proud warrior kingdom. Of course..."
Phoenix hummed, propping his cheek on his hand. "No one asked Kelsa who she wanted to marry. It wasn't Prince Ducard at all. Her heart yearned for the flighty but beautiful Prince Lief, a man whose kingdom was but a small island, with an insufficient army to even send anyone to participate."
...Ah...so then from the start she could never have gotten who she wanted...
Phoenix hummed, as if he could hear her thoughts. Or read her expression.
One of the two.
"As soon as Lief came to visit on a trade expedition, Kelsa took her opportunity to seduce Lief and run away with him~!" Phoenix purred excitedly. "Such an independent woman, she was..."
"But what about the other forty-nine men...? Didn't the princess owe it to them to fulfill her betrothal to the victor...?" Alex cut in, frowning in frustration. "A-and....Ducard, too...shouldn't he have had the right to his wife, that he...fought and won for...it just doesn't seem..."
"Well." Lyov sighed. "The suitors agreed with you."
"W-wait..." Alex seemed baffled. "This story is-"
"The War of Zhyr, yes." Phoenix hummed. "As our cute Lyov said. It is the founding of Nevremia. The fifty suitors and their armies attacked in a rage, convinced Lief had kidnapped the runaway princess. The small kingdom had no hope of fending off such an invasion, but it tried anyway."
Lyov nodded, arms crossed, expression solemn. "Their walls were built high and thick in the hopes of deterring invaders, so while they lacked the army to fight back, they could hide within the city walls for a while. However, without supplies they were all slowly starving to death."
Alex made a soft, sad sound.
Isabelle shifted, uncomfortable.
Lyov continued, a distant look in his eyes. "Lief begged for an audience with Ducard, so that he could plea his case and save his people."
Phoenix nuzzled Isabelle's thigh, getting more comfortable, as if her thighs were a place for a nap. "Poor Ducard couldn't accept being rejected, though, and called Lief a liar~! It was so terribly tragic."
"Lief was desperate to spare his people, however, so he chose to admit guilt and face the consequences in exchange for saving his people." Lyov nodded, sitting back in his seat. "He died to protect those he loved."
"...Isn't this just...depressing?" Alex piped in, head downcast.
"Depressing...but it's an important lesson to be learned." Phoenix hummed.
"When Kelsa learned of what happened she was enraged. Her magic flew out of control and in one fell swoop she destroyed all of the attackers. Not one bit of them was left but ash. Although her grief could not bring back her love, the people she ruled still needed her guidance. She refused to take another consort, and so ruled alone for the rest of her days. When it came time for her to pass her throne to the daughter she'd had with Lief, she instituted a law that would protect her children or her kingdom from suffering the fate she did."
Oh...oh no...
"The first choice any Empress of Nevremia makes is her consort." Phoenix flashed a smile up at her. "Ah~. But now I suppose it's 'consorts':" He chuckled, before squinting at Alexander. "Even though your family is foreign, I thought you knew that much about Nevremia?"
Alexander laughed softly. "...I...really...only spend time with my plants..."
Isabelle's mind was still reeling with the fact that she'd somehow...undone one of the core, founding tenets of this entire culture in her first day and people hadn't warned her.
The-they could overthrow me for this, couldn't they...
Alexander spoke up again, sparing her from her spiraling thoughts.
"...That was...quite the riveting tale...but...couldn't I have just watched the opera?"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone