—the 10th of Solis.
The morning sun rays streaming through the lattice windows brightly illuminated a messy room; the wardrobe doors were strewn open, and all kinds of dresses and clothing were scattered about the princess’ bed.
“Your Highness, is this not to your liking too…?” the poor maid asked exasperatedly as she held up yet another gown in her hands.
“No way, I don’t want to look like a babouinWhere did she learn this word? (Rasputina) wearing such a pompous, extravagant dress!” Anastasia cried, pushing away the gown. “Don’t you have just a simple one-piece dress that I can wear without having to deal with so many layers?”
“Look like a b-baboon?” The maid blinked in surprise which then quickly turned into horror. “Your Highness, what are you saying?! It’s inappropriate for you to go out of the palace wearing just a chemise!!”
Rasputina—who had long changed into her “Saintess” outfit complete with her gold-trimmed veil and white evening gloves—was finally fed up with waiting for them to settle their dispute. “Since Her Highness is displeased with the current selection of raiments, why don’t we simply place a custom order at the tailor’s now?”
“The tailor’s, now?” The maid gave a conflicted look. “But the stipulated time of departure is right at sundown, will Her Highness’ dress be sewn in time?”
“Of course, I have absolute faith in the Empire’s fine tailors.” Rasputina winked as she took Anastasia’s hand and led the puzzled princess out of the chambers. Once they were out of earshot, she pulled Anastasia aside and quietly rebuked her, “oi, do you seriously have to make such a fuss about which dress to wear?”
“B-but all of them look so old-fashioned and unbearable to wear,” she protested, pouting slightly.
“...” Rasputina sighed and shook her head. “Fine, you let the tailor know your preferences later. I’m also thinking of buying a spare set for myself for the journey.”
“Hmm? Wait, Rasputina, you can buy your Saintess outfit from the tailor shop?”
“Of course, where else will I buy it from?”
“O-oh, I thought your robes was something unique to your denomination…”
As they were talking while rounding a corner in the hallway, they suddenly ran into Queen Cetheri.
“Oh?” Rasputina quickly assumed a dignified stance and bowed. “Your Majesty, a pleasant morning to you.”
Anastasia panicked slightly before mumbling, “Y-M-mother, m-morning…”
The Queen nodded at Anastasia before returning her alert gaze to the Saintess. “Holy Saintess, where are you and my daughter planning to go this early in the day?”
“Ah…” Rasputina managed a calm smile. “Your Majesty, Her Highness found none of her current clothing suitable, so we were about to request permission from His Majesty to place a custom order at a respected tailor’s shop in the capital.”
“Is that so?” Queen Cetheri narrowed her eyes for a moment, then sighed softly and nodded her head. “There’s no need to go through His Majesty in future, I henceforth grant you permission to go in and out of the palace during the day as many times as necessary.”
She blinked in surprise. “Y-your Majesty?”
“I won’t hold you up much longer, please have a safe trip.” With that, the Queen bowed her head slightly and walked down the hallway towards the King’s chambers.
Anastasia leaned in to whisper into her ear, “Rasputina, is it just me or is the Queen acting kinda strangely today?”
She hesitated before mumbling, “I don’t know, let’s just keep walking.”
The heavy oakwood closed shut behind Queen Cetheri with a reassuring thud.
King Cetheri, who was sitting at his desk, looked up from the file of documents in his hand to greet his Queen. “You’re here, Alexandrina. Please take a seat.” He gestured at the chair positioned across from him before returning his gaze back to his file.
“If I may.” Once she sat down and made herself comfortable, a maid by the side of the King’s desk skillfully poured her a cup of black tea with fresh milk and sugar. “Thank you, Istia.”
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“Have a drink first, then we’ll discuss,” King Cetheri said quietly; though she couldn’t read his face as his file blocked her view, Queen Cetheri could sense that he was troubled by what he was reading. She pushed that thought aside and elegantly picked up the porcelain teacup by its dainty handle before sipping at the warm tea. It was her favourite blend, and it was apparent that the King had specially ordered his servant to brew her tea fresh on the spot just before she arrived. However, as usual, she could not taste the fragrance of the tea in her mouth.
Placing the cup back on its saucer, Queen Cetheri wiped her mouth with a wet napkin and folded her hands on her lap. “What do you wish to discuss with me?”
King Cetheri paused for a brief moment before placing his file on the desk. “Are you aware of the situation at Constantinople now?”
“The Ottoski Federation’s capital?” she murmured, furrowing her eyebrows. “I heard that there were several internal conflicts following their defeat in the war along our eastern borders, but are those worthy of Your Majesty’s concern?”
The King shook his head and gestured at the file in front of him. “According to this report compiled by Grand Duke Arthur, the Imperial Dragoman was publicly beheaded yesterday for suspected disloyalty to the Federation.”
“Chief Dragoman Constantine was—?!” Queen Cetheri gasped in shock and covered her mouth with her hand. “Heavens, what is the Federation thinking??”
“You should already know that the Imperial Dragoman is our only diplomatic link between the Empire and the Federation,” King Cetheri said sullenly. “It’s still too early to jump to conclusions, but I agree with Arthur that this unsolicited move can very likely push us on the brink of another war with the Federation. If that happens before Anastasia can succeed the throne, we may not have sufficient time to—”
“Let’s focus on the most pressing issue first: what should we do about our eastern border regions?” she asked tersely, interrupting him mid-sentence. “Majority of the population there are Caliphanic-speaking, so we ought to take preventive measures lest there are more separatists emboldened by the Federation’s hostile act against the Empire.”
“I know.” The King shifted his gaze down to the Grand Duke’s report. “Extracting our people from the Federation takes precedence; I’ll request Prime Minister Averie to organise an emergency evacuation as soon as possible. I’ll also send instructions for Arthur to monitor the situation in our border regions as well as Constantinople closely and notify me of any changes immediately.”
Queen Cetheri nodded to indicate that she had no opposition towards the King’s arrangements. “That’s not all you wish to discuss with me, certainly.”
He smiled slightly, then turned to Istia. “Stand down, please.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.” With a graceful bow, the maid briskly walked out of the room, closing the door tightly shut before leaving the chambers.
Queen Cetheri took another sip of her tasteless tea while she waited for the maid’s footsteps to disappear. “Have your condition worsened over the past few days, Fredric?”
He instinctively touched the scaly patch of dry skin on his face with his hand before bringing his palm to his eye level. “No, I don’t think so...is that the same for you?”
She nodded, subconsciously rubbing her wrinkled hands together. “Anyway, has the Church sent their reply?”
King Cetheri only nodded his head in response; opening a drawer in his desk, he produced an envelope and handed it to her.
“This letter was received just a few hours ago,” he said after the Queen had read its contents and passed it back to him. “I have also sent my men to check the immigration records at all the empire’s ports, and none mentioned the arrival of the Saintess by ship in the past year.”
“So, now there is no doubt that Rasputina is lying about her identity.” She pursed her lips in thought. “I should have known from the start, she looks far too young for someone that should be in her forties. Any results from the investigation so far, by the way?”
“Nothing of note has turned up yet.” King Cetheri frowned slightly. “It seems like our Rasputina just…for lack of a better word, appeared out of nowhere to cure our daughter. No family or relatives, and the people she had visited thus far are unrelated to her on the surface. Though, my men are still investigating the background of her supposed acolyte Maria.”
“Interesting…” Queen Cetheri smiled. “Well, so long as she does no harm to Anastasia, I am content with keeping her around with us until our daughter is fit to ascend the throne.”
His frown deepened. “Alexandrina, everything about her is still too suspicious—”
She shook her head, shutting down the King’s protests. “For the sake of our daughter, we have to trust Rasputina, dear. Besides, if you really don’t trust the Holy Saintess, you wouldn’t have allowed Anastasia to go with her out of the palace so many times, not to mention the invitation to the Exposition Universelle.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust Rasputina—in fact, I still feel indebted to her—but I just can’t help but feel uneasy every time I see her…like there’s some secret that she is hiding behind her back.” King Cetheri paused, biting his lower lip. “And I haven’t mentioned this to you yet, but there’s a good reason why I want the Holy Saintess to go to the Exposition Universelle together with Anastasia.”
“The Ottoskis are also attending the Exposition, aren’t they?”
The corners of his mouth rose almost imperceptibly. “Since you are already aware of that, then you should know why I gave them the invitation.”
“You want to demonstrate that we have an alliance with the Königreich to deter the Federation.” The Queen drank her tea slowly, which suddenly tasted bitter in her mouth, before setting her teacup down. “Ridiculous, are you seriously willing to put our daughter in such risk?”
King Cetheri folded the envelope into half and placed it back into the drawer. “You don’t have to worry. I have taken measures on my own to ensure Anastasia’s safety.”