~Privilege~
Instead of walking out of the room, Hermes suddenly turned around when he and Mikeal reached the doors leading into the corridor.
Mikeal jumped back just in time to avoid colliding with the emperor. "Your Majesty?"
"I won't go to morning court today," he said with a frown and walked back to the bed. "Announce that I am sick."
"The ministers have been waiting for you," Mikeal followed close behind him, his hands gripped in front of his chest and his head bowed low. "And the maids already saw you, I am afraid the excuse will not hold sand."
"Can subjects comprehend the sickness of an emperor?" Hermes glanced at Mikeal with the side of his eye.
Mikeal raised his clasped hands above his head and bowed even lower. "Your Majesty is wise beyond your years. Your words will be recorded in the annals of history and forever preserved."
When he straightened up again, the subservient expression on his face was gone. "If you aren't playing emperor today, you won't need a personal servant."
"I'm not playing, I am the Emperor."
"Emperors go to court. Why aren't you?"
"Mother," Hermes sighed and flicked his braids back over his shoulder. "Since she is up to something. I cannot ignore it."
"Isn't that what you usually do?"
"This time is different."
"Because of the nun?"
"Because she closed the gates and undermined my authority in the process," Hermes said. "The ministers will want an explanation, one that I do not yet have."
"But you already knew that when we were about to leave," Mikeal laughed, amused. "Or. . . Did you experience a sudden ascent in understanding?"
"Her supporters will pull something soon, I'm simply buying myself time to think."
"You still think someone wants you off the throne," Mikeal shook his head, not convinced. "It has been years, Hermes. The court has stabilized."
"The court has not stabilized, Mikeal," Hermes placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "If it had I wouldn't need to marry to solidify my control over the vassal states. You said so yourself."
"Alright, I might have lied," Mikeal admitted with a sigh then tilted his head in the direction of the balcony as his hair caught in the wind. "You took their land, of course they won't serve you happily."
"Hence the reason why I am bending over backwards to please the officials who represent the people," Hermes clapped his hands together. "I and mother had fought against this for so long to ensure that my power would not be restricted by cunning ministers but in the end it is still the best avenue to consolidate my power."
"You could have just killed all those loyalists and appointed your men ministers instead," Mikeal pointed out. "I wouldn't have minded a title and you would have had peace of mind for the rest of your life."
"Yes," Hermes agreed. "But what of the people? They trust neither you nor me nor Magnus."
"Trust can be built over time."
"There is no time with new mutinies erupting by the day," Hermes clasped his hands behind his back and walked to the balcony. "If a handful of weddings can get a majority of the ministers on my side and placate the people, the sacrifice is nothing."
"Except," Mikeal blocked Hermes' path. "It is not simply a handful of weddings. What you have here is a hundred and twenty five women competing for your love in hopes of being Empress."
"I arranged the selection as fairly as I could," Hermes said. "All candidates have an equal chance at—"
"Others do not care for that. They would resort to any means if it meant that their candidate would be crowned."
"With the resulting scramble creating a divide amongst the ministers, they would no longer be united in their stance against me. In the end, I am the biggest beneficiary."
"And the women you are exploiting in the process?"
"They participate of their own will."
"Some didn't."
"You are oddly concerned about this," Hermes narrowed his eyes at Mikeal. "Are we still on about the nun?"
"The Empress Dowager clearly wants her life for no reason," Mikeal said. "She doesn't care for your fairness."
"That is why I am not going to court today. Mother has her candidates as well, in the eyes of the world it would be unfilial of me to oppose her."
"You are not only a son."
"I have been Emperor for long enough, Mikeal. I know that better than anyone." Hermes frowned. "As long as I sit on this throne, no one will treat me with sincerity. Not even my mother."
"Then. . . are you going to save her?"
The two men stared at each other, the question heavy in the air. It had been the elephant in the room and now it had to be addressed. Was it the right thing to let an innocent die for the sake of his mother's ambitions?
Hermes let out a breath and swiped his braids away from his face. "You know that this isn't as simple as you are making it sound."
"Please Hermes."
"Do you fancy her?"
"If I say yes, will you rescue her?"
"No," Hermes shook his head. "You were there yesterday. When mother is is determined to take a life, there is little I can do to dissuade her."
"Even when she is undermining your authority in the process?" Mikeal asked and crossed his arms. "Take a break from your important duties and look into this. Something strange happened that day, I saw it myself."
"Mikeal, you are dismissed," Hermes shot him a blank look.
"You must be joking."
"I no longer need a personal servant."
"It has only been three days," Mikeal said with a frown. "Have my opinions upset you that much? If so, I apologize."
"I want my knight back," Hermes said, the command in his voice obvious. "Inform my ministers that I will not be attending court and gather the rest of you here."
Mikeal bowed to hide the grin growing on his lips. "Right away, Your Majesty."
Hermes laughed. "Now who's eager to quit being a servant?"
"It is too scary, Your Majesty. I really felt like I might lose my head at any moment."
~
"Your Majesty!" Faeradaigh waddled into the room while dabbing the corners of his eyes with a soaked handkerchief. "It has been so long since I have been graced with your presence."
Hermes regarded him with a knowing smile and halted the eunuch's with an outstretched arm. "Done taking bribes from my mother, Dai?"
"I-I was just performing my duty, Your Majesty!" Faeradaigh's tears flowed liked a river, his damp curls clinging to his cheeks. "I have been wronged."
"Fine," Hermes pulled his hand away from the man's chest. "You are still as piggish as ever."
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Faeradaigh bent his waist as far as it would go.
Hermes turned away from the sight and fixed his gaze on the person who had just walked in. "Magnus. How nice it is to see you again."
Magnus placed a hand on his chest and bowed. "Forgive me for my previous impudence, if you will."
"It is forgotten," Hermes assured him with a smile. "At this moment I need your counsel more than ever."
"I really appreciate the changes you made to the palace since your coronation, Hermes," a voice mused from beside the emperor.
Hermes took a small step back then turned to his side, his smile wide. "Eugene, I didn't see you arrive."
Eugene clasped hands with Hermes then got on one knee.
"I came in with maids," he said, then chortled, amused by his own words.
"You snuck into my room."
"Anything to see Mikeal act like a servant."
At the word servant, both Faeradaigh and Magnus turned their gazes to the knight.
"I knew that servant that appeared out of nowhere looked familiar," the eunuch stuck out his finger in an accusatory manner.
Magnus only bowed in greeting and said nothing.
Eugene rose to his feet and broke away from Hermes to pounce on the advisor. He slung one arm across the man's shoulders and pulled him close.
"You thought you could hide from me forever," he said, the green of his eyes nearly sparkling.
Magnus didn't spare him a glance. "Your Majesty, why did you summon us?"
"Mikeal wants me to save the nun."
"Which nun?"
"Don't play the fool, Magnus. You're too smart for such things."
"Even smart people make mistakes."
Petty. Hermes leaned against the railing of the balcony and ignored the jab. "I take it that the ministers didn't react too well to my absence."
"Your assumption is correct," Magnus said while attempting to pry Eugene off him. "I have several missives that require your attention."
"The project in the rainforest?"
"The nun," Magnus answered. "Some ministers are in support of the Empress Dowager and wish to have her killed without a trail as a warning to the other candidates."
"And what do you think?"
"You are the ruler of this empire, not the Empress Dowager."
"Right," Hermes agreed. "And you have agendas involving the nun."
"Dai," he continued. "You spent the longest time with her. What is your opinion?"
"There was something strange about the last bride," Faeradaigh said, "I didn't have the chance to report it to you."
"What is it?"
"When I went to pick her up, she was quite the shy thing, as expected of a nun I suppose," Faeradaigh passed his tongue over his lips as he explained.
"Lecherous swine," Magnus scowled.
Hermes laughed a bit at that. A single word from Faeradaigh was enough to make Magnus erupt. The man's cool and composed demeanor was shed the moment the eunuch opened his mouth.
"T-That is not what I mean," Faeradaigh tripped over his words. "Your Majesty, I would never touch any of your women."
"Save it Faeradaigh, I know," Hermes dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand. "Continue."
"Yes, so the nun was shy and timid. Then I gave her a gown to change into and it was as though she was a different person."
"You mean more confident?" Mikeal asked with a brow raised.
"Not that." Faeradaigh shook his head, trying his best to put what he had seen in words. "I have seen many women act. This wasn't it. Her aura changed, I swear it."
"Or you were drunk and imagined things," Magnus commented.
"Alright, I was a little drunk but that was just because the priest kept on serving me wine and I couldn't refuse such hospitality," Faeradaigh said. "And isn't that strange? That a holy place has so much wine?"
"It is strange," Eugene nodded, his fingers tangled in Magnus' ponytail. "Ceremonial wine is an offering to the gods. A priest normally wouldn't bring it out for a mere man."
"Customarily it is served to Deádims and Kings at holy festivals, a priest has to know that much," Magnus added and shot Eugene a look of annoyance
"Yes," Faeradaigh bobbed his head, making his curls fly around haphazardly. "And that is not even the strangest thing."
"There is more?" Eugene asked, his emerald eyes nearly glowing. It was as though the words had somehow prolonged his life.
"After realizing that I had gotten drunk to the point where I had forgotten her name, I tried searching for it in our registries but I found nothing. In the end, I could only put her down as the Lady of Inqa."
"So she doesn't exist?" Mikeal asked, his brows furrowed.
Faeradaigh nodded gravely. "I asked the locals by the chapel. Everyone knew who I spoke of but no one knew her name."
Mikeal and Magnus, wearing identical smiles, shared a glance.
"Things have gotten more interesting in this drab selection," Magnus commented, his smile mysterious.
"Her name is a privilege that even the emperor has not yet enjoyed, why would she give it out so easily?" Mikeal chuckled. "It seems like the first person who learns her name is proven to be better than the emperor."
Hermes narrowed his eyes slightly at those words. "She said that?"
"More or less."
He turned his gaze to the ocean, a smirk on lips. "Very interesting indeed."
~