Chapter 7. You're so crazy you want to die
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"Is Ihedia any better?"
"Under the care of Your Majesty the benevolent Queen, she's better in no time. Now that she's had enough rest, she'll get up and help with the chores. I'm sure the nasty little thing is making a big fuss."
Charlotte, a maid of the North Palace, sat in the Queen's Court, reporting the situation to her true master.
Charlotte tilted the tea pot and the steaming water dripped with a clear sound.
She fanned it lightly over the teacup before handing it to the Queen, as it was still too hot.
"Such an insult for a noble and good woman to suffer from a beast. What shall we do with poor Ihedia?"
Lena's eyes and mouth were thin, at odds with her voice, which seemed to be full of burdensome depths.
"By the way, it is great that Commander-in-Chief Bayate was so angry at the sight of the Princess. What do you think will win his favor now, Your Majesty?"
"Well. Only time will tell if Kayan Bayate truly does not desire the Princess."
"What?"
Charlotte tilted her head, not sure she understood what Queen Lena was saying.
Of course he didn't like the Princess, which explained the incident.
Lena had seen his aide traveling the court for days, asking courtiers about Ihedia's condition.
It didn't seem like the behavior of a man who would throw her out of his sight.
Lena closed her eyes and breathed deeply of the fragrant tea.
She let her mind wander for a moment, mulling over what the truth of that night might be.
Had Kayan felt remorse for what he had done, or had Ihedia, never one to spare herself, jumped to her death to save herself?
Either way, it couldn’t hurt.
What matters was that the great Kayan Bayate had a soft spot for Ihedia.
Lena wondered what she could do to revive the nation's fortunes, which were dwindling in the shadow of the beast.
There was no better way to deal with an old-fashioned but still beastly man than through beauty.
Like Patrick, an idiot who could never escape her clutches.
What's more, at this point, nothing Elmir could do would stop Anut's rampage.
The good news was that the Emperor of Anut had only just ascended to the throne, and he had a policy of appeasement toward weaker nations.
In honor of his father's wishes.
The late Emperor Raquil was a legendary figure to them, one they would never see again, and that gave many warriors a reason to support Hashad.
Of course, it was nothing more than extortion under the guise of a treaty, but at least it meant she wouldn't be dethroned as a Queen.
The problem was Kayan Bayate.
‘If only I could get him to do my bidding.’
He went on to post a staggering win-loss record over the years and was even hailed as the next Raquil.
The warriors followed him blindly, even surpassing Hashad.
The idea of stopping all warfare and seeking only reconciliation did not sit well with Kayan Bayate.
But the dead could not defeat the living.
For now, all of Anut shudders to honor Raquil’s memory, but eventually Kayan Bayate's time would come.
Perhaps Ihedia could distract the Bayate commander from his hostility to Elmir.
If her hunch was correct.
Lena racked her brain for a way to reintroduce Ihedia to Kayan.
‘Perhaps a dinner party would be appropriate.’
She paused with her teacup to her lips, trying to imagine the two of them reunited by chance.
‘She's got the innocent look in her eyes, but she's got a knack for picking a man's brain.’
It would be as miserable as it was now for a noble lady to be reduced to the status of maid, and to have to serve a lowly barbarian.
Though it would be a bit of a shame to have to put her aside for a while and lose the little fun of rolling her around like a toy.
A small smile spread across Lena's lips at the thought of Ihedia's life as a beacon to the winds, wherever she may be.
Refilling the Queen's teacup, which had been emptied in the meantime, Charlotte said.
"I'm afraid that keeping a woman he doesn’t like enough to drop from a great height is only going to make him angrier."
“If it’s just hate, it’s affection.”
Charlotte shot her a questioning glance, still unable to agree with her master's wishes, but Lena merely sipped her tea in a languid motion.
Lena wondered again how she could get to the bottom of Kayan's mind.
Just then, Patrick appeared in the distance.
Lena put down her teacup in a panic and hurried over to her husband.
"What brings you here at this hour, Your Majesty?"
"I have come to see my lovely lady, as soon as I could spare a moment."
Lena smiled brightly at that.
Then she threw her arms around Patrick like a child, oblivious to the stares.
"I was just finishing up my conversation with Charlotte. Welcome, Your Majesty, please have a seat."
Charlotte, who had come to stand by King Patrick's side, smiled bashfully at him.
"Your Majesty, how have you been?"
"Oh, Charlotte, you're getting prettier by the minute."
"Are you making fun of me? I'm a little embarrassed to hear that, especially with the beautiful Queen right next to me."
Lena stiffened a little at the seemingly friendly conversation between the two.
"Charlotte, His Majesty is here, so you'd better get going."
At the Queen's command, Charlotte bowed and left the room.
At that moment, Lena spotted Patrick following Charlotte's retreating back with an intense gaze.
She faked a light, cheerful voice and asked him.
"Your Majesty, you seem to be quite friendly with Charlotte. As a maid of the North Palace, I would have thought you would have had little contact with her."
"I've met her a few times on walks and spoken briefly with her, and unlike the stiff Lord Gordon, she's quite the lady."
"Ah, I see."
"I'm afraid it's hard to be Ihedia's maid in a deserted Northern palace, and for the sake of Lord Gordon's dignity, I think she'd be better off as the Queen’s maid."
He didn't look at his wife, whose complexion had darkened strangely, and his tone was as if he were glancing away from something sensitive.
Lena changed the subject, flashing a bright smile that caught Patrick off guard.
"By the way, thankfully, Ihedia's healing seems to be faster than we thought, so speaking of which, why don't we throw a dinner party and invite Lord Bayate to join us, along with Ihedia, of course."
"Ihedia?"
Patrick arched an eyebrow, as if he didn't like the idea.
He didn't want to show her again and creat a fuss unnecessarily.
Lena took Patrick's hand in both of hers and brought it to her cheek.
"I don't think we should read too much into this."
"But......."
"When did I ever post a petition to the king to become one?"
Patrick couldn't say anything in response to Lena's sharp voice.
He had risen to this position with ease, thanks to the queen, who was always one step ahead of him.
As usual, a foolish man could not refuse a shrewd woman's request.
"I will do as you wish, my queen."
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"I heard she entered Kayan Bayate's bedroom and was driven out."
"She was lucky she was just thrown out, because that savage threw the Princess out of a window!"
"Ugh, it's awful to think of, and I'm sure she won't be able to walk properly for a while after falling from that height."
Word spread through the palace that the princess had entered Kayan Bayate's bedroom and been thrown out the window.
Because of this, Elmir’s courtiers would go white in the face and shake in their boots whenever they made eye contact with Kayan.
Doa, who had returned to the palace today feeling the chaotic atmosphere firsthand, clicked his tongue at Kayan.
"Tsk, tsk, now you're even throwing women out of the window? I thought you were different from those nasty Anut warriors, and I'm honestly disappointed."
Even with the title of Wolf Warrior, Doa was a pacifist who was extremely reluctant to kill or engage in violence or verbal abuse.
He sent Kayan a glare that held a faint hint of contempt.
"I didn’t.”
"You're the one who says you'll cut them in half or ten on the battlefield, but you're here to do what you call 'diplomacy,' and you can't even control your temper......."
"I didn’t.”
Kayan growled through clenched teeth.
Ever since then, every time Doa complained, Kayan had repeated the word no.
But Doa didn't always believe him.
He knew all too well how brutal a warrior his superior could be on the battlefield, and it was, to put it mildly, merciful of him to throw the offending human out the window instead of tearing her to pieces.
Still, he's never been that unkind to women before, so why did he do it this time?
"So you're saying she jumped to her death?"
"And you'd believe me if I said so?"
"No."
Kayan now felt a surge of irritation and frustration at the mere thought of Ihedia.
She was insane, but she was solidly insane.
If she hadn't died, she would have crushed her bones.
She really wanted to die.
"So how's she doing now?" (Kayan)
"How many times do you have to ask, and why would you want to know that when you're the one who made it happen, ouch!" (Doa)
Kayan grabbed his young subordinate by the scruff of his neck and let out an ugly snarl.
Then Doa, who had been whimpering fearlessly, shifted his stance.
"The word from the courtiers is that she's recovering faster than people thought, thanks to the visits of Elmir’s talented healers."
"Really?"
"Well, Elmir’s got a pretty good healer, and given how quiet King Patrick has been so far, I don't think he's going to make an issue of it. Well, not that he's in any position to now."
At any rate, it meant that her life wasn't in danger, and her injuries were getting better.
The Queen's behavior was strange in more ways than one.
The image of Ihedia's serene green eyes before she fell out the window that day suddenly flashed through Kayan's mind.
What an unpleasant woman.
There was a soft knock at the door.
Doa opened the door and there stood an attendant of the Queen's court.
The attendant bowed briefly to Kayan and told him the purpose of her visit.
"Her Majesty has prepared a banquet for Lord Bayate."
Such formalities annoyed Kayan.
He opened his mouth to decline, but the attendant spoke quickly, as if she had already anticipated it.
"Princess Ihedia will also be attending."
Then, as if drawn by something, Kayan blurted out an answer that was the opposite of what he had thought a moment ago.
“…Okay."
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