Entering the Palace for an Audience

"Your Highness, Duke Kenness Irlingstar requests an audience."

The dignified woman's voice behind the gold-and-red gauze curtain had not finished speaking when an attendant hurried in, knelt on one knee, and announced the duke's arrival.

"Show him in," the voice behind the curtain said evenly.

Duke Kenness Irlingstar strode into Duar Hall. His purple-and-gold ducal robes shone brilliantly in the afternoon light streaming through the glazed windows. He approached the Princess Regent and gave a slight bow, and an attendant immediately brought him a chair.

As a duke who held his own lands, Carthness ranked almost equal to the Princess Regent. As long as Cormyr's throne remained vacant, he owed no one a bow.

Duke Irlingstar bowed to the Princess Regent only out of respect for an old comrade. Alusair had fought beside Azoun IV for nearly ten years, starting in her teens, and had won countless honors. Otherwise, she could never have secured the support of the Purple Dragons and War Wizard Corps so smoothly after Azoun IV died in battle and become regent of the kingdom.

"Carthness, you've come so close to dusk. It must be important?" The Iron Princess's voice carried its usual authority.

"Yes, Your Highness. Your faithful servant has good news for you!" Duke Kenness glanced at the captain of the Queen's Blade. Putting excitement into his voice, he reported that Aaron Salian had awakened Extraordinary Charisma and become a Sorcerer.

His "good news" met with silence behind the gauze curtain.

The duke went on at length, then emphasized excitedly, "The boy is one of our own, a Cormyrian. We must nurture him properly. Your Highness, if you don't mind, how about I find a renowned teacher for him?"

"Carthness, you were indeed the late king's closest friend. I can see your devotion to the kingdom in this matter. But I have someone more suitable to teach Salian spellcasting, so you needn't trouble yourself over it." The pleasure in the voice behind the curtain had noticeably faded.

"But... of course. Since Your Highness has already decided, I can only support your decision." Carthness nodded to himself.

That was enough. He had already been the one to recommend Aaron. An Apprentice-level Sorcerer hardly warranted anything more formal.

A soft "Mm" came from behind the curtain. The scratching of a pen across parchment grew noticeably heavier.

The princess and the duke's conversation was interrupted again.

"Your Highness, something's happened! Sir Sharp smashed the statue of the late king that the craftsmen just finished!" A member of the Queen's Blade hurried into the hall.

"What?" The figure behind the curtain rose this time. Everyone in the hall could feel her anger.

The Queen's Blade quickly recounted what had happened in the Royal Library.

The Princess Regent responded at once. She took a fresh sheet of parchment, wrote a few swift strokes, then tossed it to the floor.

Edict: Purple Dragon recruit Sir Sharp shall be beheaded and displayed publicly for flouting the law and deliberately destroying the statue of the late king in the Royal Library.

Even Duke Kenness, seated nearby, was secretly shocked by the severity of the punishment.

So this is the Iron Princess!

"Your Highness, isn't that punishment too severe?" Carthness immediately spoke up for Sharp. "Didn't the report say young Aaron might have used an illusion or enchantment spell to make Sharp lose control? Isn't beheading him for that excessive?"

"Did he not know what kind of place the Royal Library is?" the Princess Regent asked from behind the curtain. "The retired War Wizard at the front desk has testified that Sharp started the trouble. If he dared cause trouble in the Royal Library, he should have been prepared for the headsman's block!"

"Still, Salian returned from a failed mission and immediately caused an incident like this. It reflects badly on him." The Princess Regent was plainly in a foul mood. After a moment's thought, she ordered, "Awakening Extraordinary Charisma is no excuse to use magic however he pleases! Pass down my edict: Aaron Salian will forfeit half a year's pay and spend five months confined at home in reflection!"

"Yes." The Queen's Blade accepted the order.

She's establishing her authority, Carthness thought from his seat.

It was a common tactic in the army. If you wanted to develop someone, you first suppressed, humiliated, and tormented him, crushed his self-respect, and wore down his sharp edges. Only then did you train him and put him to use.

But that approach doesn't always work, Your Highness.

All the better. The way she's handling this will make my recommendation look valuable.

Before the Queen's Blade could leave, a third piece of news reached the Royal Court.

Aaron Salian had been attacked by an assassin—in the Upper City!

"What?" This time, the Princess Regent could no longer control her emotions.

Right under her nose, barely three kilometers from the Royal Palace, someone had tried to assassinate Aaron Salian?

The messenger gave a detailed account. When he said Aaron had suffered only minor injuries and that the passing Paladin Sir Reynard had slain the monster, even the palace maids in the distance could sense the Princess Regent's relief.

"Investigate. Investigate at once! Who did this? Who dared attack Manuel's son so close to the Suzail Royal Palace? Hendry, notify Yuri! The Queen's Blade must find whoever was behind this!"

"At once!" Hendry accepted the order, then asked cautiously, "And... the punishment for Viscount Salian?"

"...Set it aside for now. And since he's safe, the original plan remains unchanged."

"Summon Viscount Salian to Duar Hall for an audience two mornings from now!"

"At once!"

That evening, Lothair returned to the Sallyan Residence in high spirits, his full belly swaying as he walked. A whole rack of pork ribs rested on his shoulder, a wrapped beef tenderloin hung from his back, and he carried half a dozen bottles of Tethyrian red wine, with a bottle of Waterdeep rum tucked under his arm.

Aaron's uncle-in-law let out a wine-scented burp. His Grace the duke is such a good man! Not only had the duke treated him to a feast, he had also left Sir Goodman to keep him company. The knight had been especially warm and had told him to ask for anything he wanted.

What a good man!

After some thought, Lothair had tried asking for a bottle of Tethyrian red wine. He had wanted to try it for ages, but imported wine from Tethyr was expensive—a full ten Golden Lions per bottle!

Goodman had visibly paused at the request. His expression all but said, Are you serious?

Once Lothair confirmed it, the knight had laughed and said it was no trouble at all. He sent an attendant to the market for half a dozen bottles of Tethyrian red, then gave Lothair the day's leftover ingredients and the unfinished wine on the table as well.

I made out like a bandit!

Lothair was feeling rather pleased with himself. But when he reached his front door, he hesitated.

How was he going to explain where all this had come from to Mellie?

Passersby watched in bewilderment as a middle-aged man stood beside the road, loaded with food and with wine set on the ground, delivering a speech to a tree.

"Mellie, Mellie, listen to me. I have a good friend—the one I told you about, John. He's back in Suzail and brought me wine from Tethyr. We just had a meal together... Damn it, no. John isn't that rich. Even if he really went to Tethyr, these bottles would cost everything he earned on the trip."

"Oh, my dear Mellie, something wonderful happened today. Her Highness the princess came to the Stables to inspect the horses, and because I'd kept them looking so fine, she rewarded me... No, that won't work either."

Hands on his hips, Lothair faced the tree and reconsidered. Mellie could expose a story about a reward from the princess with a single question. Besides, their Iron Princess was hardly known for handing out extravagant rewards.

"What? Oh, the wine? That's right, Sir So-and-so left it in my care... No, then I wouldn't get to drink it!"

"Someone came from my hometown? No, no. A prize draw on the street? No, I'd get scolded for wasting money!"

How did I end up with wine I can't drink?

I can't exactly bury it under the tree, can I?

Lothair stood outside his home for nearly half an hour, giving speech after speech to the tree while passersby stared at him strangely. At last, Aaron spotted him from the second-floor study window.

What's Uncle doing? Rehearsing a play?

The viscount went downstairs, and Lothair hurriedly told him what had happened.

Duke Kenness Irlingstar?

The landed duke whom the late King Azoun IV had called his "friend"?

Why was he in Suzail instead of on his own lands?

Aaron considered how this unexpected development might change things.

Lothair had not carried out his task particularly well, but the duke's appearance had also brought a useful element to Aaron's plan.

Competition drove improvement. Competition spurred progress.

Perhaps this was not bad for him after all.

He did, however, need to rehearse what he would say at his audience with the princess. The regent was no warm, merciful ruler. She had not earned the nickname Iron Princess for nothing.

Aaron spent the next day shut in his study, poring over Alusair's recent decrees and trying to anticipate her questions and how he should answer them.

On the third day, it was time for Aaron's audience with the princess.

Aaron rose before five that morning. With help from his aunt and uncle, he put on his viscount's formal attire, groomed himself, and even applied a little makeup. Once every detail was immaculate, Viscount Salian carefully straightened the fur behind his coronet and the silver band upon it, then rode to the Royal Palace gates to wait.

As he looked at the majestic Suzail Royal Palace rising beside the Dragonmere and the long, deep passage beyond its gates, Aaron's heart began to pound beyond his control.

Before him stood everything this country, this people, and this civilization had built over a thousand years: the glory of the Obarskyr legacy and the symbol of Cormyr's endurance through countless turbulent ages.

Aaron had visited the Royal Palace before, but only as a dependent following his elders to the annual Suzail assembly.

For a moment, he felt as though he had returned to childhood. Once again, he followed his father and mother through the dense crowd and squeezed through the Royal Palace gates. Great nobles chatted in the inner court about the year's harvests and victories. Outside, the knights held sway, while lesser nobles gazed toward the inner court with ambition and longing in their eyes.

The instant his boot touched the threshold of the Royal Palace gate, the vision vanished. There was only Aaron, the guards ahead, and the Queen's Blade guiding him forward. Nothing else remained.

That's right. I'm the last Salian.

His heartbeat rang clear in his ears. Viscount Salian walked on with faltering resolve, passing grand building after grand building and checkpoint after checkpoint as he made his way into the heart of the kingdom.

"Boy, is that you?" A voice beside him broke into Aaron's thoughts.

It was Duke Kenness Irlingstar!

"Your Grace!" Aaron hastily dropped to one knee before Duke Kenness. "It's an honor to see you here!"

The hierarchy among nobles was complicated. It involved titles, official posts, and feudal bonds; a noble of lower rank did not automatically have to bow to one of higher rank. A duke with no office who spent his days at home playing with his birds, for example, could hardly expect a baron who served as a royal minister and enjoyed the monarch's favor to bow to him.

Feudal bonds worked much the same way. Where neither party was subordinate to the other, whether the lower-ranking noble bowed came down to their personal relationship.

Duke Kenness was a landed duke, commander of the kingdom's eastern forces, and Aaron's elder.

"Come now, get up. After all these years, I never expected you to have grown so much." Duke Kenness accepted Aaron's greeting and personally helped him to his feet. "What were you staring at? I called you twice before you heard me."

"Forgive me, Your Grace. This is my first time entering the Royal Palace alone." Carthness had seen Aaron's dazed expression, leaving him somewhat embarrassed.

"That's perfectly normal. Who isn't like that on their first visit?" Carthness patted Aaron's shoulder understandingly. His Grace seemed remarkably kind. "You should know I personally recommended you to Her Highness the princess, for the sake of your future!"

"I'm deeply grateful!" Aaron felt a stir of surprise. Duke Kenness personally recommended me to the princess?

If so, His Grace seems fair-minded and devoted to the kingdom. He might be worth befriending.

"You're in luck. I'll take you in." Carthness motioned for Aaron to stay close as he walked. "You're only a Purple Dragon recruit, not a full Purple Dragon Knight, and you haven't received the title of Inner Court Knight. Wander around the Royal Palace on your own and you could be arrested."

"I've already made arrangements with the attendants and maids for today's audience, so don't worry. Just answer her questions properly. But remember: some things can be said, and some cannot. You'll have to judge where that line lies for yourself."

He might prove useful someday.

After a moment's thought, the duke decided to offer him a small favor. Just a little; too much generosity would cheapen it.

"Yes." Aaron had faced life and death since arriving in this world, yet at that moment he felt almost as if he were sleepwalking. His steps seemed unsteady even on the solid stone floor. By the time he heard the Queen's Blade go in to announce him, cold sweat had dampened Viscount Salian's palms and back.

As the Child of Chaos, he should not have felt this way.

But after more than a decade beneath the shadow of losing his title, and with the Princess Regent's autocratic, cold, even brutal reputation weighing on him, Aaron could not be completely confident.

He was not one of those protagonists in the webnovels he remembered, armed with foreknowledge and a perfect understanding of everyone around him, able to keep everything under his control.

I still have a lot to learn.

"Enter." The dignified woman's voice came from within the hall.

Aaron strode into Duar Hall. Following the etiquette he had rehearsed many times, he kept his head lowered, took six steps forward, removed his viscount's coronet and placed it beside him, then knelt on one knee.

"Your Highness Alusair Obarskyr, noble Princess Regent, your loyal and humble servant greets you. In the name of the Lady of Silver, may you enjoy good health!"

"And may you as well... The Last Salian. Raise your head. Let me look at you," the dignified voice said.

Aaron slowly raised his head, keeping his expression under control.

Beyond the hazy gold-and-red gauze curtain, an elegant, mature woman sat upon the throne.

She wore the full formal gown of a princess of the Obarskyr Royal House. Classic black suede stilettos with red soles lent her an elegant air, while the high slit in her floor-length gown revealed long legs clad in black stockings. Even through the curtain, he could make out the stockings' soft sheen and fine texture.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness."

An update—the second one today!

Let's celebrate EDG's rampage today—just kidding.

Restoring EDG's glory is our duty!