A Beast's Tale

Chapter 32

At eight o’clock on the dot, Ivetta was back in my room with her usual morning greeting. It took me a moment to realize that her voice was real. She had filled my dreams during the four or five hours of sleep I’d gotten, and I was still exhausted, but the prospect of seeing the real thing was enough to drag me to consciousness.

“How can you possibly be so cheerful with so little sleep?” I grumbled, half tempted to grab her and pull her into bed with me. Not that I’d get any more sleep if I did.

“You’re just not a morning person, Prince Chevalier. The other princes are already having breakfast. Shouldn’t you join them?”

I pushed the blankets back and yawned, stretching. “How much?” I asked.

“An hour, maybe two,” she answered as she pulled my clothes out of the bureau.

I sat up and stared at her, stunned. An hour of sleep? When she was already perpetually exhausted? I’d checked the clock after she left and calculated she’d get three or four hours, depending on what she had to do for her mother. Either I’d seriously underestimated the level of care she was providing, or she had to catch up on a lot that was missed from her extended absence the day before. Or both.

“But there’s plenty of coffee courtesy of Benitoite, and I’ll get off work on time tonight, and I’ll be much more rested tomorrow morning,” she continued. She turned to put the clothes on the bench and met my eyes. “So you don’t need to worry about me, your highness.”

“You’re pushing yourself too hard,” I said, standing up and walking over to her. The thought of taking her back to bed with me was more and more tempting. For her own good, of course.

“It’s not forever, your highness.”

I ignored the clothes and stopped in front of her. She’d never said anything like that before. She knew her mother was dying, but she steadfastly refused to talk about it. That simple statement brought home how poor her mother’s health had become.

“How is she?”

She sighed and looked away, but not before I saw the pain in her green eyes. “Not great. But there were no problems yesterday while I was gone.”

I sighed, too, and poked her in the forehead to make her look back up at me. “How long do you need me to keep them occupied?”

She was a lot easier to read when she was this tired. Her relief at the topic change was plainly evident. “Allowing for extra time in case somebody made a big mess, two hours should do it.”

“Start in Gilbert’s room. I’ll make sure he doesn't bother you. Go straight to my library when you’re done, and stay there. Do you understand?”

She nodded. “Will I be allowed to leave for lunch, Prince Chevalier? Or are you planning on sliding that under the door?” she asked teasingly, managing a small smile.

I smirked. “We’ll see.”

She was so tired. I could see it in her eyes, in her posture, in the words she normally chose so carefully, in the tone she usually regulated so well. There was no way she’d be able to handle my brothers in this state, let alone the foreign princes. I didn’t take too long to get ready, and then I left the bathroom and headed for the door.

“I’ll stop by the library if I can,” I said, and then I left.

Just to check in on her, I reminded myself. I could manage to hold back until after the gala.

The round table was not full this morning, although the room was loud from all the varied conversations. I took my seat, annoyed by the empty chairs. Silvio, Jin, and Nokto were missing. Hopefully, Silvio would wake up and join the rest of us before she got to his room. The last thing she needed was that little brat talking down to her. Although, tired as she was, she would probably snap right back at him. That would be amusing.

“Good morning, Chevalier,” Gilbert greeted me with his usual smile. “You got my message.”

He’d chosen the seat to my right, which was normally occupied by Clavis. I wondered if Jin and Nokto were purposefully avoiding me. Clavis certainly was, although he was brave enough to come to breakfast, albeit with several seats between us.

“I did,” I said coolly, filling up my plate.

“I hope she didn’t keep you up too late,” he said quietly, so nobody else could hear.

“Then you’ll be glad to hear that I dismissed her after she delivered your message.”

“I am glad. She and I had a little chat last night, and she seemed a bit stressed. Maybe she was just tired.”

“Don’t do that again,” I growled.

“Do what again?” he asked innocently.

“Let us in on the conversation,” Leon interrupted loudly from across the table.

“I was merely explaining some of the intricacies of Rhodolite etiquette to Gilbert,” I said in my usual frosty tone.

“It’s much more complicated here than in Obsidian,” Gilbert said cheerfully. “In Obsidian, I want something, I get it.”

“That can still be how it works here,” Clavis interjected, clearly unaware we were discussing Ivetta. “With a little trickery behind the scenes.”

I shot Clavis a glare, and he winced and dropped his gaze to his plate. The sight gave me a small satisfaction. I was looking forward to the prospect of upbraiding him later, with Jin and Nokto, too, if possible. The image of the three of them cowering in the face of my wrath held great appeal.

“Rhodolite is a kingdom of refinement and peace,” Yves interjected coolly. “We value the wellbeing of others very highly.”

I smirked to myself. Yves hadn’t necessarily been avoiding Gilbert at the ball, but he hadn’t made any attempts to initiate interaction with Gilbert, either. Now, after a successful evening of establishing his right to be fully involved in events as a prince of Rhodolite, he was taking the offensive.

It was almost too bad I’d have to discipline him later regarding his failure to keep Ivetta away from Gilbert last night.

“So I’ve noticed, dear cousin,” Gilbert said smoothly, ignoring the stiff glares his words brought from all the princes of Rhodolite gathered. “You have been lucky to be raised in such hospitable conditions. Perhaps you’ll be so kind as to show me around your beautiful country, and I can return the favor at a later date.”

“Of course,” Yves replied with perfect poise. “And perhaps you can explain to me why Obsidian has chosen now of all times to remember my existence.”

Gilbert shrugged. “The Emperor’s reasons are his own, but I can assure you that you’ve always been top of my mind, dear cousin.”

Leon snorted, trying to restrain his laughter, and then started choking on a piece of food. Luke slapped him hard on the back.

“Hey, don’t die on me,” Luke joked, grinning at Leon’s red face and watery eyes.

“Shut up,” Leon choked, coughing a few times.

“Something wrong?” Gilbert asked innocently.

“No. This is how Leon always reacts when long-lost relatives from enemy countries start schmoozing up to Yves,” Licht said sarcastically.

Leon’s coughing turned into full-blown laughter, and that was when Nokto arrived, looking like he’d just rolled out of bed. Which he probably had.

“You couldn’t try to make yourself presentable?” Yves chided.

Nokto shrugged. “I had a late night. What did I miss?”

“Leon’s trying to choke to death, Gilbert’s trying to buddy up to Yves, and Chev’s trying not to kill Gilbert,” Clavis said, all subtlety thrown to the wind. “Did I miss anything?”

“Nope, I think that covers it,” Luke confirmed with a broad grin.

“Are you all still drunk?” Yves snapped, fuming at the blatant disregard of propriety around the table.

Nokto chuckled. “Speaking of which, Silvio has the good fortune to have a hangover.”

“Why is that a good fortune?” Keith ventured, speaking for the first time this morning.

“Well, I just passed Ivetta in the hall, bringing him Jin’s favorite remedy.”

“Oh?” Gilbert asked curiously.

“It’s just tea with some extra stuff added. Jin swears by it,” Leon explained, fully recovered from his coughing fit. “I bet he’s laid up with a hangover, too. He was hitting the sauce pretty hard last night.”

“So were you,” Clavis commented. “I don’t know why either of you bother trying to keep up with Yves.”

Leon laughed again. “Yeah, Yves can really hold his liquor. I could go for some of that tea right now, too. Be right back.” He stood up and left the room.

Yves shrugged. “At least I know my limits. It’s disgraceful for Jin to miss this breakfast because of a hangover.”

“It’s not like Jin needs to be here for the official business afterwards. Leon and Chev can handle that,” Clavis said.

“He does need to be here, and so does Silvio,” I replied irritably. Ivetta didn’t need any extra work today, like babysitting princes with hangovers.

“Think Ivetta will bring him some tea, too?” Luke asked mischievously.

“She isn’t his maid,” I said coolly. “And he can send whatever trollop he bedded to do that chore.”

“Ouch,” Nokto winced. “Not sure I’d call that duchess a trollop. She’s usually pretty discerning.”

“Meaning it’s not a normal occurrence for her to fall into bed with an old pervert like Jin?” Luke joked.

Nokto shrugged, grinning slyly. “You’re just upset she didn’t leave with you. I saw the way you were eyeing her.”

Leon returned with a cup of tea. “Speaking of eyefuls, you left with quite the little dish yourself. What was she, a baroness?”

“Ah, yes, and quite an ambitious lady,” Nokto said, glancing over at me. “She’s looking to climb up the social ladder. Too bad she’s not my type.”

Meaning she was an enjoyable pastime, in addition to a useful source of information. She was Baron Flandre’s sister.

“Did you see that Benitoite princess?” Clavis asked, also glancing at me with a sly grin. “Silvio’s cousin, a female version of him. I can’t imagine Chev accepting that proposal.”

Leon laughed again. “That’s your most recent proposal, Chevalier? Wow. She’s pretty, but I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. Not with that mouth.”

“She’s a stuck-up brat,” Yves agreed. “But what about you, Clavis? Who was the unfortunate lady you ran off with?”

“Oh, just an amusing countess,” he said with a dismissive shrug. “She turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.”

Meaning she provided neither enjoyment nor information.

The door flew open, and Silvio stormed into the room, yanking a chair out and dropping into it. “Chevalier, I have a bone to pick with you,” he snapped, his blue eyes flashing.

“Well, good morning to you, too,” Licht muttered.

“That little maid of yours has no manners,” Silvio continued, ignoring Licht’s comment.

I smirked. “Oh?” This promised to be amusing.

“Don’t tell me she poured hot tea in your lap?” Nokto asked, his crimson eyes glittering.

“She must not have hit him,” Clavis added. “I don’t see any marks.”

Leon was laughing again.

“Everybody, be quiet, and let the man speak,” Yves interrupted, though his lips were twitching as he, too, fought a smile at Silvio’s expense.

“I can see there’s no point in continuing,” Silvio grumbled. “I never realized Rhodolite was so lax in its discipline when it comes to common servants.”

“Well, there’s servants, and then there’s Ivetta,” Jin announced as he walked in casually. “And if she gave you any trouble, you deserved it,” he added as he took his seat.

“What, exactly, did she do?” Gilbert asked with sly intrigue.

Silvio scowled. “It isn’t any one thing, just her whole personality. She speaks out of turn, she has no respect for authority-” He stopped, shrugging as his face relaxed into a reluctant smile. “And the rotten little thing can’t be bought, either.”

Jin started to laugh, but stopped and grabbed his head. “Ow,” he moaned, though he was still grinning. “Sorry, Silvio, but the only one who gets to monopolize her time is Chevalier. The rest of us have all tried to steal her away and failed miserably.”

“It’s a wonder you get anything done when you’re wasting your time chasing the household help around,” I snapped. “Hurry up and eat. We have matters of actual importance to discuss today, whether your head hurts or not.”

“Yeah, yeah, I hear you,” Jin muttered. “I just hope I had a good time last night.”

Leon laughed. “You don’t remember? Here, you need this more than I do.” He pushed the remainder of his tea over to Jin, who drained it all in one gulp.

The banal conversation continued as the late arrivals ate their breakfast, and I waited impatiently for them to finish, my fingers drumming the table as the minutes ticked by.

“Oh, before I forget, our little dove left this in my room last night,” Gilbert said quietly, pulling her hair ribbon from his jacket pocket just enough for me to see it. “You won’t mind if I return it to her later, will you?”

I stood up decisively. “Let’s go,” I ordered, heading for the door. All gathered knew better than to disobey. It was time for the official business to begin.

And, afterwards, I had unofficial business with Gilbert.