"I…" Aloe slightly trembled. A calculated gesture, but it surprised her how natural it came. Maybe it wasn't as faux as she thought it was. "Everything is a bit too… open, do you not think so?"

The scribe soon found out that interacting with Rani wasn't as easy and straightforward as she remembered. Perhaps it was the fact that these last days she hadn't truly talked with the woman and had become a bit rusty, or perhaps it was the memories of her woman that affected Aloe. It didn't help that Rani with the spitting image of Aaliyah, only less muscular and more seductive. She could neither exploit a weakness from her as she had done with Fatima.

Fatima had been desperate for the aphrodisiac, enough to make a bargain on equal footing with Aloe. But the same couldn't be said for Rani. The emir was her direct superior, there was no equal footing here.

"We have time, do we not?" Rani smiled at her; her tone didn't accept a no for an answer.

"I…" Aloe bit her underlip and avoided the sultanzade's gaze. "I would prefer not to talk about it if possible, Rani."

The emir inspected her, she had no reason to suspect her. Logically speaking, the best course of action would be to comply with Rani, but Aloe couldn't bring herself to talk about it. It was veritable her desire to avoid talking about the events back in Asina. Rani tapped her arm in thought for a few moments before opening her mouth again.

"As your employer, I believe I am obliged to know about the circumstances. They developed under working hours, after all." Appeal to authority. Aloe recognized that one if not more fallacies in the emir's arguments, but once people like her pushed a subject, they wouldn't back down or – at the very minimum – didn't appreciate being forced to do so.

"There is nothing you do not already know, Rani." The scribe of commoners replied politely.

"And what do I know?" The princess twirled her head upward and looked over Aloe's shoulder. A useless gesture as she could look over her shoulder without the need to do so.

Aloe almost opened her mouth, but knocks were heard at the door. By the cadency and strength, she recognized them as Lulu's. "Come in." She appreciated the maid's entrance as she was going to speak without a plan in mind, and that was the number one reason why people exposed themselves.

With a bow, Lulu deposited the tray on the desk and served the women a cup each, filling them with steaming tea in artistically delicate motions. "There is honey and sugar for the tea, if the ladies want, plus an assortment of dates and pastries as snacks."

"Thank you, Lulu. We will be fine by ourselves; you can go now." Aloe told her with a wry smile. Her presence alone may disrupt Aloe, and she didn't want her in the room to overhear the conversation. The maid was better without listening to the content.

Lulu dutifully bowed and left the room without making any further comments.

"Hmm~" Rani hummed melodiously but didn't elaborate on her thoughts. She picked the honey and laced her tea with it.

Aloe left her tea untouched. Everything Lulu gave her was to her taste, but the real reason was that she was too nervous to interact with anything. When she looked at Rani's face… she saw another one.

"If you made the maid out, I am inclined to think that you are going to speak." Rani gifted herself with a pastry.

Aloe sighed, her exhalation slightly trembled. "What would you like to know?"

"I am not sure~" The emir toyed with her pastry as she ate it, but truth be told, Aloe couldn't detect any falsehood in her words. Not that she had the advantage of acuity as she had been using recovery and was still midway through shifting into glamour.

"I… would prefer some guidelines, Rani." Aloe tried to be as far from antagonistic as possible.

"First thing first, what happened on that night?"

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The petite scribe shut her eyes and took a ragged breath. Straight to the throat, huh? She wanted to cry. She truly and utterly wanted to break into tears, and whilst she wanted to portray weakness, there was a difference between appearing vulnerable and tying a leash around one's neck. The only positive side of the question that Aloe could see was that the emir watched her wording and was tender with it.

"Rani, there is nothing you do not know of that had happened that night." Aloe reiterated, fighting with all her might to not step over her words.

"I am not so sure about that, Aloe." The sultanzade slowly crossed her legs, her feet going needlessly up whilst doing so. Rani busted with erotism in every movement, but Aloe didn't allow herself to be fooled. "No one mentioned what happened on that night in that room. Sure enough, the evidence was damming, but it is difficult to reach conclusions when neither of the witnesses are willing to talk."

Witnesses? That's how you are going to address the situation. The wording molested Aloe, but she did her best to hide it. The perpetrator isn't a witness! Don't you know basic law?

"Nevertheless, the question does not come from where you might think." Rani slumped forward, her skimpy dress following slightly behind her, and she placed her hands on the scribe's desk. "Aaliyah did not reveal much to me even when I inquired about it, though that led me to ask myself a question. Why was she angry after that night?"

"A-angry…?" The bewilderment partially broke Aloe's façade.

"Indeed," the emir nodded. "Aaliyah left your 'meeting' rather displeased."

Aloe didn't know what she was feeling. Her hands were trembling. Her body heated up. Her vision was blurry. Her breathing became rugged. Displeased? Logic collapsed in her mind, nothing made sense. DISPLEASED? She gritted her teeth. Her nervousness became a thing of the past, a joke to even bother to acknowledge. For only one emotion fueled her thoughts. Hatred.

"I have absolutely no idea what Aaliyah may have found displeasing," Aloe added with scorn, not even bothering to sweeten up the sultanah's name. "If there were a person to be displeased after the encounter, I would assure you that it would not be her."

"Of course." Rani nodded in acknowledgment. "You have all the reason in the world to be displeased yourself. Unlike many others, it was not your job to please her. So even responding in displeasure is a rather immature act."

Rani didn't hide either her animosity toward her mother, disavowing her reputation at any opportunity. Aloe's entire being may boil with hate at the thought of Aaliyah, but the sultanzade didn't fall behind. She had yet to meet one who spoke positively of the sultanah.

"Either way," the emir continued, "as irascible as Aaliyah may be, she is not an illogical person. So, I am led to think that there was something in your shared time that she did not find up to her liking."

Aloe squinted at the woman, her hands curling into fists. "I do not know of anything that may fit that criterion." She added straightly without a hint of falsehood.

"I see…" Rani brushed her hair to the side, exposing her ear. Aloe could not understand how such a simple gesture could be that provoking. "I did not expect any answers, to begin with, but knowing you simply do not have them makes it easier on my mind."

It became apparent to the scribe that the princess knew something she didn't. She had mentioned talking with the sultanah, but that conversation was beyond her knowledge. What is she looking for? It was nearly impossible to read a person wielding such a powerful charm stance. Aloe had to focus constantly to not lose herself in the maelstrom that was Rani-al-Sadina.

Rani enjoyed her tea in silence, but the commoner couldn't bring herself to do the same. Her hands were trembling, and she didn't want her to see it. There was a limit to how much weakness could be tolerated.

"I will be going now, then." The sultanzade announced as soon as she left the empty cup on the desk. "We are all pressed for time. Perhaps in the future, once the turmoil from succession has receded, we will be able to talk in a more prolonged manner."

I hope not. Aloe kept to herself. "But of course," Instead she responded with a smile.

The emir stood from the chair, her body slithering like a snake. It wasn't just charm; Rani knew how to move her body to be captivating at all times without the need for Nurture. As she stood at the entrance, a hand on the doorframe, she turned back to look at Aloe. Her smile was cruel, yet it even appeared welcoming to the scribe after she saw what a truly malevolent smile looked like.

"That reminds me," Rani's eyes shone like sunlit amethysts, "Naila mentioned she wanted to talk with you. You have not pestered my little sister, have you?"

"I cannot recall doing so, Rani, no." If it had been another person, Aloe would have been nervous. But she knew how the sultanzade had no love between their siblings. The only thing that joined them was a common hate, though not a common enemy, because as Fatima had shown her, every sultanzade was yet another contender.

"I see." The princess' eyes faltered for an instant. Aloe could not interpret the emotion behind them. "Perhaps you should. It would do all of us good."

Then she left the room. It had been a few minutes, but those had totally drained Aloe. It had never been this difficult talking to Rani, but before she only saw her. Now though… another person stood behind those eyes. A second later, Lulu stepped into the room, clearly having stayed on the outside all this time. The scribe collapsed on her chair before the maid could take a step into the office.