"Yes, it would," Garrett admitted freely, "but I believe in the long run it would be worth it, especially since, if I were the royal family, I would not just invest in bringing people to my side, but would also invest in my opposition."
Caught off guard, the duke looked confused and glanced at Princess Eloise, who was just as lost as he was.
"Why would you invest in your opposition?"
"Not true opposition," Garrett explained, "but instead manufactured opposition. I would find someone I could trust, and I would work to make them the leader of the party that opposed the royal family."
Pausing for half a beat, Garrett suddenly smiled.
"Much like the late king, rest his soul, did with your excellency."
Slapping his desk with his palm, Duke Arkov let out a great shout of laughter. His eyes gleamed as he pointed a finger at Garrett.
"I like you," he said. "That mind of yours is sharp, maybe too sharp. And you've got guts too. No one has ever had the guts to say that out loud, even if they sometimes thought it. But tell me, how did a kid like you figure it out when next to nobody else has?"
"I've had the benefit of a unique position," Garrett said. "My family has been privileged to be privy to many secrets in this kingdom, and I had the opportunity to walk alongside the late prince for many years. Most importantly, however, was the fact that you accepted my father's allegiance rather than executing him outright. That speaks to an arrangement between the two of you. And considering my father's loyalty to the crown, the only way that would possibly happen is if you and he were already on the same side."
Shaking his head, Duke Arkov flashed his shark-like smile and turned to speak to Princess Eloise.
"I've always said the men of the Klein family are too dangerous to let loose. Understand this, Eloise. You keep them close or you get rid of them altogether. Those are the only two options."
Garrett could hear the naked threat in the Duke's voice and knew he wasn't joking one bit. The princess could sense the seriousness of her uncle's words as well. Shooting a glance at Garrett, she nodded. Considering the connection they shared through the dream flowers, Garrett knew what her decision was, and it suited him just fine. He was playing a dangerous game, under the nose of a man powerful enough to snuff him out with a finger. But if it paid out, the reward would be astronomical. Duke Arkov chuckled again, clearly delighted with how sharp Garrett was. Standing, he walked to the window, gazing out over the garden that lay outside.
"There are many days when I wish for nothing more than to see my brother and his family return to the palace. He was a much better ruler than I could ever be, and I'm confident that Eloise will follow in his footsteps. While I'm still alive, I intend to ensure that she holds that position."
He turned around, his eyes flickering to Ryn, before settling on Garrett.
"Tell me, do I have your assurance that you will do the same?"
"May I ask you a question before I answer, sir?" Garrett said, without hesitating.
A flash of displeasure rolled across the Duke's face, but he nodded.
"Is there anyone in the city who can match your power directly?" Garrett asked.
Though the Duke's expression had grown calm, Garrett felt as if it was the calm before a tremendous tempest.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because that will determine whether I support the princess in the open or from the shadows," Garrett replied, his expression without guile. "Princess Eloise will sit on the throne, that is guaranteed. But if there are others who are as strong as you, then it would be best for me to support her silently, without exposing myself to the public. After all, my only hope of beating someone with your power is catching them off guard."
The feeling of pressure that had been building in the room eased as the Duke nodded.
"There's wisdom in that," he said. "And to answer your question, no, I am the only person with this level of power in the city. But that doesn't mean your idea about supporting the princess in the darkness is a bad one. From what I understand, your small merchant group isn't quite so small and has a surprising wealth of connections with the local underworld. Additionally, I've been watching Commander Fernek’s rise with interest, as well as the surprising way that enemies of the Klein family transform into allies."
Listening as the Duke laid out his connections one by one, Garrett's face began to pale. Pleased with the effect of his words, the Duke walked back over and took his seat behind the desk once more.
"Such connections are no doubt a significant source of strength, and they could be even stronger if leveraged in service to the crown. Unless your father dies, which considering how hale and hearty he is, probably won't be for a number of decades, the princess won't need another steward. Which means that you'll have plenty of time to build those connections. Until such a time as the position of steward is vacated, I think it best if you continue to support the princess silently. Ostensibly, we have invited you here to the palace for a private meeting so that I could reward you and dismiss you. And to that end, I've prepared this."
Picking up a piece of paper, the Duke stood and leaned over the desk, handing it to Garrett. It contained a simple seal along with gold lettering, and when he saw it, Garrett's eyes went wide in genuine surprise.
"This is a royal seal.”
“Indeed, and it's for you to put on that soap of yours. What was it called? Ryn's Royal Soap, now used in the palace."
Behind Garrett, Ryn, who had been listening to the whole conversation as tense as a rod, let out a surprised yelp, causing the Duke to grin at her.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're the Ryn on the Royal Soap, right?"
Stammering out a yes, Ryn quickly bowed, but the Duke waved for her to stand up.
"Like I said, no need for that. The truth is, we've been using your soap for a while. It's much better than most of the other soaps out there, even the royal stuff. The fragrance is much more subtle, which is nice. And I like the way you've added those little granules to help it scrub better. As a thank you for your service to Princess Eloise, you'll be permitted to use the royal seal on the boxes you sell your soap in. Additionally, all sales of the soap will be exempt from tax."
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"Thank you, your highness," Garrett said, bowing, Ryn quickly imitating him.
"It's the least we could do, considering the support you've shown our family. We'll be counting on you to continue that support into the future."
Straightening, Garrett nodded.
"You have my word.”
“Good. Now, unfortunately, I have much still to do, including a meeting coming up with your father, Garrett."
Jumping to her feet, Eloise butted in.
"In that case, I'm going to take Garrett around the palace."
For a moment, Garrett thought that the Duke might say no, but after thinking it over with a furrowed brow, he nodded.
"Fine. But remember, you can't be late for court this afternoon."
"I won't," the princess declared confidently. "Come on, Garrett. Let's go."
As she hurried to the door, Ryn stepped behind Garrett, and after saying goodbye to the Duke, they left the office and found Princess Eloise chatting with Victor Klein in the hallway outside. The steward was wearing his public mask, and nothing but kindness could be detected in his gaze toward Princess Eloise. If he didn't know better, Garrett would have been just as convinced as everyone else that his father was nothing but the royal family's most loyal supporter.
"Ah, Garrett," Victor said, smiling fondly at his son. "I was hoping to catch you here. Princess, Miss Ryn, would you mind if I had a word?"
"Of course," the Princess said, as she and Ryn walked towards the other end of the hall, leaving Garrett facing Victor.
Seeing Garrett's eyes glance back at the office behind them, Victor smiled and crouched down until he was the same height as his son. At the same time, Garrett felt a cold pressure surround him, as if a chilly fog had rolled over him. Immediately, he was on guard, though he didn't show it on his face. According to his understanding, his father wasn't awakened, and even still, he found no soul spark in his father's body. Yet somehow, Victor Klein was manipulating the same sort of energy that permeated the dream. A prickling feeling caused the hair on the back of Garrett's neck to stand up, as his father spoke softly.
"Not even the Duke's absurd strength can spy on us so feel free to talk freely. My power is subtle and impossible for the Duke to detect. After all, how do you think I've managed to walk through these halls unhindered so far?"
If Garrett hadn't been watching closely, he would have missed the faint crimson flash in his father's eyes. The madness was hidden a moment later, as Victor smiled.
"I'm glad to see you getting close to the princess. Just remember what our true objective is."
"I have," Garrett said, his voice as calm as he could make it.
Victor must have picked up on the faint tremble Garrett hid, because he straightened up and patted Garrett's shoulder.
"You're doing well, son. Keep doing well, and everything will go smoothly.”
“What of the Duke? He is a lot stronger than I thought he would be."
"You don't have to worry about him," Victor said, his lips pulling back to reveal his teeth as he smiled widely. "I'll deal with the Duke."
With that, the clammy feeling vanished from the hall, and Victor gave Garrett a nod before entering the Duke's office. Taking a deep breath, Garrett looked over his shoulder at the office, where Victor had disappeared, and did his best to stabilize his jumping heart. There was a disturbing familiarity in the power that Victor had just shown, one that set Garrett's teeth on edge. And he suddenly began to wonder if there were forces at play in this game that he wasn't aware of.
Hearing the princess call his name, he suppressed the thought in his heart, and began to make his way down the hall to join the two ladies. For the next hour, the princess took Garrett all over the palace, making a show of introducing him to the history of the building and the royals who had inhabited it. Garrett already knew most of this information, but he played along as the princess's true objective was to ensure that all of the servants and guards knew who Garrett was, and that he was currently favored. That way, in the future, if he happened to be in the palace, there wouldn't be any trouble. The longer the tour lasted, however, the grimmer Garrett's heart felt.
He had first noticed the problem when a group of maids passed by them pushing a cart filled with laundry. Garrett, who was highly attuned to the presence of supernatural entities thanks to his familiarity with the dream flowers, saw a faint presence wrapped around one of the maids. He only noticed it because it actively recoiled when passing by the flowers blooming from the princess and Ryn. At the same time, those flowers turned, their petals shaking, as if about to attack. Only Garrett's quick action kept them from killing off the nightmare that was currently latched onto the maid.
Once he was alerted to it, however, he began to see similar nightmares attached to individuals all over the palace. While only a few of the maids and footmen had nightmares lurking alongside them, over a dozen guards had clearly been infected. As they got to the end of the tour, Garrett, who had been trying to puzzle out what was going on, turned to the princess.
"Excuse me, your highness. One of the things that I often heard about while I was following your late brother was the Room of Mysteries. I remember peeking in once or twice, but at the time, because of my unawakened state, to my young eyes, it looked like a bunch of old, dusty relics. I would love to go and see it once again."
Hesitating for a moment, the princess felt her heart shift slightly as she looked at Garrett. But with a mischievous smile, she agreed.
"Sure, let's go," she said. "Just make sure you don't tell the duke. He doesn't like it when people are in there."
"You have my word, princess."
"You know soon you're going to have to start calling me queen," Princess Eloise said archly.
"I'm looking forward to it," Garrett replied.
As the princess led the way, they headed towards the basement. This was actually the room that Garrett had been intending to send Isabelle into. However, when she had gotten there, she had found it sealed. Not wanting to set off any alarms, Garrett had ordered her not to force her way in.
After navigating a number of staircases, they finally arrived at the large door where the royal family's mysterious artifacts were kept. There was a guard at the gate, a grizzled old man who exuded shaper stage power. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Garrett and Ryn, but lit up when he saw the princess.
"Edward, would you mind opening the door for us?"
"May I know who these two are, your highness?"
"They're friends of mine. Garrett has been a tremendous help over the last few weeks."
Despite the fact that he was stuck in the basement, guarding the door to a dusty room, Edward seemed to have a good grasp on the state of things. His eyes gleamed as he looked over Garrett once more.
"You're the Klein boy," he said. "I know your father well."
"Yes, sir. I am."
"Well, if you're with the princess, I shouldn't have to worry. But make sure you don't stay in there too long. It's not good for your health."
With that, Edward stepped aside and hit a panel on the side of the door, causing the entire thing to rumble open. With Ryn pushing him and the princess walking a few steps in front, Garrett entered the room, his eyes immediately sweeping over everything.
There were dozens of mysterious objects lying scattered throughout the room, resting on small pillars. But the one he was most interested in wasn't on a pillar at all. Instead, it was a large crystal that hung unsupported from the ceiling. A mysterious thrumming surrounded it as it turned slowly in the air, and Garrett could see wisps of power being pulled from it into the ceiling, where there was a complicated-looking fractured mirror. Noticing Garrett's gaze, the princess laughed.
"It is rather mysterious, isn't it? I don't know what it does, but my uncle tells me it's of utmost importance."