I suffered a grievous injustice. Captive princesses were supposed to be held in the tallest tower, not in a damp dungeon. I demanded my fairy tale credits back! Call the manager of this freaking kingdom!
They tossed me in a warded prison cell that would stop all magic from leaving the room. At least Lonid had the decency of not keeping a [Princess] in chains. The room was clean and obviously made to keep important prisoners that weren't marked for execution like nobles. Accommodations were comparable to a high-class inn private room.
I had until word reached Vugh Tarim and back to act. That gave me around a fortnight to work with. The first step in my plan was to make sure the guards knew where I was all the time. I achieved that by whining all day long, banging against the door of my cell, and shouting at them through the porthole. Of course, that was a shadow copy of me. I was busy elsewhere.
The King couldn't go back on the public terms of the duel. Julia was busy preparing the auction of the Ducal household and the Duchy demesne. She had a lot of people crowding around her but a detachment of Royal Knights protected the silk-folk woman. It was a great opportunity for her to shine and display her worth.
Lonid's nobility was almost rioting. Not only their most prominent member and his entire House lost their position in a single day but some also suspected the duel and everything that happened to be a farce orchestrated between the King and me. Even my claim of being a dwarf was questioned because they couldn't read my species in the {Appraise} information, only the title I made available.
Therefore, I was being called the [Beast Princess of Windemere] on the nobility grapevine. That information too spread to Windemere and snowballed because it was so juicy. Since I displayed proficiency with both magic and swordsmanship, some rumors placed me as a newly-discovered descendant of Locksley, as it was well-known he married a cat-kin commoner.
Mixed signals traveled south, and Windemere couldn't sort the truth from the rumor. My claim of being half-dwarf fell on deaf ears and Vugh Tarim denied my existence, calling it a botched move by Lonid and increasing the hostility between the two groups.
For two weeks, the rumors festered, my shadow clone whined, and I carved a transfer magic circle underground around the Royal Palace. The same kind of magic circle we used back in Pekothas to wrap the castles in bubbles of Force magic so I could store them in the item box, but this time it would shift the palace to the Ethereal world with everyone inside. It would also carve a huge spherical hole and cause almost all the noble district to sink into the lake so I helped those nobles in the danger zone move out by robbing them blind and starting small fires in their mansions.
That wasn't the only thing I did. Using the {Shadow Workshop}, I baked pastries, enchanted some items, forged a few weapons, and brewed a lot of potions before turning them into pills. I also went into the Dungeon to capture monsters to level Julia up. I brought her to level 138 in three different Paths but the exp she gained was two percent of what I needed to increase my own level by one.
At the end of the second week, the King visited me. Some mages came with him and they examined and reinforced the wards while the King interrogated me.
"What do you know about the noble district arson?" He asked.
"Nothing?" I answered truthfully. I didn't torch a district.
"Did you leave this room?"
"Yes because your wards are crap!" I lied. The King didn't make the wards.
If I guessed his Perk right, he could only tell if full statements were true or false. I saw it on the list several times but never bothered to get it for obvious reasons. One, those who get it tend to rely on it too much. Two, they can only inform you when the statement was entirely truthful. A single lie mixed in invalidated the whole thing. A shrewd opponent could twist the truth and give him all sorts of false impressions, making his Perk a liability. Unless the person being interrogated answered everything truthfully from start to end, it was worthless.
The King and I sat around the tea-table. Four knights on each side stood behind us. A squad of servants entered and prepared the table with pastries and actual tea while the mages scanned every inch of the intact wards.
"Are you fucking with me?"
"No." Truth. The myriad nuances of language were lost on his Perk. I wasn't rubbing naughty bits with the King, and would never. The dude got six wives, that's a harem already!
I sampled everything, scanning for poisons. I was disappointed I found none.
"I'm considering having you executed!" He catoblepishly [1] threatened.
"You can try," I challenged back nonchalantly and sipped my tea. He had to wait for me to put the cup down before speaking again.
He grunted. "Who are you?"
"Haru Stouthammer, first [Princess] of Vugh Tarim. At your service, Your Majesty."
"What are you?"
I sighed and rested my hands on my lap.
"This boorish game is no longer fun. Go away to play on your throne," I shooed him. "And don't pry too much into a Lady's secrets. You might not like what you'll find, or the consequences of trying to."
"Are you threatening me?"
"Yes! Are you done? No, you aren't done because you didn't drink your tea. Is it too bitter? Here, let me help."
I plopped a white sugar cube on the tea. Its porous nature allowed it to float as it slowly dissolved.
"What's this?" He asked.
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"Oh. That's a non-poisonous deathberry sugar cube. You can {Appraise} it if you like."
> Deathberry Sugar Cube
>
> Value: 17 silver coins
>
> A non-poisonous cube of pure white sugar extracted from deathberries. The secret and exclusivity of its manufacture greatly increase its rarity and value.
The knights started to draw their weapons at the mention of deathberries. The legendary poisonous plant, the deadliest plant in a world with plant monsters, was considered extinct after people torched entire forests to get rid of the thing. The King raised a hand signal and the knights put their weapons away.
"Drink this," he ordered one of the knights.
The man resigned himself to die, then sipped the King's tea. The mages had stopped working to watch the scene unfold. The dungeon was silent as the cup hit the saucer. The knight's ragged breath was the only thing we heard for a long while. When he didn't fall down twitching and dying, the man smiled.
The King downed his tea in one go. "That's too sweet," he complained with a groan that wasn't quite gormandizing. "Where did you get it?"
"I made it. With homegrown deathberries," I smirked. "To be honest, I was quite disappointed nothing in this tea set is poisoned. I expected more from you," I munched another pastry. "That's why I decided to at least bring the subject to the fore of our conversation."
"Do your accommodations bore you?" He threw a curveball.
Before I could answer, the mages finished their job. "Your Majesty, we detected no flaw in the wards, nor any sign of tampering. She didn't leave this room."
"I'm considering having you executed for being a spy," he threatened. It failed.
"Good luck with that. I'm considering war. Is Lonid ready to face the consequences of terrible governance? Because in my opinion, you've been running in circles, led by warmongering fools and pushing your nation to the edge of a precipice."
I didn't submit and that was inadmissible for him. This very fact clashed with his self-image of an absolute ruler. The cognitive dissonance would eventually become his ruin.
As the king walked out of the room alone, he gave the order without turning around. "Kill her after the door closes."
The door closed.
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Mirina Luwens, fourth [Princess] of Lonid
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Two women admired a pile of gems, coins, and precious metal bars of high denominations. A fortune, even for Royal standards.
"Congratulations, Julia! Your auction was a success!" Mirina beamed at her partner.
The silk-folk woman bowed, "Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. The sum here is already accounted for and notarized by the palace chamberlain. The treasury received its due tax plus the amount Lady… Her Highness Haru promised your father."
"C'mon, Julia!" She nudged her assistant, "you don't need to be so stiff. I grant you permission to call me by my given name without honorifics when it's just the two of us."
"Yes, Your Highness. I am elated by your kindness," Julia bowed.
Mirina paused and sighed. They were being watched by her father's people. They couldn't let their guard down yet. Worse, she had no news from Haru for a week now. After the arson in the noble district, suspicion fell on Julia but the very fact they were under surveillance all the time cleared them. With a wave of her hand, she stored all the wealth in the soul-bound storage ring Haru gave her. As she absentmindedly caressed the ring, Julia sprung a prank on her.
"And congratulations on your engagement, Your Highness," Julia smiled at her. "You are officially engaged to Haru."
"But we are both women!" Mirina protested, then replayed the last sentence on her mind. "What do you mean by officially engaged?"
"While you were bedridden, your father the King, may he long live, promulgated a decree making same-sex marriage legal in Lonid. Then he announced your engagement to the dwarf [Princess] in a formal court session."
Julia guided her to the vanity and made her sit.
"The decree, how was it received?" She feared being ridiculed by courtiers and the focus of the wicked noble ladies' gossip.
"The common people liked it. As you know, love between people of the same gender is not as uncommon as some closed minds like to think. Her Highness Haru, for example, seems to be face-blind regarding men. She barely makes eye contact with them."
Mirina's heart fluttered. "Seriously?" She jumped on her chair and remembered a lewd dream she had on the road. Blushing furiously, she nodded, "yes, I think you're right."
Julia pressed down on her shoulders. "We have to go to the throne room now. Your father intends to grant the vacant title of Duke to Lord Putman, and the solemn session will be attended by all the nobles in Lonid. Stay quiet so I may brush your hair."
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Mirina always found the seating arrangement of these solemn court sessions to be a bother. The dais wasn't big enough for all of them, so the Royal Family spilled to the sides and down the steps. The [King] sat in the middle, with the six [Queens] to his left and his six oldest sons to his right. The other male [Princes] sat on either side alternating, then the [Princesses]. Her own seat was on the fifth step down, and she couldn't see almost half of the throne room from there. The boorish rites threatened to put her to sleep. Mirina had to use all of her willpower to not yawn.
Her father was extremely happy that day, and she had no idea why. His mood was terrible ever since Haru killed the Duke, her father's friend from old times and one of the rare instances where a Duchy wasn't ruled by a member of the extended Royal family. He was so happy that the nobles were bridging up all kinds of requests to see if they could get something out of it.
She felt an enormous pulse of magic and got goosebumps all over her body. Then it clicked. The only thing that could change her father's mood so drastically was if Haru stopped being a problem. Or if he was made to believe so.
That's when reality literally cracked. The world fractured and for an immortal instant, she felt as if falling backward on her seat. The feeling of weightlessness ended as fast as it started, leaving everyone in the throne room astonished and confused.
Examining her surroundings, she found herself still in the throne room but Galbarar's sunlight was gone. Only an eerie and omnidirectional glow suffused the room. Then water rushed in from everywhere, flooding the room. People panicked but Mirina found out that she both could breathe normally and wasn't buoyant. Could the water be an illusion?
Julia put a hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Come with me. Grab my arm and don't let go for nothing."
She grasped the offered forearm and Julia broke the glass gemstone of a ring. They both vanished, although Mirina could see a hazy outline of themselves.
Suddenly, the whole palace flooded with a suffocating presence. The nobles, guards, and commoners alike fell to the ground. Some died outright from the pressure.
> You stand before a Royal Aura. This has no effect on Royalty.
>
> You are in the Presence of the Eldritch. All your Attributes are reduced by 4 (Base 56 x0,03 reductions).
>
> The welcoming Presence calms and inspires you. You gain a 73 Proficiency bonus for all your creative Proficiencies.
>
> The aura of Gifted Divinity soothes your worries. You are safe.
"What's happening?" The King shouted. "Guards!"
Nobody answered. Mirina heard her siblings crying and wanted to comfort them but Julia held her back. When did she become this strong?
That's when she heard Haru's laughter. In all her glory, with a score of tails three meters long and a pair of majestic white wings floating behind her, the fox-kin descended through the roof like a ghost.
"You!" Her father roared at the seemingly omnipotent reincarnator.
"I warned you, you fool of a King. Now reap your just desserts," She replied.
"Ha--" She tried to scream but Julia shut her mouth with a strong hand. 'Seriously, when did the silk-folk woman get this strong?' She cursed internally.
"Don't, Your Highness. I'm sorry for my rude handling, but Haru instructed me to not let you expose yourself. She also told me, 'I fully respect our covenant, Mirina. Worry not for the health of your family."
Mirina nodded, the hand following her head movements.
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[1] Goodness gracious, it's now an adverb.