The next two days of the banquet passed without incident. Sol kept her distance from Prince Elric and those close to him while Prince Elric spent the time reigning in his authority and repairing the damage Sol caused. Prince Elric had come to terms with Sol’s threat and so spent his time restoring what he could before the banquet ended.
He had to do his best to prevent the rumors from spreading. Queen Blonsall was expected to make her entrance at the end of the banquet as per customs dictated. Frankly, Sol was elated at the thought of going home. She had magic to practice, things to plan, and people to get revenge on. Her eyes followed Queen Blonsall as she walked to her podium.
In her mind, Sol understood this Queen was as deadly as Prince Elric, if not more so. Her invitation was personalized and that was enough for her to understand Queen Blonsall’s strings were attached to Prince Elric. Without removing the Queen from her power, Sol could only have limited effect against Prince Elric.
Sol nearly tossed out the Royal family’s prestige as a whole. Taking down Queen Blonsall would undoubtedly place her onto King Blonsall’s radar. Since she would eventually offend the whole family, Sol was already devising methods to bring the whole family down at once instead of nitpicking a Prince here and there.
Unfortunately, Sol’s father was loyal to the crown. The man treated Royalty as his own. Had it not been for this banquet forcing her father out of his adoration, Sol doubted the man would ever consider them an enemy. Proceeding that though, Sol decided she would unlink her father from the Royal family and then take them down.
Queen Blonsall completed her final remarks and was about to dismiss the venue when her voice hitched. As if she recalled something, her sharp gaze flickered amongst the crowd until eventually landing on Sol. Sol immediately felt her heart plummet with that gaze locked onto her. She felt like a bunny being stared down by a hawk.
“Lady Reviarra, this Queen has heard of your heroic deed of capturing the beast that murdered our servant. This Queen extends recognition from the Royal family and would hope for the Lady to spare this Queen a moment of her time for tea.”
What could she say? No? “Queen Blonsall, this Lady would be honored.”
The banquet officially ended and guests exited the venue at their own pace. Many slowed their step purposely to witness the interaction between Sol Reviarra and Queen Blonsall. Despite Prince Elric’s efforts, rumors have a way of spreading and by the end of the banquet, everyone understood the Queen wasn’t actually thanking Lady Reviarra.
Sadly, Sol entered a side door whose room was sealed by curtains. The members could only leave with their curiosity unsettled. Sol entered a delicate room emitting affluence and authority. The chairs were gold, the dishes silver, and the cushions fine silk. Her gait allowed her time to take in the room’s majesty, however it did little to scare her.
Queen Blonsall was already sitting in the master’s chair, her eyes lazily glancing at the tea in her cup. She swirled the tea and seemed to ignore Sol’s approach. What showmanship, Sol remarked to herself. The lady herself invited me and now she’s putting on airs? Sol had no intention of playing around with this jaded Queen.
She arrived before the Queen and stood her ground. Customs and courtesies dictated to genuflect when acknowledged. Often, as a sign of respect, members would salute after taking the appropriate distance regardless of if they were acknowledged or not. Sol’s act of remaining fixed in place was a subtle jab at the Queen.
The two remained in silence with the Queen using tranquility as a tool to strangle Sol and bring her pride down a level while Sol remained completely unaffected. Queen Blonsall was observing the girl from the corner of her eyes. She knew just from her glance that Sol was immune to her method.
As a Queen, there was far more than these little tricks up her sleeve. Queen Blonsall abandoned the faulty tactic and moved on without much concern. Her gaze locked onto the young girl who proceeded to curtsy.
“Queen Blonsall, this servant is honored by your presence.”
“So now you know yourself as a servant?”
“This servant is unaware of the Queen’s meaning.”
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“When you embarrassed this Queen’s son the other day, did you consider your status as a servant?”
“This servant admires the Prince’s tenacity and desire. The Prince has proven himself a capable man of many tactics and methods. This servant can only thank the Prince more after the Prince held up justice for this servant.”
“Humph!” The Queen snorted at the cheeky response. The girl’s good at double speaking at the very least. It’s no wonder my son lost ground to this girl. Without a decisive blow, this girl could probably talk her way out of anything.
Queen Blonsall’s attitude towards Sol shifted somewhat. She no longer treated her as a child and instead started looking at her as a grown threat. Her son had already expressed his desire to rope the arrogant girl to his side, however Queen Blonsall was concerned.
Their exchange was brief, however Sol showcased in the few sentences between them the ability to plan for the future, advanced doublespeak skills, and the girl's thoughts were clearly well established. Queen Blonsall doubted her son could bring this woman in line.
Her mind spun trying to come up with ideas, however she was very clear about this type of personality. In fact, there was a part of her that was relieved that their plan fell through. This type of personality would rather watch the world burn with it than be forced against their will.
Queen Blonsall tapped her teacup while keeping her gaze fixed on Sol. Sol’s posture was relaxed, however not disrespectful. Her smile was genial yet not pompous. There was a clear sense of observation and analyzing coming from that innocent gaze.
Queen Blonsall felt as if she were looking into an abyss. Her skills of reading people faltered more and more after watching the girl. Little did she know, Sol was locked onto the Queen with her spiritual awareness. She monitored the Queen’s heartbeat and subtle muscle contractions to help build a profile of the Queen.
Whenever Sol made miniscule adjustments to her pose and expression, she locked in on any changes the Queen had and then immediately corrected for it. The two were close enough where Sol could focus 100% of her attention on the Queen alone. Perhaps, this might count as the first time Sol was so entranced with using her spiritual awareness that she failed to realize her own actions.
That threatening feeling Queen Blonsall felt grew stronger as the two remained fixed on each other. For the first time in her life, Queen Blonsall was at a loss of how to proceed. Typically, one would apply strength to the other’s weakness in order to bring the other in line.
She initially dismissed that plan as she wanted Sol to come to her son’s side without baggage, however it was clear that would never happen. If that’s the case, then… “This Queen understands your brother is attending Imperial University.”
The abrupt subject change alarmed Sol. “That’s correct.” She hesitated to say too much. The worst thing she could do at this point was speak too much. Queen Blonsall was relieved to see a normal response for once.
She continued to apply pressure.The two in conversation were both highly intelligent. There was no need to speak in circles at this point, however there were some things that could never be said directly. “Join my son’s faction and this Queen will assist your brother. The young Lord’s future would be limitless.”
“This servant is under qualified to assist the Prince. This servant has been struggling against a competitor and might recommend them in this servant’s place. This servant is confident this servant’s competitor would serve the Prince well.”
How should she respond? Queen Blonsall was at a loss somewhat. It was true that Sol’s company Iridescent was currently fighting against a larger competitor. Not only that, initial reports indeed show Sol’s company losing out. Had it not been for Queen Blonsall listening to the expert opinion of retired merchants, Queen Blonsall would have thought the girl’s company would go bankrupt soon.
However the expert opinions clearly stated that Iridescent was taking loans and losses to ramp up production and strength. Not only that, the purchases were done so secretly that even Queen Blonsall was unaware of the bulk of Iridescent purchases. All in all, Iridescent only appeared to be struggling.
Queen Blonsall smiled wryly at Sol’s attempt to deflect and rope in Prince Roland as Prince Elric’s support. Such a thing would be impossible, yet Queen Blonsall was unable to mention that fact to Sol. After all, it remained a secret at higher levels that Prince Roland was the owner of Lunar Supply.
Even if Queen Blonsall knew for sure that Sol was aware of that fact, she could never say it as the King directly ordered the matter to remain hidden. Should it get out, Prince Roland could abuse his title for business gains. Such a thing would taint the run for the throne.
The girl deflected Queen Blonsall so well, she was forced to abandon money as the reason. Well, it doesn’t have to be for money. “This Queen’s useless son has fallen in love with you. Are you saying this Queen’s son is unworthy of you?”