The day after waking up from my most recent coma, I finally found myself with the time to meet Edith face to face. Considering that she was one of the few people who could genuinely be called my friend, the fact that I had been home for nearly three weeks now and had not yet done so could be considered a failure on my part. Granted, half that time had been spent asleep and recovering from curing Eris’ demon hood, but Edith could hardly be expected to care.

There was also the unfortunate fact that this meeting was not a personal one. Nor were we alone save for servants. No, the cruel reality was that I was meeting her alongside the rest of the diplomatic attachment that she had joined.

I was trying to avoid giving her an order. I wanted to meet her on more or less equal terms, but it came to this…

Being the Queen, my social status was much higher than Edith’s; even if I sent an innocuous invitation, it would more or less be an order. Combine that with my general lack of experience, and I had wound up delaying and waffling about on the issue until it was too late.

Just need to deal with it now; that’s all I can do…

“Let them in.” Upon receiving my order, Sasha curtsied once, then motioned for Frieda to take care of it.

The meeting would take place not in my study or drawing room but instead in a medium dining room. This was closer to my bedroom, and the intent was to sell further the idea that I had only just recovered from an illness. That, and my study was not large enough to receive the number of people we were expecting.

When Frieda returned, she began to announce that mass of nobles, “Ladies Edith and Lawrence, as well as Count Crestwell. Count Heimen, Count Dremas, Count…”

After the first ten names, I began to ignore the introductions; I simply could not find it in me to care who would be joining the expedition. Ferdinand would have approved everyone, so there was no danger of any duplicity from the newcomers. Furthermore, I was the Queen; none of them would entreat me out of nowhere, and any meetings or dinners could be preempted with one of my maids reminding me whom it was I was seeing.

By that same virtue, I already knew who I needed to be mindful of. Edith, whose official reason to be here was as a representative of her father per his position as the most influential duke. And Lady Lawrence, wife of the late Duke Lawrence, a man whose death had been in no small part orchestrated and carried out by myself during the small-scale war of succession. The fact that her request to join the attachment had been approved said enough about how she had adapted to the loss of her spouse, as well as indicated her own loyalties.

It’s a bit sickening. Duke Lawrence implied as much, but to see her discard him as she has for political gain… She’ll make a powerful ally, but one who needs a firm hand.

Or so Ferdinand’s briefing went. All in all, the collected nobles numbered just over twenty, and they could effectively represent all of Drakan society and our interests.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. Please, seat yourselves.” This would be my first time really presiding over the nobility in an official capacity.

I had been to functions, of course, but this was the first time I had been head of a committee. As such, this was one small test for them; I had intentionally neglected to provide seating arrangements ahead of time. More accurately, I had expressly forbidden Sasha from creating them. The nobles glanced around uncertainly, with Edith being the sole exception. She had known me long enough and was smart enough to realize what was going on immediately. She immediately cut through the room to the seat on my right and claimed it for herself. Lady Lawrence noted this and swiftly selected the one on my left. Following the two of them making their moves, the other nobles picked up on the game, and there was an elegant mad scramble–each of them endeavoring to be as close to me as possible.

…Well, by rank, Edith would have been either on my right or my left regardless.

I had been curious as to how they would react; a test to gauge their comfort zones, how they would react when suddenly pushed outside the normal bounds of society. After all, according to Drakan society, demihuman beastkin were utter trash. Sub-human. They were to be enslaved or exterminated. Yet, here I was, bringing a group of high nobles into the greatest beastkin country in this world. I needed to know ahead of time which ones wouldn’t be able to act outside the rigorous environment of court.

There Felicity of course; it went without saying that she would be coming with us on this expedition. Denying her the opportunity to meet her people would just be wrong. That, and she would no doubt accompany me regardless of what I said. But she couldn’t be used to gauge the nobles. She was a known quantity; they knew that I was fond of her. So, knowing that they would endeavor not to be rude to her. They would mind themselves.

The last noble, a baron, seated himself. I made a mental note of that; they had subconsciously filtered themselves by rank. Despite not caring to know their names, the ranks could be judged by their general attire, and he was undoubtedly the lowest here. In fact, there was only one baron, and the fact that he had been the last to sit was no coincidence. Nor was the fact that they had all strove to be close to me, even Edith. What followed was the single most pointless meeting of both my lives.

To start, I reiterated what our goals were, which everyone already knew. Then I listed off the reasons we couldn’t fail, which everyone already knew. And finally, I expressed my desire for us to work together, which everyone should hopefully already be intending to do.

Who am I kidding? This lot is no doubt going to continue playing politics and let scheming get in the way…

As much as my pessimism was getting to me, I still thought that involving the nobles was the correct course of action. They would give me access to new resources and, at the very least, unique points of view.

Well, the meeting is over. Now, I need to get with Edith and make sure we’re still friends…

Hyperbole. We were still friends, but there was sure to be some awkwardness between us. Regardless, the pointless meeting had ended, and the lower-ranked nobles were beginning to make their farewells and see themselves out. They were filing out according to rank, but that was fine; I didn’t actually want them to forgo all formality. Besides, this meant that Edith and Lady Lawrence would be the last to leave. The problem then arose from the fact that the Dutchess outranked Edith by virtue of being the elder.

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Just as the last of them were leaving and I was wracking my head for a way to get Edith to stay after Lady Lawrence without arousing suspicion, the woman herself gave me an out.

“Then, I shall be taking my leave, your majesty; I suspect that you would like to spend a bit of time with Lady Edith, privately.”

I bowed my head slightly to show gratitude, “My thanks. Edith, I would very much like to take the chance for us to catch up –it has been a long time.”

Internally, my thoughts were in turmoil.

She saw through my Acting, or was it just a lucky guess? This also means I owe her a favor now. A small one, but a debt nonetheless. Or, is she tacitly informing me that she has eyes in the palace, and knows I have been neglecting Edith? Who am I kidding? Of course she has eyes in the palace, and it isn’t really a secret how busy I’ve been… Other than the past week while I was sleeping…

Lady Lawrence left us, and the room was now only inhabited by Edith, myself, and my maids. Edith tilted her head back to look up at me.

“Was there something you wished to discuss further?”

The difference in our stature was more than just our position in society, and I was forced to look down at her, “I want to apologize for not calling you immediately after returning, and for falling asleep again.”

Better to just come out and say it rather than beating around the bush.

Edith frowned, “I know you were busy.”

“Come; we should move somewhere more appropriate.” Before we continued, I wanted to move to a smaller room.

But more importantly, I wanted Edith to be sitting further away from me. As lovely as it was having her close, the fact that she had to nearly crane her neck back to look me in the eye made for a poor conversation. There wasn’t anything else that I could do about that particular issue; she was smaller than me now.

We moved to my study. Then, on a whim, I kept walking past the visitor seating and opened the door behind my desk, “After you.”

Sasha didn’t say anything to me but made a gesture to Peoni and Beatrice, who promptly disappeared to accomplish some task. Edith glanced at the maids out of the corner of her eye, then approached the door more nervously than before. Who could blame her? Rather than a servant, it was being held open by the Queen of her country, her direct superior. My friend did not speak, but upon reaching the door frame, she froze.

This particular portal led to my personal quarters, my bedroom. For me to be inviting her inside was no small thing within our society. Indeed, I had received visitors and well-wishers while I was sleeping, and they had briefly visited this room. Even Edith had been in it before. The critical distinction in that case, though, was the invitation or lack thereof. For me to be inviting her was a sign of my complete trust. Especially when one factored in the fact that there had been guards present while I was sleeping, now, it was just us and the servants.

“You know where this door went; there is no good reason to freeze up now.” I softly chided Edith and prompted her to clear the passage.

My words seemed to reach her, and she shook her head. The uncharacteristic uncertainty made way for her usually calm demeanor, and she cleared the threshold. I followed and motioned her towards a cushioned nook in the window while I took up residence on the edge of my bed. This way, there was about ten feet between us. Close enough that we could speak normally but far enough that she did not have to look up at me nor I down at her.

“We used to spend time in your room back when we attended the academy together. Is this so different?” After Edith had remained silent, I opted to break the ice myself.

“It is. You know it is. We were kids, you-” She cut herself off, “It’s one thing for two girls to play together, but you are no longer the same…”

I see I’m not the only one who’s become conscious of our age gap… Damned magic.

“Well, I still feel the same; I did not exactly live the extra years…”

I might have my past life memories, even if the details are fading, and my body might be older, but from her perspective we should still be the same age.

I thought that, and yet we once again fell into an awkward silence. Edith was either unwilling or perhaps too nervous to speak openly. Or maybe she was just that mad at me. There was just something… different… about our relationship now.

Age? No, I’ve already dismissed that. Political status? I don’t think so.

Edith was too clever. Back at the academy, she had been the one who handled politics on my behalf. Whenever I misstepped, she had worked the situation to have the best possible outcome. Going all the way back to our first meeting, when she had used a few words to create a shelter for me. Even if she had just been acting then, she should be seeking to cash in on the investment now –not awkwardly hanging around.

…Marital status? I technically stole her position out from under her…

Edith had been betrothed to Rupert for a handful of months, but then he had turned around and propositioned me. She had even been in the room with us when he did it. At the time, she had seemed like she found the idea of marrying him burdensome but was willing to do it for politics. Was that really the case, though? Or had she perhaps grown to resent me after time had passed?

That didn’t seem right, either. Even if she did resent me now, she was clever enough to put aside her own feelings to extract value. It had to be something else.

If Sarala was here, she’d say something random or uncouth, and that would break the tension.

Out of the three of us, that had always seemed to be Sarala’s role. She genuinely cared for Edith, even beyond the normal scope for a familiar. Of course, Sarala wasn’t here now. The various nobles had been instructed not to bring attendants to the meeting, and that extended to Edith as well.

There isn’t anything that says I can’t do it as well, though.

Sasha was here, and would probably protest if I went too far, but she had already remained silent when I invited Edith into my inner sanctum. Edith herself had turned to the window and was looking out over the city. One glance at the room would be enough to demonstrate how awkward things were. But what to say?

“You are the first, you know?”

Edith tore her gaze away from the window, “The first what?”

I waved my hand in a circle to indicate the room, “The first person I have invited here. Even Rupert has not been… yet…”

I could feel my cheeks turning red; the implications of what I’d just said were obvious, and I could not bring myself to finish the sentence. Edith herself went crimson, and her jaw hung open in a very un-ladylike manner. Out of the corner of my eye, Sasha facepalmed.

“S-stahlia! Why would you s-say something like that!?” Edith protested loudly.

“Ahem, well, I was hoping to break… whatever this is… And Sarala isn’t here to say it for me, so…”

Edith just stared at me, her cheeks still pink. But a combination of my own fluster and her ability rendered her thoughts unreadable. Then, she shook her head.

“You know, I can absolutely hear her saying that. Or rather, asking you if I was the first you had invited…” She grinned then, “Alright, I get it, I have been too distant, haven’t I?”

Well, on the bright side, it worked.

I nodded sheepishly, “And me too; I should have made it a point to visit as soon as I returned.”

“Yea, you should have, but the past is gone; I’m glad you’re back.”

“And I’m glad you’re going to accompany me on the next leg of this.” I bowed my head. Even if we had started being extremely casual with each other, the gesture still carried a lot of weight.

I’m glad that I’ve managed to salvage this… I don’t have enough people I could call true friends. Even if it cost my dignity, it was well worth the price.