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“Miss, an occasion this important, and you're really not going to have a hand in the planning?”
In my chambers, my personal maid Tessa watched me, a flicker of worry in her eyes.
I smiled and picked out a jade hairpin with a deep, clear luster from the pile of ornaments, my face untroubled. “Miss Kirsten wanted to ease the Emperor's burdens, didn't she? This is the perfect chance for her.”
Tessa kept watching me, worry still shadowing her eyes. ”“His Highness champions her far too much. People outside are all saying the Emperor may well grant this Miss Kirsten to one of the princes as a secondary consort... and the one the Emperor favors most is... our own Prince.”
“If you go on like this, I'm afraid she'll edge you right out...”
I lifted a brow. “Edge me out? They'd need the ability for that first.”
The Henson ancestors were merchants, the family fortune vast, and my father used his own coffers to fill the treasury of the Craig Realm.
That the Emperor sits where he does today, the greater share of the credit is my father's.
And in countless affairs across the Craig Realm, it is the Henson family that leads.
My brother's generation traded the pen for the sword; he set his heart on guarding the frontier, keeping the realm at peace.
The Henson family, you could say, lifted the Emperor up with everything it had.
Loyal for a lifetime, giving for a lifetime, and in Otis Craig's hands it came to a whole household put to the sword...
Now the Craig Realm's finances were strained, troubles within and enemies without, and it needed alliances with many nations.
This state banquet wasn't merely about the food on the tables. It was every nation weighing the worth of the Craig Realm.
Once I had made myself ready, I went into the palace for an audience.
In the imperial study, Otis Craig and Kirsten Fox knelt straight upon the floor.
“Father, for this state banquet, I think we should make some changes.”
“Your son has already put Kirsten's plan in order.”
I glanced at it. The first page read: a full buffet-style dinner, a lavish feast.
“Your Majesty, the fourth prince and I discussed it. We break from the old form and set out a buffet dinner. The dishes and drinks this time are nothing like the traditional fare. Our ingredients and drinks, I guarantee, are things they have never heard of, never seen! And the taste is beyond dazzling, worthy of the immortals!”
“I promise you, this will become something unique to our Craig Realm! From now on it will surely be what every nation copies!”
When she finished, she made a point of glancing at me twice, showing off in her eyes.
My face stayed calm. I paid her provocation no mind.
“The consort from the Jade Realm requires her food to be absolutely pure. Can she even eat these things of yours?”
Kirsten Fox paused, then spoke. “These ingredients have all been sterilized at high heat. Perfectly clean!”
“What does 'sterilized' mean?” I looked at her with feigned confusion. “Where the ingredients come from, how they're cooked, how many times they're steamed and boiled. How do you plan to explain all of that to them?”
“I...” A single string of words from me, and Kirsten Fox fell silent.
These ingredients were all pre-made frozen meals her system conjured up. How would she know how any of them were made?
“Besides, some nations honor certain animals as messengers of their gods. Have you looked into that?”
“I... I'll stress that particularly, when the time comes.” She stumbled over the words. “And it isn't every nation that does this. When we serve, we can flexibly pull one or two dishes.”
I couldn't help but laugh inside. Nothing is more forbidden at a banquet than the dishes differing from table to table.
At an occasion like this above all, you cannot favor one and slight another.
“Kirsten's preparations are already thorough. Can you not keep dragging out those tired old ways of yours?”
Otis Craig frowned and stepped forward to prop Kirsten Fox up.
I wasn't angry. I looked at the two of them with a trace of a smile.
“Molly, what's your view?”
The Emperor looked at me thoughtfully, hesitation and inquiry in his eyes.
I looked at the pitiful-seeming Kirsten Fox and spoke in a gentle tone. “Miss Kirsten is a clever one! The plan is full of ingenuity. Your servant is dull-witted and can think of nothing better or newer. I'll leave it all to Your Highnesses to decide.”
Without a ripple, I pushed the responsibility away, and seeing no displeasure in me, the Emperor let out a breath of relief.
This was the chance he'd arranged for Otis Craig to shine. The less the Henson family took part, the better.
Only then could his son win the support of the court.
The room eased into a light, pleasant mood. But then the Seventh Prince tugged at the fifth prince's sleeve.
“Why do I feel our fourth brother's wife has changed? She used to be so forceful!”
“True. Much gentler now.”
Then the Seventh Prince glanced at Otis Craig, whose gaze was fixed entirely on Kirsten Fox.
“I fear Miss Kirsten's standing is about to soar...” he murmured with a sigh.
A thread of mockery crossed my eyes. I couldn't be bothered to argue, and even less to wipe the backsides of this pack of self-styled gods.
