Enlightened Empire

In the king's office, time stood still. While Fadelio was waiting for an answer, Corco could only sit there, numb to his core. What was this nonsense story his friend had just told him? Courting her? Winning her over? This guy was clearly trying to piss her off.

"Master?" Fadelio tried again. "Could you tell me how long until the maid will come back, ready for our engagement?"

Finally, the prime minister's repeated calls woke Corco up from his shock.

"I never taught you to start negging her!" he shouted, as angry as he was confused. He was ready to launch into a full-force tirade, before he saw Fadelio's confused face and sat back down with a "sorry".

Fadelio of all people really wasn't a malicious person. Most likely, he had just catastrophically misunderstood everything, and come to terrible conclusions as a result. Maybe he had really insulted Llamka willingly, but he probably thought it was for some greater good, and was probably also ready to make it up to her later.

Still, it was also hard to believe that the guy who was always so good at everything was this atrocious when it came to women. In the end, Corco could only assume the best intentions from his friend, and patiently explain the misunderstanding.

"I mean, I didn't tell you to do any of that, nor did I mean to," he said, while adding another sigh. "When I said 'sincerity', I didn't mean you should try to bribe her like a hooker. How did you ever think that was gonna end well?"

Somehow, Corco almost ended up grinning through his frown. If it hadn't been so tragic, surely, this situation would have been funny.

"But you said-"

"I just said 'sincerity'," Corco interrupted before his friend could say anything stupid again. "I thought something along the lines of 'being honest about your feelings and open about your relationship goals' or something like that. That way, if you're honest from the start, your relationship starts on the right foot. But if you're incompatible, then you were doomed to fail anyways, in which case it's better if your relationship won't start at all. And by 'patience', I just meant that you shouldn't seem desperate while chasing the girl, that's pretty basic. Also, even if you can't win her over, you should just move on, since there are still plenty of girls to meet in the future, so you'll surely find someone suitable so long as you stay patient."

As he talked, the king walked up and down the room, too animated and annoyed to sit still. Finally, once his explanation was done, he turned back to Fadelio, only to realize that the idiot sat in his seat with his head down, deeply focused on his notes and with a coal pen in his hand. He wasn't really writing down this rant, was he?

For a few seconds, the baffled Corco just silently stared at his attendant again, until Fadelio realized that the lesson had stopped. Now out of material, the kingdom's prime minister interrupted his writing and glanced up at his master.

"Okay, I got all of that. Continue," he said without shame. "What did you mean by 'confidence'?"

"Please put down your notebook before my head explodes." Corco rubbed his temples, in an effort to stave off an oncoming headache. His friend had always been such low-maintenance. How could he be this incompetent in this regard? Tired of this farce, he fell back into his seat.

"Sorry," Fadelio said yet again, finally able to read the room. Though even after he had put away the blasted notebook, he hesitated for just a second before he asked again. "So what should I-"

"Just forget about Llamka," an annoyed Corco interrupted, just barely suppressing a shout. "No matter how gracious she is, or how suitable a husband you may or may not be, she'd never be fine with being insulted like that. She's a warrior too, you know. She has her own pride. Just stop bothering her for now."

"Yeah, sorry. I will." Again, Fadelio offered an apology, and again, another moment of hesitation. "But then how would I-"

"There are a million ways to apologize to Maci, and at least a thousand which would not damage your reputation. Just pick any one of those," the merciless king interrupted again. At this point, he almost suspected that Fadelio was doing this on purpose just to annoy him. "For example, you could finally confirm Maci's annuity before she has to borrow private money from me just to pay the castle's servants. That would be a good start."

"Of course, I'll do that right away." Fadelio stood up, before he hesitated again and added: "I just don't quite understand what exactly I did wrong. I just don't get women."

Although Corco complained in his head, he thought back to his own talk with Tama earlier in the day before the words could reach his lips. Rather than waste any more time with Fadelio's ineptitude, maybe this was a good chance to probe him about his sister's changes. He had already figured out why the brother had been so weird before. Maybe this would allow him to solve another personal problem within his court while he was on a roll.

"Tell me about it," he thus said, in an acted show of sympathy. "You know, I talked with Tama earlier, and she advised me to sacrifice countless of my people, just for a little gain in strength. I never knew that girl was so ruthless. Do you have any idea if anything happened to her that let her change this much?"

Unlike before, when he just wouldn't shut up, Fadelio stayed eerily quiet this time. All he did was look at Corco while he was fidgeting about, clearly thinking about something, but unwilling to say it.

"What is it?" Corco asked after a prolonged silence. "If you have anything to say, just say it."

"I'm just not sure I should be saying this at all..." Again, Fadelio hesitated, like a schoolboy who was unsure if he should confess to a prank. Somehow, the funny sight took away all of Corco's earlier tension.

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"Out with it, what's the problem?" he asked with a crooked grin. "It's not like this would be the first time you've said something I don't like, right?"

Usually, it was Fadelio who criticized the king whenever he went too far or did something wrong. Not once had he been punished for a reasonable concern about Corco's plans. All the stranger was his current hesitation. Soon however, the king understood why his friend had been so hesitant.

"Well... that's how Tama has always been, you know?" Fadelio finally said.

"What do you mean?" a confused Corco asked back.

"Tama has always been ruthless, her mood has always been changeable and hard to read. That is who she is. Maybe you don't know, because in front of you, she always tried to act like a cute, innocent girl... You know, because..."

"She had a thing for me," Corco finally completed the sentence.

Although he knew that Tama was sometimes a bit flighty, and she had previously handled some criminals in the kingdom very harshly, those had only been criminals, and only in the early days of the kingdom, when this harsh treatment had helped them stabilize their rule. Only now did he realize that the girl had always held back in his presence. Considering just how vicious she already could be while he was around, it was a scary thought.

"No wonder you didn't want to say it," Corco concluded. "You weren't afraid of me, you were afraid of Tama."

"Please don't tell her," Fadelio whined, much to the king's amusement. For a second, he let his friend stew in his panic, before he finally relieved his anguish.

"I get it," he promised, while suppressing a laugh. "Well, it's good that there's nothing wrong with her. Still, I guess I need to look for a different foreign minister now."

Although he had solved the mystery of Tama's mood change, he still hadn't solved the fundamental problem from before. As she was, he felt she was ill-suited for a ministerial position. If nothing else, Corco didn't want anyone so cold-hearted in a position of great power. However, Fadelio looked confused in response to the king's very reasonable conclusion.

"Why?" the prime minister asked. "Maybe I am the wrong man to say so, seeing as I am her brother, but I believe Tama is perfectly suitable for the role of foreign minister."

"Is that what you think?" a suspicious Corco asked. However, based on his attendant's character, he had no reason to doubt Fadelio, so he patiently waited for an explanation.

"Of course. In international diplomacy, a cold and unpredictable personality is of great value. It makes the diplomat harder to read, and it's easier to get concessions out of the concerned negotiators on the other side if they are afraid of extreme consequences if they make their opponent unhappy. That's something you yourself taught us. Apart from that, my sister also fulfills all other necessary requirements for the role, like education and status. She is well-versed in etiquette and speaks four languages. Her close relation to the ghosts would also help her easily get her hands on important information in foreign countries, which would only serve to make her job easier."New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on ɴoᴠel ꜰɪre.nᴇt

The longer Fadelio spoke, the deeper Corco sank into his seat. In the end, he subconsciously tapped his lip, as he fell into equally deep thought.

Maybe his own ideals had once again created a problem where none had existed before. As he considered all of Fadelio's arguments, he ultimately couldn't help but agree with his assessment. In the end, the international arena was an anarchic system, which needed a sufficiently clever and ruthless actor to exploit it to the fullest. Wouldn't someone like Tama be perfect in that case?

"Maybe you're right," he finally admitted, though he still wasn't quite willing to agree.

"If you're still unsure, I'd advise you to test her first," Fadelio suggested, now with a smile on his face. "Don't make her minister right away. Instead, give her a job somewhere as a diplomatic envoy to evaluate her abilities. Maybe send her to the Arcavians in the orient, and see how she handles it. We need to establish closer contact with them anyways, and need a diplomat of sufficient weight and ability to talk to them. If she does her job there well, then you can safely make her minister after a few years."

"Wait, I get it now!" Corco shouted in response to the lengthy speech, ignoring his prime minister's words completely.

All this time, he had been confused. Never before had Fadelio fought so hard for the benefits of one of his sisters. Instead, he had always tried his hardest to appear impartial, to avoid any calls of nepotism. This unusual behavior was why Corco had been reluctant to agree before. However, after his friend's last sentence, the king finally figured out Fadelio's real goal here.

"You're just trying to get your sister out of the country before she can marry Atau," he concluded with a grin.

"I don't know what you mean, master." Fadelio coughed awkwardly and looked to the side. "However, I believe this arrangement would be to everyone's benefit, my sister included."

"And Atau?" Corco prodded.

"He won't suffer an agonizing death after he hurts my sister." Fadelio replied with a grim laugh, as if Atau having an affair behind Tama's back was guaranteed. To be fair, Corco was inclined to agree with that assessment as well.

By the time their discussion ended, the sun had already gone down. Finally, Corco and Fadelio left the king's study, ready to return to their private quarters. However, just when Corco wanted to say goodbye to his attendant, a hurried Ichtaka rushed towards them.

The king just wanted to ask his Minister of Health what he was doing back here so shortly after their year-end meeting. Yet before he could, the breathless doctor had already called out towards him.

"King Corcopaca, the examination of Queen Sumaci has been concluded," he said, and stopped a few steps away from the king to catch his breath, his hands on his hips as he heaved in the air.

In response, Corco's heart almost stopped. What could possibly have happened to Maci that the doctor was in such a hurry? Wasn't she just a bit ill after their travels during winter? She was more of a summer person after all, so a bit of discomfort was to be expected, but that was all it was, surely. How could she have caught a major illness? Pneumonia, maybe?

"And? It's nothing serious, right?" the anxious king asked. "Speak, dammit!"

However, the doctor's bright eyes and excited voice soon took away all of Corco's worst concerns.

"No, rather, it is joyous news," Ichtaka finally forced out in between gasps. "Queen Sumaci is pregnant."

After, the doctor continued to talk, and Fadelio also added something, but Corco couldn't hear a word they were saying. His anxiety over his wife's illness disappeared only for a second, before it was immediately replaced by that of a different kind.

At first, he had only felt an unprecedented happiness. After all, they had eagerly tried for children for a while now, without success. By all rights, he should have been over the moon at the news. Yet Corco's meticulous and meddlesome mind just wouldn't let him be happy. When he thought about their still primitive medical technology, and about their shockingly high mortality rate of mothers during childbirth, he couldn't help but feel panicked for his wife and their unborn heir.

Yet as always when he faced a crisis, the miracle king soon made a plan in his head, and regained his usual confidence. Childbirth was just another enemy to overcome, and he still had almost nine months left to prepare for the final confrontation.

"Looks like we'll need to add a health reform on top of the other things we decided today," the king finally determined. First of course, he would have to go find Maci, to celebrate, and check on her. After that, there was much work ahead of him. He would make sure his family was safe, no matter what.