She clears her throat, playing her game now with this small tidbit of critical political information. "I should inform you: there was an incident with a series of Northern Magistrates and Sages."

There's no reaction from that husband, his body as still as a statue at the mention of that event, watching as Sophia continues with a strange, coy casualness. "Is it common for northern magistrates to imply treason against the Dominion? My first session did result in an… outcome which I hope I did prevent."

"Is this in regards to Magistrate Yun Zhexian?" Zai quickly interrupts her before she continues.

Oh how he keeps track of our court sessions, how romantic! A thought waxes joyfully. Keep it going!

"Yes." Sophia tries not to smirk at her extremely successful deflection of political questioning. "I personally saw to it that any concerns he had of Imperial expansionist policy would be delegated to you. Especially those of which would… put into question the northern states' loyalties. I do believe this to be information of some import?"

"I-it is. However I…"

"Shall I also explain how my meeting with the Sages of both Sanji and Hwangju went? I believe they'll be much more careful when dealing with…"

"Are you aware that Magistrate Yun is dead?"

It hangs in the silence, this Princess' words catching in her mouth as she remains frozen mid sentence. "Oh my Goddess what happened?"

He actually needs to take a long breath to answer her with. "They… they're not certain yet on who ordered it. He was found in multiple pieces in Wugu Canal."

A reason, an action, and a disposal. It's a purposeful killing. A thought process realizes surprisingly quickly, taking notes from her political arsenal. Someone ordered this: an enemy of his took their chances and cut him down like a wary tree.

Another, slower, and louder member of this committee suddenly screams in realization. Oh my Goddess, Landfall has a serial killer! It's the Wugu Canal Slasher!!!

"A serial killer?!" Sophia takes the loudest, most fiction oriented voice first in a panic, then pauses. "… or… or…"

But the way Zai stares at her speaks more than the silence: from how he holds his breath for just a second too long, in his hunched over back, and in those dead, brown eyes he levels at his own wife.

You did this. His unspoken accusation soaks these obsidian black tiles upon which these two tread. You demon of silver, you monster who has entered my home, eaten my food, slept in my beds—you who has murdered my servants right before me.

Why did you do this?

The words, the minds in this place all watch her: a single outsider in this most holy of places, waiting for her answer.

But Unudo whispers through the glass, from the sunlight across its pale blue surface of gas and broken thoughts. YOUR ANSWER, A LIFE.

So the silence remains, Sophia just staring right at Zai's forehead as she attempts to formulate some excuse, some political play to bring herself above this suspicion.

A poison comes from this ground, whispering to her the will of this place from the soles of her feet: You did this. You are the monster they sent to destroy this place. That magistrate? Nothing but a step, a rung upon this ladder of power. Say the lie of evil, say that this was your doing. That once the northern lower courts fall, their sages shall be next. Every corrupt monster who sits upon their places here shall be cut into pieces, buried into the annals of history by your command in the shadows. Tell him this, open your hand to him so that when he sits upon the black throne you shall control it from the words whispered in his ear, spoken upon wet pillows and screamed in abuse. Say it all, tell him all this and make him fear you. You girl of grain and silver, you will be a part of this place too.

The response from this consciousness committee to the encroaching darkness is nothing but a standard response template to unwanted solicitation. Woah that's a lot of words, we ain't reading all that.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Stupidly honest answer, GO!

"I…" Sophia speaks, a grimace on her face. "I-It wasn't me. I swear that I did not order whatever the hells happened to him. I just had a court session where I may have attempted to humiliate him a little bit, try and put him back in line. B-but I didn't try to kill him, I would never!"

Out of the corner of her eye she spots Guardsman Fushimi gently yawn.

The Crown Prince nods, carefully, subtly.

Sophia continues from the silence. "All I did was just show that if he was gonna commit treason, he would be doing it alone. Ya know, it's like isolating an instigator from the rest of a gang. It's uh… ah… I mean it's a pretty standard social thing, right?"

Beatrice did this all the Goddess damned time. That damned extroverted sister of the family, who would constantly play those court politics for the fun of it. Every targeted word slicing apart the ties of great houses, each dinner party reorganizing the duchy coalitions, and even sometimes with that silvered tongue of hers she'd drive wedges between even the tightest of political alliances.

And that sibling's voice echoes into her psyche, speaking to her as if treading these same obsidian black walls. I do it for the love of the game, Sophia. I'll humiliate the political movements, I'll break apart marriages with rumors—I do these power politics for me… because I'm good at it… because it's all just a game to me.

Is it just a game to you?

Is it just a game to this nation?

Are you doing it because Mother sent you to this place to ruin a dynasty of five thousand years?

Or are you doing it to impress a lopsided crush?

Cause both are pretty noble~

A small wheeze comes out of Sophia's diaphragm. "... I… I didn't mean to have anyone die because of me…"

"Nobody does." Zai doesn't move, keeping his gaze down on the table next to him—letting an ocean's tides speak these words with the scent of salt and brine. "It's not your fault."

And for a long time he stares at this girl, at this creature from the world beyond the mountains who fidgets like a helpless stalk of corn left on a harvested field. Those eyes sinking amongst their dark circles, an all consuming abyss reading her very soul.

He quietly asks her the question, a distant ocean breeze upon the stale air in this place. "Are you ok?"

I'm fine. Sophia's mind responds, raw instinct dictating the right answer to her. I can handle this, I can do this. One week, one month, one year… the rest of my life—this is what I've been trained to do.

This is what a Princess should be doing.

This is what our life is now.

We are the Fourth Princess of the Ensolian Imperium.

"NOOOO!!!" Sophia Elise takes that dignity and that grace from her blood and spills the truth to her husband. "OH GODDESS ZAI YOU HAVE TO DO THIS EVERY SINGLE DAY OF YOUR LIFE??!!!"

She keeps him surprised at least, Zai jumping in this sudden change of conversational pace.

"Do you not have labor laws here??!! I didn't even have a WEEKEND, why do you people have court on WEEKENDS?!! This is HORRIBLE! How do you do this?? I didn't want him to die, this is CRAZY!!!

She takes a short breath to collect herself before promptly continuing this royal meltdown. "You have magistrates AND sages trying to EAT EACH OTHER ALIVE. How do you handle this??? HOW?!! This place is TERRIBLE!"

"I'm… I'm sorry." Zai's voice is so soft it's almost lost in the silence.

"NO!" Sophia continues to rant, taking those steps to bridge the physical distance between them. "You DON'T GET TO SAY THAT!"

Guardsman Wei reaches for something on her waist before a hand suddenly grabs her wrist, Mori simply winking as she continues to let this play out.

"I haven't seen you in NINE DAAAYS!" The Fourth Princess almost begs now, grabbing the edge of this table in a fast, yet purposeful grip. "We live in the same place WHERE ARE YOU ALWAYS HIDING?!!!"

That voice ricochets off these black walls, flickering the electric candles and letting it all echo into nothing.

He doesn't have an answer to this question from his own wife, Zai himself keeping this incredible composure in stillness and silence. His eyes low, shoulders curved as if the tiles below might offer some sort of escape.

And for a while they just remain as this, waiting for the other party to speak up.

"Guardsman." The Crown Prince of the Dominion speaks first, aiming the words outside this sphere of two.

"Sire." Both Wei and Mori answer at once.

"Please tell a staff member to inform Sage Xin that I will not be holding his court session due to extenuating circumstances." He tells his own Guardsman, raising his tone just slightly to direct his next order to the other. "Mori, remain here."

Guardsman Wei bows, quickly excusing herself from this chamber of her master with the speed of a field mouse.

It's just the two of them now, with that single Guardian simply crossing her arms in the corner of this antechamber.

Ok, we just had a meltdown with the same grace as a house fire. A suggestion from her consciousness committee begins to plot. We should approach our next words carefully, make sure not to blow it up…

"B-but I think I did a pretty good job, despite the things that uh… happened…?!"

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