"Cheers," King Calarian lifted a wine goblet, "King Atticus, I am mightily impressed at the speed at which you accomplished my request. You might rival my virility. One must wonder at the timing― it is nothing short of miraculous."
His words were nothing but congratulatory, yet Atticus would be a fool if he didn’t detect the faint hint of disbelief in those calculating eyes. Atticus wasn’t offended in the least; if it were him in King Calarian’s position, he’d straight up accuse the other person of lying to get their hands on the iron teorite.
After all, news of Daphne’s pregnancy arrived the day after his ultimatum. The diagnosis was made by Sirona, a healer who was loyal to Atticus. It did not take a genius to connect the dots to form a damning picture.
Atticus raised his own wine goblet and poured its entire contents down his throat before helping himself to another. "What can I say? Perhaps fate favors . Of course, if you believe that Healer Sirona might have made a misdiagnosis, feel free to send your own physicians to take a look at my wife. Truth be told, she is quite anxious about this new developnt."
"In that case, don’t mind if I do," King Calarian said, and together they raised their glasses in a toast. "My own wife is a skilled healer in her own right, and I’m sure she’ll love to take Queen Daphne under her wing."
The n drank in silence until a sharp knock at the door interrupted their unspoken conversation.
"Enter," King Calarian called out. He raised his eyebrow in surprise as he saw his niece storm in, a flinty gaze in her eyes as she stared at him.
"Uncle, we need to talk." Cordelia then turned her head and caught sight of King Atticus, and her face grew even darker.
How curious.
"King Atticus, may I speak to my uncle in private?" Cordelia asked politely, steel in every syllable.
Atticus drained the last of his goblet and got up, a cheery smile on his face.
"Of course, far be it for to interfere in a family dispute. King Calarian, we’ll continue our talk later."
When the door finally slamd shut, King Calarian waved a hand, causing the carvings on the door to glow. Once he was sure they would not be overheard, he addressed Cordelia.
"What has gotten you so upset? Did the training not go well? I told Grisha to change the horses. You should find them much easier to handle than before."
"It’s not about the training, it’s about Daphne!" Cordelia exploded.
"And what about Daphne?" King Calarian asked patiently.
"Don’t play dumb, Uncle. Do you need to spell it out for you?" This was just like her Uncle, to pretend he had no clue about anything while having a finger in every pie. If Cordelia told him about Daphne’s pregnancy, he would simply act surprised, and then claim that it was Cordelia who told him if anyone asked.
Honestly, sotis Cordelia wondered what her aunt saw in such a cunning man.
King Calarian continued to blink placidly at Cordelia. Urgh, this was a thod her aunt would use to stall her out.
Co to think of it, maybe she needed reinforcents. Her uncle feared nothing but his wife. She whipped out another piece of sodalite and yelled.
"Auntie! Your husband is being an utter ass―"
King Calarian hurriedly got up and tried to snatch the sodalite away from her.
Cordelia moved away quickly enough, continuing to complain to her. "He refuses to have a proper conversation―"
"No dear, this is just a ga, don’t be―" King Calarian quickly interjected, but the damage was already done.
"Why are you bullying poor Cordelia? Calarian, I thought better of you!" Lavinia tutted from the other end. "Stop this right now, or you’ll be sleeping in the kennels."
Cordelia smirked victoriously, mouthing the word ’kennels’ just in case her uncle didn’t get it the first ti.
King Calarian sighed. "Lavinia, dearest, this is about the highly delicate issue we spoke about last night, rember? King Atticus had just reported he had fulfilled my highly specific yet ridiculous requirent."
"Oh, that is good news indeed!" Queen Lavinia’s voice was fond. "Just let Cordelia know about it― she’ll find out anyway when people are walking around with shovels. Better to tell her now so that she has more ti to digest it."
"Shovels?! What on earth for?" Cordelia repeated incredulously; she was so surprised she forgot to be offended at her aunt for talking about her like she wasn’t there. Apparently, she already had so clue about what her uncle was scheming. "Are you making a new graveyard?!"
"Gods no, that’s so morbid of you," King Calarian shook his head. "I rely offered King Atticus a chance to extract our iron teorite if he managed to get his wife pregnant. He was just here to deliver the good news."
"Iron teorite... Pregnant..." Cordelia was so enraged, that it was a wonder she had not flooded the entire eting room in her anger. "Uncle! Are you out of your mind?! How could you offer such a precious resource to King Atticus? He can’t be trusted― and for his child, out of all things? Are you secretly his father? "
There was a laugh from Queen Lavinia before the sodalite piece went dull. Clearly, she had enough of the conversation, and Cordelia hoped she sent his uncle to sleep with the hunting hounds. Served him right.
"Of course not," King Calarian said, appalled by her accusation. "There’s no harm in offering him a chance to harvest our iron teorite. It isn’t as though he would succeed so easily― and if he does, it’ll help make our lives easier too. And if Queen Daphne is with child, this is the perfect opportunity to arrange a betrothal. If it’s a girl, we’ll arrange a marriage with Tommaso or Matteo. If it’s a boy, he’ll be the perfect age for Bianca. Any child from this couple would be an unmistakable asset to their spouse, and it’ll give us ties to two kingdoms at once."
"I cannot believe you," Cordelia growled out, throwing her hands in the air. This had her aunt’s work written all over it. Truly, her aunt and uncle were excellent at coming up with all sorts of ridiculous sches.
"Niece, the bigger question you should be wondering about is why King Atticus wants the iron teorite so badly."
"Isn’t it to save Daphne’s brothers? She ntioned it during dinner last night. They need the iron teorite for the cure"
"That’s not the only reason. If it were, Princess Leonora would be the one begging for help, not Atticus. King Cyrus would have personally contacted if he wished for his sons to be cured." Calarian huffed. "What’s more, I find it hard to believe King Atticus has any goodwill left for Prince Alistair to make such a long arduous journey here."
"Maybe he did it on Daphne’s behalf? You saw how much he loved his wife," Cordelia said, trying to think of alternative reasons. If Daphne’s husband was hiding his plans from her, this bode ill for Daphne’s future.
King Calarian laughed. "That’s a good joke if I ever heard one. You personally saw how they acted when they first arrived in Xahan. If King Atticus still loves his wife, it’s a tragedy since Queen Daphne can no longer trust his feelings."
Cordelia closed her eyes in resignation. Daphne had looked like she married a complete stranger, as she watched her husband warily from the corner of her eyes.
Good lord. To think Daphne was giving birth to his child!
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