Chapter 51
CH51
Morgan
Tsuneo looked surprised.
"What is it?"
"I was under the impression that your family of humans-"
I snickered. He wrinkled his nose.
"Is that odd phrasing?"
"A little," I smiled at him. "But a little endearing..."
His smile turned warm, and his eyes brightened. I looked away.
"You were saying?"
"Your family... is from an area that bathes communally, isn't it?"
"My father's family, yes." I nodded. "But I never got the to never had the time, and I was always excluded from going."
go to the communal baths. I
My lips twitched at the thought.
"The Jaki Baths in my hometown are the best on this side of the continent, but I never went."
"Why?"
"Well..." I shrugged. "It was a luxury, for one."
"Your family didn't seem to be poor."
really. It's
my gaze to my knees. After everything, should I really be cagey about this? It wasn't like it was my fault that my family were
looked genuinely confused, or maybe troubled. Then he
"That's terrible."
to try it, so this is a pretty good close
back against the stone and closing my
open. His eyes were bright with
it hard to reconcile
had a proper
bulged at
like that, but...
looked away. "You were
things settle down," he
mind, I think you will like a great deal. There are these... fairy springs, hidden. deep within the mountains to the south. The water is said to have magical properties,
of bathing in a magical pool, surrounded by nature, sounded worlds better than bathing with half of
will go to
lips twitched and I sunk down a little more into the bath with
I whispered, a genuine smile playing on my lips.
"You need not thank
me, wife."
the water. The tension of the evening had melted away, replaced by a sense of intimacy and relaxation we both needed. The world outside seemed to fade away.
in my ears, a maddening drumbeat that drowned out
CH51
82
hall toward my room. Servants jumped out of my way, but I could hear them snickering, laughing, gossiping about me. About what that human woman had said.
my
traitorous and hot, streamed down my face, blurring my vision. How could it be? How could everything have gone so wrong? Tsuneo... my Tsuneo... he was supposed to be mine. I knew since we were children that we were destined to rule side-by-side. I was destined
Empress.
His wife!
in the process. The sound of shattering echoed through the room was almost cathartic. I screamed and threw chairs. I clawed through a tapestry I'd had since I was child. I couldn't stop until every surface was bare and overturned.
"That little bitch!"
was at his side. I spoke with the concubines and managed them and their petty gossip. I made the lazy servants do exactly what they should be doing. The king loved me. The entire palace bent to
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