At that same time, in the sovereign study, Viola Grandpire was also feeling cold rivulets run down her back.
Derzev Hellfryne was broad and imposing, with a strong figure that was in the prime of his life. He was a handsome man, but there was something about him that made the air turn cold and unsuitable for breathing. This, his eldest daughter had inherited from him.
The manner in which the Su'Datheram carried himself was nothing that was not expected of an accomplished man from a military House. Side-by-side with Ravena Hellfryne's tall and polished demeanour, the two of them had made an incomparable match.
Viola Grandpire felt slightly regretful and incredibly bitter.
Indeed, this was the bearing of a pure blooded member of the Eight Houses. Each one of them, no matter if old or new blood, had a distinct nobility that could not be replicated even with witchcraft.
The Sovereign had made many exceptions for Viola, but she could not compare to her old friend at all.
She bit her lips hesitantly and looked at the ground. Viola Grandpire was considered a very beautiful woman, but she could not believe that the Sovereign was still without a proper Su'Ailfi for all this time for no reason, despite having several pure-blooded women in his harem. Why only Ravena?
As she contemplated this, she once again hesitated in what she wanted to ask and felt more cold liquid run down her back.
The Su'Datheram on the other hand, was amused.
—
This woman, to have so brazenly sent him a request for a summon, yet now that she was kneeling before him, her tongue turned to iron.
Was he so terrifying?
Derzev Hellfryne was not a man of compassion, and so he could not help feeling delighted when he saw how he frightened her.
His sunlit eyes drank in the figure of Viola Grandpire with a faint hint of greed in them, as if he were looking at a treasure he was planning to posses—but it was nothing more than that. Greed.
His heart was not moved, though his demeanour became gentle. He had a harem of women at his disposal and could always add more to it, so he was emotionally unaffected by the appearance of this frail-looking, delicate beauty.
However, Viola Grandpire was special in that her history with him was too muddled to be classed as a lapse of judgement. Derzev had been aware of the very first moment she had begun to seduce him, and he left himself be seduced.
The result of such an imprudent action from so long ago still left a bitter taste in his mouth, but what else could he do except endure and carry on as planned?
Indeed, he had known of Kaelbi from the moment he was conceived, yet he made no move to protect either mother or son. Su'na Grandpire could have murdered them both in a rage and he would not have blinked.
The boy was a bastard. Who had room in their hearts for such filth?
But now, as Viola Grandpire knelt before him submissively, he looked on expressionlessly even when he wanted to laugh.
Oh, Ravena… she would have killed him if she were still here.
"Your Effulgent Majesty, your humble subject has sought an audience with you today to make the formal request to allow me to visit my son." Seeing that the Sovereign had no intention to speak, Viola took the lead.
The Su'Datheram raised an eyebrow. "What is stopping you from seeing him?"
Viola lowered her head meekly and her voice trembled. "Her Sovereign Highness, the First Princess, has ordered me to be confined to my room until my induction into the harem."
"Your induction into the harem." Derzev Hellfryne pondered over these words carefully. Verinia had acted within her authority, of course. He did not bother with such matters of the harem as they were her tasks to deal with.
Sensing an opportunity to cause a fire, Viola explained, "Her Sovereign Highness has ordered me to be under lock and key until Your Effulgent Majesty claims your humble subject officially, stating that by our murky history together, it would not be appropriate for me to roam about. I am not able to see Kaelbi because of this, as he has been placed in another residence."
The Su'Datheram had quite honestly forgotten all about that illspawn of his, so when he heard the name, it took him a few moments of silence to remember who he was or what he looked like.
He tapped his fingers on the wood of his seat's arm rest. "Again I ask, what is stopping you from seeing him?"
Hesitatingly, the sweet voice of the woman recounted, "The First Princess has—"
"But you are here, aren't you? Out of your room, roaming about." A cold smile pulled up the corners of the Sovereign's mouth. "If you disregard a command from the Lady of the nation, why deliberately refrain from visiting your son to complain to me?"
Viola choked and her face turned green.
The way the Su'Datheram was speaking made it seem as if she had caused a fuss just to attract his attention. Didn't this make her seem petty and scheming, like a graceless fox of a woman?
Indeed, the Sovereign had granted her a summon, but her maidservant had not mentioned that she was in confinement when submitting the request, and this, by her own deliberate order. Even if His Effulgent Majesty had known, she had assumed that he would override Verinia's command and not let himself by undermined by a mere girl's spiteful whim.
Was she wrong?
Was the Sovereign so willing to give the Su'Adrit face?
What Viola did not realise was that she was now experiencing the first shock of many, which had been the thing that inevitably led the Consorts of the harem to learn their places.
As for the Su'Datheram, he was not partial to his daughter, but she had been sitting by his side for most of her life and she did her duty exceptionally. He had no complaints about her, so he would naturally not undermine her authority as the continent's Su'Adrit.
He was not a fool. From a glance, he could tell what Viola's intentions had been. Hadn't his own women approached him with the exact same schemes in mind?
The difference was, Viola might succeed.
Derzev Hellfryne was not worried. The matters of the harem were not his concern and ultimately, any battles that took place there would be of no consequence to him either. Verinia could handle the situation quite well without requiring any assistance from him.
With this in mind, he waved a hand of dismissal, even though Viola could not see it with her bowed head.
"These insignificant trifles are not my responsibility. If you have a complaint, speak to the Su'Adrit. If there is any matter of true importance, then I will forgive you this slight and lend an ear."
Viola was flabbergasted.
She had not been expecting the Su'Datheram to dismiss her so coldly. Moreover, she could not for the life of her figure out when she had ever slighted him!
But of course she didn't dare to reveal her ignorance. Maintaining the perfectly respectful façade, she pressed her forehead to the ground and expressed her deep regret for disturbing the Sovereign's time, then left after she realised he was not even listening to a word she had said. His gaze was entirely fixed on a memorial scroll.
Viola was incensed with indignation. In her entire life, when had she ever suffered something so humiliating? And all because of a child!
But then, why had he agreed to see her anyway? Could it be that perhaps the Su'Datheram was putting on an aloof front to rest her character?
She was convinced that if she were to dispose of Verinia and win the Sovereign's favour, then he would treat her dotingly. After all, they shared a son together. How could he not be kind to her?
Inside the study, Derzev Hellfryne, the Su'Datheram of New Oalta, could no longer remember what Viola Grandpire had even asked to see him for.