With Her Majesty gone, Alyx made himself comfortable at the seat across the table. His casual demeanor bothered Noble in a way she couldn't describe. He acted as if he belonged there and she was the one intruding and had requested his time.
Reluctantly, Noble joined him. She opened a book and buried her face in it, hoping he would take the hint.
He did not.
Alyx wore a crooked smile. "Are you really going to ignore me?"
"We spoke so much while dancing, I am afraid I have run out of things to say," Noble responded icily.
"That was a lovely time. I do hope we can relive those moments in the upcoming celebration."
'Over my dead body.'
"I don't think that is a good idea. I am not sure my foot can stand being stepped on again just to prevent me from leaving," Noble looked up from her book just in time to see the man grimace.
He pulled lightly at his collar. "You are too perceptive, Lady Brenna. I hope you will not blame me too much for wanting more time in your company."
"I hope you will not blame me too much for going back to my studies." Noble held up the book to block her face.
At dinner last night, she needed to be polite with so many people around. With just the two of them, Noble decided she could be more blunt.
Where was Counsel? He must have overseen the entire preparation of the meal to have been gone so long. It was thoughtful but inconvenient.
She thought about going to look for him but did not have a good enough map of the palace in her head to find him with any sort of accuracy. Noble blew out her cheeks.
Why wouldn't the pompous man before her just leave?!
Alyx leaned forward and pushed down the edge of her book. His emotions faltered in their confidence when he saw her glaring at him.
"I cannot go until I have done as the Queen desired." He forced a smile. "It is better that you do what you should, Lady Brenna. That's how ladies act."
"So by going against what you say, I am not a lady?"
Noble did not realize it was possible to dislike the man more, yet here he was proving her wrong. She shut the book roughly, catching Alyx's finger between the pages.
He pulled his hand away and pressed the fresh papercut against his lips for a moment.
"That is not what I meant," he answered, shaking his finger in the air. "I only meant that the end is inevitable. So, why fight it?"
Noble pursed her lips. "You'll have to be more specific. What end do you think I am refusing to face?"
Alyx raised one eyebrow. "You must renounce Counsel."
Laying her book on the table, Noble could not help but laugh. "Must? Why must I?"
The man shook his head wearily. "Her Majesty is becoming impatient. You and I both know what judgment awaits that treacherous snake you have serving you."
With all the haughtiness of her station, Noble tilted up her chin and looked down her nose at the lord. "Enlighten me."
"Counsel's trial for the death of your parents has been postponed for years. Many are pressuring for it to conclude. They want him sentenced or exonerated. And you know Her Majesty cannot forgive him. When she renders her verdict, Queen Emira will execute him."
"She can do that whether or not he is my Counsel..." Noble felt like there was a piece missing from the reasoning.
Emira had also implied that Counsel was saved by Brenna's actions.
"Are you so unconcerned about your own life? Do not think that Her Majesty will disobey the law of the land when you have weaponized it against her. Whatever happens to Counsel will also happen to you. You are responsible for his choices. Do you want to be executed alongside him?"
"I do not," Noble opened and raised the book once more. This time it was to hide the tears forming in her eyes.
So that was it! Brenna had stopped the Queen from executing Counsel by binding herself to him. No wonder Her Majesty did not like her!
Alyx nodded. "Then you know what to do. Denounce your Counsel and pick me instead. I was the one you were supposed to choose. Queen Emira hand-selected me. But my patience, like the Queen's, is wearing thin." The Lord leaned over the table and took her hand.
Noble dropped the book and found herself staring straight into his shining eyes.
He smiled brightly. "Shall I tell the Queen the good news or would you like to?"
Pulling her hand away, Noble used her powers to push back her chair as she stood.
"There is no news to tell the Queen except that we did speak." Noble clicked her tongue. "I hardly think my aunt will be elated."
"But...you are going to renounce..." Alyx sputtered. He had imagined this conversation going differently.
"The only thing I am willing to announce right now is that I will never have you as Counsel. I am not Her Majesty's puppet." Noble felt the words tumble out, but she was not sorry that she had said them.
She had seen this sort of behavior before. If the professor had been a social climber, it would have been easy to get caught up in the game.
But Noble wasn't about to ally herself with someone as detestable and domineering as Lord Alyx.
And if Emira was on his side, she wanted nothing to do with her scheming either.
"I have to return these." Noble picked up a few things from the table.
"But My Lady, what shall I tell Her Majesty?" Alyx's confident exterior melted.
"The truth, I suppose," Noble continued to walk away, but Alyx cut off her exit.
"Your life!"
"Is mine to use. Good Day." The professor stared determinedly at the man but he did not move.
He took her shoulders. "Please! You are not thinking straight."
"On the contrary..." Noble pushed the books against Alyx's chest. "My thoughts are becoming clearer by the second. And right now I am thinking you had better move."
Alyx's grip tightened in desperation. He did not like the idea of being openly rejected.
Noble had had enough. Releasing one of the books in her hand. She reversed her levitation and forced the pages down at frightening speed.
The spine slammed into Alyx's foot. He jumped backward. "Ouch! Why would you do that?"
"If you can step on my foot to try and make me stay, then it seems only fair that my book can 'step' on your foot to allow me to leave." Noble pushed passed him.
Noble felt the lord's mood finally turn sour. She enhanced that emotion, hoping that it would make him dislike her as much as she did him.
But somehow his distaste only fueled his determination.
"My Lady!"
"No."
Using her extra sight, she could feel him coming toward her. Without turning around, she lifted and pinned him to the stone wall while continuing to walk away.
"You are only delaying the inevitable. Fighting me on this is fighting yourself." Alyx called, his voice strained. "Is this the job of your Symncus? Tell him to let me down!"
"No. And don't bother me again. Good day."
The Awakened man struggled against an invisible enemy, desperate to catch up and argue further.
He would not get that chance.
As Noble rounded the corner, she was delighted by the smell of food wafting through the air.
Kosi jumped toward her, his tail wagging feverishly so that he almost knocked over multiple bookshelves.
"I'm glad to see you too," Noble petted the purring Symncus.
"Is everything alright, My Lady?" Counsel held two trays of food. "Are you done studying?"
"For today, at least," Noble answered. "We shouldn't eat around all these books anyway."
"Understood." Counsel looked at her with a complicated expression. "Uh, what is wrong with your eyes?"
"What? Oh!" Noble blinked, returning them to their normal blue. "Nothing is wrong. I was just focusing on someone unpleasant. We should get out of here. There is a pest nearby and I don't want to have to share the food!"