Compared to the females' living quarters in the outer court, the males' living quarters were less decorated and barely had anything worth gazing at. Fenris walked along the hallways alone at eleven in the morning, when most people were asleep. Middlemist had become a nocturnal nation because of the moon, so the country slept when most countries were doing business.
No matter. The people by the harbor were wide awake. As for the king's palace, the concubines should be tucked in their beds.
The king graced the hallway in his normal get-up, not appearing anything more than any minister. The only distinguishing factor right now was the black crown sitting on his head. It didn't help that it would blend with his hair almost perfectly.
"This won't do… but who am I to complain?"
A voice came from the first room Fenris had on his list. Upon double-checking the small piece of paper with names and room numbers, Fenris was sure this belonged to the man the male members looked up to. The king only sighed and brought his hand to knock on the door.
"I don't have the time to argue with you, Grendel. Just square up with another of your little boys," Henrik answered without coming to the door to see who it was.
"I'll gladly relay those words to him when he gets out of solitary." Fenris fought the urge to scoff. How disrespectful. The first person he visited turned him away without reservation.
Thud! Something fell over from inside the room, and Henrik quickly opened the door to meet the shallow frown on the king's face. Upon realizing Fenris was standing in front of him, Henrik froze. He didn't even know what to say.
Fenris moved his head to look inside the small room that barely had anything in it. The luggage Henrik brought with him was even staying inside the boxes because the items might crowd his room too much. The king then brought his gaze back to Henrik's face.
"Do you remember what Natucha does every time the outer court sees me?" Fenris asked in his neutral tone, not cold enough to be mistaken as him getting angry.
"Greetings to His Majesty, the king…" Henrik finally greeted him. Then, the male member glanced at his bed cluttered with letters from his parents. He then stepped back to let Fenris in. "Uhm… I didn't think I would even get a visit."
"Don't get scared. I only want to check up on you. Most male members rebel and run away. I want to know why." Fenris entered the room and picked up a letter from the bed. "Your family seems demanding resources meant for a member of the inner court. Do monsters attack your country often?"
Henrik looked around and frantically looked for a place to lean. He even did his best to look cool, hiding his aversion to the picture it might draw in the evening. The king visited his room, and someone would surely find out.
He cleared his throat. "N-Not really, but we live near Bourbonia. My parents must have failed to realize that Sierra and I have different standings here in the harem court."
In contrast to Henrik's discomfort, Fenris was even reading through the letters as if they were meant for him. It was not like they contained secrets, so Henrik didn't fight for his right to privacy.
In the end, Fenris just placed the letters down. "I can't increase allocation without you taking on more duties from the court. Neither can you stomach dealing with the miscellaneous, judging from your distance from me. I'll get Natucha to list down tasks the outer court handles. Perhaps rearrangements are in order… to balance allocations received by females and males."
"…I'm sorry, Your Majesty…"
"I'm sorry your parents sent you here to live like this." Fenris didn't show much emotion, his words sounding a little cold to the ears. However, these men probably wouldn't want pity from him. "Pacify them through your own devices first. Don't forget to turn off your lamp before sleeping."
Fenris moved to leave, and Henrik only whispered his farewell. With that, one room was done. Fenris just sighed as he left for the next person to talk to.
None of his words were suggestive that he was visiting more than one person. Every male court member trembled at the fact that the king was visiting them when everyone was sleeping for the morning. Fenris couldn't even visibly massage his forehead in annoyance. Was he such a fearful existence to these men who would even display their strengths and dauntlessness to multiple women?
Soon enough, Fenris reached the tower's entrance. He easily hopped from one floor to another, landing on the sixth floor without breaking a sweat. However, he was indeed exhausted by his chosen activity. He made sure not to visit neighboring rooms consecutively. With one more left before Kanaru's room, he just needed to get this done.
"Huh? Kanaru, is that you? Was I too noisy?" Eann opened the door and saw dark clothes at eye level. He then looked up to find Fenris looking down at him. The king even reached out to clean something smudged on Eann's face.
"Paint? What are you doing in the middle of the day?" Fenris rubbed the smear on his thumb with his pointer. It even looked like a special kind of paint. "Are you making something?"
"Y-Your… Your Majesty!" Eann covered his mouth before he could even squeal. He then looked behind him and saw the mess in the room. "Uhm, I'm just… I'm building a lamp to gift you. I could have done this during my trip, but I'm scared the transport might damage it."
Fenris lifted his brows. He then remembered who Eann was. With a small smile, he spoke, "Are you finished with it? May I see?"
Eann nodded and hurried back inside his room to grab the litter. Fenris followed him in and instantly noticed how wide the tower rooms were. In this space, he could easily fit two living quarters rooms in it. No wonder Eann found the space for a workshop. The huge window was also closer to the workshop, so the smell of paint wouldn't get stuck in the room.
A small handcrafted desk lamp was on the table. It looked so majestic with the colors on it, more so when Eann took out a small light bulb and screwed it inside the lamp. With Eann flicking a small switch, the desk lamp lit up with strong and weak lights. The stained-glass-like design depicted the king in his glorious black unicorn form, vanquishing a leviathan in the ocean.
"It's a story well read to me when I was a child. I figured I want to immortalize it as much as you are, Your Majesty." Eann blushed as he watched how Fenris stared at the lamp. "Uhm, it runs on batteries. I figured you won't have problems having some in stock.
"Do you like it, Your Majesty?"