Viella and Marie both stood waiting for the High Lady of the Empire to continue. Her hand moved elegantly as she raised it, beckoning her personal maid to move from her motionless position by the door.
The maid's small figure immediately acted upon command and disappeared behind a closet door, carrying out multiple items in a neat stack.
She stood close enough to them while holding the items. The High Lady of the Empire lifted her hand as if presenting Viella with a chest of gold.
"According to our agreement, if you manage to cure my son of his illness, then I will provide an opportunity for an education. What we have here is a set of female uniforms, a medicine satchel, and a loan for you to buy the things you need for your education," the High Lady said, her words soft, flowing like sweet honey. But Viella didn't let it catch her off guard. She frowned.
"A loan? How are you providing me the education you owe me by giving me a loan?" Viella asked, her words fast enough to be completed before Prince Caspian stood up abruptly.
"Don't!" he cried out. Viella looked back, finding the masked soldier a step away behind her, his body stiff from the command. "Let her speak freely! She has the right to defend her side of the agreement."
"My son, ever the gentleman you were raised to be," the High Lady said, with a layer of annoyance underneath her words. Viella guessed the High Lady would have preferred it if the soldier had slapped her on the back of the head for the insolence of speaking without decorum.
And then their eyes met, his sharp emerald gaze softening, nodding as if to let her know she was free to speak up. The gentleness in his gaze was surprising. Viella didn't think the Prince would be this thankful for her help.
"The loan..." the High Lady of the Empire started, "is to help you get everything you need at the academy to study: accommodation, food, books, trips, uniforms, project funds, and anything else you might need along the way. Remember, you asked to be given free education, meaning the tuition paid," she said, technically correct. But it left a salty taste on her tongue.
On the spot, of course, she didn't think it through. How could she remember the technicalities of, 'and that includes the small fees along the way'? Viella felt she was being taken advantage of, especially when she knew that, as the official second wife of the Emperor, the High Lady had the funds to use.
"Everything happened so fast, I didn't think of the small details," Viella remarked.
"And something that was fully your responsibility," the High Lady said innocently. There was nothing mocking about it, only the unforgiving matter-of-factness of the situation. Viella knew then that asking for the deal to be changed wasn't going to happen. She had to work with what she had.
"What is the nature of the loan?" Viella finally asked, remembering the countless people she had witnessed lose their heads over not fulfilling their end of a loan. In front of her, the High Lady's eyes glistened with excitement.
"A cumulative kind. The education you'll receive is between four to six years, depending on how capable you are. Over that time, you can borrow as much as you need, and by the end of that time, you'll have to pay me back in instalments. With... ten percent interest."
Both Viella and Prince Caspian looked surprised at the mention of the high interest rate. Viella felt her face souring at the thought of finishing her education with a pile of debt on her shoulders. It seemed what the Crown Prince said about the High Lady's intention of keeping her forever was true. She was going to be kept under debt.
"And what if I refuse the debt?" Viella asked, receiving an equally surprised look from the High Lady. Her brows shot up as she tilted her head slightly.
"You can. You don't have to accept the debt. But you cannot go through your years of schooling without proper funds, child... I won't allow that," the High Lady said, smiling. It did not touch her cold eyes.
"Prince Caspian is not the only person I have saved. The High General would have been dead if it were not for me, and he too owes me. He promised me he'll take care of me, so you don't have to worry about funding my daily expenses," Viella explained, deep down enjoying the shocked look on the High Lady's face at the mention of the High General.
The man had promised her a good life, and it was not yet fulfilled.
"Viella, if I may?" Prince Caspian interjected politely. Viella looked over at him for the first time in a while, almost forgetting about him.
"Of course, Your Majesty," Viella answered with the decorum she had not offered the High Lady before. The Prince glanced over at his mother, whose gaze had wandered far. His expression was one of concern.
"It's understandable that no one notified you of the news. But the High General has fallen in battle. There was a nest of Tarkish larger than they had anticipated," the Prince explained, his face grim.
Viella's lips parted, taken aback by the news. She did not know the man personally and had spoken to him only for a moment. But she remembered the man as someone who was kind to her, and her heart ached because of that. She closed her eyes. "I am sorry for your loss."
At that, the High Lady's eyes snapped into focus. "Did he tell you who he was?"
Viella shook her head. "No, but I can see the loss in your expression. He doesn't have the same eye colour, but he looks a lot like you," she said, receiving a supportive nod from Marie, who had been silently observing all this time.
For the first time, the High Lady of Empire seemed to drop the veil of royalty around her. For a moment, she was just a woman who had lost someone dear to her.
"He was my brother," she said in a low voice.
"I'm very sorry. I just met him, but I know he was a good man," Viella said, disregarding the fact that this woman had been nothing but cruel, manipulative, and dishonest towards her. The High Lady nodded, leaning back, but her expression remained resolute.
"So you remain with the same problem as before. How will you afford the education?"
"Then I kindly refuse your offer altogether. I will not be attending any form of education, and the Prince's cure was given simply out of the kindness of my heart," Viella said, knowing well that such a stance was acceptable but not what the High Lady wanted.
The High Lady's face was a mask of pure, contained rage. Her gaze snapped sideways toward the open doors of the balcony, strands of her black hair gently blown by the soft breeze. Viella wondered if the High Lady of Empire would kill her if she couldn't keep her.
"To refuse such a kind offer... of a loan would be to insult me and our original agreement," the High Lady said. Her voice was soft, but Viella could hear the threat within it.
"Perhaps if... the interest were lowered..." Prince Caspian said, trying to help.
Viella swallowed. "I beg for your understanding. The High Lady is generous and kind, but the amount of debt I'll accumulate over the years of studying would mean I might have to pay it back for the rest of my life. What good would my education be when I have no guarantee that I will have the capability to pay it back?" she said, her tone humble and sweet.
Prince Caspian looked relieved, while the High Lady appeared pleased. She leaned forward with her arms outstretched.
"Of course, how can I be so inconsiderate! You're a well-thought-out young woman who takes her responsibilities seriously. But I wish to give you the education we agreed upon. What about we make a new agreement?" she offered.
Prince Caspian glanced at his mother and then at Viella, going back and forth, curious.
Viella looked over to Marie, who met her gaze with concern. Viella knew Marie would have preferred to just leave, but even if they did, and Crown Prince Adrian didn't capture them, where would they go? That was another uncertainty they had to face.
"Very well, what do you suggest?" Viella replied.
"I will fund your tuition and living expenses. In return, you will accompany Prince Caspian as his close aide at the academy. And..." The High Lady's words trailed off, her gaze enigmatic, mixed with a hint of doubt.
"And?" Viella dared to ask, unable to handle the suspense any longer.
"And... be a member of the Sovereign's Hand in the Blood Trials..."
"My High Lady!" Prince Caspian protested, earning a sharp glare from the High Lady of Empire. She snapped her fingers, and another maid, whom Viella hadn't even noticed before, moved to open a door for him.
"It is not your place to speak, boy. I suggest you find another place to spend your evening," the High Lady of Empire said with an air of authority that even the Prince couldn't deny.
He looked as if he wanted to protest, but the High Lady no longer acknowledged him, waiting silently for him to leave.
Prince Caspian threw Viella a concerned look, then shook his head ever so slightly—so subtle that, had she blinked, she might not have noticed it.
Viella swallowed, her eyes following him as he left the room, leaving them in the tense silence of the royal sitting room.