Chapter 504 - New Inhabitant (Patreon)

A lively whistle chased a grounded twang around the corridors of Rapra Castle. The soft sound of music rang throughout the halls of the kingdom's political center. Of course, this wasn't the first time such a simple and elegant composition had been played in these halls. After years of repeated exposure, similar music had become well-familiar to those living in the castle, and on a good night, even those who lived nearby could enjoy such blessings.

In all that time, the part of the castle from which this music originated had never changed. Today as well, it was still the same. Duets between King Corco and Queen Sumaci in their private chambers had long become a common part of Rapra Castle's evening atmosphere. Yet despite all the similarities, something was different today. For a while now, the exact timbre of the performance had changed, subtly but noticeably rounding off some of the sound's sharper edges. Though of course, such changes were expected after the arrival of a new inhabitant within the royal family's private quarters.

In a large and comfortable room, illuminated only by the soft, steady light of a single oil lamp, the musical duet between king and queen slowly faded out. As it did, Corco and Sumaci looked at each other to better harmonize their performances. It was a move they had repeated countless times over the past few years, yet until now, it never ceased to leave them with calm and warmth in their hearts. Once silence had returned to the room, the two put down their instruments — a koto and a flute respectively — and looked at their audience of one with equally gentle eyes.

Inside a small crib — carved with delicate ornamentation and lined with silk chosen for protection and comfort — lay Primus Corcopaca Pluritac, firstborn son of Corco and Sumaci, as well as heir to their respective kingdoms. The young crown prince had been born well, at a good weight and full of ear-bursting energy in his lungs. His sparse, auburn hair mirrored his father's, while his big, clever eyes took after his mother's in shape — though those eyes had already closed during his parents' lullaby, of course. Truly, after all his worries, Corco had never expected everything to go so smoothly, and their child to be so healthy.

In retrospect, the new father shouldn't have worried as much as he did. After all, Sumaci herself was a well-trained warrior, and thus far less likely to struggle during childbirth than an ordinary person. It was a fact the panicked king had forgotten over the past year, but he still didn't regret any of the extra work he had done, just in case. That much he knew as he stared at the incarnation of their mutual love.

In all honesty, Corco had been struggling for a while by how affected he was in the face of his son. Normally, he was always rational, often even cynical. That was doubly true for children, who he often considered bothersome in their naivete. Yet somehow, in the face of his first child, all he could do was to smile and admire. The cynic in him still tried to remind himself that this was nothing more than a pheromone-based reaction in his brain, intended to protect the next generation from their own parents. However, the father in him — as well as the romantic — felt that this connection went far beyond the physical plane. He had already proven the existence of a soul, after all.

"Lord and Lady."

A sudden noise from the door interrupted Corco's admiration. Although it was hardly a shout, the call — harshly breaking through the silence like an alarm bell at night — couldn't be called a whisper either. With a deep frown forced onto his face by the inconsiderate servant, Corco looked back, to see Llamka stand at the opened door.

Even though she suffered the displeased stares of the two most powerful people in the kingdom, she seemed indifferent as she simply added: "It is time," and in the exact same, indifferent tone as before.

Although both the king and the queen were annoyed, chastising their servant would have been the worst solution in this case. They had just managed to sing and play their son to sleep after all, and didn't want to wake him up again. Thus, Corco simply picked up his instrument in one hand and the little lamp on the side in the other, before the two left the dark room through the sliding door, on the quietest steps they could muster.

After Llamka had closed the door, she began: "Lord and lady, although it may be inconvenient-"

The stern gaze from her two masters interrupted her before she could finish. Maybe even Llamka had finally understood that she had been too noisy this time, so even the know-it-all maid remained quiet for once.

Meanwhile, Corco and Sumaci stared at each other in anticipation of disaster, but finally, they were rewarded with nothing but silence. A breath of relief escaped the queen's lips as soon as she felt safe.

Meanwhile, Corco motioned for Llamka to follow them, and soon they had managed to get far enough away that they would no longer disrupt the crown prince's sleep, which had been so hard-won by his parents. At the same time, two more maids silently stood by, ready for their night shift by the crown prince's room.

"Lord and Lady, although it may be inopportune-" Llamka repeated, and once again, Corco interrupted her.

"It was, very much." He wasn't often this rude to his subordinates — except as a joke sometimes — but he was unhappy with the careless attitude the maid had shown towards her young master. Yet the maid herself seemed completely unaware of the king's displeased mood, or at least, she ignored the complaint with stony-faced stoicism.

"-but the messages from Jurau have been collected and sorted. They await Lady's review in the small study."

"Right," Corco just said, but Sumaci added in a much friendlier tone: "Let's get it done then. It's already too late and I just want to get to bed."

Indeed, the world outside of the many small windows along the corridor was already pitch black. As usual, clouds covered up most of the stars above Saniya.

"More work. What a pain," Corco complained just to complain, something Sumaci was more than aware of, as evidenced by her eye roll. However, Llamka seemed to take it as an opportunity to speak her true mind.

"In fact, there is no need for Lord and Lady to take care of young master themselves. House Hulpatec has many servants who are well-trained in childcare. Ordinarily, similar should be true for House Pluritac."

What does that mean, exactly?

Again, Corco felt like his wife's personal maid was making sly digs at himself and his family. Though this time, the insult was a lot less subtle. After all, House Pluritac was fractured and chaotic, with different branches of the family all ignoring tradition as they fought each other openly. For no other reason could one doubt that the imperial house of Medala might not have any servants to take care of a child. In fact, the insult not only hinted at the chaos within Corco's family, but even at his own legitimacy. After all, only a 'proper' household would have proper servants.

The more he thought about it, the more the king felt hostility from Llamka's simple words. Yet just as he wanted to ask for a clarification - and potentially start a conflict with his wife's servant - Sumaci spoke up first.

"Of course we don't want to make anyone's position obsolete" she said, and in the process reminded Corco that he may have overthought. Most likely, some of Sumaci's servants had just complained that their role was being replaced. At the very least, he should try to find out more about the motivation behind Llamka's words before he accused her of treason. "However, I have it on good authority that close contact with the parents is important for a child's early development," Sumaci continued while Corco was still in thought. "So I will not reduce the time spent with my son."

"On authority?" Llamka challenged. "On whose?"

"The king's." Sumaci shot back, without any further explanation. It was an answer which would not allow for any doubt. If Llamka wanted to eliminate Corco's suspicions from before, she would have to accept Sumaci's explanation this time.

In the end, the maid bowed her head without complaint, to both of them. At the very least, she proved that she wouldn't openly oppose her king. Thus, Sumaci somehow managed to caution her maid, without directly accusing her of treason.

"Very well. In that case, this servant will no longer bother Lord and Lady with her advice," Llamka admitted as the trio continued on their way to the study. "However, for the rest of the night, a servant will see after young master, so please finish the work with peace of mind, and relax after. The kingdoms need their monarchs well rested and healthy."

"I'll let the doctors worry about our health," Corco shot back, still annoyed from before.

"Of course. We have arrived," Llamka said, and opened the door to the small study. "This servant will excuse herself," she added, before she bowed yet again and stepped to the side. Both Corco and Sumaci walked inside, and only the queen added a 'good night,' before the maid closed the door again.