Chapter 1347 Cursed To Weakness
Karl sensed as the Queen's words sunk into Princess Rue's mind.
She had been bullied for her lack of ability for years now, and for her mixed lineage for all her life. Now, she found out that her lack of ability was because the Queen cursed her to be powerless?
The level of rage that she was feeling was not something that she could put into words, and Cara nodded happily as she realized that they were just in time to avert the first steps of the disaster that Misty had warned them about.
Not that it would have been impossible for someone as brilliant as a Chaos Badger to alter fate after the fact, but the Karl had definitely put them on the right path.
Cara shifted to lay on top of the kneeling Princess, pinning her to the ground and confusing her enough that she was distracted from her rage about having been cursed into uselessness.
Karl knew that the distraction wouldn't last, as the Queen would not forget that someone had interfered in her plans to cripple the daughter of her husband's mistress.
But for now, it was working, and the furry distraction had made everyone else in the room forget about the Princess.
"Why did you not arrive at the front gates of the Palace, Emissary? We could have arranged rooms for you in advance. Surely, your mission is not so urgent when the young Princess is merely Ascended Rank trash?" The Queen asked, her tone impatient.
"You know how it is. I have never been here before, so I relied on being sent directly to my target. It's the most certain way to ensure that I don't end up in the wrong spot." Karl replied, waving his hand dismissively.
The Queen nodded. She was familiar with the technique, though it was annoying that someone used it on a target within the Palace.
A feat that shouldn't be possible with the barriers they had in place.
Damnable Chaos Dragon.
However, she couldn't complain too loudly about it, as she had attempted to send the Princess away to various remote estates many times in the past, only to be thwarted and reprimanded by the King.
He didn't wish for any of his children to be raised outside the Palace, so the Princess was stuffed into a spare room in the servant's quarters here and, if the Queen had her way, forgotten.
The hope was that with enough time and no class or progression, she would lose her status and become one of the maids that she lived beside.
Unfortunately, that seemed doomed to failure now that there was some meddlesome Tengu here to tutor her.
The real question was: Why was he here? She knew who had sent him, but she didn't have an enmity or an alliance with the Chaos Dragon, or the Darklight Host Guild that she managed.
It made no sense that they would send such a powerful member here to tutor the daughter of a mistress. If he were an Elf, it would have at least been understandable that there would be some affinity.
But someone had sent this odd man and his badger.
Was it the doing of one of her political rivals? One of the Concubines from the King's court? Perhaps even one of the Noble Houses had seen the potential to train up the half-breed and use her to elevate their standing?
Certainly, it wasn't the Tengu.
No, he had said that he wasn't a Tengu at all, but a dragon transformed into a Tengu for his own entertainment.
The many possible schemes that ran through the Queen's mind took only a few seconds, and then she was back to focusing on the issue at hand.
The fact that someone was training the illegitimate daughter she had cursed. Princess Rue had no idea that the Queen had read so deeply into her situation. For all that she knew, this random visitor had simply taken pity on her and had decided to help her out in a way that had gotten around whatever the Queen had done to stop her from getting a Class.
But mostly, her mind was occupied with trying to get out from under Cara, who was really quite comfortable on top of the little dragonkin.
It was like sleeping on a warm, squishy rock.
"Emissary, perhaps you would like to accompany our staff to your room to prepare for dinner? The King will certainly be happy to see that our visitor here to assist his youngest daughter is well taken care of." The Steward suggested. "That would be wonderful, thank you. Perhaps a room next to the Princess, to save time when I wish to conduct surprise practical tests." Karl suggested. [You're going to make them cry.] Cara laughed as she watched everyone's expressions shift.
[It gets funnier by the minute. Where do you think that they've got her staying? It should either be the far corner of the Royal wing or the Servant's wing.] Karl agreed.
"Certainly, Emissary. Would you object if we relocated both of you for the time being? The suites near the Library are suitably appointed, and Princess Rue is a reasonable child, she will surely not object to taking the spare room in your
suite.
You didn't have a guard escort coming, did you?" The Steward asked.
"No, it's just myself plus Cara. The only requirement that I have is that the suite should be fully private. I do prefer to set defensive spells while I am teaching, and it would be awkward for everyone involved if I blocked a doorway that was in use." Karl agreed.
The Queen nodded, and a maid was called forward. "The Princess' belongings will be brought to the spare room momentarily. We will have to discuss her
fashion sense later."
Rue looked up from where she was pinned under Cara, then realized that Karl had given her new clothing to replace the now filthy peasant dress she was
wearing.
"My apologies, your Majesty. I did not wish to get good clothes dirty." She replied, then squirmed out from under the badger and equipped the dress Karl
had given her.
The Queen frowned as she stared at the dress. It was adorable, but she had never seen anything even remotely similar before.
Where had Rue gotten it?
It had to be from the Emissary, and she hadn't been able to equip it before she
had gained a Class.
"If you will forgive my abrupt departure, I have business to attend to. I will see you at dinner, daughter. Emissary." The Queen declared, then turned and strode out of the room.