25 XXIV. The Court
"I cannot believe that the king thought I was suitable for court. I mean, look at me! I barely can weave my way in the castle," Magnus said as James and Will were sipping on the brandy that they took in the private study.
Magnus acquired the space when he moved into Red Cast but he never had to use it before. Now that he has something to say in front of his brothers, they retired there before Casey went with Lady Ashley and the queen to take their tea in the drawing room.
"Well, it would seem that you will have your hands full now, brother," James said as he was patting Magnus' back. He grunted.
"What about the estate then? Who will be managing them now?" Magnus asked before James chuckled. He rolled his eyes before sipping on the brandy. Will just watched the fire crackled in the fire pit.
"I must say that it is such a disappointment that the estate is running itself. They don't need your attention all the time now, Magnus. The tenants were happy and I, for one, am confident enough to tell you that I manage it just fine. Even Will helped me," James said before Magnus paced the room.
"But what if—"
"If you're looking for an excuse to avoid going to court, you don't have an excuse from us. Sorry, brother," James said before Magnus looked at Will. His youngest brother shook his head as well.
"Damn it," he murmured before James was smirking at him.
"Don't worry, all they do was talking about the taxes and how to get more money into the royal treasury. It's not like you haven't heard before," James said before Magnus was leaning against the mantle, looking into the fire that warmed the room.
"I hope you're right," and I can survive them, he thought before they continued to sip on their brandy for the rest of the night.
*****
Casey was brushing her hair when Magnus entered. He looked weary but she did not tell her husband that. She knew that the news about his new role at court was an unexpected turn on their marriage life.
If I could ease it from him, she thought before Magnus was going into the dressing room. Casey put her comb down on the vanity before she went after her husband. Magnus was removing his waistcoat before he was unbuttoning his white shirt.
The tan skin of her husband was a sight to see. Casey leaned against the door frame, taking in the sight before Magnus chuckled.
"If you want to help me, perhaps you should remove my shirt and breeches, love," Magnus said before he turned to look at her. His black hair was framing his handsome face as his green eyes glowed by the candlelight in the room. Casey shook her head before she stepped into the room.
The air was warmer in here, even when she was wearing her translucent nightgown right now. She unbuttoned the shirt that Magnus wore and pushed it past his shoulders before the cloth dropped to the floor. Then she was looking into his eyes as she was touching his bare chest.
"Are you worried about the meeting with the court tomorrow?" Casey asked him before Magnus sighed.
"Perhaps. I don't know...what to expect. And what I will bring to the table. James argued that they will only discuss taxes and all that," he mumbled before Casey hugged him.
"Well, if it makes you any better. It will be the first for me to officially seat among the peers of the realm." She said before Casey turned to look at Magnus. He arched his eyebrow at her.
"Are you sure you're not pulling my leg? Because if you are—"
"I am telling you the truth. Usually, I would seat in the shadows and my father would talk among them. My mother sat beside him and my brother...well, this is the first time that he will be sitting in the court after so many years traveling abroad," Casey said before Magnus tilted his head.
"The crown prince did not sit in court? Why?" Magnus asked before Casey shook her head.
"I don't know but I know that he had a purpose outside of Caga. Something about national security," Casey said before she was taking a deep breath.
"Come on now. We need to sleep early to get to court. But of course, you need to bath, my lord," Casey said before Magnus shook his head.
"Will you wash my back?" he asked her before she turned to look at him. She smirked.
"If my lord wishes," she said before they went to the copper bathtub that was filled with lukewarm water and cleaned themselves before hitting the sack.
*****
Apparently, James was wrong when he said that the old peers of the realm only talked about taxes and how to increase money on the royal treasury. It was more than that when Magnus first seated in the court of Caga for the first time that morning.
He wore a black waistcoat against a white shirt and a black coat to complete the look. He had to don a gold robe to tell that he was from the royal family residing in court. There were multiple colors all over the court.
Red was reserved for dukes.
Blue was for marquises.
Yellow was for earls.
Green was for viscounts and lastly, purple was for barons. There were some exceptions for the knights that protected the realm in which they donned black robes.
I wish I got a black robe. It suits my skin tone better, Magnus thought before he turned to look on his right. Casey was donning the gold robe with her hair in a chignon as well as the gold circlet above her brows. The king and queen were wearing a gold robe as well as the crown prince.
"So, I must urge you to reconsider, Your Highness, for it is a risk to let you go there alone," the duke said to Chad before the crown prince narrowed his eyes at him. The duke squirmed in his seat.
"I will do everything in my power to make sure that the threat with the bandits will end now. My sister was nearly being killed by them," Chad turned to look at Casey before he mumbled, 'even though it was from her own stupidity,'
Casey snorted at the comment.
"Then, I urge you to take the knights with you," the duke continued before some of the marquises and earls were nodding eagerly. The knights were sitting taller as if the crown prince would notice them and brought them with him on his mission.
Which Magnus has no idea what was it about.
The court was silent, letting the awkwardness slip in before the crown prince was rubbing his face with his hand. Then, Chad sighed.
"I'll think about it," he said with resignation before the duke sighed with relief. Then, the prince was looking around as if he was trying to scout the talent before Magnus noticed some movements.
It was very settled but there were three small nods toward the crown prince. Then, it was gone.
"Alright. Now that we have concluded on the bandits' problem, shall we move on how to handle the pirates that were holding our route to reach Niapachad Island?" the crown prince stated as if the others were not willing to take the floor. Magnus also noticed that the king was letting his son speak with the court.
Perhaps it was to install the lost time that the crown prince was not in court and to show who's in power, Magnus thought before he was looking around. The peers were talking with each other before the crown prince was arching his eyebrow.
"No one? Well, here's my solution for that. I suggest that we will bring the knights," Chad nodded at the black robe wearers, "to sail across the sea and perhaps take them down. Of course, I know that the knights were not familiar with the water and sailing but I have assembled a special unit for that. All you need to do was to drive the pirates away and for good," Chad's eyes were glistening in the warm sunlight. Everyone was still before the king knocked the gravel and dismissed the court.
Magnus saw that the peers were looking at him as if he did not belong here. He was self-conscious that he was wearing the gold robe but he was silent the whole time. Well, it was not my place to say anything, after all, he thought before the king and his queen were making their way toward Casey and him.
"So, how was your first day at court?" the king asked before Magnus helped Casey to stand. She put her hand on the crook of his elbow. He shrugged.
"It was okay. Not that I would be expecting much but Chad was excellent," Magnus said before he saw that his brother-in-law was talking with 3 other peers. Perhaps his friends.
"Well, get used to it. These peers loved to debate and argue but Chad would always be the one that came up with any solution for any problem that Caga faced," the king said before he walked out of the room with his queen. Magnus turned to look at Chad and saw that he was focused on him. Magnus turned to get out of the room as soon as possible.
