Evening With a Emperor — Pt. 2

The presence of the Princess seemed to disperse any negative feelings for a moment. Even though an imaginary wall had already divided the table in half, stress had already dissipated. For the most part, things were going smoothly.

Idle chatter and small talk were used to pass the time. The group enjoyed sharing short tales of their adventures and conquests with each other, yet Aithne stayed relatively silent. An absent-minded smile rested on her face as she interjected an occasional quiet laugh or a short comment.

"Darling Aithne, why have you not introduced me to your companions earlier?" Cairbre asked.

The room fell silent for a moment. The eyes of her friends and servants quickly shifted around the table. To her staff and brother, her guests were complete strangers, even if they had spent many days lounging about in the library. Aithne had kept their identities private from everyone, including most staff members. Not only did it protect their practices, but it shielded her servants from learning information that could put them in danger.

"I have never found the opportunity to bring it up."

She was surprised that Cairbre seemed to take interest in them. That was of course a lie, but Aithne did not know what else she could say. Her brother was unpredictable in nature, so there was no telling what he might do to the mages that sat in front of him. Developing a rapport did not secure any sort of favor from the royal family.

"We actually have only become acquaintances recently."

One of Leland's redeeming qualities was his quick-witted thinking. Somehow it made him seem more charismatic in the eyes of others. He spoke with the type of confidence that was hard to not believe. Despite how paradoxical it may sound, he was a very trustworthy liar.

The comment seemed to appease the emperor for a few moments, it appeared as if he did believe it for a moment. While it eased the hints of anxiety in the room for a moment, Aithne had a feeling that it did not sit well with him. It was evident that he did not think of Leland as a liar, but there was clearly something else on Cairbre's mind.

"Recently, you say? Interesting."

"Your sister is a very kind and generous soul," Leland added. "I will admit, we were unaware of her status at first. We come from a village closer to the northern border, but still a comfortable distance from Hiemal. Word of royalty walking amongst us commoners did not travel fast."

Aithne shot a glare in Leland's direction. While his story was a pretty clear recantation of what happened, the Princess knew better than to allow for a story like this to be shared. In essence, it was harmless, but Aithne did not have a good feeling about letting Cairbre know that she has taken interest in adventuring outside of her palace.

"Aithne?" Cairbre said, shifting his eyes over to his younger sister. He sat upright, no longer leaning on his chair's armrest. "I did not know you had an interest in public relations," he grinned.