DEDLB | Ch 18

Episode 18   The Embrace and the Plan

“…!”
At the same instant, Ricardo pulled her into his arms.

It was a blasphemous, dangerous thing to do. Yvonne was married to the Emperor. What could be more improper than a man holding another man’s wife?

“L-let go…”
She finally understood what was happening and said it, voice shaking. Ricardo cut her off.

“You’re so small, Your Highness.”
Her shoulders, her back — he said it like it was nothing and held her tighter, not letting go.

He smelled like crushed grass, like he’d come through the palace garden, with that cold, faint scent he always carried — like a snowy forest.
“Will you keep being rude to the end, Lord?” she asked.

“Of course.”
She tried to shove his solid chest away, but he didn’t budge. Her face went from pale to flushed; he stared at her cheeks and said, bluntly, “Why are you bound to an emperor like that? Is being Empress’s honor that important to you?”

She couldn’t answer. Behind the question was a kind of burning desire; it was clear and impossible to ignore. Frederick didn’t want her. He’d married her for qualification — to have a Crown Princess and later an Empress — not because he desired her. Facing a real, raw feeling directed at her for the first time was confusing.

Ricardo had thought of her. He’d risked everything to come here because this might be the last time.
“It seems we won’t have another chance to be alone after this.”

“Let me go,” she said, but he kept talking. “I began as a rude intruder; maybe I can be rude until the end.”

“Let go.”

“I couldn’t resist the urge to hold the Crown Princess,” he said, unashamed. Even while she barely whispered protests, he kept speaking about what he wanted. “After I leave, you’ll be able to stretch your legs and sleep soundly.”

“…”

“You’ll forget me right away, won’t you?”

She stared at the man who had grabbed her hand and dared to hold her, at his teasing face and the hard-to-read words. He toyed with her like it was a joke, and she couldn’t figure him out. She knew she’d been unsettled all day because of him — but she couldn’t admit that.

“The moon will wane.”
She bowed her head and pushed him off. This time, he let her go.

“You’d better leave now. If your tail grows too long, it gets stepped on. Your wound’s not fully healed.”

“So eager to see me go, are you?” Ricardo grinned. She almost said “no” but forced herself to close her eyes instead. Why did she want to grab him and keep him? He was dangerous — the perfect tool to bring down Sildron — and yet she felt pulled.

“Let’s go. It’s late.”
Ricardo watched her for a moment, then turned and walked to the window quietly. He scanned the night outside, looked back at her once more, and said, “Goodbye, Your Highness.” Then he slipped out the window and disappeared into the garden.

“Ricardo…!”
Yvonne ran to the window and looked down. Her room was on the third floor — jumping would risk serious injury. Still, Ricardo lightly leaped into the bushes and vanished between the trees like he belonged there. The only trace he’d been the open window and the curtains were fluttering in the cold night breeze. She watched them sway long after he’d gone.

“You’ll forget me right away?”
The Wolf of Naha — feared and infamous — had left those words behind. He seemed sure she’d forget him.

“That’s impossible.”
She climbed back away from the sill and sat on the bed edge, wrapping her arms around herself the same way he had wrapped his arms around her. The fierce warmth she’d felt against her skin and the solid weight of his arm were still vivid. She fumbled through the empty space he left and realized — with a shock — she’d been searching for him.

He was a tool. A means to destroy Sildron. Letting herself be swayed by him was unacceptable. Facing how much his words and touch unsettled her was unbearable. She paced and sat and covered her face with her hands, frozen by the trace he left behind. The night stretched on with little hope of sleep.

Early the next morning, waking from a light sleep, Yvonne found an arrow stuck in the windowsill with a note attached. It was from the thieves’ guild leader: Ricardo had escaped the summer palace safely.

“…ha.”
She let out a shallow breath and pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart still raced like it had in his arms — fierce and wild, like from a dream she couldn’t trust.

“Important things come next. Don’t forget that.”
She slapped her cheeks lightly, scolding herself. Night thoughts of the intruder had to stop. Her grand plan hadn’t even properly started yet. To topple a continent and take the throne from Frederick, she needed solid foundations. Getting Ricardo on her side — she’d somehow done that — and now she had to push events forward.

She had to plant rebellious ideas in Ricardo’s heart, accelerate his path to rebellion. She had three life cycles, where she died in December. If she had to die again, she wanted to at least live long enough to watch Frederick fail.

“Good morning, Your Highness!”
A cheerful knock and voice arrived. She checked the calendar reflexively — still March, but April was coming soon. Time was moving faster than she thought. Yvonne opened the chamber door.

“Did you sleep well, Lucy?”
“Yes! The summer palace bedding was so comfy, I slept deeply!” Lucy chattered. Yvonne listened but kept sorting her plans.

Ricardo was safe for now. Next, she had to steer public opinion. The big cities still supported the Emperor; few noticed his weakness. Stirring opinion inside the palace was essential. The pro-Emperor nobles were conservative landholders with hereditary titles; they defended the throne. But if their money or honor were threatened, they might turn. Yvonne needed a way to break the Emperor’s power and their trust in him.

She spent her time in the summer palace buried in histories and strategy books, ostensibly to learn Sildron’s past, but really to plan rebellion. The continent had known other states and frequent wars; revolts had happened before. Reading up on past political conflicts, she found a small note in the margin that caught her eye:

“…Lord R. Brown proposed a challenge to absolute imperial power — a concept called ‘political separation.’”
Political separation: the idea of returning power to the people who had been ignored — choose representatives from commoners and merchants to sit in the assembly with nobles, reflecting their voice in politics.