The Inner Court's Top Woman

Not bad? Kanaru Burdett was not allowed to develop properly to ensure his attraction to the king. Not only Melaka—even Sierra figured she couldn't settle for that. If she was barred from seeing other men just so she would fall in love with the king… what kind of childhood was that?

Instead of agreeing, Melaka only sighed, her eyes gleaming in pity. "Royals don't have to know how to hunt or fish. It's perfectly acceptable for Rodnir not to know. As for you, you were crippled as a person just to enter the harem court. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

Kanaru nodded. "I don't feel lacking just because I can't be attracted to women. It's a good guarantee to have if I have to spend my life here in the palace."

In contrast, Sierra's hands began to ball tightly. Then, she stepped closer to Kanaru and reached her arms out halfway. "I'm sorry for being mean to you, Kanaru. Would you like to have a hug?"

"…I'm fine, Miss Sierra. Please don't force yourself…"

"What are you still doing out here? Don't you have anything to do?" With a tall stack of papers in his arms, Rodnir walked along the hallway and saw them discussing ahead. He wanted to stay away from Kanaru as much as he could, but he didn't want to miss a chance to speak to Sierra.

Sierra flinched and turned to Rodnir with teary eyes. She then went to embrace Rodnir instead. "Kanaru is… I feel so bad about my thoughts. Why am I like this?"

Rodnir blushed at the sudden hold. "S-Sierra, what's happening? Did Kanaru say something to make Sierra cry like this? Wait, Sierra, it's all right. Damn papers occupying my arms…"

Instead of offering a smile, Kanaru only stared in their direction. His hands would also ball at the image, but he did remember that Rodnir normally chased after the members of the harem court as well. It didn't matter how close they were in their travels. With a woman as alluring as Sierra around, why would Rodnir spend time with him? The man even acted like they were never familiar with each other.

He could only look away.

"…oh, so we still have the irritable womanizer…" Melaka murmured in amusement. Kanaru caught her words, as much as Rodnir did. However, the unicorn decided to ignore her. She only caught Kanaru boring a hole into her face with his eyes. "What's wrong? Rodnir never acted like this during your trip with him? Did he not tell you about Sierra?"

"Melaka, please don't slander me in front of others." Rodnir almost growled, but he couldn't stop consoling the crying kelpie next to him.

The black-haired maiden only shook her head with a smile. She then faced Kanaru, whom she caught glancing at Rodnir. "If you're going to stay here in the inner court, you should be used to it. Rodnir will either be the irritable womanizer or the callous golden child. The king will also switch from quiet and brooding to reckless and unrelenting. You can say those two unicorns are special."

Rodnir frowned at Melaka. "Please don't preach your insane claims to the newbie. Also, just because Fenris laughs your words off doesn't mean the ministers will not fault you. Stop telling people I'm a lunatic without saying it."

"You don't think you act too differently from time to time?" Kanaru turned to Rodnir with a melancholic gaze. There was even a heavy sigh. "You opened the tower for me and put good words about my cooking, but when we see each other, you don't even behave like we're friends. This is too much if it's only about not letting others think you favor me."

"…it's not my fault he's an idiot…" Rodnir growled softly under his clenched teeth. However, the three concubines caught it. Even Rodnir was shocked when his words came out with a sound.

Ahem! Ahem! Rodnir just cleared his throat and balanced all the papers in his arms into one of them. He then wrapped the now-vacant arm around Sierra and took her away. "Don't disturb me. I'm busy. You also have work to do, Melaka. Stay away."

Instead of mirroring Kanaru's frown, Melaka only laughed. "What a strange creature. Those unicorns have reached the pinnacle of power, but something is wrong with their heads. No matter. Don't speak to His Majesty like that, Kanaru. You can only bully Rodnir, not the king."

She then looked around as if reminding her where they were. "I doubt Sierra will attend to her duties today with that sorry state of hers just now. Since you'll be shadowing her, I guess I should teach you the basics of the inner court. Walk with me, Kanaru.

"His Majesty has no queen to speak of, so all of her duties fall into the hands of the inner court. The most intimate actions are handled by Sierra. That means pleasing him in multiple aspects, and that doesn't include the bed alone. She can be dubbed as the head lady-in-waiting if the king were a princess. Sierra serves as the food taster, cleaning maid, or stylist—she takes care of the king hands-on.

"When the king is late to services, it's her fault. If the king's clothes are stained, she must clean them. At times the king must appear before the people in ceremonies, she must make sure he looks immaculate and worthy of praise." Melaka opened the door to the library and closed it after Kanaru walked in. "You might think it's excessive and borderline babysitting, but you have to know…

"His Majesty is afflicted with a curse." Melaka reached a table with a whiteboard in front of it. "Any ounce of magic he uses returns with an ounce of misfortune. We are not told how severe a battle can bring him, but the ministers feared that he might die from it someday. You can say someone has to watch him all the time, in case he uses his magic unnecessarily."

The maiden erased the whiteboard from any distinguishable leftover marks from the previous writings. "It's a laughable matter until you get to experience it first-hand. I shouldn't tell humiliating events, but His Majesty once fell into a deep well filled with sludge. It happened after he shot down airborne enemies over the skies of Middlemist. More of it, and he might break a bone from his falls."

She turned to Kanaru, expecting a laughing face. After all, that was the reaction of the newer members of the inner court. However, Kanaru was deep in thought, hand on his chin. Melaka then asked, "What's wrong, Kanaru? Did you remember something you need to attend to?"

"Nothing really. I just realized that happens to Rodnir as well." Kanaru rubbed his neck with a chuckle. "He's pretty miserable every time after he has to fight. However, he just smiled at me like his bouts of misery were opportunities instead. I looked after him, so he…"

A wild blush then crawled along Kanaru's cheeks. He shouldn't be caught telling a member of the inner court of those events. After all, it was a testament to Rodnir's strange attraction toward him… and how he reciprocated it to a degree. 

How funny that it was not the case anymore.