A Beast's Tale

Chapter 34

"So," Jin began, strolling into my private library with a lollipop in his mouth, "what happened?"

I returned my attention to my book. "It's none of your concern."

"Ivetta said the same thing when I asked her. I'm not her big brother, so I didn't push her to tell me. But I am your big brother, and you are my business. If you're having trouble with women, come to me about it."

His hand appeared between me and the book, holding another lollipop. I sighed and took it from him, knowing I wouldn't get rid of him until I either chased him out of here at sword-point or satisfied his curiosity.

"Luke told me she was upset earlier. I checked with the other servants, and everybody who saw her said she was normal when she got here this morning, which means something happened between you and her first thing today. I know you wouldn't do anything bad to her, and I told Luke that, but it wasn't easy for Ivetta and me to keep him from confronting you about it. But it's after five o'clock, and they're gone now, so... what happened? I figure it has something to do with your assassination attempt last night."

It was a strawberry-flavored lollipop. I pushed it to my cheek with my tongue and rolled it around for a moment, debating about how to answer. The truth? No. Not the full truth, anyway. Nobody needed to know I had, in essence, assaulted her in a misguided attempt to protect her by scaring her away from me. I could tell him part of it, but he might see through me and realize I had succumbed to the height of foolishness by falling in love with my maid.

"The risk to her increases the longer she continues working for me. She refused to leave or accept reassignment."

"Oh," he said, drawing the single syllable out and packing it with as much implication as it could hold. He grinned. "You care about her, don't you?"

That didn't take long.

"I answered one question. I have no intention of answering another."

He laughed. "There's nothing wrong with admitting you like her, Chevalier, as long as you don't go the route our father took. I don't think anybody could dislike her—unless they were a monster, and contrary to what Clavis thinks, you are not."

He bit down on his lollipop with a loud crunch, and suddenly, I was considering telling him. Of all my brothers, he understood the importance of maintaining the line between royalty and commoners the most. He'd lived the first six years of his life in another country, struggling with his mother to make ends meet after a sect among the nobility took action and banished her from Rhodolite before the king could marry her. If our father had the sense to not act upon his emotions, or at least to not legitimize their relationship by marriage, she wouldn't have died in poverty of a treatable disease, leaving her son with nothing except a note telling him to stay away from Rhodolite and the palace.

Jin knew all the reasons I should feel nothing for Ivetta, and even more so, should not act upon those feelings. He could be a valuable ally.

"I'm in love with her."

His burgundy eyes shot wide open. His throat bobbed as he swallowed the last pieces of his lollipop, and then he opened his mouth to respond, reconsidered, closed it, and opened it again. "You're what?"

"I didn't want to fall in love with her, but it has proved impossible to prevent it from happening. She doesn't know, of course, and she won't know. But that complicates matters."

"You bet it does. Look, you've gotta cut down the time you spend with her. Stop having her come to your room in the morning. Don't come to the library every day. That kinda thing." He paused, studying me. "But you would've tried all that already, wouldn't you? Which means you've got it bad. Really bad."