Tainted (nonbinary mc x man)

Chapter 14

Monrie stood in the courtyard of the mansion, Senotagh and her parents standing before him.

A few minutes ago, they had arrived in the most overly decorated carriage Monrie had ever seen, their heads held high with gilded, golden crowns. The queen's dress had to be weighing her down with the amount of jewels sewn into it. These two royals were so shiny, Monrie had to look away when they stepped into the bright morning sun.

Monrie didn't see much of a point in them being so dressed up. After all, there were only some guards, a maid or two, and Toma. But maybe it was their nephew that was causing them to be so frivolous. Maybe they wanted to show off how well they were doing compared to Toma. How they were dressed in extravagance, with heavily jeweled fabrics while Toma didn't have access to anything so lavish. The thought annoyed Monrie and he chanced a glance over at Senotagh.

Compared to her parents, she was dressed very casually, donning a black floor length shift dress that was almost shapeless. Her hair was done up with small pieces of silver glinting in it. Toma had done it himself that morning, insisting that wearing a black dress and leaving her hair down would make her look like she was going to a funeral. Her response to that was that, in a way, this was a funeral.

It was the end of her parents' reign.

Senotagh didn't return Monrie's gaze, though he was sure she could feel his eyes on her by the way her lips twitched.

"The place looks very... run down, dear," the king scoffed, taking in the towering mansion above them, drawing Monrie's attention back to their new arrivals. He knitted his brows, but quickly smoothed them out again. No matter how much he disagreed with the king's judgment towards what Monrie considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings he'd ever seen, he couldn't give himself away. He was supposed to be playing the part of a nameless guard, a large helmet covering his brown hair. He stood at attention and tried to emulate an Arville-worthy blank expression.

"Once we take care of this issue with Toma, we can get more money to fix this place up. I'm thinking we get rid of the statue – it's such a depressing sight, really." The queen flicked her hair haughtily from her face as she spoke, her eyes roving over the statue. "We can replace it with a gold statue of us. It will be a lovely touch."

Monrie fought the urge to throw this woman down the mountain. A gold statue? Even if one ignored the way they were dressed and the carriage they arrived in, surely they wouldn't be able to ignore something as expensive as a solid gold statue. What a wonderful way to inspire those citizens of theirs that were very much starving. Also a gold statue was incredibly tacky!

Monrie had to turn away, as his face began to display exactly how he was feeling about these people. Only Senotagh seemed to notice, but she did not draw attention to him. Her parents didn't care about him at all.

"Where is he, dear?" the queen said while turning to Senotagh, her tone sounding anything but interested. "Let's get this little meeting over with. He can make all the demands he wants, but that changes nothing. Playing pretend won't get you a crown. Don't worry, we will take care of all this today. You will be Queen one day."

"He's in the Hall of Remembrance. He wants to meet you there," Senotagh said, her voice and expression unchanging..

The queen let out an overly loud laugh. "There? Oh, that boy thinks he can pull one over on us? I can't believe he'd choose that place, especially since his father died there."

Monrie bristled slightly at that. He was privy to the entire plan, yes, but he'd never heard anyone mention how the late king died. Much less that it was the place they were about to visit. The place that their plan would unfold.