1/26/2026, 5:26 AM
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Very few times could the Empress admit to feeling understood, save by her own mother, and it surprised her that she might feel it at the hand of this tradesman. They were both servants in their own right, their value and purpose determined by another. Yue had never known another existence, but she suspected that Batu once had, which made his willingness to adapt more significant.
Yue punctuated her glance with a small whuff, and a subtly mirthful smile of recognition.
True curiosity was the woman’s main weapon. She was not entirely hopeless in combat, but she found that the requirements of her station leant themselves better to pursuits of the mind. In a life that imposed rules as a prison imposed bars, this was her lot. Within such confines, she still found vast expanses to explore. Between the details, existed different perspectives that lit her path; guiding her way as would a sage with a lantern.
A deeper understanding of the world around her caused the many complexities to unravel in her very hands, wanting only then to be moulded as she pleased.
He answered her, proffering the explanation that sated her. “How keen,” she murmured idly in the spaces between his words, noticing that when he spoke, he used many words – much like Shenlei, much like a man with something important to say. She relished hearing about the guard hairs as much as the herd’s dynamics themselves. Relished the way that both stories made her feel a part of something larger.
Yue would never consider declining an offer to wear such finery. Much as she would if she were sweeping into a bow, did the Empress depress a shoulder so that the wild man could dress her in his furs. She felt his gaze just as she felt the many gazes of unseen others, always watching. Though this meeting was private, this simple brandishment would inevitably cause the demand for sarlag to soar. Batu could become a rich tradesman indeed.
The orchid refused to shrink from it. Instead, she sighed a sweet note, and turned her face towards him in wordless permission.
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