Chapter 431
The autumn rain in Ramberg lasted for half a month.
Although the arrow wound on Ray’s right arm had scabbed over, it always ached faintly on rainy days.
Since the defeat, he had locked himself in the palace every day, drinking and making merry with beautiful concubines. He turned a deaf ear to state affairs, as if he wanted to drown himself in a wine jar.
The ministers outside the palace were in a frenzy. The Minister of Personnel stroked his gray beard and whispered to his colleagues, “If this continues, not to mention the southern invasion, I’m afraid that even Ramberg will be in chaos.”
“How about… finding some entertainment for the King to distract him?” The Vice Minister of Revenue rubbed his hands together, a cunning glint in his eyes. “I heard that a new group of dancers has arrived in the west of the city, and each one…”
“Nonsense!” The Minister of War glared, blowing his beard. “The King is depressed because of Athena, how could ordinary women catch his eye?”
Just as the others were arguing, the Federal Bureau Chief suddenly slapped his thigh. “I’ve got it! I heard that there’s an embroiderer in north street whose eyebrows and eyes are seventy percent similar to those of Xander’s consort, but…” He paused, looking embarrassed. “Unfortunately, she’s a mute.”
The others looked at each other, and finally the Minister of Personnel sighed, “Let’s try anything to save the situation; it’s better than watching the King rot in the palace.”
Three days later, in the afternoon, the rain finally stopped. Ray was dragged out of the palace by the royal attendant, with a combination of coaxing and persuasion.
An attendant said, “Your Majesty, a new sugar painting shop has opened on the street. The craftsmanship is exquisite; you will definitely be happy to see it.”
Ray was expressionless, like a walking corpse.
Seeing that he was unmoved, the royal attendant continued his efforts, “There are juggling acts in southalley. They can breathe fire and walk on stilts.”
Ray walked on the bluestone slab with his hands in his sleeves, kicking the puddles on the roadside, his eyes empty. Seeing that he was not interested in anything, the royal attendant scratched his head and was about to lead Ray to Southalley when Ray stopped.
He just stared straight at the embroidery shed on the corner of the street. A woman in a blue dress was sitting there. She was bowing her head and embroidering a flower.
The sunlight fell on her profile through the gap of the paper umbrella. The curve of the bridge of her nose and the contour of her lips were actually similar to Athena’s. Especially the way she frowned when threading the needle. It was so much like the expression Athena had when she sewed his robe under the tree.
Ray’s heart skipped a beat, and most of his drunkenness disappeared instantly. He walked over as if possessed, squatted in front of the embroidery shed, and whispered, “Atheny.”
The woman was startled and looked up abruptly. Her eyes were very clear, but she didn’t have the sharpness in Athena’s eyes, only the timidity of a frightened deer. She opened her mouth, but couldn’t make a sound, and just waved her hand at Ray in a panic. ‘I am not Atheny.‘
“Who are you?” Ray’s voice trembled.
The woman lowered her head and wrote two words on the cloth next to the embroidery frame: Nova Nichols.
“Nova…” Ray repeated the name, his fingertips tracing the delicate handwriting. Suddenly remembering Athena’s nickname, Atheny, he felt a sting in his heart, both sour and numb.
The royal attendant stepped forward and said to Ray. “Your Majesty, this girl has a hard life, her parents died early, and she depends on embroidery to make a living. Unfortunately, she is mute.”
Ray gently took the woman’s hand, his eyes bursting with intense joy, his voice trembling. “Atheny, you are Atheny.”
Nova was so frightened by this sudden action that her whole body stiffened. Her clear eyes were filled with terror. She subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, but Ray held it even tighter.
“How dare you!” The royal attendant on the side scolded sharply, “How dare you look directly at the King? Do you not want to live?”
Nova was frightened out of her wits by this angry shout and fell to the ground with a thud, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Ray’s gaze suddenly turned cold and swept toward the royal attendant. “Get out.”
The royal attendant’s legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, repeatedly kowtowing and begging for mercy. “Your Majesty, spare me! I will never dare to do it again!”
Ray didn’t even look at him again, bent down, and picked up Nova, who was kneeling on the ground, in his arms. She was very light, like a feather, shivering in his arms.
Ray seemed not to notice and strode toward the palace not far away.
Three days later, news came from the Ramberg Imperial Palace that Ray had appointed a mute woman named Nova as Consort Nova. As soon as the imperial decree was issued, the entire court was in an uproar, and many ministers submitted memorials to remonstrate. “Your Majesty, since ancient times, there has never been a case of a mute being made a consort. Please, Your Majesty, withdraw your order.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, this woman has a disability. How can she be a consort?”
But Ray turned a deaf ear to this. He not only rejected all the memorials of remonstrance but also built a garden for Nova in the palace. The furnishings inside were exactly the same as Athena’s residence in Petanion back then, and even the flower on the windowsill was personally selected by him.
Since Nova entered the palace, Ray has turned down all court meetings and military affairs, staying with her in the Crabapple Palace all day long. Nova couldn’t speak, so he found the best painter to teach her to express her feelings with a paintbrush. Nova liked embroidery, so he had people collect the best silk threads in the world and piled them up in the entire embroidery room. Nova was afraid of thunder, so whenever it was cloudy or rainy, he would stay by her side, holding her hand, and whispering those old stories.
People in the palace said that His Majesty simply granted Nova’s every request, doting on her to the core. Once, Nova pointed at a white egret flying past the window, a look of longing in her eyes. Within a few days, Ray had a pond dug in the garden and raised hundreds of white egrets, just to make her smile.
Nova knew that Ray did not love her, but rather her face. The Atheny he spoke of was Athena. Even so, she was content because Ray was really, really good to her. Nova always had a faint smile on her face whenever she thought of Ray. She personally embroidered a piece of clothing for Ray, thinking of giving it to him when it was finished.
However, the appearance of Nova broke the balance of the palace. Those concubines were left behind by Ray, and he only had Nova in his eyes. Before Nova entered the palace, Consort Maisie was Ray’s favorite. Since she came, Maisie had never seen Ray again.
One afternoon, Nova was winding the dried silk thread into spools when a burst of rapid footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard. Maisie, dressed in a red palace dress, barged into the Crabapple Palace with more than a dozen royal attendants, her eyes almost spitting fire.
Nova looked flustered as she watched her barge in with people. Maisie looked at Nova’s face and suddenly screeched, “You demonic concubine, how dare you bewitch the King! Drag her out and beat her to death with sticks!”
The royal attendants were about to step forward when they were stopped by the old nanny beside Nova. The nanny was specially sent by Ray to take care of her. Although she was over fifty years old, her eyes were exceptionally sharp. “Consort Nova is an imperial concubine personally appointed by His Majesty. You have no right to deal with her!”
Nova was so frightened that she hid behind the old nanny, her eyes full of panic.
“No right to deal with her?” Maisie sneered, kicking over the embroidery frame; the brocade was trampled beyond recognition by her. “It’s not up to a mute to make decisions in this palace. My brother is a famous general of Virelda; who dares to stop me?”
Chapter 432