I AM A MAGE BUT WITH MILF SYSTEM

Chapter 885: The test of loyalty

Then the Queen Mother set down her cup and smiled.

“I must say, Ranchy,” she said lightly, “your household has improved. There was a time when you could not sit through a formal meal without looking for the nearest exit.”

The Duke’s expression froze for half a second.

The King exhaled through his nose. “Mother.”

“What?” she asked, entirely unbothered. “I am paying a compliment. He used to abandon etiquette lessons the moment the tutor turned his back. One winter he even tried to hide in the grain stores. The poor man found him by following the trail of stolen bread.”

A few of the lower nobles pretended not to hear. Vanessa lowered her eyes, though not quickly enough to hide the amusement there. Olivia covered her mouth with the rim of her cup. Liam looked as if he could not decide whether secondhand embarrassment was useful or merely irritating.

The Duke forced a civil smile. “Your Highness remembers more than is merciful.”

“I remember what is entertaining,” the Queen Mother replied. “And what is true. You and Ellian both studied under Master Corwin, did you not?.”

Julian’s attention sharpened.

So that was the root of it.

His father and the King seemed to have a bond bigger than master and retainer.

The King gave a thin smile. “Master Corwin believed humiliation built character.”

“He believed children were clay,” the Queen Mother said. “And he struck the clay often. You both survived him. That should have made you lifelong allies.”

“It did,” the King said.

The Duke nodded once. “It still does.”

Julian watched the space between those answers. Agreement spoken too cleanly was often where the fracture began.

As the next course was served, his gaze drifted again toward the Queen Mother.

It was difficult not to.

Age did not make her negligible and her cleavage were begging for attention.

At one point she turned her head and caught him looking.

Julian did not jerk his eyes away like a boy exposed. He held the moment for half a breath, then bowed his head as if he had merely been listening to her words. The Queen Mother’s mouth curved.

But he could not figure out the meaning behind the smile.

Was she offended? Amused? or simply did not care enough?

Across the table, the Crown Prince leaned closer to Vanessa.

“The capital will suit you,” he said. “Once the formalities are done, you will find the court less rigid than its reputation suggests. Or more rigid, depending on which rooms you enter.”

Vanessa answered. “I was raised to adapt, Your Highness.”

“A valuable trait,” he replied. “Adaptation keeps people alive.”

…

Olivia used the pause to address the Queen Mother again. “If the journey south tired you, Your Highness, we have already prepared the quieter rooms in the west wing. The morning light is milder there.”

“Thoughtful,” the Queen Mother said. “I accept. I have grown less fond of rooms that force the sun into one’s face before the mind is ready.”

The King listened for a while longer as smaller conversations resumed. Then, after the wine had been poured again and the hall had somewhat gotten used to the banquet, he spoke again.

“Loyalty,” he said, “is easiest to praise in peacetime. Harder to practice when the realm begins to strain.”

The Duke looked up. “Has the strain grown heavier, Your Majesty?”

“It has,” the King said. “The south no longer is safe for merchants. Villages along the old border roads report disappearances. Trade request double escorts. There are rumors of coordination among groups that should have remained scattered. Some of those rumors now carry a name.”

He did not say Shadow King. He did not need to. The implication alone was enough to change the air at the high table.

Commander Aldric, seated farther down among the honored officers, went very still. Liam’s fingers paused against the stem of his cup. Louisa kept her eyes politely lowered, but Julian saw the slight shift in her shoulders.

The Duke spoke carefully. “Astran stands ready to support any defense the crown requires.”

“I am glad to hear it,” the King said. “Because support may no longer mean letters or loyalty.”

The King set his cup down.

“It may mean troops.”

For a moment the high table remained composed. Then the King’s words spread throughout the hall and everyone had same questions running in their mind.

Was the royal family starting the war?

But with whom?

We have been in peace for decades?

Has the surrounding kingdom decided to band together and attack us?

Meanwhile,

The Duke did not answer at once. When he did, his voice remained steady. “How many, Your Majesty?”

“That depends on how quickly the south deteriorates,” the King said. “A house of Astran’s standing cannot remain only a symbol of stability. If Hermes is to hold, its strongest pillars must bear weight.”

The Queen Mother watched the exchange with interest rather than surprise. “Pillars are admired until someone asks them to carry the roof,” she said. “Then one discovers which stones were decorative.”

The Duke met the King’s eyes. “Astran is not decorative.”

“No,” the King agreed. “Which is why I speak of this here, among those who should hear it before rumor does. I will not strip this duchy blind. But I will ask. And when I ask, I expect the answer to reflect the loyalty we have all praised so carefully tonight.”

Vanessa’s posture remained perfect, though Julian could see that she understood exactly what such a request would mean for the house she was about to bind to the crown by marriage. The Crown Prince, by contrast, looked almost serene, as if the demand for soldiers were no more disruptive than a change in banquet courses.

The King picked up his cup again, and with that one motion the worst of the immediate tension was forced back under the surface of etiquette.

“But enough sharpness for one course,” he said. “There will be time for numbers and routes later. Tonight, let House Astran enjoy the rare pleasure of being valued in person.”