Frost awkwardly sat across the Empress, as breakfast food adorned the table. The dark oak table, upon which lay the elegant silvery tablecloth, had the silver-trimmed white plates and dark silver cutlery prepared for two people. The decor was simple, not too lavish, but elegant. In the middle lay a platter with an aromatic elk roast. Slices of it were already served on plates before Frost and the Empress, alongside roasted chestnut cream and famous northern pepper-berry sauce. Alongside those, pieces of warm rye bread, butter, and herbal butter, various fruit jams, soft cheeses, small smoked fish, and a mix of grapes and berries. Besides those flavorfull tea imported from the south was presented as the drink.
Frost watched as his 'wife' calmly and expressionlessly sipped tea, as he nervously ate the meat, while servants watched him, whispering. Despite the calm atmosphere, Frost could not relax, cold sweat dripping on his face. It did not help that Selene was staring daggers at him.
"Is the food not to your liking?" Arianne asked softly, her radiant elegance intimidating Frost further.
"No, it's perfectly fine, I like it." he answered, as servants' whispers intensified.
"I see..." she pondered, taking a bite of the elk roast. "In that case, what seems to be the problem then? You seem... uncomfortable?" she asked, tilting her head slightly, while Selene behindher intensified her glare at Frost."
"Well..." he started, thinking back to last night.
[Flashback to last night]
After finishing his tutoring for the day, Frost, led by Selene alongside Sonia and Elisa, reached the thorne room. Standing before the Empress again, once more charmed by her elegance, he got nervous.
"Tell me, Sir Frost, have you learned something useful today?" she asked coldly, resting her head on her hand.
With many eyes observing him, his heartbeat increased as he prepared an answer.
"Well... I might not be the most knowlagable so things I learned really helped me widen my horizons." he said with a smile.
"It also gave some time to plan my next moves in the context of the world..." he thought.
While his answer sounded simple, it shocked the Empress and Selene, while Elise smiled smugly, prompting Sonia to elbow her.
"That's.... surprising. Your predecessors were not quite eager or enthusiastic about tutoring." Arianne said.
"Well... he did stay in the study the whole day... and Sir Roland did seem to take a shine to him." Selene reported
While other servants present whispered amongst themselves, and Selene sent out someone to take a report from Roland, the Empress looked curiously at Frost. Her cold gaze analyzed the man, who awkwardly shifted in place.
"I believe I will be given detailed reports soon." she said as she looked at Sonia and Elsie, who flinched. "You are dismissed now. We will meet tomorrow." she added.
"I'm sorry, but before I leave, I have a request." Frost quickly blurted out, shocking everyone.
"I'm curious, pray tell, what is your request?" Arianne asked in response, as the atmosphere thickened.
"Here it comes... the first step to make my situation better." he thought
"I wondered if I would be allowed to..." he started.
As he was finishing his sentence, he noticed a change in everyone's expressions. The Empress's gaze felt colder, Selene grew a disgusted and expectant snarl, and Sonia and Elise looked hopeful.
"If I would be allowed to... eat breakfast together with you, your Majesty, tomorrow morning." Frost finished once again, shocking everyone.
"What?!" Selene exclaimed as she stumbled from the positively shocking question, slightly embarrassed. Sonia and Elisa were equally surprised.
"Hoo... That's an interesting question... Why would you want that?" Empress asked, pleasantly surprised, comparing Frost's request to those of his predecessors.
"I... simple thought it would do us good to bond a bit, and frankly, it would be pleasant to have a meal with someone as beautiful as you, your Majesty." he responded, while making a small bow.
"I see... in that case I will permit it." she responded, straightening up, as her expression seemed more pleased, despite her cold, emotionless face, almost giving off light sparks.
[Back to the present]
"Well... I guess I feel intimidated, since it still doesn't feel real that you, your Majesty, agreed to have breakfast with me." Frost said
"There is no need to be nervous, after all, this is a simple meal, between people married to each other." she answered oddly.
Frost, in response, let out an awkward giggle. Arianne sipped her tea, slightly confused, and tilted her head.
"Cute" Frost thought.
Afterwards, the two continued to eat breakfast in silence. Frost enjoyed the foods served, eating them eagerly, yet still with a sense of elegance, impressing the gathered servants. His enjoyment also pleased the observing chefs, who until now could never guess if the Empress enjoyed their work. While there was no tension, there was also no sense of closeness between the two people who were seemingly married. As they both finished their meals, Arianne was the first one to leave the table.
"Thank you for the meal." she said while standing up."I quite enjoyed our breakfast." she added, emphasizing the 'our' part, her emotionless face wearing a sense of freshness.
"Did she enjoy it? Really? At least it seems like it..." Frost thought
"I'm glad, I also did enjoy it... Maybe we could eat breakfast like that together from now on?" Frost asked
In response, she slightly raised her eyebrow, before her face grew gentler.
"I will permit it... I believe meeting and eating together like this would be more beneficial than meeting in a throne room." she said and turned to leave.
"Ah, before you leave, your Majesty, I have one more request."
"Yes?" She stopped and turned her head towards Frost, letting her silver hair strands fall off her shoulders, embellishing her beauty further.
"Could you perhaps permit me to visit the city?" Frost asked, stunned by her odd action.
"I was thinking of sending you to tour the city as you ought to familiarize yourself with it... I shall send someone to inform your guards, and then you will be able to go down there... Just don't cause any trouble." she answered after a moment of pondering and left.
....
After getting the Empress's permission, Frost was led to his room, where maids silently yet eagerly prepared his clothes for the outing. His outfit was not that different from the one he already had; the same dark blue, militaristic coat was worn, but instead of the usual cape, he was given a thicker coat, identical in style to the cape but hanging over both of his shoulders. When he was ready, maids led him to the castle's entrance hall, a tall room, made of azure stone and light marble, with the sun coming through the windows. Guards stood on both sides of the large entrance door, and yet this entrance hall was the busiest place Frost had seen yet, with knights moving around, checking on the arriving merchants and their goods, servants moving around, sending orders, and taking various products in different directions.
After a while of waiting, Sonia and Elisa arrived, wearing their usual uniforms, but with coats similar to Frosts', except theirs were brown in color.
"Hehe, Sir Frost looking cool like usual." Elisa said, clasping her hands.
"Hey, don't start fawning over our lord." Sonia rebuked her.
"What? I'm just excited, besides the way you are wearing your coat is too seductive." Elisa responded, pouting.
"Huh? What do you mean by that? Sonia was confused, as her coat was wrapped around her, leaving her shoulders not covered.
Frost giggled at their interaction, as the trio attracted some attention from the surrounding people. When the girls stopped arguing they turned to him.
"Needless to say, we are glad to be working with you, Sir Frost, again." Elisa started
"Same here." he responded.
"Well then, shall we go-" Sonia started, but before they could finish, she was interrupted by the arrival of one of the royal maids.
"To commemorate your first visit to the city, her Majesty, the Empress decided to bestow upon you a gift." She held a velvet box and opened it to reveal a pair of elegant, slick black leather gloves with a faded silver flower embellishment.
"Aren't those..." Elisa started, a mix of shock and concern on her face.
"Not now.." Sonia interrupted her by elbowing her, wearing a similar mixed expression
The three ladies watched for Frost's next move. He, with curiosity, took the gloves out of the box and analyzed them.
"Whoa, those are some nice gloves, very elegant. They do seem slightly worn, but the material is still top-notch. To think her Majesty would gift me something this beautiful." He concluded
"Expensive accessories like these seem kinda shallow, but her gifting me this means we bonded a bit." He thought.
His positive response shocked others.
"He... actually likes them." Elise exclaimed, confused.
"Should have expected that from this guy." Sonia added in a hushed tone.
"Empress will be pleased to hear that." the maid said
Hearing that, Frost grabbed the maid's hand and started thanking her. The maid tensed up, surprised by his course of action.
"Thank you for bringing this to me.. And make sure to thank the Empress from me."
"Y-yes... I will be sure to do that." The maid responded, flustered, and quickly scurried off.
"Odd..." he said
"Ah, don't worry, those maids are all just shy like that, even the slightest compliment or even a thank you makes them embarrassed." Sonia explained
"Yeah, they keep running away whenever I want to share my snacks." Elisa added
As if to make their point more solid, a nearby maid squeaked when thanked by a merchant.
"Well... Should we go now?" Frost asked, putting the gloves on.
"Of course, we even have a list of what you'll be doing during the visit to the city." Sonia responded
"I-i see"
"Well... there goes my chance at gathering information independently." he thought
With their bearings collected, the trio approached the castle door. Guards quickly opened the door, allowing Frost to view the front garden in full. He observed it, noticing how simple yet elegant it was. Not wasting any time, Frost and the women made their way to the gate. The detailed cold iron gate slowly opened, allowing the trio to enter the road towards the capital city. The winding road and chilly winds filled Frost with excitement for what he would see in the city.