Delayed Engagement

After we were done with interrogating, I mean, "listening" to the envoy of the empire, Ember and I headed together to where Queen Thalia was. After all, the matter at hand was closely related to them, so they had the right to know.

When we entered the study of the late king, Queen Thalia was sitting at the desk just like she did yesterday. The fingers in my right hand twitched lightly after recalling the softness of her twin mounds, but I quickly chased them off my head after seeing Ember's glare.

"Queen Thalia, it's good that you're here."

Without beating around the bush and ignoring pleasantries and such, I planned to go straight to the heart of the matter.

However, before I could even add another word, she raised her head and shook it sideways.

"You mean the Empire, right? I was there when their envoy came, after all. So you're backing out, just as I feared..."