Rythica stared up at Elara, eyes wide.

  "Am queen... You queen..."

  Surprise flickered across the elderly diplomat's face before she managed to school her features. Of all the reactions she had been expecting, that had certainly not been one of them. From the firsthand reports she had heard from both Bella and Julia, she had expected the feral creature to hiss and whine before finally deciding she had won an imaginary battle of dominance. So what happened here?

  Elara idly noted that Julia also wore a similarly stunned yet almost deeply unsettled expression. She filed that away for later.

  "Are you alright, little one?" Elara asked again, a polite, concerned expression mixed with a hint of genuine curiosity.

  Once more, Rythica flinched as she spoke, but it was far less pronounced. On a hunch, Elara dialed back her Silver Tongue ability to a dull simmer. She wasn't sure, but she had a strong feeling this was the cause of her reaction. If so, this presented her with a unique opportunity. She left the gates open enough to keep the girl off-balance.

  The vex remained on her knees, watching Elara with open-mouthed ambivalence.

  "...Big..."

  She ducked her head and started to groom her antennae in a sort of anxious tick.

  Elara watched the small vex as their face went through a rictus of emotions she couldn't parse. Fear? Longing? Confusion? Finally, the vex settled on a mask of determination that the diplomat was more than aware was only skin deep. It was a familiar expression she had seen many times over her long career, one worn by those who were utterly out of their depth, merely struggling to keep their head above the water. She could practically hear the age-old adage, 'showing weakness in front of an enemy is a sin you only commit once.'

  Rythica rose to her feet, meeting Elara's gaze.

  "Am big."

  A twitch of apparent anxiety crossed her features before Rythica firmed her expression once more, standing as tall as her waist-height physique would allow. She pointed to her chest with a thumb.

  "Rythica! "

  Elara chuckled. She had to admit, the little creature was endearing. Elara found herself even more intrigued by the insect pretending to be a person. Playing along, she pointed to herself. "Elara."

  The vex nodded and also pointed at Elara. "My."

  "Oh?"

  The small queen pointed at the nanny. "Julia, my."

  She pointed at the door. "Bella, my. Randell, my."

  She pointed at the diplomat. A fire lit in the girl's eyes, a clear challenge.

  Elara watched the child's resolve solidify in real time... She recognized an oh-so-familiar hunger in those violet eyes, and it was beautiful.

  The diplomat would readily admit she knew little of the vex. The only reason she knew anything at all was due to the hive eradication a year prior. She had studied up on the little pests for much the same reason she had dragged her family to the portvale hearing: social status. That being said, she did understand the basics. One or more queens ruled a hive, commanding the swarm of drones telepathically. The hive that had sprung up outside of Saltbrook was still nascent, only supporting a single queen, but it was common for larger hives to support dozens or even hundreds of them. While unproven, her dear brother had rambled for hours on the countless theories on how these eusocial hives operated, most of which she had long forgotten. However, one of the prevailing theories she recalled was that there was a sort of hierarchy among queens, much like how pack animals had an alpha.

  If that theory held, the vex had become somehow convinced, likely from her Silver Tongue skill, that Elara was a fellow hive queen and was now posturing for a dominant position. And that, that was something she understood well. It seemed that even nobles were the same everywhere one went, even among monsters.

  "Strong-willed, indeed. What level is she?"

  "Level eight, Mistress."

  "Level eight at only a year old? My, that's fast. Racial classes always have such an unfair advantage in the lower levels." She shook her head with mild disgust at the unjustness.

  Racial classes could almost be considered a cheat in some ways. Beings born with a high Affinity meant that not only did they level faster from the beginning, but their Mana was more efficient as well, without having to painstakingly cultivate their Affinity for years and years. They would quite literally level by simply acting according to their base nature from the day of their birth.

  Although, in all honesty, Elara was glad she was born as a mundane species. While racial classes were indeed powerful, they had a significant drawback. Cultivating one's Affinity was tedious and slow, but it offered freedom. Any Affinity was as good as any other. For a magical species, this was not always the case. Affinity had a direct impact on how one's Mana functioned. With a biology that didn't quite mesh with classical physics, changing one's Affinity was akin to replacing their blood with something else. Needless to say, it was not always conducive to one's long-term health. It wasn't a hopeless path; Affinity could still be altered for any magical species, but it needed to be done so creatively.

  Not all dryads had a nature Affinity, after all. Elara suppressed a shiver as she recalled the tales of Nemurilla, the Emberwood Reaper. She was about as far from as one could get. That monster still held unrivaled dominion over the western swamplands' heart to this day. Elara mentally smirked as she imagined how that abomination would be dealing with the sprawling portvale right on her front door.

  Refocusing on the present, Elara pondered momentarily, studying the posturing bug while rubbing her chin. "Quite the smart one, too. She's already developed rudimentary speech and understands the practicality of introducing names. Has she displayed any special skills or abilities?"

  "Rythica has shown a remarkable capacity for learning. She has an incredible memory for her age and a keen mind for puzzles. Though I believe Master Randell might be more suited to providing additional details," Julia finished with a slight dip of her head.

  She hadn't doubted her older brother's claim that the child was brilliant, but it was another thing to see it firsthand. Even she was a bit intimidated by the implications. There was so much potential, ripe for the taking.

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  "I see. Inform my brother that he and I are to speak at his earliest convenience. Also, I would like a full dossier of all observations made on her growth up to this point. Even the most minor interactions. I'd like to see everything."

  "Yes, Mistress Elara." Julia bowed deeply once more and turned to leave.

  Elara gracefully ignored the harsh grimace that briefly crossed the servant's features, likely at being tasked with menial secretary work. Rythica, however, did not. The previous air of confused concentration she wore as she tried to follow the conversation kilometers above her head morphed into one of pure indignance. She hissed and buzzed her wings, making the nanny pause. The old House speaker could practically feel the fumes of her fury through the vitresteel.

  "Julia, my!" She stomped her foot and puffed out her chest, pointing at the caretaker.

  Sensing an opportunity, Elara held up a hand, stopping the younger woman from leaving.

  Elara had thought long and hard about what to do with the juvenile vex queen. She had been churning over countless ideas since Randell had made it clear she was not to be harmed. But the thing that stuck out to her most was the telepathic nature of the queens. She doubted the ability would work on humans as it was, but Affinity was coming that could be shifted and developed.

  What would happen if she raised this creature like a proper member of the House? Build up her social and etiquette classes, shift her Affinity to something more useful. Having a genuine mind reader during a political negotiation would be the highest of cards Elara could employ. The vex could speak, right? What if her words held power, the power of a born leader? If she happened to invite a noble of House Summerdale over for tea, and they happened to have a sudden change of heart during their friendly chat, was that so bad? If they were already committing high treason by having her here, what was one more sin?

  Elara was already preparing for word about Rythica to leak. It was practically guaranteed. You couldn't keep this kind of secret locked away. What mattered now was taking advantage of their headstart; she was already developing backup plans for her backup plans. A little wave of her hand with a "this is not the vex you're looking for" thrown in would do wonders for keeping their heads attached to the rest of their bodies. What if they leaned into that lie she told Bella? That Rythica was a... Vaneguin? What if they gave her a potion to temporarily turn her chitin a porcelain white? Vex weren't considered to be sapient, so any insectoid species that walked around wearing fancy clothes and holding polite conversation was already a world away from expectations. It wouldn't take much convincing to sell the story.

  Elara considered her skill, Silver Tongue. It wasn't quite mind magic, but it could be said to have some similarities if one squinted one's eyes. She imagined what it could have been, given time. She had spent so long experimenting with her Mana, forming this technique from the ground up and building her Affinity to make it work. What would happen if this skill was passed on and given a proper chance to bloom? She imagined a skill that could sway nations with a single spoken word. A skill worthy of a ruler.

  Elara was old. She had wasted much of her younger years fluttering about instead of building up her Affinity. She had spent decades repairing the damage, pruning off unnecessary classes and building up, combining, and evolving the ones she cared about, but it had already been too late. With her advanced age, she might be able to squeeze one, maybe two more levels out before her time was up.

  The thing Elara craved most in this world was not her own power, but to give her House the legacy they . They belonged at the top. They deserved to rule. She craved to see her family name with the glory they once wielded generations prior. She knew she would not be the one to carry that torch to the finish line. She had tried oh-so-hard to raise another in her footsteps, but her blood relatives were lazy and unambitious. They boarded themselves up in their rooms, content with their lot in life. But there was no such thing as a free meal. This world was a cruel one. Did they think their safe, cushy lifestyles would remain if she didn't spend every waking moment clawing for power? They lived comfortably because she dirtied her hands for their sake. She did not blame them. She was the same, once. But she had seen the truth of the matter and knew the harsh realities that festered outside the walls of their cozy estate. Slothful bums they might be, she loved her family dearly and only wanted to give them what should have always belonged to them and more still.

  But if she could raise a weapon for them, one loyal to the House, one to be wielded ruthlessly against the world itself in their name, how far could they rise? Maybe with such a tool, her feats might even be significant enough to earn just a bit more Essence; a few extra years to live and pursue her goals would not go amiss.

  She looked at the child once more and saw that boundless potential. Elara had come mining for copper and struck gold. She met the tiny princess's eyes, pointed at Julia, and, after a pause, slowly nodded. "Yours."

  The House representative then pointed directly at Rythica and pushed as much Mana as she could into Silver Tongue, draining all of her reserves.

  Rythica collapsed onto her backside, staring up at the woman with overwhelming fear. "...Big... big..."

  Elara looked down her nose at the toddler, willing her to understand. She spoke slow and kept her sentences basic, knowing the child was only barely capable of comprehending the words.

  "Yes. I am big. But if you follow me, I'll make you big, too. Bigger than you'll ever know."

  Rythica simply watched, quivering.

  Elara waited, giving the toddler time to find that iron backbone once more. She was not disappointed.

  Rythica climbed to her feet, unsure, but with that fiery determination gradually rising to the surface.

  "Make big?"

  A nod.

  Rythica cleaned her antennae once more, briefly fiddling with the ring that still adorned her crown.

  "Drone, my?"

  Another nod.

  "Big... Is how?"

  Elara took a second to interpret the question. "Follow me, and I'll teach you everything I know."

  Rythica still looked unsure and conflicted, but there was a spark of hope in her as she nodded. And perhaps, a touch of something else. Something Elara couldn't quite place.

  The woman knew the girl wouldn't really understand what she had agreed to, but that was fine. Getting her started down that path was the most important part. And as she saw the hunger begin to burn in the little bug's eyes once more, the woman allowed, just for the faintest instant, that she might enjoy having an apprentice of her own, one that understood what it meant to desire to truly .

  Ever since Julia had completed all nine steps of the Body Stage and entered the Blood Stage at level ten, her abilities had expanded. Mana was no longer completely passive and was something she could actively utilize, if still clumsily. As a person didn't start developing a real connection to their Mana until hitting the Mind Stage at level nineteen, her progress was like trying to draw water from a shallow pond with numb hands while wearing a blindfold.

  Nonetheless, her tenuous ability had begun to form after many months of practice. It was simple, a sort of empathetic feedback that helped her better understand her charge's needs. She could physically feel the needs and emotions of any being under her care, if only the strongest ones.

  And during this meeting, she had felt

  She felt the roiling termoil in Rythica as the girl experienced Elara's magic for the first time. She felt that horror, that unease, that hollowness... Julia didn't know Rythica was missing something so critical, and it broke Julia's heart. She felt Rythica's pain, not only with the first exchange but every single word the horrible woman spoke, driving a spike through the lonely child's heart. Julia had almost broken down then and there as she experienced the girl's struggles firsthand. Strong-willed indeed.

  She watched with dread as Elara filled that child's heart with a false hope, dragging out the smallest flicker of longing along the way, like a child gingerly reaching up to hold their mother's hand, unsure if they would hold it back.

  Julia's fingernails dug into her palms, drawing blood. She fumed with unbridled disgust.

  While Julia remained outwardly passive, watching Elara preparing to use that precious child like a damn blade, it took everything in her power not to lash out. Unlike Randell, Elara was dangerous. She knew full-well her life, and the lives of her entire family were at stake. She knew that the old, cynical hag was contemplating snuffing out Bella's life not even an hour prior. Oh, sure, Elara did an excellent job of hiding it, but Julia knew better. Elara wouldn't hesitate to make her displeasure known in the worst possible way.

  When Elara asked her to leave the room, the very idea of leaving those two alone together was enough to make her blood run cold.

  Julia vowed that, no matter what Elara did, she would protect Rythica. Elara would scheme and play her games, leading a naive child down a path of inevitable ruin. Like fucking hell she would let her get away with that. She would not let that child be groomed into a bloodthirsty weapon. Not while air still filled her lungs.

  Sigh. Hopefully, the next few chapters will be entertaining enough to make up the difference.

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