Death, Devotion, Dissonance

"That… that ungrateful woman!" Terrence stuttered out. "Unfaithful, really! I was out there in the world, shedding blood and sweat for her, but she was only thinking of herself!"

"Women," Endra nodded, grabbing a piece of bread and putting it in his mouth.

He had finished his steak, the surrounding vegetables, the leftovers of Terrence's food, then the assortment of fruits, and now, only the bread was left. For some reason, his stomach was the endless void today. Or maybe he was just too sleepy and on autopilot to notice how full he was.

"You know, I was surprised, when she seemed so eager when I mentioned divorce. I only meant to scare her a bit. Tell her to keep her image clean," Terrence continued. "But you know what she did? She immediately went to the bureau with me to ask how we could separate! Near the end of it all, she even started to write an official project to optimize the process of divorce. The damn paper got so damn popular, she was even invited to the capital!

"Truly, I didn't want things to end that way. I wanted to tell her to stop! I wanted to talk more on the subject! But my blasted pride! It won't allow me to back down on my word! I was the one who mentioned divorce in the first place, so how can I be the one to speak of reuniting?" he roared, then took another gulp from his wine.

Terrence had finished a bottle of whisky he had when Endra first came, and was now going steadily through the wine he gave to Endra.

"Man has to have his pride," Endra nodded grimly, barely hiding the smile beneath.

Since he was there to listen, he shouldn't laugh or judge. That was just low.

"But you know what I heard this morning?" Terrence continued. "What news did my informants bring?"

"What?"

"That my own wife, Leanne Lanesbreau. We're almost done divorcing but she still has the damn last-name, I tell you that. My own wife in name, Leanne Lanesbreau, has become the mistress of King Seth himself. The King. The KING!"

"Oh, shit," Endra gasped. It truly was a surprise. Even his sleepiness was disappearing.

"Of all the people… the King…" Terrence's voice trailed off.

Who knew that paranoid savior of his would go so far up in the world? But she really didn't strike Endra as someone who would do that. And was being the king's mistress something to be happy about?

"Does King Seth have many mistresses?"

"Many. As far as open rumors go. And also fresh. The king finds someone new every month. Aside from a woman named Nola, who he's been keeping before he was even married."

'So being the king's mistress wasn't something so precious,' Endra concluded. 'It feels more likely that Leanne was forced into the role either through blackmail or pressure. Even if it's the king, Leanne is smart enough to know she can't just go to another man's bed as she's divorcing.'

Endra's gaze fell on the man slowly sipping the last bits of the wine. Endra could laugh at the situation, but of course, the same wasn't true for Terrence. Although the man spoke like he was on some stage, the feelings were real. And when real feelings were involved, they could manifest into something ugly.

Endra knew he was probably jumping to conclusions, but he felt he needed to make sure Terrence wouldn't hurt Leanne. But he couldn't say that outright. And he couldn't take Leanne's side. He was still Terrence's listener after all.

That only left one option.

"I always thought our king was a fine, principled man; but I guess everyone has their flaws, huh."

"What?"

"I just remembered the time I read his letters when I was in the Helm's worthy. I remember how proud of myself and of my king I felt when I first read that letter. Something personal of the king! Felt like he'd never do a wrong deed in his entire life… But hearing about how he took Leanne as his mistress, the image is kinda shattering."

Terrence looked like he just realized he was talking to a kid. Then he looked as he himself realized something.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he suddenly declared and got up.

Endra looked at the man's back, and felt he did enough. He also realized that even if Terrence tries something, Leanne would probably be able to take care of herself.

Shaking his head, he slouched into his chair.

Really, he didn't expect he'd enjoy this late lunch so much.

He only expected the worst when Terrence called him for lunch, but surprisingly, the man was already

At first, Terrence was still civil. He asked about this and that about spellcasting, about how his family was doing, before casually offering to become Endra's sponsor, which Endra declined, albeit he was a bit worried he wouldn't get to sleep in the house anymore.

However, Terrence turned out to be a big-hearted man, and allowed Endra to spend a night in the house. Though he politely asked Endra to finish the lunch.

Endra was at first a bit judgmental of the man for wanting to socialize with a minor, but he, as a big-hearted person himself, forgave it as the foolishness of a drunk man. The Empress knows what he himself did the night at the inn. Sure, he didn't pull others into it, but who was he to judge others?

Gradually, the two of them turned more and more tipsy and Endra realized he was enjoying hearing Terrence's perspective.

The man was just trying to get himself ahead in the world, then retire so he could live comfortable life. do that, of course, he needed to work hard these past few years. He saw an opportunity beside Duchess Klavd, and started to work diligently under her. Acting as her manager, almost. Taking care of the little things she needs taking care of, etc. etc.

At the same time, he was always worried for Leanne. In his eyes, she just didn't seem like she was trying hard enough. She lacked ambition, she didn't have any hobbies in particular, her favorite pastime was to do nothing, and she had no interest in maintaining a proper image.

Terrence mentioned these problems a few times, but she brushed them off easily.

So, when Leanne got herself into that mess on the Island, Terrence decided to scare her a little. Mention divorce and see how she reacted.

'Well, guess that plan went to shit real quick now, didn't it?' Endra smiled.

As he was sitting on the table, the door to the dining hall opened up.

Endra expected to hear Terrence talking about some other problem in his life, but a thin, female voice entered his ear.

"Lord Mage," Bee spoke. "Lord Terrence has fallen asleep. I shall lead you to your room."

'Oh, I guess he passed out,' Endra sighed. 'Right when the talk was getting interesting.'

"Thanks," he said and followed Bee into a room.

He made sure the room wasn't hiding an otherworlder or something inside it, asked Bee to wake him up early, then went to sleep. For real this time.

'The things I go through to find a cotton bed…'